No. 11 Field Hockey Back in Action Against Villanova Friday
October 08, 2008 | Field Hockey
Oct. 8, 2008
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - - The eleventh-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team is back in action Friday, Oct. 10 when BIG EAST Conference opponent Villanova visits Trager Stadium for a 3 p.m. matchup. The Cards will face seventh-ranked James Madison Sunday at 2 p.m.
U of L (7-4, 2-1) is coming off of a 2-0 weekend with road wins over No. 16 Rutgers and Monmouth. The Cardinals enter the weekend in second place in conference standings and are led offensively by junior Kayla May (5G, 2A) and sophomore Nicole Youman (4G, 4A) both have 12 points on the season. Sophomore Tuli Lim follows with 10 points (5G).
The Cards have spent the last four weeks at No. 11 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association rankings and are in the midst of a challenging schedule. Of the 11 opponents so far, only two have not been ranked in the NFHCA top 20 at the time
Villanova (10-2, 1-1) is currently fourth in BIG EAST Conference standings and is receiving votes in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll. The Wildcats recently had a six-game winning streak snapped with a 3-0 loss to league opponent Providence College. VU is led offensively Dana Ramsden's 22 points (9G, 4A). Abby Sordoni follows with 15 points (5G, 5A). Goalkeeper Maura McCormick leads the conference with a stingy 0.95 goals-against average and five shutouts.
Louisville owns a 3-1 lead in the series and won the 2007 meeting 2-0 at Villanova.
Seventh-ranked James Madison will mark the sixth top-ten opponent the Cards have faced this season. The Dukes bring a 10-1 record into the weekend and are currently in the midst of an eight-game winning streak with their only loss coming at the hands of No. 3 Wake Forest. Lauren Walls leads the JMU offense with 27 points (11G, 5A) and her sister Ashley Walls follows with 19 points (7G, 5A). Goalkeeper Kelsey Cutchins has a 0.91 goals-against average with four shutouts on the season.
The last meeting between the Cards and the Dukes was Oct. 7, 1978 - JMU won 1-0.
Following this weekend's action, Louisville will go back on the road to face BIG EAST Conference opponent Providence College next Saturday and then will travel to Darmouth for a Sunday matchup.
