No. 7 Field Hockey Hits the Road to Face a Pair of Ranked Opponents

The seventh-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team will hit the road for a pair of top-20 matchups this weekend. The Cardinals (13-3, 2-3 ACC) will face ninth-ranked Virginia (11-5, 3-2) in their ACC finale on Friday. Following that game, Louisville will travel to No. 17 James Madison on Sunday.

The Weekend Ahead
Oct. 21: #7 Louisville at #9 Virginia
Location: Charlottesville, Va.
Television: ACC Network Extra
Live Scoring: VirginiaSports.com
Twitter updates: @ULFieldHockey

Oct. 23: #7 Louisville at #17 JMU
Location: Harrisonburg, Va.
Live Scoring: JMUSports.com
Live Streaming: JMUSports.com
Twitter updates: @ULFieldHockey

Cardinal Quick Hits:
• Louisville enters the weekend with a13-3 record and ranked No. 7 in the most recent Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Poll. The Cardinals carry a 2-3 mark in ACC play and are currently tied for fifth in conference standings.
• The Cards are led offensively by freshman Minout Mink who is also tied for second in the ACC with 12 goals and 27 points.
• Senior co-captain Lotta Kahlert stands second on the team with seven goals. Fellow senior co-captain Erin McCrudden leads the nation with 16 assists in 16 games - she is also second on Louisville's single season record list.
• The Cardinals have outscored opponents 47-14 on the season while posting seven shutouts.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran (12-3) leads the nation with a .806 save percentage while leading the ACC and standing second in the nation with a 0.89 goals against average.
• Head coach Justine Sowry is in her sixth season at the helm for the Cardinals. She has compiled a 78-38 record at Louisville and has an overall 136-69 record while in her tenth season as a head coach.
Louisville vs. Virginia
Series History: UVA leads 6-1
Last Meeting: Sept. 11, 2015 - Virginia won 4-3 at Trager Stadium. Elisa Garcia scored a pair of goals, but the 11th ranked University of Louisville fell 4-3 to sixth-ranked Virginia in both teams' ACC opener
Scouting the Cavaliers: UVA enters the weekend with 11-5 overall record into the weekend and is 3-2 in ACC play to stand tied for third in the conference.
• The Cavaliers bring a three-game winning streak into the game, most recently defeating Richmond 4-1 on Sunday. Prior to that, Virginia handed Syracuse its first ACC loss in a 1-0 decision against the Orange.
• Tara Vittese leads the team with 11 goals and 29 points. Riley Tata follows with eigth goals. Carrera Lucas (9-3) carries a 1.73 goals against average and stands second in the ACC with four shutouts.

Louisville vs. James Madison
Series History: Tied 2-2
Last Meeting: Sept. 20, 2015 - Louisville won 5-0 in a neutral site game played at North Carolina. Sophomore Nicole Woods scored two goals and added a pair of assists to lead the ninth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team to a 5-0 win over No. 19 James Madison at North Carolina's Henry Stadium.
Scouting the Dukes: No. 17 JMU enters the weekend with an 11-3 record and on a five-
game winning streak prior to a Friday matchup against William & Mary. The Dukes are coming off of a 3-1 win over Lafayette on Sunday.
• Miranda Rigg leads the team with 16 goals while Hannah Hall and Ashley Gippe have eight goals apiece. Goalkeeper Sara Kraeutler (11-3) carries a 1.92 goals against average and a .667 save pecentage.

Up Next
Following this weekend's action, the Cardinals will wrap up the 2016 regular season with a trip to Ann Arbor, Mich., where they will take on No. 12 Michigan on Oct. 29. After that, Louisville will prepare for the 2016 ACC Championship which will be held Nov. 3-6 in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Up Last
No. 7 Louisville 1- No. 3 North Carolina 0
Senior Erin McCrudden's goal in the second half proved to be the only scoring in the game while sophomore Ayeisha McFerran collected four saves in her sixth shutout of the season as the seventh-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team upset No. 3 North Carolina in an ACC matchup Saturday afternoon at Trager Stadium.
No. 7 Louisville 3 - Kent State 2
Freshman Minout Mink and seniors Lizzie Gittens and Lotta Kahlert had a goal apiece while senior Erin McCrudden dished out two assists 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.
• Sophomore Ayeisha McFerran matched a season high with eight saves in the game.

Louisville Ranked No. 7 in NFHCA poll
Louisville is ranked seventh in the National Field Hockey Coaches' Association poll released on Oct. 18. The Cardinals hold on to their No. 7 ranking for the second straight week after upsetting then-No. 3 North Carolina 1-0 and beating Kent State 3-2 last weekend.
• Louisville opened the season at No. 12 in the preseason poll and has since spent the last seven weeks in the top 10.
• This marks the 39th straight week the Cardinals have appeared in the top 20 rankings dating back to the 2013 season. 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's top 20. It marks the 41st consecutive poll that the entire league has been ranked, a streak dating back to October 2012.

McCrudden and McFerran Earn ACC Weekly Honors
Erin McCrudden was named ACC Field Hockey Co-Offensive Player of the Week and Ayeisha McFerran was tabbed Co-Defensive Players of the Week as announced by the league office on Oct. 18.
• McCrudden scored the game's only goal in Louisville's 1-0 upset over No. 3 North Carolina on Saturday. The senior midfielder from Putnam Valley, N.Y., broke away from the Tar Heel defense and drilled her only shot of the game into the cage. The next day she dished out two assists to help the Cardinals overcome a 2-0 deficit to beat Kent State in the Cardinals' home finale.
• McCrudden was also named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Weekly honor roll.
• McFerran registered four saves en route to her ACC-leading sixth shutout of the season as the Cardinals upset No. 3 North Carolina on Saturday. The sophomore goalkeeper from Larne, Northern Ireland, matched her season high with eight saves on Sunday as Louisville prevailed over Kent State on senior day. McFerran posted a 1.05 goals against average and an .857 save percentage on the weekend.

Mink Shines in Early Season
Freshman Minout Mink is in the midst of an impressive rookie campaign. The forward from Haaksbergen, Netherlands, leads the team and is tied for second in ACC standings with 12 goals and 27 points.
• Mink delivered a pair of goals in her collegiate debut and a hat trick versus Central Michigan. She registered at least one goal in Louisville's first five games, snapping the streak in the 1-0 win at Michigan State on Sept. 11.

Cards Among Nation's Leaders
The Cardinals stand among the NCAA Division I leaders in several categories as a team and individually. The following is a breakdown of Louisville's national leaders.
Ayeisha McFerran
• Goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran leads the nation with an .806 save percentage and stands second with a 0.89 goals against average. The sophomore also leads the ACC with six shutouts.
Erin McCrudden
• Senior Erin McCrudden leads the nation in assists per game with 16 assists in 16 games
Team
•Louisville leads the nation with a 0.87 team goals against average and an .813 save percentage. The Cards stand among the top 20 in nearly every other category. UofL ranks second in shutouts per game (0.44) and sixth in assists per game. Louisville is also seventh in scoring margin (2.05) and winning percentage (.813). The Cards are 14th with 7.69 penalty corners per game and 9.06 points per game while standing 22nd with a 2.94 goals per game.

Senior Salute
Louisville honored the senior class of 2016 prior to the Oct. 16 game against Kent State. Entering this weekend the group has won 56 games while compiling an impressive 32-6 record at Trager Stadium including a perfect 10-0 mark in 2013.
• This class has helped the program reach several milestones while leading the transition into the ACC. Their teams have been a mainstay in the national top 20 rankings, while spending 19 weeks among the top 10, reaching as high as No. 5 in 2014.
• As sophomores, they played a part in Louisville's victory over top-ranked North Carolina, notching the program's first ACC win and first victory over a No. 1 team. As freshmen, they played an integral part in winning a share of the 2013 BIG EAST regular season championship.
• The 2016 senior class has also excelled academically, earning the NFHCA Academic team award in each of their seasons here.

McCrudden and Woods dishing it out at a record pace
• Senior Erin McCrudden registered three assists in the 4-1 win at Appalachian State on Sept. 25. The feat matches a school record for assists in a single game.
• Earlier in the season, junior Nicole Woods also dished out three assist in the 7-1 win over Brown on Sept. 3.

Cards Among ACC Leaders
Louisville leads the ACC in several statistical categories including: assists (47), assists per game (3.36), goals against average (0.85) and shutouts (6).
• Additionally, freshman Minout Mink is tied for second in the league in points (24) and goals (11) while senior Erin McCrudden is atop the conference standings with 14 assists. Sophomore Ayeisha McFerran carries an ACC-best 0.85 goals against average,.792 save percentage and five shutouts.

ACC Strong
• The Atlantic Coast Conference has continued its showing among the nation's best with all seven league teams appearing in the top 20 including: No. 2 Duke, defending national champion No. 3 Syracuse, No. 4 North Carolina, No. 7 Louisville, No. 9 Virginia, No. 13Boston College and No. 16 Wake Forest.
• ACC teams have won 18 of the 35 NCAA field hockey titles, including 11 of the last 14, and at least one ACC squad has advanced to the national championship for 17 straight years. All seven ACC programs earned bids to the 2015 NCAA Championship and all seven finished the 2015 season ranked nationally.

Calling Card - Stingy defense
Louisville has seven shutouts on the season while limiting opponents to 14 goals in 16 games.
• The 2015 Louisville defense produced nine shutouts, the most since the 2001 team also recorded nine. The school record is 10 - set in the 1980 season.

Balanced Attack
The Cardinals have 47 goals on the season with 13 players contributing at least one goal and 11 players adding multiple scores. Freshman Minout Mink leads the way with 12 goals while senior Lotta Kahlert follows with seven.

Home Sweet Home
The Cards posted a 7-2 record at Trager Stadium this season to bring their home tally to 32-6 since the 2013.
• The Cards were 8-1 at Trager in 2014. On Oct. 17, 2014 Louisville fell 2-1 in overtime to No. 17 Boston College, snapping a 16 -game home victory streak dating back to the 2012 season.
• Prior to the Boston College loss in 2014, 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.
• In 2013, UofL posted a perfect 10-0 record at Trager Stadium, going undefeated at home for the first time in school history.
• Louisville carries a 24 game win streak against non-conference opponents at Trager Stadium. The Cardinals have not lost to a non-conference opponent at home since Aug. 24, 2012 when they fell to Northeastern in their season opener. - Louisville also lost a 2-1 decision to UConn on Oct. 6, 2012 when both teams were members of the BIG EAST Conference.

Tough Road Ahead
The Cardinals face a challenging schedule in 2016. Nine of their 19 opponents are currently ranked in the NFHCA's top 20 with six of those teams ranked inside the top 10.

Kahlert Named ACC Offensive Player of the Week
Lotta Kahlert was named ACC Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Week as announced by the league office on Sept. 6.
• Kahlert led the Cardinals offensively with three goals as Louisville opened its home season with wins over Brown and Richmond. The team co-captain had a goal in the 7-1 win over Brown and scored twice in the 5-1 victory over Richmond.

Kahlert and McCrudden Tabbed Team Captains
The 2016 Cardinals will be look to senior captains Lotta Kahlert and Erin McCrudden to lead them on the field. Kahlert has played in every game as a Cardinal and started all 20 her junior season. McCrudden worked her way into the starting lineup in 2015 and went on to earn NFHCA All-West Region honors.

Woods Named to 2016 Junior World Cup Roster
Nicole Woods has been named to the Under-21 United States Women's National Team Junior World Cup roster. The 2016 Junior World Cup will take place November 23 – December 4 in Santiago, Chile.
• The junior forward/midfielder was selected to the 2016 Junior World Cup Roster after training with the U-21 USWNT throughout the summer which included a first place finish at the 2016 Young Women's National Championship. In March 2016, she scored five goals in the 2016 Junior Pan American Championship to help Team USA to a silver medal and an automatic berth to the Junior Women's World Cup.
• Woods was initially named to the U21 team in the summer of 2015, she competed with the team in a test series against Great Britain in January 2016. She was previously a member of the USA Field Hockey U19 squad and traveled to Belgium for a series of games.

No. 7 Field Hockey Hits the Road to Face a Pair of Ranked Opponents

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Players Mentioned

Elisa Garcia

Lizzie Gittens

Lotta Kahlert

Erin McCrudden

Ayeisha McFerran

Minout Mink

Nicole Woods

University of Louisville Athletics