No. 8 Field Hockey Welcomes No. 14 Boston College and No. 6 Northwestern to Trager Stadium

The eighth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team will continue its five-game home stand when No. 14 Boston College and No. 6 Northwestern visit Trager Stadium this weekend. Admission is free.

The Cardinals (10-2, 1-2 ACC) will open the weekend with an ACC matchup against No. 14 Boston College (4-6, 1-3) on Friday at 6:05 p.m. The game will be shown on the ACC Network Extra with Sean Moth handling play-by-play duties and Abbey Heird providing color analysis. Friday evening will mark UofL Field Hockey's annual game to support Friends of Jaclyn, an organization which promotes improving the quality of life of children living with brain tumors and other childhood cancers by pairing them with sports teams.

Louisville will face its fourth consecutive top 20 opponent on Sunday when the Cards play host to No. 6 Northwestern (10-2, 4-0 Big Ten). Following the game, the Cardinals will honor 2015 All-Americans Victoria Stratton and Ayeisha McFerran as their All-American banners are revealed on the wall of the field hockey complex.

The Weekend Ahead
10/7: #14 BC at #8 Louisville, 6 p.m.
• Friends of Jaclyn/Professor Appreciation Night
10/9: #6 Northwestern at #8 Louisville 1 p.m.
• All-American Banner Reveal
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Trager Stadium
Television: ACC Network Extra
Live Scoring: GoCards.com
Twitter updates: @ULFieldHockey

Cardinal Quick Hits:
• Louisville enters the weekend with a 10-2 record and ranked No. 8 in the most recent Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Poll.
• The Cards are led offensively by freshman Minout Mink who is also tied for second in the ACC with 11 goals and 23 points.
• Senior co-captain Lotta Kahlert stands second on the team with six goals. Fellow senior co-captain Erin McCrudden leads the nation with 14 assists 12 games - she is also tied for second on Louisville's single season record list.
• The Cardinals have outscored opponents 40-9 on the season while posting five shutouts.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran (9-2) leads the nation with a 0.74 goals against average and an .818 save percentage.
• Head coach Justine Sowry is in her sixth season at the helm for the Cardinals. She has compiled a 75-37 record at Louisville and has an overall 133-68 record while in her tenth season as a head coach.

Louisville vs. Boston College
Series History: Tied 1-1
Last Meeting: Oct. 16, 2015 - Louisville won 3-2 at Boston College. Nicole Woods scored a pair of goals and Stephanie Byrne added another to help the Cardinals overcome a 2-0 deficit and Boston College 3-2.
Scouting the Eagles: Boston College enters Friday's game with a 4-6 overall record and a 1-3 mark in ACC play. The Eagles are coming off of a 6-2 loss to then-No. 3 Duke. BC's other conference setbacks include a 2-1 overtime loss to No. 16 Virginia and a 3-1 loss to then-No. 1 Syracuse, but their lone ACC win was a 2-1 victory over No. 3 North Carolina.
• Brittany Sheenan leads the team with 18 points (8G, 2A). Audra Hampsch carries a 2.18 goals against average and a .738 save percentage.

Louisville vs. Northwestern
Series History: Louisville leads 6-1
Last Meeting: Sept. 6, 2014 - Louisville won 1-0 in Evanston, Ill. Becca Maddock scored the only goal of the game as the Cards shut out No. 14 Northwestern 1-0.
Scouting the Wildcats: Sixth-ranked Northwestern brings a 10-2 overall record into the weekend prior to a Big Ten matchup at Indiana on Friday. The Wildcats are on an eight-game win streak which includes victories over then-No. 4 Penn State and No. 6 Maryland. Their last lost came at the hands of then-No. 4 Duke on Sept 4 when the Blue Devils beat the Wildcats 3-2 in overtime.
• Isabel Flens leads the team with 30 points (12G, 8A). Lindsey von der Luft holds a 1.47 goals against average and a .765 save percentage.

Up Next
Following this weekend's action, Louisville will wrap up the home season with a pair of games next weekend. The Cards will face ACC foe third-ranked North Carolina Friday at 6 p.m. and will celebrate senior day with a non-conference matchup against Kent State Sunday at 1 p.m.

Up Last
No. 4 Syracuse 2 - No. 7 Louisville 1 (OT)
Louisville's three-game win streak came to a halt with a 2-1 overtime loss at No. 4 Syracuse on Friday. Minout Mink gave the Cardinals 1-0 lead with a goal in the closing seconds of the first half, but Syracuse evened things up midway through the first half. A penalty stroke in the sixth minute of overtime secured the win for the Orange.
• Ayeisha McFerran registered a season-high eight saves in the game.
No. 7 Louisville 2 - No. 18 Iowa 0
Minout Mink scored her team-best 11th goal and Marigrace Ragsdale registered a goal and an assist to help lead the seventh-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team 2-0 win over No. 18 Iowa on Sunday.
• The Cards scored both goals in the first 10 minutes of play and went on to hold the Hawkeyes(7-5) to five shots in the game. Sophomore Ayeisha McFerran collected three saves en route to Louisville's fifth shutout of the season.

Louisville Ranked No. 8 in NFHCA Poll
UofL is ranked No. 8 in the National Field Hockey Coaches' Association poll released on Oct. 4. The Cardinals dropped one spot after falling 2-1 to No. 4 Syracuse in overtime and then beating No. 18 Iowa 2-0.
• Louisville opened the season at No. 12 in the preseason poll and has since spent the next five weeks in the top 10.
• This marks the 37th 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 37th consecutive poll that the entire league has been ranked, a streak dating back to October 2012.

Mink Shines in Early Season
Freshman Minout Mink is off to an impressive start to her rookie campaign. The forward from Haaksbergen, Netherlands, leads the team and is tied for second in ACC standings with 11 goals and 23 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 a 0.74 goals against average and a .818 save percentage. The sophomore also leads the ACC with four shutouts.
Erin McCrudden
• Senior Erin McCrudden leads the nation in assists per game with 14 assists in 12 games
Marigrace Ragsdale
• Junior Marigrace Ragsdale is 16th in the same category with eight assists in 12 games.
Minout Mink
Freshman Minout Mink is ranked 17th nationally in goals per game (0.92).

Team
Louisville leads the nation with a 0.74 team goals against average and an .820 save percentage. The Cards stand among the top 10 in nearly every other category. The Cards rank third in scoring margin (0.42) and penalty corners per game (8.42). Louisville standsfourth in assists per game (3.58) and fifth in scoring margin (2.56) and winning percentage (.833). The Cards round out the top 10 with an average of 10.25 points per game.

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 vaunted ACC in several statistical categories including: scoring margin (2.56), goals against average (0.74), shutouts (5), assists (43) and penalty corners (101).
• Additionally, freshman Minout Mink is tied for second in the league in points (18) and goals (11) while senior Erin McCrudden is atop the conference standings with 14 assists. Sophomore Ayeisha McFerran carries an ACC-best 0.74 goals against average.

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, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Syracuse – the defending national champion, No. 10 Virginia, No. 14 Boston College, No. 17 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 five shutouts on the season while limiting opponents to nine goals and 79 shots in 12 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 40 goals on the season with 13 players contributing at least one goal and 10 players adding multiple scores. Freshman Minout Mink leads the way with 11 goals while senior Lotta Kahlert follows with six.

Home Sweet Home
The Cards have posted a 4-1 record at Trager Stadium this season to bring their home tally to 29-5 since the 2013 season.
• 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 has not lost to a non-conference opponent at home since Aug. 24, 2012 when the Cards fell to Northeastern in their season opener. - Louisville also lost a 2-1 decision to UConn on Oct. 6, 2012, but both teams were members of the BIG EAST Conference. Since then, the Cardinals are 22-0 against non-conference opponents at Trager Stadium.

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 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.

Cards on ACC Network Extra
Every Louisville field hockey home game will be aired digitally on ACC Network Extra as part of the initial phase of the full ACC Network announced July 21 by ESPN and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Live streaming of Olympic sports conference-wide will increase annually, culminating with 1,300 total ACC events when the linear network launches in 2019.
• The events covered by ACC Network Extra will be immediately available to users who have access to WatchESPN and the ESPN app. More than 600 total Olympic sporting events – encompassing the fall, winter, and spring seasons – will be carried exclusively by ACC Network Extra during the 2016-17 academic year.

McFerran, Woods Named to Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team
Ayeisha McFerran and Nicole Woods have been named to the 2016 Preseason All-Atlantic Coast Conference Field Hockey Team as announced by the league office on Tuesday. The Cardinals were also picked to finish sixth in a vote by the head coaches.
• McFerran, a sophomore goalkeeper from Larne, Northern Ireland is coming off of an impressive rookie season. In 2015, she posted a 1.24 goals against average and nine shutouts and became the first freshman in program history to earn National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-America honors after being named to the All-West Region first team. McFerran is also a member of the Irish National Field Hockey team.
• This marks the second straight conference preseason honor for Woods, a junior forward/midfielder from Beverly, Mass. She was a second team All-ACC selection and first team NFHCA All-West Region pick in 2015 after leading the Cardinals with 22 points and nine goals. Woods is a member of USA Field Hockey's Under-21 team and was recently named to the 2016 Junior World Cup Roster.
2016 ACC Field Hockey Preseason
Predicted Order of Finish
1. North Carolina (4) - 34
2. Virginia (1) - 28
3. Syracuse (2) - 27
4. Duke - 22
5. Wake Forest - 14
6. Louisville - 12
7. Boston College – 10

No. 8 Field Hockey Welcomes No. 14 Boston College and No. 6 Northwestern to Trager Stadium

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Players Mentioned

Stephanie Byrne

Lotta Kahlert

Erin McCrudden

Ayeisha McFerran

Minout Mink

Marigrace Ragsdale

Victoria Stratton

Nicole Woods

University of Louisville Athletics