No. 7 Field Hockey Travels to No. 14 Wake Forest and Appalachian State

The seventh-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team will open a three-game road stretch this weekend when the Cardinals travel to No. 14 Wake Forest for an ACC matchup on Friday and step away from league play to face Appalachian State on Sunday.

The Weekend Ahead
Sept. 23 #7 Louisville at #14 Wake Forest, 7 pm (ET)
Sept. 25 #7 Louisville at Appalachian St., 12 p.m. (ET)
Twitter updates: @ULFieldHockey

Cardinal Quick Hits:
• Louisville enters the weekend with a 7-1 record and ranked No. 7 in the most recent Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Poll. The Cardinals are currently tied for fifth in ACC standings with an 0-1 record in league play.
• The Cards are led offensively by freshman Minout Mink who is tied atop the ACC statistical leaders with nine goals and 19 points on the season.
• Senior co-captain Lotta Kahlert stands second on the team with five goals and is tied for second with 11 points - along with fellow senior co-captain Erin McCrudden who has one goal and leads the nation with nine assists in eight games.
• The Cardinals have outscored opponents 31-6 on the season while posting three shutouts.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran (6-1) carries an ACC-best -and stands second in the nation - with a 0.73 goals against average. McFerran's .808 save percentage ranks second in the conference and seventh in the nation.
• Head coach Justine Sowry is in her sixth season at the helm for the Cardinals. She has compiled a 72-36 record at Louisville and has an overall 130-67 record while in her tenth season as a head coach.

Louisville vs. Wake Forest
Series History: Wake leads 11-3
Last Meeting: Sept. 25, 2015 - Wake won 2-1 at Trager Stadium
Scouting the Demon Deacons:
Wake Forest enters the weekend with a 4-3 overall record and a 0-2 mark in ACC play. The Demon Deacons are coming off of a 4-2 loss to No. 1 Syracuse. Prior to that, they defeated Davidson 6-0. Wake's other ACC loss was 4-1 setback to No. 3 North Carolina on Sept. 10.
• Nicola Pluta leads the team with six goals and 13 points. Cat O'Conner carries a 2.19 goals against average and a .581 save percentage.

Louisville vs. Appalachian State
Series History: UofL leads 8-5-1
Last Meeting: Aug. 28, 2015 - Louisville won 8-1 at Trager Stadium. The Cardinals have won the last six meetings.
Scouting the Mountaineers:
• Appalachian State brings a 1-5 record into the weekend prior to a Friday matchup with California. The Mountaineers are led by Melissa Nobile who has four goals while Taylor Cimbalist and Ali Williams have three goals apiece.

Up Next
Following this weekend's action, Louisville will resume ACC play with a trip to Syracuse on Friday, Sept. 30. The Cards will then return to Trager Stadium for a five-game home stand which will start Oct. 2 against Iowa.

Up Last
The Cardinals snapped their season-opening six game win streak with 2-1 loss to No. 2 Duke in their ACC opener on Friday. 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.
• Louisville rebounded to beat Ohio State 2-1 on Sunday. Junior Nicole Woods and freshman Minout Mink each scored as the Cards built a 2-0 lead. Sophomore Ayeisha McFerran collected six saves as Louisville held on for the win.

Louisville Ranked No. 7 in NFHCA poll
UofL is ranked No. 7 in the National Field Hockey Coaches' Association poll released on Sept. 20. The Cardinals slipped one spot after suffering their first loss of the season in a 2-1 setback to second-ranked Duke on Friday and defeated Ohio State 2-1 on Sunday.
• Louisville opened the season at No. 12 in the preseason poll and moved to No. 8 in the Sept. 6 poll.
• This marks the 35th 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 36th 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 the ACC with nine goals including a hat trick versus Central Michigan and a pair of goals in her collegiate debut. 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
Louisville stands among the top 10 in the nation in several categories. The Cards are also first in scoring margin (4.14) and team goals against average. UofL stands second in the nation in assists per game (4.67, save percentage (.824) and shutouts per game (0.50). Louisville third in the country, averaging 14.00 points per game and 10.33 penalty corners per game and fourth with a 4.64 scoring average.

Cards NCAA Team Stats Breakdown
Rank Category              Number
2       Goals against average 0.75
4       Assists per game         4.13
4       Scoring margin            3.11
4       Penalty corners per game 9.25
5       Shutouts per game      0.38
6       Winning percentage    .875
6       Save percentage          .800
7       Points per game        11.88
12     Scoring average          3.86

McFerran leads nation in goals against average and save percentage -
Sophomore goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran leads the nation with a 0.41 goals against average and a .857 save percentage.

McCrudden Paces Nation in Assists; Mink and Ragsdale ranked in top 20 offensive categories
• Senior Erin McCrudden leads the nation in assists per game with nine assists in eight games while junior Marigrace Ragsdale is 19th in the same category (1.00 assists per game).

• Freshman Minout Mink is ranked 14th in goals per game (1.13) and 18th in points per game (2.38)

Cards NCAA Individual Stats
Ayeisha McFerran
Rank    Category         Number
2       Goals against average 0.73
7       Save percentage          .808
8       GK Win/Loss percentage .857

Erin McCrudden
Rank Category             Number
1       Assists per game         1.13

Minout Mink
Rank Category             Number
14     Goals per game          1.13
18     Points per game         2.38

Marigrace Ragsdale
Rank Category             Number
19     Assists per game         0.75

Cards Among ACC Leaders
Louisville leads the vaunted ACC in several statistical categories including: goals scored (31), assists (33), goals against average (075)and while standing second in scoring margin (3.11) and scoring average (3.86).
• Additionally, freshman Minout Mink leads the league in points (18) and goals (9) while senior Erin McCrudden is atop the conference standings with nine assists. Sophomore Ayeisha McFerran carries an ACC-best 0.73 goals against average.

Cards ACC Team Stat Leaders Breakdown
Rank Category              Number
1.      Goals against average 0.75
1.      Assists                             33
T1.    Shutouts                            3
T1.    Goals scored                   31
2.      Scoring margin            3.11
2.      Scoring average          3.86

Cards ACC Individual Stat Leaders Breakdown
Minout Mink
Rank Category              Number
1.      Points                              18
1.      Goals                                 9
T2.    Game-winning goals        3
3.      Points per game          2.38
3.      Goals per game           1.12

Erin McCrudden
Rank Category              Number
1.      Assists                               9
T1.    Assists per game         1.12

Ayeisha McFerran
Rank Category              Number
1.      Goals Against Average 0.73
2.      Save percentage          .808
2.      Shutouts                            2
2.      Shutouts per game      0.29

ACC Strong
• The Atlantic Coast Conference has continued its showing among the nation's best with all seven league teams appearing in the top 12 including: No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Syracuse – the defending national champion, No. 4 Duke, No. 5 Virginia, No. 7 Wake Forest and No. 8 Boston College.
• 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 three shutouts on the season while limiting opponents to six goals and 50 shots in eight games.
• The 2015 Louisville defense produced nine shutouts, the most since the 2001 team recorded nine. The school record is 10 - set in the 1980 season.

Balanced Attack
The Cardinals have 31 goals on the season with 13 players contributing at least one goal and seven players adding multiple goals. Freshman Minout Mink leads the way with nine goals while senior Lotta Kahlert follows with five.

Home Sweet Home
The Cards went 2-0 in their home opening weekend to bring their home tally to 27-4 since the 2013 season.
• Louisville posted a 7-3 record at Trager Stadium in 2015 and is now 25-4 at home since the beginning of 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.

Tough Road Ahead
The Cardinals will face a challenging schedule in 2016. Nine of their 19 opponents are currently ranked in the NFHCA's top 20 with five 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.

Woods Ties School Assist Record
Junior Nicole Woods dished out three assist in the 7-1 win over Brown on Sept. 3. The performance places her in a tie for the school record for assists in a single game.
• Woods now has four assists on the season and 12 in her career.

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

Looking back to 2015
The Cardinals finished the 2015 campaign with a 13-7 overall record and made their second-straight NCAA appearance. Louisville was ranked No. 11 in the final Penn Monto/NFHCA National Coaches Poll and spent seven weeks among the top 10 in the nation after opening the 2015 season at No. 12.

No. 7 Field Hockey Travels to No. 14 Wake Forest and Appalachian State

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Players Mentioned

Lotta Kahlert

Erin McCrudden

Ayeisha McFerran

Minout Mink

Marigrace Ragsdale

Taylor Stone

Nicole Woods

University of Louisville Athletics