No. 9 Field Hockey Defeats Michigan State 5-1

Friday, October 30

LOUISVILLE, KY

6:00 PM

University of Louisville

(12-5)

MICHIGAN STATE

(5-13)

Michigan State

Louisville

October 30, 2015 | Field Hockey

Box Score

Five Cardinals score in 5-1 win over Michigan State

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Five different players scored as ninth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team defeated Michigan State 5-1 Friday evening at Trager Stadium. The Cardinals improve to 12-5 on the season while the Spartans drop to 5-13.

"Great game tonight," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "We were able to achieve our goals, which was fabulous. When you play against a Big Ten opponent, it's always challenging. They're always big and physical, but we were able to manage that well. We executed our penalty corners tonight, so I'm very excited about that. We're one step closer to achieving our regular season goal."

Sophomore Nicole Woods opened the scoring in the sixth minute of the game when she took a rebound off of Michigan State goalkeeper Katie Miller's pads and deposited the ball into the cage for team-best eighth goal of the season.

The Spartans answered six minutes later when Kristin Matula sent a shot from the left side of cage past Louisville goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran to even the score at 1-1.

The Cardinals capitalized on a penalty corner to regain the lead. Junior Erin McCrudden got the corner started and senior Megan Anstotz provided the stop for freshman Tess Hannah who connected on her fifth goal of the season to give Louisville a 2-1 lead.

McCrudden added a goal of her own when she sent a reverse stick shot from the top of the circle into the cage. Her third goal of the season made the score 3-1 with just over two minutes remaining in the first half.

Louisville took the 3-1 lead into halftime after outshooting Michigan State 14-2 and holding a 5-1 advantage in penalty corners.

Three minutes into the second half, the Cardinals quickly added to their lead when senior Victoria Stratton's penalty corner shot hit backboard for her fourth goal of the season. Fellow seniors Katharine Gwynne-Wood and Megan Anstotz provided the assists as Louisville took a 4-1 lead.

Louisville capped the scoring seven minutes later on another corner. This time, senior Elisa Garcia's initial shot found Gwynne-Wood on the left post. Gwynne-Wood's third goal of the season brought the score to 5-1.

In the game, the Cardinals outshot the Spartans 17-5 and held an 8-2 edge in corners. McFerran (12-5) and sophomore goalkeeper Elina Pereira each had a save in the game. Miller (2-6) collected six saves in the loss.