18 Games...11 top 20 opponents
The Cards will also host the 2017 ACC Tournament plus the NCAA D1 Field Hockey Championships. They may have to do some serious sledding to reach the finals in Trager Stadium in each event. Louisville brings in National Champions Delaware for a match and will travel to runner up North Carolina for an ACC contest.
Sowry is optimistic:
"There's a lot to be excited about this season. We're coming off a great spring with a lot of development and maturity both on and off the field. We bring in a talented and versatile freshmen group who will add depth and dimension to the roster.
Late September features the Cards home for four contests...bringing in Wake Forest, James Madison, Syracuse and Central Michigan. They'll travel to Boston College, New Hampshire and North Carolina after that and end the regular season hosting Virginia, Michigan and Ohio.
The ACC Tournament begins Nov. 2nd and goes through Nov. 5th. Two weeks later, the NCAA Final Four takes place at Trager.
Springtime was successful for the Cards. With 14 returning players, Louisville went 6-0-2. It seemed like an audition for the Big 10 in some ways...the Cards defeating Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio St. and Iowa and tying Northwestern and Michigan. The Cards also beat Kent St. and Miami, OH.
Sowry was pleased with the overall effort in the spring:
"All of the players contributed and showed growth while gaining confidence," said Sowry. "All three seniors stepped their leadership to another level. I'm sure there is the extra motivation that we are hosting the ACC Championship and the NCAA Championship. Everyone truly believes that we have a team that can win a championship, but also understands that there is a long way to go between now and then, but everyone is on board to do something very special next season."
paulie
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What a great showcase for Louisville and Field Hockey with both events in the ACC and NCAA Championships on campus. Will Louisville have a team good enough to make the final four in Field Hockey Paulie?
ReplyDelete-- The Real Joe Hill --
They very possibly could be. They return maybe the best goalie in NCAA Field Hockey and a solid defense in front of her. Three proven scorers...including Mink, the leading scorer. Louisville did play the defending champs Delaware in the first round of the NCAA tournament and lost just 1-0. Look to that early game as an indicator of how good this team might be. Louisville was also 3-3 in the highly competitive ACC .
DeleteTime will tell, but if the Cards come out of some really tough early season's test against Delaware, Maryland, Duke and Northwestern in good shape and with a couple of wins...I'd say they'd be a contender.
Paulie
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