Louisville field hockey set for NCAA Championship

The eighth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team will open NCAA tournament play on Saturday when they face No. 10 Northwestern at Michigan’s Ocker Field. Louisville is making its fourth straight and seventh overall appearance in the tournament. Host, third-ranked Michigan and No. 14 Syracuse will meet in the other first round match.

NCAA First and Second Round Schedule | Ann Arbor, Mich. (Ocker Field)

Saturday, Nov. 11: No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 13 Syracuse, 11 a.m.

No. 8 Louisville vs. No. 10 Northwestern, 2p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 12: Quarterfinals, 2 p.m.*

*The winner of Sunday’s quarterfinal game will advance to the NCAA Semifinals which will take place Nov. 17 at Trager Stadium. Louisville’s home facility will also be the host site for the NCAA Divisions I, II and III Championship Games on Nov. 19.

The Weekend Ahead

Nov. 11: Louisville vs. Northwestern, 2pm

Nov. 12: Quarterfinals, 2 pm

Television: MGoBlue.com

Location: Ann Arbor, Mich.

Venue: Phyllis Ocker Field

Live Scoring: MGoBlue.com

Twitter Updates: ULFieldHockey

Ticket Information:

Single-day tickets for the first/second rounds are priced at $8 for adults, $5 for students 18 and under and $3 per ticket for groups of 10 or more. Fans can also purchase all-session passes at $16 for adults and $10 for students. All tickets will be general admission.

• Tickets  may be purchased online atMGoBlue.com/tickets, by phone (734-764-0247 or 1-866-296-6849) or in person at the U-M Ticket Office (1000 S. State St.).

Quick Hits

• UofL enters the weekend with a 14-7 overall record after defeating No. 11 Syracuse 3-2 in the program’s first ACC quarterfinal victory and following with a thrilling 3-2 shootout win over No. 2 Duke in the semifinals.
• Louisville finished tied for second in the ACC regular season standings with a 4-2 conference record and earned the No. 3 seed in the ACC Championship. The four ACC wins were the most for the Cards since joining the conference in 2014.
• The Cardinals are ranked No. 8 in the NFHCA Coaches’ Poll, marking UofL’s 53rd straight appearance in the top 20 dating back to the 2013 season.
• UofL placed four players on the All-ACC teams: Ayeisha McFerran earns her second All-ACC first team nod, while Nicole Woods garners her fourth. Minout Mink was named to the second team for the second straight year and Taylor Stone makes her All-ACC debut on the second team.
• Sophomore Minout Mink leads the team with 10 goals and 23 points. Senior Marigrace Ragsdale (7G, 8A) and freshman Marisa Martin Pelegrina (6G, 10A) stand tied for second with 22 points.
• Ayeisha McFerran (10-6) holds a 1.85 goals against average in 21 appearances after being sidelined due to injury for the first three games of the season.

Louisville NCAA Tournament History

2016 – First round (at Duke)

#8 Delaware 1 – #9 Louisville 0

2015 – First round (at Connecticut)

#3 UConn 3 -#9 Louisville 0

2014 – First round (at Connecticut)

#4 Stanford 2 – #10 Louisville 1/OT

2008 – First round (at Michigan State)

#6 Iowa 1 – #13 Louisville 0

2004 – Play-in game (at Pacific)

Pacific 1 – Louisville 0/OT

2003 – First round (at Michigan State)

Michigan State 2 – Louisville 0

Cards vs. the field

Northwestern

Series Record: UL leads 7-2

Last meeting: Sept. 19, 2017 – NU 2 – UL 0 in Evanston.

Shots: NU 18 – UL 11

Penalty Corners: NU 12 – UL 5

Saves: McFerran (UL) 6, Kalfas (NU) 4

Goals: Mansfield (NU) (2)

Scouting the Wildcats: Northwestern is making its 14th overall NCAA appearance and its first since 2004. The Wilcats earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament after falling to Michigan in the Big Ten semifinals on Nov. 2. The Wildcats carry a 14-6 overall record and went 6-2 in Big Ten play. to tied for second in the conference regular season.

Louisville vs. Syracuse

Series History: Syracuse leads 10-5

Last Meeting: Nov. 2, 2017 – ACC Quarterfinals

• Senior Marigrace Ragsdale’s goal with2:03remaining in the game broke a 2-2 tie and lifted the No. 10-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team to a 3-2 win over No. 11 Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. With the win, Louisville advanced to the semifinals for the first time since joining the conference in 2014.

Shots: UL 11 – SU 9

Corners: UL 4 – SU 4

Saves: McFerran (UL) 4; Bint (SU) van der Velde (4)

Goals: Hurff (SU), Pelegrina (UL), M. Walsh (UL), Hoffman (SU), Ragsdale (UL)

Regular season meeting, Sept. 29, 2017

• Taylor Stone’s penalty stroke in the fourth minute of double overtime lifted the Cardinals to a 2-1 win over No. 7 Syracuse. at Trager Stadium.
• Freshman Madison Walsh delivered her first career goal during a penalty corner with no time left on the clock at the end of regulation as the Cardinals erased a 1-0 deficit.

Shots: UL 14 – SU 10

Corners: SU 4 – UL 2

Saves: van der Velde (SU) 8; McFerran (UL) 5

Goals: Laura Hurff (SU), Madison Walsh (UL), Taylor Stone (UL)

Scouting the Orange: Syracuse earned an at-large bid to the tournament after posting a 12-6 record. The Orange are making their 10th straight and 13th overall appearance in the tournament.

Louisville vs. Michigan

Series History: Michigan leads 9-3-1

Last Meeting: Oct. 22, 2017: Michigan 6 – Louisville 2

• Abby Grimes scored a pair of goals, but it wasn’t enough as the seventh-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team fell 6-2 to No. 4 Michigan.
• In the game, Michigan outshot Louisville 14-10 while the Cardinals held a 7-5 edge in corners. Ayeisha McFerran collected five saves while Michigan’s Sam Swenson (15-2) had four stops in the game

Shots: UM 14 – UL 10

Corners: UL 7 – UM 5

Saves: McFerran (UL) 5; Swenson (UM) 4

Goals: O’Neill (UM), Way (UM), Grimes-2 (UL), Reed (UM), Bennett-2 (UM), Dowthwaite (UM)

Scouting the Wolverines: No. 3 Michigan (19-2) enters the tournament as the overall No. 3 seed while making its third straight and 14th overall NCAA appearance. The Wolverines earned the Big Ten Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after sweeping the league’s regular-season and tournament titles. Michigan carries a 16-game winning streak and has earned 13 shutout wins over the stretch.

Louisville NCAA Tournament History

2016 – First round (at Duke)

#8 Delaware 1 – #9 Louisville 0

2015 – First round (at Connecticut)

#3 UConn 3 -#9 Louisville 0

2014 – First round (at Connecticut)

#4 Stanford 2 – #10 Louisville 1/OT

2008 – First round (at Michigan State)

#6 Iowa 1 – #13 Louisville 0

2004 – Play-in game (at Pacific)

Pacific 1 – Louisville 0/OT

2003 – First round (at Michigan State)

Michigan State 2 – Louisville 0

ACC in the NCAA

Six ACC field hockey teams earned bids to the 2017 NCAA Field Hockey Championship, announced Sunday night by the NCAA Field Hockey Committee. The league claimed five of the eight at-large spots in the tournament and two of the four host sites were awarded to ACC programs.

• Duke earned the No. 2 overall seed and will host first and second round games. Virginia was also selected as host site, and ACC Champion North Carolina enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed. Louisville, Syracuse, and Wake Forest claimed at-large bids and will begin tournament play on the road.
• The announcement marks the fifth straight year that at least six ACC teams have earned a postseason bid.
• The six ACC teams in the NCAA Championship are ranked in the top 13 spots in the NFHCA Poll, and all have been ranked during the entire season.
• The ACC currently has streaks of 28 straight years with at least one team in the NCAA semifinals and 18 straight with at least one team in the national championship game. Thirty-five of the last 56 teams to reach the national semifinals have come from the ACC.

Cards Post Runner-Up Finish in 2017 ACC Championship

The Cardinals are coming off of a historic run to the finals of the ACC Championship which they hosted for the first time since joining the league in 2014. The third-seeded Cardinals fell 1-0 to fifth-seeded North Carolina in the title match.

• Louisville opened the tournament with a 3-2 win against No. 11 (sixth-seeded) Syracuse 3-2 in the program’s first quarterfinal victory. The Cards followed with a thrilling 3-2 shootout victory  over (second-seeded) Duke in the semifinals.

North Carolina 1 – Louisville 0

Malin Evert’s penalty corner goal in the 18th minute stood as the game-winner as the Tar Heels claimed the 2017 ACC title.

• In the game, the Tar Heels led the Cardinals 13-4 in shots and 4-1 in penalty corners. McFerran recorded five saves, while North Carolina’s Hendry had four stops.

Louisville 3 – Duke 2 (Shootout) 

Behind a career high 18 saves from Ayeisha McFerran, the No. 10-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team earned a thrilling 3-2 shootout victory over the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament semifinals at Trager Stadium. With the win, the third-seeded Cardinals earned their first trip to the ACC championship game in program history.

• Marisa Martin Pelegrina gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead in the first half. After a second half Duke goal evened the score, Minout Mink pushed the Cardinals ahead again, but the Blue Devils answered with with 25 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into OT.
• Nicole Woods, Katie Walsh, Martin Pelegrina and Mink converted their attempts in the shootout and Ayeisha McFerran twarted two Duke attempts to seal the victory.
• In the game, Louisville withstood Duke’s 31-8 advantage in shots and 11-2 lead in corners as the Cardinals avenged a regular season 5-0 loss to the Blue Devils when the teams met in Durham onSept. 15.

Louisville 3 – Syracuse 2

• Senior Marigrace Ragsdale’s goal with2:03remaining in the game broke a 2-2 tie and lifted the No. 10 Cardinals to a 3-2 win over No. 11 Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. With the win, Louisville advanced to the semifinals for the first time since joining the conference in 2014.
• The victory also marked the first time that the Cardinals won a first round game in the conference tournament since 2004 when they defeated Ohio in the first round of the Mid-American Conference (which they ultimately won).

McFerran, Ayars and Bitting Earn All-Tournamen Honors

Junior Ayeisha McFerran, sophomore Carter Ayars and freshman Alli Bitting were selected to the 2017 ACC Championship All-Tournament team, becoming the first players in program history to earn the honor.

McFerran Posts Career-High 18 Saves

Junior Ayeisha McFerran turned in an impressive performance in Louisville’s 3-2 ACC semifinal win against No. 2 Duke. The goalkeeper from Larne, Northern Ireland, also thwarted two Blue Devil shootout attempts to send the Cardinals to the title game for the first time in program history.

Championship City

Louisville’s Trager Stadium will serve as the host site for two major field hockey championships in November 2017. UofL will kick off the postseason by hosting the ACC Championship Nov. 2-5 and two weeks later will welcome the NCAA DI final four teams. Additionally, Trager Stadium is proud to stage the DI, DII and DIII title games on Nov. 19.

• While this will be the first time the Cardinals have hosted the ACC Championship, it will be the sixth time that Trager Stadium will serve as the host site for the NCAA Division I Field Hockey National Championship. The event was also staged on the Cardinals’ home field in 2002, 2005, 2008 and 2011. Trager Stadium has also been selected as the host site for the 2018 NCAA Field Hockey Championship.
• In addition, the NCAA Division II Championship was played at the facility in 2010.  Located in Cardinal Park on the UofL campus, Trager Stadium opened in 2000 and was expanded in 2008 with a seating capacity of 2,500.

Cards Place Four on All-ACC Teams

UofL placed four players on the 2017 Field Hockey All-Atlantic Coast Conference Teams. Senior Nicole Woods and junior Ayeisha McFerran were selected to the first team while junior Taylor Stone and sophomore Minout Mink earned second team honors.

• Woods earns her third straight all-conference nod after being named to the second team in 2015 and 2016. The midfielder/forward from Beverly, Mass., is tied for third on the team with six goals and 18 points. The 2017 team co-captain and four-year starter has earned NFHCA All-West Region honors the past two seasons and was recently named to the NFHCA Senior Game roster. She is also a member of USA Field Hockey’s women’s national team.
• McFerran, a junior goalkeeper from Larne, Northern Ireland, is making her second straight All-ACC team appearance after earning preseason all-conference honors. The two-time NFHCA All-America selection missed the first three games of the season, but went on to post a 10-5 record and a 1.90 goals against average. She earned ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 26.
• Stone, a junior from Herndon, Va., earns her first All-ACC appearance while in the midst of a career-best season. The defender has scored seven goals and dished out an assist for 15 points. She has converted four of five penalty stroke attempts and scored the game-winning goal against Syracuse and North Carolina. She garnered ACC Defensive Player of the Week, Longstreth NFHCA National Defensive Player of the Week and Synapse National Defensive Player of the Week earlier this season. Stone was also named to USA Field Hockey’s Under 21 team in 2017.
• Mink, a sophomore forward from Haaksbergen, The Netherlands, is making her second consecutive showing on the All-ACC second team. The all-ACC preseason selection leads the Cardinals with 10 goals and 23 points and has collected four game-winning goals, two against ranked opponents Boston College and Delaware.

Sowry Earns 150th Career Victory

On Oct. 29, the Cardinals defeated Ohio 6-0 to mark head coach Justine Sowry’s 150th career win. The 2016 NFHCA West Region Coach of the Year is in her 11th season as a head coach  and in her ninth year at Louisville where she has compiled a 94-47 record.

Young and talented

The Cardinals’ 2017 roster features nine freshmen and six sophomores. Louisville’s starting lineup has featured as many as four freshmen and three sophomores with all active underclassmen seeing playing time.

• Sophomore Minout Mink has scored a team-high 10 goals and leads the Cardinals with 21 points. Freshman Marisa Martin Pelegrina leads the team with 10 assists and has tallied six goals to stand tied for second on the team with 22 points.  Fellow sophomore goalkeeper Hollyn Barr carries a 4-1 record and 0.92 goals against average.

Balanced offense

Louisville has scored 51 goals through 21 games this season with 11 different players accounting for the offensive output. Sophomore Minout Mink leads the team with 10 goals while junior Taylor Stone and senior Marigrace Ragsdale follow with seven goals apiece Seniors Nicole Woods and Abby Grimes and sophomore Marisa Martin Pelegrina have six goals each.

Woods Enters UofL’s Top 10 Career Assists

Senior Nicole Woods dished out an assist in Louisville’s 6-2 loss to Michigan on Oct. 22 to improve her career tally to 24 and move into 10th place on Louisville’s all-time list. She needs four more to tie with Lisa Wasser for 7th.

Mink Moves into UofL Top 10 List for Career Goals with 25

With a team-best 10 goals on the season, sophomore Minout Mink picked up where she left off after last year’s impressive rookie campaign. She garnered 2016 NFHCA All-West Region first team and All-ACC second team honors after leading the team with 15 goals, setting a school record for goals scored by a freshman.

• She now stands tied for 10th on the school’s list for career goals with 25. She needs one more to move into a three-way tie for eighth.

Senior Salute

On Oct. 29, the Cardinals honored seniors Abby Grimes, Marigrace Ragsdale and Nicole Woods in their final regular season home game. Collectively as a class, they have won 58 games while compiling an impressive 33-9 record at Trager Stadium in their four years.

• They has helped the program reach several milestones including their program’s first ACC Championship game appearance this season while leading the transition into the ACC including a school-record four straight NCAA appearances. Their teams have been a mainstay in the national top 20 rankings, while spending 27 weeks among the top 10, reaching as high as No. 5 in 2014.
• As freshmen, they played a part in Louisville’s victory over top-ranked North Carolina, notching the program’s first ACC win and first victory over a No. 1 team. This season they helped the Cardinals to a program-best 4-2 record in ACC play and finished tied for second in the conference.
• The class of 2017 has also excelled academically, earning the National Field Hockey Coaches’ Association Academic team award in each of their seasons here.

Louisville stands at No. 11 in the RPI

The NCAA has released its seventh RPI report of the season on Oct. 29 and the Cardinals stand at No. 11 for the second week in a row.

You’ve got to play the best

UofL is no stranger to facing quality competition and this season is no different with 11 of its 18 opponents appearing among the top 15. Below is a list of Louisville’s 2017 opponents who are included in the NCAA’s top 15 RPI.

1. Duke (L, 0-5)
2. Virginia (L, 1-2)
3. North Carolina (W, 3-2)
4. Michigan (L, 0-6)
5. Boston College (W, 4-1)
6. Northwestern (L, 0-2)
7. Delaware (W, 3-1)
8. Maryland (L, 0-1)
9. Wake Forest (W, 3-2 – shootout)
10. Syracuse (W, 2-1/2OT; W, 3-2)
11. James Madison (W, 4-1)

Cards No. 8 NFHCA Rankings

UofL is No. 8 in the 2017 Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I Poll released on Nov. 7, moving up two spots after reaching the finals of the ACC Championship.

• The Cards have spent six weeks in the top 10 this season after debuting at No. 9 – their highest preseason ranking in program history.
• OnSept. 12, the Cardinals snapped a streak of 12 straight weeks in the top 10 for Cardinals have appeared in the NFHCA top 10 in 12 straight ranking periods dating back to Sept. 8, 2016. UofL finished last season at No. 9 after posting a 15-6 overall record and earning its third-straight NCAA tournament bid.
• This marks the 53rd straight week the Cardinals have appeared in the top 20 rankings dating back to the 2013 season.
• On Oct. 7, 2014, Louisville appeared at No. 5 in the coaches’ poll marking the second top-five appearance in program history with Louisville achieving a program-best No. 4 ranking in the 2002 season.

ACC strong

All seven ACC field hockey programs are ranked among the top 20 in the nation. The league boasts four teams in the top 10: Duke (No. 2), Virginia (No. 4), North Carolina (No. 6) and Louisville (No. 10) while Syracuse (No. 11, Boston College (No. 12) and Wake Forest (No. 13) round out the top 13 teams.

• Every ACC field hockey team has been ranked for the entirety of the last four seasons, a streak that dates to October of 2012 and includes 56 consecutive NFHCA Polls.

Tough slate

Twelve of Louisville’s 18 opponents appear in the NFHCA top 25. In addition to their ACC opponents, the Cardinals’ non-conference slate features matchups against No. 3 Michigan, No. 7 Maryland, No. 8 Delaware, No. 9 Northwestern and No. 15 James Madison.

Home Sweet Home

Louisville has compiled a 8-2 record at Trager Stadium, bringing its home tally to 39-8 since the 2013 season. In 2016, the Cards also posted a 7-2 record at Trager Stadium.

• The Cards were 8-1 at Trager in 2014. On Oct. 17, 2014  Louisville fell 2-1 in overtime to No. 17 Boston College, snapping a 16 -game home victory streak dating back to the 2012 season.
• Prior to the Boston College loss in 2014, the Cards’ last home loss came on Nov. 2, 2012 when they fell 2-1 in overtime to then-No. 5 Connecticut in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship.
• In 2013, UofL posted a perfect 10-0 record at Trager Stadium, going undefeated at home for the first time in school history.
• The 6-2 loss to No. 4 Michigan snapped a 28-game win streak against non-conference opponents at Trager Stadium dating back to 2012. Prior to the Oct. 22 setback, the Cardinals had not lost to a non-conference opponent at home since Aug. 24, 2012 when they fell to Northeastern in their season opener. – Louisville also lost a 2-1 decision to UConn on Oct. 6, 2012 when both teams were members of the BIG EAST Conference.

International experience

The Cardinals’ roster is bolstered by several players who have gained valuable experience within their countries’ national programs. The following is a list of players and their national squads.

Marisa Martin Pelegrina – German U18 Team

Ayeisha McFerran – Irish National Team (2015-present)

• World League 2 Champions (Goalkeeper of the Tournament)
• Seventh place finish in World League Semifinals

Meghan Schneider – U.S. U19 Team

Taylor Stone – U.S. U21 Team (USA/England Tour Roster); Also played in 2017 Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem

Nicole Woods – U.S. National Team (Summer 2017)

• 2017 World League Champions (Johannesburg, S.A.)
• Bronze Medal 2017 Pan American Cups (Lancaster, Pa.)

Cards picked to finish fourth in ACC

The University of Louisville field hockey team was picked to finish fourth in the ACC according to a vote of the league’s seven head coaches. The Cardinals led the conference with three players selected to the Preseason All-ACC team with senior Nicole Woods, junior Ayeisha McFerran and sophomore Minout Mink earning the honor.

• Woods (Beverly, Mass.) picks up her second straight ACC preseason accolade. The three-year starter is a two-time All-ACC and NFHCA All-Region pick and is a member of USA Field Hockey’s National Team.
• McFerran (Larne, Northern Ireland) is also making her second appearance on the ACC Preseason Team. The two-time All-America selection and member of the Irish National Team led the league with six shutouts and stood second with a 1.27 goals-against average last season.
• Mink (Haaksbergen, Netherlands) earned NFHCA All-West region honors after leading the Cards with 15 goals and 33 points in 2016.

2017 ACC Field Hockey Preseason Poll

1. North Carolina (1) – 31
2. Duke (2) – 27
3. Syracuse (2) – 27
4. Louisville (1) – 22
5. Virginia (1) – 21
6. Wake Forest – 12
7. Boston College – 7