Photo by: Adam Creech | Louisville Athletics
Cardinals Host North Carolina in Friday ACC Matchup
October 14, 2021 | Men's Soccer
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville men's soccer program will take on North Carolina Friday night at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and will be televised on the ACC Network.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
The Cardinals rolled to a 5-0 victory over Eastern Illinois on Tuesday behind two goals from Aboubacar Camara and Macoumba Ba, as well as one from Pedro Fonseca. Camara and Ba are the first Louisville teammates to score multiple goals in the same match since at least 2001.
Louisville improved to 7-1-0 at home with Tuesday night's victory, matching the second-highest home win total in a season since Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium opened in 2014. The record for most wins in a season at Lynn Stadium was set in 2016 when the Cardinals went 10-3-1 in the third year of its existence.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and North Carolina will meet for the eighth time on Friday night with the Cards holding a 4-2-1 edge in the series. Friday's match will be just the second meeting between the two programs in Louisville though. North Carolina's only previous trip to Louisville came in 2017, when the two played to a scoreless draw.
CAMARA, FONSECA FORM TOP SCORING DUO
Aboubacar Camara and Pedro Fonseca have been a top 1-2 punch this season. The duo has combined for 17 goals and six assists this fall with Camara leading the ACC in points and Fonseca ranking second and the two sitting first and fourth in goals, respectively.
The Louisville forwards are the top-scoring pair in the ACC and tied for the national lead for most goals by a pair of teammates, tied with Nick Markanich and Anthony Markanich of Northern Illinois.
GOALS, GOALS, AND MORE GOALS FOR CAMARA
Aboubacar Camara scored just one goal in six matches during the fall of 2020. Since the calendar has flipped to 2021 however, the forward has been among the best goal scorers in the country.
Camara leads the Cardinals with 10 goals on the season, a total that leads the ACC and is third nationally. In addition to leading the ACC in goals, he also tops the league in goals per game (0.83), points per game (1.75), and total points (21).
Camara is the first UofL player to score double digit goals since Mohamed Thiaw tallied 12 in 2016. He scored in four consecutive matches (Kentucky, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Northern Kentucky), becoming the first UofL player to do so since Tim Kubel in 2014.
FONSECA SHOWING OUT IN SENIOR SEASON
Injuries limited Pedro Fonseca to just 16 matches over his first two seasons (2018-19) at Louisville. However, a healthy Fonseca has been among the best players in the ACC over the last two seasons.
Dating back to the start of the 2020 season, Fonseca has tallied 11 goals and 9 assists in 26 matches. The forward set career highs in 2020 with four goals and four assists and needed just nine matches to surpass those numbers this season. Fonseca is currently second in the ACC with 19 points, including 10 points in league play.
The Brazilian netted a pair of penalty kicks at Syracuse on Sept. 17, becoming the first Louisville player to record multiple goals in a match since Kino Ryusuke on Oct. 1, 2019 and the first with two PK goals since Mohamed Thiaw on Oct. 10, 2017.
LOUISVILLE PUTTING ON IMPRESSIVE OFFENSIVE DISPLAY
After a slow start to the season offensively, the Cardinals have gone on a scoring binge over the last month. Louisville tallied just five goals over the first four matches of the season, going 2-2-0 over that stretch. However, the Cardinals found the net 21 times in their next five matches, securing their first five-match winning streak since September of 2016.
Louisville put nine goals on the board in consecutive wins over Syracuse and Northern Kentucky, and then again in victories over Boston College and Western Illinois, the most in a two-match stretch since scoring 12 in matches against Asbury (10) and Transylvania (2) during the 1987 season.
The Cardinals currently lead the ACC and rank fourth nationally at 2.83 goals per match, and lead the ACC with 13 goals through five conference matches. UofL also leads the ACC and is third in the country with 34 goals and is first in the ACC and seventh nationally with 7.17 corner kicks per match.
FOLLOW LOUISVILLE MEN'S SOCCER ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville men's soccer on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @UofLmenssoccer.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
The Cardinals rolled to a 5-0 victory over Eastern Illinois on Tuesday behind two goals from Aboubacar Camara and Macoumba Ba, as well as one from Pedro Fonseca. Camara and Ba are the first Louisville teammates to score multiple goals in the same match since at least 2001.
Louisville improved to 7-1-0 at home with Tuesday night's victory, matching the second-highest home win total in a season since Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium opened in 2014. The record for most wins in a season at Lynn Stadium was set in 2016 when the Cardinals went 10-3-1 in the third year of its existence.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and North Carolina will meet for the eighth time on Friday night with the Cards holding a 4-2-1 edge in the series. Friday's match will be just the second meeting between the two programs in Louisville though. North Carolina's only previous trip to Louisville came in 2017, when the two played to a scoreless draw.
CAMARA, FONSECA FORM TOP SCORING DUO
Aboubacar Camara and Pedro Fonseca have been a top 1-2 punch this season. The duo has combined for 17 goals and six assists this fall with Camara leading the ACC in points and Fonseca ranking second and the two sitting first and fourth in goals, respectively.
The Louisville forwards are the top-scoring pair in the ACC and tied for the national lead for most goals by a pair of teammates, tied with Nick Markanich and Anthony Markanich of Northern Illinois.
GOALS, GOALS, AND MORE GOALS FOR CAMARA
Aboubacar Camara scored just one goal in six matches during the fall of 2020. Since the calendar has flipped to 2021 however, the forward has been among the best goal scorers in the country.
Camara leads the Cardinals with 10 goals on the season, a total that leads the ACC and is third nationally. In addition to leading the ACC in goals, he also tops the league in goals per game (0.83), points per game (1.75), and total points (21).
Camara is the first UofL player to score double digit goals since Mohamed Thiaw tallied 12 in 2016. He scored in four consecutive matches (Kentucky, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Northern Kentucky), becoming the first UofL player to do so since Tim Kubel in 2014.
FONSECA SHOWING OUT IN SENIOR SEASON
Injuries limited Pedro Fonseca to just 16 matches over his first two seasons (2018-19) at Louisville. However, a healthy Fonseca has been among the best players in the ACC over the last two seasons.
Dating back to the start of the 2020 season, Fonseca has tallied 11 goals and 9 assists in 26 matches. The forward set career highs in 2020 with four goals and four assists and needed just nine matches to surpass those numbers this season. Fonseca is currently second in the ACC with 19 points, including 10 points in league play.
The Brazilian netted a pair of penalty kicks at Syracuse on Sept. 17, becoming the first Louisville player to record multiple goals in a match since Kino Ryusuke on Oct. 1, 2019 and the first with two PK goals since Mohamed Thiaw on Oct. 10, 2017.
LOUISVILLE PUTTING ON IMPRESSIVE OFFENSIVE DISPLAY
After a slow start to the season offensively, the Cardinals have gone on a scoring binge over the last month. Louisville tallied just five goals over the first four matches of the season, going 2-2-0 over that stretch. However, the Cardinals found the net 21 times in their next five matches, securing their first five-match winning streak since September of 2016.
Louisville put nine goals on the board in consecutive wins over Syracuse and Northern Kentucky, and then again in victories over Boston College and Western Illinois, the most in a two-match stretch since scoring 12 in matches against Asbury (10) and Transylvania (2) during the 1987 season.
The Cardinals currently lead the ACC and rank fourth nationally at 2.83 goals per match, and lead the ACC with 13 goals through five conference matches. UofL also leads the ACC and is third in the country with 34 goals and is first in the ACC and seventh nationally with 7.17 corner kicks per match.
FOLLOW LOUISVILLE MEN'S SOCCER ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville men's soccer on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @UofLmenssoccer.
Players Mentioned
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MSOC: IU Indy Highlights (8/29/25)
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