Cardinals Beat Virginia 5-2, Advance to ACC Championship Game

Friday, November 6

Durham, N.C.

1:30 PM

University of Louisville

(8-1)

Virginia

(4-7)

Virginia

LOU

Photo by: Sara D. Davis, the ACC

Cardinals Beat Virginia 5-2, Advance to ACC Championship Game

November 06, 2020 | Field Hockey

Box Score

By: Lori Harmon

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –The University of Louisville field hockey team used goals from five different players to beat fourth-seeded Virginia 5-2 in the semifinals of the ACC Championship Friday afternoon at North Carolina's Karen Shelton Stadium.

The Cardinals (8-1) advance to Sunday's 12 p.m. championship game to face the No. 2 seed North Carolina after the Tar Heels defeated Syracuse 4-3 in Friday's other semifinal matchup. This marks Louisville's second appearance in the ACC title game. In 2017 the Cardinals lost 1-0 to North Carolina in the finals on November 5 at Louisville's Trager Stadium.

In the game, Louisville outshot Virginia 13-6 with a 9-5 advantage in shots on goal and a 6-1 edge in penalty corners. The teams played to a 1-1 tied at halftime, but the Cardinals tallied four second-half goals en route to the 5-2 win. Senior Hollyn Barr collected three saves while Virginia's Lauren Hausheer and Taylor Henriksen combined for four stops.

"We've been working really hard and earned the right to be the No. 1 seed, but I had some concerns going into the game against a talented Virginia team," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "When we play together, we win together and that's what was really impressive today - just our togetherness when we're defending without the ball. And also with the ball, we were able to pass and move and retain possession for longer periods of time than what we did in our last game against Syracuse and that really helped us," said Sowry. "Virginia had already played, so that was key for us. I definitely need to highlight both ends of the pitch, I thought our defense was rock-solid, but I also thought we were outstanding up front today and we scored some incredible goals so I'm really, really proud of the group right now."

The Cardinals jumped to an early lead just two minutes into the game when freshman Aimee Plumb received a long pass from sophomore Julie Kouijzer and fired a shot past Virginia goalkeeper Lauren Hausheer.

UVA answered midway through the first frame with a goal from Adele Iacobucci to even the score at 1-1.

In the second quarter, Louisville outshot Virginia 3-0 and earned three penalty corners, but was unable to capitalize on the opportunities and the teams entered the break tied at 1-1.

The Cards opened the third quarter by scoring a pair of goals within the first five minutes. Redshirt sophomore Katie Schneider got the third quarter offense started when she redirected a penalty corner shot from sophomore Julie Kouijzer to put the Cards back on top 2-1.

Less than two minutes later, senior Madison Walsh added to the lead when the senior forward received a pass from senior Alli Bitting, maneuvered around three defenders and sent a reverse-stick shot into the cage, extending the lead to 3-1.

Louisville's third quarter attack continued when sophomore Margot Lawn chipped in a feed from Bitting to make the score 4-1 midway through the frame.

Freshman Charlie van Oirschot capped the Cardinals' scoring when she carried the ball more than 50 yards to deliver unassisted goal just two minutes into the fourth quarter.

With 2:47 left to play, Peyton Tollaksen added a goal for the Cavaliers for the 5-2 final.

NOTES:

Louisville tied a season high with five goals, last accomplished in the 5-2 win at Virginia on October 23, 2020.
Louisville defeated UNC 3-1 in this season's regular-season match between the teams on Oct. 2, ending the Tar Heels' 47-game winning streak.