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Cardinals Selected to Play in NCAA Tournament
November 06, 2006 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 6, 2006
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For the first time in the 22-year history of the University of Louisville women's soccer program, the 22nd-ranked Cardinals will play in the NCAA Tournament, it was announced Monday. Louisville, who has established a school record with 13 wins on the season, will face Duke on Friday in Knoxville, Tennessee at 5:30 p.m. ET. The winner will meet the winner of a Friday match between host Tennessee and UAB on Sunday.
"This is a very special day for Louisville women's soccer," said Head Coach Karen Ferguson.
"It has been our goal all season long to advance to the NCAA Tournament, and we're extremely excited for it to come to fruition."
"We drew a great opponent in Duke - a very talented ACC team that will pose a great challenge to us."
The Blue Devils are one of seven teams from the ACC, matching the number of teams that the BIG EAST sent to the round of 64, the most of any conference.
U of L is joined by Notre Dame, Rutgers, Villanova, West Virginia, Marquette and UConn in representing the BIG EAST.
The Cardinal players, in particular the seniors, were excited when their name was announced on Monday.
"This opportunity is more than I could have ever asked for. For the first time in four years I am speechless," said senior co-captian Amy Seng.
"It is so cool to be a part of Coach Ferguson's vision for this program," noted senior Heather Engel.
The 2003 team featuring Jamie Craft, Seng and Engel was 7-9-2 and finished 12th out of 14 teams in Conference USA.
The three seniors have now won 43 matches in their four seasons, the most successful class in school history.
The match will mark the first time the two teams have ever met.
Third-round games will be played on campus sites November 17-19, as will quarterfinal matches on November 24-26.
