Field Hockey Set for Saturday's Alumnae Game
August 14, 2009 | Field Hockey
Aug. 14, 2009
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville field hockey team will hold its annual Alumnae game on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Trager Stadium. Several former members of the Team Cardinal family will return to Trager Stadium to help the current Cards prepare for the 2009 season.
The Cards will open the season in the Champions Challenge which will be hosted by 2008 NCAA semifinalist Duke Aug. 29-30. Louisville will be tested early as it takes on the host Blue Devils on the opening day. Michigan State and Delaware are also competing in the tournament. On Sept 5, U of L will have it home opener against Miami at 1 p.m. and will face Indiana on Sept. 6 at 1 p.m. at Trager Stadium.
U of L returns 10 starters and 14 letterwinners - including three seniors from last year's BIG EAST champion and NCAA tournament team that finished the season ranked 13th in the NFHCA Coaches Poll after compiling a 14-7 record and a 5-1 mark in league play.
Season Outlook
Forwards
The 2009 team will showcase some of the country's most talented forwards. Among the returning starters are senior Kayla May and juniors Tuli Lim and Nikki Auker. All three were mainstays on the front line in 2008. May was second on the team with nine goals and competed and trained with the USA Midwest High Performance Squad over the summer.
Lim, an All-BIG EAST and All-NFHCA West Region team member led the team with 11 goals as a sophomore. She also joined May on the High Performance team over the summer.
Auker, who proved to be a scoring threat last season with six goals, also brings scoring experience, speed and a great defensive presence.
Also complementing the front line will be senior Julie Anne Smith, junior Simone Attles, and sophomore Heather Stevens, all of whom saw significant playing time last season. Bustin has been pleased with their progress and expects them to contribute to the forward attack.
Team Cardinal will also welcome the talent of freshman forward Amber Thomas who brings savvy stick skills and penchant for scoring goals.
Midfielders
The midfield will look very similar to that of 2008, with a few new exciting additions. The Cards will look to junior field captain and unanimous preseason BIG EAST Conference selection Nicole Youman to return to the right side, after leading the team with 27 points, including eight goals and 11 assists. The two-time All-West Region and All-BIG EAST selection has shown exceptional elimination skills and passing abilities as a two-year starter.
Junior Rachel Hollenbach will anchor the middle defensively and distribute the ball on the attack. After seeing significant playing time as a freshman, she stepped into a starting role last year and proved to be physically strong and mentally determined to own the sacred midfield space.
Sophomore Hayley Turner is coming off of an impressive rookie campaign, in which she had an immediate impact as a starter, scoring five goals and dishing out five assists. She returns as a stronger, faster, more determined player with has the versatility to play the forward line as well as the midfield.
Newcomers to the midfield include freshmen All-Kentucky State selections Haley Jurich, Lacey Jurich and All-Ohio State pick Natasha Leickly. All three possess the experience and skills to develop as division I midfielders and backfield players.
Backs
Leading the backfield charge will be junior vice-field captain Jenna Ahern, a two-year starter who has shown steady defensive play throughout her career. Joining Ahern is fellow junior Karah Nall fresh off of a solid sophomore campaign in which she started nearly every game and scored two goals with three assists. Sophomore Caitlin Collins, is another experienced defender who started every game last season. This veteran unit will surround and support the backfield position possibilities of freshmen Haley Jurich, Lacey Jurich, and Natasha Leickly.
Goalkeepers
Senior BIG EAST Preseason Co-Defensive Player of the Year Heather Bustanoby is ready to protect the cage and lead her defense throughout the 2009 campaign. She proved herself last season by posting a 14-7 record, a 1.60 goals-against average and earning All-Conference and All-West Region honors. Over the summer, Bustanoby competed with the Midwest High Performance Team and continued to hone her skills at the USA Field Hockey National Championship.
Team Cardinal will look to Bustanoby's experience and determination on the field as she mentors redshirt freshman goalkeeper Erin Conrad, who has just come off a fantastic spring season; and incoming freshman and local talent, Lara Williams who was selected to participate in the USA Junior National Camp over the summer.
The 2009 slate features nine home games and is highlighted by six teams that finished among National Field Hockey Association's top 10 - including three of the four NCAA semifinalists.
