Thursday, October 29
LOUISVILLE, KY
8 p.m.
University of Louisville
vs
NORTH CAROLINA
Louisville Hosts No. 1 North Carolina on Thursday
October 28, 2020 | Women's Soccer
The Cardinals and the Tar Heels will begin play at 8 p.m. ET.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Louisville women's soccer wraps the fall portion of its schedule when it hosts No. 1 North Carolina on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. The match will broadcast live on the ACC Network.
The Cardinals are 4-3 on the season, while the Tar Heels are a perfect 7-0.
The last time Louisville played a No. 1 team was last year at Virginia on Oct. 24 when they fell 1-0. The last time they hosted the No. 1 team was a 3-1 loss to Florida State on Oct. 17, 2015.
Louisville hosted No. 1 North Carolina on Oct. 8, 2015, defeating the Tar Heels 2-1 in overtime. That win over North Carolina is the program's lone win over a No. 1 team. The Cardinals are 1-3 all-time against No. 1 teams.
Following a 1-0 loss to Notre Dame on Sunday, the Cardinals are looking to avoid two straight losses. They have not lost consecutive games this season and the last time they lost two in a row is the end of last season when they lost two straight to NC State.
All seven matches this season have been shutouts. The last time Louisville played in a match where both teams scored was the second of the two straight losses to NC State when they fell 2-1 to the Wolf Pack in the ACC Tournament on Nov. 3, 2019.
Despite not recording a point in the last three matches, senior Emina Ekic ranks second in the league and sixth in the NCAA with 1.86 points per game. She ranks third in the ACC and 10th in the country with 0.71 goals per game.
Her next assist will give her 20 for her career and will tie her with Monique Gjini (2004-07) for the program's all-time lead.
ABOUT THE TAR HEELS
North Carolina enters Thursday's matchup with a perfect 7-0 record and ranked No. 1 in the country by the United Soccer Coaches Poll. Five of their seven wins have been by at least a two-goal margin and they have allowed just two goals this season. Maycee Bell, Emily Fox and Brianna Pinto were all named to the Preseason All-ACC team. Pinto has three goals on the year, which is tied for the team-lead with Rachel Jones. Jones also leads the team with three assists and nine points. Claudia Dickey has started all seven games in goal and has 15 saves with a .882 save percentage.
Series History - Louisville is 1-2-1 all-time against the Tar Heels. They won the first ever matchup between the two teams in overtime at Lynn Stadium on Oct. 8, 2015 (W, 2-1-OT). North Carolina has won the last two meetings, including last year at Lynn Stadium (L, 3-0).
Last Meeting (September 21, 2019) - The 20th-ranked Cardinals could not overcome a three-goal deficit at Lynn Stadium, falling to No. 4 North Carolina 3-0 in the conference opener. Louisville was awarded a penalty kick in the 19th minute of play, but Emina Ekic's kick bounced off the cross bar down on the line and then bounced out. Seconds later Brooklynn Rivers collected the ball inside the box and her shot hit the cross bar. The lone goal of the first half was scored by Alessia Russo, giving the Tar Heels an early lead in the 21st minute. North Carolina doubled their advantage in the 66th minute after a goal from Alexis Strickland, and Russo scored her second of the night in the 80th minute to extend the Tar Heels' lead to 3-0.
GAME FACTS
Date: Thursday, Oct. 29
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky.
Video: ACC Network (Jonathan Yardley, play-by-play; Lori Lindsey, analyst)
Last Meeting: L, 3-0 (Sept. 21, 2019 at Lynn Stadium)
Series History: 1-2-1 (1-1 home, 0-1-1 away)
UofL National Ranking: NR
For the latest information on Louisville women's soccer, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Twitter account at @ULWomensSoccer or on Facebook at facebook.com/ulwomenssoccer.
The Cardinals are 4-3 on the season, while the Tar Heels are a perfect 7-0.
The last time Louisville played a No. 1 team was last year at Virginia on Oct. 24 when they fell 1-0. The last time they hosted the No. 1 team was a 3-1 loss to Florida State on Oct. 17, 2015.
Louisville hosted No. 1 North Carolina on Oct. 8, 2015, defeating the Tar Heels 2-1 in overtime. That win over North Carolina is the program's lone win over a No. 1 team. The Cardinals are 1-3 all-time against No. 1 teams.
Following a 1-0 loss to Notre Dame on Sunday, the Cardinals are looking to avoid two straight losses. They have not lost consecutive games this season and the last time they lost two in a row is the end of last season when they lost two straight to NC State.
All seven matches this season have been shutouts. The last time Louisville played in a match where both teams scored was the second of the two straight losses to NC State when they fell 2-1 to the Wolf Pack in the ACC Tournament on Nov. 3, 2019.
Despite not recording a point in the last three matches, senior Emina Ekic ranks second in the league and sixth in the NCAA with 1.86 points per game. She ranks third in the ACC and 10th in the country with 0.71 goals per game.
Her next assist will give her 20 for her career and will tie her with Monique Gjini (2004-07) for the program's all-time lead.
ABOUT THE TAR HEELS
North Carolina enters Thursday's matchup with a perfect 7-0 record and ranked No. 1 in the country by the United Soccer Coaches Poll. Five of their seven wins have been by at least a two-goal margin and they have allowed just two goals this season. Maycee Bell, Emily Fox and Brianna Pinto were all named to the Preseason All-ACC team. Pinto has three goals on the year, which is tied for the team-lead with Rachel Jones. Jones also leads the team with three assists and nine points. Claudia Dickey has started all seven games in goal and has 15 saves with a .882 save percentage.
Series History - Louisville is 1-2-1 all-time against the Tar Heels. They won the first ever matchup between the two teams in overtime at Lynn Stadium on Oct. 8, 2015 (W, 2-1-OT). North Carolina has won the last two meetings, including last year at Lynn Stadium (L, 3-0).
Last Meeting (September 21, 2019) - The 20th-ranked Cardinals could not overcome a three-goal deficit at Lynn Stadium, falling to No. 4 North Carolina 3-0 in the conference opener. Louisville was awarded a penalty kick in the 19th minute of play, but Emina Ekic's kick bounced off the cross bar down on the line and then bounced out. Seconds later Brooklynn Rivers collected the ball inside the box and her shot hit the cross bar. The lone goal of the first half was scored by Alessia Russo, giving the Tar Heels an early lead in the 21st minute. North Carolina doubled their advantage in the 66th minute after a goal from Alexis Strickland, and Russo scored her second of the night in the 80th minute to extend the Tar Heels' lead to 3-0.
GAME FACTS
Date: Thursday, Oct. 29
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky.
Video: ACC Network (Jonathan Yardley, play-by-play; Lori Lindsey, analyst)
Last Meeting: L, 3-0 (Sept. 21, 2019 at Lynn Stadium)
Series History: 1-2-1 (1-1 home, 0-1-1 away)
UofL National Ranking: NR
For the latest information on Louisville women's soccer, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Twitter account at @ULWomensSoccer or on Facebook at facebook.com/ulwomenssoccer.
