Syracuse Win First ACC Title in a Shootout: Eiselin Saves All Four, Madden Takes MVP
No goals through regulation and overtime, and then a shootout that Syracuse will never forget. The Orange beat Boston College 1-0, 2-0 on strokes, at Karen Shelton Stadium in Chapel Hill on Friday 6 November to win the first ACC title in programme history.
Neither side had ever won the conference before, so history was guaranteed either way. But the way Syracuse took it was something else. Boston College shot first in the shootout and Madelieve Drion missed. Sammie Goin scored. Ike Jakobsen missed and Taylor Bigbie answered to make it 2-0. Bo Madden had her attempt saved by Charlotte Kramer, and then Laila Rosenquest’s effort went wide, and that was that. Jessie Eiselin, the Syracuse goalkeeper, saved all four Boston College attempts.
Goin had already done this once that week. She converted in the shootout that knocked out North Carolina in the semi-final, a 3-2 win (3-1 on strokes) that ended the Tar Heels’ run of nine straight ACC final appearances, every one of them a title. Syracuse had never beaten North Carolina in Chapel Hill before that night. They had lost to the Tar Heels 2-1 there less than three weeks earlier.
Boston College had their own drama to get to the final. They beat Virginia 2-1 in overtime in the other semi-final, Maren Boyle scoring the winner, and they had already knocked out third-seeded Duke. They finished the season 10-10, and they pushed Syracuse all the way. Kramer made four saves across the game, and the Eagles’ defence gave up just two shots on goal in the final. They just could not find a way past Eiselin when it mattered most.
Madden’s week, and the awards that came before it
Bo Madden was named tournament MVP, and it was hard to argue. The senior midfielder from Lytham in England anchored a defence that barely gave anything away all week, and she did it as an All-ACC Second Team pick. Her twin sister Hattie joined her on the All-Tournament team, along with Aubrey Turner and Eiselin.
The title was Syracuse’s first conference championship since the 2011 Big East title, and their seventh league title overall. The Orange finished the ACC tournament 12-6, ranked No. 16, and they won three games at the championship for the first time ever.
The individual awards had been handed out four days earlier, on 2 November, and they told their own story about the season. California junior Liz Klompmaker was named Offensive Player of the Year after finishing tied for first in the ACC with 15 goals, 12th in the country. Wake Forest’s Mia Montag kept her Defensive Player of the Year crown for a second straight season. Louisville’s Emily Young took Goalkeeper of the Year, the first in her programme’s history. North Carolina’s Sofia Ferri was Freshman of the Year, and Duke’s Pam Bustin won Coach of the Year for the fourth time in her career after leading the Blue Devils to a share of the regular-season title.
Syracuse will not have long to enjoy it. They open their NCAA run on Friday 13 November against Princeton at Storrs, and the Tigers have lost all five of their games this season on shootouts. They do not lose hockey games in normal time. Syracuse know exactly how that feels now, and they know how to win one too.
