By Dalton Ray–

After defeating No. 6 Northwestern last weekend, field hockey kept rolling with another big win against No. 3 North Carolina. Seventh-ranked U of L moves to 11-3 on the year and notches their second ACC win after the 1-0 victory.

Coach Justine Sowry was all smiles after the game.

“I am incredibly proud of our team. To play against this UNC team who is coached by a legendary coach in (Karen) Shelton, you know you’re going to get a good game. It was just a great game — free flowing and umpired well,” Sowry said. “If we play to our identity, we can play with anyone. We showed poise late and we’re learning lessons as we go.”

After a scoreless first half, the Cardinals got on the board 11 minutes into the second half. Senior Erin McCrudden riffled in a high shot from the left side of the circle. McCrudden, the nation’s leader is assists per game, credited her goal to the system and her teammates.

“We really stuck to our identity and that was our goal from the beginning of the game. We wanted to pass the ball,” McCrudden said. “Bethany Russ came up with the ball and I was just in the right place at the right time.”

Goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerron had the task of keeping North Carolina, No. 11 in goals per game, out of the net. Most of McFerron’s work came in the first half. Three of her four saves came in the first 35 minutes. UNC had 11 shots with four on goal. McFerron admits that after the goal, she started to feel a little pressure.

“I’m not going to lie, I got very anxious when we scored and now I’m just thinking, ‘Now we just have to keep it out,’ and luckily we did. It was such a good team goal, everyone had a part in it and that’s unbelievable ,” McFerron said. “We dug deep and the defense really stepped up. We were playing well all day and I felt confident we were going to keep them out of the net.”

The win marks a huge victory for the Cardinals this season. Not only is this their second straight win over a top-10 team, but a win this late in the season shows the NCAA committee this U of L team can hang with anyone. Sowry said the win is big, but it’s starting to become expected for the program.

“If this win came a couple years ago I’d say, ‘This win is amazing, this is where we want to be,’ but this is where we belong now. It’s a great win, don’t get me wrong, but this is where we are. Anytime you can get a win against a Carolina team like this, it is very good.”

U of L now sets their sights on Kent State for senior day tomorrow in the final regular season game in Trager this year.

Photo by Dalton Ray / The Louisville Cardinal