Hokies to meet Syracuse in first round of ACC Tournament

Tech looks to get back in the winning column, avenge April 9 overtime loss

April 26, 2017

	1	2	F
Virginia Tech (11-8)	6	7	13
Syracuse (14-5)	5	15	20
Sports Backers - 844 Box Score Photo Gallery

BLACKSBURG- The No. RV/20 Virginia Tech lacrosse team travels to Richmond, Virginia for the 2017 ACC Women’s Lacrosse Championships held at Sports Backers Stadium on Thursday. The first round match pits the seventh seeded Hokies against the second seeded and No. 10/10 nationally Orange. First draw is set for 5 p.m. The game will be broadcast on RSN and ACC Network Extra.

The Hokies (11-7, 2-5)
Tech has dropped its last five regular season games down the stretch, with four of them coming against ranked ACC competition. Another two matches were decided in sudden-victory overtime including the season’s first contest against Syracuse. The Hokies are looking to the Tournament in Richmond for an opportunity to win the first ACC Championships game in program history.

It has been a season of firsts for Tech with first-year head coach John Sung taking the reigns of the program. The team has enjoyed its first ACC win since 2012, its first two-win season in the conference ever and its first ranking since March of 2011 which they held for nine consecutive weeks.

The Hokies are still chasing the program record for wins in a season. The next win would be its 12th, breaking the tie with the 1999 team for most in a single season at Virginia Tech.

Thursday’s contest will be the first neutral site affair of the season for the Hokies.

The Orange (13-5, 5-2)
Syracuse defeated defending ACC and National Champion North Carolina Tar Heels on April 5th to take control of the ACC standings. However, on the final day of the regular season, the Orange were upset by Louisville and fell down to the No. 2 seed. Riley Donahue leads the club with 33 goals and 55 points and Emily Hawryschuk has 31 goals on the season.

The Series
Syracuse owns an 8-0 advantage in the all-time series against the Hokies. On April 9th, when these teams met in the regular season, the Orange edged Tech in overtime 12-11. Marissa Davey led all Hokies in goals with three, while Kristine Loscalzo, Emma Harden and Tristan McGinley each contributed two goals. Meagh Graham had a strong showing between the pipes, denying 10 Syracuse shots. Hawryschuk scored five goals on the day for the Orange and Mary Rahal’s goal 83 seconds into the extra period, was the difference.

Tickets: All tickets will be sold at the gate of Sports Backers Stadium. A Day Pass is $8 and a Championship Pass is $20. Under 18 admitted free as well as any students of a current ACC school with valid college identification.

Championship bracket: http://vthoki.es/WLaxACC

For updates on Virginia Tech lacrosse, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Lax