Cards Open 2020 Season Against Duke

The University of Louisville field hockey team will open the 2020 season this weekend when the Cardinals play host to Duke Saturday at 1 p.m. in a game that will count toward ACC standings. The teams will meet again Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in a non-conference matchup. Saturday's game will be televised on ACC Network Extra while Sunday's contest will be shown on the ACC Network.

The Weekend Ahead
Duke at Louisville
Sept. 26, 1:00 p.m. | Sept. 17, 1:30 p.m.
Venue: Trager Stadium - due to COVID-19 Protocols, the game is not open to the general public
Television:
Saturday ACC Network Extra: Watch Link
Sunday ACC Network: Watch Link
Live Scoring: Link | Louisville Game Notes
Series Record: Duke leads 11-5
Last meeting: Oct. 26, 2019 - UofL won 1-0 at Duke
RECAP: Madison Walsh's goal in the third quarter lifted the fifth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team to a 1-0 win over No. 4 Duke in an ACC matchup at Jack Katz Stadium.
• The Cards outshot the Blue Devils 9-7 while Duke held a 6-2 advantage in corners. Hollyn Barr collected two saves as Louisville recorded its sixth shutout of the season while Sammi Steele also had two stops.

WEEKEND NOTES
• This will be the season-opening weekend for both teams. Duke was slated to open the season last weekend at Syracuse, but the games were postponed.
• Duke was tabbed to finish fourth in the ACC Preseason Coaches' poll while Louisville was picked to finish fifth.
CARDINAL CONNECTION: The Blue Devils are coached by Pam Bustin, who is in her tenth season at Duke. Prior to that, Bustin spent 13 seasons (1998-2010) as Louisville's head coach.
• Current Louisville head Justine Sowry served as an assistant under Bustin at UofL from 1998-2002. She replaced Bustin after the 2010 season.

CARDINAL QUICK HITS
• Senior midfielder Mercedes Pastor was named to the Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team while the Cardinals were picked to finish fifth in the league according to a vote by the seven head coaches.
• The 2019 Cardinals posted a 16-6 overall record, tying a program mark for wins and earned the overall No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament, serving as a host site for the first time in program history. Louisville also made its first foray into the NCAA quarterfinals after defeating Michigan 2-1 in double-overtime in its first-round matchup.
• UofL finished the 2019 season at No. 5 in the NFHCA Coaches poll - the highest final ranking in program history. The Cards 10 weeks of the season among the top 10 in the nation reaching as high as No. 5. National rankings for the 2020 season will not be released in the fall.
• Louisville returns 15 letterwinners and nine starters from last year's historic team, including Pastor and fellow NFHCA All-American senior defender Alli Bitting. Also back from last season are NFHCA All-West Region selections: seniors Madison Walsh and Meghan Schneider and junior Erica Cooper. Additionally, the Cardinals welcome eight talented newcomers to this year's squad.
• Pastor returns after posting a career-best nine goals and 22 points. She finished second on the team after 2019 All-Region selection senior Bethany Russ.
• Madison Walsh was third on the team with a career-high eight goals, three assists and 19 points.
Head Coach Justine Sowry
• Justine Sowry is entering her 10th season at the helm. During her time at Louisville, she has guided the Cardinals to 123 wins, five NCAA tournament appearances along with a conference title and a runner-up finish in the ACC Championship.

UP NEXT
A week after opening the 2020 campaign at Trager Stadium, the Cardinals will wrap up the home season with an October 2 matchup against two-time defending national champion North Carolina followed by an October 4 contest against Boston College, in a rematch of the 2019 NCAA quarterfinals.

RETURNING PLAYER NOTES
• Hollyn Barr posted a career-best season with 16 wins and 7.5 shutouts in 2019.
• Alli Bitting earned NFHCA All-West Region and All-ACC honors, helping the Cardinals' defense to eight shutouts on the season and registering one goal and four assists.
• Erica Cooper was an NFHCA All-West Region selection after finishing her sophomore year with a pair of goals while playing in all 22 games with 16 starts and was instrumental in both offense and defense.
• Julie Kouijzer was one of seven players on the team who started every game this season - and the only freshman in that group of starters.
RETURNING PLAYER NOTES CONT.
•Emilia Kaczmarczyk had a solid rookie season, playing in all 22 games with 16 starts while helping the defense to eight shutouts.
•Margot Lawn led the freshman scorers with four goals. She is a member of the USWNT U21 Team.
• Meghan Schneider dished out a career-high five assists. The defender and NFHCA All-West Region honoree has spent the last three seasons on the USWNT U21 team.
• Madison Walsh registered a career-best season in goals (8), assists (3) and points (17). She was tied for the team lead with four game-winning goals.

PASTOR EARNS ACC PRESEASON HONORS
Mercedes Pastor was selected to the Preseason All-ACC Team and the Cardinals were picked to finished fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championship in a vote by the league's seven head coaches.
• This marks the second straight All-ACC Preseason selection for Pastor. The senior midfielder from Buenos Aires, Argentina is a two-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-America selection, earning first team honors in 2019 and garnering second team accolades in 2018.
2020 ACC Predicted Order of Finish
1. North Carolina (6) - 48
2. Virginia - 37
3. Boston College - 30
4. Duke - 26
5. Louisville -25
6. Syracuse (1) - 23
7. Wake Forest – 7

Tough Slate
The Cardinals' nine-game slate features four home games with the final five contests played on the road– all against ACC opponents.
• Two-time defending national champion North Carolina will headline a challenging ACC slate that also features all six teams ranked among the top 25 in the 2019 final 2019 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) rankings. The Tar Heels finished last season atop the rankings while No. 4 Virginia, No. 7 Boston College and No. 8 Duke were in the top 10. Syracuse (No. 13) and Wake Forest (No. 21) round out Louisville's ACC opponents.
• Five of Louisville's ACC opponents earned a bid to the 2019 NCAA tournament including national champion North Carolina, and semifinalists Virginia and Boston College.

SISTER ACT
Meghan and Katie Schneider have been college teammates since 2018 when Katie was a freshman and Meghan was a sophomore. After Katie's redshirt season in 2019, the Schneider sisters are back on the turf together with Katie on the forward line and Meghan as a defender.

ACC STRONG
In the ACC's 38 years as an NCAA Division I Field Hockey conference, league teams have accounted for more than half the total appearances in the national title game (41 of 76).
• Last season marked the 20th time in the last 21 NCAA Field Hockey Championships – and the 28th time in the last 31 years – that the ACC placed at least one team in the title game.
• The ACC currently has a streak of 31 straight years with at least one team in the NCAA semifinals. Thirty-nine of the last 65 teams to reach the national semifinals have come from the ACC.

STINGY DEFENSE
Last season, the Cardinals allowed 26 goals through 22 games with eight shutouts for a 1.12 goals against average which ranked third in the ACC and sixth in the nation.

CARDS No. 5 in 2019 final NFHCA Rankings
The Cardinals finished the 2019 season at No. 5 in the NFHCA polls released on Nov. 12. UofL spent five weeks at No. 5 which marked the second-highest ranking in program history - the Cardinals reached as high as No. 4 in the 2002 season.
Louisville in the NFHCA Rankings
• This marked the 75th straight week Louisville has appeared among the top 20 in the nation dating back to the 2013 season.
• The Cards have spent the fnal 10 weeks of the 2019 season ranked in the top 10 after starting at No. 12 in the preseason rankings.
• UofL 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.

CARDS AMONG THE NATION'S BEST STATISTICALLY in 2019
Louisville was ranked among the top 25 in six different statistical categories as a team and two individual categories.
NCAA Top 25 stats
• UofL finished the season ranked No. 6 in the NCAA and No. 3 in the ACC with a 1.12 goals against average.
• The Cards were No. 10 in the nation with 0.36 shutouts per game and third in the ACC in that category.
• Louisville stood at No. 12 in the nation and third in the ACC in winning percentage (.727).
• Goalkeeper Hollyn Barr finished the season at 12th in the nation and fourth in the ACC with a .727 win percentage and fifth in the NCAA and second in the league with a goals against average of 1.06.

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 or developmental squads.
Hollyn Barr - USWNT National Development Squad (2019)
Alli Bitting - USWNT U21 Team (2019)
Erica Cooper- USWNT U21 Team (2019)
Mackenzie Karl - USWNT U17 Team (2015-16)
Margot Lawn - USWNT U19 Team (2019); U17 Team (2017-19)
Mercedes Pastor - Argentina U21 Team (2015-17); U18 Team (2013-14)
Sofia Pendolino - USWNT RISE Team
Aimee Plumb - England U19 Team (2018-19)
Katie Schneider - USWNT U19 Team (2019)
Meghan Schneider - USWNT U21 Team (2018-19); U19 Team (2017-18)
Minna Tremonti - USWNT U19 Team (2019)

HOMEGROWN TALENT
The UofL field hockey team features seven players who chose to play for their hometown school: senior Elizabeth (Biz) Allgeier (Assumption), juniors Erica Cooper (Assumption), Sam Minrath (Christian Academy) sophomores Camryn Pichea (Assumption) and Mattie Tabor (Sacred Heart). Redshirt freshman India Reed (duPont Manual) and freshman Embry Jane (EJ) Imorde (Sacred Heart).

HOME SWEET HOME
• Last year, the Cardinals were 8-2 on the season at Trager Stadium, bringing their home record to 54-13 since the 2013 season.
•UofL 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.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Hollyn Barr

Alli Bitting

Erica Cooper

Emilia Kaczmarczyk

Mackenzie Karl

Julie Kouijzer

Margot Lawn

Sam Minrath

Mercedes Pastor

Sofia Pendolino

Camryn Pichea

Aimee Plumb

India Reed

Bethany Russ

Katie Schneider

Meghan Schneider

Mattie Tabor

Minna Tremonti

Madison Walsh

University of Louisville Athletics