Sunday, November 20
LOUISVILLE, KY
5:00 PM
University of Louisville
vs
UCLA (Second Round)
Mohamed Thiaw and the Cardinals open the NCAA Championship Sunday at 5 p.m., ET.
Cardinals Host UCLA in NCAA Second Round Match on Sunday
November 18, 2016 | Men's Soccer
Watch (ACCN Extra)Live StatsTickets2016 NCAA Championship BracketVideo: Ken Lolla News Conference (Monday)Match Notes (PDF)
Kickoff for No. 4 Louisville and UCLA set for 5 p.m., ET at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -Â The fourth-seeded Louisville men's soccer team begins the quest for the College Cup with an NCAA Championship second round match against UCLA on Sunday at 5 p.m., ET at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium. The match will be televised on ACC Network Extra, while live scoring will be provided through GoCards.com. The winner of Sunday's match will advance to an NCAA third round match against either No. 13 Notre Dame or Loyola Chicago next weekend.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville, positioned to play at home in each round of the NCAA Championship prior to the College Cup as one of the top four seeds, enters this year's tournament at 12-5-2 overall. The Cardinals finished second in the ACC Atlantic Division with a 5-2-1 conference mark. Junior Mohamed Thiaw ranks in the top 20 nationally with 11 goals, including an NCAA best seven game-winners. Junior Tim Kubel is eighth in the nation and No. 1 in the ACC with nine assists, while graduate goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland has registered 10 shutouts this season.
ABOUT UCLA
The Bruins enter the Sunday's match at 10-7-2 after earning a 4-2 victory over Colgate in Thursday's first round match. UCLA, which finished fourth in the Pac-12 with a 4-5-1 record, is led offensively by Abu Danladi's six goals, while four other players have five goals each. The Bruins are making their 44th NCAA Championship appearance overall.
SERIES SNAPSHOT
The Cardinals are 2-1-0 all-time against UCLA with all three matches played in Louisville. The teams split NCAA quarterfinal games in 2010 and 2011 as UofL advanced to the College Cup in 2010 with a 5-4 win, while the Bruins earned a College Cup berth in 2011 with a 1-0 double overtime win.Â
LOUISVILLE EARNS TOP 16 SEED FOR FIFTH TIME
The Cardinals earned a top 16 seed in the NCAA Championship for the fifth time in school history landing at No. 4, the second highest seed ever. Louisville was seeded No. 1 in 2010 when they advanced to the College Cup final. The Cardinals were No. 13 in 2014, No. 10 in 2012 and No. 12 in 2011. UofL has advanced to at least the third round in each of the seasons when earning a top 16 seed.
CARDINALS 6TH IN PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP RPI
The NCAA released its eighth men's soccer RPI on Monday in advance of the NCAA Championship and Louisville landed at No. 6. The Cardinals were among eight ACC schools in the top 20 and nine teams in the top 33. Clemson was No. 2 in this week's RPI and was followed by No. 3 Wake Forest, No. 6 Louisville, No. 9 Syracuse, No. 10 North Carolina, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 17 Boston College, No. 20 Virginia and No. 33 Virginia Tech.
LOUISVILLE NOTES AND TRENDS...
• The Cardinals played 11 of their 19 matches against NCAA qualifiers (4-5-2 record), including 10 matches versus teams earning top 16 seeds.
• Louisville has finished with more shots than its opponent in 16 of 19 matches this season.
• Tim Kubel leads the Cardinals with 15 career goals, while Mohamed Thiaw (11), Tate Schmitt (10) and Daniel Johnson (seven) are next.
• The Cardinals, who were 6-3-2 at home in 2015, are 8-2-1 at home in 2016 and 21-8-6 all-time at Lynn Stadium, now in its third season as Louisville's home.
• UofL is 9-5-1 all-time at Lynn Stadium versus ranked foes highlighted by wins over No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 3 Syracuse this season and No. 2 Maryland and No. 2 Syracuse in 2014.
LOUISVILLE'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Making its ninth NCAA Championship appearance in the last 10 years, Louisville is 10-8-1 all-time in the tournament with one College Cup appearance (2010).
2014 (No. 13 seed / 1-1-0)
   11/23 - 2nd Round vs. Saint Louis (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 2-1
   11/30 - 3rd Round vs. UMBC (Louisville, Ky.) - L, 1-0
2013 (0-1-1)
   11/21 - 1st Round vs. Denver (Louisville, Ky.) - T, 0-0 (2OT)
   11/24 - 2nd Round at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.) - L, 1-0 (2OT)
2012 (No. 10 seed / 2-1-0)
   11/18 - 2nd Round vs. Winthrop (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 5-0
   11/25 - 3rd Round vs. Northwestern (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 2-1
   12/01 - Quarterfinal at Maryland (College Park, Md.) - L, 3-1
2011 (No. 12 seed / 2-1-0)
   11/20 - 2nd Round vs. Bradley (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 3-2 (2OT)
   11/27 - 3rd Round at Maryland (College Park, Md.) - W, 4-2
   12/03 - Quarterfinal vs. UCLA (Louisville, Ky.) - L, 1-0 (2OT)
2010 (No. 1 seed / 4-1-0)
   11/21 - 2nd Round vs. College of Charleston (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 3-1
   11/28 - 3rd Round vs. Ohio State (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 2-1
   12/04 - Quarterfinal vs. UCLA (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 5-4
   12/10 - College Cup Semifinal vs. North Carolina (Santa Barbara, Calif.) - W, 2-1
   12/12 - College Cup Final vs. Akron (Santa Barbara, Calif.) - L, 1-0
2009 (0-1-0)
   11/19 - 1st Round at Indiana (Bloomington, Ind.) - L, 2-0
2008 (0-1-0)
   11/21 - 1st Round vs. Jacksonville (Louisville, Ky.) - L, 4-3 (OT)
2007 (1-1-0)
   11/23 - 1st Round vs. Duke (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 1-0
   11/28 - 2nd Round at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio) - L, 1-0
LOUISVILLE AMONG THE NATION'S BEST IN TEAM, INDIVIDUAL NCAA STAT RANKINGS
Entering the first week of the NCAA Championship, Louisville was ranked in the top 40 in eight different team statistical categories. The Cardinals were No. 9 in goals against average (0.62), 11th in shutout percentage (0.53), 24th in total goals (33), 33rd in scoring offense (1.74 goals per game), 34th in shots on goal per game (6.11), 38th in save percentage (0.789), 40th in total points (93) and 40th in points per game (4.89).
Individually, three Cardinals have emerged to rank among the best in the nation and the ACC -- junior forward Mohamed Thiaw, junior defender Tim Kubel and graduate goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland. Thiaw was ranked No. 1 in the nation with seven game-winning goals, No. 16 in the NCAA and second in the ACC in goals (11), 25th in the nation and second in the ACC in goals per game (0.58) and 40th nationally and second in the ACC in points (23).Â
Kubel, who set a school record with four assists in the 6-1 win over Virginia on Sept. 24, is eighth in the NCAA and first in the ACC with nine assists while ranking 18th nationally and first in the ACC in assists per game (0.47). Cleveland is No. 13 in the nation and No. 4 in the ACC in goals against average (0.615).
KUBEL, THIAW EARN ALL-ACC FIRST TEAM HONORS; DEE, JOHNSON ON THIRD TEAM
Louisville junior defender Tim Kubel and junior forward Mohammed Thiaw were named All-ACC First Team honorees on November 8, while junior midfielder Geoffrey Dee and senior midfielder Daniel Johnson were honored as Third Team selections by the league's head coaches.
The 2016 accolades mark the second time in three seasons four Louisville players have received All-ACC recognition matching the total in 2014 and it is the third straight season multiple Cardinals have earned All-ACC honors. The four All-ACC selections for Louisville rank as the fourth most of any school this season as North Carolina (six), Virginia (five) and Wake Forest (five) paced the way.
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Kubel, tabbed as an All-ACC First Team honoree for the second straight season while becoming a three-time All-ACC selection overall, leads the ACC and ranks in the top nationally in assists. Earlier this season, the Stuttgart, Germany native set a school record with four assists in a 6-1 win over Virginia.Â
In his first season with the Cardinals, Thiaw has emerged as one of the nation's elite scorers ranking in the top 20 in the NCAA in goals and leading the country with seven game-winners. A transfer from Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Thiaw has started all 19 matches at forward while scoring six of his 11 matches in Louisville's eight ACC regular season matches.Â
Dee, is in his first season with the Cardinals after transferring from Tulsa, connected for two goals and contributed four assists while starting all 19 matches in 2016. Each of the four assists for the Germantown, Tennessee native were delivered against ACC foes, while his lone game-winning goal came on Sept. 13 in the victory against Xavier.
Johnson earned All-ACC recognition for the second consecutive season after receiving Second Team honors in 2015. Hailing from Duluth, Georgia, Johnson scored a pair of goals and added three assists in 19 starts for the Cardinals. In his two seasons with the Louisville after transferring from Maryland, Johnson has accumulated seven goals in 38 starts.
LOUISVILLE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS IN 2016
After falling in the ACC semifinals at No. 2 Wake Forest, the Cardinals moved to No. 7 in this week's NSCAA Top 25, the final set of rankings prior to the NCAA Championship. Ranked in the NSCAA poll since Sept. 20 when it debuted at No. 13, Louisville's highest ranking in the coaches poll this season was No. 4 on Oct. 11. Along with this week's ranking in the coaches poll, Louisville was also ranked No. 5 by Hero College Sports, No. 7 by Top Drawer Soccer and No. 8 by Soccer America.
TEN OF LOUISVILLE'S 19 MATCHES IN 2016 AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Louisville's ACC semifinal match against No. 2 Wake Forest on Nov. 9 marked the 10th contest in 19 total games this season the Cardinals have faced a nationally ranked opponent. Louisville is 5-5-0 in those 10 matches this season against ranked foes with home wins over No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 3 Syracuse and twice against Virginia (No. 16 and No. 17), a road win at No. 14 UConn and losses to No. 5 Clemson, twice at Wake Forest (No. 2 and No. 7), No. 9 Indiana and at No. 16 Kentucky.
ACC SETS NCAA RECORD WITH NINE TEAMS EARNING CHAMPIONSHIP BIDS
The Cardinals were among an NCAA record nine Atlantic Coast Conference schools receiving bids to the 48-team NCAA Championship field. While nine of the league's 12 men's soccer programs earned an NCAA berth, seven of those were among the top 16 seeds, including three of the top four. Wake Forest was seeded No. 2 and followed by No. 3 Clemson, No. 4 Louisville, No. 8 Syracuse, No. 9 North Carolina, No. 12 Virginia and No. 13 Notre Dame. Boston College and Virginia Tech also earned NCAA Championship bids for the ACC.
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.
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ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville, positioned to play at home in each round of the NCAA Championship prior to the College Cup as one of the top four seeds, enters this year's tournament at 12-5-2 overall. The Cardinals finished second in the ACC Atlantic Division with a 5-2-1 conference mark. Junior Mohamed Thiaw ranks in the top 20 nationally with 11 goals, including an NCAA best seven game-winners. Junior Tim Kubel is eighth in the nation and No. 1 in the ACC with nine assists, while graduate goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland has registered 10 shutouts this season.
ABOUT UCLA
The Bruins enter the Sunday's match at 10-7-2 after earning a 4-2 victory over Colgate in Thursday's first round match. UCLA, which finished fourth in the Pac-12 with a 4-5-1 record, is led offensively by Abu Danladi's six goals, while four other players have five goals each. The Bruins are making their 44th NCAA Championship appearance overall.
SERIES SNAPSHOT
The Cardinals are 2-1-0 all-time against UCLA with all three matches played in Louisville. The teams split NCAA quarterfinal games in 2010 and 2011 as UofL advanced to the College Cup in 2010 with a 5-4 win, while the Bruins earned a College Cup berth in 2011 with a 1-0 double overtime win.Â
LOUISVILLE EARNS TOP 16 SEED FOR FIFTH TIME
The Cardinals earned a top 16 seed in the NCAA Championship for the fifth time in school history landing at No. 4, the second highest seed ever. Louisville was seeded No. 1 in 2010 when they advanced to the College Cup final. The Cardinals were No. 13 in 2014, No. 10 in 2012 and No. 12 in 2011. UofL has advanced to at least the third round in each of the seasons when earning a top 16 seed.
CARDINALS 6TH IN PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP RPI
The NCAA released its eighth men's soccer RPI on Monday in advance of the NCAA Championship and Louisville landed at No. 6. The Cardinals were among eight ACC schools in the top 20 and nine teams in the top 33. Clemson was No. 2 in this week's RPI and was followed by No. 3 Wake Forest, No. 6 Louisville, No. 9 Syracuse, No. 10 North Carolina, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 17 Boston College, No. 20 Virginia and No. 33 Virginia Tech.
LOUISVILLE NOTES AND TRENDS...
• The Cardinals played 11 of their 19 matches against NCAA qualifiers (4-5-2 record), including 10 matches versus teams earning top 16 seeds.
• Louisville has finished with more shots than its opponent in 16 of 19 matches this season.
• Tim Kubel leads the Cardinals with 15 career goals, while Mohamed Thiaw (11), Tate Schmitt (10) and Daniel Johnson (seven) are next.
• The Cardinals, who were 6-3-2 at home in 2015, are 8-2-1 at home in 2016 and 21-8-6 all-time at Lynn Stadium, now in its third season as Louisville's home.
• UofL is 9-5-1 all-time at Lynn Stadium versus ranked foes highlighted by wins over No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 3 Syracuse this season and No. 2 Maryland and No. 2 Syracuse in 2014.
LOUISVILLE'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Making its ninth NCAA Championship appearance in the last 10 years, Louisville is 10-8-1 all-time in the tournament with one College Cup appearance (2010).
2014 (No. 13 seed / 1-1-0)
   11/23 - 2nd Round vs. Saint Louis (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 2-1
   11/30 - 3rd Round vs. UMBC (Louisville, Ky.) - L, 1-0
2013 (0-1-1)
   11/21 - 1st Round vs. Denver (Louisville, Ky.) - T, 0-0 (2OT)
   11/24 - 2nd Round at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.) - L, 1-0 (2OT)
2012 (No. 10 seed / 2-1-0)
   11/18 - 2nd Round vs. Winthrop (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 5-0
   11/25 - 3rd Round vs. Northwestern (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 2-1
   12/01 - Quarterfinal at Maryland (College Park, Md.) - L, 3-1
2011 (No. 12 seed / 2-1-0)
   11/20 - 2nd Round vs. Bradley (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 3-2 (2OT)
   11/27 - 3rd Round at Maryland (College Park, Md.) - W, 4-2
   12/03 - Quarterfinal vs. UCLA (Louisville, Ky.) - L, 1-0 (2OT)
2010 (No. 1 seed / 4-1-0)
   11/21 - 2nd Round vs. College of Charleston (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 3-1
   11/28 - 3rd Round vs. Ohio State (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 2-1
   12/04 - Quarterfinal vs. UCLA (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 5-4
   12/10 - College Cup Semifinal vs. North Carolina (Santa Barbara, Calif.) - W, 2-1
   12/12 - College Cup Final vs. Akron (Santa Barbara, Calif.) - L, 1-0
2009 (0-1-0)
   11/19 - 1st Round at Indiana (Bloomington, Ind.) - L, 2-0
2008 (0-1-0)
   11/21 - 1st Round vs. Jacksonville (Louisville, Ky.) - L, 4-3 (OT)
2007 (1-1-0)
   11/23 - 1st Round vs. Duke (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 1-0
   11/28 - 2nd Round at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio) - L, 1-0
LOUISVILLE AMONG THE NATION'S BEST IN TEAM, INDIVIDUAL NCAA STAT RANKINGS
Entering the first week of the NCAA Championship, Louisville was ranked in the top 40 in eight different team statistical categories. The Cardinals were No. 9 in goals against average (0.62), 11th in shutout percentage (0.53), 24th in total goals (33), 33rd in scoring offense (1.74 goals per game), 34th in shots on goal per game (6.11), 38th in save percentage (0.789), 40th in total points (93) and 40th in points per game (4.89).
Individually, three Cardinals have emerged to rank among the best in the nation and the ACC -- junior forward Mohamed Thiaw, junior defender Tim Kubel and graduate goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland. Thiaw was ranked No. 1 in the nation with seven game-winning goals, No. 16 in the NCAA and second in the ACC in goals (11), 25th in the nation and second in the ACC in goals per game (0.58) and 40th nationally and second in the ACC in points (23).Â
Kubel, who set a school record with four assists in the 6-1 win over Virginia on Sept. 24, is eighth in the NCAA and first in the ACC with nine assists while ranking 18th nationally and first in the ACC in assists per game (0.47). Cleveland is No. 13 in the nation and No. 4 in the ACC in goals against average (0.615).
KUBEL, THIAW EARN ALL-ACC FIRST TEAM HONORS; DEE, JOHNSON ON THIRD TEAM
Louisville junior defender Tim Kubel and junior forward Mohammed Thiaw were named All-ACC First Team honorees on November 8, while junior midfielder Geoffrey Dee and senior midfielder Daniel Johnson were honored as Third Team selections by the league's head coaches.
The 2016 accolades mark the second time in three seasons four Louisville players have received All-ACC recognition matching the total in 2014 and it is the third straight season multiple Cardinals have earned All-ACC honors. The four All-ACC selections for Louisville rank as the fourth most of any school this season as North Carolina (six), Virginia (five) and Wake Forest (five) paced the way.
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Kubel, tabbed as an All-ACC First Team honoree for the second straight season while becoming a three-time All-ACC selection overall, leads the ACC and ranks in the top nationally in assists. Earlier this season, the Stuttgart, Germany native set a school record with four assists in a 6-1 win over Virginia.Â
In his first season with the Cardinals, Thiaw has emerged as one of the nation's elite scorers ranking in the top 20 in the NCAA in goals and leading the country with seven game-winners. A transfer from Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Thiaw has started all 19 matches at forward while scoring six of his 11 matches in Louisville's eight ACC regular season matches.Â
Dee, is in his first season with the Cardinals after transferring from Tulsa, connected for two goals and contributed four assists while starting all 19 matches in 2016. Each of the four assists for the Germantown, Tennessee native were delivered against ACC foes, while his lone game-winning goal came on Sept. 13 in the victory against Xavier.
Johnson earned All-ACC recognition for the second consecutive season after receiving Second Team honors in 2015. Hailing from Duluth, Georgia, Johnson scored a pair of goals and added three assists in 19 starts for the Cardinals. In his two seasons with the Louisville after transferring from Maryland, Johnson has accumulated seven goals in 38 starts.
LOUISVILLE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS IN 2016
After falling in the ACC semifinals at No. 2 Wake Forest, the Cardinals moved to No. 7 in this week's NSCAA Top 25, the final set of rankings prior to the NCAA Championship. Ranked in the NSCAA poll since Sept. 20 when it debuted at No. 13, Louisville's highest ranking in the coaches poll this season was No. 4 on Oct. 11. Along with this week's ranking in the coaches poll, Louisville was also ranked No. 5 by Hero College Sports, No. 7 by Top Drawer Soccer and No. 8 by Soccer America.
TEN OF LOUISVILLE'S 19 MATCHES IN 2016 AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Louisville's ACC semifinal match against No. 2 Wake Forest on Nov. 9 marked the 10th contest in 19 total games this season the Cardinals have faced a nationally ranked opponent. Louisville is 5-5-0 in those 10 matches this season against ranked foes with home wins over No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 3 Syracuse and twice against Virginia (No. 16 and No. 17), a road win at No. 14 UConn and losses to No. 5 Clemson, twice at Wake Forest (No. 2 and No. 7), No. 9 Indiana and at No. 16 Kentucky.
ACC SETS NCAA RECORD WITH NINE TEAMS EARNING CHAMPIONSHIP BIDS
The Cardinals were among an NCAA record nine Atlantic Coast Conference schools receiving bids to the 48-team NCAA Championship field. While nine of the league's 12 men's soccer programs earned an NCAA berth, seven of those were among the top 16 seeds, including three of the top four. Wake Forest was seeded No. 2 and followed by No. 3 Clemson, No. 4 Louisville, No. 8 Syracuse, No. 9 North Carolina, No. 12 Virginia and No. 13 Notre Dame. Boston College and Virginia Tech also earned NCAA Championship bids for the ACC.
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.
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Players Mentioned
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