Sports > November 8, 2007

By Hailey Robbins | Staff writer

The No. 3-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons beat No. 6 Duke University Blue Devils and upset No. 2 ranked Maryland Terrapins to advance to the ACC Championship, where they fell in a heartbreaking match to No. 1 seed University of North Carolina, ending the Deacs’ nine-game winning streak.

To advance to the semifinals, the Deacons toppled Duke University 3-2.

Coming out with a fire, Duke opened the game with several consecutive shots on junior Goalie Crystal Duffield, but all were blocked.

At the 17:43 mark, sophomore Melissa Martin gave the Deacs a 1-0 lead with a shot over Duke goalie Caitlin Williams’ stick.

Allowing just one shot on Duffield before regaining offensive stamina, the Deacons fired three rapid shots on Williams, where sophomore Hilary Moore scored off a rebound on a corner.

A mere six minutes later, Duke scored to narrow the lead to one goal, ending the first half.

At the 36:15 mark, Duke tied the score 2-all on a quick breakaway.

Rebounding with a demon-like fervor, the Deacons proceeded to outshoot the Blue Devils 17-1, all of which were blocked by Williams.

With time expiring, sophomore Kim Romansky sealed the victory with her 10th goal of the season at the 65:50 mark.

The Deacons continued their domination in Massachusetts, upsetting the No. 2 seed University of Maryland, 2-1.

Less than 10 minutes into the first half, the Terps gained advantage and scored off a pass to the front of the net.

Duffield held the Terps to a one-goal lead at the close of the first half.

With fiery spirit, the Deacons immediately opened the second half with shots by Moore and sophomore Aileen Davis before receiving a corner.

Junior Minou Gimbrere fed a pass to Davis as the clock struck 46:10 to tie the game.

Senior Chelsea Cipriani scored the game-winner, putting the Deacons up 2-1, victorious over Maryland, who previously beat the Demon Deacons 3-2.

Coming off their ninth straight victory, toppling two top-ranked powerhouses, the Deacons looked to overtake the No. 1 University of North Carolina.

But they failed in overtime at a chance for yet another ACC Championship title.

Cipriani opened the game with a goal deflected off a shot by junior Liz Fries, marking the first time the Tar Heels did not score first the entire season.

Less than four minutes later, the Tar Heels tied the game one-all on a reverse stick shot.

Fries and Davis kept the score close with impeccable defensive.

At the 32:50 mark, Wake Forest extended the lead 2-1 when Fries shot off a corner.

Less than eight minutes later at the 40:13 mark, UNC responded with another goal to tie the game once more.

Holding the game tied for the next 20 minutes of play, the Deacons and Tar Heels bounced back and forth with control, peppering each cage with shots before the Demon Deacons’ Fries capitalized on a corner at the 62:02 mark.

Less than three minutes later, the Tar Heels responded with yet another game-tying goal, sending the match into a heated overtime.

Overtime proved too much for the Deacons as they fell to the No. 1 seed Tar Heels.

When a shot by the Tar Heels was blocked by a Deacon player’s foot, the awarded penalty stroke edged UNC into sudden death victory.

Kasold and Davis were both named to the ACC Championship All-Conference team following their weekend in Chestnut Hill.

Next, the Demon Deacons begin NCAA Field Hockey tournament with the first round game against Michigan State Nov. 10 in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The final four will take place in College Park, Md.