No. 10 Cardinals, No. 4 Tar Heels Collide in ACC Title Match

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 10 Louisville men's soccer team is making its second appearance in five seasons in the title match of the ACC Championship as the fourth-seeded Cardinals face second-seeded and fourth-ranked North Carolina on Sunday at noon ET at Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. The 2018 ACC Championship finale will be will be televised on ESPNU.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Ranked 10th in this week's United Soccer Coaches Top 25, fourth-seeded Louisville advanced to the final round of the ACC Championship with a 2-1 overtime victory against No. 1 Wake Forest in Wednesday night's semifinal tilt. The Cardinals, who opened the ACC Championship with a quarterfinal win over No. 18 Notre Dame, have a 10-4-3 record overall while finishing second in the ACC Atlantic and fourth overall in the league with 14 points and a 4-2-2 mark.

Tate Schmitt, who had the game-winning goal in the win over the Irish, leads the Cardinals with five goals and seven assists this season. Cherif Dieye and Adam Wilson have four goals each, while Elijah Amo and Geoffrey Dee have scored three goals. Sophomore goalkeeper Jake Gelnovatch has started 13 of 17 matches this season registering five shutouts overall and a 0.93 goals against average.

The Cardinals produced another successful season in 2017 reaching the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championship for the fifth time in the last eight seasons, including the second straight year, and earning a No. 7 ranking in the final United Soccer Coaches Top 25 with a 13-2-5 record.

ABOUT THE TAR HEELS
Ranked No. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, second-seeded North Carolina advanced to the final round with a 2-1 win over No. 8 Duke in the semifinals and a 3-0 victory over Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals. The Tar Heels (14-2-1) clinched their fourth straight ACC Coastal Division title with a 6-1-0 league mark. Last season, UNC was 17-4-1 and 6-1-1 in the ACC before ending its season with a 1-0 loss to Indiana in the semifinals of the NCAA College Cup.

SERIES SNAPSHOT
Louisville and North Carolina are tied at 2-2-1 all-time in its series, which dates to 2010. The Cardinals are 1-1-1 against the Tar Heels since joining the ACC, including a 1-0 win in Chapel Hill in the quarterfinals of the 2014 ACC Championship. Last season, the teams played to a scoreless draw at Lynn Stadium. The programs first met in 2010 when the Cardinals earned a 2-1 win in the semifinals of the College Cup in Santa Barbara, California.

LOUISVILLE NOTES AND TRENDS...
• Louisville is 3-2-2 against ranked opponents this season after finishing 4-1-4 last season.
• The Cardinals have advanced to the NCAA Championship in 10 of 12 seasons under head coach Ken Lolla.
• 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.
• 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.

LOUISVILLE RETURNS TO ACC FINAL FOR SECOND TIME IN FIVE SEASONS
Looking for their first ACC championship trophy, the Cardinals are competing in the title match of the postseason event for the second time in five seasons. In their only previous championship finale appearance, Louisville suffered a 2-1 double overtime loss to Clemson in 2014.

Including Wednesday's semifinal victory, Louisville has accumulated a 6-3-1 record in its five appearances in the ACC Championship. The Cardinals were 0-0-1 last season falling in penalty kicks to Virginia after playing to a scoreless draw in the quarterfinal final match at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium. In 2016, Louisville was 1-1-0 registering a quarterfinal win against Virginia (1-0) before falling 2-1 in overtime at Wake Forest in the semifinals.

In 2015, Louisville was 1-1-0 earning a first round win (2-1) at Duke and dropping a quarterfinal match at Wake Forest (2-1 OT). In 2014, Louisville earned a quarterfinal win at North Carolina (1-0) and a semifinal victory over Syracuse (2-1) before falling 2-1 in double overtime to Clemson in the title match. Overall, the Cardinals are 10-9-5 in conference tournament matches under the direction of head coach Ken Lolla, including winning the 2010 Big East Championship.

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 seven assists while starting all 17 matches this season. In his four seasons with the Cardinals, Schmitt ranks fourth in school history with his 68 career points and is sixth all-time at Louisville with his 26 career goals. He has 11 game-winning goals, including the clincher in each of the last five post-season wins for the Cardinals.

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 14 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 two game-winning goals and four goals overall while playing in all 17 matches this season. During his three-year career with the Cardinals, the native of Dakar, Senegal has 11 goals and two assists in 59 matches.

LOUISVILLE REACHES 10 WINS FOR THE 11TH TIME IN 13 SEASONS UNDER LOLLA
With Wednesday's 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 10 NCAA Championship appearances and he has the Cardinals positioned for another bid in 2018.

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 is 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.

The 2018 championship field will consist of 24 automatic qualifiers and 24 at-large selections, which will be revealed on Monday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. on NCAA.com. The top 16 teams will be seeded and receive first round byes before hosting second round games.

LOUISVILLE RANKED 8TH IN THIS WEEK'S NCAA RPI
The NCAA released the seventh RPI of the 2018 season on Nov. 5 and Louisville gained four spots to No. 8 overall. Louisville was ranked as highly as No. 6 in weeks three and four earlier this season. The Cardinals are among nine ACC teams in the top 28 positions in the latest RPI, including seven of the top 10.

CARDINALS RISE TO NO. 10 IN THIS WEEK'S UNITED SOCCER COACHES POLL
Louisville moved up five spots to No. 10 in this week's United Soccer Coach Top 25 after landing 15th last week. Louisville has been ranked throughout the season, including a No. 6 ranking in the preseason poll. The Cardinals were 17th two weeks ago, their lowest ranking of the season.

This week, the ACC has seven teams in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25: No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 4 North Carolina, No. No. 8 Duke, No. 10 Louisville, No. 11 Virginia, No. 16 Notre Dame and No. 24 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.

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.

No. 10 Cardinals, No. 4 Tar Heels Collide in ACC Title Match

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Players Mentioned

Haji Abdikadir

Elijah Amo

Geoffrey Dee

Cherif Dieye

Jake Gelnovatch

Tate Schmitt

Adam Wilson

University of Louisville Athletics