SYRACUSE, N.Y. (theACC.com) – The semifinal field is set for the 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference Field Hockey Championship following quarterfinal wins by Virginia, Syracuse and North Carolina on Thursday.
Semifinal action begins Friday at 1 p.m. with top-seeded Louisville (16-2), which received an opening-rounded bye, facing fifth-seeded Virginia (11-7). The 3:30 semifinal finds host No. 2 seed Syracuse (13-4) paired against No. 3 seed North Carolina (11-6). Friday’s winners will advance to meet in Sunday’s noon championship game.
The Cardinals defeated Virginia 1-0 in their regular-season meeting at Louisville on Sept. 17. The game was the ACC opener for both teams. Syracuse blanked UNC by a 5-0 score when the teams met at J.S. Coyne Stadium on Oct. 1. At the time, it was the first shutout loss the three-time defending NCAA champions had suffered since 2016.
Virginia shut out No. 4 seed Boston College 2-0 in Thursday’s tournament opener, and Syracuse took charge early in a 5-1 win over No. 7 seed Duke. North Carolina pulled out a 3-2 win over No. 6 Wake Forest in overtime.
A wintry mix of hail, snow and sleet blew in early Thursday afternoon, just prior to the scheduled 1 p.m. start of game one. Following pregame ceremonies, officials made the decision to delay the start of the Virginia-Boston College contest for 90 minutes.
ACC Network is providing live coverage of the entire Championship, with Mike Corey handling play-by-play and Leah Secondo on color.
A glance at Thursday’s quarterfinal action:
#5 Virginia 2, #4 Boston College 0
The Cavaliers struck for a goal in each of the first two quarters to grab a 2-0 halftime lead. The first Virginia score came at the 3:21 mark of the first period, when Laura Janssen took a feed from Danielle Husar and perfectly placed her shot from the middle of the circle for her fifth goal of the season.
Virginia pushed its lead to 2-0 midway through the second period half when Rachel Robinson rammed home a close-range rebound following BC keeper Jonna Kennedy’s save on the initial shot by Amber Ezechiels off a penalty corner.
Boston College missed a chance to get on the board at the five-minute mark of the second quarter when Virginia keeper Tyler Kennedy deflected a stroke attempt by the Eagles’ Sky Caron.
Virginia’s edge stood through the final two quarters as both teams missed scoring chances. The nationally 14th-ranked Cavaliers won for the fourth time in the last five games and avenged a 1-0 overtime loss to the 13th-ranked Eagles during the regular season.
The teams were even in shots at eight apiece, though the Cavaliers placed seven on goal to the Eagles’ three. Jonna Kennedy made five saves for BC (12-6), and Tyler Kennedy had three for Virginia.
#2 Syracuse 5, #7 Duke 1
The Orange delighted their home crowd with an opening blitz of three unanswered goals in the first 12 minutes.
SJ Quigley started things off with a rebound goal just 35 seconds into the contest. Willemijn Boogert followed with her second goal of the season at the 6:24 mark of the second quarter off assists from Claire Cooke and Eefke Van Den Nieuwenhof.
Hailey Bitters made it 3-0 with 3:20 still remaining in the opening period with her sixth goal of the year off an assist from Charlotte de Vries.
Duke got on the board at the 4:50 mark of the third quarter when Hannah Miller worked her way in close to deliver a driving back-handed shot into the upper right corner of the net.
But Van Den Nieuwenhof countered just more than two minutes later off an assist from Quigley for 4-1 Syracuse lead. Then, with just four seconds remaining on third-quarter clock, Van Den Nieuwenhof connected again for her second score of the game and eighth of the season to give the Orange a four-goal lead.
The outcome gave Syracuse a decisive two-game sweep in its season series versus the Blue Devils. The Orange defeated the Blue Devils 7-2 in the regular-season meeting in Durham on Oct. 16.
#3 North Carolina 3, #6 Wake Forest 2 (OT)
Cassie Sumfest’s goal off an assist from Erin Matson 2:57 into overtime spelled the difference in Thursday night’s finale. It capped a five-point night for Matson, who scored both UNC goals in regulation.
The Demon Deacons struck for their first goal less than four minutes into the game and led 2-1 at the end of the opening half.
Maggie Dickman put Wake Forest on the board at the 11:39 mark of the opening quarter, as she took a pass from Meike Lanckohr and scored her seventh goal of the season.
The Deacons’ 1-0 lead held deep into the second quarter before four-time ACC Offensive Player of the Year Matson weaved her way into the circle and drove home a shot to knot the score at 1-1.
The tie score lasted all of 24 seconds. Ashley Hart battled for an unassisted goal – her second of the year – to put Wake Forest back in front.
The third quarter amount to a series of missed opportunities for the Tar Heels, who failed to capitalize on four penalty corners. Wake Forest's 2-1 lead held well into the second half, despite the Demon Deacons' offense mustering just one shot in the final two regulation quarters.
But Matson finally came through again with 10:21 left in regulation, chasing down her own missed shot and scoring off the rebound to tie things back up at 2-2. The goal was Matson’s 23rd of the season and pushed her ACC-leading career total to 105.
The score remained deadlocked until the intermission, setting up the exciting finish.
The Tar Heels played the overtime period without head coach Karen Shelton after the UNC bench received a red card in the closing seconds of regulation.
Wake Forest (7-10) suffered its 11th straight loss versus UNC, but both of this season’s matches were decided by a single goal.
After not playing an overtime game through its first 14 matches, UNC played into OT for the third straight game Thursday night.
2021 ACC Field Hockey Championship
J.S. Coyne Field; Syracuse, N.Y.
Quarterfinals
Thursday, Nov. 4
#5 Virginia 2, #4 Boston College 0
#2 Syracuse 5, #7 Duke 1
#3 North Carolina 3, #6 Wake Forest 2 (OT)
Semifinals
Friday, Nov. 5
1 pm - #1 Louisville vs. Virginia
3:30 pm – Syracuse vs. North Carolina
Championship
Sunday, Nov. 7
Noon - Winners of Saturday’s games
(All games will be carried live by ACC Network)