Beat writers split on Syracuse women’s lacrosse ACC Tournament opener

No. 4 Syracuse (14-3, 5-2 Atlantic Coast) lost the ACC’s seeding tiebreakers to North Carolina and Notre Dame and, despite a No. 4 national ranking, will be the No. 4-seed in this week’s ACC tournament. SU will begin its postseason play on Wednesday against the fifth-seeded Virginia Cavaliers (12-5, 3-4), who Syracuse defeated earlier this season, 16-11.

See what our beat writers think the outcome will be.

Eric Black
Deja Vu
Syracuse 14, Virginia 9

Nearly two months ago, Syracuse rode a big first half to a 16-11 victory over No. 7 Virginia. I predict the Orange will take down the Cavaliers in a similar fashion this time around. SU didn’t exactly finish the season strong, dropping its last ACC contest to North Carolina by its largest losing margin of the year. In its season finale, SU defeated unranked Cornell at home by just three goals. But with over a week to prepare for Virginia, the Orange should come out firing against the Cavaliers and take advantage early. Led by Emily Hawryschuk, the top-25 Syracuse offense has been a force all season and Wednesday will be more of the same.

KJ Edelman
Beantown beatdown
Syracuse 15, Virginia 10

Syracuse got the short end of the stick in the ACC tournament seeding but Wednesday’s matchup should be identical to the first time SU-UVA met up. The Orange and Cavaliers played back-and-forth until SU’s defense locked in and its offense went on a 6-1 run. Virginia and Syracuse play similar offenses — mostly relying on dodges up top and off-ball movement — but Emily Hawryschuk is the player that sets the Orange apart. She had four goals against UVA on March 2, and she’ll have to take over down the stretch to ensure an Orange victory.

Kaci Wasilewski
Cavaliers are coming
Virginia 14, Syracuse 10

In its last two games, Syracuse hasn’t looked like the team that started the season. The season started with SU scoring fast, scoring early and scoring a lot. That’s slowed down in recent games, most notably two games ago when SU faced North Carolina on the Tar Heels’ home field. Syracuse’s offense hasn’t looked the same since. Earlier this season, the Orange held their own against Virginia but with its recent offensive lull, I wouldn’t be surprised to see UVA come out on top. In the first matchup up this season, Syracuse scored 10 goals in the first frame, doubling UVA’s five. They tied with six apiece in the second half. If Syracuse can’t get its offense to how it looked earlier in the season, the Orange might be in trouble.