After defeating No. 7 Virginia on Wednesday in the first round of the ACC tournament, No. 4 Syracuse (15-3, 5-2 Atlantic Coast) will take on No. 1 Boston College (18-0, 7-0) in the semifinals in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, at 5 p.m. on Friday. SU, the No. 4 seed both nationally and in the ACC, used a 9-2 first half to ultimately defeat the No. 5-seed Cavaliers, 12-10. The Eagles took down Louisville, 15-4, in their first-round contest.

Here’s what to know before Friday’s matchup.

Last time they played: The Orange jumped out to a 7-2 lead on the Eagles in the first half of their matchup on Feb. 16, but lost control of the game from there on out. Sam Apuzzo poured in seven goals to lead Boston College to a 14-12 comeback win, the smallest margin of victory for the Eagles all season.

The Boston College report: The Eagles have been absolutely dominant this season and come into Friday’s matchup riding the nation’s longest active winning streak. Eight of their 18 wins have come by double-digits, and nine of them have been versus teams currently ranked in Inside Lacrosse’s top-20. After losing in the NCAA Championship the past two seasons, Boston College opened the season ranked No. 1 and has yet to relinquish that spot.

The Eagles are paced by the reigning Tewaaraton Award winner Apuzzo, who leads the country in points, and Kenzie Kent, BC’s other star attack, who leads the country in assists. Boston College is second in the country in scoring offense, draw control percentage and shot percentage. It leads the NCAA in draw controls per game and points per game.

How Syracuse beats Boston College: Control the pace of the game, slow down the Eagles’ high-powered offense and win draw controls. That’s what the Orange did for the first 22 minutes of their first game against Boston College, and it resulted in a 7-2 lead. When Syracuse stopped doing that and lost six draws in a row, the Eagles took advantage. Stopping the second-best offense in the country from scoring is far easier said than done, but it’s possible for SU.

Syracuse has a Tewaaraton Award watch list member of its own in Emily Hawryschuk, who will likely take the majority of draws against Boston College as well as serve as the focal point of Syracuse’s offense. If she can establish any sort of consistency in the draw control circle, that’ll go a long way in helping the Orange’s offense grab and maintain the momentum of the game.

Stat to know: 261 — The amount of goals BC’s Apuzzo has tallied in her storied career. That’s eighth-most in NCAA history and one ahead of Kayla Treanor, Syracuse’s all-time leading scorer. If Boston College reaches the championship games of both the ACC and NCAA tournaments and Apuzzo scores at the same pace she has all season, she’d score 24 more goals and finish with 285 in her career, which would place her fourth in history. She needs 38 more scores to push her to second place but appears out of reach of the all-time record, which Courtney Murphy holds with 341.

Player to watch: Kenzie Kent, attack, No. 4

While Apuzzo gets most of the attention, it’s Kent who facilitates the Boston College offense. Her 58 assists this season lead the country and are more than twice as many as Nicole Levy’s 26, which lead Syracuse. But lacrosse might not even be Kent’s best sport. The 2016-17 ACC Athlete of the Year, Kent played four years for the Boston College women’s ice hockey team and finished her career fourth all-time in assists and eighth in points. Kent’s played on five career Final Four teams — three in hockey and two in lacrosse — but has yet to win an NCAA championship.

Published on April 25, 2019 at 11:04 am

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