Top-Seed Orange Opens ACC Championship Play Friday

Friday, November 6

Charlottesville, VA

1 p.m.

Syracuse University

#5 Virginia

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Top-Seed Orange Opens ACC Championship Play Friday

11/5/2015 8:48:00 AM | Field Hockey

'Cuse takes on Duke/Virginia winner in ACC Semifinal

No. 1 SYRACUSE at ACC SEMIFINAL
Date & Time	Friday, 1 p.m.
Location	Charlottesville, Va.
TV	RSN (click for affiliates)
Live Stream	ESPN3
Live Stats	VirginiaSports.com
Game Notes	Syracuse
Cuse Twitter	@Cuse
Field Hockey Twitter	@CuseFH
Buy Tickets	VirginiaSports.com

Perfect Regular Season
- By defeating Duke 1-0 in overtime during the regular-season finale, the Syracuse field hockey team became the first women's program at Syracuse and 10th team total to record a perfect regular season.
- This year's squad is the first team to accomplish the feat in 25 years, with the last team to do so being the 1990 men's lacrosse team.
- Football (1959, 1987), men's basketball (1913-14) and men's lacrosse (1922, 1924, 1957, 1984, 1988, 1990) are the only previous teams to accomplish the feat at Syracuse.
- Five of those previous nine teams went on to win national championships (men's lacrosse: 1922 and 1924 USILA Champions, 1988, 1990 NCAA Champions and football: 1959 national champions)

Syracuse in the ACC Tournament
- The Orange is 3-2 in ACC Tournament play since joining the league in 2013, and the current seniors are a combined 4-3 in conference tournament play dating back to the final season in the BIG EAST.
- The Orange reached its first ACC title game last season by defeating Boston College and North Carolina before falling to Wake Forest. 'Cuse followed a similar path in 2013, opening with a win over Boston College and again facing UNC in the semis, however the Tar Heels took that contest 1-0.

All-ACC
- The Orange swept all-four major postseason awards for the ACC, marking the first time since North Carolina in 1994 that one team has claimed all the awards.
- Senior Alma Fenne earned ACC Offensive Player of the Year, senior Alyssa Manley earned ACC Defensive Player of the Year, freshman back Roos Weers won ACC Freshman of the Year and head coach Ange Bradley won ACC Coach of the Year.
- Fenne, Weers and Manley earned All-ACC First Team Accolades, while Emma Russell, Jess Jecko and Laura Hurff were honored on the All-ACC Second Team.

Ms. Postseason
- Senior Emma Russell has been nothing but dominant in ACC Tournament play in her career, burying seven goals and recording two assists in five-career games.
- She owns the ACC Tournament single-game records in both goals (4) and points (9) and tournament record in goals (5) at last season's ACC Tournament.
- Russell earned ACC All-Tournament Team honors in 2014, while teammate Alyssa Manley has earned the honor in both years in the league.
- Netminder Jess Jecko has also been solid in cage in the postseason, recording a combined 16 saves in three games last season during the ACC Tournament for the Orange.

Syracuse will take on No. 5 Virginia, Thursday's quarterfinal winner in the first semifinal on Friday.

'Cuse vs. Virginia
- SU is 2-3 all-time against Virginia, including 2-2 since Ange Bradley became the Head Coach of the Orange in 2007.
- 'Cuse's first victory against Virginia came in the Orange's only home game against the Cavaliers, a 4-1 win on Oct. 5, 2013.
- Emma Russell was the only current Orange player to have a career point against the Cavaliers prior to this season, having recorded an assist in Syracuse's victory over the Cavaliers on Oct. 5, 2013.
- In three career games against Virginia, Jess Jecko has made 11 saves and allowed four goals.
- In Serra Degnan, Alma Fenne and Liz Sack each recorded goals in the Orange's 3-1 win over the Cavaliers in September.

Friday's game will get underway at 1 p.m. and be televised on RSN and ESPN3. The winner will advance to Sunday's final which is also at 1 p.m.