Orange Faces UNC Friday in ACC Semifinals

(4) SYRACUSE (9-2) vs. (2) NORTH CAROLINA (12-2)
Game Details: Friday, April 24 | 8 p.m.
Location: PPL Park | Chester, Pa.
Game Links: Tournament Central | Watch | Listen | Live Stats
Television: ESPNU
Radio: WKRL 100.9 FM (Syracuse)
Twitter: @CuseMLAX | @Cuse
Syracuse Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Notes
North Carolina Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Notes

CHESTER, Pa. – For the second year in a row Syracuse (9-2) is the third seed in the ACC Men's Lacrosse Championship. The Orange will face second-seeded North Carolina (12-2) at 8 p.m. in the semifinals on Friday, April 24 at PPL Park.

Syracuse and North Carolina are two of three teams nationally averaging more than 15 goals a game. The Orange is second in the NCAA in scoring offense (15.45 gpg), while the Tar Heels rank third (15.0 gpg).

The Orange lost to the Tar Heels, 17-15, in Chapel Hill less than two weeks ago before bouncing back with an 18-5 win against Hobart on April 14 to retain the Kraus-Simmons Trophy.

THE 2015 ACC CHAMPIONSHIP
Notre Dame is the top seed and will play No. 4 seed Duke in the tournament's first semifinal at 5:30 p.m., followed by the Syracuse-North Carolina game. The two semifinal winners meet at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 26 to decide who receives the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship.

SU IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS
The Orange owns a 5-1 all-time record in conference tournament games. It won the 2012 and 2013 BIG EAST Championships by winning its first four league tournament contests.

The Orange was last year's ACC Tournament runner-up, losing for the first time in league tournament play, 15-14, to Notre Dame in the ACC title game after knocking off Duke in the semifinals.

ORANGE AT PPL PARK
Syracuse is 2-1 all-time in games played at PPL Park. In its first PPL appearance, the Orange posted a 13-11 win versus St. John's on March 9, 2013 in the Whitman's Sampler Independence Classic.In last year's ACC Championship, Syracuse went 1-1 at the facility. The Orange recorded a heart-stopping 16-15 win against Duke in the semifinals. Two days later, Notre Dame held off SU, 15-14, to win the title.

Kevin Rice has enjoyed his PPL Park experiences. In three games there, he has 19 points (6.3 per game) and set the ACC Championship record with 15 points (7.5 per game) in last year's tournament.

FIVE NAMED ALL-ACC
Attackmen Kevin Rice, Dylan Donahue, midfielder Nicky Galasso, defenseman Brandon Mullins and faceoff specialist Ben Williams were named to the All-ACC Team on April 22. SU's five all-conference selections matched North Carolina for the most of any school.

Rice, Mullins and Galasso are all two-time All-ACC honorees. Galasso achieved the rare feat of earning All-ACC plaudits at two schools within the conference (Syracuse and North Carolina). Voting for the all-conference team was conducted by the league's five head coaches after the regular season. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.

RICE/DONAHUE STREAKING
Kevin Rice has a goal-scoring streak of 26 straight games, which is the second-longest active streak in the country. Rice has 58 total goals during the streak and the Orange is 19-7 in those 26 games.

Dylan Donahue is tied for fourth on the national list. He has a goal in 20 consecutive games dating back to March 29, 2014 versus Notre Dame.

SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA
UNC features All-ACC attackmen Joey Sankey (26 goals, 34 assists) and Jimmy Bitter (34 goals, 35 assists). Both are in the top 20 nationally in scoring and Sankey is Carolina's career points leader (217).

Fellow All-ACC selection Chad Tutton is one of the best offensive midfielders in the game. He has 31 goals and five assists. Tutton had three goals against the Orange in the regular-season meeting.

Luke Goldstock leads North Carolina with 43 goals. He has two six-goal games this season (Bryant, Richmond).

Goalie Kieran Burke (118 saves, .539 save pct.) posted 17 saves last time out against SU. Jake Bailey (39 ground balls) and LSM Ryan Kilpatrick (33 ground balls) are also UNC defensive mainstays.

Coach Joe Breschi is in his seventh year at UNC. He is 81-32 with the Tar Heels. Overall, Breschi holds a 173-95 record, which includes an 11-year stint as the head coach at Ohio State. Breschi has been named ACC Coach of the Year twice (2010, 2013).

THE NORTH CAROLINA SERIES
SU is 12-7 all-time against North Carolina, including a 4-0 neutral-site record. All four previous neutral-site contests were NCAA Tournament games, including SU's 13-12 triumph in the 1993 NCAA final played at Maryland's Byrd Stadium.

The Tar Heels ended the Orange's four-game series winning streak on April 11, beating Syracuse 17-15 in the first meeting in Chapel Hill in more than two decades.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dylan Donahue

Nicky Galasso

Brandon Mullins

Kevin Rice

Ben Williams

Syracuse University Athletics