No. 8 Field Hockey Set for ACC Championship

Thursday, November 3

Winston-Salem, N.C.

11:00 AM

University of Louisville

North Carolina

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November 02, 2016 | Field Hockey

Championship Central ACC Championship Bracket: Television: ACC Network Extra/RSN (Where to watch)Watch Link vs. North Carolina Live scoring vs. North Carolina Tickets Louisville Field Hockey Game Notes - ACC Championship

Cards will face No. 5 North Carolina in the quarterfinals Thursday at 11 a.m.

The eighth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team will take on No. 5 North Carolina in the quarterfinals of the ACC Championship on Thursday at 11 a.m. The game will be shown on the league's Regional Sports Networks and will be available online and on mobile devices via WatchESPN.

Cardinal Quick Hits:
• Louisville enters the weekend with a 15-4 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 14 goals and 31 points.
• Senior co-captain Lotta Kahlert stands second on the team with nine goals. Fellow senior co-captain Erin McCrudden leads the ACC and is second in the nation with 17 assists in 19 games - she is two away from tying the school single season record set by Nicole Youman in 2010.
• The Cardinals have outscored opponents 55-22 on the season while posting seven shutouts.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran (14-4) leads the ACC with six shutouts and stands third in the ACC with a 1.18 goals against average.
• With 15 wins so far, Louisville needs one more to tie the school record for victories in a season which was set in 2010.
• Head coach Justine Sowry is in her sixth season at the helm for the Cardinals. She has compiled an 80-39 record at Louisville and has an overall 138-70 record while in her tenth season as a head coach.

Louisville vs. North Carolina
Series History: Tied 3-3
Last Meeting: Oct. 15, 2016 - 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 Cardinals upset No. 3 North Carolina in an ACC matchup at Trager Stadium.
Shots: UNC 11 – UL 6
Corners: UNC 5 – UL 2
Saves: UL-McFerran (4); UNC -Halpin(2)
Goals: McCrudden (UL)

Scouting the Tar Heels: North Carolina enters the ACC Quarterfinals with a 15-4 overall record and went 3-3 in conference play, finishing the regular season in a four-way tie for third (along with Louisville, Virginia and Boston College). The Tar Heels bring a three-game win streak into Thursday's game, most recently defeating Appalachian State 9-1 in their home finale.
• Lauren Moyer leads the team – and is tied for the ACC lead – with 17 goals and has 37 points on the season.

ACC Championship History: The teams have met once in the ACC Championship resulting in a 2-1 North Carolina victory in the quarterfinals on Nov. 5, 2015 at Virginia.

Louisville vs. the rest of the ACC Championship Field
Duke
Series History: Duke leads 9-3
Last Meeting: The Cardinals snapped their season-opening six game win streak with 2-1 loss to No. 2 Duke in their ACC opener at Trager Stadium. Sophomore Taylor Stone evened the score at 1-1 in the second half, but Hunter Bracale's goal with under eight minutes left in the game lifted the Blue Devils to the 2-1 victory.
•The Blue Devils are coached by Pam Bustin who is in her sixth season at Duke. Prior to that, Bustin spent 13 seasons (1998-2010) as Louisville's head coach.
Shots: DU 9 – UL 8
Corners: UL 6 – DU 4
Saves: (DU) Steele 6 – (UL) McFerran 3
Goals: Chiillano (DU), Stone (UL), Bracale (DU)

Syracuse
Series History: Syracuse leads 10-3
Last Meeting: Sept. 30, 2016 - Lies Lagerweij's penalty stroke in overtime lifted No. 4 Syracuse to a 2-1 win over No. 7 Louisville in an ACC field hockey matchup at J.S. Coyne Stadium in Syracuse, N.Y.
Shots: SU 15 – UL 10
Corners: UL 3 – SU 3
Saves: (UL) McFerran 8 – (SU) Spencer 5
Goals: Mink (UL), Carey (SU), Lagerweij (SU)

Virginia
Series History: UVA leads 6-2
Last Meeting: Oct. 21, 2016 – No. 7 Louisville 3 – No. 9 Virginia 2 (OT)
Freshman Minout Mink's goal in the 10th minute of overtime lifted the seventh-ranked Cards to a 3-2 win over host ninth-ranked Virginia in both teams' ACC finale. Mink scored a pair of goals in the game, breaking a 1-1 tie in the first half and then putting the Cards ahead for good in overtime.
•Goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran posted a career-high 12 saves in the win.
Shots: UVA 22 – UL 12
Corners: UVA 7 – UL 4
Saves: UL-McFerran (12); UVA –Lucas (6)
Goals: McDonough (UVA), Sloss (UL), Mink (UL), Tata (UVA), Mink (UL)

Boston College
Series History: BC leads 2-1
Last Meeting: Oct. 7, 2016 - No. 14 Boston College 3 - No. 8 Louisville 1
Eighth-ranked Louisville fell 3-1 to No. 14 Boston College in an ACC contest at Trager Stadium.
• BC jumped to a 2-0 a behind goals from Frederique Haverhals and Eryn McCoy. Shannon Sloss put the Cardinals on the scoreboard in the first half, but a second half insurance goal by the Eagles' Lucy Lytle secured the win.
• Ayeisha McFerran had four saves. BC's three goals were the most by an opponent this season.
Shots: BC 10 – UL 10
Corners: UL 6 – BC 3
Saves: UL-McFerran (4); UVA –Hampsch (2)
Goals: Haverhals (BC), McCoy (BC), Sloss (UL), Lytle (UL)

Wake Forest
Series History: Wake Forest leads 11-4
Last Meeting: Sept. 23, 2016 – Louisville 2 – Wake Forest 0. Seniors Lotta Kahlert and Lizzie Gittens each scored a goal and sophomore Ayeisha McFerran posted two saves.
Shots: UL 15 – WF 3
Corners: UL – 5 – WF 1
Saves: (WF) O'Connor 6 – (UL) McFerran 2
Goals: Kahlert (UL), Gittens (UL)

Up Last
No. 11 Michigan 4 - No. 7 Louisville 1
The seventh-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team fell 4-1 to No. 11 Michigan in the Cardinals' regular season finale Saturday afternoon.
• The loss ended Louisville's five-game win streak and marks the Cards' first loss to a non-conference opponent in 2015 and the most goals allowed this season.
• Senior Lotta Kahlert scored her ninth goal of the season to put Louisville on the scoreboard with under six minutes left to play. Louisville outshot Michigan 10-8 and held a 7-2 edge in corners in the game.

Louisville Earns No. 4 Seed in ACC Championship
The University of Louisville has earned the No. 4 seed in the 2016 ACC Championship and will face fifth-seeded North Carolina in the quarterfinals on Thursday, November 3.
•The Cardinals posted a 3-3 record in conference play and finished the regular season in a four-way tie for third along with North Carolina, Boston College and Virginia. The Cards and the defending ACC champion Tar Heels will open the tournament at 11 a.m.
• Duke (5-1 ACC) enters the ACC Championship as the No. 1 seed. The Blue Devils will get a bye in the first round and play the winner of Louisville and North Carolina on Friday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m.
• Second-seeded Syracuse (4-2), the defending national champion, will take on the No. 7 seed Wake Forest (0-6) on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
•Third-seeded Boston College (3-3) and sixth-seeded Virginia will meet in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 4 p.m.
• The seven ACC field hockey teams have been ranked for the entire season, and five of the top nine ranked teams in the NFHCA Poll are from the ACC. Conference teams have combined to go a national-best 56-9 against the other leagues this season, and are 18-7 against ranked nonconference opponents.
Television Coverage: ACC fans will be able to watch all six games of the championship as they will be televised live by the league's Regional Sports Networks and available online and on mobile devices via WatchESPN.

McCrudden Selected to Play in NFHCA Senior Game
Erin McCrudden has been selected to play in the 2016 Victory Sports Tours/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I Senior Game which will be held on Saturday, November 19 at 2:30 p.m. at Old Dominion University.
• The senior midfielder from Putnam, N.Y., leads the ACC and stands second in the nation with 17 assists. The team co-captain has started every game this season and earned ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 18 after scoring the game-winning goal in the Cards' upset of No. 3 North Carolina. She is a 2015 NFHCA All-West Region second team selection.

Louisville Ranked No. 8 in NFHCA poll
Louisville is ranked eighth in the National Field Hockey Coaches' Association poll released on Nov. 1. The Cardinals dropped a spot after falling 4-1 to then-No. 11 Michigan in the their regular season finale.
• Louisville opened the season at No. 12 in the preseason poll and has since spent the last nine weeks in the top 10.
• This marks the 41st 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 43rd consecutive poll that the entire league has been ranked, a streak dating back to October 2012.

Cards No. 8 in RPI
Louisville stands at No. 8 in the NCAA RPI report released on Nov. 1. The Cards have spent the last two weeks after moving up from No. 11 in the first part of the season.
• The Cardinals have posted a 2-2 record against teams ranked above them in the RPI including: No. 1 Duke (L, 1-2), No. 2 Syracuse (L, 1-2/OT), No. 5 North Carolina (W, 1-0) and No. 7 Virginia (W, 3-2/OT).

Mink Shines
Freshman Minout Mink is in the midst of an impressive rookie campaign. The forward from Haaksbergen, Netherlands, leads the team and is third in ACC standings with 14 goals and fourth with 31 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.
• With 14 goals on the season, she has moved into a tie for ninth on Louisville list for single season goals. She needs one more to move into a tie for seventh.

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 stands fourth in the nation with a .777 save percentage and is sixth with a 1.18 goals against average. The sophomore stands eighth with a .778 win/loss percentage.
Erin McCrudden
• Senior Erin McCrudden is second nation in assists per game with 17 assists in 19 games
Team
•Louisville is ranked third in the nation with a .784 save percentage and fourth nationally with a 1.14 team goals against average and 0.37 shutouts per game.
• The Cards stand among the top 20 in nearly every other category. UofL ranks eighth in assists per game (3.11) and winning percentage (.789). Louisville stands 12th with a scoring margin of 1.71 and 13th in points per game (8.89). The Cards are 16th with 7.21 penalty corners 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 58 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).
• Sophomore Ayeisha McFerran leads the conference with six shutouts and stands second with a .777 save percentage and third with a 1.18 goals against average.
• Freshman Minout Mink is tied for third with five game-winning goals, third with 14 goals and fourth in points (31). Senior Erin McCrudden is atop the conference standings with 17 assists while junior Marigrace Ragsdale is third with 10 assists.

Calling Card - Stingy defense
Louisville has seven shutouts on the season while limiting opponents to 22 goals in 19 games.
• The 2015 Louisville defense produced nine shutouts, the most since the 2001 team also recorded nine. The school record is 10 - set in 1980.

Balanced Attack
The Cardinals have 55 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 14 goals while senior Lotta Kahlert follows with nine.

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.

You've got to play the best
The Cardinals faced a challenging schedule in 2016. Ten of their 19 opponents are currently ranked in the NFHCA's top 20 with five of those teams ranked inside the top 10.

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.

Woods Tabbed ACC Offensive Player of the Week
Nicole Woods was named ACC Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Week as announced by the league office on Oct. 25.
• Woods helped lead the Cardinals to a pair of ranked wins over the weekend with two goals and a pair of assists. The junior dished out an assist to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead against No. 9 Virginia, and helped direct an attack which would eventually lead to a 3-2 overtime win. On Sunday, she registered a pair of goals and an assist as Louisville defeated No. 17 James Madison 4-2.
• Woods was also named to the NFHCA Weekly Honor Roll.

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. She collected eight saves 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.

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.

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