Cardinals Host Virginia Tech in ACC Championship First Round

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 11th-ranked University of Louisville men's soccer team begins postseason play on Wednesday night with the opening round of the ACC Championship. The Cardinals are the No. 5 seed in the tournament and will play host to 12th-seeded Virginia Tech. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium and will be televised on ACC Network Extra.

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for Wednesday's match are available through Ticketmaster and will be on sale before the match at the Lynn Stadium ticket window. All tickets are general admission with prices set at $10 for adults and $5 for youth. All UofL students will receive a free ticket by showing their student ID at the ticket window.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville closed out the regular season with a 9-4-3 overall record and a 4-3-1 mark in conference play, finishing third in the ACC Atlantic Division. The Cards host Virginia Tech in the opening round, with the winner set to play at fourth-seeded Wake Forest in Sunday's quarterfinal round.

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Cardinals own two conference tournament championships in program history, winning the Big East title in 2010 and the ACC Championship in 2018. Louisville is 7-4-2 in seven all-time ACC Championship appearances, including a 2-1-2 mark at home.

SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and Virginia Tech square off in the opening round of the tournament after not meeting during the regular season. The Cards are 5-11-3 in 19 all-time meetings against Virginia Tech. The two squared off in the first round of the ACC Championship in 2019, with the Hokies securing a 2-0 victory in Louisville.

LOUISVILLE FIFTH IN SELECTION COMMITTEE'S INITIAL RANKINGS
The NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Committee announced its top 16 ranking last Friday, two weeks prior to selection Monday.

Louisville was ranked fifth overall in the initial rankings sitting behind Washington, Kentucky, Duke and Syracuse. The ACC held four of the top 11 spots, while the Cardinals have already played four teams in the committee's top 16.

Forty-eight teams will make up the championship field consisting of 23 automatic qualifiers and 25 at-large selections. The top 16 teams will be seeded and receive first round byes before hosting second round matches.

CARDINALS FACED NATION'S TOUGHEST REGULAR SEASON SLATE
Louisville heads into the ACC Championship eighth in the latest NCAA men's soccer RPI rankings. In addition to their 9-4-3 overall record, the Cardinals are boosted by the nation's hardest regular season schedule.

UofL played eight of its 16 regular season matches against top 25 RPI teams, posting a 3-4-1 record in those contests. No other program played eight matches against the RPI top 25, with Clemson as the only team to play seven such matches. Only Virginia picked up more wins (4) against the top 25 than Louisville.

The Cardinals were unbeaten in the other eight matches, going 6-0-2 against teams outside the top 25.

CARDS DOING DAMAGE EARLY IN SECOND HALF
Louisville owns nine victories through 16 matches this season. Of the nine wins, eight have featured game-winning goals in the second half.

The Cardinals have been extremely lethal early in the second half, finding seven of their game-winners between the 54th and 66th minutes.

Josh Jones added the latest strike in that window against Clemson, lifting Louisville to a 1-0 victory with a winner in the 59th minute.

FOLLOW LOUISVILLE MEN'S SOCCER ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville men's soccer on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @LouisvilleMSOC.

University of Louisville Athletics

Cardinals Host Virginia Tech in ACC Championship First Round

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