Young Tabbed NFHCA Division I Defensive Player of the Week

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The University of Louisville's Emily Young was named the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I Defensive Player of the Week in the first weekly honor of the 2026 season the organization announced today.

She becomes the first Louisville player to earn the national defensive honor since 2022 when Sasha Elliott was recognized on Sept. 14 and Oct. 19.

Young played a crucial role in Louisville's 2-0 start to the 2026 campaign. The senior goalkeeper from Houston totaled 22 stops on the weekend in a pair of overtime games. She surrendered two goals in 147:45 minutes of play for a 0.81 goals against average and a .917 save percentage.

In the Cardinals' season opener, Young collected eight saves in the 2-1 shutout win over then-No. 10 Miami. Her first stop of the game marked Young's 100th career save. Young went on to hold the RedHawks to one goal through 60 minutes of regulation and added her final save of the contest in overtime to keep the score knotted at 1-1. The game was decided in shootout in which Young held the RedHawks' at bay on four of their five attempts to secure the 2-1 victory.

On Sunday, she registered a career-high 14 stops including two in overtime to hold off Indiana for a 2-1 win. The 14 saves were the most for a Louisville goalkeeper since Aug. 27, 2006 when Marie-Claire Heller collected 17.

The No. 15-ranked Cardinals will return to action this weekend when they hit the road to face Saint Louis on Friday and Michigan State on Sunday.

University of Louisville Athletics

Young Tabbed NFHCA Division I Defensive Player of the Week

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