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Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Climbing the Rankings -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Climbing the Rankings

UofL Athletics feels like Oprah right now- You get a ranking, You get a ranking!  Name a fall sport
(besides football) and it's a safe bet that they're in the Top 25.

Yes, some tough tests are on tap over the next few days against ranked opponents but Louisvville women's athletics has shown this fall that they are more than equal to the task.  Here's how the Cardinal squads have fared with the most recent polls:


Field Hockey

Sitting at #5 in the country (NFHCA Coaches Poll), Field Hockey leads the charge for Louisville
Athletics.  Tied for best start in program history at 10-1, Coach Sowry has had plenty of reason to praise her team.

They're tied for 18th in the country at 2.67 goals per game.  At 7.33 penalty corners per game, Louisville ranked 12th and has seemed to break the curse of scoreless penalty corners as of recent.  The Cards are 14th in the country in scoring margin at 1.43 goal per game differential.

The ACC dominates field hockey with all seven teams in the Top  20: #1 North Carolina, #4 Duke, #5 Louisville, #9 Virginia, #14 Syracuse, #17 Boston College, and #20 Wake Forest.  Louisville fell to the Tar Heels but defeated the Eagles and Demon Deacons.

The Cards have outscored opponents 11-2 in their last four games.

Next up, Louisville hosts Virginia at Trager Stadium for a 6:00 Friday night game.

Soccer


A historic start for Soccer, they're now 10-1-0 on the year and just climbed to #10 in the Top Drawer rankings.  The Coaches Poll puts the Cards a little lower at #16.

Their 23 goals this year (stats only go through Oct. 1, voiding out the most recent match against Wake Forest) is tied for 38th in the country.  Prior to their most recent win their .900 win percentage was tied for 7th in the country.  Now at 10-1 (.909), they are tied for 2nd best win percentage in the country.  Their .600 shutout percentage is tied for 35th in the country.  With seven goals allowed on the year, Louisville is 41st in the country

The ACC currently has 14 women's soccer teams, seven are ranked in the Top Drawer Soccer poll: #1 Virginia, #2 North Carolina, #4 Florida State, #10 Louisville, #12 Duke, #17 Clemson, and #18 Virginia Tech.

Next up, Louisville hosts Clemson at 5:00 on Thursday.  The game will be featured on ACC Network.

Volleyball


Volleyball has been flirting with the rankings this year and have found themselves #25 in the country.

They were tied for 46th in the country in win percentage prior to this past weekend at .750.  Now at .786, they would now be in the high 30's.  Outside of that, the Cards can't be found in the Top 50 in most statistics, which is a bit shocking.  However, I can't complain too much about the stats if the Cards can continue success on the court.

The ACC hurts in volleyball with three teams in the Top 25: #3 Pittsburgh, #23 Florida State, and #25 Louisville.

Next up. the Cards travel to Duke on Friday at 6:30.

Ayars with ACC Honors


Carter Ayars was named ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Week.  As a defender, Ayars is the last line before opposing teams reach Hollyn Barr and Sam Minrath back in goal.  She often captains the Cards on the field from her position in the back.

Ayars helped lead the Cards to a pair of shutout wins at home this weekend.  Wake Forest and Penn State had a combined six shots on goal.  The senior defender also added an assist against Wake Forest.

The Wilmington, Delaware senior was selected for the 2018 Longstreth/NFHCA All-West region Second Team, is a member of the USA Field Hockey Under 21 team and a ACC All-Tournament team selection.



Women's Golf Finishes Illini Invitational in 4th place

The Louisville women's golf team couldn't quite sustain the lower scoring pace they set on Monday on their final day in the Illini Invitational, but finished tied for fourth place with a 292 final day and a 862 total.  For the 54 hole event, that 862 was -2-under-par.

Leading Louisville was Lauren Hartlage, who had a 1-under-71 on Tuesday and tied for third place overall at 210. Other Cardinal golfers final totals:

Mairead Martin -- 214
Hana Ryskova -- 219
Delaney Shah -- 220
Agustina Gomez Cisterna -- 223

The event was won by Kent State at 853. Ole Miss made a late charge and ended up in second by a stroke. The Cards ended up tied with Maryland just two strokes back of third place Illinois. UofL defeated five schools who had received votes in the latest poll. They also topped Notre Dame by 35 strokes.


Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

Jared

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