Cards Fall Short to Syracuse 4-3 in ACC Quarterfinals - University of Louisville Athletic

Tuesday, November 3

Chapel Hill, NC

12:30 PM

University of Louisville

(10-9, 4-4)

Syracuse

(10-6, 4-4)

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Louisville	1	1	1	0	3
Syracuse	1	1	1	1	4

ACC Championship Central

ACC Quarterfinal
Louisville Field Hockey v Syracuse Field Hockey
Karen Shelton Stadium
Chapel Hill, NC
Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Photo by: Ainsley E. Fauth

November 03, 2026 | Field Hockey

Box Score Justine Sowry Postgame Interview

Mary Wordelmann scores a pair of goals, Emily Young posts five saves as the fifth-seeded Cardinals fall 4-3 to fourth-seeded Syracuse in an ACC Quarterfinal battle

By: Lori Harmon

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –The University of Louisville field hockey team battled until the final whistle, but came up short in a 4-3 loss to fourth-seeded Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Tuesday at Karen Shelton Stadium.

The back-and-forth game saw three ties and two lead changes. Louisville junior Mary Wordelmann scored two goals, senior Chloe Plumb registered a goal and senior Emily Young posted five saves to lead the way for the Cardinals. Overall, UofL held a 21-15 lead in shots, while Syracuse owned a 9-8 edge in shots on goal. The Cards also earned 11 penalty corners to the Orange's nine with Louisville owning an 8-3 margin in the second half.

"It was a hard-fought game between two amazing teams and unfortunately we were on the losing end today," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "I'm really proud of the effort we put in, we really stuck to the game plan, which was really pleasing. The result wasn't what we wanted it to be, but definitely proud of what we were able to do out on the pitch today."

With the loss, Louisville falls to 10-9 overall after finishing the regular season with a 4-4 mark in ACC play. Syracuse (10-6) advances to the semifinals to face top-seeded North Carolina who beat Stanford 6-0 in the opening game of the tournament.

The Cardinals wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, taking a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute. Trijntje Herfkens sent a long pass from midfield toward the circle, where senior Tyler Everslage collected the ball off a Syracuse defender's stick and fed Wordelmann. The junior found herself alone in the circle and sent a shot past Orange goalkeeper Jessie Eiselin for her second goal of the season.

UofL withstood a flurry of Syracuse corners, including back-to-back tries in the final 22 seconds of the first half before the Orange broke through with a penalty corner goal by Jess Liddell to even the score with eight seconds left in the first quarter to even the score at 1-1.

The Cardinals struck again midway through the second quarter, capitalizing on their third penalty corner of the game. Plumb inserted the ball and then connected on a feed from Gracie Potter for her fifth goal of the season to put Louisville back on top 2-1.

Cuse countered two minutes later converting on another penalty corner with a goal by Aubrey Turner.

The teams entered halftime with the score tied 2-2. Syracuse held a 10-8 edge in shots with a 6-3 margin landing on goal and had a 6-3 advantage in penalty corners through the first 30 minutes of play.

Louisville controlled possession in the opening minutes of the third quarter and generated a pair of shots by Plumb, with one turned back by Eiselin and the other sailing just wide. But Syracuse struck first, with Liddell's second penalty corner goal of the game to give the Orange their first lead.

The Cards quickly battled back after earning a pair of corners. On their second attempt, Maggie Kearin's initial shot was blocked and Wordelmann scrambled to gain control of the ball in front of the cage and flipped a shot over a diving Eiselin to tie the game at 3-3.

The score remained even entering the fourth quarter as Louisville continued its attack, earning a pair of corners in the first five minutes of the frame. Syracuse used a fast break opportunity to go back on top with a goal by Fieve Frenken with 8:17 left to play.

With 4:09 on the clock, Sowry lifted Young in favor of an extra field player, but Louisville was unable to generate a sustained attack in the remainder of the game and the final score stood at 4-3.

"Making the tournament was always our goal and we positioned ourselves to be in the top half of the ACC – that's where we wanted to be," said Sowry. "It was a great game that went back-and-forth and both teams had opportunities. I'm really proud of the opportunities that we were able to create today, because we'd been starved of them in the last couple of weeks. We were playing faster and put them under a lot of pressure. At the end of the day, like most games, it's won and lost in the circle and they were able to execute their corners where we've been pretty good all year long. And on the other side we definitely had those opportunities."