Syracuse, Boston College Advance to ACC Championship Game

Syracuse demonstrated with authority Friday why it earned the top seed in the ACC women’s lacrosse tournament, dominating fourth-seeded Virginia 19-4 at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, N.Y.

The Orange stormed out to an 8-0 lead in the first quarter, added five goals in the second quarter and just thoroughly dismantled the Cavaliers. The lopsided result was especially surprising considering Virginia’s vast improvement in year one under Sonia LaMonica.

Syracuse (14-4, 8-1) is ranked fourth and the Cavaliers (14-4, 6-3) are fifth in this week’s USA Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20. The Orange needed three fourth-quarter goals to eke out a 15-14 win when the teams met during the regular season March 23.

They needed no such magic Friday. Fifteen of Syracuse’s 19 goals were unassisted. The Orange won 22 of 25 draw controls — center Kate Mashewske corralled 16 on her own — and put 29 of 33 shots on goal.

Virginia, meanwhile, managed just 15 shots. Only eight were on goal.

Syracuse’s attack of Olivia Adamson, Emma Tyrrell and Emma Ward combined for 13 points in the onslaught. Adamson (pictured above) scored a game-high four goals.

Seeking their first ACC championship since 2015, the Orange will have to go through reigning champion Boston College.

The third-seeded Eagles authored a defensive masterpiece in Friday’s second semifinal, defeating second-seeded Notre Dame 9-7.

Both teams came in averaging 17 goals per game but fell well short of that mark in their second encounter this season. The Fighting Irish’s 15-14 win over the Eagles on March 16 helped propel them to the No. 1 ranking in the USA Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20 — a spot they continued to hold this week.

But BC snapped Notre Dame’s 10-game winning streak with a defensive game plan that included pressing out on ball carriers, face guarding Jackie Wolak and protecting the interior with physical play. The pressure evolved into a full-field ride in the fourth quarter that helped the Eagles (15-3, 7-2) seal the win.

The Fighting Irish (15-3, 7-2) trailed most of the game but matched BC defensively with a swarming backer zone. They had a chance to tie it on a free position late in the third quarter, but the Eagles collapsed in time to block MK Doherty’s shot and turned it into a two-goal swing when Emma LoPinto used a McKenna Davis screen to score a wraparound goal that made it 7-5.

BC stretched lead to four as Belle Smith and LoPinto scored 57 seconds apart early in the fourth quarter. But Notre Dame would not go quietly, pulling within two on goals by Madison Ahern and Kathryn Morrisey and getting a power-play opportunity when Eagles midfielder Cassidy Weeks drew a yellow card with just over two minutes remaining.

BC goalie Shea Dolce made a lunging save on Ahern and a pass intended for Kasey Choma was deflected as the Eagles successfully killed the penalty and held on for the win.

Eagles coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein praised the defensive performance, which included five caused turnovers and five ground balls from defender Sydney Scales.  Smith added three caused turnovers to go with two goals and an assist.

“They take away the MVP,” she said on ACC Network. “They were such a strong unit. The 1v1 matchups were so good. The goaltending was so good. The clear and the ride, we’ve been working on those things relentlessly all year in preparation for this.”

BC caused 12 of Notre Dame’s 19 turnovers. Of the late penalty kill, Walker-Weinstein said, “We practice man-down all the time. They’re seeing that preparation really matters. These things we practice throughout the year, they really happen.”

Boston College and Syracuse will meet in the ACC championship game Sunday at noon Eastern (ACC Network), with the winner earning the conference’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament.