No. 8 Cardinals Play Host to a Pair of Ranked Opponents

The No. 8 University of Louisville field hockey team will play host to a pair of ranked opponents this weekend when No. 9 Boston College visits Trager Stadium for an ACC contest Friday at 6 p.m. and No. 11 Northwestern makes the trip for a 12 p.m. matchup on Sunday. Admission is free.

Cardinal Quick Hits
• The Cardinals are coming off of 1-1 showing at Trager Stadium last weekend. UofL opened ACC play with a 3-1 loss to then-No. 2 (now top-ranked) North Carolina on Friday and followed with a 2-1 overtime win over California on Sunday
• Sophomore Mercedes Pastor and freshmen Erica Cooper and Meghan Schneider lead the team with two goals apiece.
• Senior Katie Walsh has dished out a team-best three assists.
• Louisville stands at No 8 in the NFHCA rankings released on Sept. 11. This marks the 57th straight week Louisville has appeared in the top 20 rankings dating back to the 2013 season.
• Justine Sowry needs two more wins to reach the 100 mark victories at Louisville where is is in her eighth season at the helm for the Cardinals. The 2016 NFHCA West Region Coach of the Year has compiled a 98-51 record at Louisville and has an overall 157-82 mark while in her 12th season as a head coach.
• 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.
• 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
Boston College
Series History: Tied 2-2
Last Meeting: Oct. 6, 2017 - UL won 4-1 at Boston College
RECAP: Taylor Stone scored a pair of goals and Ayeisha McFerran collected seven saves to help lead the 11th-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team to a 4-1 win over host eight-ranked Boston College in an ACC matchup at BC's Field Hockey Complex.
Scouting the Eagles: No. 9 Boston College comes to Louisville with a 3-2 overall record and 1-0 ACC tally on the season. Last weekend, the Eagles captured a 4-3 win over Wake Forest and 1-0 decision against Albany at home. Brooke Matherson, Fusine Govaert and Frederique Haverhals have each registered three goals to lead the Eagles in scoring. Goalkeeper Sarah Dwyer was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week for her seven saves on nine shots in Boston College's win over Albany.

Northwestern
Series History: Northwestern leads 7-3
Last Meeting: Sept. 19, 2017, NU won 2-0 in Evanston, Ill.
RECAP: The No. 15 University of Louisville field hockey team fell 2-0 to No. 14 Northwestern at Northwestern's Lakeside Field.
• Kirsten Mansfield scored a pair of goals to lift Northwestern to a 2-0 win. In the game, the Wildcats outshot the Cards 18-11 and held a 12-5 advantage in corners, including eight in the second half.
Scouting the Wildcats: No. 11 Northwestern enters the weekend with a 4-3 overall record prior to Friday's Big Ten opener at Indiana. The Wildcats earned a 4-2 victory over Miami (OH) last Friday before falling 4-3 to Boston University in overtime on Sunday. Puck Pentenga leads the Wildcats' scoring with six goals in seven games while also being credited with four assists. Pentenga, along with teammates Eva van Agt and Charlotte Vaziri, were named to the 2018 All-Big Ten Preseason Team.

Recapping Last Week
No. 2 North Carolina 3 - No. 11 Louisville 1
Freshman Katie Schneider's goal gave No. 11 Louisville an early lead, but second-ranked North Carolina tallied three unanswered goals to beat the Cardinals 3-1 in both teams' ACC opener Friday at Trager Stadium.
• In the game, North Carolina outshot Louisville 16-5 with a 10-3 advantage in shots on goals and a -9-2 edge in corners. McFerran collected five saves while UNC's Amanda Hendry posted two stops.
Louisville 2 - California 1 (OT)
Mercedes Pastor's goal in the fifth minute of overtime lifted the 11th-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team to a 2-1 win over California in a rain-soaked contest Sunday afternoon at Trager Stadium. The Bears took a 1-0 lead into halftime, but Whena Munn delivered the equalizer in the second half.
• In the game, Louisville outshot Cal 11-7 and held a 9-4 lead in corners. McFerran had a pair of saves while Mentink collected four stops for the Bears.

Up Next
Louisville will hit the road for four games, starting with an ACC contest at Wake Forest on Friday followed by a matchup at Appalachian State on Sunday.

Cards No. 8 in Penn Monto/NFHCA Rankings
UofL is No. 8 in the 2018 Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I Poll released on Sept. 11. The Cardinals moved up three spots returned to the top 10 after falling to then-No. 2 North Carolina and beating California last weekend.
• This marks the 57th 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.

ACC Strong
All seven ACC field hockey programs are ranked among the top 18 in the nation with four appearing in the top 10. North Carolina (No. 1), Duke (No. 4), Virginia (No. 7), Louisville (8), Boston College (9) appear in the top 10 while Syracuse (No. 12) and Wake Forest (No. 24) 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.

Balanced scoring
Eight different players have combined to score 11 goals in the early season. Sophomore Mercedes Pastor and freshmen Erica Cooper and Katie Schneider lead the way with two goals apiece.

Walsh dishing it out
Senior Katie Walsh leads the team with a career-high three assists on the season.

Sowry approaching century win mark
Head coach Justine Sowry has amassed a 98-51 record at Louisville in her eight seasons at the helm, needing two more victories to reach the century.

Tough Road Ahead
Ten of Louisville's 18 opponents appear in the NFHCA top 25. In addition to the aforementioned six ACC opponents, the Cardinals' non-conference slate features matchups against No. 13 Delaware, No. 11 Northwestern, No. 24 Ohio State and No. 25 Albany.

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.

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.

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.
      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); 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 (2018-19)

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.

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) - 48
2. Duke - 39
3. Louisville (1) - 34
T4. Syracuse - 23
T4. Virginia - 23
6. - Boston College - 16
7. - Wake Forest – 13
(First-place votes)

No. 8 Cardinals Play Host to a Pair of Ranked Opponents

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Players Mentioned

Carter Ayars

Erica Cooper

Mackenzie Karl

Ayeisha McFerran

Whena Munn

Mercedes Pastor

Katie Schneider

Meghan Schneider

Taylor Stone

Katie Walsh

University of Louisville Athletics