STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford celebrated Senior Day by blanking Wake Forest, 1-0, notching the first ACC win in program history on Friday evening.
"To celebrate together as a team was the most sincere feeling of love. I can't believe how close this time has gotten this season," senior Alayna Burns said. "I love the amount of grit we have for each other and I think that's what led us to the win today."
Tonight was a culmination of a lot of things we've worked on all season and I think we finally saw it come together," Allison Kuzyk added.
Stanford jumps to 7-8 on the season with a 1-6 record in conference play. Wake Forest goes to 6-9, 1-6 ACC following Friday's loss.
The Cardinal defense played a large part in Friday's victory, fending off 16 Demon Deacon shots with a perfect 12-for-12 penalty corner defense to keep Wake Forest off the scoresheet.
"Super proud of the penalty corner defensive unit," said goaltender Daisy Ford. "We've continued to improve game-by-game and I wouldn't want anyone else in the cage with me"
Ford put together another stellar start between the posts, registering nine saves in the effort. The junior netminder has made at least six stops in seven of Stanford's 15 games.
It was a defensive stranglehold in the early going, with both teams combining for just eight shots in the opening half. Wake Forest held the offensive edge out of the halftime break with six of their 12 corner opportunities, but Stanford answered the bell each time to keep the game scoreless after 45 minutes.
That allowed Star Horlock the opportunity to break the deadlock in the 53rd minute, forcing a turnover in the Cardinal's attacking third and burying a backhand on the breakaway chance. Stanford's defense held strong in the final seven minutes, sealing the shutout victory over the conference foe.
"We went into halftime feeling like [Wake Forest] dictating the game, so I'm really proud of our group for harnessing that and taking the game to them in the second half," head coach Roz Ellis said. "One of these games was going to fall our way and it did tonight. There was a lot of grit from our team to make that happen."
The win has massive postseason implications for Stanford, as they climb inside the top-8 of the conference standings. Eight ACC programs qualify for the conference tournament in early November.
The Cardinal will close out the regular season on Thursday, October 31 as they host Bay Area rival California at 6 p.m. PT on ACC Network Extra.