WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The No. 8 Virginia field hockey team (10-5, 1-2 ACC) headed to Wake Forest yesterday with hopes of once again knocking off a top-three team as it did in Maryland three weeks ago, but this time, it was not to be.
The No. 3 Demon Deacons (10-3, 2-1 ACC) jumped out to an early lead and never looked back to shut out Virginia, 3-0, for their seventh consecutive win.
The Cavaliers got off to a good start when senior co-captain Mason White forced a penalty corner just two minutes into the game, but Virginia failed to convert the opportunity and did not force another corner in the entire contest.
Wake Forest freshman Kelly Dostal opened up the scoring with an unassisted goal 9 minutes, 43 seconds into the first half. Dostal struck again just a minute and a half later, this time on a feed from senior Jennie Shelton. Virginia took a timeout to regroup and though the Demon Deacons forced another two corners, they would not score again in the half.
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The Cavaliers made little noise in the second half, however, and allowed Wake Forest to dominate the offensive tempo of the game. Shelton earned her second assist of the game when she found sophomore Kelly Doton with 12:09 left in the game and the Demon Deacons opened up a three-goal lead. Wake Forest went on to force six total corners in all and take 16 shots on goal.
Wake Forest "played hard and smart," Virginia coach Jessica Wilk said. "They took advantage in counterattack situations and made us pay. They were scrappy in the circle. We didn't take care of the ball and didn't respond well in transition. I think we didn't fight hard enough, to be quite honest."
"We didn't work hard enough as a team," Virginia sophomore goalkeeper Emily White said. "We need to step up our effort level."
Virginia will have a chance to do just that when they travel to Washington, D.C. to take on Georgetown on Wednesday. The Hoyas are 9-3 overall and are coming off a 2-0 win over Ursinus yesterday. They had been working on an eight-game winning streak before a 2-1 loss to Pennsylvania on Thursday.
Georgetown sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Herring entered this season with a .716 save percentage and has continued to build on her success as a freshman. She notched six saves in the Hoyas' most recent win over Ursinus and is always a crucial factor in their success.
Georgetown is "a good team," Wilk said. "We need to make major corrections in our skill execution, we need to finish, we need to improve our effort level, we need to improve every aspect of the game"
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