Two Ranked Opponents Up Next for No. 7 Field Hockey

The seventh-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team will continue its challenging schedule with a pair of ranked opponents on the slate this weekend. The Cards will wrap up a three-game road stretch with an ACC matchup at No. 4 Syracuse on Friday. Louisville will then return to Trager Stadium to open a five-game home stand, starting with No. 18 Iowa on Sunday.

Sunday's game will feature Louisville's annual 'Pink Game' to support breast cancer awareness. The Cardinal will wear custom-made pink uniforms and fans are also encouraged to wear pink. A variety of pink items available at the marketing table while supplies last. There will be a post-game autograph session and Admission is free. Throughout the month of October we will be linking up with the Play4TheCure organization to raise money towards breast cancer research.

To donate to Play4TheCure, click here https://www.crowdrise.com/university-of-louisville-field-hockey-donation-page1?camefrom=EMCL_1287417_49418075

9/30: #7 Louisville at #4 Syracuse, 3:30 p.m.
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Venue: J.S. Coyne Field
Television: ACC Network Extra
Live Scoring: Cuse.com
Twitter updates: @ULFieldHockey

10/1: #18 Iowa at #7 Louisville
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Trager Stadium
Promotion: Pink Game
Television: ACC Network Extra
Live Scoring: GoCards.com
Twitter updates: @ULFieldHockey

Cardinal Quick Hits:
• Louisville enters the weekend with a 9-1 record and ranked No. 7 in the most recent Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Poll. The Cardinals are off to their best start since 1977.
• The Cards are led offensively by freshman Minout Mink who is tied atop ACC standings with nine goals and 19 points on the season.
• Senior co-captain Lotta Kahlert stands second on the team with six goals. Fellow senior co-captain Erin McCrudden leads the nation with 13 assists 10 games - she is also tied for fourth on Louisville's single season record list.
• The Cardinals have outscored opponents 37-7 on the season while posting four shutouts.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran (8-1) leads the nation with a 0.69 goals against average. McFerran's .806 save percentage also leads the conference and stands fourth in the nation.
• Head coach Justine Sowry is in her sixth season at the helm for the Cardinals. She has compiled a 74-36 record at Louisville and has an overall 132-67 record while in her tenth season
as a head coach.

Louisville vs. Syracuse
Series History: Syracuse leads 9-3
Last Meeting: Sept. 9, 2015 - Syracuse won 2-1 at Trager Stadium
Scouting the Orange: Syracuse carries an 8-1 record and a 2-1 mark in ACC play. The Orange slid three spots to No. 4 in the NFHCA poll after taking their first loss of the season, a 3-2 double-overtime setback to then-fifth-ranked North Carolina on Firday. Syracuse rebounded for a 4-0 win against Penn on Sunday.
• Lies Lagenweij leads the team with eight goals and 17 poings. Roos Weers, Elaine Hurff and Jennifer Bleakney stand in a three-way tie for second on the team with five goals apiece.
• Regan Spencer (7-1) carries a 1.20 goals against average with two shutouts on the season.

Louisville vs. Iowa
Series History: Louisville leads 6-4
Last Meeting: Oct. 7, 2012- Louisville won 201 at Trager Stadium
Scouting the Hawkeyes: Iowa enters the weekend with a 6-4 record prior to a Friday matchup at Indiana. The Hawkeyes have lost their last two games - both against Big Ten opponents. Iowa is coming off of a 2-1 loss to Rutgers on Sunday before that, the Hawkeyes fell 4-2 to then-No. 6 Maryland on Friday.
• Natalie Cafone leads the team with 11 goals, six assists and 28 points. Katie Birch follows with 16 points (7G, 2A).
• Alexandra Pecora (6-4) carries a 1.79 goals against average with two shutouts.

Up Next
Following this weekend's action, Louisville will continue its homestand with an ACC matchup against No. 15 Boston College on Friday. Sixth-ranked Northwestern will visit Trager Stadium for a Sunday matchup.

Up Last
The Cardinals pushed their win streak to three games with a pair of victories last weekend. Louisville improved to 1-1 in the ACC with a 2-0 win at No. 14 Wake Forest. In that game, seniors Lotta Kahlert and Lizzie Gittens each scored as the Cards outshot the Demon Deacons 15-3. Sophomore Ayeisha McFerran had two saves in the shutout.
• UofL finished the weekend with a 4-1 win over Appalachian State on Sunday. In that game, Taylor Stone, Bethany Russ, Nicole Woods and Shannon Sloss each scored while the Cards outshot the Mountaineers 27-6.

Louisville Ranked No. 7 in NFHCA poll
For the second straight week, UofL is ranked No. 7 in the National Field Hockey Coaches' Association poll released on Sept. 27. The Cardinals held their spot after defeating then-No. 14 Wake Forest 2-0 and Appalachian State 4-1 last weekend.
• Louisville opened the season at No. 12 in the preseason poll and moved to No. 8 in the Sept. 6 poll.
• This marks the 36th 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 atop ACC standings 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 leads the nation with a 0.70 goals against average stands among the top 10 in the nation in nearly every other category. The Cards stand third in the nation in assists per game (4.00) and penalty corners per game (9.10). They rank fourth in scoring margin (2.99), save percentage (.806) and shutouts per game (0.40). The Cardinals rank ninth in goals per game (3.70) and scoring aferage (3.69).
• Additionally, UofL is tied for second with a .900 winning percentage.

McFerran leads nation in goals against average and save percentage -
Goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran leads the nation with a 0.69 goals against average. The sophomore leads the ACC with an .806 save percentage which also stands fourth in the nation.

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 13 assists in 10 games while junior Marigrace Ragsdale is 15th in the same category with seven assists in 10 games.
• Freshman Minout Mink is ranked 19th nationally in goals per game (0.90).

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: 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.

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 four shutouts on the season while limiting opponents to seven goals and 70 shots in 10 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 37 goals on the season with 13 players contributing at least one goal and nine players adding multiple scores. Freshman Minout Mink leads the way with nine goals while senior Lotta Kahlert follows with six.

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.
• 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 21-0 against non-conference opponents at Trager Stadium.

Tough Road Ahead
The Cardinals will face 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.

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

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Players Mentioned

Lizzie Gittens

Lotta Kahlert

Erin McCrudden

Ayeisha McFerran

Minout Mink

Marigrace Ragsdale

Bethany Russ

Shannon Sloss

Taylor Stone

Nicole Woods

University of Louisville Athletics