No. 10 Cards Ready to Take on No. 8 Iowa in NCAA First Round

The No. 10-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team will open NCAA tournament play on Friday when the Cards take on No. 8 Iowa at 3:30 p.m. (ET) at Northwestern's Lakeside Field.

GAME INFORMATION
No. 10 Louisville vs. No. 8 Iowa
Date: Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, 3:30 p.m. (ET)
• The winner of Friday's game will advance to Sunday's quarterfinals to face the winner between Northwestern and Miami (Ohio).
Location/Venue: Evanston, Ill./Lakeside Field
Television: Big Ten Network Plus | Live Scoring

NOTE CARDS
• Louisville enters the tournament with a 14-6 overall record after falling 1-0 to third-ranked Duke in the semifinals of the ACC Championship. The Cards earned the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament with a 3-3 record against league opponents.
• UofL stands at No. 10 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA coaches poll released on Nov. 7.
• Mia Duchars was selected to the All-ACC first team while Emilia Kaczmarczyk and Julie Kouijzer were named to the second team.
• Rylie Wollerton and Merlijn van der Vegt were named to the ACC All-Tournament Team after helping lead the Cardinals to a semifinal appearance.
• The Cards have scored 33 goals on the season with 12 different players contributing to the total. Aimee Plumb, Emilia Kaczmarczyk and Rylie Wollerton lead the way with five goals apiece.
• Merlijn van der Vegt carries a 1.01 goals against average which stands second in the ACC and fifth 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 179-81 record, nine 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.

NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES
• Friday will mark the second meeting this season between the Cardinals and the seventh-ranked Hawkeyes. The teams previously met on Oct. 15 with Iowa prevailing 2-1 at Louisville's Trager Stadium.
• Louisville also returns to Northwestern's Lakeside Field where they picked up an early season win over the host Wildcats who have since put together an 18-game win streak, entering the tournament as the No. 2 overall seed with an 18-1 overall record, including the Big Ten title.
• Fifth-year seniors Julie Kouijzer, Emilia Kaczmarczyk and Minna Tremonti will be making their fifth straight appearance in the tournament - the trio also help Louisville reach the NCAA semifinals in 2020.
• This marks UofL's fifth straight and 12th overall NCAA tournament appearance. In 2020, the Cardinals advanced to the NCAA semifinals for the first time in program history.
• The ACC placed five teams in the NCAA tournament field - the most of any conference. North Carolina earned the overall top seed while Duke is the No. 2 seed. Virginia, Syracuse and Louisville round out the ACC teams earning at-large bids.

Louisville Against the Field
Iowa
Series Record: Louisville leads 8-6
Last Meeting: Oct. 15, 2023 – Iowa won 2-1 at Trager Stadium
Scouting the Hawkeyes: Iowa brings a 13-5 overall record into Friday's matchup coming off a Quarterfinal loss against Maryland in the Big Ten tournament.
• Friday will mark the second meeting this season between the Cardinals and the eighth-ranked Hawkeyes. The teams previously met on Oct. 15 with Iowa prevailing 2-1.
• Big Ten Freshman of the Year Dionne van Aalsum leads the nation with 27 goals, 60 points, 1.59 goals per game, and 3.33 points per game.
• Van Aalsum and fifth-year Esme Gibson received first-team All-Big Tean recognition this season.
• Mia Magnotta carries 1.06 goals against average and a .771 save percentage.

Miami (Ohio)
Series Record: Miami leads 23-20; the series
NOTE: The bulk of the series between the teams dates back to when they were both competing in the MAC (Louisville was an affiliate member in field hockey from 1994-2004)
Last Meeting: Sept. 26, 2023 - UL won 2-0 in Oxford, Ohio
Scouting the RedHawks: Miami entered the play-in game after winning their sixth straight Mid-American Conference title. The RedHawks bring a six-game winning streak into Tuesday's matchup with Cal.
• Miami placed seven on the All-MAC teams with Berta Mata, Claudia Negrete Garcia and Paula Peña Martinez earning first team honors and Carlie Servis, Jenna Kirby and Isabelle Perese named to the second team.
• Negrete-Garcia leads the team with 14 goals and dished out four assists for 32 points. Perese carries a 1.18 goals against average and a .755 save percentage.

Northwestern
Series Record: Louisville leads 9-3
Last Meeting: Aug. 27, 2023 - Louisville won 1-0 in Evanston
Scouting the Wildcats: Top-ranked Northwestern brings an 18-game win streak, into the tournament with an 18-1 overall record. The Wildcats earned the Big Ten's automatic bid after an overtime win against Maryland in the conference title game. Northwestern placed seven on the Big Ten All-Conference team highlighted by Annabel Skubisz's Goalkeeper of the Year honor. Lauren Wadas, Olivia Bent-Cole, Peyton Halsey and Alia Marshall join Skubisz on the first team while Greta Hinke and Ilse Tromp were named to the second team. Additionally, the NU coaching staff, led by head coach Tracy Fuchs, was named the Big Ten Coaching Staff of the Year.
• Halsey leads the team with 12 goals and has delivered nine assists for 33 points while Marshall has dished out a team-best 19 assists.
• Skubisz leads the nation with a 0.51 goals against average.

UP LAST
The third-seeded University of Louisville field hockey team fell 1-0 to second-seeded Duke in the semifinals of the ACC Championship Wednesday afternoon at Virginia's Turf Field.
• In the game, the Cardinals outshot the Blue Devils 10-6 and held a 7-3 edge in penalty corners, but were unable to capitalize on their opportunities with Duke goalkeeper Piper Hampsch collecting six saves to keep Louisville scoreless for only the second time this season.

No. 10 Cards Ready to Take on No. 8 Iowa in NCAA First Round

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Players Mentioned

Mia Duchars

Emilia Kaczmarczyk

Julie Kouijzer

Aimee Plumb

Minna Tremonti

Merlijn van der Vegt

Rylie Wollerton

University of Louisville Athletics