No. 4 Cardinals Host No. 9 Wake Forest in Regular Season Finale

Saturday, April 17

LOUISVILLE, KY

12:00 P.M.

University of Louisville

WAKE FOREST

No. 4 Cardinals Host No. 9 Wake Forest in Regular Season Finale

April 16, 2021 | Field Hockey

Cardinals will honor the 2020-21 senior class prior to the game

By: Lori Harmon

The University of Louisville field hockey team will wrap up the regular season on Saturday when the Cardinals play host to No. 9 Wake Forest in a top-10 ACC matchup. Prior to the 12 p.m. game, Louisville will honor the departing senior class of 2020-21.

LOUISVILLE VS. WAKE FOREST GAME DAY INFORMATION
April 17 - Louisville vs. Wake Forest, 12 p.m.
Venue: Trager Stadium
Coverage: ACCNX | Live Scoring
Series Record: Wake Forest leads 13-7.
Last meeting: Oct. 10,2020- Louisville won 2-1 at Wake Forest.
NOTES: Louisville vs. Syracuse Game Notes (PDF)

FIELD HOCKEY ATTENDANCE POLICY
Attendance will be at approximately 20 percent capacity at Trager Stadium, but all home contests will be televised and/or streamed for those that can't attend. Tickets will only be available to guests of Louisville student-athletes, coaches and visiting team, along with a limited number for UofL students (with student ID) and the general public.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS
Stadium gates will open one hour prior to start time. Temperature checks will be conducted with appropriate space allowed to promote physical distancing. Anyone that has a reading of 100.4° or higher will be directed to a cool down area. After a 10-minute cool down period a second temperature check will be conducted. If the temperature displayed is 100.4° or higher the person will be refused entry.

A Clear Bag Policy remains in place UofL athletics facilities. Fans may bring one clear bag, either a one-gallon clear Ziploc-style storage bag, or a 12 x 6 x 12 inches clear tote bag. Fans will be asked to return non-approved bags or other items to their vehicle prior to stadium entry. Patrons are encouraged to have all items loose inside the clear bag for more efficient safe inspections. Clutch purses, billfolds or wallets cannot be placed in the clear bag.

All concession stands will be cashless for the 2020 season. All major credit cards will be accepted. Mobile pay options (Apple pay, Google Pay, etc.) will not be accepted.

CARDINAL NOTES
• The Cardinals are ranked No. 4 in the NFHCA Coaches' poll of the 2020-21 season. The Cardinals reached the highest national ranking in program history in the initial 2021 rankings and spent two weeks in that slot.
• Louisville (12-5, 2-3 ACC Spring/5-1 ACC Fall) is currently tied for fourth in the ACC spring standings while Wake Forest (6-9, 3-1) is second.
• The Cardinals are led by current ACC Field Hockey Co-Offensive Player of the Week senior midfielder/forward Mercedes Pastor who has a career-high 12 goals and five assists for 29 points. She stands second in the ACC in both goals and assists.
• Redshirt sophomore Katie Schneider and freshman Aimee Plumb stand second with five goals and one assist for 11 points.
• Senior Alli Bitting leads the team and is tied for the conference lead with a career-high eight assists.
• Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Sam Minrath carries a 1.16 goals-against average with 20 saves after making her first career start this spring.
• UofL finished the 2020 fall season atop of the ACC regular standings with a 5-1 mark in league play, marking a program high for single-season ACC victories.
• Two of Louisville's five losses have come at the hands of top-ranked North Carolina, but Louisville also has a win over the Tar Heels in the 2020-21 campaign.
• Louisville has outscored opponents 40-23 on the 2020-21 season.
• UofL field hockey had two representatives on the ACC's Top 6 for Service List. Sam Minrath and Meghan Schneider helped lead the way with their community service efforts this year.
• 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.

FALL 2020
• After earning the No. 1 seed in the 2020 ACC Fall Championship 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.
• On October 2, 2020, Louisville beat North Carolina 3-1 at Trager Stadium, snapping the Tar Heels' NCAA-best 47-game win streak.

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 134 wins, five NCAA tournament appearances along with two conference titles and a pair of runner-up finish in the ACC Championships.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT WAKE FOREST
Series Record: Wake Forest leads 13-7.
Last meeting: Oct. 10,2020- Louisville won 2-1 at Wake Forest.
Scouting Wake Forest: Wake Forest enters Saturday's game with a 6-9 record and is coming off of a 3-2 win against Virginia.
• Nat Friedman leads the Deacons in goals with five and in points with 11.
• Freshman, Tori Glaister is in goal with 3.13 goals-against average and a game-high six saves against Boston College.

UP LAST
• Then-third-ranked Louisville lost to No. 15 Duke 4-3 in a sudden-victory shootout Saturday afternoon at Duke's Williams Field.
• The top-15 ACC matchup featured a back and forth battle through 60 minutes of regulation, a pair of 10-minute overtimes and ended in the second round of shootouts. The Cards owned a 20-6 lead in shots with an advantage of 11-4 shots on goal and 6-3 edge in penalty corners.
• Louisville got goals from Alli Bitting, Aimee Plumb and Mercedes Pastor in regulation but Duke prevailed 5-4 in penalty strokes.

CARDS FOURTH IN NFHCA COACHES POLL
Louisville field hockey is ranked No. 4 in the fourth Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches (NFHCA) Poll of the 2020-21 season, sliding one spot after last week's shootout loss at No. 15 Duke. The Cardinals debuted at No. 2, reaching the highest in program history after the Cardinals appeared at No. 4 in the 2002 campaign.
• The Cards have spent 17 weeks ranked in the top 10 spanning back to the 2019 season when they finished at No. 5.
• With the 2020-21 NFHCA rankings released on March 16, the Cardinals have now spent 82 straight weeks in the top 20 in the nation dating back to the 2013 season.

MINRATH, MEGHAN SCHNEIDER EARN ACC TOP 6 FOR SERVICE AWARD
Sam Minrath and Meghan Schneider represented UofL field hockey in the ACC Top 6 for Service Award.
• Each year the ACC honors six University of Louisville student-athletes that have shown a commitment to service throughout the school year with the Top 6 for Service award.
• Schneider, a senior on the field hockey team, has done a great deal of volunteer work with the American Red Cross. She has consistently served as an ambassador for the American Red Cross and was an active volunteer for the San Diego Food Bank over the summer. Schneider has dedicated a total of 106 hours to the Louisville community.
• Minrath, a junior on the field hockey team, has a diverse community service portfolio. She has spent many hours donating her blood plasma and platelets for COVID ICU patients to the American Red Cross. She also ran the Cardinal Cupboard on campus, served as a facilitator for One Love programming, and was a note taker for the University of Louisville Disability Resource Center. Minrath has dedicated a total of 78 hours to the Louisville community.

ACC STRONG
• All seven ACC field hockey teams are currently ranked in the top 14. The Cardinals are among four ACC teams in the top 10 with North Carolina leading the way at No. 1, Louisville at No. 4, Wake Forest at No. 9 and Boston College standing 10th. No. 11 Syracuse, No. 13 Virginia and No. 14 Duke round out the ACC teams.
• 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.

2020-21 NEWCOMERS TO WATCH
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
• 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: 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: 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. She is tied for second on the team with five goals. 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 third on the team with four 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.

RETURNING PLAYER NOTES
• Alli Bitting (team co-captain); leads the team with a career-high eight assists. Last season earned NFHCA All-West Region and All-ACC honors, helping the Cardinals' defense to eight shutouts on the season and registering one goal and four assists.
• Erica Cooper was an NFHCA All-West Region selection after finishing her sophomore year with a pair of goals while playing in all 22 games with 16 starts and was instrumental in both offense and defense.
• Julie Kouijzer was one of seven players on the team who started every game last season - and the only freshman in that group of starters.
• Emilia Kaczmarczyk had a solid rookie season in 2019, playing in all 22 games with 16 starts while helping the defense to eight shutouts.
• Sam Minrath entering her first season as the Cardinals' starting goalkeeping after serving a penalty stroke specialist in 2019.
• Mercedes Pastor (team co-captain); Two-time NFHCA All-America selection and 2020 All-ACC Preseason honoree. Pastor was a Field Hockey Honda Award finalist in 2019.
• India Reed redshirted in 2019, but has played in every game this season.
• Katie Schneider redshirted in 2019, has played in every game this season, stands second on the team with five goals.
• Meghan Schneider (team co-captain); Anchors the Cardinals' defense... Member of attack penalty corner unit... scored in the 2-1 win against Boston College (Oct. 4)... NFHCA All-West Region honoree has spent the last three seasons on the USWNT U21 team.

PASTOR NAMED ACC FIELD HOCKEY CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mercedes Pastor has been named the ACC Co-Player of the Week for the period ending on April 4. This marks Pastor's fourth ACC weekly nod of the 2020-21 season, she also earned the award three times in the fall.
•Pastor's goal in the sixth minute of overtime lifted Louisville to a win over then-No. 8 Syracuse Sunday at Louisville's Trager Stadium. The senior from Buenos Aires, Argentina notched her team-best 11th goal – and fifth game-winner – of the season as the Cardinals improved to 12-4 on the season and 2-2 in ACC play in the spring season.

CARDS TIED FOR FIFTH IN NFHCA TEAM ACADEMIC TEAM AWARD
The National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) is proud to an
The University of Louisville field hockey team was tied for fifth on the 2020 National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I National Academic Team Award list as announced by the organization today. This marks the tenth straight year the Cardinals have earned the national team academic honor.
•The NFHCA National Academic Team Award recognizes programs that earned a team grade-point average of 3.0 or higher during the fall semester of the 2020-2021 school year.
• Louisville posted program-best a 3.809 team GPA in the fall semester.

PASTOR NAMED ACC Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship RECIPIENT
Senior Mercedes Pastor was one of four University of Louisville student-athletes and 52 selected from throughout the conference as recipients of the 2021 Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship Award. Pastor was joined by fellow Cardinals Makenli Forrest (women's track and field), Piper Roe (volleyball) and Nikolina Jovic (women's tennis).
• Pastor, a senior midfielder/forward from Buenos Aires, Argentina currently leads the second-ranked Cardinals with 10 goals and 25 points.
• Louisville's team co-captain 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.
• The industrial engineering major was one of four finalists for the Class of 2020 Honda Sport Award for Field Hockey and earned the 2020 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award winner for field hockey. She is a three-time NFHCA Academic Honor Roll member, earning Scholar of Distinction honors in 2017. Additionally, Pastor was named to the ACC All-Academic Team in 2018 and is a two-time ACC Academic Honor Roll member.
• Pastor is also one of Louisville field hockey's community service leaders. Among her many local volunteer activities, she is active in the Droplet Water Project, a Kentucky-based non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the global effort to provide access to clean drinking water.

CARDS LEAD ALL SCHOOLS WITH 12 SCHOLARS OF DISTINCTION
The University of Louisville field hockey team continues to lead the nation in the classroom with a program-best 12 student-athletes honors as National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Scholars of Distinction.
• The Scholars of Distinction program recognizes student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.9 or higher through the first semester of the current academic year.
• Senior Meghan Schneider earns the honor for the fourth time in her career – becoming only the second player in program history to do so. Sam Minrath and Camryn Pichea collect their third Scholar of Distinction honor while Mercedes Pastor earns it for the second time.
The full list of Louisville's NFHCA Scholars of Distinction include: Mia Duchars, Embry Jane (EJ) Imorde, Paulina Mayer, Sam Minrath, Mercedes Pastor, Sofia Pendolino, Camryn Pichea, Aimee Plumb, India Reed, Meghan Schneider, Minna Tremonti, Charlotte van Oirchot

SMART CARDS
UofL led all schools with a program-record 25 student-athletes named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division I National Academic Squad.
• The Division I National Academic Squad program honors student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.3 or higher through the first semester of the 2020-2021 academic year.
• Seniors Biz Allgeier, Alli Bitting, Mercedes Pastor, Meghan Schneider and Madison Walsh earned the honor for the fourth time and are joined on the NFHCA National Academic Squad by the rest of the 2020 fall roster.

how the cards stack up
• Individually, Mercedes Pastor stands second in the conference with 12 goals/0.706 goals per game and 29 points/1.71 points per game.
• Alli Bitting is tied for the conference lead with eight assists/0.471 assists per game. Meghan Schneider is tied for fifth with seven. (.414 per game)
• As a team, Louisville stands second in the league with 40 goals and a 1.35 goals against average.
• The Cardinals have earned a league-high 113 penalty corners.

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 seven teams ranked among the top 25 in current NFHCA rankings.
• Additionally, seven of Louisville's eight spring opponents earned a bid to the 2019 NCAA tournament including national champion North Carolina, and semifinalists Virginia and Boston College.

INTERNATIONAL 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).

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.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Cardinals have compiled a 6-0 record in the friendly confines of Trager Stadium this season.
• 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. The Cards defeated No. 14 Virginia in the 2021 spring home opener.
• 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 THIS SEASON
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 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

LOOKING BACK AT A MONUMENTAL 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 spent 10 weeks of the season among the top 10 in the nation reaching as high as No. 5.