Next Stop: Championship Weekend!

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Orange are going to Championship Weekend for the ninth time in program history. Second-seed Syracuse beat seventh-seed James Madison, 13-7, in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal game in the JMA Wireless Dome on Thursday to earn a spot in the final four. The Orange (18-2 overall, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) will play in the semifinals for the second time in three years. 
  
Sophomore Olivia Adamson paced the Orange offense with four goals and two assists. The Petersburg, Fla. native scored three of Syracuse’s first four goals in the first half and added another goal and two assists in the second half. Six different Syracuse players scored goals for the Orange and goaltender Delaney Sweitzer recorded seven saves.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After James Madison (19-3) scored less than two minutes into the game, Adamson tallied two goals in the final two minutes of the quarter to give the Orange a 2-1 lead. She added a third goal in the first half to jumpstart a 4-0 Syracuse run that put the Orange ahead for good.
 
Syracuse used five fourth quarter goals to put the game away after the Dukes had pulled to within three, 8-5, in the last minute of the third quarter. Junior Emma Ward led the way in the final 15 minutes, recording a goal and two assists. She and Megan Carney combined for a SportsCenter Top 10 goal when Ward hit Carney with a behind-the-back pass on the left side of the goal and then Carney scored on a behind-the back shot with 2:12 left in the game.
 
OF NOTE:

• Tewaaraton Award finalist Meaghan Tyrrell moved into sole possession of sixth place on the NCAA Division I career points record list. She has 415 points (257 goals and 196 assists) in 90 games.
• Syracuse is 9-4 in quarterfinal games, including 8-0 at home.
• The Orange have a 25-19 NCAA Tournament record in their 20 postseason appearances.
• The win is Syracuse’s 10th in the JMA Dome this season, matching the single-season record for victories in the Dome.
• The crowd of 1,102 at the Thursday afternoon matinee gives the Orange their 32nd home contest with more than 1,000 fans.

 
UP NEXT:
Syracuse is heading to Championship Weekend for the ninth time in program history. The Orange will play the winner of the quarterfinal game between third-seed Boston College and Notre Dame in the semifinal on Friday, May 26 in Cary, N.C.