No. 4 Cardinals Set to Face a Pair of Ranked Opponents

WEEKEND INFORMATION
Louisville vs. No. 17 Duke
Date: Sept. 24, 6:00 PM
Location: Durham, N.C.
Venue: Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium
Television: ACC Network Extra
Game Links: Live Scoring | A CCNX

Louisville vs. No. 19 Ohio State
Date: Sept. 27, 2021, 2:00 PM
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Venue: Buckeye Varsity Field
Television: Big Ten+
Twitter Updates: @ULFieldHockey
Louisville Field Hockey Game Notes

The fourth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team will hit the road to face a pair of top-20 opponents. The Cards will take on No. 18 Duke in an ACC contest Friday at 6 p.m. UofL will then travel to No. 19 Ohio State for a Monday afternoon contest, as the Cards face their fifth straight ranked opponent.

NOTE CARDS
• The Cardinals started the season with a 7-0 record for the second straight year, matching a school record start before falling 2-0 to No. 2 Iowa on Sunday.
• The loss snaps the Cardinals' seven-game win streak and their 12-game home win streak which dated back to the 2019 season.
• Sunday's loss also marked the first time the Cardinals were shut out since March 27, 2021 when Louisville fell 1-0 at then-No. 16 Boston College.
• Louisville has outscored its first eight opponents by a combined total of 20-6 to start the season.
• Mattie Tabor leads the team with four goals and 10 points. All of her goals have been game-winners and she leads the ACC in that category.
• Katie Schneider, Erica Cooper and Filippa Niebuhr are tied for second with three goals each.
• Freshman goalkeeper Mila de Kuijer carries a 0.74 goals against average standing second in the ACC in that category. She also leads the conference with four shutouts on the season.
• Head coach Justine Sowry achieved her 200th career victory on Sept. 10 when the Cardinals defeated Indiana 1-0 at Trager Stadium.
• Julie Kouijzer was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 7. Louisville has now earned two straight defensive weekly honors this season. Alli Bitting was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week in the league's first weekly honor of 2021.
• Louisville is 4-0 at home this season and has won its last 11 home games after going 7-0 at Trager Stadium in the 2020-21 campaign.
• The Cardinals return 18 players including nine starters from last season's NCAA Final Four squad.
• Alli Bitting and Charlie van Oirschot were named to the Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team.
• 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.

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 143 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.
• With UofL's 1-0 win against Indiana on Sept. 10, Justine Sowry reached 200 career victories in her 15th season as a head coach.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Duke
Series Record: Duke leads 12-7
Last Meeting: April 10, 2021 - Duke won 4-3 in a sudden-victory shootout in Durham. The teams met three times in the 2021 season with Louisville taking the first two matchups by scores of 3-0 and 3-1 in the first two games of the fall season.
Cardinal Connection: The Blue Devils are coached by Pam Bustin, who is in her tenth season at Duke. Prior to that, Bustin spent 13 seasons (1998-2010) as Louisville's head coach.
• Current Louisville head Justine Sowry served as an assistant under Bustin at UofL from 1998-2002. She replaced Bustin after the 2010 season.
About the Blue Devils: Duke enters Friday's matchup with a 3-4 overall record and an 0-1 mark in ACC play after a 3-1 loss to Wake Forest on their ACC opener on Friday. The Blue Devils bounced back with a 3-1 win over James Madison on Sunday.
• Leah Crouse leads the team with two goals and four points. Piper Hampsch carries a 2.33 goals against average.

Ohio State
Series Record: OSU leads 18-11
Last Meeting: Sept. 15, 2019 - Louisville won 2-1 in Columbus.
About the Buckeyes: Ohio State enters the game with a 6-2 overall record following a 1-1 record over the weekend. OSU opened Big Ten play with a 4-3 victory No. 25 Michigan State to push its win streak to five straight games, but fell 2-1 to No. 11 Virginia on Sunday. The Buckeyes have faced one other ACC foe, defeating then-No. 14 by a score of 2-1 on Sept. 10.
• The Buckeyes are led in scoring by Leanne Bough who has five goals and 10 points on the season. Aaliyah Hernandez carries a 1.40 goals against average with two shutouts.

UP NEXT
Louisville will return to Trager Stadium for an ACC matchup with Wake Forest on Friday, October 1. They will follow with a Monday night matchup against Miami (Ohio).

CARDS FOURTH IN NFHCA COACHES POLL
The University of Louisville field hockey team stands at No. 4 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Coaches poll released on Sept. 21. The Cards moved up a spot after defeating then-No. 11 Virginia 1-0 and losing to No. 2 Iowa 2-0 last weekend.
• Louisville has spent 10 of the last 11 weeks 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 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 23 weeks spanning back to the 2019 season when they appeared at No. 8 on Sept. 10.
• Louisville has now spent 88 straight weeks in the top 20 in the nation dating back to the 2013 season.

ACC STRONG
• All seven ACC teams appear in the top 18 with Louisville leading the way at No. 4. In addition to the Cardinals, the ACC holds three of the top 10 spots with Boston College stepping in at No. 5 and North Carolina holding down the No. 7 position. Virginia (No. 11), Syracuse (No. 12), Wake Forest (No. 16) and Duke (No. 18) round out the ACC schools.

UP LAST
#2 Iowa 2 - #5 Louisville 0
The fifth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team fell 2-0 to No. 2 Sunday afternoon at Trager Stadium. The loss snaps the Cardinals' seven-game win streak and their 12-game home win streak which dated back to the 2019 season.
• The top-five matchup between two 2020-21 NCAA semifinal teams, included a weather delay that lasted nearly two and a half hours and was tightly contested with a total of six green cards and two yellow cards issued between the teams.

#5 Louisville 1 - #11 Virginia 0
UofL defeated No. 11 Virginia 1-0 in both teams' Atlantic Coast Conference opener Friday afternoon at Trager Stadium. With the win, the Cardinals improve to 7-0, tying a school record for the best start in program history.
• Junior Mattie Tabor's goal early in the second quarter stood as the game-winner and freshman Mila de Kuijer posted five saves en route her fourth shutout of the season as the Cardinals opened ACC play with a 1-0 win against the Cavaliers.

BALANCED OFFENSE
The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 21-5 in the first eight games of the season.
• Ten different players have contributed to the Cardinals' goal tally with Katie Schneider, Mattie Tabor, Erica Cooper and Filippa Niebuhr delivering three apiece. Julie Kouijzer has two goals.

TABOR FINDING HER GROOVE
After her sophomore campaign was cut short in the second game of the season due to injury, Mattie Tabor is back in the Cardinals' lineup and leads the team with four goals and 10 points. All four of her goals have been game-winners.
• Last weekend, the Louisville native registered the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win against No. 11 Virginia.

SCHNEIDER SHINES IN THE EARLY SEASON
Katie Schneider is among the Cardinals' offensive leaders in the early season. The forward from San Diego stands second on the team with nine points (3G, 3A. She tallied three assists in the 6-0 win against Ohio, tying a school record.

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 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.

2021 ACC Field Hockey Predicted Order of Finish
1. North Carolina (6) - 48
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)

RETURNING PLAYER NOTES
• Alli Bitting (team co-captain); Earned ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Aug. 31… 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 - Scored two goals in the Cardinals' season opener... Stands tied for the team lead with three goals... 2019 NFHCA All-West Region selection and is a two-year starter.
• Emilia Kaczmarczyk - Two-year starter... finished fifth on the team with 11 points (4G, 3A) in 2020-21.
• Mackenzie Karl- Scored her first career goal in the 3-1 win against No. 11 Liberty (Sept. 12).
• Julie Kouijzer- ACC Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 7)... Has registered a goal or assist in each of Louisville's last three games... 2020-21 NFHCA All-West Region second team honoree... Two-time ACC Tournament selection (2019, 2020)... Two-year starter
• Sam Minrath - Started every game in the 2020-21 spring season after serving a penalty stroke specialist in 2019. Started every game in the spring 2021 season and registered a 1.00 goals-against average.
• Aimee Plumb - NFHCA All-West Region second team selection... Named to NCAA All-Tournament Team.
• India Reed – Has started every game in the backfield... Played in every game in the backfield in 2020-21. redshirted in 2019...
• Katie Schneider – Second on the team with nine points… Tied a school record with three assists in the season-opening win against Ohio… Has scored a goal in each game this season… Stood second on the team with six goals in the 2020-21 season.
• Mattie Tabor – All four of her goals have been game-winners, most recently in the 1-0 victory against No. 11 Virginia... Scored the game-winner in OT in the victory at No. 13 Princeton... Dished out an assist in the 1-0 win against Indiana... Scored the game-winner in the 3-1 victory over No. 11 Liberty.
• 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 of her career at UofL.

NEWCOMER NOTES
Freshman Filippa Niebuhr has appeared in all of Louisville's games and has recorded three goals on the season - including the game-winner against Indiana.
• Fellow rookie Mila de Kuijer notched back-to-back shutouts in the Cardinals first two games of the season and recently added a third shutout to her tota.. She recently posted a career-high seven saves in the 3-1 win against No. 11 Liberty.
• de Kuijer leads the ACC with four shutouts.

TOUGH SLATE
Eleven 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. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Iowa, No. 12 Liberty, No. 18 Princeton and No 24 Ohio State.

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)

HOMEGROWN TALENT
The UofL field hockey team features six players who chose to play for their hometown school: seniors Erica Cooper (Assumption), Sam Minrath (Christian Academy) juniors Camryn Pichea (Assumption) and Mattie Tabor (Sacred Heart), redshirt sophomore India Reed (duPont Manual) and sophomore Embry Jane (EJ) Imorde (Sacred Heart).

No. 4 Cardinals Set to Face a Pair of Ranked Opponents

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Players Mentioned

Alli Bitting

Erica Cooper

Mila de Kuijer

Emilia Kaczmarczyk

Mackenzie Karl

Julie Kouijzer

Sam Minrath

Filippa Niebuhr

Sofia Pendolino

Camryn Pichea

Aimee Plumb

India Reed

Katie Schneider

Mattie Tabor

Minna Tremonti

Charlie van Oirschot

University of Louisville Athletics