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Wake Forest forward Olivia Stowell took a hard shot from just inside the right end of the goal box in the 55th minute. Syracuse goalkeeper Shea Vanderbosch reacted quickly, sliding to the right post and deflecting the ball off of her fists. The ball shot up into the air and landed at the top of the goal box. 

After the shot, Vanderbosch got stuck to the right of the goal while the ball stayed with Wake Forest. Demon Deacon Emily Morris fielded the ball and immediately took a shot before Vanderbosch could recover in front of the goal. Several Syracuse defenders tried to get in the way of Morris’ ball, but it trailed in through the middle of the goal and hit the back of the net, making the score 1-0.

Wake Forest (8-2-2, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) added another goal in in the second half to defeat Syracuse (8-4, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) 2-0 in its first conference road loss of the year. The Orange have now been shut out in three of their last four games, with all of those contests coming against ACC opponents. In all of those three losses, opponents have doubled Syracuse’s shot total. The Orange were looking to capture their first win in Winston-Salem in program history, but only registered seven shots while the Demon Deacons had 15.

While Syracuse only conceded one shot on goal in the first half, it also had just one shot on net, coming in the fifth minute. SU’s Koby Commandant took control of a pass on the left side of the goal box. Commandant delivered a hard shot that Wake Forest goalkeeper Kaitlyn Parks went down to her right to save. 

Syracuse had another opportunity in the 23rd minute when freshman forward Maya McDermott attempted a cross just outside the right line of the goal box. The ball got stuffed and bounced out of bounds, forcing a corner on the right side. But Kate Murphy’s set piece was way off line and landed right at the top of the goal box and into Demon Deacons’ possession.

But the Orange continued to frustrate Wake Forest throughout the first half. Demon Deacon Taryn Chance dribbled to her left and into the middle of the Syracuse goal box before taking a powerful shot over 14 minutes after Murphy’s corner. In an instant, Grace Gillard jumped up in the air and the ball deflected off her shoulder for a block.

The first half ended with minimal action on offense. Syracuse and Wake Forest each got a shot on goal and combined for six shots total. The Demon Deacons just barely leading in time of possession at 57%.

But as the second half wore on, Wake Forest started to control much more of the possessions and shots. Midfielder Giovanna Demarco fielded a pass at the penalty arc with her back to the goal. She quickly turned around and took a shot that was blocked by Syracuse defenders.

Chance found the ball off the deflection and briefly dribbled along the left side of the goal box. She then booted a ball at the goal, but it ricocheted off Orange defenders and went up in the air before trickling out the right sideline. 

A few minutes later, Chelsea Domond saw a cross coming from her right and got a head on it at the top of the goal box. But it didn’t connect cleanly and the ball stopped short and trickled into Park’s hands. Shortly after, Blue Ellis took a shot from the left line of the goal box but went right towards Park who kneeled down to save it. 

Less than a minute later, Morris scored the first goal of the game to give her team a 1-0 lead. 

Wake Forest’s Kristin Johnson then sent a lead pass from the middle of the Syracuse zone in the 64th minute. It landed perfectly in front of Demarco who cut right across the goal box to center. This prompted Vanderbosch to come up to challenge the ball, but Demarco snuck the ball to her right. Vanderbosch couldn’t react in time and Wake Forest sported a 2-0 lead.

The Orange kept fighting as time wound down in the game. They had an opportunity about halfway through the second half when Erin Flurey drove up the right side of the Demon Deacons zone. She initially had only one defender trailing her but that player quickly caught up and slowed her down.

She passed to Domond at the top of the goal box. Domond made several attempts to juke around Wake Forest defenders, but was stuffed and passed to Ashley Rauch who was on her left. Rauch had the ball for just a moment before the Demon Deacons stole it.

Although Syracuse’s defense did eventually break, the team had more success on offense in the second half. The Orange had three shots on goal and six shots total in the second half. They’re 10th in the ACC standings. 

Published on October 2, 2022 at 3:50 pm

Contact Matthew: mahassan@syr.edu