Jared Looks at Field Hockey Schedule -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Jared Breaks Down the 2025 Field Hockey Schedule

Hey Cardinal Couple readers, Jared checking in today as Paulie is recovering from his vacation to Gatlinburg. He should be back on the site in a couple days.

Another fall sport that is rapidly approaching is Louisville field hockey. This squad had an uncharacteristic off year last year. A major part of that was the departure of nearly half of the starting 11 from the previous year due to graduation and the expiration of the COVID-19 eligibility. With the 2025 team having a little bit more experience, we certainly expect to see Justine Sowry's squad back to its traditional form.

Louisville has a couple scrimmages against Bellarmine and Miami (OH) with the former being at Trager and the latter on the road. The Knights shouldn't be much of a challenge but the Redhawks could give us a good glimpse of how the Cards match up against a quality opponent.

UofL opens the season with their first two regulation matches at home against Michigan State and Ohio. The Spartans play in the ever-dangerous Big Ten (B1G). However, they sit near the bottom of the conference ever year. The Bobcats have not been a strong team over the last several years and should hopefully be an easy early season game. I have Louisville winning both matches to start the year.

Louisville then makes a trip to Bloomington for a pair of matches against Drexel (neutral site) and host Indiana. Drexel has been a plus-.500 for quite a while and did get a top-20 win each of the last two seasons. I still think the Cards pull off the win. Indiana is another Big Ten team that sits near the bottom of their conference. Louisville has won the last 10 in the series, outscoring the Hoosiers 29-3. The Cards should walk away from the weekend with an improved record of 4-0.

A three-game homestand against Northwestern, Iowa, and Ohio State will be a demanding stretch for the Cards. Northwestern is the reigning national champions. They were the runner-up the previous two seasons and won it all in 2021. I think the Wildcats hand Louisville their first loss. Like Louisville, Iowa had a down year last year and plans to be on the rise again this season. The Buckeyes and Cards have split the last six meetings with Ohio State winning on golden goal last season. This stretch will be a bit bumpy that I think will be a 1-2 outing and Louisville's record will move to 5-2.

A road trip to Saint Joseph's (PA) and Stanford is next on the schedule, thankfully with many days in between. The Hawks are the national runner-up and will defend their home turf well. Of all the sports Stanford is excellent at, field hockey is not one of them. The Cards will go 1-1 on the road and their overall record will be 6-3.

The Cards get to come home and will welcome Wake Forest and Bellarmine, this time for a regulation match. The Demon Deacons have been back-and-forth in the ACC and and the Knights have struggled since making the switch to DI. This is a prime opportunity for Louisville to build some momentum with a pair of wins and improve to 8-3.

Louisville visits the state of North Carolina next, facing Duke and North Carolina. The Tar Heels are the best field hockey program of all time with 11 titles. They have missed the Final Four once over the last 15 years. Duke is another powerhouse field hockey program. Playing on the road for these two matches will be not fun and the Cards will drop a pair and fall to 8-5.

The final stretch of the season begins with California and Virginia visiting Trager Stadium. Cal has been average over the years and despite stealing one from the Cards last year, I think Louisville gets its revenge. Virginia has had Louisville's number recently, winning four of the last five. I give the Cavaliers a slight advantage, moving Louisville's record to 9-6.

The regular season concludes with a trip to Boston College and coming home to host Syracuse. Both teams made the NCAA Tournament last year but Louisville has historically done well on the road against the Eagles. I give Louisville the edge here. Syracuse has had the Cards' number the last three years, but I think Louisville grinds out a Senior Day win. Louisville wraps up the regular season 11-6.

NCAA Tournament chances will depend on how well the Cards do in the ACC Tournament. Their rpi won't be an issue, but less than 20 teams make the tournament so Louisville needs to find a way to stand out to the committee. An ACC Tournament run could be just that.

(All photos by Jared)

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

Jared