No. 7 Field Hockey Defeats Kent State 3-2 in Home Finale

Sunday, October 16

LOUISVILLE, KY

12:00 PM

University of Louisville

(13-3)

KENT STATE

(9-6)

Kent State

Louisville

No. 7 Field Hockey Defeats Kent State 3-2 in Home Finale

October 16, 2016 | Field Hockey

Box Score Louisville 3 - Kent State 2 Post game interview: Justine Sowry Photo Gallery

Cards overcome 2-0 deficit with a pair of goals from freshman Minout Mink and senior Lizzie Gittens' game winner

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Freshman Minout Mink scored a pair of goals and senior Lizzie Gittens added another as the seventh-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team overcame a two-goal deficit to beat Kent State 3-2 in the Cardinals' home finale Sunday at Trager Stadium.

"Kent State gave us a great game – they're a good team," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "They gave away nothing and defended with their hearts on the line. It was really difficult to get past them and they were quick on attack, but thankfully we came back and were able to get the win."

The game featured a fast-paced attack by both teams with Louisville(13-3) owning a 17-14 advantage in shots and holding a 12-9 edge in penalty corners.

The teams played through 22 scoreless minutes before Kent State (9-6) struck first when Ines Delpech capitalized on penalty corner assists from Jessica Nesbitt and Silvia Figa Malgosa. The Golden Flashes quickly added to the lead two minutes later when Laila Richter connected on Alison Harmatz's cross in front of the cage.

The Cardinals answered five minutes later on a penalty corner of their own. Senior Erin McCrudden got the corner started and junior Nicole Woods provided the stop for Mink who delivered a shot past Kent State goalkeeper Andrea Rinehart to cut the lead to one goal.

In the first half, Louisville outshot Kent State 11-6 and owned a 6-3 margin in penalty corners, but the Golden Flashes took the 2-1 lead into the break.

Kent State opened the second half with a pair of Kent State corners in the first five minutes, but Louisville sophomore goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran picked up a save and the Cardinals' defense kept the Golden Flashes off of the scoreboard.

Mink delivered the equalizer when she wrangled the ball from the Kent State defense from about 30 yards out and broke away to the circle where she sent a shot that went off of a diving Rinehart's glove and bounced into the cage. Mink's team-best 13^th goal of the season tied the score at 2-2 at the 48:39 mark in the game.

After a Kent State timeout, the Golden Flashes were awarded a pair of consecutive penalty corners and fired off three quick shots, all of which were turned back by McFerran. Eight minutes later, Kent State had two more penalty corner opportunities, but McFerran was there for two more stops to keep the game tied at 2-2.

With under eight minutes remaining in regulation, the Cardinals converted on a penalty corner to pull ahead for the first time in the contest. McCrudden inserted the ball and Woods was there for the stop for Gittens who rifled a shot to the back board for her fifth goal of the season for the game winner. With her assist on the goal, McCrudden now has a team-best 16 on the season and stands second on Louisville's single season list.

McFerran (12-3)tied her season high with eight saves in the game. Rinehart (9-6) also had eight stops in the game.

The Cardinals finished the 2016 season with a 7-2 record at Trager Stadium and extended their non-conference home win streak to 24 games dating back to 2012.

"I'm very happy for our senior class," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "They've meant the world to this program and they've worked hard to change the culture of the program… I feel relief that we got the win and I'm really grateful that we were able to do it on senior day for them."

Louisville (12-3) will return to action at No. 10 Virginia on Oct. 21 at 6 p.m.