University of Louisville
Duke
Cardinals Open Postseason at Duke Wednesday Night
November 03, 2015 | Men's Soccer
Kickoff set for 7 p.m., ET in Durham, N.C.; Live video available online through Blue Devil Network
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's soccer team will open the 2015 ACC Championship with a first round match at Duke on Wednesday at 7 p.m., ET at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C. The Cardinals enter the tournament as the No. 9 seed, while the host Blue Devils are the No. 8 seed. Live video of the match will be available through the Blue Devil Network at GoDuke.com, while live stats will be provided through GoCards.com.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville enters the postseason at 6-8-3 overall and is on a three-match losing skid. The Cardinals finished tied for fifth in the ACC Atlantic Division with a 1-4-3 record. Freshman attacker Tate Schmitt leads the Cardinals with six goals to go with four assists, while junior midfielder Daniel Johnson has five goals in his first season with Louisville. Sophomore defender Tim Kubel has added four goals and three assists for head coach Ken Lolla's club in 2015.
ABOUT THE BLUE DEVILS
Duke enters the ACC Championship at 10-6-2 overall and is riding a five-match winning streak. The Blue Devils finished fourth in the ACC Coastal Division with a 3-4-1 record while all three league wins came in the final three weeks. Zach Mathers leads Duke with seven goals and eight assists, while Jeremy Ebobisse has seven goals and four assists for head coach John Kerr, a teammate of Ken Lolla during their time playing for Duke.
SERIES SNAPSHOT
Wednesday will mark the fifth meeting all-time between the Cardinals and Blue Devils and the first match this season. Louisville holds a 2-1-1 lead overall in the series, which dates back to 1997. This will mark the Cardinals' first visit to Durham since playing to a scoreless draw in 2010. Last year, Louisville earned a 5-0 home win against Duke in the program's first ACC contest.
LOUISVILLE NOTES AND TRENDS...
• The Cardinals are 0-5-1 on the road this season.
• Louisville has a 2-5-1 record against ranked foes this season earning wins over No. 15 Kentucky and No. 19 Boston College, losses to No. 2 Wake Forest, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 5 Clemson, No. 8 Stanford and No. 10 Virginia and a draw against No. 22 NC State.
• Including Duke (No. 39 in this week's RPI), 12 of the Cardinals' 18 games this season are against foes currently ranked in the top 40 of the RPI.
• Tim Kubel leads the Cardinals with 11 career goals, while Andrew Brody is next with nine.
• Andrew Brody also leads the Cardinals with 59 career starts -- highlighted by 22 last season and 20 as a freshman in 2013.
• With his game-winning goal on Oct. 13 against UConn, Ricardo Oliveros became the third Louisville freshman to score a goal this season joining Tate Schmitt (six goals) and Danny Reynolds (one goal).
• Eleven different Louisville players have scored goals this season.
• Louisville team captains for 2015 are senior Ben Strong, junior Romilio Hernandez and Tim Kubel.
LOUISVILLE MAKING ITS SECOND ACC CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCE
The Louisville men's soccer program is making it second straight appearance in the ACC Championship after narrowly missing on winning the tournament title in last year's debut. The Cardinals advanced to the title match of the 2014 ACC Championship before falling 2-1 in double overtime to Clemson. Trailing for most of the match, the Tigers scored the equalizing goal with just three seconds remaining in regulation time to send the championship clash into overtime. Clemson connected for the game-winner in the 105th minute. Overall, Louisville was 2-1 in its first ACC Championship appearance earning 1-0 win at North Carolina in the quarterfinals and a 2-1 win over Syracuse in the semifinals.
CARDINALS AT NO. 25 IN THIS WEEK'S RPI; ACC WITH 10 OF THE TOP 40 TEAMS
Entering the postseason, the Atlantic Coast Conference has asserted itself as the top league in the nation in 2015. In the latest NCAA RPI released on Monday morning, 10 ACC schools are ranked in the top 40 spots, including No. 25 Louisville. The Cardinals are joined by No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 10 Syracuse, No. 16 Boston College, No. 23 Virginia, No. 27 NC State and No. 39 Duke.
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.
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