Weekend Preview: at No. 8 Louisville, Indiana

No. 14 Boston College at No. 8 Louisville
Friday, Oct. 7 | 6 p.m. ET
Trager Stadium, Louisville, Ky.
ACC Network Extra Stream
Live Stats

No. 14 Boston College at Indiana
Sunday, Oct. 9 | Noon ET
IU Field Hockey Complex, Bloomington, Ind.
Big Ten Network Plus Stream ($)
Live Stats

WATCH: Doton's Weekly Press Conference

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The 14th-ranked Boston College field hockey team continues on the road this weekend with a pair of games at No. 8 Louisville on Friday and Indiana on Sunday.

The Eagles, who enter the weekend with a 4-6 overall mark and 1-3 record in ACC play, will play their second and third straight road games after visiting then-No. 3 Duke last Friday.

Boston College already boasts the country's fourth-hardest schedule per the NCAA, and will be playing two more tough opponents this weekend. Head coach Kelly Doton noted that the weekend ahead includes, "Hard games. These are two tough games. We'll look forward to two good games and hopefully two more wins."

Friday's game will be just third meeting all-time between Boston College and Louisville (10-2, 1-2 ACC), with all the contests coming since the Cardinals' entrance into the ACC back in 2014. Both prior meetings have been decided by single goals with the Eagles claiming an 2-1 overtime road win in 2014 before Louisville took a 3-2 win in Newton last year.

UL freshman Minout Mink leads all Cardinals with 11 goals, a total that ranks ninth nationally in per game average (.818), while Erin McCrudden is the national leader with 1.17 assists per game (14 total). Defensively, the Cardinals' goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran leads the nation in both goals against average (0.74) and save percentage (.818).

Louisville's two losses have both come in league play, and both by single goals. On Sept. 16, the Cardinals fell to No. 2 Duke at home, 2-1, before dropping a 2-1 decision at No. 4 Syracuse last Friday. However, UL topped No. 18 Iowa, 2-0, at home on Sunday in the team's last game.

"Louisville is on a roll," Doton said. "They had a tough loss to Syracuse, but they're not letting in a lot of goals. Their defense is pretty stout and we're going to have to put in our opportunities when we get them. But they're a good team: they're powerful, they're strong and they're fit. They're one of the best teams in the ACC, I think, and they can compete against anyone. We're ready for that game – another ACC hard-fought game coming up on Friday."

Sunday's opponent, Indiana, will be a familiar foe for both Doton and BC assistant coach Phil Edwards. Doton was the Hoosiers' assistant coach – and associate head coach – from 2008 through the 2011 season. Edwards followed Doton as the Hoosiers' assistant in 2012 and spent three seasons in Bloomington before arriving at Boston College ahead of the 2015 season.

The Hoosiers enter the weekend with a 6-6 record and a 1-2 mark in Big Ten play. They'll host No. 6 Northwestern on Friday before the Eagles come to town on Sunday. Five of IU's six losses have come to ranked teams this season, most recently to No. 18 Iowa – 2-1 in overtime – last Friday.

This will be just the second meeting ever between the two teams. In the only other meeting – in 2010 in Amherst, Mass. – BC won, 1-0.

Senior Kate Barber leads all IU players with 15 goals and her 1.25 goals per game mark is third nationally. Junior Taylor Pearson is second on the team with eight goals and has added three assists. Goalkeeper Noelle Rother has started all 12 games and has posted a 2.53 GAA with a .678 save percentage.

"They're having a good season," Doton said. "They play in a tough conference just like us."

BC enters the weekend looking to snap a three-game skid after overtime losses to No. 16 Virginia and Massachusetts two weekends ago and a 6-2 loss at third-ranked Duke last Friday.

After a 10-goal outburst over two games three weekends ago, the Eagles have been held to two or fewer goals in each of its last three games. Senior Brittany Sheenan's eight goals continues to pace the Eagles' squad, but sophomore Lucy Lytle has scored five of her six goals in the last four games to inch up to second on the team's scoring charts.

Follow the field hockey team all season on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @bcfieldhockey.

Weekend Preview: at No. 8 Louisville, Indiana

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Players Mentioned

Lucy Lytle

Brittany Sheenan