Field Hockey Ends Regular Season With 4-0 Loss to Wake Forest
By: Skyler Wilkes | @swilkes04
CitrusTV Field Hockey Beat Reporter
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Ninth-ranked Syracuse traveled to North Carolina looking for its best finish since the 2015 championship season. SU was coming off back-to-back ranked wins and carried a lot of momentum into its meeting with No. 12 Wake Forest.
However, it was the Demon Deacons that got things started early on. Nearly halfway through the first, Sky Caron capitalized off a penalty corner. Barely two minutes later, Meike Lanckohr attacked the goal and dished the ball to Anna Gwiazdzinski who tapped it in.
On the other hand, the second period was as uneventful as they come. There was just one shot taken and it was saved by Syracuse netminder Brooke Borzymowski. Despite stopping half of Wake’s tries, the sophomore allowed her second highest goal total this season. Both teams went into the locker room even in corners while the Deacs had a one shot advantage. Nonetheless, SU was held scoreless in the first half for the fourth straight game.
Coming out of the break, Wake Forest’s offense continued to take advantage of every opportunity. After receiving the insertion on a short corner, Nat Friedman lured the Orange in before crossing it over to Brooke McCusker for the score. The play was under review for several minutes before finally being confirmed. Wake had just three corners today, but converted on two of them.
Going into the final frame, it was all but over for the ‘Cuse. The icing on the cake came in transition where the Deacs sliced right through the Syracuse defense. Ashley Hart found Immie Gillgrass behind the SU backers who pushed the ball in for her second goal of the season.
Statistically, the game was pretty close. The Demon Deacons only led the Orange by one in both shots and corners. It was the tries on goal though that really stood out. Overall, Wake took eight attempts and landed all of them on target. Meanwhile, the ‘Cuse were only able to get three on net. It was a tough day for the nation’s fifth best scoring offense, who was shutout for the second time this year.
With the loss, Syracuse finishes the season 14-4 with a 3-3 record in conference play and a 6-4 mark against ranked foes. The Orange secured third place in the ACC and now stay in the Tar Heel State to prepare for next week’s tournament in Durham. SU has a quarterfinals matchup scheduled with Louisville for Tuesday.
