No. 1 North Carolina Edges Louisville 2-1

Friday, October 11

LOUISVILLE, KY

3:00 PM

University of Louisville

(5-8, 1-4ACC)

North Carolina

(9-0, 4-0ACC)

North Carolina

LOU

Photo by: Rachel Klotz | Louisville Athletics

October 11, 2024 | Field Hockey

Box Score

Cards erase 1-0 deficit, but a fourth quarter goal lifts top-ranked Tar Heels to a 2-1 win

By: Mila Raque

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The University of Louisville field hockey team fell in its Atlantic Coast Conference battle against the undefeated No. 1 North Carolina, with a final score of 2-1 on Friday afternoon at Trager Stadium.

Sophomore Chloe Plumb notched her fourth goal of the season to erase a 1-0 deficit in the second quarter, but the Tar Heels (9-0, 4-0) regained the lead in the fourth quarter to stay undefeated on the year. Redshirt freshman Emily Young posted eight saves in the game while North Carolina's Abigail Taylor collected two stops.

"Anytime we play against the No. 1 team in the country, I'm not concerned about being ready to play," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "We had great preparation, we wanted to walk off the field knowing that we had put everything out there, that we played with courage today and that our work rate was going to be at another level."

The Tar Heels claimed a 1-0 lead over the Cardinals (5-8, 3-2) with less than five minutes remaining in the first quarter thanks to a goal from Molly Catchpole, with the assist by Sietske Bruning.

Louisville came out strong in the second quarter, evening the score at 1-1 with a goal from Plumb whose shot from the middle of the circle marked the first goal allowed by the Tar Heels in the first half of any game played this season.

The teams battled through a scoreless second quarter and entered halftime tied at 1-1.

The Cardinals' defense stood strong through the third quarter with Young turning back three shots on goal to keep the score level. Louisville had a scoring opportunity after earning a corner in the fourth minute of the frame, but Chloe Cuzzupe's shot was stopped by Taylor

North Carolina retook the lead with a goal from Sanne Hak with just under seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. With 4:41 left to play, Young was lifted for an extra field player, but the Cardinals were unable to break through.

The Tar Heels maintained a 10-3 edge in shots on goal over the Cardinals with a 6-4 advantage in penalty corners in the game.

"We had a couple of lapses from a defensive point of view, we can't leave key players open and able to capitalize, but I can't question the effort that we played with today," said Sowry. "Sometimes it seems like we must be the unluckiest team this year, when we lose tight games, but we've got to pull together, prepare well for Wake Forest and be ready and willing to change our luck ourselves -we've got to make that happen. The result was disappointing, but I'm proud and we'll be ready to go on Sunday."

The Cardinals return to action on Sunday and continue their conference slate against Wake Forest at 1:00 p.m. at Ketner Stadium.