Field Hockey to ACC Semis -- Volleyball and Basketball tonight -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

ONE IS ENOUGH -- FIELD HOCKEY CARDS BLANK ORANGE 1-0

Mercedes "Meche" Pastor delivered the lone goal is Louisville Field Hockey's 1-0 win over Syracuse yesterday afternoon in Newton, Mass. The game was held at the Boston College Field Hockey complex and the Cards were fortunate to draw the early game. The night contest between Virginia and Duke was contested in a driving rainstorm for all four quarters and had to be miserable for the two squads.

Virginia won 2-0 to advance to the semifinals, where they'll face Boston College...who took out Wake Forest in the second game of the afternoon. 

The Cards advance to face #1 North Carolina today at 1 p.m.


Pastor's score came in the ninth minute of the match. She took a feed from Whena Munn  and sent a scorcher past Syracuse goalkeeper Sarah Sinck for her ninth goal of the season. 

Louisville dominated in the stats -- out-shooting the Orange 13-3 and the Cards had a 5-1 edge in penalty corners. 

Coach Sowry on the revenge 1-0 win: 

"Obviously very happy with the result. We had to do certain things that we didn't do well last week against them. They are a very good team and they put a lot of pressure on you. They are lethal with their transitions, especially their counterattack. We had to work harder with the ball and we had to anticipate turnovers and be right there to win the ball back immediately. Defensively we had to contain them to stay in the contest. We had to keep their best players from being involved and I thought we did an outstanding job there. They did get a couple of breakaway opportunities but our deep defense handled it very well. I am proud and pleased with our group that we were able to make those adjustments from last week". 

LINK: POST GAME SOWRY

A much harder task awaits the Cards today against North Carolina. The Tar Heels trounced Louisville 4-1 in Chapel Hill earlier this season. UNC is 17-0 on the season and the defending National Champions.  The "Heels" are on a 40 game win streak. 

A Cardinal win would be a monumental upset. Sowry's stick swingers have a huge task ahead of them but the #6 Cards may have an equalizer in the weather in Beantown....temperatures are expected to be around the freezing mark when the match starts.  

Good luck to "David" as they take on "Goliath"...this one can be viewed on the ACC Network...channel 937 for Spectrum viewers. GO Cards !!


MURRAY STATE VISITS THE YUM! TONIGHT


The 1-0 Louisville women's basketball squad entertains the Racers tonight at 7 p.m. -- maybe appropriate, since Churchill Downs is conducting Fall racing currently. This one, though, looks like it could be over before they make the final turn and head for home. 

Louisville put up a program high 115 points up against Murray last year in the YUM! and Murray returns just two starters and has lost about 50% of their scoring from last year. Kylee Shook had a career high 21 points against MSU last year and "B"...Bionca Dunham produced a double-double (19 points, 16 rebounds). 

They do return 2019 OVC Freshman of the Year in Macey Turley and lone senior Cekeya Mack. They went 13-17 overall last year, 9-9 in conference and were eliminated in the first round of the OVC Tournament by UT-Martin (who Louisville will visit on Dec. 19th.) 

One would assume that Coach Walz would return with the same starting line-up that he employed against WKU and probe even deeper in substitution patterns and combinations on the court.  I'll be interested in seeing whether Louisville speeds up their offensive attack with fast breaks and whether they use a full-court press against Murray. 

I' also hope to see a better effort in the Cards rebounding. It was an emphasis point Walz made after the WKU game -- that it was a key area Louisville had to get better at. I can't fault Liz Dixon nor Jazz Jones for their board production. They combined for over half of UofL's grabs against the Toppers with 21 (Dixon 13, Jones 8). I'm guessing Walz would like to see the others, primarily Dunham, Diop and Shook, pick up their numbers on the glass. 

The ACC Network Extra has the coverage for this one, with our buddy Don Russell and Heidi Mueller. I'm pretty sure it's not the Heidi Mueller actress who's married to NFL star DeMarco Murray. 7 p.m. is start time but you might want to arrive a bit early, since it is Hawaiian Night Promotion and there will be $6 mixed drink specials. 


I wonder if Don Ho will perform at the half, or if the guys from Hawaii 5-O will swarm the court and arrest someone? Remember that great theme song from the original Hawaii 5-O television show? Is Magnum P.I. leaving the Isle to come in for a visit? 

I've got the opening soundtrack linked up below. I love that opening drum sequence. Book 'em, Dano!  

LINK:  The Ventures - Theme from Hawaii 5.O


VOLLEYBALL IN MIAMI

While Louisville WBB is doing battle with Murray State, the VolleyCards will be playing in sunny Miami against the 9-11 Canes. 

The Cards have some things to work out, now that Melanie McHenry is sidelined for the season. They are 2-4 since she injured her knee and have dropped their last three -- against Pitt, BC and Syracuse. 

We're hoping for a successful start to this southern  road swing (the Cards also play Florida State on Sunday) and that UofL can defend the powerful UM attack of Janet Kalaniuvalu, Savannah Vach and Elizaveta Lukiandva. 

Let's hope the multitude of Cardinal fans in Miami for the Cards football game Saturday will make their way over to the Knight Volleyball Complex to cheer on Dani Buboom Kelly's squad. Reports we heard indicate that Cardinal fans nearly outnumbered Canes fans for the men's basketball game earlier this week. 


THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

A small but mighty cast and crew will be on hand for tomorrow's broadcast of The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour at 11 a.m. on WCHQ 100.9 FM. Just Jeff and I manning the microphones, with everyone else involved in other activities. 

We'll have plenty to discuss. Action from Friday and earlier this week event, plus upcoming activities for women's basketball, women's soccer, Field Hockey and Volleyball. 

Give us a listen or watch on Facebook Live. After tomorrow, just seven shows before the station closes it's doors. 

LINK: www.wchqfm.com


Have a fantastic Friday! 

paulie
xxxxx