Pastor Named Field Hockey Honda Sport Award Finalist

The University of Louisville's Mercedes Pastor is one of four finalists for the Class of 2020 Honda Sport Award for Field Hockey as announced today by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA).

She becomes the second Honda Sport Award for Field Hockey Finalist in program history. Jessica Javelet was also a finalist for the 2005-06 award.

About the Honda Sport Award
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 44 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies "the best of the best in collegiate athletics." The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2020 Honda Cup which will be presented on a live telecast on CBS Sports Network on Monday, June 22, 2020, in downtown Los, Angeles.

Pastor joins North Carolina's Erin Matson, Princeton's Clara Roth and Connecticut's Svea Boker in the field of four finalists for the Honda Sport Award for Field Hockey.

The nominees were chosen by a panel of coaches representing the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA). The Honda Sport Award winner for field hockey will be announced next week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.

About Mercedes Pastor
Pastor, a junior midfielder from Buenos Aires, Argentina earned Longstreth/NFHCA first-team honors in 2019 after registering a career-high season with nine goals and four assists to stand tied for second on the team with 22 points. The Cardinals' team co-captain notched three game-winning goals including the deciding goal in Louisville's ACC quarterfinal victory over Syracuse. She was also named to the 2019 ACC All-Tournament team.

During her career at Louisville, Pastor has earned a pair of NFHCA All-America and All-West Region selections and is a two-time All-ACC first team honoree.

As a sophomore Pastor garnered NFHCA All-America second team accolades after starting every game and tallying 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.

The Industrial Engineering major is successful in the classroom as a two-time NFHCA Academic Honor Roll member, earning Scholar of Distinction honors in 2017. She was named to the ACC All-Academic Team in 2018 and is a two-time ACC Academic Honor Roll member.

Pastor is also one of Louisville field hockey's community service leaders. Among her many local volunteer activities, she is active in the Droplet Water Project, a Kentucky-based non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the global effort to provide access to clean drinking water.

About Louisville Field Hockey
The 2019 Cardinals posted a 16-6 overall record, tying a program mark for wins and earned the overall No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament, serving as a host site for the first time in program history. Louisville also made its first foray into the NCAA quarterfinals after defeating Michigan 2-1 in double-overtime in its first-round matchup.

UofL finished the season at No. 5 in the NFHCA Coaches poll after reaching as high as No. 4. The Cardinals spent the last 10 weeks of the season ranked among the top 10 in the nation.

University of Louisville Athletics

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