Ninth-Ranked Louisville Set for Season-Opening Weekend

The University of Louisville field hockey team will open the 2022 season this weekend when the ninth-ranked Cardinals travel to University Park, Pa., to face Bucknell Friday at 7:30 p.m. followed by a Sunday matchup against No. 11 Penn State at 12 p.m.

NOTE CARDS
• Louisville returns 13 letterwinners and seven starters from last year's team including NFHCA All-America selections Julie Kouijzer and Aimee Plumb along with fellow All-ACC honoree Katie Schneider. The Cards also welcome 10 newcomers to the 2022 roster.
• UofL returns four of its top scorers from last year in Katie Schneider, Aimee Plumb, Julie Kouijzer and Mattie Tabor. Schneider led the team with nine goals, followed by Plumb (seven), Tabor (six) and Kouijzer (five). The four of them combined for 27 of Louisville's 47 goals last season.
• The Cardinals finished the 2021 season with a 16-4 overall record, matching a school record for wins while making the program's 10th NCAA tournament appearance. Additionally, Louisville won the ACC regular season title for the second straight year after compiling a program-best 6-0 record in league play. The Cards spent the 2021 entire season ranked among the NFHCA top 10, reaching as high as No. 3 and finished the year at No. 6.
• Head coach Justine Sowry is entering her 12th season at the helm. The 2021 ACC Coach of the Year has guided the Cardinals to three conference titles, including the 2021 regular season championship and 2020 ACC fall regular season crown as well as a pair of runner-up finishes in the ACC tournament.
• In 2021, 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 the Hawkeyes.

HEAD COACH JUSTINE SOWRY
2021 ACC Coach of the Year Justine Sowry is in her 12th season at the helm. During her time at Louisville, she has guided the Cardinals to 153 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 three conference titles, including back-to-back ACC regular season crowns (2020, 2021) as well as a pair of runner-up finishes in the ACC Championships.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Bucknell
Series Record: Bucknell leads 1-0
Last Meeting: September 2, 1989- Bucknell won 4-1 in Kent, Ohio
Scouting the Bison: Friday will mark the season opener for Bucknell, becoming the Bison's first game since falling short in overtime at the Patriot League semifinal game against Lafayette on November 4, 2021. In 2021, they posted an 8-10 overall record and went 4-2 in conference play.
• The Bison's attack is led by sophomore Lily Neilson and senior Mackenzie Kile. Neilson led the Patriot League in goals scored (15) in 2021, she recently earned 2022 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Preseason All-League. Kile was tied for first in the Patriot League with 12 assists during her career in 2021 and has been named to the 2022 Preseason All-League team.
• The Bison were selected to finish third in the 2022 Patriot League Field Hockey Preseason Poll.

Penn State
Series Record: Louisville leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Oct. 6, 2019 - Louisville won 3-0 in Louisville, Ky.
Scouting the Nittany Lions: Penn State enters the 2022 campaign at No. 11 in the NFHCA preseason poll. The Nittany Lions are coming off a 14-6 overall record in the 2021 season while going 6-2 in Big Ten play, finishing third in the conference. Penn State was then knocked out in the first round of the NCAA tournament, falling to Syracuse 4-1
• The Nittany Lions return their top three scorers from last season; Sophia Gladieux, Anna Simon, and Mackenzie Allessie, who combined for 41 of the teams 50 goals.
• Gladieux and Allessie were both named NFHCA First Team All-Americans in the 2021 season
•Goalkeeper Brie Barraco started all 20 games in the 2021 season, rounding out the year with a 1.56 goals-against average and a .738 save percentage.

CARDS NINTH IN NFHCA COACHES POLL
UofL stands at No. 9 in the Preseason National Field Hockey Coaches Association Coaches poll released on Aug. 23.
• The Cards have been ranked among the top 10 for the last 31 weeks spanning back to the 2019 season when they appeared at No. 8 on Sept. 10.
• Louisville has now spent 96 consecutive weeks in the top 20 in the nation dating back to the 2013 season.
• 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.

UP NEXT
The season-opening roadstretch continues when Cards travel to Chapel Hill, N.C. next weekend to face Penn and Princeton as part of the ACC/Ivy League Conference Crossover.

UP LAST
In preseason action, the Cards defeated defending Mid-American Conference champion Miami (Ohio) 2-1 in a shootout on Friday and was leading Bellarmine 2-1 when Sunday's scrimmage was called due to inclement weather.

University of Louisville Athletics

Ninth-Ranked Louisville Set for Season-Opening Weekend

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Julie Kouijzer

Aimee Plumb

Katie Schneider

Mattie Tabor

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