McFerran, Pastor Named to World Cup Qualifier Rosters

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Louisville field hockey alumnae Ayeisha McFerran and Mercedes Pastor have been named to 2021 Women's European Qualifier Teams. McFerran will represent Ireland while Pastor will compete for Italy. The tournament will take place October 21-2 in Pisa, Italy with the winner earning an automatic berth in the 2022 Women's FIH Hockey World Cup.

The 2021 European Qualifier will feature a field of eight teams, including: Ireland, France, Russia, Belarus, Italy, Wales, Scotland and Poland. Twelfth-ranked Ireland will open the tournament against France on October 21 while No. 17 Italy will take on No. 25 Wales in its opening match. The winner of the tournament will advance to the 2022 FIH World Cup which will be held in Terrassa, Spain and Amstelveen, the Netherlands July 1-17, 2022.

Ayeisha McFerran makes a diving save against Duke

McFerran, who played for the Cardinals from 2015-18, is in her eighth year as a member of the Irish National Team and has earned 110 caps. UofL's first Olympian to compete in field hockey helped the Green Army qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, marking the first-ever berth for the Irish Women's National Team which finished 10^th in their Olympic debut.

The Larne native has turned in multiple clutch performances for the Green Army including leading Ireland to a shootout win against Canada in an Olympic Qualifier in November 2019. She was named Best Goalkeeper of the World Cup in 2018 after helped Hockey Ireland became the first in the nation's history to reach the World Cup finals. She was nominated twice for the FIH World Goalkeeper of the Year. McFerran, who played for the Cardinals from 2015-18, graduated from UofL in May 2019 after becoming the program's first four-time NFHCA All-American. She finished her career ranked among the school's top three in career victories (50) victories and shutouts (20) and goals against average (1.40).

McFerran graduated from UofL in May 2019 after becoming the program's first four-time NFHCA All-American. She finished her career ranked among the school's top three in career victories (50) victories and shutouts (20) and goals against average (1.40). She went on to play professionally for SV Kampong, Netherlands.

Mercedes Pastor takes a penalty corner during the game against Wake Forest at Trager Stadium on October 4, 2019.

Pastor played for Louisville from 2018-21 and was a three-time NFHCA All-America selection. Upon her graduation in 2021, she went on to play professionally for Royal Herakles HC in Belgium.

The Buenos Aires, Argentina native also has dual citizenship in Italy and was named to the Italian Field Hockey team roster to compete in the 2021 European Qualifier.

While at Louisville, Pastor helped lead the Cardinals to new heights, including the program's first NCAA quarterfinal appearance in 2019 and its first semifinal showing in the 2021 season. The 2020-21 NFHCA All-West Region Player of the Year was a two-time first team All-American (2019, 2020-21) and a second team selection in 2018. As a senior, the team co-captain led the Cardinals with 13 goals – five of them game-winners – and tallied six assists, including one in Louisville's 1-0 win over No. 6 UConn in the NCAA quarterfinals. She totaled a career-high 32 points and finished the year ranked second in the ACC in goals and points.

Pastor was a finalist for the 2019 NCAA Honda Award for field hockey and was named ACC Player of the Week four times and NFHCA National Player of the Week three times in her career. She was a three-time NFHCA All-West Region and a three-time All-ACC selection (2018, 2019, 2020) and was named to the NFHCA Division I Senior Team.

Prior to her time at Louisville, Pastor was a member of the Argentina's Under 21 team and played for Argentina's U18 team.

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