No. 15 Field Hockey Takes Down No. 11 Wake Forest 3-2 in a Thrilling Shootout Victory

Friday, September 22

LOUISVILLE, KY

6:00 PM

University of Louisville

(5-4, 1-1)

WAKE FOREST

(4-4, 2-1)

OT 4

OT 5

OT 6

Wake Forest

Louisville

No. 15 Field Hockey Takes Down No. 11 Wake Forest 3-2 in a Thrilling Shootout Victory

September 22, 2017 | Field Hockey

Box Score UL 3 Wake 2 (shootout)Ayeisha McFerran Postgame Interview Justine Sowry Postgame Interview: Minout Mink Postgame Interview Photo Gallery

Cards prevail in a shootout to move to 1-1 in ACC play

By: Lori Korte

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 15^th-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team prevailed in a shootout to beat No. 11 Wake Forest 3-2 in a thrilling ACC matchup Friday evening at Trager Stadium. The Cardinals improve to 5-4 and 1-1 in conference play. The Demon Deacons drop to 4-4 (2-1).

"Anytime we play against Wake Forest, it's an incredible contest," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "They're incredibly skillful, they're fast, they're athletic, and we knew that it was going to be a great contest. We really tried to emphasize over the last week or so to trust the process. It's been a hard ride, so we need to just plug away and stick to our identity and whatever goals we are setting and we did that throughout the game. We were able to connect better and defended better together. Wake Forest is a great opponent, so when it went into overtime, you saw the guts and the resilience and the fight, so I'm happy to come out with the win."

Sophomore Minout Mink scored a goal in the second half and sealed the win by converting her shootout attempt. Junior goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran collected five saves and stopped three Wake Forest shootout attempts to earn the win.

In the game Wake Forest outshot Louisville 15-12 with shots on goal even at 8-8. The Demon Deacons held a 9-3 advantage in corners, including three in the second overtime period.

Senior Marigrace Ragsdale gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead midway through the first half when she connected on junior Katie Walsh's feed from the left side of the cage to notch her third goal of the season.

Just over five minutes later, the Demon Deacons had a chance to score when they were awarded a penalty stroke, but Jule Grashoff's shot sailed wide.

Grashoff made good on her next attempt with 1:15 remaining in the first half when she delivered a shot from the middle of the circle to even the score at 1-1.

The teams entered halftime after Louisville owned an 8-4 edge in shots and each team had a pair of first half penalty corners.

Ten minutes into the second half, sophomore Whena Munn sent a pass to Mink who rifled a shot past Wake goalkeeper Isla Bint. Mink's fourth goal of the season pushed Louisville ahead 2-1.

Once again the Demon Deacons countered, this time with a penalty corner goal by Anne van Hoof with assists from Meghan Murphy and Shannon Eby.

With the game knotted at 2-2 at the end of regulation, the teams entered a 7v7, sudden victory overtime period in which each side delivered three shots and earned one corner. The Cards had some early chances to end the game when Mink's penalty corner shot was turned back by Wake's Bint and freshman Marisa Martin Pelegrina's shot on goal was stopped. Louisville followed with an impressive defensive stand when Wake's Nicola Pluta powered the ball past McFerran, but junior Taylor Stone was there to deflect the ball away from the cage.

The Demon Deacons had another scoring opportunity when they were awarded a corner in the closing seconds of the period, but Emily Adamson's shot landed wide of the cage.

The score remained tied, forcing a second overtime period in which the Cardinals held off a charging Demon Deacon attack that tallied a 6-0 advantage in shots and a 3-0 edge in penalty corners. McFerran picked up three saves to hold Wake Forest at bay, sending the game into a shootout.

Freshman Meghan Schneider converted on the Cardinals' first attempt in the best-of-five shootout and Mink nailed the Cardinals' fourth try to secure the win. McFerran stymied three of the Wake Forest attempts and another sailed wide as the Cardinals prevailed in the shootout by a margin of 2-0.

With the win, Louisville snaps a three-game losing streak and improves its home record to 3-0 this season and 35-6 since 2013.

The Cardinals will return to action on Sunday when they face No. 13 James Madison at 12 p.m.