No. 9 Louisville Comes Up Short Against No. 1 Northwestern

Friday, September 13

LOUISVILLE, KY

6:00 PM

University of Louisville

(2-3)

Northwestern

(5-0)

Northwestern

LOU

No. 9 Louisville Comes Up Short Against No. 1 Northwestern

September 13, 2024 | Field Hockey

Box Score

By: Lori Harmon

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The ninth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team battled with top-ranked Northwestern, but fell 2-0 in a top-10 matchup at Trager Stadium Friday evening.

"What a game! Obviously Northwestern is one of the best, if not the best team in the country and they're just laden with superstars and I'm just so proud of the way we played and the way we fought," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "We were in it in all the way, so that was pretty cool to see. Disappointing, yes, but to know that we can match up with one of the best, really will help us build on this performance moving into Sunday's game as we move forward to the ACC. A lot of lessons learned, but really proud of what we showed both with the ball and without the ball."

In the game, Northwestern outshot Louisville 10-6 with a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal while holding a 6-3 edge in penalty corners. Annabel Skubisz collected three saves to get the win for the Wildcats. Brandelynn Heinbaugh (2-2) posted three stops and Tatum Kroon registered a pair of defensive saves for the Cardinals (2-3).

The Wildcats (5-0) netted their first goal of the game with under four minutes left in the first quarter when Ashley Sessa connected on a feed from Elaine Velthuizen.

After being unable to get into an offensive rhythm in the first quarter, the Cardinals began to dial up their attack in the second frame, delivering four shots and earning a pair of corners, but the Northwestern defense stood strong with Annabel Skubisz picking up two saves to keep Louisville off of the scoreboard.

The Wildcats carried the 1-0 lead into halftime with Louisville owning a 4-3 edge in shots and a 2-0 advantage in corners in the first half.

The third quarter saw the teams continue to battle before Northwestern capitalized on its third corner of the game as Katie Jones deflected a shot from Ilse Tromp to secure an insurance goal for the Wildcats.

The Cardinals had a chance to score in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, but Rylie Wollerton's shot was turned back by Skubisz to keep Louisville off the scoreboard. With 3:28 left in the game, Heinbaugh was lifted in favor of an extra field player for the Cards.

Northwestern had a final scoring opportunity, drawing a penalty corner in the final minute of the game as the Cardinals were playing without a goalkeeper. Lauren Wadas sent a shot toward the cage, but Tatum Kroon was there to pick up her second defensive save of the game to hold the Wildcats at bay.

Louisville will return to action on Sunday when the Cards play host to Cornell at 4 p.m. The Wildcats will take on the Big Red (0-2) in a neutral site matchup Saturday at 5 p.m. at Trager Stadium.