A second half goal by Caiya Hanks helped the Wake Forest Demon Deacons manage a draw against Rutgers, 1-1, in the Scarlet Knights’ home opener at Yurcak Field.
The Knights came into Sunday’s contest following their season-opening victory over NJIT on Thursday, and looked to move to 2-0 on the young season.
But, the offense struggled during the contest, finding it difficult to get quality shots on Wake’s goalkeeper, Payton Cahill. However, despite being outshot 7-3 in the first half, Rutgers managed to take a lead into the locker room at the end of the first 90 minutes of play.
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Allie Post fed redshirt freshman Reilly McGlinn, who streaked in on net and fired
a precision shot past Cahill to give the Knights a 1-0 lead at 43:37 into the match, delighting the crowd of 906 spectators.
As Post made a nifty turn-and-feed to McGlinn, the young forward outran two defenders and was unfazed as the goalkeeper challenged her, calmly placing the ball into the net with a precision shot.
However, the offensive woes that plagued the Knights in the first half continued in the second, as the Demon Deacons clamped down on defense as they tried to generate offense of their own.
Eventually their hard work paid off, when a long-distance pass from sophomore Sierra Sythe came down in front of the RU goal, forcing Knights’ goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer to make a decision on how to play the ball.
As the ball came down it was headed by forward Hannah Johnson, before Hanks finished the play with a score, drawing the game level, 1-1, at 66:58.
In a near carbon copy of the first half, the Knights were outshot 6-3 in the second half, but were able to escape the match with a 1-1 tie.
The Scarlet Knights will have an entire week to mull this contest over, as they are next back in action on Sunday, August 25 in a road match against UMass. The game is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start at Rudd Field in Amherst, Mass. The Minutewomen opened their season with a 2-0 loss to Syracuse on August 15.
