No. 11 Field Hockey Hosts Two Top 20 Opponents this Weekend

Friday, September 11

LOUISVILLE, KY

6:00 PM

University of Louisville

VIRGINIA

No. 11 Field Hockey Hosts Two Top 20 Opponents this Weekend

September 10, 2015 | Field Hockey

Cards will face No. 6 Virginia in ACC opener Friday and No. 17 Liberty Sunday

The No. 11 University of Louisville field hockey team will take on a pair of undefeated ranked teams this weekend at Trager Stadium. The Cardinals will open ACC play against No. 6 Virginia Friday at 6 p.m., and will face No. 17 Liberty Sunday at 1 p.m. Admission is free.

The weekend ahead:
• This weekend is dubbed 'Alumnae Weekend.' The Cardinals will celebrate the 90s in their annual 'Decades Weekend.' All former players are invited to attend the games with special recognition for those who played in the 1990s during Sunday's game.
Friday, Sept. 11 Promotions
• First Responders Day: Prior to the game, UofL will honor all first responders.
• Go4theGoal – The team will be wearing yellow shoelaces, as the Cards 'Lace up for Cancer' in support of pediatric cancer awareness.
Sunday, Sept. 13 Promotions
• In conjunction with Alumnae Weekend, 2014 senior Alyssa Voelmle will be honored for being named a 2014 NFHCA First Team All-American following the conclusion of the game.

About Louisville: The Cardinals (4-0) moved up one spot to No. 11 in the most recent NFHCA Coaches Poll released on Sept. 8. Louisville is led offensively by sophomore Stephanie Byrne's eight points (4G). Freshman Tess Hannah follows closely with six points (3G). Freshman goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran (4-0)has not allowed a goal in 261:59 minutes of play and leads the nation with a 0.00 goals against average.

Last Weekend: The Cards picked up two shutout road wins last weekend. Senior Victoria Stratton's goal in the second half lifted the Cardinals to a 1-0 win over host California Friday. On Sunday, sophomore Stephanie Byrne and freshman Tess Hannah provided the scoring while freshman Ayeisha McFerran registered four saves in a 2-0 victory at UC Davis.

Up Next: Following this weekend, the Cardinals will go on the road for an ACC matchup at No. 2 North Carolina on Sept. 18 and will wrap up the weekend at James Madison.

Cards against the opponents
No. 6 Virginia – Sept. 11, 6 p.m. – Trager Stadium
Series Record: UVA leads 5-1
Last Meeting: Sept. 12, 2014 – Virginia won 3-2 in two overtimes in Charlottesville.
Recapping the 2014 matchup: Caleigh Foust's goal less than two minutes the second overtime period lifted host ninth-ranked Virginia to a 3-2 win over No. 11 Louisville in both teams' ACC field hockey opener. Alyssa Voelmle gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead, but Tara Vittese tied the game and Foust put the Cavaliers up 2-1 going into halftime. Megan Astotz evened the score in the second half.
Scouting the Cavaliers: Virginia enters the weekend with a 4-0 record and ranked No. 6 in the most recent NFHCA poll. The Cavaliers are coming off of a 4-3 overtime win at No. 15 Princeton and a 4-3 victory at Rutgers last weekend. UVA opened the 2015 campaign with a 6-0 win over Drexel and a 4-3 decision in overtime against No. 7 Penn State.
• Virginia is led offensively by Tara Vittese who has 11 points with four goals and three assists. Greta Ell follows with 10 points (4G, 2A). Rebecca Holden (2-0) has taken on the majority of goalkeeping duties and carries a 2.75 goals against average in 177:55 minutes of action while Carrera Lucas (2-0) holds a 1.75 goals against average in 119:51 minutes.

Cards against the opponents
No. 17 Liberty– Sept. 13, 1 p.m. – Trager Stadium
Series Record: Liberty leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Sept. 28, 2014 – Liberty won 2-1 in Lynchburg, Va.
Recapping the 2014 matchup: Ashlee Krulock gave the Lady Flames a 1-0 lead, but Alyssa Voelmle tied the game for Louisville. Hannah Goldsborough notched the game winner in the 20^th minute. Overall, the Cardinals outshot the Lady Flames 18-5 and held a 9-2 advantage in penalty corners, including a corner followed by a penalty stroke in the closing seconds of the game, but Liberty's defense held on for the win.
Scouting the Lady Flames: Liberty brings a 4-0 record into the weekend prior to a matchup at Ohio University Friday afternoon. The 17^th-ranked Lady Flames are coming off of a 7-1 win over Richmond on Tuesday. Prior to that, Liberty posted wins over Lafayette, Penn and James Madison en route to the best start in program history.
• Ashlee Krulock leads the team with 10 points (4G, 2A) while Sarah Gipe follows with eight points (4G). Mallory Cuccio (4-0) carries a 2.57 goals against average with 18 saves in 280:00 minutes of work.

Louisville ranked No. 11 in NFHCA poll
The University of Louisville field hockey team is ranked No. 11 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA National Coaches Poll released on Sept. 8. The Cards move up one spot after opening the season with four straight wins.
• This marks the 22nd straight week the Cardinals have appeared in the top 20 rankings dating back to the 2013 season. The Cards finished 2014 ranked 10th in the final poll. Last season, Louisville spent six weeks in the top 10.
• On Oct. 7, 2014, Louisville appeared at No. 5 in the coaches' poll marking the second top-five appearance in program history with Louisville achieving a program-best No. 4 ranking in the 2002 season.
• All seven ACC teams were included in the NFHCA poll. It marks the 26th consecutive poll that the entire league has been ranked, a streak dating to October of 2012.

Stingy defense
The Louisville defense has registered shutouts against its last three opponents and has allowed only one goal in the 2015 season.
• The Cardinals lead nation in shutouts per game and team goals against average (0.25). Louisville stands third in the nation with an .889 save percentage.
• Freshman goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran leads the nation with a 0.00 goals against average..

Louisville among nation's leaders (Part 2)
In addition to leading the nation defensively, the Cardinals also rank among the top 20 in scoring margin (3rd/3/25); assists per game (7th/3.0); points per game (11th/10.00); goals per game (12th/3.5); and scoring average (12th/3.5).
• Sophomore Stephanie Byrne stands at No. 13 in the nation with 1.0 goals per game.
• Junior Lotta Kahlert is 16th in the nation with 0.75 assists per game.

Balanced attack
The Cardinals have outscored opponents 14-1 through their first four games of the season. Eight different players have registered at least one goal on the season and three have multiple goals.

Home Sweet Home
Louisville opened the 2015 season with a pair of wins at home pushing its overall home record to 18-1 dating back to the beginning of the 2013 season.
• The Cardinals finished the 2014 season with an 8-1 record at Trager Stadium in 2014. On Oct. 17, Louisville fell 2-1 in overtime to No. 17 Boston College, snapped a 16 -game home victory streak dating back to the 2012 season. In 2013, UofL posted a perfect 10-0 record at Trager Stadium, going undefeated at home for the first time in school history.
• Prior to the Boston College loss, the Cards' last home loss came on Nov. 2, 2012 when they fell 2-1 in overtime to then-No. 5 Connecticut in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship.

Garcia, Woods earn preseason All-ACC honors
• Elisa Garcia and Nicole Woods were selected to the Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey team and the Cardinals were picked to finish sixth in the league according to a vote of the league's seven head coaches.
• Garcia (Santiago, Chile), a senior midfielder and team co-captain, is a two-time All-National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) West Region selection. In 2014, the three-year starter led the Cardinals with 27 points and 13 assists.
• Woods (Beverly, Mass.) a sophomore midfielder/back was recently named to USA Field Hockey's Under 21 team after serving on the U19 team in 2014. As a freshman, Woods earned a starting role for the Cardinals and scored three goals with four assists for 10 points.
• North Carolina, which has reached the semifinals of the NCAA Championship each of the past six years, garnered four votes for first place and edged out Syracuse for the top spot. The Orange, which advanced to the national championship game last year, collected two first place votes and 31 points. Duke was selected on one ballot to win the league and stands third in the preseason poll. Virginia, Wake Forest, Louisville, and Boston College round out the preseason poll.

Woods and Stone selected to USA Field Hockey's Junior National Teams
Sophomore Nicole Woods was selected to the Under-21 squad while incoming freshman Taylor Stone was named to the Under-19 squad.
• Members of the junior national teams were selected from the Junior National Camp which was comprised of the top 110 athletes selected from Young Women's National Championship, National Futures Championship and Futures Elite Championship. Louisville head coach Justine Sowry served as a coach for the 2015 USA U21 camp.
• Woods, a forward/midfielder from Beverly, Mass., was selected to the 2014 USA U19 squad and recently traveled to Belgium with the team. As a freshman, Woods played in all 21 of Louisville's games and scored three goals while dishing out four assists.
• Stone, a back from Herndon, Va., was a member of the 2013-14 USA Field Hockey team. She also represented the United States in the 2013 Maccabiah Games.

McFerran, Irish National Team compete in World League Games
Ayeisha McFerran is not your typical freshman making the adjustment to Division I field hockey. The goalkeeper from Larne, Northern Ireland, is also the youngest member of Ireland's National Team and has earned 24 senior caps. She competed in the 2015 World League Round 3 Games in Valencia where the Irish posted an eighth place finish. While playing in the World League 2 tournament, McFerran came off the bench to help the Irish national team beat Canada in an overtime shootout and win the championship.

Netzler-Gray returns to Louisville – on the sidelines
Louisville field hockey fans will see a familiar face on the sidelines this season. Former Cardinal great Olivia Netzler-Gray has returned to her alma mater and is in her first season as an assistant coach. Netzler-Gray (2001-03) was a two-time NFHCA All-Region selection and still ranks among the program's top 10 leaders in career goals and points.