Louisville, Clemson Collide in Sunday's ACC Title Match
November 15, 2014 | Men's Soccer
Joachim Ball (right) and Louie Berra during Friday's win. (Photo by Sara D. Davis/theACC.com)
Match Day: #14 Louisville (10-6-3 / 4-2-1 ACC) vs. #19 Clemson (10-6-3 / 5-2-1 ACC)
Date: Sunday, November 16, 2014
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Location: Cary, N.C.
Venue: WakeMed Soccer Park (10,000)
TV/Internet Coverage: ESPNU/WatchESPN
Live Scoring: Live Stats at theACC.com
Twitter Updates: @UofLMensSoccer
Series Info: Even at 0-0-1 all-time
Last Meeting: #11 LOU 0, CLEM 0 (2ot) - 10/24/14 - Louisville, Ky. - Finishing with a 17-7 edge in shots, No. 11 Louisville battled ACC foe Clemson to a scoreless draw on Senior Night at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium in front of a crowd of 4,318.
• 2014 Louisville Men's Soccer Match Notes (ACC Semifinal vs. Clemson) 
2014 #ACCMSoccer Championship Page | 2014 #ACCMSoccer Bracket (pdf)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After back-to-back victories against foes ranked either first or second in the national polls, the No. 14-ranked and sixth-seeded Louisville men's soccer team will challenge No. 19-ranked and fourth-seeded Clemson in Sunday's ACC Championship final at 2 p.m., ET at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. ESPNU will televise the title match with Glenn Davis and Cat Whitehill calling the action. Live scoring will be provided through theACC.com.
ABOUT LOUISVILLE
After closing the regular season winless in their last three matches, the Cardinals returned to victorious form with the 1-0 triumph at No. 2 North Carolina in the ACC quarterfinals and a 2-1 win over No. 1 Syracuse in Friday's semifinal. Louisville is making its first conference tournament title match appearance since defeating Providence in penalty kicks to clinch the 2010 Big East championship in Harrison, N.J.
ABOUT CLEMSON
The Tigers enter Sunday's title match after advancing through the first two rounds of the ACC Championship with penalty kick victories against No. 18 Wake Forest and No. 2 Notre Dame. Overall, Clemson is riding an eight-game unbeaten streak with the last loss coming on Oct. 7 to No. 7 Charlotte. Last season, the Tigers were 11-7-3 overall and fourth in the ACC with a 5-4-2 league record.
SERIES SNAPSHOT
Sunday's match will be just the second all-time between the two programs with both being contested in the last 23 days.
LOUISVILLE'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP PROFILE
Louisville's push for its eighth straight NCAA Championship enters the final weekend before the field of 48 is released on Nov. 17. At No. 22 in the RPI released by the NCAA on Nov. 9, the Cardinals are among seven ACC schools in the top 32. Louisville has five wins against the RPI Top 25, while the match with Clemson will be the Cardinals' 11th this season against an RPI Top 25 foe (5-4-1 record).
CARDINALS JOINED BY FAMILIAR FOES ON FINAL WEEKEND OF ACC CHAMPIONSHIP
The Cardinals were joined by a trio of familiar foes in the semifinal round of the 2014 ACC Championship after playing each of the three teams during the regular season. Along with its overtime win against Syracuse on Oct. 17, Louisville played to a scoreless draw against Clemson on Oct. 24 and lost 3-2 in overtime at Notre Dame on Oct. 10.
LOUISVILLE NOTES AND TRENDS...
• The Cardinals earned the No. 6 seed in its first ever ACC Championship with a 4-3-1 conference mark.
• Freshman Tim Kubel leads Louisville with a team-high six goals to go with three assists. He is 3-for-3 on penalty kicks and has started all 18 matches.
• Senior defender Daniel Keller has started all 19 matches on the Cardinals' backline in 2014. He has 59 career starts and 71 match appearances for Louisville.
• Sunday's match will be the eighth this season for the Cardinals against a Top 25 foe (4-3 record).
• Louisville is 7-0-0 this season when scoring first.
• The Cardinals have allowed just two goals in the last 625 minutes of action dating back to the second half goal scored by Syracuse on Oct. 17.
CARDINALS RETURN TO NATIONAL RANKINGS
After rising as highly as No. 2 in the nation early in the season, Louisville fell out of the national rankings on Oct. 14 following a four-match losing skid. The time out of the top 25 was short-lived as the Cardinals returned to the Soccer America poll on Oct. 21 at No. 11. This week, Louisville is ranked 19th in both the NSCAA Top 25 and the Soccer America Top 25. The Cardinals opened the season with a 1-0 win over then-No. 2 Maryland and then made a big move in the rankings replacing the Terrapins as the No. 2 ranked team in the NSCAA Top 25 on Sept. 2. The No. 2 national ranking was the highest for Louisville since opening the 2011 season ranked No. 1. The Cardinals were also ranked No. 1 in the nation in 2010 before closing the season as NCAA runner-up after reaching the College Cup title game.
KUBEL NAMED ACC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR; STRONG, VELAZCO ADD ALL-ACC HONORS
Louisville defender Tim Kubel was named 2014 ACC Freshman of the Year while junior midfielder Ben Strong and junior forward Ricardo Velazco earned All-ACC honors during the Cardinals' inaugural season in the conference. The Louisville trio was among the numerous award winners announced by the ACC Nov 13 on the eve of the conference semifinals. Along with being named as the ACC Freshman of the Year, Kubel was also named to the All-ACC Second Team and was a member of the ACC All-Freshman Team. Strong was selected to the All-ACC First Team, while Velazco was named All-ACC Third Team in a vote of the league's 12 head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own players.
Kubel started all 17 regular season games for the Cardinals (9-6-3), tallying a team-leading six goals and three assists for 15 points in his rookie campaign. Louisville's right back throughout the season scored two game-winning goals, including the deciding goal at rival Kentucky. It is the third straight season and the sixth time in the last seven seasons a Louisville player has earned a major conference award.
In his first season playing for the Cardinals after transferring from Virginia Tech, Strong scored 13 points, second most on the team in 2014. Overall, Strong had five goals and added three assists, highlighted by his two-goal performance against Duke on Sept. 13. Strong started 16 of Louisville's 17 regular season matches this season with all of those coming in the attacking midfield.
Velazco earned all-conference honors for a second straight season after scoring four goals with three assists while starting 16 of 17 regular season matches in 2014. Highlighted by a pair of goals in the Cardinals' win over Pittsburgh on Sept. 26, Velazco has 12 career goals in his two seasons in Louisville.
LOUISVILLE SECOND NATIONALLY IN ATTENDANCE IN FIRST SEASON AT LYNN STADIUM
After entering the season with great excitement for the move to the ACC and the opening of the nation's most spectacular collegiate soccer facility, Louisville fans responded by packing Lynn Stadium for the Cardinals in 2014. Louisville closed the regular season second in the nation in attendance averaging 3,818 fans in 11 home matches this season highlighted by the 7,047 fans for the Cardinals' opening-night victory over Maryland.
KUBEL EARNS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Freshman defender Tim Kubel earned a pair of honors on Oct. 21 when he was named ACC Player of the Week as well as the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Player of the Week. Kubel scored two goals and added an assist as UofL won both of its matches that week, including a 2-1 overtime win over No. 2 Syracuse. On the season, Kubel leads the Cardinals with six goals, including two game-winners. He's also 3-for-3 on penalty kicks in his first collegiate season.
STRONG PROVIDES OFFENSIVE PUNCH IN FIRST SEASON
In his first season in the Louisville uniform, junior Ben Strong has given the Cardinals an offensive boost with 13 points, which ranks second on the team in 2014. A transfer from Virginia Tech, Strong has five goals and three assists, highlighted by his two-goal performance against Duke on Sept. 13. Strong has started 18 of Louisville's 19 matches this season with all of those coming in the attacking midfield.
BALL MOVES INTO THIRD IN CAREER SHUTOUTS AT LOUISVILLE
With his six shutouts this season, senior goalkeeper Joachim Ball has moved into sole possession of third place in career shutouts at Louisville with 15. Last season, Ball finished with eight shutouts, ranked 15th nationally in goals against average at 0.688 and was a key player as Louisville set school records for consecutive minutes played without allowing a goal (560) and consecutive shutouts with five from Sept. 21 to Oct. 6. Andre Boudreaux leads the way with 37 career shutouts at Louisville from 2008-11, while Jeremy Morales is second with 23 from 1998-2001.
VELAZCO SCORES FOUR GOALS IN THREE-MATCH STRETCH
After not scoring a goal in each of the Cardinals' first four matches of 2014, junior Ricardo Velazco found his scoring form in September connecting for four goals in three-match stretch from Sept. 19-26, including two goals in the win over Pittsburgh on Sept. 26. Last season, Velazco, led the Cardinals with seven goals and nine assists while starting all 20 matches.
STRONG NAMED ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK ON SEPT. 16
Junior midfielder Ben Strong was chosen as Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Soccer Co-Player of the Week on Sept. 16 sharing the honor with Clemson forward Kyle Murphy. Strong scored two goals as the Cardinals blanked visiting Duke 5-0 in the ACC opener at Lynn Stadium. The goals were the first in a Louisville uniform for Strong, who is in his first season with the Cardinals after transferring from Virginia Tech.
With Louisville already leading Duke by a 1-0 score, Strong pushed the advantage to 2-0 in the sixth minute when he controlled a deflected cross from the right side and scored from 12 yards out. The native of Mendham, New Jersey, later added another score for the Cardinals who remained unbeaten at home in 2014. It marked the second time this season a Louisville player has earned the weekly ACC award as sophomore Andrew Brody was tabbed on Sept. 2.
BRODY CHOSEN AS ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK ON AUG. 29
Sophomore midfielder Andrew Brody was named as the ACC Men's Soccer Player of the Week on Sept. 2 after leading the nationally ranked Cardinals to a victory over No. 2 Maryland on Aug. 29.
Brody headed in the only goal of the match in the 54th minute to lift the Cardinals to a 1-0 victory over the Terrapins in the season-opener for both clubs. Brody received a cross from Ricardo Velazco and sent it into the upper left corner of the net for the decisive goal, the fourth career tally for the native of Orlando, Fla. Also on Sept. 2, Brody was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week for his work in the triumph over Maryland.
LOLLA REACHES 100-WIN PLATEAU AT LOUISVILLE
The winningest coach in the history of the Louisville men's soccer program, head coach Ken Lolla earned his 100th victory at the helm of the Cardinals with the season-opening triumph against No. 2 Maryland on Aug. 29. Having led Louisville to three conference championships in the last five seasons and seven straight seasons with at least 11 wins, Lolla has also guided the Cardinals to seven consecutive NCAA Championship appearances. Louisville has made three NCAA Elite Eight appearances, including a national runner-up finish in 2010 when the Cardinals won a school record 20 games before falling to Akron in the title game of the College Cup.
BRODY, VELAZCO NAMED TO TOPDRAWERSOCCER TOP 100
Sophomore midfielder Andrew Brody and junior forward Ricardo Velazco were each named to the TopDrawerSoccer National Top 100 released on Aug. 27. Ranked 46th overall, Brody scored three goals and added eight assists in 20 starts as a freshman in 2013. Velazco, ranked No. 54, led the Cardinals with seven goals and nine assists while starting all 20 matches in his first season in Louisville in 2013. The Louisville duo are among 17 players from the ACC on the preseason list.
BALL, KELLER AND MOORE CHOSEN AS TEAM CAPTAINS IN 2014
A trio of seniors -- goalkeeper Joachim Ball, defender Daniel Keller and midfielder Nolan Moore -- were announced as team captains for 2014 by head coach Ken Lolla during the team's annual media day activities on Aug. 13. Ball started 19 matches in 2013 finishing with eight shutouts and making 53 saves for the Cardinals, who won the American Conference regular season championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship. Ball ranked 15th nationally in goals against average at 0.688 and was a key player as Louisville set school records for consecutive minutes played without allowing a goal (560) and consecutive shutouts with five from Sept. 21 to Oct. 6.
Another key player in the Cardinals' stretch of shutouts last season, Keller started 18 matches and made 19 total appearances as a junior. He scored three goals, all game-winners, while adding one assist. In his three seasons, Keller has played in 52 matches with 40 starts while scoring five goals. Moore started seven matches and played in 18 games overall in his first season in Louisville after transferring from Cal Poly. He finished with two goals and both were game-winners for the Cardinals in 2013.
FROM LOUISVILLE TO MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER: CARDINALS IN THE MLS SUPERDRAFT
With coach Ken Lolla at the helm at the University of Louisville, the Cardinals have been very successful in sending players into professional soccer and specifically Major League Soccer. During the last four years, Louisville has produced five first round selections in the MLS SuperDraft, including Andrew Farrell as the No. 1 overall pick in 2013. The Cardinals have also had two or more selections in the first two rounds of the SuperDraft in each of the last four years highlighted by a school record four selections in 2012. Overall, 12 players from the University of Louisville have been chosen in the MLS SuperDraft in the last four years.
FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville men's soccer on Twitter (@UofLmenssoccer) at http://twitter.com/uoflmenssoccer and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/UofLmenssoccer.
