No. 4 Cardinals Open NCAA Championship Sunday Versus Michigan State

Sunday, November 18

LOUISVILLE, KY

5:00 PM

University of Louisville

Michigan State

ken Lolla talks with the team after the Cardinals ACC Quarterfinal game with Notre Dame at Lynn Stadium on November 4.

Ken Lolla talks with the Cardinals after the ACC quarterfinal win November 4, 2018 at Lynn Stadium.

No. 4 Cardinals Open NCAA Championship Sunday Versus Michigan State

November 16, 2018 | Men's Soccer

Match Notes (PDF)Watch on ESPN3 Live Stats Purchase Tickets 2018 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship Bracket Video: Ken Lolla, Tate Schmitt Press Conference

Kickoff in Sunday's NCAA second round tilt set for 5 p.m., ET at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium

By: Garett Wall

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The fourth-seeded Louisville men's soccer team begins its march to the 2018 College Cup with an NCAA Championship second round tilt against Michigan State Sunday at 5 p.m., ET at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium. The match will be televised on ESPN3 and live stats will be available at GoCards.com.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville enters the 2018 NCAA Championship at 11-4-3 overall after defeating a trio of ranked foes to win the program's first ACC Championship. The Cardinals entered the ACC Championship as the No. 4 seed after registering a 4-2-2 conference record. Louisville is positioned to play at home in each round of the NCAA Championship prior to the College Cup, which is set for Dec. 7-9 in Santa Barbara, California. With a win over the Spartans, the Cardinals would host either No. 13 Georgetown or West Virginia in a third round match Sunday, Nov. 25 at 5 p.m., ET at Lynn Stadium.

Tate Schmitt, MVP of the ACC Championship and an All-ACC First Team honoree, leads the Cardinals with five goals and eight assists this season. Cherif Dieye (All-ACC Third Team) also has five goals, including the game-winner against North Carolina in the ACC title match, while Adam Wilson has four goals. Elijah Amo and Geoffrey Dee (All-ACC Second Team) have scored three goals each. Goalkeeper Jake Gelnovatch (ACC All-Tournament Team) has six shutouts in 14 starts and a 0.87 goals against average.

ABOUT THE SPARTANS
Michigan State, which earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Championship, advanced to Sunday's match with the Cardinals after registering a 2-0 win against UIC in Thursday night's first round contest in East Lansing. The Spartans, making their eighth NCAA appearance in the last 10 years, have an 11-4-4 record overall and were fourth in the Big Ten with a 4-2-2 conference mark. MSU is guided by 10th-year head coach Damon Rensing.

SERIES SNAPSHOT
Louisville is 1-2-1 all-time Michigan State. The Cardinals suffered a 1-0 loss in double overtime to MSU in East Lansing in 2013 in an NCAA second round match. The Spartans have just one visit to Louisville, earning a 6-1 win in 1994.

LOUISVILLE NOTES AND TRENDS...
• Louisville is 4-2-2 against ranked opponents this season after finishing 4-1-4 last season.
• The Cardinals are 37-12-13 all-time at Lynn Stadium, including 5-2-1 in NCAA Championship matches.
• Louisville has advanced to the NCAA Championship in 10 of 12 seasons under head coach Ken Lolla.
• Tate Schmitt ranks 6th in school history with his 26 career goals and 4th in career points with 68.
• Schmitt has 11 career game-winning goals, including the clincher in all four NCAA wins the last two years.
• The 2018 roster features 27 total players with 11 international student-athletes (including Haji Abdikadir from Kenya). Those 11 players from outside the US account for nine different nations.
• A total of 11 different states are represented in Louisville's 16 players from the United States.

LOUISVILLE'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Making its 11th NCAA Championship appearance in the last 13 years, Louisville is 14-9-2 all-time in the tournament with one College Cup appearance (2010). The Cardinals are 12-4-2 all-time at home in NCAA Championship matches.
2017 (No. 4 seed / 2-0-0)
   11/19 - 2nd Round vs. San Francisco (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 3-2
   11/26 - 3rd Round vs. Colgate (Louisville, Ky.) - W, 2-0
   12/1 - Quarterfinal vs. Akron (Louisville, Ky.) - T, 0-0 (2OT) - Defeated 4-3 in six-round shootout
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 SEVENTH TIME
Louisville earned a top 16 seed in the NCAA Championship for the seventh time in school history
landing at No. 4 for the third straight season, the second highest seed ever. UofL is one of just two programs (along with Wake Forest) to be a top four seed for each of the last three seasons. Louisville 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 six times they have received a top 16 seed.

LOUISVILLE AT NO. 3 IN PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP RPI
In the final men's soccer RPI released prior to the NCAA Championship, Louisville was at No. 3 overall and among nine ACC schools in the top 25, including seven in the top 11. Wake Forest was ranked No. 1 and followed by No. 3 Louisville, No. 4 North Carolina, No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 7 Virginia, No. 10 Virginia Tech, No. 11 Duke, No. 19 Syracuse and No. 25 NC State. All nine ACC teams in the top 25 advanced to the NCAA Championship.

CARDINALS AGAINST THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
Thirteen of Louisville's 18 matches in 2018 were played against NCAA Championship qualifiers with the Cardinals registering a 6-4-3 record in those contests. Louisville registered wins against top-seeded Wake Forest, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 6 Duke, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 13 Georgetown and Georgia State. The Cardinals earned draws with No. 16 Syracuse, NC State and Charlotte. UofL was defeated by No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 3 Kentucky, No. 7 Notre Dame and Lipscomb.

ACC MATCHES 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 third straight season, eight of those were among the top 16 seeds, including five of the top eight. Wake Forest was seeded No. 1 and followed by No. 4 Louisville, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 6 Duke, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 10 Virginia and No. 12 Virginia Tech and No. 16 Syracuse. NC State also earned an NCAA Championship bid for the ACC.

CARDINALS RISE TO NO. 5 IN THIS WEEK'S UNITED SOCCER COACHES POLL
Louisville moved up five spots to No. 5 in this week's United Soccer Coach Top 25 after landing 10th last week. Louisville has been ranked throughout the season, including a No. 6 ranking in the preseason poll. The Cardinals were 17th three weeks ago, their lowest ranking of the season.

This week, the ACC has seven teams in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25: No. 2 Wake Forest, No. 5 Louisville, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 10 Duke, No. 11 Virginia, No. 13 Notre Dame and No. 19 Virginia Tech. Earning a preseason top 10 ranking for the second straight year, Louisville was among seven ACC teams in this year's preseason top 25, including five programs in the top 11.

LOUISVILLE WINS FIRST ACC CHAMPIONSHIP
Cherif Dieye scored the only goal of the match and goalkeeper Jake Gelnovatch anchored a strong defensive performance as Louisville clinched its first ACC Championship title with the 1-0 victory against No. 4 North Carolina at Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park on Nov. 11.

Making their second appearance in five years in the title match of the ACC Championship, the Cardinals earned their second conference tournament championship in school history adding the latest triumph to the 2010 Big East championship. The victory culminated an impressive run to the title for Louisville, which allowed just one goal in wins over No. 18 Notre Dame, No. 1 Wake Forest and No. 4 North Carolina in a span of eight days.

The fourth-seeded Cardinals struck for the clinching goal in the 29th minute when Dieye scored inside the far left post from 12 yards out for his fifth goal of the season. The decisive sequence started with a long pass into the box to Izaiah Jennings, who delivered a short pass to his right to Tate Schmitt. The senior moved the ball to Dieye, who worked a right-footed shot around a defender and past the goalkeeper for his 12th career goal. Schmitt, named as the Tournament MVP, registered his team-leading eighth assist of the season and the 17th in his four-year career.

Five Cardinals were named to the ACC Men's Soccer Championship All-Tournament Team as Schmitt was joined by Dieye, Gelnovatch, Lamine Conte and Ziyad Fekri. Schmitt delivered a goal and two assists in the three ACC Championship matches for the Cardinals en route to earning the MVP honor.

SCHMITT, DEE AND DIEYE EARN 2018 ALL-ACC HONORS
Senior forward Tate Schmitt was selected as a 2018 All-ACC First Team member to lead a trio of honorees for the Cardinals. Additionally, senior midfielder Geoffrey Dee was named to the All-ACC Second Team and junior midfielder Cherif Dieye was chosen as an All-ACC Third Team selection by the conference's men's soccer head coaches.

Schmitt was honored as a First Team selection for the first time while registering his third ACC honor overall (2017 All-ACC Second Team, 2015 ACC All-Freshman Team). A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Schmitt leads Louisville with five goals and eight assists while starting all 18 matches this season. In his four seasons with the Cardinals, Schmitt ranks fourth in school history with his 69 career points and is sixth all-time at Louisville with his 26 career goals, including 11 game-winners.

Dee received his second All-ACC honor overall after earning Third Team recognition in 2016. The Germantown, Tennessee native has three goals this season, including a pair of game-winners, and two assists in 15 matches. Dee returned to form this season after missing the entire 2017 season with an injury. In his first season with the Cardinals in 2016 after transferring from Tulsa, Dee had two goals and four assists while starting all 21 matches.

This year's announcement marked the first All-ACC honor for Dieye, who has three game-winning goals and five goals overall while playing in all 18 matches this season. During his three-year career with the Cardinals, the native of Dakar, Senegal has 12 goals and two assists in 60 matches.

LOUISVILLE REACHES 10 WINS FOR THE 11TH TIME IN 13 SEASONS UNDER LOLLA
With its ACC semifinal triumph at No. 1 Wake Forest, Louisville clinched its 11th 10-win season in the 13 years under the guidance of head coach Ken Lolla. Prior to Lolla's tenure at the helm, the Cardinals reached 10 wins just six times in 27 seasons. The winningest coach in school history, Lolla has guided Louisville to each of its 11 NCAA Championship appearances.

CARDINALS AT NO. 9 IN NCAA SELECTION COMMITTEE'S TOP 10 ON OCT. 28
Just 15 days ahead of selection Monday, the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Committee announced its top 10 ranking on Oct. 28 with Louisville landing at No. 9 overall. Using the selection criteria and results through games of Oct. 21, Wake Forest was the top-ranked team with a record of 15-1-0. Louisville and Wake Forest were among seven ACC teams in the top 10.

The ranking was based on the criteria used to select and seed the 48 teams for the Division I Men's Soccer Championship and includes strength of schedule, Rating Percentage Index, head-to-head competition, results versus common opponents, significant wins and losses and locations of contests. Additionally, input is provided by the regional advisory committees for consideration by the Division I Men's Soccer Committee.

SCHMITT NAMED FINALIST FOR 2018 SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Tate Schmitt was among 10 men's soccer student-athletes who excel both on and off the field named as finalists for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award. 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. 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. Click here to vote for Schmitt.

A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Schmitt has 26 career goals, including 11 game-winners, and 15 total assists in 78 collegiate matches. This season, the two-time All-ACC Academic Team member leads the team with his five goals and seven assists while earning All-ACC First Team honors. Last season, he was an All-ACC Second Team honoree and was a United Soccer Coaches All-South Region Third Team selection after tallying a team-leading nine goals to go with three assists.

The finalists were chosen by a selection committee from the list of 30 men's candidates and 30 women's candidates announced in September. 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 2018 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup® championships later this fall.

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