University of Louisville
Massachusetts Lowell
UMass Lowell, No. 9 Delaware Next for No. 8 Cards
August 30, 2018 | Field Hockey
Cards face UMass Lowell at Richmond Saturday, travel to No. 9 Delaware for Monday matchup
LOUISVILLE QUICK HITS
• The Cardinals went 1-1 in their opening weekend with a 2-1 win over Indiana and a 3-2 overtime loss against No. 24 Ohio State.
• Freshman Erica Cooper leads the team with two goals after scoring one in each game last weekend.
• Louisville stands at No 8 in the NFHCA preseason rankings, marking the 55th straight week Louisville has appeared in the top 20 rankings dating back to the 2013 season.
• UofL was picked to finish third in the 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Field Hockey Championship, according to a vote of the league's seven head coaches. Seniors Ayeisha McFerran and Taylor Stone were also named to the Preseason All-ACC Team.
• Justine Sowry is in her eighth season at the helm for the Cardinals. The 2016 NFHCA West Region Coach of the Year has compiled a 95-50 record at Louisville and has an overall 153-81 record while in her 12th season as a head coach.
•  UofL finished the 2017 season with a 14-8 overall record and made its fourth straight and seventh overall NCAA appearance. The Cardinals reached the finals of the ACC championship after defeating No. 11 Syracuse 3-2 in the program's first ACC quarterfinal victory and following with a thrilling 3-2 shootout win over No. 2 Duke in the semifinals.
Cards Against the Field
UMass Lowell
Series History: First meeting
Scouting the River Hawks: The River Hawks enter the weekend with a 2-0 record. UMass Lowell has outscored their opponents 9-0 in two contests. The River Hawks opened the season with a 3-0 win over Bryant and followed with a 6-0 victory over Hofstra. Eva Berkhout has recorded six saves in two shutout appearances so far in the 2018 season. Torrie Huk and Anouk Lalande lead the scoring efforts for the River Hawks with three goals each.
Delaware
Series History: UD leads 3-2
Last Meeting: Aug. 27, 2018 - UL won 3-1 at Trager Stadium
RECAP:Â Minout Mink scored twice with assists from senior Marigrace Ragsdale and sophomore Hollyn Barr collected seven saves to help lift the ninth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team to a 3-1 win over defending national champion, third-ranked Delaware Sunday afternoon at Trager Stadium.
• Hollyn Barr posted three saves while Liz Tamburro had six stops for the Buckeyes. In the contest, the Cardinals outshot the Buckeyes 9-6, but OSU held a 4-2 edge in corners.
Scouting the Blue Hens: The ninth-ranked Blue Hens kicked-off the 2018 season with wins over No. 24 Ohio State and Miami (Ohio). Against the Buckeyes, Blue Hens freshman Pia Freudenberger notched her first career goal with less than five minutes remaining to seal the late-game 3-2 victory. Senior Greta Nauck, who tallied back-to-back goals in Delaware's 4-1 win over Miami (Ohio), currently leads the Blue Hens' offense with two goals and two assists. In goal, Sydney Rhodes has registered five saves through two contests. Prior to taking on the Cards, Delaware will face No. 18 Saint Joseph's on Friday at 6 p.m.
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Up Last
The Cardinals opened the season with a 2-1 win at Indiana on Friday and fell 3-2 in overtime to No. 24 Ohio State at Trager Stadium on Sunday.
Louisville 2 - Indiana 1
Freshman Erica Cooper's delivered her first career goal as time expired to lift the eighth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team to a 2-1 win over Indiana in both teams' season opener at the IU Field Hockey Complex. Bethany Russ put Louisville on the scoreboard and Ayeisha McFerran collected four saves.
Ohio State 3 - Louisville 2/OT
Esther Clotet's goal in the second minute of overtime lifted No. 24 Ohio State to a 3-2 win over No. 8 Louisville at Trager Stadium.
• Goals by Erica Cooper and Bethany Russ gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead, but the Buckeyes registered three unanswered goals to pick up the win.
• In the contest, Louisville outshot Ohio State 12-7 and held a 7-4 advantage in corners. Senior Ayeisha McFerran collected two saves while Westfall and Hernandez had a pair of stops apiece.
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Up Next
Louisville will return to Trager Stadium for a pair of contests next weekend. The Cards will open ACC play against No. 2 North Carolina Friday at 5 p.m., and will take on California Sunday at 2 p.m.
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Cards No. 8 in Penn Monto/NFHCA Preseason Rankings
UofL is No. 8 in the 2018 Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I Poll released on August 21. The Cardinals earn the highest preseason ranking in program history and pick up where they left off after finishing the 2017 season at No. 8.Â
• This marks the 55th straight week Louisville has appeared in the top 20 rankings dating back to the 2013 season.
• The Cards spent six weeks in the top 10 in 2017 after debuting at No. 9 – previously the highest preseason ranking in program history.
• 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.
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ACC Strong
All seven ACC field hockey programs are ranked among the top 14 in the nation with four appearing in the top 10. The eighth-ranked Cardinals join North Carolina (No. 2), Duke (No. 3) and Virginia (No. 7) in the top 10 while Syracuse (No. 11), Boston College (No. 13) and Wake Forest (No. 14) round out the ACC schools.
• Every ACC field hockey team has been ranked for the entirety of the last five seasons, a streak that dates to October of 2012 and includes 58 consecutive NFHCA Polls.
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Tough Road Ahead
Ten of Louisville's 18 opponents appear in the NFHCA preseason top 25. In addition to the aforementioned ACC opponents, the Cardinals' non-conference slate features matchups against No. 9 Delaware, No. 12 Northwestern, No. 21 Albany and No. 24 Ohio State.
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Championship City
For the second straight year and the sixth time overall, Trager Stadium will serve as the host site for the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship. The event was also staged on the Cardinals' home field in 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2017. 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.
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Home Sweet Home
Louisville compiled a 9-3 record at Trager Stadium in 2017, bringing its home tally to 41-9 since the 2013 season.
• In 2016, the Cards also 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.
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McFerran Named World Cup Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament
Senior Ayeisha McFerran had a busy hockey-filled summer which culminated in being named Best Goalkeeper of the 2018 World Cup after leading the Irish National Team to a silver medal.
The Larne, Northern Ireland native was instrumental in the Green Army's historic run, surrendering only three goals in their first five matches, and dominating in a pair of shootout victories as they entered the finals against top-ranked Netherlands. The Dutch went on to capture the gold medal with a 6-0 victory to mark their second straight and eighth overall title.
Aided by McFerran's outstanding performances in the cage, Hockey Ireland became the first in the nation's history to reach the World Cup finals.
Making its first World Cup appearance since 2002, Ireland entered the tournament at No. 16 in the FIH world rankings, the second lowest of any team competing in the World Cup and the lowest in their pool. They opened play with wins over the United States and India. Despite a loss to host England, the Irish emerged as the Pool B winner, becoming the first team to gain a spot in the quarterfinals.
Facing India in a quarterfinal rematch, McFerran again posted shutout to send the contest to a shootout where she stopped two attempts as the Irish prevailed 3-1. She followed that performance with another shootout victory, this time turning back four tries help the Green Army emerge with a 3-2 win against Spain.Â
 McFerran is in her fourth year as a member of the Irish National Team. In 2017, she was named Goalkeeper of the Tournament after helping the Green Army to the World League 2 title in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
McFerran is three-time NFHCA All-America selection. The three-time All-West Region and All-ACC team member cemented her status as one of the nation's top goalkeepers when she collected a career-high 18 saves and turned in another brilliant shootout performance to hold off No. 2 Duke in the semifinals of the conference tournament, sending the Cardinals to their first appearance in the ACC Championship game.
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.
Carter Ayars - U.S. U21 Team (2018)
Mackenzie Karl - U.S. U17 Team (2015-16)
Ayeisha McFerran - Irish National Team (2015-present)
   • 2018 FIH World Cup Silver Medal - Goalkeeper of the Tournament
   • 2017 World League 2 Champions (Goalkeeper of the Tournament)
Mercedes Pastor - Argentina U21 Team (2015-17); U18 Team (2013-14)
Meghan Schneider - U.S. U21 Team (2018);Â U19 Team (2017-18)
Taylor Stone - U.S. National Development Team (2018); U21 Team (2017); U19 Team (2015-16); U17 Team (2014-15)
   • Also played in 2017 Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem
Katie Walsh - U.S. National Development Team (2018)
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McFerran, Stone named to Preseason All-ACC Team
McFerran is making her third appearance on the Preseason All-ACC Team. The three-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-American, all All-West Region and All-ACC selection cemented her status as one of the nation's top goalkeepers when she collected a career-high 18 saves and turned in another brilliant shootout performance to hold off Duke in the semifinals of the ACC Championship.
The Larne, Northern Ireland native was recently named Goalkeeper of the Tournament after helping Ireland to a silver medal in the 2018 World Cup.
Stone (Herndon, Va.) is making her first appearance on the Preseason All-ACC Team. The 2017 NFHCA All-America, All-West Region and All-ACC honoree is coming off of a career-best season after tallying seven goals and dishing out three assists. She converted four of five penalty stroke attempts and scored the game-winning goal against Syracuse and North Carolina.
The midfielder/defender garnered ACC Defensive Player of the Week, NFHCA National Defensive Player of the Week and Synapse National Defensive Player of the Week for her performances. Stone is a member of USA Field Hockey National Development Squad.
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Cards picked to finish third in ACC
The University of Louisville was picked to finish third in the 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Field Hockey Championship, according to a vote of the league's seven head coaches.
2018 ACC Field Hockey Predicted Order of Finish:
1. North Carolina (6) - 48Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
2. Duke - 39
3. Louisville (1) - 34
T4. Syracuse - 23
T4. Virginia - 23
6. - Boston College - 16
7. - Wake Forest – 13
(First-place votes)
