Two days after earning a hard-fought and thrilling victory over North Carolina in the quarterfinals, the Cavaliers couldn’t repeat that effort in the semifinals, as the top-seeded Orange ran them off the field from start to finish.
Syracuse (14-4) scored the first eight goals of the game and never looked back, eliminating Virginia (14-4) from the 2024 ACC Women’s Lacrosse Championship with a 19-4 rout on Friday evening at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte.
Six different Syracuse players scored in a first quarter that saw the Orange outshoot Virginia 12-3 and shut out the Cavaliers 8-0. UVA didn’t score until the 13:42 mark of the second quarter, when Morgan Schwab found the back of the net off of a feed from Madison Alaimo.
That only temporarily stopped the Orange, who continued their onslaught by scoring five more goals to take a commanding13-1 lead into the halftime break. Syracuse had 22 shots and 19 shots on goal in the first half, as compared to just five total shots for Virginia. The Orange had an overwhelming 14-2 advantage in draw controls, a possession edge they enjoyed throughout the game.
Virginia managed to score twice in the third quarter as Schwab assisted goals by Mackenzie Hoeg and Maggie Bostain, but Syracuse still won the period 3-2 to extend its lead and keep the game well out of reach.
Schwab scored his second goal in the fourth quarter, but Syracuse cruised to the 19-4 victory to book its ticket to the ACC Championship Game.
Nine different Syracuse players scored in the game, including four with hat tricks. Olivia Adamson had four goals and Emma Tyrrell had three goals and two assists.
Morgan Schwab had two goals and two assists, having a hand in each of Virginia’s goals.
Syracuse ultimately outshot Virginia 33-15 and had a 22-3 advantage in draw controls. Between Mel Josephson and Abby Jansen, the Cavaliers made 10 saves, but that wasn’t nearly enough to keep the game competitive.
Virginia will now have to wait more than a week to learn its seeding and matchup for the 2024 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship. The selection show is on Sunday, May 5th at 9pm on ESPNU.
