Fifth-Ranked Cards Gear Up for a Pair of Top-10 Opponents

The fifth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team is set to face a pair of top-10 opponents this weekend starting with an ACC road contest at No. 2 Duke on Friday. Louisville will then return to Trager Stadium to take on No. 6 Iowa on Sunday.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, 4:00 p.m. (ET)
No. 5 Louisville at No. 2 Duke
Location/Venue: Durham, N.C. / Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium
Television: ACCNX | Game Links: Live Scoring | ACCNX Watch

Date: Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, 12:00 p.m. (ET)
No. 5 Louisville vs. No. 6 Iowa
Location/Venue: Louisville, Ky. / Trager Stadium
Promotion: Pride Game – Pride towels given to first 250 fans
Television: ACCNX | Game Links: Live Scoring | ACCNX Watch

Home Game Information
Facility: Trager Stadium
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.
Admission: Free | UofL Clear Bag Policy

NOTE CARDS
• UofL stands at No. 5 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA coaches poll released on Oct. 10. This marks the third straight week at No. 5 and the sixth consecutive top-five ranking for the Cards who have stood in the top 10 throughout the season.
• Louisville enters Tuesday with a 11-1 record and on a five-game winning streak. Four of the last five wins have been shutouts.
• At 12-1 on the season, Louisville is off to its best start in program history.
• Mia Duchars is the reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row. The senior midfielder earned the honor after the Cardinals posted a pair of shutouts including a 1-0 ACC shootout victory over Wake Forest followed by a 3-0 win against Central Michigan. The St. Louis, Mo., native keyed a defensive effort that did not did not allow a single shot on goal or penalty corner.
• The Cards have scored 24 goals on the season with 11 different players contributing to the total. Aimee Plumb and Emilia Kaczmarczyk lead the way with five goals apiece.
• Merlijn van der Vegt carries a 0.60 goals against average which leads the ACC and stands fourth in the nation. Their 0.795 save percentage also leads the conference and stands eighth in the nation.
• Justine Sowry is in her 13th season at the helm. During her time at Louisville, she has guided the Cardinals to a 177-80 record, eight NCAA tournament appearances reaching the quarterfinals twice and advancing to the semifinals for the first time in program history in the 2020-21 season. She earned ACC Coach of the Year honors in 2021.
• 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.

CARDS AGAINST THE FIELD
Duke
Series Record: Duke leads 12-9 - The Cards have won the last two meetings.
Last Meeting: Oct. 14, 2022 - Louisville won 2-1 in a shootout at Trager Stadium.
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.
• Justine Sowry served as an assistant under Bustin at UofL from 1998-2002. She replaced Bustin after the 2010 season.
Scouting the Blue Devils: Second-ranked Duke enters Friday's matchup with a 12-1 overall record leads the ACC with a 4-0 conference record following a 2-1 overtime win against Virginia and a 4-2 win against James Madison last week.
• The Blue Devils are on a 10-game win streak, led by Alaina McVeigh who has scored twelve goals with two assists for 26 total points.
• Forward Hannah Miller was named the ACC Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Week with six goals and eight assists for 20 points.
• Piper Hampsch has a 0.97 goals against average in 13 games played this season.

Iowa
Series Record: Louisville leads 8-5
Last Meeting: Sept. 19, 2021 - Louisville lost 2-0 at Trager Stadium.
Scouting the Hawkeyes: Iowa enters Sunday's matchup with a 10-2 overall record and a 2-2 conference record following a 0-2 loss against Northwestern last Friday.
• The Hawkeyes are led by Dionne van Aalsum who has tallied 23 goals with four assists for 50 points.
• Mia Magnotta has a 0.67 goals against average in 12 games played this season with seven shutouts.

UP NEXT
The Cardinals will close out regular season play at home next weekend when No. 13 Syracuse visits Trager Stadium Friday and Louisville celebrates Senior Day Sunday against Appalachian State.

UP LAST
The Cards defeated Indiana 1-0 to earn its fifth straight shutout Tuesday afternoon at Indiana's Deborah Tobias Field.
• Julie Kouijzer's penalty corner goal with just over six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter stood as the game winner and Merlijn van der Vegt posted three of saves to help the Cardinals (12-1) extend their win streak to six games.

CARDS FIFTH IN NFHCA COACHES POLL
UofL stands at No. 5 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA poll released on Oct. 10, marking the third straight week at No. 5 and the sixth consecutive top-5 showing. The Cardinals have been ranked inside the top 10 throughout the entire season.
• The Cards had been ranked among the top 10 for 46 of the last 48 ranking periods spanning back to 2019 when they appeared at No. 8 on Sept. 10.
• Louisville has now spent 113 consecutive weeks in the top 20 in the nation dating back to the 2013 season.

Fifth-Ranked Cards Gear Up for a Pair of Top-10 Opponents

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Players Mentioned

Mia Duchars

Emilia Kaczmarczyk

Julie Kouijzer

Aimee Plumb

Merlijn van der Vegt

University of Louisville Athletics