No. 4 Louisville Plays Host to No. 2 North Carolina in ACC Opener Friday and Fairfield Sunday

WEEKEND INFORMATION
No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 2 North Carolina
Date: Sept. 16, 3:00 PM
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Trager Stadium
Admission: Free
Television: ACC Network Extra
Game Links: Live Scoring | ACCNX Watch

No. 4 Louisville vs. Fairfield
Date: Sept. 18, 2:00 PM
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Trager Stadium
Television: ACC Network Extra
Game Links: Live Scoring | ACC Network Watch
Louisville Game Notes

Admission: Free | UofL Clear Bag Policy
Parking: Fans attending games held at the University of Louisville may utilize the Floyd Street Parking Garage located across from the Don Fightmaster Playground for a $5 fee.

The University of Louisville field hockey team will continue its five-game home stretch on Friday when the Cards open Atlantic Coast Conference play against No. 2 North Carolina at 3 p.m. Louisville will wrap up the weekend against Fairfield Sunday at 2 p.m.

Both games will air on ACC Network Extra. Admission is free to all home games.

NOTE CARDS
• Friday's ACC opener against UNC will mark the second straight top-five matchup at Trager Stadium for Louisville.
• The Cardinals bring a 6-0 record into the weekend after a pair of wins against James Madison and No. 4 Michigan last weekend at Trager Stadium.
• Goalkeeper Sasha Elliott was named ACC and NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week after keying the Cardinals to a pair of wins last weekend.
• With the victory over No. 4 Michigan, three of the Cardinals' wins have come against ranked opponents. Louisville also defeated then-No. 13 Princeton and No. 11 Penn State. The tough slate against ranked opponents will continue when No. 2 North Carolina pays a visit to Trager Stadium on Friday.
• Louisville has started the season with a 6- reord for the third straight year. In 2021, the Cardinals started the season with a 7-0 record matching a school record which was also attained in 2020.
• After leading the Cardinals with nine goals last season, Katie Schneider now paces the team with four goals in the early 2022 campaign. The fifth-year player has tallied 23 career goals.
• The Cardinals have registered 13 goals this season with seven different players contributing to the total.
• Graduate transfer Sasha Elliott (6-0) carries a 0.83 goals against average and an .868 save percentage.
• Junior Aimee Plumb was named to the 2022 Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey team in a vote by the league's seven head coaches. The Cardinals were picked to finish fifth in the regular season

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 159 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
North Carolina, Sept. 16 - 3 p.m. (ACCNX)
Series Record: North Carolina leads 10-6
Last Meeting: Oct. 22, 2021 - Aimee Plumb's goal with 10 seconds remaining in overtime lifted the fourth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team to a 3-2 win over No. 10 North Carolina at Karen Shelton Stadium.
Scouting the Tar Heels: North Carolina brings a perfect 6-0 record into Friday's top-five matchup. The Tar Heels were picked to win the ACC for the sixth time in the preseason league coaches' poll.
• The Tar Heels have posted three straight shutouts, outscoring opponents 17-0 in their last three outings.
• Erin Matson leads the way with seven goals and 16 points. Ashley Sessa and Ryleigh Heck follow with give goals apiece.
• Abigail Taylor (3-0) and Kylie Walbert (3-0) have split goalkeeping duties with Taylor carrying a 0.68 goals against average and Walbert following at 1.33.

Fairfield, Sept. 18 - 12 p.m. (ACCNX)
Series Record: First meeting
Scouting the Stags: Fairfield brings a 2-4 record into the week prior to a Saturday matchup at Miami (Ohio). The Stags are coming off of a 2-1 win over Lafayette on Sept. 11.
• Julianna Kratz and Nora Amme have each registered a pair of goals for Fairfield. Payton Rahn carries a 1.94 goals against average.

CARDS FOURTH IN NFHCA COACHES POLL
UofL stands at No. 4 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association rankings released on Sept. 13. Louisville moved up one spot after a pair of wins over James Madison and then-No. 4 Michigan last weekend. Louisville started the 2022 campaign at No. 9 in the preseason poll. The Cards have opened the season with straight wins - three coming against ranked opponents.
• This marks the second consecutive top-five ranking for the Cards who also spent nine weeks among the top five in 2021, including the final eight ranking periods of the regular season. They reached as high as No. 3 on Sept. 28 and Oct. 5.
• The Cards have been ranked among the top 10 for the last 33 ranking periods spanning back to the 2019 season when they appeared at No. 8 on Sept. 10.
• Louisville has now spent 98 consecutive weeks in the top 20 in the nation dating back to the 2013 season.
• In 2020-21 the Cardinals spent 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
Louisville will wrap up its five-game home stand next weekend when the Cardinals play host Indiana in the annual 'Battle of the Border' Friday at 6 p.m.

UP LAST
Louisville extended its season-opening win streak with a pair off victories against James Madison and No. 4 Michigan.
Louisville 1 - James Madison 0
•Junior Embry Jane Imorde's goal in the third quarter was all the scoring Louisville would need as graduate senior Sasha Elliott collected three saves and the Cardinals' defense helped record their first shutout of the season.
Louisville 2 - No. 4 Michigan 1
• – The fifth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team used goals from Mia Duchars and Julie Kouijzer and a fourth-quarter defensive stand to defeat No. 4 Michigan 2-1 Sunday at Trager Stadium.
• Louisville goalkeeper Sasha Elliott collected six saves in the game and came up with a stop on a penalty stroke attempt early in the third quarter to help key the Cardinals' defense in the win.

No. 4 Louisville Plays Host to No. 2 North Carolina in ACC Opener Friday and Fairfield Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Mia Duchars

Sasha Elliott

Embry Jane Imorde

Julie Kouijzer

Aimee Plumb

Katie Schneider

University of Louisville Athletics