After the thrill of an overtime victory over James Madison Friday, App State field hockey was tested by No. 17 Wake Forest Sunday.
On their two-game road trip, the Black and Gold began with a late-night victory against the Dukes after a 30-minute weather delay before the fourth quarter.
“From the moment the game started until the final whistle, the team was locked in,” said head coach Emily Dinsmore. “The lightning delays didn’t matter, them scoring first didn’t matter, nothing was stopping this team tonight. They left their hearts out on the field tonight and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
James Madison held a 1-0 advantage until junior forward Charlotte Bosma broke away and scored in the 42nd minute.
The game remained scoreless and required overtime, App State’s first since Oct. 21 against Ball State.
In the 66th minute of play, freshman midfielder Kassie Paul broke the tie and scored her first career goal as her shot hit the back of the cage. Senior forward/midfielder Leah Hurwitz was credited with the assist. Paul’s goal propelled the Mountaineers to victory as well as to their best start since 2019 with a 4-1 record..
“It feels amazing scoring my first career goal,” Paul said. “I love all the support from my team and I’m so glad that we finished strong and played together until the final whistle.”
With App State on a two-game win streak, they looked to continue their streak against the ranked Demon Deacons.
Junior goalkeeper Claire Grenis recorded a career-high six saves in her second start, but it would be in a losing effort as the Black and Gold lost 3-0. The Demon Deacons totaled 20 shots, while the Mountaineers recorded nine. App State did hold an advantage in penalty corners, as they forced a season-high seven corners against Wake Forest.
“When we press with numbers and press together, that is when we are successful,” Dinsmore said. “You saw that in the third and the fourth when we earned those penalty corners. Now we just need to go back to the drawing board and execute on those corners, but I’m proud of the way the team played today.”
App State holds a 4-2 record and looks to add another victory to the win column as they travel to Louisville, Kentucky Friday for a match against Bellarmine at 3 p.m. The game can be streamed on the BU Knights Sports Network.
