Emma Russell scored on a pass from Lies Lagerweij with 8:37 remaining in the first overtime period to give top-seeded Syracuse a 3-2 win over fourth-seeded Virginia in the first semifinal game of the 2015 ACC Field Hockey Championship.
Syracuse moves on to the ACC Championship game with the win and will face the winner of the second semifinal between third-seeded North Carolina and seventh-seeded Boston College.
Syracuse’s Alma Fenne scored the lone goal of the first half when she sent a reverse chip shot into the left side of the cage just under ten minutes into the period. The Orange increased their lead in the third minute of the second half when Russell received the ball near the stroke mark and took a straight shot into the cage for her first goal of the day.
Virginia mounted a comeback in the remaining minutes, scoring two goals to knot the score at 2-2. Caleigh Foust put the Cavaliers on the board with just over 25 minutes remaining when she received the ball near the left post and slipped it past Syracuse’s Jess Jecko. Riley Tata then tied the game with a deflection goal with twelve minutes remaining.
Virginia goalkeeper Rebecca Holden kept the Cavaliers in the game, stopping the Syracuse attack and logging a diving stick save in the waning minutes to send the game into overtime.
“Their goalie had a fantastic game today,” said Syracuse head coach Ange Bradley. “She really made us work really hard to get the result that we were able to get today.”
The game winner came when Russell one-timed a pass from Lagerweij into the net, sending Syracuse to the ACC Championship game for the second time in as many years.
“We had to keep applying pressure,” said Bradley. “We got a little bit relaxed and Virginia obviously had to score. The focus was to stay together as a team and keep working on what our game plan was from the very beginning.”
Syracuse held a 21-4 shot advantage and a 4-2 edge in penalty corners. Jecko did not record a save in the game for the Orange, while Holden finished with seven saves for the Cavaliers.
With the win, Syracuse moves to 4-2 in ACC tournament play and 18-0 overall this season.
ACC fans will be able to watch every game of the championship as they will be televised live by the league’s Regional Sports Networks, live online on ESPN3, and available on the WatchESPN mobile application.
For additional information on the 2015 ACC Field Hockey Championship, visit http://theacc.co/15FHchamp.
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Chris Graham
