No. 12 Cards Hit the Road to Face Michigan State, UC Davis

Sunday, September 8

East Lansing, MI

11:00 a.m.

University of Louisville

Michigan State

Julie Kouijzer dribbles the ball down the field against UMass

Photo by: Adam Creech | Louisville Athletics

No. 12 Cards Hit the Road to Face Michigan State, UC Davis

September 06, 2019 | Field Hockey

Game Notes vs. Michigan State, UC Davis Big Ten Network Plus Watch Link (vs. Michigan State)Live stats

Cards travel to East Lansing, Michigan to play Michigan State Sunday, UC Davis Monday

By: Lori Harmon

The Cardinals will hit the road for the first time this season this weekend when the travel to East Lansing, Mich. for a pair of contests. UofL will face Michigan State Sunday at 11 a.m. and UC Davis in a neutral site matchup Monday at 11 a.m.

THE WEEKEND AHEAD
September 8 at Michigan State
11 a.m. | East Lansing, Mich.
Television: Big Ten Network
Series Record: MSU leads 10-6 - Louisville has won the last four matchups.
Last meeting: Oct. 7, 2018 – UL won 4-1
2018 Recap:
Bethany Russ, Taylor Stone, Elizabeth Allgeier and Erica Cooper tallied first-half goals as the Cardinals built a 4-0 lead in the first half and held on to beat Michigan State 4-1 at Trager Stadium.
Scouting the Spartans: Michigan State enters its home-opening weekend with a 2-0 record after beating Saint Francis 7-0 and Kent State 1-0.
•MSU goalkeeper Jade Arundell was recently named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after totaling 10 saves in two shutouts on the weekend.
• The Spartans are led offensively by Lia Sinisi and Isa van der Weij, who have two goals each.

September 9 vs. UC Davis
11 a.m. | East Lansing, Mich.
Television: None
Series Record: UL leads 3-0
Last meeting: Sept. 6, 2015 - UL won 2-0
2015 Recap: The 12th-ranked Cardinals registered its third straight shutout with a 2-0 win over host UC Davis.
• Stephanie Byrne and Tess Hannah each delivered a goal and Ayeisha McFerran collected four saves in the shutout.
Scouting the Aggies: UC Davis brings a 2-0 record into the weekend with wins over Quinnipiac (1-0) and Ball State (2-1).
• Three players have recorded goals for the Aggies: Nicola Prebble, Lauren Gengerella and Sara Janetzky. Chelsea Bigelow (2-0) carries a 0.50 goals against average with eight saves on the season.
NOTE: UC Davis is coached by Britt Broady, who spent nine seasons at the University of Louisville, eight as an assistant coach (2003-10) and one as the director of field hockey operations (2016).

Louisville Quick Hits
• UofL is coming off of a three-game home stand and bring a 3-0 record into the second weekend of play.
• Most recently Louisville defeated Kent State 4-2 on Wednesday. Prior to that, the Cardinals beat Indiana 5-0 and UMass 1-0.
• The Cards have outscored their opponents 10-2 in the early season.
• Bethany Russ leads the team with five goals and 11 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Justine Sowry is in 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 continue its six-game road stretch with a trip to Columbus, Ohio to take on Ohio State on Sept. 15.

WEEKLY RECAP
Bethany Russ scored a pair of goals and Madison Walsh and Margot Lawn tallied a goal apiece as the No. 12 University of Louisville field hockey team defeated Kent State 4-2 Wednesday afternoon at Trager Stadium.
• The Cardinals (3-0) built a 4-0 lead and withstood a late surge by the Golden Flashes (1-2) to close out a season-opening home stand. Russ registered her second multi-goal game of the season and dished out an assist to extend her team-leading point total to 11. Lawn notched her first career goal and fellow freshman Mattie Tabor collected her first career assist.

RUSS SHINES IN THE EARLY SEASON
•Senior Bethany Russ registered her first career hat trick to help the Cardinals to a 5-0 win against Indiana in their season opener. Russ picked up where she left off as the Cardinals' leading scorer last season, with a career-best performance against IU. She also paced the Cards with four shots in their 1-0 win against UMass.
•After being sidelined by injury in 2017, Bethany Russ rebounded nicely 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 two goals through three games this season for a 0.80 goals against average and two shutouts.
• Additionally, the Cards have allowed only two penalty corners on the season.

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 three freshmen in every game this season. Julie Kouijzer started every game, while Margot Lawn, Minna Tremonti, Emilia Kaczmarczyk have appeared in the starting lineup in two of Louisville's three games. Mattie Tabor has also 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. 12 in NFHCA Preseason Rankings
UofL appears at No. 12 in the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association preseason poll released on August 27. The next poll will be released on September 10.
Louisville in the NFHCA Rankings
• This marks the 65th 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 18 with 2018 national champion North Carolina holding down the top spot. Duke placed third in the preseason rankings and Wake Forest checks in at No. 10 to give the ACC three teams among the top 10. Virginia (No. 11), Louisville (No. 12) and Boston College (No. 13) and Syracuse (No. 18) round out the ranked ACC squads

TOUGH SLATE
• Eleven of the Cardinals' 18 opponents are ranked among the top 25 in the NFHCA preseason poll. In addition to its six ACC opponents, UofL will also take on No. 8 Iowa, No. 9 Penn State, No. 14 Ohio State, No. 21 Stanford and No. 25 William & Mary.

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 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (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.