University of Louisville
OHIO
No. 5 Cardinals Set for Season-Opening Weekend
August 25, 2021 | Field Hockey
| WEEKEND INFORMATION Ohio at Louisville Date: August 27, 2021 Location: Louisville, Ky. Venue: Trager Stadium Admission: Free Television: ACC Network Extra Game Links:Â Live Scoring | ACCNX | Game Program New Hampshire at Louisville Date: August 29, 2021 Location: Louisville, Ky. Venue: Trager Stadium Admission: Free Television: ACC Network Extra Game Links:Â Live Scoring | ACCNX | Game Program Twitter Updates: @ULFieldHockey Louisville Field Hockey Game Notes |
The fifth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey will open the 2021 season this weekend when the Cardinals play host to Ohio University on Friday at 3 p.m. followed by a Sunday matchup against New Hampshire at 2 p.m. Admission is free.
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Both games will be televised on ACC Network Extra with Jody Demling handling play-by-play duties and Suzanne Bush providing color analysis.
WEEKEND NOTES
• The Cardinals return 18 players including nine starters from last season's NCAA Final Four squad. •The 2021 roster includes five seniors and features two-time All-American Alli Bitting along with NFHCA All-West Region selections: Charlie van Oirschot, Aimee Plumb and Julie Kouijzer. Louisville also welcomes six newcomers to the 2021 team.
• Alli Bitting and Charlie van Oirschot were named to the Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team.
• Aimee Plumb and Katie Schneider are among Louisville's returning leading scorers. Plumb led the way in scoring last season with 15 points after tallying six goals and dishing out three assists. Schneider registered a career-best 13 points with six goals and one assist.
• UofL finished the 2020-21 season with a 14-6 overall record and ranked No. 3 in the NFHCA coaches' poll and reached the program's first NCAA Final Four.
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Head Coach Justine Sowry
•Justine Sowry is in her 11th season at the helm. During her time at Louisville, she has guided the Cardinals to 136 wins, six NCAA tournament appearances reaching the quarterfinals twice and advancing to the semifinals for the first time in program history in the 2020-21 season. Under Sowry's tutelage, Louisville has tallied a pair of conference titles, including the 2020 ACC Fall Regular Season crown, and a pair of runner-up finishes in the ACC Championships.
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SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Ohio University
Series Record: Louisville leads 27-12
Last Meeting: October 29, 2017 - UofL won 6-0 at Trager Stadium
NOTE: The bulk of the series dates back to when both teams were members of the Mid-American Conference in field hockey (1994-2004). Louisville has won the last six meetings.
About the Bobcats: Ohio returns 18 players from the team that finished 5-9 for the 2020 season. Jillian Shive and Katelyn Whittle lead the Bobcats' attack returning nine and five goals respectively from last season. Senior goalkeeper Nele Graner returns to anchor the Bobcats' defense with 29 career starts under her belt and 56 saves from the 2020 season.
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New Hampshire
Series Record: Louisville leads 5-0
Last Meeting: October 8, 2017 - UofL won 5-2 at New Hampshire.
About the Wildcats: New Hampshire returns 18 players from last season's team that finished 4-8. The Wildcats' attack is led by junior forward Ava Mariani, who led the team with six goals and finished with a 0.706 shot percentage in 2020. Goalkeeper Jemma Woods returns with 62 saves and a 0.775 save percentage.
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CARDS FIFTH IN NFHCA COACHES POLL
The University of Louisville field hockey team stands at No. 5 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Preseason Coaches poll which was released by the organization today.
• This marks the ninth straight week that Louisville has been ranked among the top five in the nation. Last season, the Cardinals spent all seven weeks in the top five after debuting at No. 2 – the highest ranking in program history – on March 16, 2021. After spending two weeks in that slot, UofL remained in the top five throughout the rest of the season, finishing the year at No. 5. The Cardinals also concluded the 2019 campaign at No. 5.
• The Cards have been ranked among the top 10 for the last 20 weeks spanning back to the 2019 season when they appeared at No. 8 on Sept. 10.
• Louisville has now spent 85 straight weeks in the top 20 in the nation dating back to the 2013 season.
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ACC STRONG
• All seven ACC teams appear in the top 14 with three-time defending national champion North Carolina holding down the top spot. In addition to Louisville, the ACC holds four of the top 10 spots with Boston College standing at No. 7 and Virginia at No. 8. Wake Forest and Duke are just outside the top 10 weight in at Nos. 11 and 12 respectively while Syracuse sits at No. 14.
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BALANCED OFFENSE RETURNING
Following the graduation of three-time All-American Mercedes Pastor, the Cardinals return four of their top five scorers. Among the returners, Aimee Plumb led the way in scoring last season with 15 points after tallying six goals and dishing out three assists. Katie Schneider registered a career-best 13 points with six goals and one assist. Alli Bitting (2G, 8A) and Emilia Kaczmarczyk (4G, 3A) follow with 12 and 11 points respectively.
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BITTING, VAN OIRSCHOT EARN PRESEASON ALL-ACC HONORS
Alli Bitting and Charlie van Oirschot have been named to the 2021 Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team and the Cardinals were picked in a three-way tie to finish fifth in the regular season standings in a vote by the league's seven head coaches.
•Bitting, a midfielder/defender from Hummelstown, Pa., enters her fifth season with the Cardinals. The two-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-America selection turned in a career-best season in 2020-21 with eight assists and two goals, including one in the 1-0 NCAA quarterfinal win against No. 6 UConn. Bitting is also a three-time all-region honoree and a two-time All-ACC selection. Additionally, she was named to the 2020-21 NCAA All-Tournament team after Louisville's first-ever NCAA semifinal appearance.
• Van Oirschot, (Haarlem, the Netherlands) is coming off of an impressive rookie campaign in 2020. She earned NFHCA All-West Region second team honors and was an All-ACC selection. The midfielder tallied four goals and dished out two assists while starting all 20 games.
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2021 ACC Field Hockey Predicted Order of Finish
1. North Carolina (6) - 48Â Â Â Â Â Â
2. Boston College - 30
3. Virginia (1) - 25
4. Wake Forest - 24
t-5. Duke - 23
t-5. Louisville - 23
t-5. Syracuse - 23
(First-place votes)
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BIG SHOES TO FILL
• The Cardinals return nine starters to the 2021 squad, but said good-bye to a pair of NFHCA All-Americans with the graduation of Mercedes Pastor and Meghan Schneider.
• Pastor was a three-time All-America and All-ACC first team selection. The midfielder/forward led the team with a career-high 32 points (13G, 6A) and was the 2020 NFHCA West Regional Player of the Year.
• Schneider helped the Cardinals to 17 shutouts throughout her career– including a 1-0 win against No. 6 UConn in the NCAA quarterfinals to send Louisville to the NCAA Semifinals for the first time in program history.
• Both Pastor and Schneider were finalists for the NCAA Honda Award in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
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RETURNING PLAYER NOTES
• Alli Bitting (team co-captain); Returning for fifth season... 2021 Preseason All-ACC selection... Two-time NFHCA All-American and All-ACC selection... Led the team with a career-high eight assists and scored the game-winner in the Cardinals' 1-0 NCAA quarterfinal victory against UConn... Earned 2020-21 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... Named to NCAA All-Tournament Team...
• Erica Cooper - 2019 NFHCA All-West Region selection and is a two-year starter.
• Julie Kouijzer- 2020-21 NFHCA All-West Region second team honoree... Two-time ACC Tournament selection (2019, 2020)... Two-year starter
• Emilia Kaczmarczyk - Two-year starter... finished fifth on the team with 11 points (4G, 3A).
• Sam Minrath in her first season as the Cardinals' starting goalkeeping after serving a penalty stroke specialist in 2019. Started every game in the spring 2021 season and registered a 1.00 goals-against average.
• India Reed redshirted in 2019... played in every game in the backfield in 2020-21.
• Aimee Plumb - NFHCA All-West Region second team selection... Named to NCAA All-Tournament Team... Tied for the team lead with six goals.
Charlie van Oirschot - 2021 Preseason All-ACC selection... NFHCA All-West Region and All-ACC second team selection... Stood fourth on the team with four goals, including one in the ACC Semifinal win against Virginia... Started every game.
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Tough Slate
Fourteen of the Cardinals' 18 opponents are ranked among the top 25 in the NFHCA preseason poll. In addition to its six ACC opponents, UofL will also take on No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Iowa, No. 10 Liberty, No. 13 Princeton, No. 16 Penn State, No. 21 Miami (Ohio), No. 22 Ohio State and No. 24 James Madison.
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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), Development Team (2020)
Erica Cooper- USWNT U21 Team (2019)
Mackenzie Karl - USWNT U17 Team (2015-16)
Filippa Niebuhr - German U16 Team
Sofia Pendolino - USWNT RISE Team
Aimee Plumb - England U19 Team (2018-19)
Katie Schneider - USWNT U19 Team (2019)
Minna Tremonti - USWNT U19 Team (2019)
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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).
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HOME SWEET HOME
The Cardinals compiled a 7-0 record in the friendly confines of Trager Stadium in the 2020-21 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.
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KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY
The Cardinals' 2021 roster feature two players whose sisters also Louisville field hockey alums. Katie Schneider's si ter Meghan recently completed her career at Louisville in 2020-21 season, earning NFHCA All-America and Scholar Athlete of the Year honors as a senior.
• Kelsey McCrudden's sister, Erin played for Louisville from 2013-16, earning NFHCA All-America honors in 2016
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LOOKING BACK AT A MONUMENTAL 2020-21 SEASON
Louisville finished the 2020-21 season with a 14-6 overall record and ranked No. 3 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) coaches poll and achieved numerous milestones along the way, including reaching the program's first NCAA Final Four.
• In the fall, the Cards won the ACC regular season title and earned the top seed in the conference tournament after producing a 5-1 record which included a win over two-time defending national champion North Carolina, snapping the Tar Heels' NCAA-best 47-game win streak. Louisville posted a runner-up finish to UNC in the fall ACC tournament.
• In the spring, Louisville went on to earn the highest ranking in program history at No. 2 despite the loss of three seniors who opted out for the spring campaign.
• UofL earned the overall No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament, marking the second straight season as a national seed and its ninth overall appearance. The Cardinals beat No. 6 UConn in the quarterfinals to advance to its first NCAA semifinal. Competing in their first-ever Final Four, the Cardinals battled with the No. 2 seed Michigan but eventually fell 2-1 in a sudden-victory shootout.
•In addition to the team achievements, Louisville also amassed several impressive individual accolades.
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