Thursday, November 18
LOUISVILLE, KY
6:30 PM
University of Louisville
vs
Bowling Green
Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics
Cardinals Open NCAA Tournament Thursday Against Bowling Green
November 17, 2021 | Men's Soccer
Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville men's soccer team opens up the 2021 NCAA Tournament with a first round home match against Bowling Green on Thursday night. Kickoff at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on ACC Network Extra.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
The Cardinals are making their 13th NCAA Tournament appearance and second under head coach John Michael Hayden. Louisville has been a fixture in the NCAA Tournament of late with all 13 appearances coming in the last 15 seasons.
Louisville has been battle tested this fall with nine of its 17 matches coming against teams in the 2021 NCAA Tournament field. The Cardinals tallied victories over North Carolina and Wake Forest and played to a scoreless draw with Notre Dame in the quarterfinal round of the ACC Championship.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and Bowling Green will be squaring off for just the fourth time when the two meet on Thursday. Bowling Green defeated UofL in 1986 and 1987, but Louisville won the most recent meeting 3-0 over the Falcons in 2009.
LOUISVILLE BACK IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
After missing the tournament in 2020, Louisville is back in familiar territory with a return to the NCAA Tournament this fall. The Cardinals are making their 13th overall appearance, all coming in the last 15 seasons.
Louisville is 16-11-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 2-1-0 mark with a third round appearance in John Michael Hayden's first season in 2019. The Cardinals are 13-5-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament home matches and 6-3-1 inside Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium.
UofL has reached the NCAA quarterfinals on five occasions, tallying three straight trips from 2010-12 and consecutive appearances in 2016 and 2017. The Cardinals deepest tournament run concluded with a runner-up appearance in the College Cup in 2010.
CARDS CLAIM FIRST ACC ATLANTIC TITLE
Louisville captured a share of the ACC Atlantic Division title this fall for the first time since joining league in 2014. The Cardinals had previously finished second on three occasions.
UofL finished 5-3-0 in ACC play this season with wins over Wake Forest, Syracuse, Boston College, North Carolina and NC State.
The ACC had eight teams earn a top 25 ranking during the regular season and 11 of the 12 teams received votes in at least one poll this fall.
CAMARA TURNING IN ONE OF BEST SEASONS ALL-TIME AT UOFL
Aboubacar Camara is in the midst of a special season at Louisville, tallying 13 goals this fall. The forward is putting together one of the top seasons by anyone to wear the UofL uniform:
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 12 goals and 12 assists in 31 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 third in the ACC with 24 points, including 14 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.
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 are making their 13th NCAA Tournament appearance and second under head coach John Michael Hayden. Louisville has been a fixture in the NCAA Tournament of late with all 13 appearances coming in the last 15 seasons.
Louisville has been battle tested this fall with nine of its 17 matches coming against teams in the 2021 NCAA Tournament field. The Cardinals tallied victories over North Carolina and Wake Forest and played to a scoreless draw with Notre Dame in the quarterfinal round of the ACC Championship.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and Bowling Green will be squaring off for just the fourth time when the two meet on Thursday. Bowling Green defeated UofL in 1986 and 1987, but Louisville won the most recent meeting 3-0 over the Falcons in 2009.
LOUISVILLE BACK IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
After missing the tournament in 2020, Louisville is back in familiar territory with a return to the NCAA Tournament this fall. The Cardinals are making their 13th overall appearance, all coming in the last 15 seasons.
Louisville is 16-11-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 2-1-0 mark with a third round appearance in John Michael Hayden's first season in 2019. The Cardinals are 13-5-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament home matches and 6-3-1 inside Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium.
UofL has reached the NCAA quarterfinals on five occasions, tallying three straight trips from 2010-12 and consecutive appearances in 2016 and 2017. The Cardinals deepest tournament run concluded with a runner-up appearance in the College Cup in 2010.
CARDS CLAIM FIRST ACC ATLANTIC TITLE
Louisville captured a share of the ACC Atlantic Division title this fall for the first time since joining league in 2014. The Cardinals had previously finished second on three occasions.
UofL finished 5-3-0 in ACC play this season with wins over Wake Forest, Syracuse, Boston College, North Carolina and NC State.
The ACC had eight teams earn a top 25 ranking during the regular season and 11 of the 12 teams received votes in at least one poll this fall.
CAMARA TURNING IN ONE OF BEST SEASONS ALL-TIME AT UOFL
Aboubacar Camara is in the midst of a special season at Louisville, tallying 13 goals this fall. The forward is putting together one of the top seasons by anyone to wear the UofL uniform:
- Second in the ACC and seventh nationally with 13 goals
- Second in the ACC and 11th nationally with 28 points
- First Louisville player to score double digit goals since Mohamed Thiaw in 2016
- His 13 goals are the third-most in a single season all-time at UofL
- First player to score in four consecutive matches since Tim Kubel in 2014
- First UofL player since at least 2001 to score multiple goals in consecutive matches
- Has 18 goals in last 23 matches (scored five in six matches during 2021 spring)
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 12 goals and 12 assists in 31 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 third in the ACC with 24 points, including 14 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.
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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/ Men's Soccer
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