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Field Hockey: Syracuse Beats Boston College In ACC Quarterfinals

The Orange advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament with a 5-2 win over the Eagles on Thursday.

By Michael Burke
Jack Marion

Thanks in large part to a four-goal performance put forth by Emma Russell, the Syracuse field hockey team beat Boston College 5-2 on Thursday in the ACC Championship quarterfinals.

Russell, who was named to the All-ACC First Team on Wednesday, became the first player to ever score four goals in an ACC Championship tournament game.

She scored her first goal only 30 seconds into the game, grabbing an early 1-0 lead for the Orange. After the Eagles evened the score in the fifth minute, Russell tallied her second goal of the night in the 33rd minute, giving Syracuse a one-goal advantage at halftime.

Boston College again tied the game early in the second half, but Russell scored her third and fourth goals in the 59th and 66th minutes, the latter of which all but secured Syracuse a berth in the semis.

Russell then assisted on Syracuse's fifth and final goal of the night, scored by Kati Nearhouse in the game's final minute.

"It was a really special one because it was the ACC Tournament," Russell told cuse.com of her performance. "To come out and for our team to perform so well is really something special."

With the win, the sixth-seeded Orange advance to the tomorrow's semifinals, when they will take on North Carolina -- the tournament's second seed -- at 3:30 p.m in Durham.

In Thursday's other quarterfinal games, Wake Forest faced off with Louisville and North Carolina met Duke. The Tar Heels edged Duke 2-1, thus setting up tomorrow's game with Syracuse, while the Demon Deacons beat the Cardinals by the same score.

Wake Forest advances to play Virginia (who was awarded a bye through the quarterfinals) in tomorrow's other semifinal. The winner of that game will play the Syracuse-North Carolina winner on Sunday in the championship.

Editor's Note: And in case you're wondering...

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