Duke Shuts Out Wake Forest at Home, 4-0

Friday, October 11

Durham, N.C.

6:00 PM

Duke University

(9-3 (1-2ACC))

Wake Forest

(5-7 (0-3ACC))

Wake Forest

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Shuts Out Wake Forest at Home, 4-0

10/11/2019 8:22:00 PM | Field Hockey

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DURHAM, N.C. – Duke's defense shined and the Blue Devils scored two goals in each half to shut out 20th-ranked Wake Forest, 4-0, at home Friday evening at Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium.

The victory was Duke's first ACC win of the season and improved its overall record to 9-3 and 1-2 in the league, while the Demon Deacons fell to 5-7 overall and 0-3 in conference play.

"The fact that our schedule is loaded with strong opponents and opponents who are having great seasons and getting recognized is motivation enough," said head coach Pam Bustin." "We love to play a game of field hockey that's going to challenge us. Tonight, it was just a great opponent. It's a regional opponent. It's an ACC game. We're home. I think we've got a few things that we wanted to correct here at home over the last couple of matches. So, I'm really proud of the team tonight for the effort that they gave and for the work they did all week that they did to prepare for a dangerous Wake team."

Freshman Hannah Miller led the way for fourth-ranked Duke, scoring two goals for her third multiple-goal game of the season. Sophomores Leah Crouse and Olivia Sahaydak each added their own score, while redshirt senior goalkeeper Sammi Steele recorded her fourth shutout of the season, notching two saves.

Crouse scored the game's first goal in the 13th minute, collecting a rebounded shot from senior Jillian Wolgemuth to put Duke up 1-0. Miller garnered her first goal of the game in the 28th minute, knocking the ball in after a failed clear attempt by the Demon Deacons. The Blue Devils led, 2-0, at the half.

At the 55:56 mark, Miller registered her second goal of the contest and ninth of the season. Sophomore Noor van de Laar found Miller inside the circle, where Miller took two steps to her right and found the back of the cage to put Duke up 3-0. With just eight seconds left in regulation, Sahaydak earned her fifth score of the season and gave Duke a 4-0 cushion.

"We didn't really make any major defensive changes," said Bustin. "I think what we did was we just stuck to our defense. We didn't panic. We didn't overcompensate for things. We stayed together and we played, and I think that's one of the things we took away from last weekend that we didn't do. So again, I just have to credit this group for the work that they did all week in trying to own their game and get back to our game."

Duke has now scored four goals in back-to-back games and improved its home record to 4-2 on the season. The Blue Devils outshot the Demon Deacons, 12-4, and led in corners 4-2. The shutout was the fourth for Duke this year.

"They were putting a lot of pressure on us," said Wolgemuth. "They were really trying to cut the field and keep us to one side, but when we stayed inside our structure, we stayed composed and were able to bounce the ball in and out, we were really successful."

The four goals for the Blue Devils were the most scored against Wake Forest since 2006. The goal total was also the highest ACC regular season mark for Duke since September 15, 2017, when Duke poured in five against Louisville.

Duke is back in action Sunday, October 13 against 22nd-ranked Old Dominion for Senior Day at 1 p.m. on ACCNX. The six seniors will be honored following the contest at midfield.

#GoDuke