Friday, October 29
LOUISVILLE, KY
3:00 PM
University of Louisville
(16-2, 6-0)
2
vs
1
SYRACUSE
(9-4, 4-2ACC)
1
2
3
4
F
Syracuse
0
0
1
0
1
Louisville
1
0
1
0
2
No. 5 Cardinals Defeat No. 9 Syracuse to Clinch ACC Regular Season Title
October 29, 2021 | Field Hockey
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The fifth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team defeated No. 9 Syracuse 2-1 to clinch the 2021 ACC regular season title. With the win, the Cardinals improve to 16-2 on the season – tying a school record for wins and closing out the conference season with a 6-0 mark in league play for the first time in program history.
"I do think defensively we did sag a little bit too much for my liking, but this Louisville group is gritty, I'm just so proud of them right now," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "To win it at Trager is pretty cool – we're thrilled!"
Freshman Filippa Niebuhr put the Cardinals on the scoreboard in the first quarter and senior Erica Cooper extended the lead to 2-0 with an early third quarter score.
The Orange cut the lead in half midway through the third quarter with a goal from Hailey Bitters, but the Cardinals prevailed to gain sole possession of the ACC regular season title.
The tightly-contested game featured a total of seven cards issued including three green cards – two for Louisville and one for Syracuse and four yellow cards with each team receiving two. Louisville outshot the Orange 15-11 with a 9-5 advantage in shots on goal. The Cardinals also held a 6-5 edge in corners. Syracuse goalkeeper Brooke Borzymowski collected seven saves while Louisville freshman Mila de Kuijer had four stops in the game.
Syracuse had several early opportunities to score when the Orange drew four penalty corners in the first five minutes of the game, but the Cardinals' defense held strong.
Niebuhr put the Cardinals on the scoreboard in the 10th minute of the game when she collected a pass from sophomore Aimee Plumb and drilled a shot into the right corner of the cage for her fourth goal of the season.
Louisville took the 1-0 lead into halftime after outshooting Syracuse 8-6, with the Orange holding a 5-2 advantage in penalty corners.
The Cardinals struck again quickly in the third quarter a penalty corner in the third minute of play. Plumb the corner started and Cooper redirected junior Julie Kouijzer's initial shot past Borzymowski to push Louisville ahead 2-0.
Syracuse answered in the third quarter when Hailey Bitters sent a rebound from a Louisville defender's stick into the cage to make the score 2-1.
With 3:52 remaining in the game Syracuse lifted Borzymowski from the cage in favor of an extra field player, but was unable to generate a scoring opportunity.
"We've been coming out as a 'bad start in the second half' kind of team, but we really came out today, on senior day, with all of our energy and put it on the field," said Cooper who delivered her sixth goal of the season. "We did what we needed to do, got our goals done, and came out with the win."
With the win, the Cardinals earn the top seed and a first-round bye in next week's ACC tournament which will take place November 4-7 at Syracuse's J.S. Coyne Field. Louisville will take on the winner of fourth-seeded Boston College and the No. 5 seed Virginia in the semifinals on Friday at 1 p.m. The complete bracket may be viewed here.
"It's taken years, little by little, we've gotten better and better," said Sowry. "The will and the want to be the best we can be has been fantastic. This year has not been easy, we don't win by a lot... To have a bye the first round is a great thing, but obviously we have to put in a great performance at Syracuse next week."
NOTES:
• With a 16-2 record on the season, Louisville ties a program high for victories. The mark was set when the Cards went 16-5 in 2001 and matched in 2019 when Louisville finished the season at 16-6.
• Last season, Louisville won a share of the ACC regular season title in the fall with a 5-1 mark in league play and earned the tournament's top seed for the first time in program history. This will mark the second straight year at the ACC Championship top seed for the Cardinals.
• UofL is 10-2 against top-25 teams with its only losses coming at the hands of then-No. 2 (currently No. 1) Iowa on Sept. 19 and No. 2 Michigan on Oct. 10.
• Louisville is 8-1 in games at Trager Stadium this season with its only loss coming on Sept. 19 against No. 2 Iowa
• Friday's game marked senior day for lli Bitting, Erica Cooper, Mackenzie Karl, Sam Minrath, Camryn Pichea and Katie Schneider.
"I do think defensively we did sag a little bit too much for my liking, but this Louisville group is gritty, I'm just so proud of them right now," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "To win it at Trager is pretty cool – we're thrilled!"
Freshman Filippa Niebuhr put the Cardinals on the scoreboard in the first quarter and senior Erica Cooper extended the lead to 2-0 with an early third quarter score.
The Orange cut the lead in half midway through the third quarter with a goal from Hailey Bitters, but the Cardinals prevailed to gain sole possession of the ACC regular season title.
The tightly-contested game featured a total of seven cards issued including three green cards – two for Louisville and one for Syracuse and four yellow cards with each team receiving two. Louisville outshot the Orange 15-11 with a 9-5 advantage in shots on goal. The Cardinals also held a 6-5 edge in corners. Syracuse goalkeeper Brooke Borzymowski collected seven saves while Louisville freshman Mila de Kuijer had four stops in the game.
Syracuse had several early opportunities to score when the Orange drew four penalty corners in the first five minutes of the game, but the Cardinals' defense held strong.
Niebuhr put the Cardinals on the scoreboard in the 10th minute of the game when she collected a pass from sophomore Aimee Plumb and drilled a shot into the right corner of the cage for her fourth goal of the season.
Louisville took the 1-0 lead into halftime after outshooting Syracuse 8-6, with the Orange holding a 5-2 advantage in penalty corners.
The Cardinals struck again quickly in the third quarter a penalty corner in the third minute of play. Plumb the corner started and Cooper redirected junior Julie Kouijzer's initial shot past Borzymowski to push Louisville ahead 2-0.
Syracuse answered in the third quarter when Hailey Bitters sent a rebound from a Louisville defender's stick into the cage to make the score 2-1.
With 3:52 remaining in the game Syracuse lifted Borzymowski from the cage in favor of an extra field player, but was unable to generate a scoring opportunity.
"We've been coming out as a 'bad start in the second half' kind of team, but we really came out today, on senior day, with all of our energy and put it on the field," said Cooper who delivered her sixth goal of the season. "We did what we needed to do, got our goals done, and came out with the win."
With the win, the Cardinals earn the top seed and a first-round bye in next week's ACC tournament which will take place November 4-7 at Syracuse's J.S. Coyne Field. Louisville will take on the winner of fourth-seeded Boston College and the No. 5 seed Virginia in the semifinals on Friday at 1 p.m. The complete bracket may be viewed here.
"It's taken years, little by little, we've gotten better and better," said Sowry. "The will and the want to be the best we can be has been fantastic. This year has not been easy, we don't win by a lot... To have a bye the first round is a great thing, but obviously we have to put in a great performance at Syracuse next week."
NOTES:
• With a 16-2 record on the season, Louisville ties a program high for victories. The mark was set when the Cards went 16-5 in 2001 and matched in 2019 when Louisville finished the season at 16-6.
• Last season, Louisville won a share of the ACC regular season title in the fall with a 5-1 mark in league play and earned the tournament's top seed for the first time in program history. This will mark the second straight year at the ACC Championship top seed for the Cardinals.
• UofL is 10-2 against top-25 teams with its only losses coming at the hands of then-No. 2 (currently No. 1) Iowa on Sept. 19 and No. 2 Michigan on Oct. 10.
• Louisville is 8-1 in games at Trager Stadium this season with its only loss coming on Sept. 19 against No. 2 Iowa
• Friday's game marked senior day for lli Bitting, Erica Cooper, Mackenzie Karl, Sam Minrath, Camryn Pichea and Katie Schneider.
Team Stats
SU
LOU
Goals
1
2
Shots
11
15
Shots on Goal
6
9
Saves
7
5
Corners
5
6
Offsides
0
0
Fouls
0
0
Scoring Plays
Filippa Niebuhr (4)
Assisted By: Aimee Plumb
shot into right post
9:05
Erica Cooper (6)
Assisted By: Julie Kouijzer
deflected penalty corner shot
32:21
Hailey Bitters (5)
rebound off of defender's stick
40:19
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Players Mentioned
M
/ Field Hockey
GK
/ Field Hockey
M
/ Field HockeyB
/ Field Hockey
GK
/ Field HockeyF
/ Field Hockey
M
/ Field HockeyM/F
/ Field Hockey
F
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