No. 6 Cardinals Play Host to No. 20 Wake Forest, Penn State This Weekend

Friday, October 4

LOUISVILLE, KY

6:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

WAKE FOREST

Photo by: Adam Creech | Louisville Athletics

No. 6 Cardinals Play Host to No. 20 Wake Forest, Penn State This Weekend

October 03, 2019 | Field Hockey

2019FHgamenotes Wake Penn State Live scoring ACCNX Watch Link vs. Wake Forest ACCNX Watch Link vs. Penn State

Cards open six-game home stand against ACC opponent No. 20 Wake Forest Friday

By: Lori Harmon

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After six games on the road, the sixth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team will return to the friendly confines of Trager Stadium to open a six-game home stand. On Friday, the Cardinals will take on ACC opponent Wake Forest at 6 p.m. and follow with a Sunday matchup against Penn State at 12 p.m. Admission is free.

THE WEEKEND AHEAD
October 4 vs. Wake Forest
6 p.m. | Trager Stadium
Television: ACC Network Extra
Series Record: Wake leads 13-5 - The Demon Deacons have won the last two meetings - both in 2018.
Last meeting: Nov. 1, 2018 - WF won 3-2 in the first round of the ACC Championship in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Deacs would go on to reach the NCAA semifinals which were held at Louisville's Trager Stadium.
2018 ACC Recap: Mercedes Pastor delivered a goal and an assist and Taylor Stone contributed a goal while fellow all-ACC selection Ayeisha McFerran tallied six saves in a highly-competitive game that featured two ties and three lead changes.
Scouting the Demon Deacons: Wake Forest enters the week with a 4-5 record and in the midst of a three-game win streak. Most recently, the Deacs defeated Northeastern 3-1 on Sunday. Prior to that, Wake picked up wins over a pair of ranked teams, beating No. 15 Stanford 3-1 and No. 13 Liberty 1-0.
• Laia Vancells leads the team with 10 points (3G, 4A) while Nat Friedman follows with eight poings (3G, 2A). Isla Bint carries a 1.39 goals against average.

October 6 vs. Penn State
12 p.m. | Trager Stadium
Television: ACC Network Extra
Series Record: First meeting
Scouting the Nittany Lions: Penn State enters the game with a 1-7 overall record prior to Friday's Big Ten opener at Indiana. The Nittany Lions are coming off of an 8-2 win over Villanova on Sunday.
• Anna Simon leads the team with four goals and eight points and Alex Horst follows with three goals.

ABOUT LOUISVILLE FIELD HOCKEY
• At 8-1 on the season, Louisville is off to its best start since 2016 when they went 9-1 through the first 10 games.
• The Cards have outscored their opponents 24-11 this season.
• Bethany Russ leads the team with eight goals and 18 points. The senior forward notched her first career hat trick in the 5-0 win over Indiana and scored a pair of goals in the 4-2 victory against Kent State.
• Redshirt junior Hollyn Barr (8-1) has started all nine games and carries a 1.05 goals against average.
• Junior midfielder Mercedes Pastor was named to the Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team
• The Cardinals were picked to finish fourth in the regular season standings in a vote of the league's seven head coaches.
• Justine Sowry is in her ninth season at the helm. She has guided the Cardinals to 113 wins, four NCAA tournament appearances along with a conference title and a runner-up finish in the ACC Championship.

UP NEXT
Louisville will continue its six-game home stand on October 11 against ACC foe Virginia.

WEEKLY RECAP
The Cardinals went 2-0 on the weekend, starting with a 3-2 win at No. 17 Boston College on Friday and ending with a 2-0 victory at Providence College on Sunday. On the weekend, five different players scored and the Cardinals' defense posted a 1.00 goals against average, allowed only three shots on goal and surrendered only four penalty corners in 120 minutes.

RUSS SHINES IN THE EARLY SEASON
•Senior Bethany Russ Russ picked up where she left off as the Cardinals' leading scorer last season. She now leads the team with eight goals and 18 points on the season.
• She stands fifth in the nation and third in the conference in goals per game and sixth in the national, second in the league in points per game.
• The forward registered her first career hat trick to help the Cardinals to a 5-0 win against Indiana in their season opener.
•After being sidelined by injury in 2017, Russ rebounded last season, leading the team with a career-high 11 goals and 24 points. Six of her 11 goals stood as gamewinners. Russ went on to earn all-ACC and NFHCA All-Region honors.

STINGY DEFENSE
The Cardinals have allowed 11 goals through nine games this season for a 1.21 goals against average which ranks 18th in the nation and fourth in the ACC.

BALANCED SCORING
Eight different players have contributed to Louisville's 24 goals on the season with five players tallying multiple goals.
• Bethany Russ leads the team with eight goals while Madison Walsh stands second with four. Mercedes Pastor, Margot Lawn and Carter Ayars have three goals apeice. Alli Bitting, Whena Munn and Mattie Tabor each have one goal.
•The Cards stand at No. 12 in the nation and second in the ACC with a 2.13 scoring average.

THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS
While Louisville's roster boasts a core of experienced players, several freshmen are also making an impact in the early season.
• The Cardinals' starting lineup has featured at least three freshmen in every game this season. Julie Kouijzer started every contest, while Margot Lawn, Minna Tremonti, Emilia Kaczmarczyk and Mattie Tabor have also had a least one start and played in every game thus far.

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- current)
Mackenzie Karl - U.S. U17 Team (2015-16)
Margot Lawn - U.S. U19 Team (2019); U17 Team (2017-19)
Mercedes Pastor - Argentina U21 Team (2015-17); U18 Team (2013-14)
Katie Schneider - U.S. U19 Team (2019)Meghan Schneider - U.S. U21 Team (2018); U19 Team (2017-18), U21 Team (2019)

CARDS No. 6 in NFHCA RANKINGS
UofL stayed No. 6 in the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association preseason poll released on October 1. This marks the second straight week the Cards have appeared at No. 6.
Louisville in the NFHCA Rankings
• This marks the 69th straight week Louisville has appeared among the top 20 in the nation dating back to the 2013 season.
• The Cards have spent the last four weeks in the top 10 after starting the 2019 season at No. 12 in the preseason rankings.
• The Cardinals finished the 2018 campaign at No. 14 after spending seven weeks in the top 10, reaching as high as No. 8.
• Louisville appeared in the top 10 seven times in 2018 after debuting at No. 8 in the preseason poll, the highest preseason ranking in program history.
• In 2017 Louisville appeared in the top 10 six times, reaching as high as No. 7 on Oct. 17, 2017.
• 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 teams appear in the top 20, with 2018 national champion North Carolina holding down the top spot. Duke placed second in the most recent rankings, Louisville checks in at No. 6 and Virginia at No. 8 to give the ACC four teams among the top 10. Syracuse (No. 14) Boston College (No. 17) and Wake Forest (No. 20) round out the ranked ACC squads

TOUGH SLATE
• Ten of the Cardinals' 18 opponents are ranked among the top 25 in the current NFHCA poll. In addition to its six ACC opponents, UofL's ranked opponents also include: No. 8 Iowa, No. 14 Ohio State, No. 15 Stanford, and No. 24 Michigan State.

CARDS NO. 4 IN NCAA RPI REPORT
• UofL appears at No. 4 in the most recent NCAA RPI report released on October 1.
• UofL is no stranger to facing quality competition and this season is no different with 10 of its 18 opponents appearing among the top 20. Below is a list of Louisville's 2019 opponents who are included among the NCAA's RPI leaders.
1. North Carolina
2. Duke
7. Iowa
8. Virginia
14. Syracuse
15. Ohio State
16. Stanford
17. Boston College
20. Wake Forest
24. Michigan State

CARDS AMONG THE NATION'S BEST STATISTICALLY
Louisville is ranked among the top 25 in eight different statistical categories as a team and four individual categories.
NCAA Top 25 stats
• UofL is tied for fourth with a .889 winning percentage. The Cards are 12th with 7.33 penalty corners per game and stand 16th in scoring margin (1.43). Louisville stands at No. 16 in shutouts per game (.33) and goals against average (1.21). The Cards at No. 17 with 2.67 goals per game and a 2.63 scoring average and No. 22 in points per game (7.00).
• Additionally, goalkeeper Hollyn Barr is tied for fourth with an .889 win percentage and 11th with a goals against average of 1.05. Bethany Russ is ranked 16th with 0.89 goals per game and 19th in points per game (2.00).

Cards in NCAA and ACC Team Standings (as of Oct. 1)
Category Value NCAA ACC

Winning percentage                      .889                  T4                T2
Penalty corners per game              7.33                  12                 1
Scoring margin                              1.43                  14                 3
Shutouts per game                         .33                   16                 4
Goals against average                    1.21                  16                 7
Scoring average                             2.63                  17                 4
Goals per game                             2.67                  17                 4
Points per game                            7.00                  22                 4
Cards in NCAA and ACC Team Standings
Hollyn Barr (Win-Loss pct)            0.889                 4                  2
Bethany Russ (goals/game)           0.89                  16                 5
Hollyn Barr (GAA)                          1.05                  11                 4
Bethany Russ (points/game)          2.00                  19                 5

PASTOR EARNS ACC PRESEASON HONORS
Mercedes Pastor was named to the Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team and the Cardinals were picked to finish four in the regular season standings in a vote of the league's seven head coaches.
• Pastor (Buenos Aires, Argentina) earned 2018 NFHCA All-America honors after starting every in her first season at Louisville. The NFHCA all-West Region and all-ACC first team selection tallied five goals, including the game-winner in double overtime at No. 15 Syracuse and the deciding goal in overtime against California. Pastor also dished out three assists to bring her point total to 13 in 2018.

2019 ACC Field Hockey Predicted Order of Finish
1. North Carolina (6) - 48
2. Duke (1) - 43
3. Virginia - 29
4. Louisville - 25
5. Syracuse - 18
6. Boston College - 17
7. Wake Forest – 16
(First-place votes)

HOME GROWN TALENT
The Cardinals' roster features six players who chose to play for their hometown school: sophomores Biz Allgeier (Assumption) and Erica Cooper (Assumption), redshirt freshmen Camryn Pichea (Assumption), and Sam Minrath (Christian Academy) and freshmen India Reed (DuPont Manual) and Mattie Tabor (Sacred Heart).

HOME SWEET HOME
•The Cardinals are 3-0 on the season at Trager Stadium, bringing their home record to 49-12 since the 2013 season.
•Louisville owned a 5-3 record at Trager Stadium in 2018.
• Louisville compiled a 9-3 record at Trager Stadium in 2017.
• 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.