On Thursday, No. 2 Syracuse (16-3, 4-2 Atlantic Coast) posted a 3-1 victory over Boston College (12-7, 1-5) in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament to avenge its regular-season loss to the Eagles.

But on Friday, No. 3 North Carolina (16-5, 3-3) ended the Orange’s ACC Championship run.

Emily Wold’s goal in the 25th minute proved to be the difference in a 1-0 shutout of SU in the semifinals. The loss came only six days after Syracuse beat the Tar Heels, 1-0, in its regular-season finale at J.S. Coyne Stadium.

SU plays the winner of Miami (Ohio) and Michigan State on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and hosts the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. Boston College and Connecticut are the other two teams in the region.

On Friday, Wold broke a scoreless tie in the first half by deflecting a crossing pass from Loren Shealy toward the cage and past SU goalie Jess Jecko for her fifth tally of the season.

The Orange had a number of opportunities to respond during the first half, including two penalty corners. However, UNC goalie Sassi Ammer made four saves to preserve the lead.

Tight defense highlighted much of the second half, as neither team recorded a shot through the first 20 minutes.

Syracuse nearly tied the game with only 3:10 remaining. Jordan Page sent a ball into the scoring circle that found its way past Ammer. However, the officials overturned the call after video replay showed that a defender had not touched the ball inside the circle.

The Orange scrambled during the final minute, but couldn’t produce the equalizer. After Lauren Brooks and Emma Russell were both denied by Ammer, Syracuse had one final chance on a penalty corner as time expired. However, Leonie Geyer’s shot was batted aside to end the game.

The scoreless effort was the first for Syracuse since a 2-0 loss to Massachusetts in 2010.

Syracuse will play its first game of the NCAA tournament at home at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday against the winner of Miami (Ohio) and Michigan State. Connecticut and Boston College will also play in Syracuse.

Ice Hockey

Following its victories over Boston College and Union, Syracuse traveled to University Park for a two-game set against Penn State.
The Orange (6-4, 2-0 Conference Hockey America) continued its momentum with a weekend sweep of the Nittany Lions (2-9-1, 0-4-0).

It began with a 2-1 victory on Saturday, where forward Melissa Piacentini provided the necessary offense for the Orange.

She capitalized on a power-play opportunity to give Syracuse a 1-0 lead in the first period. Defensemen Kaillie Goodnough and Nicole Renault each had an assist on the goal for the Orange.

Penn State defenseman Jordin Pardoski took advantage on a power-play chance, which tied the game late in the second period.

Piacentini provided the go-ahead goal less than two minutes into the third period, though, to give Syracuse the 2-1 lead.

Goalie Kallie Billadeau continued her consistency in front of the net for the Orange. Her 16 saves — nine of them occurring in the third period — led SU to the win.

On Sunday, Syracuse escaped with a 4-3 win in overtime on a game-winning goal by freshman forward Jessica Sibley.

There was more offensive firepower on display from both teams. Penn State executed late in the first period on a goal by Kendra Rasmussen that gave the Nittany Lions a 1-0.

Five minutes into the second period, Penn State’s Taylor Gross scored her fourth goal of the season to increase the lead to 2-0.

But Syracuse kept the game within reach when right wing Akane Hosoyamada scored on a power-play goal to cut the deficit to 2-1 late in the second period.

Left wing Nicole Ferrara followed up with the team’s second goal three minutes into the third period to tie the game at 2-2.

Forward Amy Peterson provided another one-goal lead for Penn State with a power-play goal about seven minutes into the period. Then Syracuse responded late in the third period with a goal by defenseman Danielle Leslie, which tied the game at 3-3 and ultimately forced overtime.

That is when Sibley scored the game-winning goal less than two minutes into overtime, propelling the Orange to a comeback victory and its sixth victory of the season.

Syracuse will travel again this coming weekend for two games against nationally ranked Mercyhurst College.

Volleyball

Syracuse wrapped up the weekend with a bit of a scare. The Orange (13-13, 8-6 Atlantic Coast) took on Boston College (8-18, 0-14) in a road match that proved to be quite the test for SU.

Syracuse held on to win the match in five sets, defeating the Eagles to reach .500 overall for the first time all season.

SU came out flat to start Sunday, dropping the first set 25-16. The Orange never really had a chance as it trailed the entire set. However, the team was able to bounce back and take the next two sets, winning the second 25-20 and the third 25-18.

Syracuse dropped the fourth set to tie the game up at two sets apiece. The fifth set, normally played to 15 points, ended up needing some extra points to decide a winner.

SU was close to defeat when it trailed 14-10. But it was able to fend off the Eagles on five straight match points to eventually win the final set 18-16. The win came with a little bit of help as the last three points were scored on attack errors by Boston College.

Outside hitter Silvi Uattara led the offense, racking up 14 kills. Outside hitter Nicolette Serratore also provided a spark, recording her seventh double-double of the season. Middle blocker Monika Salkute had her best game of the year also adding 11 kills — a season best — and seven total blocks.

The Orange returns home this week, facing Pittsburgh on Friday and Maryland on Sunday, both in the Women’s Building.

– compiled by staff writers Tyler Piccotti, tfpicott@syr.edu, Matt Miselis, mjmiseli@syr.edu, and Eric Riter, esriter@syr.edu

Published on November 10, 2013 at 11:58 pm