No. 7 Cards Fall 1-0 to No. 15 Princeton in Home Opener

Friday, September 6

LOUISVILLE, KY

4:00 PM

University of Louisville

(1-2)

Princeton

(1-0)

Princeton

LOU

No. 7 Cards Fall 1-0 to No. 15 Princeton in Home Opener

September 06, 2024 | Field Hockey

Box Score

Princeton's goal with less than a minute left in the third quarter stood as only goal of the game

By: Lori Harmon

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Aimee Jungfer's goal with less than a minute left in the third quarter stood as the only goal of the game to lift No. 15 Princeton to a 1-0 win over Louisville in the seventh-ranked Cardinals' home opener Friday afternoon at Trager Stadium.

In the game, Princeton outshot Louisville 11-8 with six of the Tigers' shots landing on goal. Brandelynn Heinbaugh posted one save and Emily Young (1-1) collected three stops in the game while splitting time in the cage for the Cardinals. Princeton's Robyn Thompson recorded one save en route to the win in the Tigers' season opener.

Louisville (1-2) will return to action on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. when they play host to Penn.

"Princeton is a quality team and we were pleased with how we followed the game plan," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "It's always a game of details or inches they were able to put a scrappy one on the board. We had plenty of opportunities. Overall I was very pleased with the effort, but you learn great lessons in games like this."

The teams were evenly matched through the first two quarters with the Cardinals holding a 5-4 edge in shots and each team awarded three corners as the game entered halftime in a 0-0 stalemate.

After the break, the teams continued to battle through the first 14 minutes of the third frame before the Tigers broke through when Lydia Bills deflected a clear from a Louisville defender and Jungfer collected the ball and fired a shot to the far post to give Princeton a 1-0 lead with 55 seconds on the clock.

Louisville increased its attack in the fourth quarter with an early shot by Tyler Everslage sailing wide. With 2:15 left in regulation, Young was lifted in favor of an extra field player, but the Cardinals were unable to capitalize. The Louisville defense held strong during that span, as Princeton was awarded a corner and Tatum Kroon deflected Beth Yeager's shot, sending the ball off the top of the post and keeping the score at 1-0.

"For a little bit in the fourth quarter, we didn't press together and we looked a little fatigued and we definitely had some opportunities to execute late in the game," said Sowry. "It just looked like we're a little bit frantic on the ball. So, it's back to the drawing board and just fine tune some things and come out strong on Sunday."