No. 4 Louisville Falls Short at No. 2 North Carolina in ACC Opener

Friday, September 15

Chapel Hill, NC

3:00 PM

University of Louisville

(6-1 (0-1ACC))

North Carolina

(5-1 (1-0ACC))

Louisville

North Carolina

Photo by: North Carolina Athletic Communications

No. 4 Louisville Falls Short at No. 2 North Carolina in ACC Opener

September 15, 2023 | Field Hockey

Box Score

Cards fall 2-0 at No. 2 North Carolina

By: Lori Harmon

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The fourth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team fell short in a 2-0 loss at No. 2 North Carolina in its Atlantic Coast Conference opener Friday afternoon at Karen Shelton Stadium. The Cards drop to 6-1 (0-1 ACC), snapping their six-game win streak.

"Great game of hockey with two very good teams," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "I am proud of our team putting together a nice performance, improving on both sides of the ball and getting back to the way we want to play. In the end it was the small details and the final execution that was the difference between the two teams."

Louisville held possession through much of the game, but the Cardinals were unable to capitalize on their offensive opportunities. North Carolina outshot the Cards 9-6 while UofL held a 5-3 edge in penalty corners. Merlijn van der Vegt (6-1) collected three stops in the game as the Cards were held scoreless for the first time this season.

The defending national champion Tar Heels (5-1, 1-0 ACC) took an early lead in the eighth minute of the game with a goal by Kiersten Thomassey.

Louisville earned its first penalty corner of the contest in the second quarter, but Julie Kouijzer's initial shot was blocked. Four minutes later, UNC was able to fire off two more shots, but van der Vegt turned both of them back to keep the score at 1-0 entering halftime.

The third quarter was evenly-played with each team tallying three shots and a pair of corners. After staving off an early Tar Heel penalty corner, the Cardinals gained possession and built their attack, earning back-to-back corners of their own, however the North Carolina defense held strong with Maddie Kahn posting a save. In turn, van der Vegt added another stop minutes later on Tar Heel corner.

The Cards drew their fifth corner of the game halfway through the fourth quarter, but were unable to convert on the opportunity. The Tar Heels quickly responded with their own corner which resulted in a goal by Pleun Lammers to give UNC a 2-0 lead.

With just over a minute remaining in the game, the Cards appeared to have scored when a shot from Aimee Plumb found the back of the cage, but an official review overturned the call on the field due to an infraction on Louisville during the play.

The Cardinals will return to action next Friday when JMU visits Trager Stadium for a 5 p.m. matchup.