Another Ranked Showdown as Cardinals, Hoosiers Collide at Lynn

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 8 Louisville men's soccer team closes a three-match homestand with a second straight game against a nationally ranked foe as No. 6 Indiana visits Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium on Tuesday at 7 p.m., ET. The match will be televised on ACC Network Extra, available online through WatchESPN, while live scoring is provided at GoCards.com.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville enters the week at 9-1-2 overall and atop the ACC Atlantic at 4-0-1 after knocking off No. 3 Syracuse 1-0 on Friday night. The Cardinals, who are riding an eight-match unbeaten streak, have been paced by junior Mohamed Thiaw's nine goals, including an NCAA best six game-winners. Defensively, graduate student and Dartmouth transfer Stefan Cleveland has allowed only four goals in 12 matches while registering eight shutouts.

ABOUT THE HOOSIERS
Indiana enters the match at 7-1-4 overall and 2-0-3 in the Big Ten following a 1-0 victory over Penn State on Saturday. The Hoosiers, led by head coach Todd Yeagley, were 13-5-3 last season and 4-3-1 in the Big Ten. Indiana advanced to the third round of the NCAA Championship before falling 1-0 at Wake Forest.

SERIES SNAPSHOT
Tuesday marks the 23rd meeting between Louisville and Indiana with the Hoosiers holding a 17-4-1 lead overall. The Cardinals have dropped each of the last two in the series, including a 3-0 loss in 2014 in Indiana's most recent visit to Louisville. The Cardinals last home win in the series came in 2009.

LOUISVILLE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
After moving into the top 10 of the NSCAA poll for the first time this season at No. 9 on Sept. 27, the Cardinals gained one spot last week landing at No. 8 overall. Along with last week's ranking in the coaches poll, Louisville was also ranked No. 2 by Soccer America, No. 3 by Hero College Sports and No. 6 by Top Drawer Soccer.

CARDINALS AT NO. 2 IN LATEST NCAA RPI
The NCAA released its third men's soccer RPI on Monday and Louisville landed at No. 2. The Cardinals were among six ACC schools in the top 10 and nine teams in the top 28. Notre Dame sits in the No. 1 spot in this week's RPI and is followed by No. 2 Louisville, No. 3 Clemson, No. 4 North Carolina, No. 8 Syracuse, No. 10 Virginia, No. 19 Virginia Tech and No. 28 Wake Forest.

LOUISVILLE NOTES AND TRENDS...
• The Cardinals made their season debut in the NSCAA rankings on Sept. 20 landing at No. 13 overall.
• Louisville has finished with more shots than its opponent in 10 of 12 matches this season for an average of 14.1 to 5.7 shots per game.
• Tim Kubel leads the Cardinals with 12 career goals, while Tate Schmitt (nine), Mohamed Thiaw (nine) and Daniel Johnson (seven) are next.
• The Cardinals, who were 6-3-2 at home in 2015, are 6-0-1 at home in 2016 and 19-6-6 all-time at Lynn Stadium, now in its third season as Louisville's home.
• UofL is 8-3-1 all-time at Lynn Stadium versus ranked foes with wins over No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 3 Syracuse this season and No. 2 Maryland and No. 2 Syracuse in 2014.
• Louisville is 3-1-1 on the road in 2016 after finishing just 1-6-1 in road matches last season.

LOUISVILLE AMONG THE NATION'S BEST IN TEAM, INDIVIDUAL NCAA STAT RANKINGS
Entering this week's matches, Louisville was ranked in the top 20 in seven different team statistical categories. The Cardinals were No. 1 in goals against average (0.32), third in shutout percentage (0.67), third in save percentage (0.882), 13th in total goals (24), 17th in scoring offense (2.00 goals per game), 18th in total points (69) and 20th in total assists (21).

Individually, three Cardinals have emerged to rank among the best in the nation and the ACC. Junior Mohamed Thiaw was ranked No. 1 in the nation with six game-winning goals, ninth in the nation and second in the ACC in goals (nine), 13th nationally and second in the ACC in points (19), 14th in the nation and second in the ACC in goals per game (0.75) and 22nd in the nation and second in the ACC in points per game (1.58).

Graduate goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland is No. 1 in the nation in goals against average (0.321) and fourth nationally and first in the ACC in save percentage (0.879). Junior Tim Kubel, who set a school record with four assists in the 6-1 win over Virginia on Sept. 24, is ranked fourth in the NCAA and first in the ACC with seven assists while ranking seventh nationally and first in the ACC in assists per game (0.58).

JOHNSON NAMED CANDIDATE FOR SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Midfielder Daniel Johnson was named Oct. 7 among 30 candidates for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate men's soccer. To be eligible for the award, which represents excellence both on and off the field, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2016 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup® championships in December. For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.

CLEVELAND, THIAW EARN ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS ON SEPTEMBER 20
Graduate goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland was named on Sept. 20 as ACC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week, while junior forward Mohamed Thiaw was chosen as the Co-Offensive Player of the Week. Cleveland registered a pair of shutouts in goal the previous week, capped by 1-0 triumph over No. 1 Notre Dame on Sept. 16. A native of Dayton, Ohio, Cleveland turned away all three shots he faced from the previously unbeaten Fighting Irish to lead the Cardinals to their third straight victory. Hailing from Lexington, Kentucky, Thiaw scored his fourth goal of the season to lift Louisville to its 1-0 victory over No. 1 Notre Dame at Lynn Stadium. The only goal of the match came in the 25th minute after Joey Kunkel delivered a deep ball across the midline to Thiaw, who won the ball in the air before connecting on a right-footed lob over Notre Dame goalkeeper Chris Hubbard. The perfectly placed shot was out of the reach of Hubbard and tucked beneath the crossbar.

CARDINALS AT 4-1-0 AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS IN 2016
Louisville is 4-1-0 against ranked foes this season with home wins over No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 3 Syracuse and No. 16 Virginia and a road win at No. 14 UConn. The Cardinals have three teams remaining on their schedule ranked in last week's NSCAA poll. That slate features No. 5 Clemson, No. 6 Indiana and No. 11 Wake Forest. Additionally, Butler has moved to No. 9 overall since drawing with the Cardinals on August 26.

2016 LOUISVILLE SOCCER SEASON TICKET AND FAN EXPERIENCE INFORMATION
Season tickets and Fan Experience packages for Louisville's third season at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium are now available. To purchase your tickets for the 2016 soccer season, please call the Louisville Cardinals Ticket Office at (502) GoCARDS or visit gocards.com/soccer-fep for more information. Ticket prices for the 2016 season will remain the same as the inaugural season and start as low as $2 per person per game. Season tickets for 2016 include every regular season home match for both the men's and women's soccer programs.

FOLLOWING LOUISVILLE MEN'S SOCCER 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.

Another Ranked Showdown as Cardinals, Hoosiers Collide at Lynn

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Players Mentioned

Stefan Cleveland

Daniel Johnson

Tim Kubel

Joey Kunkel

Tate Schmitt

Mohamed Thiaw

University of Louisville Athletics