Louisville Men’s Soccer Opens Home Schedule Monday

The University of Louisville men’s soccer team kicks off the home portion of its 2021 schedule on Monday evening against Evansville. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on ACC Network Extra.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS

The Cardinals suffered a 2-1 defeat in double overtime at Saint Louis in the season opener on Thursday. Louisville gave up a third minute goal, but Pedro Fonseca leveled the match at one in the 64th minute. However, SLU found the golden goal with less than three minutes remaining to secure the victory.

Senior forward Pedro Fonseca scored the lone goal for the Cardinals in the opener. Fonseca, who was named to the ACC Preseason Watch List, is Louisville’s active leader in career goals with eight.

SERIES HISTORY

Louisville trails the all-time series against Evansville 3-10-0, but the two programs have only played twice since 2000. The Cardinals have been victories in each of the last two meetings in Louisville, including a 3-0 win in 2014. Andrew Brody scored less than 60 seconds into the match and the Cards added on later with goals from Tim Kubel and Ivan Gutierrez.

CARDINALS PICKED THIRD IN ACC ATLANTIC PRESEASON POLL

Louisville was picked to finish third in the Atlantic Division in the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason coaches poll.

Clemson received nine of 12 first-place votes and sits atop the Atlantic followed by Wake Forest, which tallied a pair of votes for the top spot. The Cardinals came in third followed by Boston College, NC State and Syracuse.

The Cardinals were 5-8-1 overall in 2020, but went 4-2-0 during the spring portion of the season and finished second in the Atlantic Division.

FONSECA NAMED TO ACC PRESEASON WATCH LIST

For the second straight season, forward Pedro Fonseca was named to the ACC Preseason Watch List. The list consists of one player from each conference program and is selected by the league’s head coaches.

Fonseca led the Cardinals with four assists last season and was second on the squad with four goals on his way to second team All-ACC honors. In 31 career matches at UofL, the senior has eight goals and eight assists.

STRONG SPRING BUILDS MOMENTUM HEADING INTO 2021

After struggling during the fall of 2020, the Cardinals hit their stride during the spring season and posted a 4-2-0 record and a second-place finish in the ACC Atlantic Division. Louisville capped off the spring with a 2-1 upset victory over then-No. 1 Clemson on April 9.

UofL improved on both ends of the pitch during the spring. The Cardinals averaged 1.83 goals per match over six spring contests, up from their 1.25 average from the fall. Louisville’s biggest turnaround came on the defensive side though, lowering it’s goals allowed from 2.63 per match in the fall to 1.50 in the spring.

2021 CARDS FEATURE FIREPOWER UP TOP

Louisville’s offensive attack proved to be dangerous during the spring portion of the 2020 season. The Cardinals tallied multiple goals in four of six spring matches, including three in victories over NC State and Syracuse.

Aboubacar Camara was one of the top goal scorers in the country during the spring, finding the back of the net in five of the six matches. Camara led the Cardinals with six total tallies in his first season and was an All-ACC freshman selection.

Camara pairs together in Louisville’s attack with Pedro Fonseca, who led the Cardinals with four assists in 2020 and was second with four goals. UofL also added Northwestern transfer Ugochukwu Achara, who was the second-leading scorer in the Big Ten Conference last season with five goals.

FONSECA, SAMPLE NAMED 2021 TEAM CAPTAINS

Senior Pedro Fonseca and sophomore Bradley Sample have been named team captains for the 2021 season.

Fonseca is in his fourth year with the Cardinals and is coming off the best season of his career in 2020. The forward started all 14 matches and tallied four goals and four assists.

Sample also started all 14 matches last season and has made 29 consecutive starts for the Cardinals dating back to September of 2019.

LOUISVILLE SCHEDULE LOADED WITH RANKED OPPONENTS

Playing in the toughest conference in the country, Louisville’s schedule is once again filled with opponents in the preseason rankings.

The 2021 slate for the Cardinals features three teams ranked in the top eight in the country and two others in the top 15 of the United Soccer Coaches preseason rankings.

Louisville will host No. 4 North Carolina, No. 8 Wake Forest and No. 14 Kentucky, while traveling to No. 7 Clemson and No. 15 Virginia Tech. The Cardinals also open the season on the road at Saint Louis, which is receiving votes in the preseason poll.

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STEPHEN WILLIAMS | Assistant Sports Information Director | Louisville Athletics