Wollerton's Hat Trick Leads Cards Past Michigan State

Friday, August 29

LOUISVILLE, KY

12:00 PM

University of Louisville

(1-0)

Michigan State

(0-1)

Michigan St.

Louisville

Photo by: Nicole Finch | Louisville Athletics

August 29, 2025 | Field Hockey

Box Score Justine Sowry Postgame Interview Rylie Wollerton Postgame Interview Photo Gallery

Louisville defeats Michigan State 6-1 in season opener

By: Lori Harmon

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Senior Rylie Wollerton registered her first collegiate hat trick to help lead the University of Louisville field hockey team to a 6-1 win over Michigan State in both teams' season opener Friday afternoon at Trager Stadium.

"First of all, it's great to get a win in the first game of the year and at home, so we feel good about that," said head coach Justine Sowry. "One thing that we've been trying to work on since we lost the last game, last year, is just to play a little quicker. And I really feel like that was a win for us."

Wollerton picked up where she left off, after leading the team in scoring last season, scoring all three of her goals in the third quarter. Senior Chloe Cuzzupe, junior Lauren Masters and junior Annabel Sep also scored for the Cardinals. Sophomore goalkeeper Emily Young collected three saves to earn her first win of the season.

Neither team was able to generate much offense through the first five minutes of the game with the lone shot on goal in that span from Louisville's Tyler Everslage resulting in a defensive save by Alexa Shaffer. The Cards finally broke through with 5:54 left in the first quarter when sophomore Gigi Edwards sent a pass to Cuzzupe whose shot found the back of the cage. Two minutes later, Masters intercepted a defensive pass inside the circle and pursued the ball, sending it past MSU goalkeeper Lyra Gavino.

Louisville's offense continued in the second quarter with Sep firing a direct penalty corner shot into the cage for her first goal in a Cardinal uniform. Freshman Gracie Potter got the play started with her first collegiate assist.

The Cards took the 3-0 lead into halftime after outshooting Michigan State 8-1 and holding a 3-1 advantage in corners through the first two quarters.

After the break, the Spartans (0-1) earned an early penalty corner in the first two minutes of the quarter, but were unable to convert. Wollerton opened the second half scoring in the fourth minute of the frame when she connected on a feed from junior Luciana Carpenter.

Michigan State answered with a penalty corner goal by Caro Shafer with an assist from Serena Maline to make the score 4-1.

Louisville went on to tack on two more goals in a two-minute span in the third quarter.
The Cards capitalized on another penalty corner opportunity when Wollerton connected on a shot by senior Izzy Bianco. UofL capped the scoring when sophomore Emily Eaton combined with Wollerton for her third goal of the game.

In the game, Louisville outshot the Spartans 13-6 and held a 9-4 advantage in shots on goal. The teams were even with five penalty corners apiece.

"When we came up with a goal, we attacked with some speed and threaded some really nice passes," said Sowry. "We had some great field goals from our counter attacking plays and we're super pleased with that. We are still trying to find different combinations, we've got a few new people on the pitch, so it might take a few weeks to get rolling. Overall, our attacking side of the ball was pretty good. We have to tidy up from a defensive point of view particularly in the back field."

Louisville (1-0) will return to action on Sunday when the Cards play host to Ohio University for a 1 p.m. matchup.