No. 12 Louisville Welcomes Stanford for ACC Opener Friday, Travels to Ball State Sunday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 12-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team will conclude its five-game home stand on Friday when Stanford visits Trager Stadium for both teams' Atlantic Coast Conference opener. The game is slated for a 4 p.m. start and will be televised on ACC Network Extra. On Sunday, the Cards will hit the road for a 12 p.m. non-conference matchup at Ball State.

WEEKEND INFORMATION
No. 12 Louisville vs. Stanford
Date: Sept. 20, 2024, 4 p.m.
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Trager Stadium
Promotions: Pride Game – Rally Towel giveaway
Television: ACC Network; Jody Demling (Play-by-play); India Reed (Analyst)
Live Scoring | ACCN Watch Link
TRAGER STADIUM 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 at Ball State
Date: Sept. 22, 2024, 12 p.m.
Location: Muncie, Ind.
Venue: Briner Sports Complex
Live Scoring | Television: TBA

LOUISVILLE FIELD HOCKEY QUICK HITS
• Louisville brings a 3-3 record into the fourth week of the season after falling 2-0 to top-ranked Northwestern last Friday and beating Cornell 4-3 on Sunday.
• Junior Rylie Wollerton leads the team with three goals and has added an assist for seven points. Redshirt sophomore Sophia Parker and junior Chloe Cuzzupe follow with two goals apiece. A total of seven players have accounted for at least one of the Cardinals' 11 goals on the season.
• Emily Young and Brandelynn Heinbaugh have split goalkeeper duties thus far. Heinbaugh, a grad transfer from JMU has a 1.23 goals against average with win against Penn while Young, a redshirt freshman, carries a 2.03 goals against average, earning the victory at American University, and against Cornell.
• 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' 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. Stanford
Series History: Louisville leads 5-2
Last Meeting: Oct. 15, 2019 - Louisville won 3-0 at Trager Stadium
Scouting the Cardinal: Stanford sits at 4-1 on the season following a 4-0 win over Bellarmine on Wednesday. The Cardinal carries a road record of 3-0 into the weekend.
• Louisville will be the Cardinal's first conference opponent as members of the ACC, with Stanford being one of three schools welcomed to the conference prior to the season.
• Cara Sambeth holds the early team lead with four.
• Goalkeeper Daisy Ford carries a 0.47 goals-against average into the week, starting all five games entering the midweek game at Bellarmine.
• The Cardinal has already matched its win total from the 2023 season, increasing their goals per game average from 1.47 last season to 2.60 to begin 2024.
• Roz Ellis is in her fourth season at the helm. During her tenure, the Cardinal has played to a 22-30 record with one winning season in 2022. That year, Stanford won 10 games, led the America East Conference in goals-against average, and reached the championship game of the America East Tournament.
• Ellis makes her return to Trager Stadium after spending one season (2014) at Louisville as an assistant coach under Justine Sowry. That year, the Cardinals posted a 15-6 record and made an NCAA appearance.

Louisville vs. Ball State
Series History: Ball State leads 15-14. Louisville has won the last eight meetings. The bulk of the series dates back to when Louisville was an affiliate member of the MAC (1994-2004)
Last Meeting: Oct. 16, 2022 - Louisville won 4-0 at Trager Stadium
Scouting the Cardinals: Ball State carries a 1-3 record into a Friday matchup with Kent State before hosting Louisville in Muncie on Sunday.
• The Cardinals have been shut out in two of their last three games, picking up their only win of the season last Wednesday with a 3-2 overtime victory at Saint Louis.
• Emma Van Hal leads Ball State in both goals (3) and points (7). She has also taken and scored the Cardinals' lone penalty shot of the season.
• Hannah Johnson has spent every minute in goal for Ball State this season, playing to a 2.71 goals-against average while accumulating 35 saves on the year.
• Caitlin Walsh is in her third season as head coach of the Cardinals. Under Walsh, Ball State has amassed a record of 15-26. In 2022, her first season at the helm, the Cardinals made their first Mid-American Conference Tournament appearance since 2019.

UP NEXT
• Following this weekend, the Cardinals will enter a tough stretch of five games against ranked opponents. Louisville will return home for more ACC action when No. 16 Boston College visits Trager Stadium Friday at 6 p.m. Louisville will then hit the road for non-conference tilt at No. 6 Ohio State.

No. 12 Louisville Welcomes Stanford for ACC Opener Friday, Travels to Ball State Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Izzy Bianco

Chloe Cuzzupe

Mia Duchars

Brandelynn Heinbaugh

Sophia Parker

Aimee Plumb

India Reed

Rylie Wollerton

Emily Young

University of Louisville Athletics