University of Louisville
PROVIDENCE
Field Hockey Tops Providence 6-0
October 21, 2011 | Field Hockey
Oct. 21, 2011
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - - Seniors Hayley Turner and Heather Stevens each scored a pair of goals to help the University of Louisville field hockey team to a 6-0 win over visiting Providence Friday afternoon at Trager Stadium. With the win, the Cardinals (9-7, 3-3) have clinched a spot in the BIG EAST Conference Championship which will be held Nov. 4-6 at Syracuse.
"It was a big game and a great result for us," said U of L head coach Justine Sowry. "We've been preparing all week for Providence and it was basically a do-or-die game for us in determining how long our season would be. We played well and we executed our game plan, I couldn't be happier."
The Cardinals got on the scoreboard just 3:42 into the game when they were awarded a penalty corner and Turner connected on a rebound from a shot by senior Caitlin Collins.
Less than three minutes later, it was Turner who dealt an assist when she dribbled into the right side of the circle and sent a cross to Stevens who was waiting on the left post to give the Cards a 2-0 lead.
Turner capped the first half scoring and tallied her team-leading tenth goal of the season when she collected the ball off of a defender's stick and sent it past Providence goalkeeper Shannon DiStefano to make the score 3-0 at the 32:29 mark.
Louisville took the 3-0 lead into halftime after outshooting Providence 7-2 and holding a 7-2 advantage in corners.
Stevens continued the Cardinal offense when she capitalized on an assist from sophomore Erin Schneidtmiller to increase the lead to 4-0 at the 53:43 mark.
Schneidtmiller quickly added to the lead with an unassisted goal three minutes later.
Sophomore Elizabeth Vance completed the scoring when she powered a feed from freshman Becca Maddock past Kathi Weidman for the 6-0 final.
In the game, the Cards outshot the Friars 16-4 and held a 9-2 advantage in corners. Junior Erin Conrad (9-7) posted three saves in the win. Providence's DiStefano collected six saves and allowed four goals while Kathi Weidman had two stops and gave up two goals. With the loss, Providence drops to 4-12 on the season and 1-4 in league play.
U of L (9-7, 3-3) is back in action Sunday at 2 p.m. when they play host to No. 19 Indiana in the final home game of the regular season. The Cards will honor seniors Caitlin Collins, Heather Stevens and Hayley Turner.
Following Sunday's game, Louisville will wrap up the regular season at No. 20 Northwestern on Oct. 30 and then prepare for the BIG EAST Championship which will take place Nov. 4-6 at Syracuse.
"Now we have to not waste another day, because every day is going to be an opportunity to prepare for the Big East tournament," said Sowry. "We've got to value each training moment so we can win that first round in the Big East."
