Louisville Plays No. 9 Denver in Home Opener on Saturday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - University of Louisville women's lacrosse (1-0) opens the home portion of its schedule against No. 9 Denver (1-0) on Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. ET. The game will broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

In the 16-11 win over Cincinnati to open the season, Ally Hall (4), Hannah Morris (3) and Allegra Catalano (3) all had hat tricks. Hall has eight career hat tricks, Morris had two and it was Catalano's first collegiate game.

Hall tied her career high with four goals. She also had four goals in a 17-15 win at Vanderbilt on Feb. 27, 2018 and in a 21-14 win at Mercer on March 14, 2018.

Maddie Birch had a team-high five caused turnovers in the opener against Cincinnati. It tied her career-high for caused turnovers in a game. She also had five in a 20-2 win over Mercer on Feb. 23, 2019.

Louisville is 11-1 in home openers and has won seven straight. The only defeat in a home opener was a 16-7 loss to No. 1 Northwestern on March 7, 2012. Last year, the Cardinals defeated Mercer 20-2 in their home opener, which marked the biggest win since they won 23-2 at Cincinnati on April 6, 2014.

The Cardinals are looking to end a 19-game losing streak to ranked teams. Their last win over a ranked team was a 9-8 victory vs. No. 7 Syracuse on April 22, 2017.

ABOUT THE PIONEERS

Denver (1-0) is ranked ninth in the country and comes to Louisville after winning its first game of the season over No. 20 Stanford, 17-13. Junior Quintin Hoch-Bullen scored five goals and added one assist, while juniors Bea Behrins and Eliza Radochonski added three goals and two goals, respectively. Senior Carson Gregg had 14 saves in the net.

Last season, they went 16-4 overall and 5-0 in Big East play. They advanced to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals for the first time in program history, where they lost to Maryland, 17-8. They were named the Big East regular season champions, but lost 9-8 in double overtime to Georgetown in the conference tournament.

Hoch-Bullen led the Pioneers with 59 goals last season, while adding 71 points. Behrins had 49 goals and five assists in 2019, Radochonski added 38 goals and 26 assists and Gregg had 102 saves.

Series History - UofL is 3-4 all-time against Denver and 2-1 at home. The last meeting in Louisville was a 12-5 win for Denver on Feb. 17, 2018. Last year, UofL fell 18-2 in Denver. The Cardinals have lost three straight to Denver with their last win a 14-3 victory in Louisville on Feb. 20, 2016.

The Last Meeting (Feb. 16, 2019) - Louisville concluded its three-game road trip to open the season with an 18-2 defeat at No. 19 Denver. Louisville struggled in snowy conditions throughout and trailed 11-0 at halftime. Caroline Blalock got the Cardinals on the board with 24:54 to go in the game and then assisted on a goal by Sarah Blalock with 6:43 remaining. But, Louisville was unable to mount a rally as they had in the previous two games and fell 18-2. It marked their most lopsided defeat in program history.

GAME FACTS
Date: Saturday, Feb. 15
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky. | UofL Lacrosse Stadium
Video: ACCNX, Gary Fogle, play-by-play, Monica Negron, analyst
Last Meeting: L, 18-2 (Feb. 16, 2019 at Denver)
Series History: 3-4 (2-1 at home, 1-3 on road, 0-0 neutral)
Next Game: Monday, Feb. 17 vs. Marquette

For the latest information on Louisville lacrosse, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Twitter account at @LouisvilleLax or on Facebook at facebook.com/UofLLacrosse.

Louisville Plays No. 9 Denver in Home Opener on Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Maddie Birch

Caroline Blalock

Sarah Blalock

Allegra Catalano

Ally Hall

Hannah Morris

University of Louisville Athletics