No. 8 Field Hockey Will Face No. 9 Delaware in NCAA Tournament

The eighth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team will travel to Durham, N.C. to face No. 9 Delaware in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Field Hockey Championship Saturday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. Host Duke, the tournament's overall No. 1 seed, will face the winner of a play-in game between American and Kent State in the other first round matchup at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

The winner of the first and second rounds will advance to the NCAA semifinals which will take place Nov. 18 at Old Dominion's L.R. Hill Complex in Norfolk, Va., with the national championship game being played on Nov. 20.

About Louisville
This marks Louisville's third straight at-large bid and sixth overall NCAA appearance. The eighth-ranked Cardinals (15-5) are coming off of a 3-2 loss to No. 5 North Carolina in the quarterfinals of the ACC Championship on Nov. 3. The Cardinals posted a 3-3 record in conference play and finished the regular season in a four-way tie for third in league standings.

"I am very proud of the team and what we have accomplished this season," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "Making the NCAA tournament for our sport is one of the toughest and to be able to do it for the third year in a row is fantastic. We are prepared and ready to take the next step for Louisville Field Hockey."

Louisville vs. Delaware
Series Record: Delaware leads 2-1
Last Meeting: Aug. 30, 2009 – Louisville won 5-2 in a neutral site game played in Durham, N.C.
Scouting the Blue Hens: No. 9 Delaware brings a 19-2 record into the NCAA tournament after capturing its fourth-straight Colonial Athletic Association title. The Blue Hens are on a 15-game win streak dating bac to Sept. 16. Their last loss was on Sept. 11 to then-No. 16 Princeton. Delaware's only other loss on the season was a 3-2 overtime setback at the hands of then-No. 20 Old Dominion on Sept. 2.
• The Blue Hens are led offensively by Greta Hauck who is also the nation's leading scorer with 29 goals and 67 points on the season.

Cards in the NCAA Tournament
2015 – First round (at Connecticut)
                #3 Connecticut 3 -#9 Louisville 0
2014 - First round (at Connecticut)
            #4 Stanford 2 - #10 Louisville 1/OT
2008 - First round (at Michigan State)
            6 Iowa 1 - 13 Louisville 0
2004 - Play-in game (at Pacific)
            Pacific 1 - Louisville 0/OT
2003 - First round (at Michigan State)
            Michigan State 2 - Louisville 0

Cardinal Quick Hits:
• Louisville enters the weekend with a 15-5 record and ranked No. 8 in the most recent Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Poll.
• Louisville placed a program-best five players on the 2016 All-ACC teams. Sophomore goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran was selected to the first team while freshman Minout Mink, junior Nicole Woods and seniors Erin McCrudden and Lizzie Gittens earned second team honors.
• Mink leads the team with 15 goals and 33 points. She owns the school record for most goals and points scored by a freshman.
• Senior co-captain Lotta Kahlert stands second on the team with nine goals. McCrudden leads the ACC and is second in the nation with 18 assists in 20 games - she is one away from tying the school single season record set by Nicole Youman in 2010.
• McFerran (14-5) leads the ACC with six shutouts and stands second in the conference and the ACC with a 1.18 goals against average.
• Saturday's matchup against No. 9 Delaware will mark the 12^th time this season that the Cards will face a ranked opponent – including the last four games. Louisville is 6-5 against teams ranked in the top 20 and 3-3 against top 10 teams.
• The Cardinals have outscored opponents 57-25 on the season while posting seven shutouts.
• With 15 wins on the season, 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 80-40 record at Louisville and has an overall 138-71 record while in her tenth season as a head coach.

No. 8 Field Hockey Will Face No. 9 Delaware in NCAA Tournament

Players Mentioned

Hollyn Barr

Lizzie Gittens

Lotta Kahlert

Erin McCrudden

Ayeisha McFerran

Minout Mink

Nicole Woods

University of Louisville Athletics