Louisville Hosts Virginia Tech on Saturday in ACC Opener

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - University of Louisville women's lacrosse (3-2) opens its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule with a home tilt against No. 23 Virginia Tech (5-1) on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET.

The Cardinals are 3-2 to open the season after their close win at Vanderbilt on Tuesday.

Rachel Florek had another strong outing as she finished the game with 14 saves and a .518 save percentage. In the loss to No. 14 Michigan, she set a program-record with 17 saves and had a .531 save percentage.

Through five games, Florek has 62 saves and a .508 save percentage. She leads the ACC in saves (62, second in the country) and saves per game (12.4, sixth in the country).

Shayla Scanlan led the Cards with four goals in the win over Vanderbilt and has 10 goals on the season.

Maddie Birch leads the ACC with 2.0 caused turnovers per game and Brenna Shanahan ranks seventh with 1.8 assists per game.

UofL is 3-0 against unranked teams and 0-2 against ranked teams. The Cardinals are seeking their first win over a ranked team and their first ACC win since a 9-8 victory vs. No. 7 Syracuse on April 22, 2017.

ABOUT THE HOKIES

Virginia Tech enters Saturday's contest with a 5-1 record. Their lone loss is a 9-8 overtime defeat at No. 17 James Madison. In their last game, they won 20-5 at Cincinnati on Wednesday.

The Hokies feature four double-digit goal scorers, led by junior Paige Petty with 26 goals. She also adds five assists, 10 ground balls and team-leading 30 draw controls. Freshman Kayla Frank and junior Emma Crooks have both netted 17 goals with junior Sarah Lubnow adding 12 goals. Frank leads the Hokies with 19 assists and 36 points. Senior Angie Benson has started all six games at goalie and has 40 saves and a .563 save percentage.

Petty was named preseason All-ACC and placed on the initial Tewaarton Award Watch List.

Series History - Louisville leads Virginia Tech 5-2 in the all-time series and is 2-1 at home. Virginia Tech has won the last two meetings. Last year, UofL lost 17-16 in Blacksburg, Va. In the last meeting in Louisville, the Hokies won 15-14 on March 31, 2018.

The Last Meeting (March 23, 2019) - The Cardinals jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first three minutes, but Virginia Tech rallied to take a 3-2 lead and went into the break leading 9-7. Louisville scored the first six goals coming out of the locker room, taking a 13-9 lead with 21:43 left in the game. Shayla Scanlan scored three of the six, while Tessa Chad had two and Ally Hall netted one. Over the next 15 minutes the Hokies scored seven of the next eight goals, retaking a 16-14 lead. Louisville pulled within one on two different occasions in the final six minutes, including on a goal by Brenna Shanahan with 1:10 to go, but couldn't take back the lead. They had a shot with time winding down, but Caroline Blalock's shot hit the post.

GAME FACTS
Date: Saturday, Feb. 29
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky. | UofL Lacrosse Stadium
Video: ACCNX, Gary Fogle, play-by-play; Clay Ables, analyst
Last Meeting: L, 17-16 (March 23, 2019 at VT)
Series History: 5-2 (2-1 Home, 3-1 Road, 0-0 Neutral)
Next Game: Tuesday, March 3 vs. Longwood

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 Hosts Virginia Tech on Saturday in ACC Opener

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Players Mentioned

Maddie Birch

Caroline Blalock

Tessa Chad

Rachel Florek

Ally Hall

Shayla Scanlan

Brenna Shanahan

University of Louisville Athletics