NEWTON, Mass. -- Carried by the offensive efforts of senior Emmie Le Marchand, No. 8 Duke defeated fourth-ranked Virginia 2-1 in the opening contest of the ACC Field Hockey Championship.
With the victory, Duke will move on to face top-seeded Maryland on Friday afternoon at 1 p.m.
The Blue Devils got on the board first just past the five-minute mark of the contest, as Le Marchand potted her team-leading 12th goal of the season.
The play materialized after Le Marchard inserted a corner to Grace Christus. She then tapped a pass on to Brenna Rescigno, who directed a shot toward the net through traffic. Le Marchand was positioned perfectly by the near post to direct the shot past Virginia goalkeeper Jenny Johnstone to give Duke a 1-0 lead.
The Blue Devils maintained their lead for a majority of the first half, threatening on two separate occasions to extend their lead. The Cavaliers, however, withstood the offensive onslaught long enough to net the game-tying goal with less than five minutes remaining in the first stanza.
On a deep drive to Duke goalkeeper Lauren Blazing’s left, Virginia’s Elly Buckley centered a pass to the front of the cage to Caleigh Faust, who tallied her 10th goal of the season to knot the match at one.
In the second half, the Blue Devils wasted little time in regaining their advantage, as Le Marchand was again the catalyst for the offense.
Working from near the end line, Le Marchand was able to get a pass to Devon Gagliardi, who found herself in front of the net. With her back turned to the goalkeeper, Gagliardi released a turning shot that trickled past Virginia’s Johnstone.
Following the penalty stroke save by Virginia with 19 minutes left, momentum seemed to take a turn in favor of the Cavaliers. During a four-minute stretch in waning moments, Virginia recorded five shots on net and had four corner opportunities. However, Duke’s defense stood tall and protected the 2-1 lead.
No. 2 Syracuse 3, No. 11 Boston College 1
NEWTON, Mass. -- In the first ACC field hockey championship game in program history, No. 2 Syracuse scored three unanswered goals for a 3-1 victory against host Boston College.
The win advances Syracuse to the semifinals, where it will take on third-seeded North Carolina.
The seventh-seeded Eagles jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Chapin Duke, but it did little to slow Syracuse which proceeded to score three goals on 14 shots and two penalty corners in a deciding first half of play.
Syracuse’s first tally came from Leonie Geyer off of a penalty corner. Emma Russell inserted the ball to Jordan Page, who chipped a pass to Geyer. She then sent a drive past Boston College’s lunging goalkeeper Leah Settipane for the equalizer.
The Orange’s second goal of the half and the eventual game winner came from Russell with just more than seven minutes before the break. Russell, a midfielder, was in perfect position on a rebound to give Syracuse a 2-1 lead.
The game’s final score came with 0.4 seconds remaining in the first half, as Syracuse’s Lauren Brooks finished on a redirect. On a rush, Geyer fired a shot from outside the circle and Brooks tipped it in for the 3-1 lead.
In total, Syracuse recorded 18 shots and five penalty corners to Boston College’s eight shots and one penalty corner.
For the season, the Orange has allowed one goal or less in 14 of their 18 matches and own a 14-0 mark in those contests.
No. 3 North Carolina 3, No. 15 Wake Forest 2
NEWTON, Mass. -- Behind three-point efforts from both Nina Notman and Charlotte Craddock, third-seeded North Carolina advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Field Hockey Championship after defeating sixth-seeded Wake Forest 3-2.
With the victory, the two-time defending ACC champion Tar Heels will square off against second-seeded Syracuse at 3:30 p.m. on Friday.
In a contest that went to the half tied at two apiece, North Carolina received the deciding tally from Craddock at the 40:07 mark of the match.
Scoring got underway in the sixth minute as Wake Forest got on the board first thanks to the efforts of Taylor Rhea. She picked up a loose ball in front and the net to score her 16th goal of the season – good for second best in the ACC.
North Carolina wasted little time in answering the opening goal, as it potted two goals in a 10-minute stretch with the help of Notman
On the first goal, Notman took to the ground to push a pass to the front of the cage for Casey Di Dinardo, who sent the ball by the Wake Forest goalkeeper to knot the contest at one.
Notman followed her helper with a goal at the 19:44 mark of the match, when she found herself wide open in front of the net after a pass Charlotte Craddock. After handling the pass, Notman buried a one-timer.
Just as the Tar Heels answered, the Deamon Deacons roared back, with a goal nearly two minutes later.
Coming out of a penalty corner, Anna Kozniuk scored her ninth goal of the season on a shot from just inside the circle to send the game to 2-2 tie at the half.
No. 10 Stanford 5, Davidson 1
LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Stanford converted on four of six penalty corners and earned a 5-1 victory Thursday against Davidson in the first round of the NorPac tournament.
Stanford controlled a majority of the possession throughout the game and held advantages in shots (15-5) and penalty corners (6-2).
Maddie Secco got Stanford on the board early, scoring at 5:08 of the first half to give Stanford a 1-0 lead. Positioned on the left side of the cage, the ball found Secco’s stick after deflecting off a couple of defenders, which she fired off the left post and into the goal.
Kelsey Harbin netted Stanford’s second goal of the game in the 24th minute, drilling a shot off a penalty corner that deflected off a Davidson player and into the back of the cage. Positioned on the left side of the goal, Kasey Quon inserted the pass to Harbin, also on the left side, who fired the shot to the right side of the cage. It was Harbin’s seventh goal on the season.
Stanford continued to pressure Davidson in the second half and broke through in the 40th minute when Jessica Chisholm received a pass from Harbin off a penalty corner and fired into the back of the cage.
The Cardinal continued its effectiveness on penalty corners with Alex McCawley converting at 44:21 to give Stanford a 4-0 lead. Secco earned her third point of the game, assisting McCawley’s goal.
McCawley scored her second goal of the game in the 50th minute, tapping home a rebound after an initial penalty corner blast by Chisholm was saved by Davidson goalkeeper Carolyn Macek.
Davidson’s Becky Johnson got the Wildcats on the board with a goal in the 67th minute, tapping in a rebound after two initial saves by Dulcie Davies.
