By Marian Hambrick
Coming off its best season ever, the Cardinal field hockey team knew last year was a tough act to follow. Yet seven games into the season, the women have an encore presentation in the making. Last week, the Cardinals beat Ball State and No. 15 Ohio State. U of L’s record is now 6-1 overall, 1-0 in the Mid-American Conference. The team is also ranked #10 in the STX/NFCHA Division I Coaches Poll.
Friday, Louisville met MAC opponent Ball State in Muncie, IN. The Cardinals won 3-0, and goalkeeper Christy Hershey earned her third shutout of the season. Elisa Eshelman scored two goals in the first half, and Olivia Netzler recorded one in the second half. Netzler and Susan Sattazahn were each credited with an assist.
Monday, the Cardinals survived two overtime periods and five penalty strokes for the OSU win. Assisted by Danielle Barr, Netzler scored the first goal of the game. OSU followed with three more goals, and the first half ended 3-1.
Early in the second half, Joanie Frame scored on an assist from Netzler. Netzler later scored another goal, and regulation play ended with the score tied 3-3.
Following two overtimes, the teams went to a set of five penalty strokes. Casey Lehman, Frame, Barr, and Sarah Baum converted four strokes versus OSU’s three, and Louisville won 4-3. Hershey collected 11 saves on the day, including 2 key saves in overtime.
Louisville met their second MAC opponent Central Michigan on Sunday in Mt. Pleasant, MI. On September 28-29, the Cardinals face MAC teams Kent State and Ohio University at Trager Stadium.
