Cooper's Four Goals Lead No. 7 Cards Past Appalachian State 4-0

Sunday, September 23

Boone, NC

11:00 a.m.

University of Louisville

(7-3)

Appalachian State

(4-6)

Louisville

Appalachian State

Field Hockey's Erica Cooper gains control of the ball

Photo by: Adam Creech | Louisville Athletics

Cooper's Four Goals Lead No. 7 Cards Past Appalachian State 4-0

September 23, 2018 | Field Hockey

Box Score Louisville 4 - App State 0

Freshman Erica Cooper becomes the first Louisville player to score four goals in a game since 2010

By: Lori Korte

Erica Cooper delivered a career-best four goals to lead the seventh-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team to a 4-0 win over Appalachian State Sunday afternoon at Appalachian State's Adcock Field.

"We played some great Louisville hockey today," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "We have all the pieces in place and we know what we should do, but we must work hard and be disciplined about playing our hockey consistently - it doesn't magically happen. We are excited to have a positive week of practices to prepare for our next ACC opponent."

With her performance, Cooper becomes the first Louisville player to score four goals in a game since Sept. 17, 2010 when Nicole Youman tallied four against Georgetown.

Louisville (7-3) wasted little time getting its offensive started with a pair of goals in the first two minutes of the game. Cooper put the Cards on the scoreboard early with a goal 30 seconds into the match after collecting a feed from sophomore Bethany Russ. Ninety seconds later, the freshman netted her second goal of the match to give the Cards quick 2-0 advantage.

Cooper struck again with just over five minutes left in the half when she connected on a rebound off of her own shot to complete the hat trick - the first for a Louisville player since Nicole Woods' three-goal performance against Kent State on Sept. 3, 2017.

The Cardinals took the 3-0 lead into the break after outshooting the Mountaineers 5-3 with a 4-0 advantage in shots on goal. Each team earned one corner in the first half.

Cooper tallied her fourth goal of the game with 10 minutes left in the second half. Sophomore Mercedes Pastor's shot was turned back by Appalachian State's Madison Nuckols, but Cooper was there to direct it back into the cage for her team-best sixth goal of the season.

The Mountaineers gained momentum toward the end of the game earning a penalty corner and firing off three shots, two of which were stopped by Louisville senior Ayeisha McFerran to preserve the shutout.

In the game, Louisville outshot Appalachian State 14-6 with a 10-2 lead in shots on goal. The Cardinals also held a 5-2 advantage in corners. McFerran collected two saves while recording her third shutout of the season while Gaines had six stops for the Mountaineers (4-6).

The Cardinals will return to action next weekend when they travel to Charlottesville, Va., for an ACC matchup against No. 10 Virginia Saturday at 1 p.m.