Woods Leads No. 7 Field Hockey to 4-2 win over No. 17 James Madison

Sunday, October 23

Harrisonburg, VA

12:00 PM

University of Louisville

(15-3, 3-3ACC)

James Madison

(11-5, 3-2CAA)

Louisville

JMU

Woods Leads No. 7 Field Hockey to 4-2 win over No. 17 James Madison

October 23, 2016 | Field Hockey

Box Score Louisville 4 - JMU 2 (PDF)

Junior Nicole Woods scores a pair of goals and dishes out an assist

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Junior Nicole Woods scored a pair of goals and dished out an assist to lead the seventh-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team to a 4-2 win over No. 17 James Madison Sunday afternoon. The Cardinals (15-3) extend their win streak to five games.

"This was a tough game against a quality opponent," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "They out-hustled and won more 50/50 balls than us, but we kept our composure when the pressure really was high. I am very proud of the team's persistence, focus and the fact that we are stronger when we play together. It was a solid road weekend for us."

The Cardinals struck early when senior Lotta Kahlert delivered her eighth goal of the season after a shot by fellow senior Shannon Sloss was stopped by JMU goalkeeper Sara Kraeutler in the sixth minute of the game.

The Dukes (11-5) answered four minutes later when Ashley Gippe connected on a feed from Florien Sondern to even the score at 1-1.

The teams battled throughout the next 21 minutes before Louisville converted on a penalty corner with under four minutes left in the first half. Senior Stephanie Byrne got the corner started and Woods provided the stop for senior Lizzie Gittens who powered a shot past Kraeutler to give the Cards a 2-1 lead.

UofL took the lead into the break despite JMU holding an 8-4 advantage in shots and a 4-2 edge in corners.

Louisville opened the second half on the attack broke through with another goal in the sixth minute of the period. Junior Abby Grimes dribbled into the circle and sent cross from right baseline to the left post where Nicole tapped in her fourth goal of the season to increase the lead to 3-1.

JMU responded when Hannah Hall converted a penalty stroke to pull the Dukes within a goal with just under eight minutes remaining in the contest.

James Madison lifted its goalkeeper in favor of an extra field player with 9:37 on the clock and the Cardinals took advantage of the situation. Woods put the game out of reach when she received a pass from junior Marigrace Ragsdale and sent the ball into an empty cage with four minutes left to play.

In the game, JMU held a 13-9 lead in shots and a 4-3 edge in corners. Louisville sophomore goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran (14-3) collected four saves while Kraeutler had two stops.

Louisville returns to action on Oct. 29 when the Cards travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to face No. 12 Michigan in its regular season finale.

NOTES: The Cardinals now have 15 wins on the season, matching the totals in the 2014 and 2013 seasons. The school record for victories is 16 which was set in 2001.