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No. 15 Syracuse (6-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) picked up its first conference win Friday, shutting out Wake Forest (2-6, 0-2 ACC) 1-0. The Orange didn’t get on the board until Bo van Kempen notched her sixth goal of the season with just over seven minutes to play in the contest.

After a slow pursuit through the first half, the Orange picked up the pace in the second half. A minute into the fourth quarter, Lieke Leeggangers challenged that the ball hit a Wake Forest defender’s foot. After the successful challenge, SU had a golden opportunity with a penalty corner. The initial shot was unable to connect, but the ball bounced right to Willemijn Boogert.

Wake Forest goaltender Ellie Todd was out of position and Boogert slapped one toward the net. However, a Demon Deacons defender was there to deflect the shot and keep the game scoreless.

With just seven minutes to go, van Kempen found the back of the net. SU forced another corner opportunity, but the initial shot bounced off the foot of Todd and into the direct path of van Kempen.

The graduate student settled down to gain control of the ball and set herself up for a shot despite a difficult angle. With a defender quickly closing in, van Kempen slapped a high shot toward the mask of the Wake Forest goalie. Todd attempted a save but ricocheted the ball into the net for a goal.

Up until that point, Syracuse struggled to register any resemblance of an offense. The Orange failed to record a single shot in the first quarter and left the field at halftime with just three total shots in the first 30 minutes of play. The Demon Deacons controlled the flow of the match by winning the time of possession battle.

Early in the first quarter, it appeared Wake Forest had grabbed the early lead. A shot was taken from outside the striking circle, and the initial ruling was that it touched a Syracuse defensive player’s stick. That would have led to a successful goal. Upon review, the umpire ruled that the ball was last touched by the Orange outside of the circle, meaning the goal would be waved off and the score would stay locked at zero.

Despite Wake Forest controlling the ball for much of the first half, SU head coach Lynn Farquhar’s defense held the Demon Deacons to just one shot heading into halftime. In most of SU’s matches this season, goalie Louise Pert has been pulled at halftime in favor of freshman Vera Hekkenberg.

Farquhar decided Pert gave the team its best chance to pull out the tight win. Similar to Syracuse earlier, the Demon Deacons were unable to gain control. The ball found its way to the feet of Pert, who cleared it. Wake Forest was given a penalty-corner opportunity with four minutes to go. A shot by Wake Forest was heading toward the net when Pert got in front of the ball to make the sliding save.

Just 54 seconds remained when Wake Forest had one last chance to tie the game and send it into overtime. With Hattie Madden sidelined for the remainder of the contest due to a yellow card, her sister, Bo Madden, stepped up. Syracuse faced another Wake Forest penalty corner. Before the Demon Deacons could even get a shot off, Bo denied Wake Forest the opportunity and deflected the shot with her foot. It saved the game for the time being, but it did set up the fifth penalty corner of the night for Wake Forest.

Once again, Bo’s aggressive defense came through, making a final stop en route to Syracuse closing the game out for its fourth shutout of the season.

Published on September 27, 2024 at 10:05 pm