Field Hockey Set to Face Iowa in NCAA Tournament
November 13, 2008 | Field Hockey
Nov. 13, 2008
The University of Louisville field hockey team will travel to East Lansing, Mich. to play sixth-ranked Iowa in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Field Hockey Tournament Saturday at 11:30 a.m at Michigan State's Ralph Young Field. The other regional game features No. 7 North Carolina and No. 10 Michigan State Saturday at 2 p.m.
The winners of the first round game will meet Sunday at 2 p.m. to determine one of the final four teams to compete for the national championship which will be held Nov. 21 and 23 at Louisville's Trager Stadium.
The Cards have drawn a tough - but familiar - first round opponent in Iowa. The Hawkeyes (16-4) are on a coming off of their third straight Big Ten championship with a 2-1 overtime win against Ohio State. Iowa enters the weekend as the region's top seed and the overall fourth seed in the tournament.
Louisville and Iowa met earlier this season with the Hawkeyes taking a 1-0 win away from Trager Stadium on Sept. 8.
Louisville (14-6) vs. Iowa (16-4)
November 15, 11:30 a.m.
Series Record: Tied 3-3 - Iowa has won the last three meetings by one goal Last Meeting: Sept. 28, 2008 at Trager Stadium - Sixth-ranked Iowa defeated No. 11 Louisville 1-0. Lauren Pfeiffer scored the only goal of the game for Iowa and Louisville goalkeeper Heather Bustanoby picked up 10 saves.
Note: The Cards and the Hawkeyes have met six times since 2002. In their first meeting in 2000, Louisville won 2-1 and then picked up a 3-1 win in 2002. U of L's last win over Iowa came in 2005 when they won 5-2. Since that time, the Hawkeyes have rattled of three straight wins, beating the Cards 2-1 in 2006, 4-3 in 2007 and this season, they edged Louisville 1-0 at Trager Stadium.
Louisville Against the Rest of the Regional
No. 10 Michigan State (16-5)
Series Record: MSU leads 8-1
Last Meeting: Aug. 31, 2008; Michigan State won 6-1 at Trager Stadium. Gwen Riley scored a pair of goals while Geraldine Raynor, Michelle Ciliberti, Angela Pagura and Chantae Miller also score in the win. Kayla May had Louisville's lone goal.
Note: In the Cards only other NCAA appearance (11/15/08), they also traveled to East Lansing where they fell 2-0 to the host Spartans.
No. 7 North Carolina (14-5)
Series Record: Tied at 1-1
Last Meeting: Sept. 7, 2002, Louisville won 3-2 in overtime in Philadelphia Note: U of L assistant coach Abbey (Woolley) Heird is a 2002 graduate of North Carolina where she was a 2001 All-American and then a volunteer assistant in 2004.
Cards in the NCAA Tournament
Louisville is making its second NCAA tournament appearance in program history. The Cards earned their first automatic berth after winning the 2003 Mid-American Conference Tournament - U of L was sent to Michigan State, where they lost to 2-0 to the host Spartans. After the MAC lost its automatic bid in 2004, the Cards reached a play-in game, but fell to host Pacific 1-0 in overtime.
Bustin's Been Here Before
The 2008 East Lansing Regional is a homecoming of sorts for U of L head coach Pam Bustin who was an assistant at Michigan State from 1992-96 under Michele Maddox.
Last up for Team Cardinal
The 13th-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team fell to No. 6 Connecticut 4-1 in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Conference Championship Saturday afternoon.
The game featured a matchup of two of the three regular season co-champions, the second-seeded Cardinals and the third-seeded Huskies.
Connecticut scored two quick goals in the last four minutes of the first half and then tacked on a third just 1:49 in the second half.
Two minutes later, Kayla May connected on an assist from Nicole Youman for her ninth goal of the season to put the Cardinals on the scoreboard.
The Huskies answered on Lauren Aird's second goal of the game which came on a penalty corner with assists from Jill Kleeblad to push the lead back to three goals with 29 minutes remaining in the second half.
Louisville finished the second half with the edge in shots at 5-4 and penalty corners at 4-3. Cardinal goalkeeper junior Heather Bustanoby had four saves in the game while Mainiero had three stops.
Bustin BIG EAST Coach of the Year
Pam Bustin was named 2008 BIG EAST Conference Coach of the Year and four Cardinals earned all-conference honors as announced at the league awards banquet.
In her 11th season as the Cardinals' head coach, Bustin has led the team to a 14-6 overall record, a 5-1 mark in league play and a share of the BIG EAST regular season title for the third year in a row. U of L's success this season came on the heels of her stint as an assistant coach with USA Field Hockey which culminated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Four Cardinals Earn BIG EAST Honors
Lauren Schaefer and Nicole Youman were named to the first team while Heather Bustanoby and Tuli Lim were selected to the second team.
Schaefer a senior defender from Millersville, Pa. is a two-year starter and team captain and was a unanimous selection to the 2008 Preseason team. The 2007 All-BIG EAST second team selection has 14 points (5G, 4A) on the season and was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 3.
Youman, a sophomore midfielder from Black Mountain, New South Wales, Australia leads the team with 26 points (8G, 10A). The team-vice captain is a 2007 first team All-BIG EAST and All-West Region selection and a unanimous pick for the 2008 BIG EAST preseason team.
Lim, a sophomore midfielder from Chapel Hill, N.C., is a two-year starter and leads the team with 11 goals. She is second on the team with 24 points.
Bustanoby a junior goalkeeper from Virginia Beach, Va., has a 14-5 record in the cage with four shutouts and a 1.51 goals-against average.
Cards Clinch Third Straight Regular Season Co-Championship with 11-0 Win over Georgetown
The University of Louisville field hockey earned a share of the BIG EAST regular season title with an 11-0 win over Georgetown Saturday at Trager Stadium. This marks the third straight year the Cards have been regular season co-champions.
Seven players contributed at least one goal as the Cards tied a program-high 11 goals which was set in the 1976 season. Sophomores Tuli Lim and Nicole Youman and freshmen Hayley Turner and Lauren Schmeing each tallied a pair of goals while junior Julie Anne Smith and sophomores Nikki Auker and Simone Attles also scored.
Cardinal Corner
• Sophomore co-captain Nicole Youman leads the team with 27 points, including a team-high 11 assists. She is currently fifth on the school's career assists list with 19 and needs eight more to tie Lisa Wasser (2003-06) for fourth. Jessica Javelet (2003-06) hold the record with 38.
• The Cards have won 14 games in each of the past three season. The school record for wins is 16 and was set in 2001.
• Junior Heather Bustanoby is having a solid year in the cage, posting a 1.63 GAA with four shutouts. Before this season, she had only played in four games, because she was playing behind All-BIG EAST selection Marie-Claire Heller. • This marks the third straight year that the Cards have finished 5-1 in BIG EAST play.
You've Got to Play the Best...
The Cardinals completed what could be called the most challenging schedule in program history. In their 20 games this season, 12 came against opponents ranked in the NFHCA top 20 at the time. None of their losses have come against unranked teams. In addition, the Cards have faced six top 10 teams who are also in the 2008 NCAA tournament field
Louisville is 13th in the November 10 release of the NCAA RPI rankings. The strength of the Cardinals scheduled is reflected against some of the top teams in the nation. The Cards have wins over No. 7 Duke, No. 5 Connecticut, No. 20 Providence, No. 21 Rutgers and No. 25 Ohio State. Their only losses have come to No. 3 Syracuse, No. 4 James Madison, No. 10 Michigan State, No. 10 Iowa and No. 12 Virginia and No. 6 Connecticut in the BIG EAST semifinals.
Schaefer BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week
Senior defender Lauren Schaefer was selected BIG EAST Defensive Field Hockey Player of the Week and sophomore Tuli Lim was named to the honor roll on Nov. 3.
Schaefer, a defender from Millersville, Pa., was instrumental in the Cardinals 2-0 performance on the weekend, including a shutout over Georgetown in which she led a defensive effort to hold the Hoyas to only one shot. Schaefer also dished out two assists on the weekend, including one on the eventual game-winner against Indiana.
Lim (Chapel Hill, N.C.) scored three goals on the week including the eventual game-winner in the 2-1 win over Indiana and the first two goals of the 11-0 win over Georgetown. Lim has scored at least one goal in the last three games and leads the Cards with 11 on the season.
Finishing the Regular Season on a High Note
The Cardinals recently snapped a six game winning streak in the 4-1 loss to Connecticut on Nov. 8. The win streak dated back to the 4-1 win over Providence on Oct. 18.
In the last 10 games of the regular season, the Cards outscored their opponents 35-9.
