Top-6 matchup. ACC Semis. Friday night lacrosse. Let’s go!
Postseason lacrosse is just getting underway, and after their defeat of Louisville on Wednesday, the Syracuse Orange are ready for a much sterner test tonight when they take on the No. 5 seed Virginia Cavaliers in the ACC Tournament Semifinals.
The Orange and Cavaliers played an exciting, tug-of-war game in the regular season in Charlottesville that required a ‘Cuse comeback after an early deficit, and the rematch should exceed the intensity of that first meeting, won by SU, 15-14.
Opening draw in the ACC Semis is set for 5 PM on the ACC Network.
ACC Tournament quarters rewind pic.twitter.com/5r8v4bXzdi
— Syracuse Women’s Lacrosse (@CuseWLAX) April 25, 2024
- All-time series: 31st meeting; Syracuse leads, 17-13
- Last meeting: Syracuse W, 15-14, on March 23, 2024
- Virginia this year: 14-3 overall, 7-3 ACC
The Cavs handed North Carolina their first ever loss in an ACC Tournament Quarterfinal game with their 13-12 win in the game-of-the-round on Wednesday.
They’ve won five in a row, with their best wins this year coming over Notre Dame, James Madison and Boston College.
Scouting Virginia
Virginia’s a team with a solid blend of youth and experience. They have a few freshmen whose contributions have helped fuel their surprising rise this year, but also a handful of veterans who stuck around after the departure of the program’s longtime head coach last offseason.
They’re also extremely well balanced. They have seven players who’ve scored at least 39 points, eight players who’ve scored double-digit goals and six players with double-digit assists.
Senior Morgan Schwab (16G, 51A, 67P) is one of the best distributors in the country with her 51 assists, good for fifth best in Division I. In the regular season, she was face-guarded by Kaci Benoit and held to just one assist. It’ll be interesting to see if the Orange make the same move this time.
Her inverse in the UVA offense is grad student Katia Carnevale (47G, 13A, 60P), their leading goal scorer with 47 and by far their leading shot taker with 105, 36 more than anyone else. Carnevale had five goals in the first meeting this season. Senior Mackenzie Hoeg (43G, 4A, 47P) is their best pure goal scorer, and she’s a sniper, at that, shooting 62 percent for the year (43-of-69).
Freshman Jenna Dinardo (36G, 10A, 46P) is another sharp-shooter at 58 percent (36-of-62), and junior Kate Miller (23G, 22A, 45P) is their most well-balanced scorer. With Schwab being face-guarded in the first game, Miller took up the assist mantle and finished with four helpers and five points.
Grad student Kiki Shaw (29G, 10A, 39P) and freshman Madison Alaimo (17G, 22A, 39P) are each one point from joining the 40-point club, and freshman Kate Galica (20G, 4A, 24P) rounds out their eight double-digit scorers while also leading the team with 83 draw controls.
Sophomore goalie Mel Josephson (140SV) is one of the best in the conference with a .461 save percentage, a 10.02 goals-against average and 140 saves.