CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDINAL COUPLE
We report on the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports here. Thanks for checking us out! Click the picture of Louie to hear the latest Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast!!

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Kelsi Worrell nominated for USA Swimming Award -- Wednesday Cardinal Coupe

Louisville junior Kelsi Worrell has been nominated for Breakout Performer of the Year as USA Swimming announces the 2015 Golden Goggles Awards, which are presented by the USA Swimming Foundation every year to celebrate the top swimmers and coaches' achievements over the last year.
 
There are eight categories: Breakout Performer of the Year, Coach of the Year, Perseverance Award, Relay Performance of the Year, Male Performance of the Year, Female Performance of the Year, Male Athlete of the Year, and Female Athlete of the Year.
 
Worrell is up for the 2015 Breakout Performer Of The Year award which is given to the athlete whose performance(s) stand out in relation to other years, with special emphasis given to the 2015 FINA World Championships.
 
The three nominees for the Breakout Performer of the Year award are Katie Meili, Jordan Wilimovsky, and Kelsi Worrell.  
 
Worrell's signature race, the 100-butterfly has put her atop

the podium at the NCAA, Pan American Games and Phillips 66 National Championships. Worrell won an NCAA title and set an American record in the 100y fly for the University of Louisville in March, becoming the first woman to break the 50-second mark. In her first international meet at Pan American Games in Toronto, she set a Games record and notched the third-fastest time in the world in 2015 with a 57.24 effort in the 100-meter fly prelims. She went on to win gold in the event and added two relay medals. At the National Championships, Worrell carried her momentum with a victory in the 100m fly at the Phillips 66 National Championships.
 
Online fan voting is now open and will continue through Friday, Nov. 13. A percentage of the fan vote will count towards the final ballot. Beginning later this week USA Swimming will highlight Golden Goggle Awards categories weekly on usaswimming.org and across its social media channels in the lead-up to the Nov. 22 event.


 Vote here:http://usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=2104&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en


( A special thanks to Nancy Worley for the information on this!) 

paulie

xxxxx

Louisville Softball begins fall schedule with (2) wins...Beat the Paulie...Radio Today-- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE






2016 SOFTBALL WILL BE A MIX OF THE OLD AND NEW


Sandy Pearsall's Louisville softball squad is getting in a few fall exhibition games before they start their season in the spring of 2016. 

On Sunday, the Cards entertained Bellarmine in "The Battle of Eastern Parkway" and took a double-header against the Knights 8-5, 6-2. Red-shirt sophomore Nicole Pufahl provided the big hit in the first game...her three run homer in the seventh inning proved the distance. In the Cards second win, Pearsall turned freshmen pitchers Kaylea Horn (Richland, KY) and Jordan Hensley (Ashland, KY) loose on the Knights to get the win. 

Cardinal "pitch and hit" fans will remember about half the current roster from last season and there are some big names back to play in Ulmer.

Maryssa Becker would have to top that list of stars back on Floyd Street. The junior pitcher from Oregon was the Cards ace last season and we don't see that changing. Pufahl hit for power at times for UofL last season and should provide the same "boom factor" this year. Senior infielder Brittany Sims is also very capable of parking Spaldings out on Brandeis Street and can cover several infield positions as needed. 

Madi Norman was a very effective pitcher at times for the 2015 Cards and returns to fill that role again. Everyone's favorite "slap" hitter...the speedy Jordan McNary will be a familiar site sprinting down the first base line again for Louisville. Senior 3rd baseman Hailey Smith proved to be a steady performer and the "hot corner" and also provided the Cards with an offensive punch in 2015. 

Tierra Sanabria saw plenty of action at first base for UofL last year and Alison "Mike" Szydlowski handled catching duties with aplomb last year. Add letter-winners Ashley Nikolao, Morgan Meyer, Morgan Hart and Sidney Melton into the mix and Pearsall has a solid nucleus of experience to work with.



The Cards graduated shortstop Whitney Arion, outfielder Kelsi Jones, DH Brittany Duncan and the pride of New Egypt, New Jersey...Kayla Soles. ( Kayla has sent "new pride" however...in the form of her little sister Jamie Soles...who joins the Louisville roster this year).

Names missing from last year's roster are Shelby McCombs, Kristina Dillard, Bridgette Flaherty, Paige Alford, Hannah Tow, Sydney Benz and Autumn McDuffie. Maybe I missed something here...did selected players in the Classes of 2013 and 2014 go on some sort of strike or something? McCombs is at Ohio State now, Flaherty enrolled at Georgia State, Dillard to Maryland and Tow at Missouri. Not sure about Benz, McDuffie or Alford. 

Five freshmen and six transfers also join the roster...and they played significant roles in the double-header sweep of the Knights Sunday. 

All in all, a roster comprised of 12 girls from in-state, three seniors, six juniors, eight sophomores and five freshman. The contingent looks to better last year's 30-19 overall record and 16-7 fourth place ACC finish. The Cards went to the Columbia, MO regional in NCAA Tournament play in 2015. 

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BEAT THE PAULIE

The question is...can you? 


Each week, Paulie will try to successfully predict the outcome of four or five UofL women's athletic contests. If you can "beat the Paulie" on his picks...we'll enter you for the chance to win a $25 gift card for Panera or Cracker Barrel (your choice!) . Last week's inaugural run found Paulie going 3-1 and no one could top him.

You can leave your picks in the comments section or send them to cardinalcouple@twc.com via e-mail.

Why not beat Paulie each week and get several entries to win the gift card? Here's the Paulie Picks for week ending Sunday Oct 4th.

MAKE SURE YOUR PICKS ARE IN BY 6 P.M THURSDAY OF THIS WEEK!! 

1) Louisville vs. Syracuse (Volleyball). I'll go with the Cards here in a tough match. Former UofL coach Yelin returns.

2) Louisville @ DUKE  (Field Hockey) . Taking the Dookies here in another battle of present and past Lou FH skippers.

3) Louisville @ UMASS (Field Hockey). Cards win at Justine Sowry's former head coaching gig. 

4) Louisville  vs. Morehead (Women's Soccer). Cards get revenge in Lynn for last year's loss at Morehead. 

5) Louisville @ Syracuse  (Women's Soccer). A real tough call here but I'll pick Syracuse on their home turf. 

REMEMBER, PICKS NEED TO BE IN BY 6 PM THURSDAY

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WE'RE ON THE VILLE 93.9 TODAY



Howie Lindsey of The Howie Show on 93.9 FM kind enough to have Paulie back on today around 11:30 to discuss the joy and excitement of UofL Women's Sports today. 

We appreciate the opportunity the spread the word about Cardinal Women's athletics.

Catch the whole show from 10-noon. Internet link: 

THE HOWIE SHOW

paulie
xxxxx

Monday, September 28, 2015

Louisville Volleyball goes to 2-0 in ACC...Soccer shut out by Pitt -- Monday CARDINAL COUPLE


FAIRS, PHILO LEAD CARDS TO MIAMI WIN


At this time last year, Erin Fairs was sending kills over the net in Tampa, FL. against AAC foes for USF and Aniah Philo was doing the same for her high school team in Texas. 

Fast forward to yesterday...when Fairs has 24 kills on a .391 hitting average and Philo added 14 kills with a .345 accuracy to lead Louisville to a 22-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-21 win over the 'Canes to improve to 8-4 on the season and 2-0 in the ACC. 


A clipboard bites the dust in the Cards first game
Of possible concern is a late match foot injury to Katie George. The senior remained on the court despite it...the question is how serious is it and will she be ready for a tough weekend ahead where the Cards host Syracuse and Boston College. 

Another question arises on the status of Cards outside hitter Maya McClendon...who has been in uniform but hasn't participated against either Notre Dame or Miami. Last year's leader in kills...McClendon has been seeing less time this season with the arrival of Fairs and Philo on campus. 

WSOC DOWNED BY PITT 1-0


A scoreless affair in the first half and for 25 minutes of the second half in Lynn Stadium Sunday...which head coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes pretty much expected...since both squad played a few days ago.

Pitt getting the eventual game winner in the 70th minute.

The Cards stand at 4-5-1 overall and 1-2 in ACC play. Louisville has not allowed more than two goals to anyone this season but has not scored more than two goals in any contest.

Pitt and Louisville each had 12 shots yesterday...the Panthers having seven of those on goal...compared to the Cards four. 

UofL will step out of conference Thursday night for a match against Morehead State at the Lynn Soccer Stadium.


ARCHIVED BROADCAST


Our archived broadcast of yesterday's CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR is available on the Crescent Hill Radio Soundcloud. LINK BELOW:

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR


paulie
xxxxx




Sunday, September 27, 2015

Volleyball and Soccer today...Cox on campus -- Sunday CARDINAL COUPLE



ACTION ON CAMPUS AND DOWNTOWN


Both the UofL Volleyball and women's Soccer teams have home contests today. Volleyball gets it started with a 12:30 p.m. match at the KFC YUM! Center against ACC foe Miami. 

A half-hour later...it'll be soccer time at Lynn Stadium...where Karen Ferguson-Dayes' Kickin' Cards go to the pitch against Pitt. 

Both squads are coming off wins in the ACC this week...so hop in the car and choose one! 

LAUREN COX ON CAMPUS FOR VISIT


The texts started rolling in late afternoon and continued into the evening:

"Walz with a tall, beautiful girl. Is is Cox?" 

"Walz sitting nine rows behind me with LC." 

"Coach just passed me going up the stairs in 227. He looks happy." 

"Paulie. Lauren Cox has a beautiful smile." 

And, yes...Lauren Cox is visiting the Louisville campus this weekend and was at the UofL vs. Samford football game last night. Reportedly, they were also going downtown to look at the KFC YUM! Center as well. 

I did see Walz on the field (maybe he was giving Bobby Petrino a few plays?) and then ascend the steps. Usual Walz...stopping to shake hands and talk with people on his way to his seat. 



Louisville is the third of five visits for the 6'4" (or 6'5"?...she seems very tall) post out of Flower Mound, TX. No word on how long she is here...but we wouldn't be surprised here at CARDINAL COUPLE if she takes in a little Volleyball today at the YUM! (she plays that sport also). 

And, yes....she does have a knockout smile. 

We sincerely hope she enjoys her visit and sees what a great sports town and community we have here in Louisville and if you see them...feel free to text me or shoot me and e-mail. Worldwide Jeff McAdams will be at Volleyball today and I'm sure he'll have an eye out for her. I'll either be at women's Soccer or visiting my mother-in-law at the hospital. 

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

Our archived broadcast of yesterday's CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR should be available on the Crescent Hill Radio Soundcloud later today. LINK BELOW:

THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR 9/26/2015

paulie
xxxxx


Saturday, September 26, 2015

Louisville Volleyball sweeps the Irish...Field Hockey "can't get a break" against Wake -- Saturday Cardinal Couple



ERIN FAIRS DELIVERS A "HANGING OF THE GREEN" IN SWEEP OF IRISH



Louisville Volleyball got the ACC season off to a splendid start by defeating Notre Dame in straight sets yesterday in South Bend 25-23, 25-19, 25-16. 

Hats off to Erin Fairs...who maybe got a little sentimental or fired up when seeing all the green in the Purcell Pavilion. The USF transfer had 17 kills against the Irish. The Notre Dame announcers on the internet feed seemed to think she deserved to be in the ACC. Nice call, boys...


Credit Notre Dame for playing gangbusters in the first game...hitting over .600 for most of that game and leading early. The Irish made the Cards work extra hard to get the win. Lyndsay Palmer serving seven straight to lead the rally.

After that, Louisville pretty much had things their way. The Cards were never seriously challenged in the two following contest and Aniah Philo stepped up big time on the left side for the Cards with 10 kills and serving the ball well in the third set.

Louisville improves to 7-4 with the win.

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FIELD HOCKEY DOWNED BY #8 WAKE


Whereas the Louisville Soccer team won a game Thursday where the statistics were clearly in favor of Miami, the Louisville Field Hockey team controlled the statistics sheet in last night's contest against Wake Forest but took a 2-1 loss to the visitors from Winston-Salem. 

The Cards held a 15-5 advantage in shots...12 of those shots on goal...but WFU goalie Valerie Dahlmen made 11 stops, including a huge one with less than a minute left in the game. 

The teams played 22 minutes of scoreless competition before the Deacons slipped a shot past Louisville goalie Ayeshia McFerran. 


Five minutes later, the Deacs actually scored a goal against themselves when Stephanie Byrne's shot on goal glanced off a defender's stick and past Dahlmen for Louisville's only point....which was credited to Byrne.

The first half ended 1-1 and the Cards ramped up the offense in the second half but it was WFU who got the game decider with about ten minutes of play remaining.

Louisville missed a golden opportunity to send the contest to overtime with 13 seconds left in the game when they were awarded a 1x1 penalty stroke opportunity. Elisa "Chile" Garcia's attempt practically in front of the goal was kicked away by Dahlmen and the Deacons snuck out with the win.

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TESTING...1,2...TESTING


We'll be on the air today at 11 a.m. for another questionable episode of THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR on WCHQ 100.9 FM and live on the internet as well at WWW.CRESCENTHILLRADIO.COM

A lively hour planned discussing the joy, excitement, results and happenings of UofL women's sports. We'll offer the Worldwide Quiz and drop by and chat with Donald Trump at Check's Cafe.

(OK...we're not really going to visit with Donald Trump and he's not going to be at Check's as far as we know. Maybe we'll take Worldwide there and tell everybody he's Donald Trump...) 

Still, it should be a dandy show and if the Donald knew about us...we're thinking he'd probably like to listen also. Then call Paulie a child... 

paulie


Friday, September 25, 2015

Louisville women's soccer defeats Miami 1-0...Field Hockey and Volleyball tonight! -- Friday Cardinal Couple



DEFENSE HOLDS SOLID IN HURRICANE ATTACK



We don't see weather-based hurricanes in the fair city of Louisville...but the UofL women's soccer squad survived a tough battle against Bassy's Hurricane whirlwind kickers in a 1-0 win over "The U" Thursday night in the Lynn Soccer Stadium. 

Without seeing a final score...one might come to the conclusion that if a team had a 18-7 shot advantage, 9-4 edge on shots on goal and had 11 corner attempts to the opponent's 4...the team with the higher stats (Miami) won.

It's not so in this case, though.

Getting a goal from Alison Price off a Casey Whitfield cross 25:48 with in the first half....Louisville weathered the storm and got the 1-0 win...greatly aided by nine saves from goalie Taylor Bucklin. 

And...Paulie called it in Thursday's CARDINAL COUPLE...even the exact score. My 5% success rate took a definite hit here...

Sound the all-clear over the Belknap Campus...the threat is over. There will probably be a depression settling in over the Miami soccer complex today, though. 

And if Taylor Bucklin had a dream last night about soccer balls flying at her non-stop like hail...it's perfectly understandable.

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#8 FIELD HOCKEY FACES #9 WAKE FOREST


Women's sports action continues on campus tonight when the UofL Field Hockey team hosts ACC opponent Wake Forest at 6 p.m. in Trager Stadium. 

The Demon Deaconesses (or Lady Deacons ?) are 6-2 on the season with overtime losses to Old Dominion and Iowa. They do have a win over Duke in ACC play. 

Last year the teams split...Louisville winning the regular season matchup 2-1 but falling in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals to WFU 2-1.

This should be a good one at the corner of Warnock and Floyd and admission is free. 

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VOLLEYBALL VISITS THE IRISH TONIGHT

No....Anne Kordes and crew aren't on a flight to Dublin or overseas to kiss the blarney stone...but they are in South Bend to take on ACC foe Notre Dame tonight for some wide net action.

It's the ACC opener for Louisville (6-4) against a Notre Dame squad (5-7) that split with Louisville last season. The Cards swept UND at the KFC YUM! Center 3-0 in the first match up but fell 3-2 in South Bend. 

Louisville will look to improve on the errors and serving woes that befell them in the loss to UK on Sunday. The Cards will head back to the KFC YUM! Center after this one to host Miami on Sunday.

paulie
xxxxx





  

Thursday, September 24, 2015

And now...conference play...Can you Beat the Paulie? Thursday Cardinal Couple


CHALLENGES AND EXCITEMENT AHEAD


For Field Hockey, Women's Soccer and Volleyball...the pre-conference fine tuning and adjustments has run its course. This is ACC time now and the challenges that are in store for Justine Sowry, Karen Ferguson- Dayes and Anne Kordes will come fast and furious over the next two months. 

The first couple of test haven't gone so well for the trio. 

Field Hockey managed to move up a spot in the national rankings yesterday to #8 after a 1-1 weekend that delivered a loss to conference foe and #3 ranked UNC plus a shutout win over James Madison...who remained at #19. The stick-swingers under Sowry's tutelage have lost two games so this season. The other loss was to #4 Virginia is also has ACC on their uniforms.

That gauntlet of top opponents continues with #7 Wake Forest coming in for a Friday night visit. All seven ACC teams are in the top eleven in the rankings.


Women's soccer has one ACC tilt under their belt so far...a trip last weekend to Boston College where the Eagles flew past the Cardinals 2-0. The weekend will bring two ACC foes to "The Palace"...starting with Miami tonight. The 'Canes are 3-5 and 0-1 so far this season and -- along with UofL, NC State and Syracuse -- the only ACC teams that are under .500 so far this season.

After the "U", Louisville will try to tame the Pitt Panthers on Sunday in Lynn Stadium. Pitt has gotten off to a rocket start at 7-1-1 and 1-0 in the ACC. they'll come in looking to avenge a 1-0 loss that Louisville put on them last season.

Tonight's game is at 7 p.m. and the weather looks great fpr it. You should try and attend. 


Finally, Volleyball awaits their first ACC test tomorrow night when they travel to Sound Bend to face the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Be sure to read my "steamed" colleague Worldwide's Tuesday article for more on the Irish...but it looks as if they are in restart mode with a new coach and new players. 

And now the ill-fated Paulie Predictions

This is the first official week of these...but I can assure you my 5% success rate in calling contest outcomes took a hit when I went 0-3. Kentucky Volleyball, UNC Field Hockey and BC WSOC won. 

1. Louisville defeats Miami in women's soccer tonight. This could be a 1-0 affair. 

2. Louisville hands Wake Forest a loss in field hockey Friday night. I'll say 4-3 Cards...

3. Louisville finds their "lucky charms" in South Bend Friday and takes the Irish in straight sets for the "W". 

4. Pitt comes in Sunday and gets a win over women's soccer

You gotta a different take? Shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment. Those who defeat me will be entered in a drawing for a monthly Panera or Cracker Barrel Gift Card. Those who lose to me (and there will be plenty...oh, yes...) can buy me $2 beers on the flight deck at PJCS. 

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BEAT THE PAULIE

Each week Paulie will make fearless and foolish predictions on Louisville women's sports contests. Can you do better than him? Why not find out? Send a e-mail or leave a comment with your picks and defeat the Paulie to get your name in a drawing for a monthly Panera or Cracker Barrel gift Card! E-mail entries to:

BEAT THE PAULIE

paulsonyasykes@aol.com





paulie
xxxxx
  




Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Getting the size is always wise -- Wednesday Cardinal Couple



WBB MAKING TALL A MAJOR CALL IN RECRUITING

The old joke goes...



" A successful college men's basketball coach was asked why he was making year-in and year-out NCAA Basketball Tournament appearances. He guided the question-asker to his office door. There was a sign posted on it. It read:

ALL PEOPLE 6'8" OR TALL ARE WELCOME TO WALK IN HERE AT ANY TIME. UNDER 6'8"? SEE THE RECEPTIONIST FOR AN APPOINTMENT. 

And, so it goes in the world of college basketball. Talent in the post equates to rebounding, scoring, defense and wins.

Jeff Walz gets it...despite the occasional comment we get here that Walz needs to stop looking at 6'1" and shorter and get a roster graced with several 6'3" player and up.

Without any argument, I'll point out that the three generally accepted most talented players to play under Walz....Shoni Schimmel, Angel McCoughtry and Candyce Bingham...were under 6'3". But bigs are good and Walz, believe me...wants big. 

He has big on the current lineup ( Erin DeGrate, Myshia Hines-Allen, Sam Fuehring, Cortnee Walton), he is currently pursuing big (Kylee Shook, Brianna Dunham, Lauren Cox, Ciera Johnson.) and he'll continue to pursue big. Along with fast, talented, athletic and scorers.  

The ideal combination is that mix of scorers, players who can get the ball to the scorers, defenders and speed. It's like that perfect wave to a surfer, a wedge shot next to the pin for a golfer and fresh snow for a skier. 



There is hub-bub galore that Walz is still looking to add to his 2016 recruiting class. The offer to Jensen Caretti (who is going to make a HUGE impact wherever she ends up) indicates that. The fact that the coaching staff is still out there and 2016 prospects are scheduled for on-campus visits confirms it. 

If Jeff Walz says there is room on the roster...there is room on the roster. Caretti, Cox, Johnson...all aboard for the CARDINAL CANNONBALL! Kushkituah, Wyatt and those 2017 and future stars who the coaches are seeing and evaluating...grab a ticket and get on this train. 

The NCAA Championship teams (take a look back) over the past several years have had balance, no doubt...but a take-over player in the post with height. Stephanie Dolson, Brit Griner, Danielle Adams, Candace Parker...to name a few. They were surrounded by excellent players and wise coaches...no doubt...but tall and talented never hurts.

Attract the interest of the bigs and the rest will follow. The Cardinal Coaches are getting in to see and landing the bigs. And, there is always room to grow...

paulie
xxxxx 


Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Six and Four -- Tuesday Cardinal Couple


What's In a Record?


At Sunday's Volleyball match against Kentucky, I started to sense some frustration from the crowd over how the season is going for the Volleyball team thus far.

I thought it was time to take stock of where things are and where they are going this season.

First, let's keep in mind that we're 6-4, only a third of the way through the season.  There's still a long way to go and we haven't even started the conference slate, yet.  Yes, we've talked about how the ACC is a step up in play over the American/AAC, and that remains as true now as when we first started talking about it when UofL got invited to join the Atlantic Coast.  But the ACC isn't, still, at the top echelon of volleyball play as a conference, either.  The result is that Coach Kordes and the volleyball coaching staff has still scheduled a very tough out of conference schedule.

I'm a little dismayed at having four losses at this point -- as I'm sure many other fans are as well -- but when you stop and really think about the four losses that we've taken, you start to lose some of the sting.  Looking at the coach's poll that was released yesterday, all four of the teams that we have lost to are Top 25 teams.  Illinois is #9, Wisconsin is #16, Minnesota - who wasn't ranked when we played them - is now ranked #21, and Kentucky is still ranked #24, even with five loses.

OK, so none of our losses are bad losses, so let's take a look forward at what we can expect in conference play.  In the next eight games, we play Notre Dame, Miami, Syracuse, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Wake Forest, and Duke.

I think all eight of those matches could be wins for the Cardinals. I don't even think I'm going out on too much of a limb to say it.

Notre Dame is in the first year of a new coach and essentially rebuilding the program after the wheels pretty much fell off in the past couple of years.  They've got losses to Bowling Green, Cleveland State, Seton Hall, Temple, and South Dakota.  They also have losses against Penn State and Purdue, but I'm not going to count either of those against them.  I think they're probably a better team than they were last year, but we should win this one.

Miami could be a challenge.  With losses to Missouri State, Marquette, and Oral Roberts, you have to think they're vulnerable, but wins over Purdue (now ranked #20), and Kansas State suggest that they are capable of playing at a pretty high level of play.  If we show up and play well, I think we can win this one.

Syracuse is something of a crap-shoot right now.  With their only losses to current #14 Arizona, and #12 Ohio State, they don't have any bad losses, but the rest of the matches they have played are all against relative nobodies with the best wins over Auburn, and Georgia.  Syracuse typically hasn't been much of a threat given the way the teams match up, so I think we get this one in the win column again.

Boston College doesn't look to pose a real threat, with eight wins over no one of any real relevance, and four losses to Fairfield, Marshall, Michigan State, and Delaware.

Georgia Tech doesn't appear to be a major concern either. With losses to Coastal Carolina, and Kennesaw State, and no real quality wins, they appear to be more concerned with mammal urination, than volleyball.  I won't count a lose against perennial powerhouse Nebraska against them.

Clemson is 5-7, probably enough said, but let's look at the losses.  UNC Wilmington, Appalachian State (OK, let's be generous and toss this one out as we saw last year that App State can put together a pretty good Volleyball team), South Carolina, Furman, SMU, UTSA, and TCU.  Moving on...

Wake Forest looks beatable, with an 8-4 record with losses to Northwestern (good in Lacrosse, not so much in Volleyball), New Hampshire, Marshall, and VCU.

That leaves the next real potential for a significant challenge as Duke, with losses to Long Beach State, Kansas, Stanford, Michigan, and Michigan State.  Let's toss out that Stanford loss, and they don't really have any good wins at this point, so they're certainly beatable as well.

OK, so we've got some easier play ahead of us, but also some challenges in getting into post-season play as not too many teams left on our schedule will give us much of an RPI boost.  #17 Florida State is out there, and North Carolina is "Receiving Votes", but other than those two, we're going to have to crawl our way up the RPI, because it doesn't look like anyone else will give us any real big boosts.

We've seen this UofL Volleyball team play well, at least in stretches, and occasionally for whole matches.  They are capable of playing with any team in the country when they're "on"...at least in my judgement.  We have to get service errors under control, though...if you have 14 service errors like we did Sunday, you'll have trouble against pretty much any team.  Coach Kordes has said that they are trying to serve aggressively, which I understand, but perhaps it's time to dial it back a notch or two.

Overall, there is potential in this team to end the season with a pretty good record, good enough, I believe, to make post-season play.  They are going to have to pull it together and bring some consistency to their play, but if they do that, I believe they have a chance of finishing out the season strong.

JMcA

Monday, September 21, 2015

Field Hockey wins...Soccer and Volleyballl lose -- MONDAY CARINAL COUPLE


FIELD HOCKEY BLANKS JMU 5-0


The Louisville Field Hockey team roared back from Friday's 5-0 loss to UNC by creating a shutout of their own on Sunday...5-0 over #19 James Madison in Chapel Hill.

It was something head coach Justine Sowry was glad to see:

"I'm very pleased with the bounce-back performance after Friday night. JMU started stronger than us and put us on our heels. As the game wore one we gained more confidence and started to play some great hockey."

The #9th ranked Cards began the scoring in the 11th minute when Vic Stratton connected on a penalty corner. Ten minutes later Stephanie Byrne got her team-leading fifth goal of the season off a nice feed from Abby Grimes. The 2-0 lead held to the half.

The Cards got the first of two goals from Nicole Woods eight minutes into the second half...she repeated the feat ten minutes later and Louisville got their final score when Woods set up Shannon Sloss with two minutes remaining.

Louisville outshot the Dukes 22-13 for their fourth shutout of the season.

The Cards (6-2) return home to face Wake Forest Friday night.

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SOCCER FALLS 2-0 TO BOSTON COLLEGE

The Eagles scored both goals in the first half...including one with just five second left in the first half to send Louisville to 3-4-1 on the season and 0-1-0 in ACC Play. Taylor Bucklin drew the start for Louisville at goalie and had seven saves...the Eagles outshot Louisville 9-4 in shots on goals and 19-9 in shots.

The Cards take only their second shutout of the season as Karen Ferguson-Dayes continues to try and find a forward/scoring combination that can produce points.

Louisville will host Miami on Thursday night.

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VOLLEYBALL FALLS IN FOUR TO CATS

Louisville Volleyball continues to feels the jinx of Memorial Coliseum...not having won a match there since 2009...falling Sunday afternoon in a four-set 27-25, 18-25, 20-25, 23-25 loss to UK in front of a crowd of 3338.

Maggie DeJong's block in overtime gave Louisville the first game win in a contest where Louisville come from a 12-7 deficit to take a 18-15 lead...only to see UK at match point before a service error took the game to extra points. Erin Fairs had eight kills in the first game...the Cards hit for .256 against UK.


The UofL fortunes changed after that..UK blocking and a slow start for the Cards offense put Louisville behind 12-6 and then 20-13 in a game where Louisville dropped to .103 hitting in a 18-25 loss. 

After the break, UK's Kaz Brown and Darius Mack kept the block party going in game three and five Cardinal serving errors were too much to overcome. UK scored five of the final seven points of the game to go up 2-1 on the Cards with the 25-20 win.

UofL led for most of the final game before a late 5-1 UK run overcame a 22-20 Cardinal lead to give UK their seventh win of the season.

Louisville had 30 errors in the contest...and 14 service errors while actually getting 57 kills (compared to UK's 50). The Cards were led by Fairs and Janelle Jenkins 15 kills...but UK got 16 blocks from Brown and Mack alone.

A tough loss for Louisville in a contest where the Cards couldn't seem to overcome UK's front line height advantage or the play of senior setter Morgan Bergen.

The Cards will travel to Notre Dame next for a Friday match

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In case you missed the CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR on WCHQ 100.9 FM yesterday, it will be available later today on the SoundCloud. We're never sure what time it gets posted...so check back if it isn't currently available. 

WorldWide and I had a great show....discussing UofL women's sports and we had exclusive interviews with Justine Sowry and Karen Ferguson-Dayes...plus Anne Kordes' comments after the win over Cincinnati . 

Link below to listen to the archived show from Saturday:

THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR 9/19/2015


paulie
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