Field Hockey Opens Spring Season This Weekend at North Carolina and Ball State

Friday, March 5

Chapel Hill, NC

1:00 P.M.

University of Louisville

North Carolina

Minna Tremonti brings the ball up the field during the game against Duke on September 27th, 2020.

Photo by: Adam Creech | Louisville Athletics

Field Hockey Opens Spring Season This Weekend at North Carolina and Ball State

March 04, 2021 | Field Hockey

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By: Lori Harmon

The University of Louisville field hockey team will open the 2021 spring season this weekend with a pair of road contests. The Cardinals, who compiled an 8-2 record in the fall, will face ACC foe North Carolina on Friday at 1 p.m. followed by a non-conference matchup at Ball State on Sunday at 1 p.m.

• The Cardinals will open the 2021 spring season where they left off in the fall, North Carolina's Karen Shelton Stadium. After earning the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament for the first time in program history, but fell 4-2 to the Tar Heels in the finals.
• Julie Kouijzer, Aimee Plumb and Mercedes Pastor were named to the ACC All-Tournament team.
• Louisville finished the season atop of the ACC standings with a 5-1 mark in ACC play, marking a program high for single-season ACC victories.
• The 2-1 victory at Virginia on October 24 gave Louisville the best start in program history (7-0), surpassing the previous mark (6-0) achieved in 2016 and 2019.
• The Cardinals were led offensively by senior midfielder Mercedes Pastor who has six goals and four assists for 16 points.
• Louisville outscored opponents 28-16 on the season with nine different players contributing to the scoring total and eight of those with multiple goals.
• 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.
• Seniors Biz Allgeier, Hollyn Barr and Madison Walsh have opted out of the spring season.

HEAD COACH JUSTINE SOWRY
• Justine Sowry is in her 10th season at the helm. During her time at Louisville, she has guided the Cardinals to 131 wins, five NCAA tournament appearances along with two conference titles and a pair of runner-up finish in the ACC Championships.

UP LAST
The Cardinals fell 4-2 to North Carolina in the finals of the 2020 ACC Championship on November 8 at North Carolina's Karen Shelton Stadium. • Redshirt sophomore Katie Schneider accounted for both of Louisville's goals as the Cardinals jumped to a 2-0 lead and senior goalkeeper Hollyn Barr collected two saves. In the game, Louisville outshot North Carolina 16-10 and had an 8-3 penalty corner advantage while the Tar Heels owned an 8-6 edge in shots on goal.

UP NEXT
Following Sunday's matchup at Ball State, Louisville will return to ACC play next weekend when the Cardinals play host to Virginia in their spring opener.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
North Carolina
Series Record: North Carolina leads 9-5
Last Meeting:
NOTE: The teams met twice in fall with Louisville winning 3-1 at Trager Stadium on October 2, snapping UNC's NCAA-best 47-game win streak. UNC avenged the loss with a 4-2 win in the finals of the fall ACC Championship.
Scouting the Tar Heels: North Carolina enters Friday's spring season opener as the two-time defending NCAA champions. The Tar Heels compiled a 10-1 record in the fall and a 4-1 mark in ACC play.
• Erin Matson led the Tar Heels and the ACC with 13 goals, seven asissts and 33 points. Amanda Hendry (10-1) carried a 1.29 goals against average.

Ball State
Series Record: Ball State leads 15-12, but Louisville has won the last six meetings.
NOTE: The bulk of the series between Louisville and Ball State dates back to 1994-2004 when both teams were members of the Mid-American Conference.
Last Meeting: October 13, 2018 - Louisville won 5-1 in Muncie, Ind.
NOTE: The teams met twice in fall with Louisville winning 3-1 at Trager Stadium on October 2, snapping UNC's NCAA-best 47-game win streak. UNC avenged the loss with a 4-2 win in the finals of the fall ACC Championship.
Scouting the Cardinals: Ball State opened the 2021 spring season with a 2-1 loss at preseason MAC favorite Miami (Ohio).
• Ball State posted a 5-13 overall record in 2019 and posted a 3-3 mark in MAC play. Included among the Cardinals' returners is second team All-MAC selection Sierra Jefferson as well as leading scorers in Rachel Pereira and Jefferson, each having three goals apiece.
• Senior Audrey Tabor led BSU in defensive saves with four and Wietske Overdijkink, who earned MAC Defensive Player of the Week (11/6/19) led the squad with 56 saves she also ranked first in the MAC in save percentage (81.4 percent) and goals against average (1.46) along with ranking second in the league in saves per game (6.75).

NEWCOMERS TO WATCH
Paulina Mayer, Back: The youngest - and tallest player of the team just turned 17 on Sept. 17. The Baden-Württemberg, Germany native was a member of the German Under-16 national team and played for Mannheimer Hockey Club.
Sofia Pendolino, Midfielder: Played in five games with a start against Boston College... The USA Field Hockey Under-17 Team member earned NFHCA All-America first team honors in 2019 and was a second team selection in 2018.
Aimee Plumb, Midfielder/Forward: Started eight games in the fall and notched three goals, including one in the 5-2 ACC Semifinal win against Virginia. She scored her first career goal in the 5-2 win at Virginia to help the Cardinals seal a share of the ACC regular season title... The midfielder/forward from Canterbury, England was a member of England's Under-18 national team for the past two years and, prior to that, was a member of the U16 squad for two years.
Charlie van Oirschot, Midfielder - Tied for fourth on the team with three goals, including one in the ACC Semifinal win against Virginia... Registered the game-winning goal against Boston College (Oct. 4)... Hails from Haarlem, The Netherlands, where she was a member of the Dutch U16 team and played for Hockey Club Bloemendaal.

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 and team co-captain.

NEW ADDITIONS
This season, Louisville has included five freshmen in the starting lineup.
• Redshirt freshman India Reed has stepped into a starting role in every game so far and has been joined by true freshmen Aimee Plumb, Charlie van Oirschot. Fellow rookies Paulina Mayer and Sofia Pendolino have also earned starting nods.

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.

how the cards stack up
Louisville finished the 2020 fall regular season atop the ACC standings and earned the tiebreaker for the No. 1 seed in the ACC Championship ahead of North Carolina. The Tar Heels won the ACC tournament, defeating the Cardinals 4-2 in the finals.
• Individually, goalkeeper Hollyn Barr finished the season ranked second in the league with a 1.30 goals against average.
• Senior forward/midfielder Mercedes Pastor was also second in the fall ACC standings with 16 points (6G, 4A) and tied for second with three game-winning goals. Her six goals were the third most in ACC standings.
• Senior midfielder Alli Bitting was second in the conference with six assists in the fall season.

NTERNATIONAL 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.
Alli Bitting - USWNT U21 Team (2019)
Erica Cooper- USWNT U21 Team (2019)
Mackenzie Karl - USWNT U17 Team (2015-16)
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 six players who chose to play for their hometown school: 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
The Cardinals completed the 2020 fall season with a perfect 4-0 record in the friendly confines of Trager Stadium. Facing a daunting home slate in the Covid-19-altered season, Louisville defeated Duke twice in its opening weekend. The following weekend, UofL defeated two-time defending national champion North Carolina 3-1, halting the Tar Heels' 47-game win streak. Louisville wrapped up the home season with a 2-1 win against 2019 semifinalist Boston College.
• 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.

PASTOR TABBED ACC/NFHCA OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mercedes Pastor was selected as the ACC and NFHCA Offensive Player of the Week following her performance in the Cardinals' opening weekend.
• Pastor helped the Cardinals to a 2-0 record with wins over visiting Duke. Pastor tallied a pair of goals to a 3-0 victory in the ACC opener and dished out an assist to give Louisville a 1-0 lead in Sunday's 3-1 win over the Blue Devils. For the weekend, Pastor led the team's attack with eight shots, five of which landed on goal.

CARDS SWEEP WEEKLY HONORS FOR THE SECOND TIME IN 2020
Mercedes Pastor was named the NFHCA and ACC Offensive Player of the Week while Alli Bitting was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Week for the period ending October 25. This marks the second team this season the Cardinals have swept the ACC's weekly honors with Pastor picking up her third player of the week nod and Bitting garnering her first of the season.
• Pastor scored three goals and dished out an assists for seven points to lead the team offensively with at least one goal and one assist per game. She delivered two goals – including the gamewinner - and dished out an assist in Friday's 5-2 victory which sealed a share of the regular season championship. On Saturday, she broke open a scoreless game with a penalty corner goal in the third quarter to put the Cardinals on the scoreboard. After the Cavaliers evened the score in the fourth quarter, the team co-captain helped set up the game-winning goal with 10 seconds remaining on the clock.
•On the weekend, she paced the Cardinals' offense with 13 shots, nine of which were on goal. She currently leads the team with six goals, four assists and 16 points.
•Bitting helped direct the Louisville defense to a pair of wins at Virginia on the weekend as Louisville improved its record to 7-0 on the season and 5-0 in ACC play, clinching at least a share of the regular season conference title.
• The team co-captain dished out one assist as a member of Louisville's attack penalty corner unit in Saturday's 2-1 win and helped limit the Cavaliers to two shots on goal in that game.

PASTOR, MEGHAN SCHNEIDER EARN ACC/NFHCA WEEKLY HONORS ON OCTOBER 6
The Cardinals swept the NFHCA and ACC Field Hockey weekly accolades as Mercedes Pastor was named Offensive Player of the Week and Meghan Schneider was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 6. This marks the second straight player of the week nod for Pastor and the first for Schneider.
• Pastor (Buenos Aires, Argentina) helped lead the Cardinals to a 2-0 record on the weekend, tallying four points with a goal and two assists. The senior registered the game-winning goal and dished out an assist in Friday's 3-1 victory over North Carolina which ended the defending NCAA champion's 47-game win streak. In Sunday's 2-1 win against Boston College, Pastor delivered an assist to give the Cardinals an early 1-0 lead against the 2019 semifinalists. On the weekend, she paced Louisville's offense with seven shots, five of which were on goal.
• Schneider (San Diego, Calif.) helped the Louisville defense to a 1.00 goals-against average on the weekend. She also tallied a goal and an assist as part of the Cardinals' attack penalty corner unit. Against North Carolina, the senior was effective was effective in marking 2019 NCAA leading scorer Erin Matson, holding her to one goal. Schneider also dished out a penalty corner assist for the eventual game-winning goal. In Sunday's win over Boston College, Schneider anchored a Louisville defense which held the Eagles to just two shots on goal. Additionally, she gave the Cards an early 1-0 lead with her first goal of the season.

PASTOR EARNS 2020 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
In the spring, the Cardinals' eight-game slate features three home games. Two-time defending national champion North Carolina will headline a challenging ACC slate that also features six teams ranked among the top 25 in the 2019 final 2019 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) rankings. The Tar Heels finished the 2019 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.
• Louisville will also face non-conference opponents Ball State and three-time defending Mid-American Conference champion Miami (Ohio).
• Seven of Louisville's opponents earned a bid to the 2019 NCAA tournament including national champion North Carolina, and semifinalists Virginia and Boston College.

LOOKING BACK ON THE 2019 SEASON
• 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.