Sure the University of Louisville football team flogged Florida International on Saturday, however, that wasn’t the biggest news of the weekend in Cardinals’ sports. That distinction goes to the UofL field hockey team’s upset of No. 1 North Carolina.
Senior Becca Maddock’s goal with five minutes to play lifted 14th-ranked Louisville to a 3-2 triumph over the top-ranked Tar Heels on Saturday at Trager Stadium.
It was the Cards’ first-ever win over a No. 1 team, and it came in Louisville’s Atlantic Coast Conference home opener.
UofL built a 2-0 halftime lead, thanks to goals from seniors Mallory Mason and Alyssa Voelmle, before UNC rallied to tie it in the second half. Then, with 5:35 remaining in the match, the Cards drew a penalty corner. On that corner Mason sent the ball in, which led to a shot by Voelmle that Maddox deflected into the cage for the game-winner.
Louisville (6-1, 1-1) next hosts Ohio State at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Here’s a quick look at some of the other weekend highlights for UofL sports:
The football team’s 34-3 win at Florida International wasn’t a thing of beauty, but it was still a victory for the Cards, who were able to bounce back from that loss at Virginia. Quarterback Will Gardner threw two touchdown passes to James Quick, who had a career game (seven catches for 174 yards), and Gerod Holliman had interceptions on consecutive plays to lead UofL (3-1) to victory. The Cards next host Wake Forest at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
Erin Yenney’s first half goal, off a corner kick, lifted the women’s soccer team to a 1-0 win over visiting Syracuse in its ACC opener on Friday night at Lynn Stadium. UofL (4-4-0, 1-0-0) plays its first ACC road game at No. 7 Florida State at 7 p.m. Thursday night.
Senior Nolan Moore’s goal in the 98th minute gave the ninth-ranked men’s soccer team a 3-2 overtime victory at Boston College on Friday night. UofL’s first two goals came from Ricardo Velazco and Ben Strong. The Cards (3-1-1, 2-0-0) next play at archrival Kentucky at 7 p.m. Tuesday night in Lexington.
The volleyball team won the Rice Invitational this weekend in Dallas. Sophomore outside hitter Maya McClendon (a Manual High School graduate) earned MVP honors. McClendon tallied 13 kills in UofL’s 3-0 sweep of Stephen F. Austin in its first match Friday afternoon, then outside hitter Janelle Jenkins totaled 14 kills in the Cards’ 3-0 sweep of the host Owls on Friday night. McClendon had 11 more kills to lead Louisville in its 3-0 sweep of Texas Southern on Saturday. McClendon was joined on the all-tournament team by Jenkins and freshman middle blocker Tess Clark. UofL (8-4) is off until Friday night, when it hosts Boston College at 7 p.m. in its ACC opener at the KFC Yum! Center.
Junior Jeffrey Brown of the men’s tennis team won the Indiana University Hoosier Classic singles title Sunday afternoon in Bloomington, Ind. Brown defeated Dayton’s Carsten Fisher 6-3, 6-4 in the final. Meanwhile, seniors Sebastian Stiefelmeyer and Albert Wagner finished as runners-up in their respective singles divisions in the UVA Ranked+1 Invitational, which concluded Sunday in Charlottesville, Va.
Photo courtesy of Louisville Field Hockey Facebook Page
