No. 14 Field Hockey Set for BIG EAST Championship
November 06, 2013 | Field Hockey
Nov. 6, 2013
The No. 14 University of Louisville field hockey team will travel to Storrs, Conn. for the BIG EAST Championship Nov. 8 and 10. The Cards have earned the No. 3 seed and will face No. 2 seed, fifth-ranked Old Dominion in the semifinals Friday at 7:30 p.m.
About Louisville:
UofL enters the tournament with a 15-4 overall record and ranked No. 14 in the NFHCA poll. The Cards posted a 6-1 record in league play and won a share of the BIG EAST regular season title play along with Connecticut and Old Dominion. A goal differential tiebreaker determined the seeding.
The Cardinals are led offensively by junior Alyssa Voelmle's 11 goals and 27 points. Freshman Shannon Sloss follows with 22 points (10G, 2A) while senior Erin Scheidtmiller rounds out the top three scorers with 21 points (9G, 3A). Junior Paige Monsen leads the team with 10 assists.
Sophomore goalkeeper Sydney King (15-4) carries a 1.43 goals-against average with 89 saves and four shutouts while playing every minute of every game.
Cards against the field
Old Dominion Monarchs
Series Record: ODU leads 2-1
In 2013: UofL won 3-2 in overtime on Sept. 20 at Trager Stadium
Recap:Senior Erin Schneidtmiller's goal 45 seconds into overtime lifted then No. 19 UofL to a 3-2 win over No. 20 Old Dominion in both teams' BIG EAST Conference opener. In a game that was delayed by lightning and heavy rains, Victoria Stratton gave the Cards a 1-0 lead, but Sarah Breen evened the score. Mallory Mason's goal gave the Cardinals a 2-1 halftime lead. Breen scored her second goal to tie the game with under two minutes remaining in regulation. In the game, Old Dominion outshot Louisville 9-7 and the teams had five penalty corners apiece. King had five saves while Hept finished with two stops.
In the BIG EAST Championship: The teams have never met in the conference tournament.
Scouting the Monarchs: ODU enters the weekend with a 12-6 overall record and riding an 11-game win streak with their last loss occuring on Sept. 20 - when they lost 3-2 in overtime against Louisville. The Monarchs clinched a share of the regular season title Friday with a 1-0 win over Rutgers.
• Rosario Villagra is tied for the conference lead with 41 points and stands fifth with 14 goals. Megan Hept stands second in the league with seven shutouts and a 1.37 goals-against average.
Connecticut Huskies
Series Record: UConn leads 15-2
In 2013: Oct. 11 - UConn won 6-0 in Storrs, Conn.
Recap: Anne Juete and Marie Elena Bolles each had a pair of goals while Chloe Hunnable and Montana Fleming also chipped in for the Huskies. In the game, the Huskies held a 19-8 advantage in shots and a 5-3 edge in corners. Louisville goalkeeper Sydney King had nine saves in the game while UConn's Sarah Mansfield had two stops.
In the BIG EAST Championship: The Cards have played the Huskies seven times in the BIG EAST semifinals with UConn winning all seven games. In 2012, UConn defeated Louisville 2-1 in overtime at Trager Stadium.
Scouting the Huskies: Fifth-ranked UConn enters the tournament with a 15-4 overall record after clinching a share of the regular season title with a 7-0 win over Temple on Sunday.
• Chloe Hunnable leads the conference with 17 goals and is tied for first with ODU's Rosaio Villagra with 41 points. Sarah Mansfield has posted a conference-best eight shutouts and 1.34 goals-against average.
Temple Owls
Series Record: Tied 1-1
In 2013: Oct. 4 - UofL won 2-1 in OT at Trager Stadium
Recap: Freshman Jennifer Pels' overtime goal lifted then No. 17 UofL to a 2-1 win over No. 18 Temple in a BIG EAST field hockey matchup that saw a 33 minute rain delay in the second half. Temple took a 1-0 lead on Molly Doyle's goal with 2:39 remaining in the first half. Elisa Garcia's first goal of the season evened the score in the second half. Just 2:35 into overtime Pels connected on a rebound to give the Cards the 2-1 win. In the game, the Cardinals outshot the Owls 14-10 and held a 9-7 advantage in corners. Sydney King had four saves while Lizzy Millen had three stops for Temple.
Scouting the Owls: Fourth-seeded Temple enters the tournament with a 14-5 overall record. The 19th-ranked Owls are coming off of a 7-0 loss to UConn in their season finale, but had won four straight leading up to that game.
• The Owls are led by Amber Youtz who stands tied for second in the conference with 16 goals and third with 39 points. Goalkeeper Lizzy Millen has five shutouts and a 1.51 goals against average.
In BIG EAST Championship: The teams have never met in the conference tournament.
Louisville in BIG EAST Conference Championship
The UofL field hockey team has earned the No. 3 seed in the 2013 BIG EAST Conference Championship. The Cardinals earned a share of the league's regular season title along with Connecticut and Old Dominion who each finished with a 6-1 conference record. Because Louisville beat ODU, UConn beat Louisville and ODU beat UConn for each team's lone loss, the three-way tiebreaker was determined by goal differential which placed UConn as the No. 1 seed and ODU as the No. 2 seed. Temple enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed.
• This will be Louisville's ninth consecutive BIG EAST semifinal appearance - the Cards have made the tournament every year since joining the league in 2005. Despite winning a share of the regular season title in 2008 and 2013, Louisville has never advanced to the finals of the tournament.
Year by Year Results in BIG EAST Championship
Nov. 4, 2005 - Connecticut 1, Louisville 0/OT (at Rutgers)
Nov. 4, 2006 - Connecticut 3, Louisville 2/OT (at Louisville)
Nov. 3, 2007 - Providence 2, Louisville 0 (at Syracuse)
Nov. 8, 2008 - Connecticut 4, Louisville 1 (at UConn)
Nov. 7, 2009 - Connecticut 2, Louisville 0 (at Providence)
Nov. 6, 2010 - Connecticut 2, Louisville 1 (at UConn)
Nov. 4, 2011 - Connecticut 3 - Louisville 2 (at Syracuse)
Nov. 4, 2012 - Connecticut 2 - Louisville 1/OT (at Louisville)
Last time out
The Cardinals went 2-0 in their final weekend of regular season play. On Friday, freshman Jennifer Pels' goal in overtime gave Louisville a 3-2 win over Providence and sealed a share of the 2013 BIG EAST regular season title. Becca Maddock and Mallory Mason also scored while Sydney King had six saves.
On Sunday, UofL celebrated senior day - and completed an undefeated season at home - with a 6-0 victory over Kent State. Alyssa Voelmle scored twice and dished out an assist while Victoria Stratton, Maddock, Garcia and Pels added goals and King had four saves.
Cardinal Notes
• Louisville's 15 wins are the most since 2001 when the Cards posted a program-best 16-5 record.
• The Cardinals have outscored opponents 63-28 on the season with 14 players having scored at least one goal and 16 of the 20 field players registering at least one point.
• UofL posted a perfect 10-0 record at Trager Stadium in 2013
• Louisville is now 4-1 in overtime games.
• The 6-0 loss at No. 4 UConn snapped the Cardinals' season-high six game win streak.
• On Sept. 28, the Cards defeated Georgetown 8-1, marking the highest goal total since August 29, 2010 when Louisville beat Central Michigan 10-0.
Cards claim a share of BIG EAST regular season title
Freshman Jennifer Pels' goal with 4:01 remaining in overtime lifted No. 14 Louisville to a 3-2 win over Providence on Nov. 1 at Trager Stadium. Juniors Mallory Mason and Becca Maddock also scored in the game while sophomore goalkeeper Sydney King had six saves. With the win, the Cardinals earn a share of the BIG EAST regular season title for the first time since 2008.
Louisville ranked No. 14 in NFHCA poll
For the third straight week, Louisville is No. 14 in the Nov. 5 National Field Hockey Coaches Association - matching its highest ranking of the 2013 season.
On Sept. 10, the Cards were ranked 16th in their first appearance in the NFHCA poll since Oct. 30, 2012 when they were No. 25. This marked Louisville's highest ranking since the 2011 preseason poll when they were also No. 16. The highest national ranking in program history came in 2002 when they were No. 4.
Cards among national leaders
The Cardinals are among the nation's scoring leaders in several categories including: points per game (9th - 9.21), goals per game (11th - 3.32), scoring average (12th - 3.21), scoring margin (11th - 1.78), winning percentage (5th - .789), assists per game (12th - 2.58) and penalty corners per game (7th - 8.79).
Racking up the wins
UofL's 15 victories are the most since 2001, when they won a program-best 16 games. In 2010, the Cards finished the season with a 14-7 record and posted 14 wins in 2000 (14-8), 2005 (14-7), 2006 (14-7) and 2007 (14-6).
Home sweet home
The Cardinals posted a perfect 10-0 record at Trager Stadium in 2013 for the first time in school history. Louisville's home win slate featured overtime wins over Old Dominion, Temple, Rutgers and Providence as well as three shutouts including a 2-0 upset over then-No. 11 Northwestern.
Monsen moves up in career assists
Junior Paige Monsen currently leads the team with10 assists on the season and recently moved to eighth on Louisville's all-time list with 19. She needs three more to tie Jen Kastelic (2002-06) for seventh. Nicole Youman (2007-10) owns the record with 52.
Schneidtmiller knocking on the door
Senior Erin Schneidtmiller has 24 career goals and needs one more goal to tie Kelly Shuler and Diana Dale for ninth on Louisville's all-time list. Jessica Javelet holds the school record with 69 goals.
Schneidtmiller has also tallied 58 career points. Just one more point will place her tied for 10th with Kim Hughes in career points. Javelet also holds the all-time points record with 176.
Senior Salute
On Nov. 3, UofL honored seniors Michelle Amon, Kelsey Rosenmeier and Erin Schneidtmiller in their final game at Trager Stadium. As a class, they have posted 49 wins, including 13 victories over ranked opponents. Entering the weekend, they have spent 27 weeks of their playing careers ranked in the national polls - including nine straight weeks this season - reaching as high as number 8 in 2010.
This class has also excelled academically, earning the National Field Hockey Coaches' Association Academic team award in each of their seasons here.
Voelmle and Pels Named to BIG EAST honor roll
Junior Alyssa Voelmle and freshman Jennifer Pels were named to the BIG EAST honor roll on Nov. 4. Voelmle tallied six points on the weekend with two goals and two assists. She dished out an assist for the game-winner in OT in the Cards 3-2 victory over Providence and chipped in with two goals and an assist in the 6-0 win over Kent State.
Pels scored a pair of goals on the weekend, including the game-winner in the OT victory over Providence to help the Cards clinch a share of the BIG EAST regular season title. She also added a goal in the 6-0 win over Kent State. Four of Pels' five goals on the season have proven to be game-winners ,including the deciding goals in the OT wins over Temple and Providence.
Cards Picked to Finish Third in BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll
Louisville was picked to finish third in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' poll. Defending BIG EAST tournament champion Connecticut was the unanimous favorite, receiving all seven possible first-place votes while Old Dominion was selected to finish second with 41 points - two ahead of Louisville.
The Cardinals finished the 2012 season with a 12-8 overall record. They posted a 3-3 mark in league play and reached the conference semifinals for the eighth straight season.
About BIG EAST Field Hockey
Louisville, UConn and Old Dominion are associate members of the BIG EAST for field hockey in 2013. They are joined in the eight-team field hockey conference by current members Providence, Villanova and Georgetown along with additional associate members Rutgers and Temple.
BIG EAST teams will play a seven-game conference schedule. The top four teams in the regular season standings will compete in the 2013 BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship which will be held Nov. 8 & 10 at the University of Connecticut.
2013 BIG EAST Field Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll
School (Points)
1. Connecticut (49)
2. Old Dominion (41)
3. Louisville (39)
4. Providence (26)
5. Rutgers (25)
6. Temple (23)
7. Villanova (14)
8. Georgetown (7)
Voelmle Earns Preseason League Honors
Junior defender Alyssa Voelmle was selected to the 11-player Preseason All-BIG EAST team in a vote by league coaches.
The two-time All-BIG EAST selection was third on the team in scoring with 19 points, including eight goals in 2012.
