No. 6 Cards Travel to No. 17 Boston College, Providence College

Friday, September 27

Chestnut Hill, MA

4:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

Boston College

Mattie Tabor looks for a teammate on the field

Photo by: Adam Creech | Louisville Athletics

No. 6 Cards Travel to No. 17 Boston College, Providence College

September 26, 2019 | Field Hockey

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Cards wrap up six-game road stretch at No. 17 Boston College, Providence College

By: Lori Harmon

The sixth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team will wrap up its six-game road stretch this weekend when the Cards take on No. 17 Boston College and Providence.

THE WEEKEND AHEAD
September 27 at No. 17 Boston College
4 p.m. | Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Television: ACC Network Extra
Series Record: UL leads 3-2
Last meeting: Sept. 14, 2018; UL won 1-0 at Trager Stadium
2018 Recap: Bethany Russ delivered a penalty corner goal with no time remaining on the clock tie to lift the eighth-ranked Cardinals to a 1-0 win over No. 9 Boston College in an ACC matchup at Trager Stadium.
• Ayeisha McFerran picked up the shutout while collecting five saves. Sarah Dwyer had seven stops for Boston College.
Scouting the Eagles: Boston College (4-3, 1-0 ACC) brings a three-game win streak into the weekend. Most recently, the Eagles picked up a 2-0 win over then-No. 18 in their ACC opener.
• Margo Carlin leads the team with seven goals and 14 points while Fusine Govaert stands second with four goals and a team-high four assists for 12 points.
• Current NFHCA and ACC Defensive Player of the Week Jonna Kennedy carries a 1.83 goals against average.

September 29 at Providence College
12 p.m. | Providence, R.I.
Television: Friars All-Access
Series Record: UL leads 10-1 - The Cards have won the last six meetings. The bulk of the series takes place from 2005-13 when both teams were members of the BIG EAST Conference.
Last meeting: Nov. 1, 2013 - Jennifer Pels' goal with 4:01 remaining in overtime lifted No. 14 Louisville to a 3-2 win over Providence at Trager Stadium. With the win, the Cardinals earned a share of the BIG EAST regular season title for the first time since 2008.
Scouting the Friars: Providence enters the weekend with a 4-3 overall record prior a Friday matchup against Temple.
• The Friars are coming off of a 2-1 loss to Fairfield on Sunday and a 4-3 shootout loss to No. 22 Old Dominion in their BIG EAST Conference opener last Friday.
• Izzy Mendez leads the Providence offense with four goals while Lydia Rice carries a 1.52 goals against average.
CARDINAL CONNECTION: The Cardinals will see a familiar face on the sidelines at Providence. The Friars' assistant coach Lisa (Wasser) Lopes played at UofL from 2003-06). The four-year starter was a two-time NFHCA all-region selection and three-time all-conference honoree. She also helped the Cardinals capture the 2006 BIG EAST Regular Season title and the Mid-American Conference tournament titles in 2003 and 2004.

LOUISVILLE QUICK HITS
• UofL (6-1, 0-1 ACC) suffered its first loss of the season last Friday when the Cards fell 4-1 at No. 1 North Carolina.
• The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 19-9 in the early season.
• Bethany Russ leads the team with seven goals and 16 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 or dished out an assist in each of the the last three games.
• Redshirt junior Hollyn Barr (6-1) has started all seven games and carries a 1.07 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.
The Cardinals will open the season on August 30 when Indiana visits Trager Stadium for the annual Battle of the Border. Admission is free.
• Junior midfielder Mercedes Pastor was named to the Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team
* The Cardinals were picked to finish four in the regular season standings in a vote of the league's seven head coaches.
• UofL finished the 2018 season with a 13-6 overall record and ranked No. 14 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) poll after earning the No. 3 seed in the 2018 ACC Championship.
• Louisville returns 18 letterwinners from that team including Pastor and fellow All-West Region selections Carter Ayars, Alli Bitting and Bethany Russ.
• Russ led the 2018 team with 11 goals and 24 points. Sophomore Erica Cooper stood second on the team with nine goals and 18 points.
• The Cards welcome six newcomers to the 2019 roster.
• Justine Sowry enters her ninth season During that time, she has guided the Cardinals to 107 wins, four NCAA tournament appearances along with a conference title and a runner-up finish in the ACC Championship. In the eight seasons that Sowry has been at the helm, UofL has produced 12 NFHCA All-America selections and 32 All-Region team members.

UP NEXT
Louisville will return to the friendly confines of Trager Stadium for a six-game home stand to start the month of October. The Cardinal will play host to No. 17 Wake Forest in an ACC matchup on Oct. 4 and will take on Penn State on Oct. 6.

WEEKLY RECAP
The Cardinals (6-1, 0-1 ACC) fell behind early, but got a late goal from junior Alli Bitting as they suffered their first loss of the 2019 season.
• In the game, the teams tallied eight shots on goal apiece with Louisville holding a 9-8 advantage in penalty corners.
•Louisville's Hollyn Barr and Sam Minrath teamed for four saves while North Carolina goalkeepers Amanda Hendry and Alex Halpin combined for seven stops in the contest.

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 nine goals through seven games this season for a 1.27 goals against average which ranks 18th in the nation and fourth in the ACC.

BALANCED SCORING
Eight different players have contributed to Louisville's 19 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 apiece. 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 moved up one spot to No. 6 in the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association preseason poll released on September 24.
• In their lone contest of the week, the Cardinals suffered their first loss of the season on the road at No. 1 North Carolina.
Louisville in the NFHCA Rankings
• This marks the 68th straight week Louisville has appeared among the top 20 in the nation dating back to the 2013 season.
• The Cards have spent the last three 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 21 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. 6 to give the ACC four teams among the top 10. Boston College (No. 17), Syracuse (No. 19) and Wake Forest (No. 21) 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 initial NCAA RPI report released on Sept. 24.
• UofL is no stranger to facing quality competition and this season is no different with eight 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
5. Virginia
10. Syracuse
15. Boston College
17. Iowa
18. Stanford
19. Ohio State

CARDS AMONG THE NATION'S BEST STATISTICALLY
Louisville is ranked among the top 20 in six different statistical categories as a team and four individual categories.
NCAA Top 20 stats
• UofL is third in shutouts per game (0.29) and tied for fifth in the nation with an .857 win percentage. The Cards stand 14th in scoring margin (1.41), 18th in scoring average (2.68) and goals against average (1.27) and are ranked 19th nationals with 2.71 goals per game.
• Additionally, goalkeeper Hollyn Barr is tied for fifth with an .857 win percentate and tenth with a goals against average of 1.07. Bethany Russ is ranked ninth with 1.00 goals per game and 11th in points per game (2.29).

Cards in NCAA and ACC Team Standings (as of Sept. 24)
Category Value NCAA ACC

Shutouts per game           0.29             3             3
Winning percentage         0.857           T5           T3
Scoring margin                 1.41            14            4
Scoring average               2.68            18            4
Goals against average       1.27            18            4
Goals per game                2.71            19            4
Points per game               7.14            21            5
Cards in NCAA and ACC Team Standings
Hollyn Barr (Win-Loss pct) 0.857            5             3
Bethany Russ (goals/game) 1.00           9             3
Hollyn Barr (GAA)             1.07            10            3
Bethany Russ (points/game) 2.29         11            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.