No. 7 Cards Open ACC Play at No. 1 North Carolina Friday

Friday, September 20

Chapel Hill, NC

5:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

North Carolina

Photo by: Adam Creech | Louisville Athletics

No. 7 Cards Open ACC Play at No. 1 North Carolina Friday

September 19, 2019 | Field Hockey

Game Notes: Louisville vs. UNC ACC Network Extra Watch Link Live Scoring

Cards and Tar Heels set for a top-10 matchup Friday

By: Lori Harmon

The seventh-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team will continue its six-game road stretch this weekend when the Cards open ACC play at No. 1 North Carolina Friday at 5 p.m.

THE WEEKEND AHEAD
September 20 at North Carolina
5 p.m. | Chapel Hill, N.C.
Television: ACC Network Extra – Watch Link
Live Scoring: GoHeels.com
Series Record: UNC leads 6-4
Last meeting: Oct. 7, 2018
2018 Recap: 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 at Trager Stadium.
Scouting the Tar Heels: Defending NCAA champion North Carolina enters its ACC opener with a 5-0 record. After going undefeated (23-0) in the 2018 season, the top-ranked Tar Heels have now won 28 straight with their last loss coming in the NCAA semifinals in 2017.
• UNC opened the 2019 season with wins over three top-10 teams: No. 7 Michigan, No. 8 Iowa and No. 5 Princeton.
• North Carolina leads the nation in team goals per game (4.80), points per game (13.40), scoring average (4.80), scoring margin (3.60).

LOUISVILLE QUICK HITS
• UofL is coming off of a 2-1 win at No. 12 Ohio State on Sunday.
• The Cards have outscored their opponents 18-5 in the early season.
• Bethany Russ leads the team with seven goals and 15 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. She has scored a goal in each of the the last two games.
• Redshirt junior Hollyn Barr (6-0) has started all six games and carries a 0.49 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.
• Louisville returns 18 letterwinners from that team including Pastor and fellow NFHCA All-West Region selections Carter Ayars, Alli Bitting and Bethany Russ.
• 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 wrap up its six-game road stretch next weekend when the Cards continue ACC play at Boston College and then travel to Providence for a non-conference matchup.

WEEKLY RECAP
The Cards used a pair of second half goals from Bethany Russ and Madison Walsh to beat No. 12 Ohio State 2-1 Sunday at Buckeye Field.
• With the win, the Cardinals improve to 6-0 on the season, matching the best start in program history which last occurred in 2016.
• Hollyn Barr (6-0) picked up three saves in the win.

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 seven goals and 15 points on the season and has scored in the last two games.
• 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 only five goals through three games this season for a 0.89 goals against average and two shutouts.
• The team goals against average stands at No. 8 in the nation and third in the ACC.
• Additionally, the Cards have allowed only 10 penalty corners on the season.

BALANCED SCORING
Seven different players have contributed to Louisville's 18 goals on the season with five players tallying multiple goals.
• Bethany Russ leads the team with seven goals while Madison Walsh stands second with three. Mercedes Pastor, Margot Lawn and Carter Ayars have two goals apeice. 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. 7 IN NFHCA RANKINGS
UofL moved up one spot to No. 7 in the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association preseason poll released on September 17.
Louisville in the NFHCA Rankings
• This marks the 67th straight week Louisville has appeared among the top 20 in the nation dating back to the 2013 season. 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 and Virginia checks in at No. 5 and Louisville at No. 7 to give the ACC four teams among the top 10. Boston College (No. 17), Wake Forest (No. 18) and Syracuse (No. 19) round out the ranked ACC squads

TOUGH SLATE
• Eleven 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. 12 Ohio State, No. 16 Stanford, No. 23 Michigan State and No. 24 Penn State.

CARDS AMONG THE NATION'S BEST STATISTICALLY
Louisville is ranked among the top 20 in seven different statistical categories as a team and five individual categories.
NCAA Top 10 stats
•The Cards are currently in a six-way tie for first with a 1.000 winning percentage. They stand seventh with a 2.13 scoring margin and eighth in goals against average.
NCAA Top 20 stats
• UofL is 12th in goals per game (3.00) and scoring average (2.96), 13th in penalty corners per game (7.83), 16th in points per game (7.83). Finally, the Cards stand 17th in the nation in shutouts per game (0.33)

Cards in NCAA and ACC Team Standings (as of Sept. 9)
Category Value NCAA ACC

Goals against average                    0.75                  6                  2
Winning percentage                     1.000                 T1                T1
Shutouts per game                        0.50                  4                 T1
Scoring margin                              2.75                  4                 T1
Scoring average                             3.50                  7                  2
Goals per game                             3.50                  7                  2
Points per game                            8.75                  10                 2
Cards in NCAA and ACC Team Standings
Hollyn Barr (Win-Loss pct)            1.000                 1                  1
Hollyn Barr (GAA)                          0.33                  T1                T1
Bethany Russ (goals/game)           1.25                  3                  1
Bethany Russ (points/game)          2.75                  7                  2
Whena Munn (assists/game)         1.00                  12                 2
Madison Walsh (assists/game)      0.75                  16                 3

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.