No. 9 Field Hockey Plays Host to Ohio for Regular Season Finale Sunday

The ninth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team will wrap up the regular season with a non-conference matchup against Ohio University Sunday at 1 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear red as the Cardinals will honor 2017 seniors Abby Grimes, Marigrace Ragsdale and Nicole Woods.

The Weekend Ahead
Oct. 29
Ohio at No. 7 Louisville - Red Out
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Trager Stadium
Television: ACC Network Extra
Live Scoring: GoCards.com
Twitter Updates: @ULFieldHockey

• UofL enters the weekend with an 11-6 overall record after closing ACC play with a 4-2 mark. The four wins are the most ACC victories for Louisville since joining the conference in 2014.
• Louisville finished tied for second in the ACC regular season standings and earned the No. 3 seed in the ACC Championship which will be held Nov. 2-5 at Trager Stadium.
• The Cardinals are ranked No. 9 in the NFHCA Coaches' Poll, marking UofL's 51st straight appearance in the top 20 dating back to the 2013 season.
• Last weekend, the Cards snapped a season-high seven-game win streak with losses to No. 3 Virginia and No. 4 Michigan.
• Sophomore Minout Mink leads the team with eight goals and 19 points. Senior co-captain Nicole Woods follows closely with 18 points (6G, 6A). Freshman Marisa Martin Pelegrina rounds out the top three scorers with 16 points (4G, 8A).
• Ayeisha McFerran (7-5), holds a 2.05 goals against average in 14 appearances after being sidelined due to injury for the first three games of the season. More Cardinal Quick Hits
• Justine Sowry is in her seventh season at the helm for the Cardinals. The 2016 NFHCA West Region Coach of the Year has compiled an 91-45 record at Louisville and has an overall 149-76 record while in her 11th season as a head coach.
• The Cards were picked to finish fourth in the ACC preseason coaches' poll. Ayeisha McFerran, Minout Mink and Nicole Woods earned All-ACC preseason honors.
• UofL went 15-6 in 2016 and earned their third consecutive NCAA at-large bid. Louisville returns 14 letterwinners from last year's team and welcomes 10 newcomers.

Cards against Ohio
Series History: Ohio leads 27-11
Last Meeting: Oct. 21, 2014 - Louisvlle won 2-0 in Athens, Ohio
Scouting the Bobcats: Ohio enters the weekend with a 4-10 overall record prior to a Mid-American Conference matchup at Kent State on Saturday.
• The Bobcats have been idle since Oct. 12 when they beat Ball State 3-0.
• Kendall Ballard leads the team with eight goals and has dished out five assists for 21 points. Maria Russell follows with six goals, one assist and 12 points. Alex Pennington carries a 1.98 goals against average with two shutouts on the season.
Cardinal Connection: Former Cardinal Rachel McCarthy (2013-14) is an assistant coach for the Bobcats.

Up Next: ACC Championship
Cards Earn No. 3 Seed in ACC Championship
Louisville earned the No. 3 seed in the 2017 ACC Field Hockey Championship. The Cardinals finished with a 4-2 record - the most conference wins since joining the ACC in 2014. After finishing tied for second with Duke, the Cardinals were seeded third and will take on sixth-seeded Syracuse in the quarterfinals on Thursday, Nov. 2 at 4 p.m. at Louisville's Trager Stadium.
ACC on TV
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 will be available online and on mobile devices via ACC Network Extra.
Ticket Information:
Single-session tickets are available for $5 for adults. Youth under 18 and students from an ACC school with valid student identification can enter for free.

2017 ACC Field Hockey Championship
Thursday, November 2
Gm 1 #5 UNC vs. #4 Wake Forest 11:00 a.m.
Gm 2 #7 BC vs. #2 Duke 1:30 p.m.
Gm 3 #6 Syracuse vs. #3 Louisville      4:00 p.m.
Friday, November 3
#1 Virginia vs. Game 1 Winner 12 p.m.
Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner   2:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 5
ACC Championship       1:00 p.m.

Championship City
Louisville's Trager Stadium will serve as the host site for two major field hockey championships in November 2017. UofL will kick off the postseason by hosting the ACC Championship Nov. 2-5 and two weeks later will welcome the NCAA DI final four teams. Additionally, Trager Stadium is proud to stage the DI, DII and DIII title games on Nov. 19.
• While this will be the first time the Cardinals have hosted the ACC Championship, it will be the sixth time that Trager Stadium will serve as the host site for the NCAA Division I Field Hockey National Championship. The event was also staged on the Cardinals' home field in 2002, 2005, 2008 and 2011. Trager Stadium has also been selected as the host site for the 2018 NCAA Field Hockey Championship.
• In addition, the NCAA Division II Championship was played at the facility in 2010. Located in Cardinal Park on the UofL campus, Trager Stadium opened in 2000 and was expanded in 2008 with a seating capacity of 2,500.

Last weekend: The Cardinals snapped a seven-game win streak with two losses to a pair of top-10 teams last weekend.
No. 3 Virginia 2 - No. 7 Louisville 1
Junior Taylor Stone gave the seventh-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team a 1-0 lead, but a pair of second-half goals lifted third-ranked Virginia to a 2-1 win over the Cardinals Saturday at Trager Stadium. With the win, Virginia earned the 2017 ACC regular season title. Louisville snapped a seven-game win streak and finished the regular season tied for second in ACC standings with a 4-2 mark in conference play.
• Stone converted a penalty stroke to give Louisville a 1-0 lead in the first half, but the Cavaliers used goals by Izzy McDonough and Pien Dicke.
• In the game, UVA owned a 9-8 edge in shots and a 5-3 lead in corners. Ayeisha McFerran had three saves while Carrera Lucas also finished with three stops for the Cavaliers.

Michigan 6 - Louisville 2
Senior Abby Grimes scored a pair of goals, but it wasn't enough as the seventh-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team fell 6-2 to No. 4 Michigan Sunday afternoon at Trager Stadium.
•In the game, Michigan outshot Louisville 14-10 while the Cardinals held a 7-5 edge in corners. Ayeisha McFerran collected five saves while Michigan's Sam Swenson (15-2) had four stops in the game.

Young and talented
The Cardinals' 2017 roster features nine freshmen and six sophomores. Louisville's starting lineup has featured as many as three freshmen and three sophomores with all active underclassmen seeing playing time.
• Freshman Marisa Martin Pelegrina leads the team with eight assists and stands third with 17 points. Sophomore Minout Mink has scored a team-high eight goals and leads the Cardinals with 19 points. Fellow sophomore goalkeeper Hollyn Barr carries a 4-1 record and 0.97 goals against average.

Balanced offense
Louisville has scored 40 goals through 17 games this season with 10 different players accounting for the offensive output. Sophomore Minout Mink leads the team with eight goals while junior Taylor Stone follows with seven goals while senior Nicole Woods stands third on the team with six goals.

Mink Shines
With a team-best eight goals on the season, sophomore Minout Mink picked up where she left off after last year's impressive rookie campaign. She garnered 2016 NFHCA All-West Region first team and All-ACC second team honors after leading the team with 15 goals, setting a school record for goals scored by a freshman.

Louisville stands at No. 11 in the RPI
The NCAA has released its sixth RPI report of the season and the Cardinals stand at No. 11, down two from last week after falling to Virginia and Michigan at home.

You've got to play the best
UofL is no stranger to facing quality competition and this season is no different with 11 of its 18 opponents appearing among the top 15. Below is a list of Louisville's 2017 opponents who are included in the NCAA's top 15 RPI.
1. Duke
3. Virginia
4. Michigan
5. North Carolina
7. Delaware
8. Boston College
9. Maryland
10. Northwestern
11. Louisville
13. Wake Forest
14. Syracuse
15. James Madison

Cards No. 9 NFHCA Rankings
UofL is No. 9 in the 2017 Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I Poll released on Oct. 24, dropping two spots after falling to then-No. 3 Virginia and No. 4 Michigan last weekend.
• The Cards have spent four weeks in the top 10 this season after debuting at No. 9 - their highest preseason ranking in program history.
• On Sept. 12, the Cardinals snapped a streak of 12 straight weeks in the top 10 for Cardinals have appeared in the NFHCA top 10 in 12 straight ranking periods dating back to Sept. 8, 2016. UofL finished last season at No. 9 after posting a 15-6 overall record and earning its third-straight NCAA tournament bid.
• This marks the 51st straight week the Cardinals have appeared in the top 20 rankings dating back to the 2013 season.
• 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.

ACC strong
All seven ACC field hockey programs are ranked among the top 20 in the nation. The league boasts five teams in the top 10: Duke (No. 2), Virginia (No. 4), North Carolina (No. 6) and Louisville (No. 9) while Boston College (No. 11) and Syracuse (No. 12) and Wake Forest (13) round out the top 13 teams.
• Every ACC field hockey team has been ranked for the entirety of the last four seasons, a streak that dates to October of 2012 and includes 55 consecutive NFHCA Polls.

Tough slate
Twelve of Louisville's 18 opponents appear in the NFHCA top 25. In addition to their ACC opponents, the Cardinals' non-conference slate features matchups against No. 3 Michigan, No. 10 Northwestern, No. 7 Delaware, No. 8 Maryland and No. 15 James Madison.

Home Sweet Home
Louisville has compiled a 6-2 record at Trager Stadium, bringing its home tally to 38-8 since the 2013 season. In 2016, the Cards posted a 7-2 record at Trager Stadium.
• 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.
• The 6-2 loss to No. 4 Michigan snapped a 28-game win streak against non-conference opponents at Trager Stadium dating back to 2012. Prior to the Oct. 22 setback, the Cardinals had 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.

International experience
The Cardinals' roster is bolstered by several players who have gained valuable experience within their countries' national programs. The following is a list of players and their national squads.
Marisa Martin Pelegrina - German U18 Team
Ayeisha McFerran - Irish National Team (2015-present)
      • World League 2 Champions (Goalkeeper of the Tournament)
      • Seventh place finish in World League Semifinals
Meghan Schneider - U.S. U19 Team
Taylor Stone - U.S. U21 Team (USA/England Tour Roster); Also played in 2017 Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem
Nicole Woods - U.S. National Team (Summer 2017)
      • 2017 World League Champions (Johannesburg, S.A.)
      • Bronze Medal 2017 Pan American Cups (Lancaster, Pa.)

Grimes and Woods Named to NFHCA Senior Game Roster
Abby Grimes and Nicole Woods were selected to the 2017 Victory Sports Tours NFHCA Division I Senior Game roster.
• Grimes and Woods will compete in the contest on their home field on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. in conjunction with the NCAA Division I national championships which will be held at the University of Louisville's Trager Stadium Nov. 17 and 19.
• Grimes, a defender from St. Louis, Mo., is a three-year starter for the Cardinals. The senior co-captain has registered three goals on the season, including one in Louisville's 3-2 upset of No. 5 North Carolina. She has also dished out a pair of assists and has tallied eight points.
• Woods, who hails from Beverly, Mass., is a four-year starter and senior co-captain. The forward/midfielder stands second on the team with six goals and has dished out five assists for 17 points. She is a two-time NFHCA All-West Region and All-ACC selection and a member of USA Field Hockey national team.
The Senior Game contest will be played following the semifinals of the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Tournament, which takes place on Nov. 17 at 2 and 4:45 p.m. at Louisville. The NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship will be held on Nov. 19 at 2 p.m.

Cards picked to finish fourth in ACC
The University of Louisville field hockey team was picked to finish fourth in the ACC according to a vote of the league's seven head coaches. The Cardinals led the conference with three players selected to the Preseason All-ACC team with senior Nicole Woods, junior Ayeisha McFerran and sophomore Minout Mink earning the honor.
• Woods (Beverly, Mass.) picks up her second straight ACC preseason accolade. The three-year starter is a two-time All-ACC and NFHCA All-Region pick and is a member of USA Field Hockey's National Team.
•McFerran (Larne, Northern Ireland) is also making her second appearance on the ACC Preseason Team. The two-time All-America selection and member of the Irish National Team led the league with six shutouts and stood second with a 1.27 goals-against average last season.
• Mink (Haaksbergen, Netherlands) earned NFHCA All-West region honors after leading the Cards with 15 goals and 33 points in 2016.

2017 ACC Field Hockey Preseason Poll
1. North Carolina (1) - 31
2. Duke (2) - 27
2. Syracuse (2) - 27
4. Louisville (1) - 22
5. Virginia (1) - 21
6. Wake Forest - 12
7. Boston College - 7

No. 9 Field Hockey Plays Host to Ohio for Regular Season Finale Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Hollyn Barr

Abby Grimes

Marisa Martin Pelegrina

Ayeisha McFerran

Minout Mink

Marigrace Ragsdale

Meghan Schneider

Taylor Stone

Nicole Woods

University of Louisville Athletics