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NCAA

Deacs Blank Terps, 3-0

Winston-Salem, N.C. - The Wake Forest field hockey team heads to a third straight NCAA Field Hockey Championship game with a 3-0 win against Maryland Friday night. The Deacons will face Duke, who defeated Michigan State, 5-2 in the first semifinal game of the day. The national title game is set to start at 12:38 p.m. on Sunday. The game will be aired live on CSTV.

Maryland's Paula Infante fired the first shot of the game, but not until 6:15 left in the game. Ariel Meyers and Claire Laubach were responsible for halting Infante's drive. Both team's defenses controlled the first 30 minutes of play.

Kelly Wood dribbled down the sideline and inside the circle to earn the first penalty corner of the game. Laubach injected to stopper Maeke Boreel. Boreel stopped the ball as Lauren Crandall stepped up and fired to get the Deacons on the board with the 1-0 lead. Boreel and Laubach were both credited with assists. The goal would prove to be the game winner.





Moments later, Boreel stole the ball from an attacking Maryland offense and drove down into Deacon territory. She slipped a perfect pass across the middle to a diving Kelly Dostal who put it in beautifully for the 2-0 Deacon edge.

Wake Forest entered the half up by two after just four first half shots and two corners. The Terps got off only one shot in the first 35 minutes.

Crandall went down early in the game after Infante's stick connected with her foot. Haley Scott came in for the Deacs. Crandall would return four minutes later.

Colleen Barbieri came close to a Terp goal but Deacon keeper Kristina Gagliardi slid to save the second Maryland shot of the game.

Laubach drove down the sideline and just outside the circle before the officials called a foul on Maryland. Dostal took the free hit and fired toward the net. The ball was deflected into the air and Tamar Meijer tapped it in for Deacon goal number three.

Wake Forest would earn three consecutive penalty corners in the next minute. Shots by Crandall and Dostal were blocked on the first two corners before an incredible save by Kathryn Masson stopped Dostal's fifth shot of the game.

Maryland head coach Missy Meharg decided to talk things over with 11:11 remaining in the game.

The Terps earned their first penalty corner with 5:45 left in the second half. Gagliardi would have none of it, however, as she made two incredible saves on shots by Janneke van Leeuwen and Sara Silvetti.

The Terps made a run at the end, but Laubach stopped three consecutive attempts by Maryland to get on the board.

Wake Forest outshot Maryland 11 to six and took six penalty corners to the Terps two.

The Deacons have not shutout an opponent since their 9-0 routing of Radford on October 20. The last time the Deacs shutout a post-season opponent was a 1-0 NCAA semifinal win against Michigan in 2003.

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