# 2023 Louisville Cardinals men's soccer team

The 2023 Louisville Cardinals men's soccer team represented the University of Louisville during the 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The Cardinals were led by head coach John Michael Hayden, in his fifth season. They played their home games at Lynn Stadium. This was the team's 45th season playing organized men's college soccer and their 10th playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Cardinals finished the season 12–6–3 overall and 2–4–2 in ACC play to finish in fourth place in the Atlantic Division. As the ninth overall seed in the ACC Tournament they defeated eighth seed Pittsburgh in overtime in the First Round and upset first seed Notre Dame in the Quarterfinals. They were defeated by eventual tournament champions Clemson in the Semfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they defeated Dayton in the First Round before losing to West Virginia in the Second Round to end their season.

## Background

The Cardinals finished the season 9–6–3 overall and 4–3–1 in ACC play to finish in third place in the Atlantic Division. As the fifth overall seed in the ACC Tournament they were upset by twelfth seed Virginia Tech in the First Round. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they lost in the First Round to Western Michigan to end their season.

## Player movement
### Players leaving

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Dante Huckaby | 2 | DF | 6'1" | 172 | Sophomore | Morgantown, West Virginia | Transferred to West Virginia |
| Matty Walters | 5 | DF | 5'8" | 144 | Senior | Marysville, Ohio | Graduated |
| Rafael Pinzón | 6 | MF | 5'7" | 146 | Junior | Mexico City, Mexico | Transferred to Stetson |
| Aboubacar Camara | 9 | FW | 5'8" | 170 | Junior | Upper Darby, Pennsylvania | Transferred to Kentucky |
| Ugochukwu Achara | 10 | FW | 6'1" | 172 | Senior | Enugu, Nigeria | Transferred to Northwestern |
| Macoumba Ba | 11 | FW | 5'8" | 148 | Junior | Dakar, Senegal | Transferred to St. John's |
| Eric Danquah | 14 | MF | 5'6" | 135 | Junior | Accra, Ghana | Transferred to St. John's |
| Nico Diaz | 17 | FW | 5'10" | 161 | Junior | New Smyrna Beach, Florida | — |
| Marcus Jorgensen | 18 | DF | 6'2" | 185 | Freshman | Viborg, Denmark | Transferred to Cal Poly Pomona |
| Patrick Ajdukiewicz | 19 | MF | 5'8" | 158 | Sophomore | Barrington, Illinois | — |

### Players arriving
#### Incoming Transfers

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Gaetano D'Argento | 2 | DF | 5'10" | 163 | Junior | Wayne, Illinois | Bowling Green |
| Mason Tatafu | 5 | DF | 6'2" | 185 | Junior | Perth, Australia | Hofstra |
| Gage Guerra | 9 | FW | 5'10" | 180 | Junior | Houston, Texas | Army |
| Xavi Wences | 14 | MF | 5'10" | 160 | Junior | Mexico City, Mexico | USC Upstate |

#### Recruiting Class

| Name | Nat. | Hometown | Club |
| Elijah Brijbasi MF | USA | Baltimore, Maryland | Pipeline SC |
| Ethan Subachan FW | USA | Cooper City, Florida | Orlando City SC Academy |
| Chase Vazquez FW | USA | Boca Raton, Florida | Orlando City SC Academy |

## Squad
### Roster

    As of January 23, 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | USA | Gavin Krenecki |
| 2 | DF | USA | Gaetano D'Argento |
| 3 | DF | USA | Ryan Nichols |
| 4 | DF | USA | Bryce Lebel |
| 5 | DF | AUS | Mason Tatafu |
| 6 | MF | USA | RC Schmeider |
| 7 | FW | USA | Brandon McManus |
| 8 | MF | USA | David Boccuzzo |
| 9 | FW | USA | Gage Guerra |
| 10 | FW | CYP | Konstantinos Georgallides |
| 11 | FW | USA | Damien Barker John |
| 12 | MF | NOR | Filip Fredhall |
| 13 | MF | USA | Bradley Sample |
| 14 | MF | MEX | Xavi Wences |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | DF | USA | Josh Jones |
| 17 | MF | USA | Elijah Brijbasi |
| 18 | DF | USA | Ethan Subachan |
| 20 | DF | USA | Parker Forbes |
| 21 | MF | USA | Ayden Nocus |
| 22 | DF | USA | Axel Alejandre |
| 23 | MF | USA | Quinton Elliot |
| 24 | FW | USA | Chase Vazquez |
| 26 | MF | USA | Sammy Murphy |
| 29 | GK | USA | Alex Svetanoff |
| 30 | GK | USA | Ryan Troutman |
| 31 | GK | USA | Liam Fitzgerald |
| 46 | MF | NOR | Sander Roed |

### Team management

| Position | Staff |
| Head coach | John Michael Hayden |
| Assistant Coach | Sean Teepen |
| Assistant Coach | Stephen Lunney |
| Volunteer assistant coach | Darren Yeagle |
| Director of Operations | James Kusak |
Source:

## Schedule

Source:
| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Regular Season ||||||
| August 24* 7:30 p.m., ACCNX | | No. 16 Tulsa | W 1–0 | 1–0–0 | Lynn Stadium (687) Louisville, KY |
| August 28* 7:30 p.m., ACCNX | | Bellarmine | W 3–0 | 2–0–0 | Lynn Stadium (887) Louisville, KY |
| September 1* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 12 | at UNC Greensboro | W 2–0 | 3–0–0 | UNCG Soccer Stadium (1,221) Greensboro, NC |
| September 5* 8:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 7 | No. 19 Kentucky Rivalry | W 4–2 | 4–0–0 | Lynn Stadium (2,350) Louisville, KY |
| September 8 8:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 7 | at No. 4 Syracuse | T 2–2 | 4–0–1 (0–0–1) | SU Soccer Stadium (1,832) Syracuse, NY |
| September 15 8:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 5т | Virginia Tech | L 1–2 | 4–1–1 (0–1–1) | Lynn Stadium (1,071) Louisville, KY |
| September 19* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 10 | at Evansville | W 2–0 | 5–1–1 | McCutchan Stadium (831) Evansville, IN |
| September 24 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 10 | NC State | W 5–2 | 6–1–1 (1–1–1) | Lynn Stadium Louisville, KY |
| September 29 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 8 | at Virginia | L 0–3 | 6–2–1 (1–2–1) | Klöckner Stadium (1,400) Charlottesville, VA |
| October 2 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 8 | Kansas City | W 3–2 | 7–2–1 | Lynn Stadium (812) Louisville, KY |
| October 6 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 21 | at Clemson | L 0–4 | 7–3–1 (1–3–1) | Riggs Field (2,575) Clemson, SC |
| October 10* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Ohio State | T 2–2 | 7–3–2 | Lynn Stadium (587) Louisville, KY |
| October 13 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Boston College | W 1–0 | 8–3–2 (2–3–1) | Lynn Stadium (822) Louisville, KY |
| October 17* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Oakland | W 4–0 | 9–3–2 | Oakland Soccer Field (100) Rochester, MI |
| October 22 5:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at No. 11 North Carolina | L 0–2 | 9–4–2 (2–4–1) | Dorrance Field (3,887) Chapel Hill, NC |
| October 27 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | No. 3 Wake Forest | T 2–2 | 9–4–3 (2–4–2) | Lynn Stadium (1,052) Louisville, KY |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| November 1 8:00 p.m., ACCN | (9) | at (8) Pittsburgh First Round | W 2–1 $^{2OT}$ | 10–4–3 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (717) Pittsburgh, PA |
| November 5 8:00 p.m., ACCN | (9) | at (1) No. 2 Notre Dame Quarterfinals | W 4–3 | 11–4–3 | Alumni Stadium (794) Notre Dame, IN |
| November 8 8:00 p.m., ACCN | (9) No. 20 | at (4) No. 14 Clemson Semifinals | L 1–5 | 11–5–3 | Riggs Field (3,785) Clemson, SC |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| November 16 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Dayton First Round | W 4–3 | 12–5–3 | Lynn Stadium (877) Louisville, KY |
| November 19 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at (5) No. 5 West Virginia Second Round | L 0–1 | 12–6–3 | Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium (3,137) Morgantown, WV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Gage Guerra | Pre-Season Hermann Trophy Watchlist | August 24 |
| Sander Roed | Pre-Season All-ACC Team | August 26 |
| Alex Svetanoff | ACC Defensive Player of the Week | August 29 |
| Gage Guerra | ACC Offensive Player of the Week | September 5 |
| Gage Guerra | ACC Offensive Player of the Week | September 12 |
| Damien Barker-John | ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week | September 26 |
| Sander Roed | All-ACC Second Team | November 8 |
| Damien Barker-John | All-ACC Second Team | November 8 |
| Josh Jones | All-ACC Third Team | November 8 |
| Alex Svetanoff | ACC All-Tournament Team | November 12, 2023 |
| Sander Roed | ACC All-Tournament Team | November 12, 2023 |

## 2024 MLS Super Draft

| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position |
| Damien Barker-John | Real Salt Lake | 2 | 37 | FW |
| Josh Jones | Real Salt Lake | 2 | 47 | DF |
| Gage Guerra | Portland Timbers | 3 | 69 | FW |
Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| United Soccer | RV | 12 | 7 | 5т | 10 | 8 | 21 | — | — | — | — | 20 | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 24 |
| TopDrawer Soccer | — | — | 19 | 7 | 19 | 13 | 23 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 24 | — | — | — | — |