No. 6 Louisville Takes Down No. 12 Syracuse 1-0 in ACC Tournament Quarterfinals

By Eric Moon

NEWTON, Mass. — Louisville’s Mercedes Pastor got a wide open look from the top left against Sarah Sinck with just over six minutes left in the first quarter. Pastor made no mistake and put the Cardinals up 1-0.

That was all No. 6 Louisville (15-4-0, 3-3-0 ACC) would need against No. 12 Syracuse (12-6-0, 3-3-0 ACC) as the Cardinals topped the Orange 1-0 in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon.

After the Louisville goal, the Cardinals controlled the game. They outshot the Orange, possessed the ball in the offensive end for most of the game, and kept Syracuse from getting quality opportunities.

The Orange got the first shot of the game early on from Charlotte DeVries, but didn’t get another one for a quarter-and-a-half. Syracuse ended the game with just three total shots with only one coming on goal. This is the fewest shots on goal in a game for SU this season.

Syracuse did get some chances to tie the game in the second half, but the Orange couldn’t capitalize. SU got two green card advantages and one yellow card advantage, but could only muster up one shot in total on all three player advantages.

Sarah Sinck had another marvelous performance despite the offensive woes and the Cardinals’ 13 shots. The freshman goalkeeper made seven saves, five of which came on Louisville penalty corners.

Louisville moves on to the ACC Tournament Semifinals Friday against top-seeded and undefeated No. 1 North Carolina. Meanwhile, Syracuse will have to wait until the NCAA Tournament to get back on the field. The Orange are likely to get an at-large bid into the tournament.

ewmoon@syr.edu I @ericmoon22