No. 10 Cards Prevail Over No. 8 Iowa in Double Overtime to Advance to NCAA Quarterfinals

Friday, November 10

Evanston, Ill.

3:30 PM

University of Louisville

(15-6)

Iowa

(13-6)

Louisville

Iowa

Photo by: Joe Johnson | University of Louisville

No. 10 Cards Prevail Over No. 8 Iowa in Double Overtime to Advance to NCAA Quarterfinals

November 10, 2023 | Field Hockey

Box Score Coach and Player Postgame Interviews

Minna Tremonti’s penalty corner goal in the second overtime period lifts Louisville to a 2-1 comeback win over Iowa

By: Lori Harmon

EVANSTON, Ill. – The 10^th-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team defeated No. 8 Iowa 2-1 behind Minna Tremonti's penalty corner goal in the third minute of double overtime Friday evening at Northwestern's Lakeside Field.

Tremonti's goal in the third minute of double OT completed the Cardinals comeback after they trailed 1-0 at halftime. With the win, Louisville improves to 15-6 and advances to a quarterfinal matchup with No. 2 Northwestern Sunday at 2 p.m. (ET).

"Obviously, we're very excited to be having another opportunity," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "It was an absolutely phenomenal contest against a really incredible side, I've always admired Iowa and their head coach [Lisa Cellucci]. They have a great team, a great culture and to be match up against them, I know it was going to be a tough contest. They certainly have an absolute lethal weapon [in Dionne van Aalsum]. I thought we took great care of her today, but I knew that it was going to take a monumental team effort and that's what we did today. I'm just really proud of the players and happy we have another opportunity on Sunday, so we're pretty excited about that."

In the game, Louisville outshot Iowa 10-7 with a 5-1 advantage in shots on goal and a 4-2 edge in penalty corners.

The Cardinals started their offensive attack early outshooting the Hawkeyes 4-1 in the first quarter with Iowa goalkeeper Mia Magnotta turning back three shots on goal to hold Louisville at bay.

Iowa (13-6) broke through in the second quarter after earning its first penalty corner of the contest and converting on the attempt with a goal from the nation's leading scorer, Dionne van Aalsum with six minutes remaining in the frame.

The Cards entered the break down 1-0 after the teams played evenly in the first half delivering five shots apiece with Louisville owning a 2-1 edge in corners.

Louisville got on the scoreboard midway through the third quarter when Aimee Plumb intercepted a pass, broke downfield and into the circle and proceeded to fire off a shot which was stopped by Magnotta, but Niamh Gowing was there for the rebound and directed the ball into the cage for her first goal of the season to even the score at 1-1.

The teams continued to battle with neither team able to manage a shot in the fourth quarter. With the score still knotted at 1-1 at the end of regulation, the game moved to a 10 minute 7v7 overtime period which saw Louisville earn penalty corner, but Iowa's defense stood strong, sending the contest into a second OT.

After an offensive push by Iowa in the opening minutes Louisville regained possession and earned a penalty corner in the seventh minute of the frame. Freshman Lara Niebler got the corner started and Emilia Kaczmarczyk settled the ball and slid a pass to Plumb who fired a shot to the right post. Tremonti was there to deflect the ball into the cage to seal the win for the Cardinals.

With the win, the Cardinals advance to the NCAA quarterfinals for the third time in the last five and the first since the 2020 season when they reached the semifinals. The will meet Northwestern (19-1) in a rematch of the Aug. 27 contest in which Louisville come away with a 1-0 win over the host Wildcats. At stake is a berth to the NCAA semifinals which will be held Nov. 17 in Chapel Hill, N.C. with the title game taking place Nov. 19 at North Carolina's Karen Shelton Stadium.

NOTES:

Louisville is now 4-1 in overtime games this season.
Friday's contest was a rematch of the Oct. 15 game which saw Iowa beat Louisville 2-1 at Trager Stadium.
With her assist in the game, Aimee Plumb now has a team-best seven assists on the season. The senior also has 73 points in her career, moving into a tie for eight with Pip Sanders (1999-2001) on Louisville's all-time list.
The Cardinals have scored 35 goals on the season with 13 different players contributing to the total.
The ACC went 5-0 on the opening day of the NCAA tournament with North Carolina, Duke, Virginia, Syracuse and Louisville advancing to the quarterfinals.