Louisville Travels to Play at Saint Louis on Thursday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After opening the season with three home wins, University of Louisville women's soccer hits the road for the first time this season when they travel to take on Saint Louis this Thursday. The match will begin at 8 p.m. ET and broadcast on ESPN+.

Louisville is 3-0 to start the year for the fourth time in the past five seasons. In 2019, they opened with a 7-0 record, they opened 5-0 in 2018 and 3-0 in 2017. Last season, they were 2-1 through three games.

The Cardinals' 13 goals in the first three matches are tied for the most in program history through three games. They also had 13 goals in the first three matches in 1985, the program's first season. They opened with a 12-0 win over Eastern Kentucky and followed with a 2-1 loss to Xavier and a 6-0 loss at Cincinnati.

Louisville averages 4.33 goals per game, which is tied for the lead in the ACC and ranks ninth in the country. They average 12.0 points per game, which ranks third in the league and 11th in the NCAA. Their 3.33 assists per game rank fifth in the ACC and 18th in the country.

Through three games, nine of UofL's 13 goals have been scored by players that entered the season without a collegiate goal and six have been scored by freshmen. Seven of the 10 assists have been recorded by freshmen, while grad transfer Mikayla Hampton also has one assist, which makes eight of 10 assists recorded by newcomers.

Sophomore Emma Hiscock has scored one goal in each of the first three matches. She is the first UofL player to score a goal in three straight matches since Emina Ekic did it from Sept. 27 to Oct. 4, 2019. The last UofL player to have four matches in a row with a goal was Maisie Whitsett, who did it as a freshman from Sept. 6 to Sept. 20, 2018. She had five goals during that stretch, including two in a 5-1 win over Eastern Kentucky.

Sixth year goalkeeper Gabby Kouzelos recorded two saves and a shutout in the 3-0 win over NKU on Sunday and now has 201 saves in her career, becoming the fifth player in UofL history to eclipse 200 saves. Her 201 saves rank fifth all-time, 28 behind April Norris' (95-97) 229 saves, which ranks fourth.

The Cardinals are 19-15-2 all-time in road openers and 14-5-2 in road openers under head coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes. They have won four straight road openers dating back to 2017 (9/17/20 at Miami - W, 3-0; 8/22/19 at Ohio State - W, 2-1; 8/23/18 at Dayton - W, 1-0; 8/24/17 at Indiana - W, 2-0), which is one game shy of the program-best five straight road openers they won from 2004 to 2008. The last time they didn't win a road opener was a 1-1 tie at Indiana on Aug. 19, 2016. The last time they lost their road opener was a 2-0 defeat at Kentucky on Sept. 6, 2013.

ABOUT THE BILLIKENS

Saint Louis enters Thursday's contest with a 1-3 record after opening the season with three straight losses before winning 2-0 at Illinois State on Sunday. The Billikens were picked first in the A-10 preseason poll and were ranked no. 21 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason national poll. A league-high four Billikens landed on the preseason All-A10 team as senior forward Hannah Friedrich and junior midfielder Abbie Miller, last season's A-10 Offensive Player of the Year and Midfielder of the Year, respectively, were joined by senior defender Brionna Halverson and sophomore defender Sophia Stram. Friedrich was named to the Hermann Trophy Watch List in mid-August. Last season, SLU went 15-1-1 overall and 8-0-0 in league play to win its third straight regular season title. They fell 0-0 in penalty kicks against Washington in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Series History - Louisville is 3-9-0 all-time against Saint Louis, but has won the last three matchups. The Cardinals won at home against the Billikens on Sept. 6, 2009 (W, 2-0) and Aug. 29, 2019 (W, 1-0) and at St. Louis on Sept. 12, 2010 (W, 2-0). That road win in 2010 is the Cardinals' lone road victory against St. Louis. Louisville's last loss to the Billikens came at St. Louis on Nov. 4, 2004 (L, 1--0). All nine losses to the Billikens came between 1996 and 2004.

Last Meeting (Aug. 29, 2019) - Senior Brooklyn Rivers scored the game's only goal as Louisville defeated Saint Louis 1-0 at Lynn Stadium. Gabby Kouzelos had a pair of saves as Louisville finished with an 11-7 shot advantage and edged Saint Louis 5-2 in corners. The Cardinals held a 56-44 advantage in possession over the Billikens.

GAME FACTS
Date: Thursday, September 2
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Site: St. Louis, Mo. | Robert R. Hermann Stadium
Video: ESPN+ (Dan Bettlach, play-by-play)
Series History: 3-9-0 (W3, 2-3-0 home, 1-6-0 away, 0-0-0 neutral)
Last Meeting: W, 1-0 (Aug. 29, 2019 at Lynn Stadium)
Next UofL Game: Sunday, Sept. 5 vs. Western Kentucky

For the latest information on Louisville women's soccer, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Twitter account at @ULWomensSoccer or on Facebook at facebook.com/ulwomenssoccer.

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Players Mentioned

Emina Ekic

Mikayla Hampton

Emma Hiscock

Gabby Kouzelos

Maisie Whitsett

University of Louisville Athletics