No. 9 Cardinals Set to Host No. 1 Northwestern and Cornell

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The ninth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team will continue its homestand this weekend when the Cardinals play host to top-ranked Northwestern in top-10 matchup televised on the ACC Network Friday at 6 p.m. On Sunday, Cornell will visit Trager Stadium for a 4 p.m. matchup.

WEEKEND INFORMATION
No. 9 Louisville vs. No. 1 Northwestern
Date: Sept. 13, 2024, 6 p.m.
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Trager Stadium
Promotions: Blackout Game- fans encouraged to wear black with T-shirt giveaway for first 75 fans. Discounted concessions.
Television: ACC Network; Leah Secondo (Play-by-play); Suzanne Bush (Analyst)
ACCN Watch Link | Live Scoring

Louisville vs. Cornell
Date: Sept. 15, 2024, 4 p.m.
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Trager Stadium
Television: ACC Network Extra; Jody Demling (Play-by-play); Suzanne Bush (Analyst)
ACCNX Watch Link | Live Scoring

GAME DAY INFORMATION
Admission: Free | UofL Clear Bag Policy
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

LOUISVILLE QUICK HITS
• Louisville brings a 2-2 record into the third week of the season after falling to No. 15 Princeton 1-0 in its home opener last Friday followed by a 3-1 win over Penn on Sunday in the ACC/Ivy League Crossover last weekend.
• Rylie Wollerton leads the team with three goals on the early season. Sophia Parker follows with two goals while Aimee Plumb and Chloe Cuzzupe have chipped in one apiece.
• Emily Young and Brandelynn Heinbaugh have split goalkeeper duties thus far. Heinbaugh carries a 0.87 goals against average with a win over Penn while Young has produced a 1.53 goals against average, earning the victory at American University.
• Izzy Bianco, Mia Duchars and Aimee Plumb were tabbed to the 2024 NFHCA Division I Watchlist.
• Aimee Plumb was named to the 2024 Preseason All-ACC team as voted on by the league's head coaches. The Cardinals were picked to finish in a tie for fourth in the preseason poll.
• The Cardinals return 16 letterwinners from last year's squad including Plumb and fellow fifth-year senior All-America selection Mia Duchars. Louisville also welcomes nine newcomers with eight freshmen and one transfer.
• The Cardinals' eight-game home slate features four ACC opponents including defending national champion North Carolina along with a non-conference showdown with NCAA runner-up Northwestern.

Scouting the Opponents
Louisville vs. Northwestern
Series History: Louisville leads 9-4
Last Meeting: Nov. 12, 2023 - Northwestern beat Louisville 3-2 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament in Evanston. Earlier in the season, the Cardinals picked up a 1-0 road win over the Wildcats in their first weekend of play.
Scouting the Wildcats: Northwestern brings a 4-0 record into Friday's matchup. The top-ranked Wildcats opened the season with wins over Maine (3-0) and UMass (6-1) and picked up a pair of victories over ranked ACC opponents last weekend, defeating No. 5 Duke 2-0 and No. 17 Boston College 1-0.
• Maddie Zimmer and Olivia Bent-Cole lead the Wildcats with three goals apiece, while Ashley Sessa has dished out a team-high four assists.
• Annabel Skubisz has surrendered only one goal in four games, carrying a 0.25 goals-against average while posting three shutouts.
• The Wildcats are coming off of a 2023 NCAA runner-up appearance.

Louisville vs. Cornell
Series History: Cornell leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Oct. 23, 2022 - Cornell won 2-0 in Ithaca, N.Y., in the teams' first-ever meeting.
Scouting the Big Red: Cornell brings an 0-2 overall record into the weekend prior to a Saturday matchup with Northwestern.
• Last weekend, the Big Red opened its 2024 campaign with a 6-1 loss at UConn on Friday and fell short 3-2 in a shootout at Albany on Sunday.
• Uma Kading, Ashley Plzak and Sarah Rogalski have each tallied a goal for Cornell in the early season. Martha Broderick has played every minute in goal and carries a 3.48 goals against average.
• In 2023, the Big Red set a school record for wins (12), reaching No. 17 in the NFHCA national poll, and earned the No. 2 seed in the inaugural Ivy League Tournament as the conference runner-up. The team led the nation in scoring average (3.21), assists per game (3.65), and points per game (10.47), all single-season school records.
• Andy Smith is in his sixth season at the helm. In 2023, he and his staff, were named the NFHCA Mideast Regional Coaching Staff of the Year in 2023.

UP NEXT
The Cardinals will conclude their five-game home stand on Sept. 20 when Stanford visits Trager Stadium for its Atlantic Coast Conference opener slated to start at 4 p.m. UofL will then hit the road for a Sunday matchup at Ball State.

RECAPPING LAST WEEKEND
Louisville opened play at Trager Stadium last weekend, splitting a pair of games against Ivy League opponents in the ACC/Ivy League Crossover.
• In Friday's home opener, the Cardinals fell short in a 1-0 loss to No. 15 Princeton.
• Louisville rebounded on Sunday, using three unanswered goals - including two in the fourth quarter - to beat Penn 3-1.
• Aimee Plumb, Chloe Cuzzupe and Rylie Wollerton scored for the Cardinals while Brandelynn Heinbaugh (1-1) and Emily Young split time at goalkeeper.

CARDS NINTH IN NFHCA COACHES POLL
UofL stands at No. 9 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches Poll released on Sept. 10, dropping two spots from its preseason ranking after a 1-1 performance last weekend, falling 1-0 to then-No. 15 Princeton and beating Penn 3-1.
• UofL finished the 2023 campaign at No. 10 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA poll released on Nov. 7, marking the second straight and 10th overall week in the top 10 last season.
• The Cards have been ranked among the top 10 for 51 of the last 54 ranking periods spanning back to 2019 when they appeared at No. 8 on Sept. 10.
• Louisville has now spent 119 consecutive weeks in the top 20 in the nation dating back to the 2013 season.

No. 9 Cardinals Set to Host No. 1 Northwestern and Cornell

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Izzy Bianco

Chloe Cuzzupe

Mia Duchars

Brandelynn Heinbaugh

Sophia Parker

Aimee Plumb

Rylie Wollerton

Emily Young

University of Louisville Athletics