Field Hockey Previews 2015 Season with Media
August 13, 2015 | Field Hockey
Photo Gallery
Head coach Justine Sowry addresses the media along with volleyball coach Anne Kordes and women's soccer coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes in Thursday's fall sport media day.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The University of Louisville field hockey team took a break from preseason training to address the media Thursday afternoon. Head coach Justine Sowry and players Elisa Garcia, Victoria Stratton and Nicole Woods previewed the season with several members of the local media.
"We are really excited about the opportunity before us," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "We are a very new team, we are smaller in numbers. We have a squad of 21 players after losing 10 from last year's team. With that said, we have seven very talented coming into our program. Pretty much half of our starting lineup from last year is now gone, so there are a lot of opportunities for our current team. Our core players are probably in the best shape of their lives, so that's really pleasing. "
The Cardinals are coming off of one of the most successful seasons in program history after registering a 15-6 overall record and going 3-3 their inaugural Atlantic Coast Conference campaign en route to earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship.
Louisville ranked as high as No. 5 in the NFHCA coaches' poll and spent the last six weeks of the season ranked in the top 10, finishing the season at No. 10. UofL earned an at-large bid to the 2014 NCAA Championship, but fell 2-1 in overtime to Stanford in the first round.
The Cardinals return 13 letterwinners and five starters including 2014 two-time NFHCA All-West Region selection senior Elisa Garcia from the 2014 squad. In addition to the returners, seven freshmen will take the field in the 2015 season.
Sowry is entering her fifth season as the Cardinals' head coach and has compiled a 52-28 record at Louisville while winning a share of the 2013 BIG EAST Championship.
The Cardinals will face Iowa in a preseason scrimmage on Aug. 22 at Trager Stadium before playing host to Appalachian State in their season opener on Aug. 28. Louisville looks to continue its strong showing at Trager Stadium, where the Cardinals have posted an 18-1 the last two seasons.
"We take great pride in playing at home," said Garcia. "Even the great locker room that we have, it's just amazing. We think we have some of the best facilities in the country. We play for the people that gave us these and for ourselves. Being at home with all the people in the community supporting us, it's always great to have them there."
For the latest information on Louisville field hockey, log on to GoCards.com, or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account at www.twitter.com/ulfieldhockey or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ulfieldhockey.
