No. 4 Men's Soccer Opens NCAA Championship Sunday at Lynn

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The fourth-seeded Louisville men's soccer team kicks off its chase for the 2017 College Cup with an NCAA Championship second round contest against San Francisco on Sunday at 5 p.m., ET at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium. The match will be televised on ESPN3, while live stats can be accessed at GoCards.com.

TICKETS ON SALE FOR NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP SECOND ROUND
Tickets for the NCAA second round match, priced at $10 for reserved chairback seats and $5 for general admission/berm seating, are on sale now and can be purchased online here, by phone at 502-GO-CARDS or in person through the Louisville Cardinals Ticket Office at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

SPECIAL TICKET OFFERS FOR NCAA SECOND ROUND MATCH
• FREE STUDENT TICKETS: The first 200 UofL students (with student ID) through the gates at Lynn Stadium on Sunday will receive free tickets courtesy of Louisville Cardinals Athletics.
• GROUP TICKETS: Groups of 10 or more can purchase $3 general admission/berm tickets.
• MBB/FB/VB TICKET PROMOTION: Anyone with a ticket stub from Friday's men's basketball game, Friday's volleyball match, Saturday's football game or Sunday's volleyball match can purchase $3 general admission/berm tickets.
• LOUISVILLE CITY FC PROMOTION: Anyone with a ticket stub from Monday's Louisville City FC victory in the USL Cup can purchase $3 general admission/berm tickets.

CARDINALS TO HONOR LOUISVILLE CITY FC AT HALFTIME
During halftime of Sunday's NCAA Championship second round match at Lynn Stadium, the UofL men's soccer program will honor Louisville City FC for its USL Cup triumph while also recognizing USL MVP and Cardinals soccer alumnus Paolo DelPiccolo. Members of Louisville City FC will be in attendance for the ceremony. LCFC defeated the Swope Park Rangers 1-0 in Monday's USL Cup at Louisville Slugger Field.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville enters the 2017 NCAA Championship at 11-2-4 overall while finishing second in the ACC Atlantic Division with a 5-2-1 conference record. The Cardinals are positioned to play at home in each round of the NCAA Championship as one of the top four seeds. Senior Mohamed Thiaw (All-ACC Second Team) leads Louisville with eight goals this season, while junior Tate Schmitt (All-ACC Second Team) has seven goals overall. Senior Tim Kubel (All-ACC First Team) has five assists on the season to go with six goals, while junior Adam Wilson has a team-leading six assists.

ABOUT THE DONS
San Francisco earned an automatic bid into the 2017 NCAA Championship as the champion of the West Coast Conference with a 6-1-0 record. The Dons enter Sunday's match against the Cardinals at 10-8-0 overall after earning a 2-1 road win against No. 21 California in Thursday afternoon's NCAA first round contest in Berkeley. USF head coach Eddie Soto and senior midfielder Leon Schwarzer were awarded WCC Coach of the Year and Player of the Year, respectively, as the Dons had eight players receive All-WCC honors.

LOUISVILLE NOTES AND TRENDS...
• Louisville is 4-1-3 against ranked foes this season, including 3-0-0 in road matches.
• Sunday's match will mark the first ever meeting between the Cardinals and Dons on the soccer pitch.
• Louisville is 28-11-10 all-time at Lynn Stadium, including 3-2-0 in NCAA Championship matches.
• The Cardinals are 7th in NCAA in shutout percentage (0.588) and 13th in goals against average (0.668).
• The Cardinals matched a school record with five straight shutouts from Sept. 30 to Oct. 17 equaling the total from 2013.
• From Sept. 30 to Oct. 21, UofL set a school record scoreless streak at 563 minutes, 41 seconds surpassing the previous mark of 560 minutes established in 2013.
• Tim Kubel leads the team with 21 career goals, while Mohamed Thiaw (20) and Tate Schmitt (19) are next.
• Thiaw's hat trick on Oct. 10 against FAU was the first for a Louisville player since Dylan Mares had three goals in a win over Winthrop in the second round of the NCAA Championship on Nov. 18, 2012.
• 10 of Thiaw's 20 career goals are game-winners, including three this season.
• Schmitt has eight career game-winning goals and Kubel has seven for the Cardinals.

LOUISVILLE'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Making its 10th NCAA Championship appearance in the last 11 years, Louisville is 12-9-1 all-time in the tournament with one College Cup appearance (2010). The Cardinals are 10-4-1 all-time at home in NCAA Championship matches.
2016 (No. 4 seed / 2-1-0)
   11/20 - 2nd Round vs. UCLA (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 2-1 (OT)
   11/27 - 3rd Round vs. Notre Dame (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 3-1
   12/3 - Quarterfinal vs. Stanford (Louisville, Ky. - L, 2-0
2014 (No. 13 seed / 1-1-0)
   11/23 - 2nd Round vs. Saint Louis (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 2-1
   11/30 - 3rd Round vs. UMBC (Louisville, Ky.) - L, 1-0
2013 (0-1-1)
   11/21 - 1st Round vs. Denver (Louisville, Ky.) - T, 0-0 (2OT) - Advanced with 3-2 shootout win
   11/24 - 2nd Round at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.) - L, 1-0 (2OT)
2012 (No. 10 seed / 2-1-0)
   11/18 - 2nd Round vs. Winthrop (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 5-0
   11/25 - 3rd Round vs. Northwestern (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 2-1
   12/01 - Quarterfinal at Maryland (College Park, Md.) - L, 3-1
2011 (No. 12 seed / 2-1-0)
   11/20 - 2nd Round vs. Bradley (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 3-2 (2OT)
   11/27 - 3rd Round at Maryland (College Park, Md.) - W, 4-2
   12/03 - Quarterfinal vs. UCLA (Louisville, Ky.) - L, 1-0 (2OT)
2010 (No. 1 seed / 4-1-0)
   11/21 - 2nd Round vs. College of Charleston (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 3-1
   11/28 - 3rd Round vs. Ohio State (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 2-1
   12/04 - Quarterfinal vs. UCLA (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 5-4
   12/10 - College Cup Semifinal vs. North Carolina (Santa Barbara, Calif.) - W, 2-1
   12/12 - College Cup Final vs. Akron (Santa Barbara, Calif.) - L, 1-0
2009 (0-1-0)
   11/19 - 1st Round at Indiana (Bloomington, Ind.) - L, 2-0
2008 (0-1-0)
   11/21 - 1st Round vs. Jacksonville (Louisville, Ky.) - L, 4-3 (OT)
2007 (1-1-0)
   11/23 - 1st Round vs. Duke (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 1-0
   11/28 - 2nd Round at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio) - L, 1-0

CARDINALS EARN TOP 16 SEED FOR THE SIXTH TIME
Louisville earned a top 16 seed in the NCAA Championship for the sixth time in school history landing at No. 4 for the second straight season, the second highest seed ever. UofL was seeded No. 1 in 2010 when they advanced to the College Cup final. The Cardinals were No. 4 in 2016, No. 13 in 2014, No. 10 in 2012 and No. 12 in 2011. Louisville has advanced to at least the third round in each of the previous five times they have received a top 16 seed.

LOUISVILLE IN THE PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP RPI
In the final men's soccer RPI released prior to the NCAA Championship, Louisville was at No. 5 overall and among seven ACC schools in the top 10. Wake Forest was ranked No. 1 and followed by No. 2 North Carolina, No. 3 Duke, No. 5 Louisville, No. 6 Clemson, No. 9 Virginia and No. 10 Notre Dame. No. 22 Virginia Tech and No. 45 NC State also advanced to the NCAA Championship.

CARDINALS AGAINST THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
Eight of Louisville's 17 matches in 2017 were played against NCAA Championship qualifiers with the Cardinals registering a 4-2-2 record in those contests. Louisville registered wins against Butler, Duke, Virginia Tech and Clemson and earned draws against North Carolina and Virginia. The Cardinals were defeated by Wake Forest and NC State.

ACC MATCHES OWN RECORD WITH NINE TEAMS EARNING NCAA BIDS
The Cardinals were among an NCAA record-tying nine Atlantic Coast Conference programs receiving bids to the 48-team NCAA Championship field. While nine of the league's 12 men's soccer programs earned an NCAA Championship berth for the second straight season, seven of those were among the top 12 seeds, including three of the top four. Wake Forest was seeded No. 1 and followed by No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Louisville, No. 6 Duke, No. 8 Clemson, No. 11 Virginia and No. 12 Notre Dame. NC State and Virginia Tech also earned NCAA Championship bids for the ACC.

KUBEL EARNS ALL-ACC FIRST TEAM HONOR; SCHMITT, THIAW ON SECOND TEAM
Senior defender Tim Kubel was named as a 2017 All-ACC First Team selection while junior midfielder Tate Schmitt and senior forward Mohamed Thiaw were tabbed as Second Team selections by the league's men's soccer head coaches.

Kubel received his third straight All-ACC First Team accolade while becoming a four-time All-ACC honoree overall. The native of Stuttgart, Germany has six goals and five assists while starting 16 matches on the backline for the Cardinals (11-2-4) this season. Kubel has a trio of game-winning goals this season, including the decider at Clemson on Oct. 27. In his four seasons at Louisville, Kubel has 21 career goals and 24 total assists in 79 matches while earning All-American honors last season.

Hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, Schmitt was chosen as an All-ACC standout for the first time after scoring seven goals with three assists and starting all 17 matches for Louisville. A member of the 2015 ACC All-Freshman Team, Schmitt has a pair of game-winning goals this season while also scoring a career-best two goals in the Sept. 22 win over Boston College. During his three collegiate seasons, Schmitt has 19 total goals and nine assists in 58 total appearances, including 52 starts.

Thiaw was named as an All-ACC honoree for the second straight season scoring a team-leading eight goals with one assist in 16 total appearances, including 14 starts. From Lexington, Kentucky, Thiaw has a trio of game-winning goals this season while also registering multiple goals in a game twice, highlighted by his career-best three goals in the Cardinals' 5-0 win over Florida Atlantic on Oct. 10. An All-ACC First Team selection last season, Thiaw has 20 goals and three assists in 38 appearances and 36 starts during his two collegiate seasons at Louisville.

Wake Forest's Jon Bakero was selected as the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, North Carolina's Cam Lindley was chosen Midfielder of the Year, Wake Forest's Kevin Politz was tabbed as the Defensive Player of the Year, NC State's Manny Perez was honored as the Freshman of the Year and Wake Forest's Bobby Muuss was voted as the Coach of the Year for the third straight season.

LOUISVILLE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Cardinals landed at No. 9 in the final United Soccer Coaches poll prior to the NCAA Championship. The No. 5 ranking during the weeks of Oct. 10 and Oct. 17 were the highest of the season for Louisville, which has been ranked in each of the 12 weeks of the season. The Cardinals opened 2017 ranked as high as No. 9 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll.

KUBEL NAMED FINALIST FOR SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Tim Kubel was named Oct. 12 among 10 finalists for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate men's soccer. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.

The finalists were chosen by a selection committee from the list of 30 men's candidates and 30 women's candidates announced in September. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately at www.seniorCLASSaward.com to help select the winner, and fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website through November 20. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner. The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2017 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup® championships later this fall.

A native of Stuttgart, Germany, Kubel has started 74 matches in his four years at Louisville, including 11 this season for the No. 5 Cardinals. Kubel has accumulated 20 career goals and 23 assists overall, including five goals and four assists in 2017. In the classroom, Kubel has a 3.688 cumulative GPA while majoring in finance with a minor in marketing.

During his junior season in 2016, Kubel was an NSCAA Second Team All-America selection and was a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist after scoring three goals and matching a school record with 11 assists while starting all 22 matches at right back. He was also named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Best XI First Team, All-ACC First Team, ACC Championship All-Tournament Team and NSCAA All-South Region First Team. In 2015, he earned All-ACC First Team honors, while in 2014, Kubel was named ACC Freshman of the Year, All-ACC Second Team and NSCAA All-South Region First Team.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville men's soccer on Twitter (@UofLmenssoccer) at http://twitter.com/uoflmenssoccer and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/UofLmenssoccer.

No. 4 Men's Soccer Opens NCAA Championship Sunday at Lynn

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Players Mentioned

Tim Kubel

Tate Schmitt

Mohamed Thiaw

Adam Wilson

University of Louisville Athletics