Jared's Quick Predictions on Fall Sports Results -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Jared Does Makes Quick Summertime Guesses

With most fall sports still one and a half to two months away, there is plenty that can change, including roster adjustments and tweaking of schedules. I haven't looked too deep into schedules and rosters yet so predicting results for the fall sports will be a little raw, but I'll try my best.

Women's Soccer

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Losing seasons for the past two years and the departure of key players such as a Ravin Alexander, Addie Chester, and Hayley Howard make things anything but easy. The non-conference schedule appears to be easy, but conference play is going to be tough.

The ACC had six teams finish with 10 or more wins last season and the addition of Stanford adds to that caliber. Three of the four Final Four teams from 2023 are playing in the ACC this fall. Expand that to the Elite Eight and there's five teams from the ACC represented.

This maybe the power source in the Power Five, or Four or whatever it is now...

An easy non-conference schedule should allow the Cards to get a few wins early on until conference play hits. Unfortunately, this sounds like another sub-.500 season for Louisville women's soccer with no ACC or NCAA Tournament appearance.

Field Hockey

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A large group of fifth-year players graduated following the conclusion of last season leads to starting role vacancies that need to be filled. The return of Aimee Plumb, Mia Duchars, Izzy Bianco, and Rylie Wollerton provide a strong core to build around. 

Louisville's schedule is continuously one of the top in the country thanks to difficult non-conference and conference opponents. Stanford doesn't bring much to the table in the sport, but Cal has had some success in recent years. Three of the four Final Four teams last season are playing in the ACC in the fall... sounds like women's soccer. Five of the Elite Eight teams hailed from the ACC too.

I have no doubt the Cards will find themselves in the rankings this season. I don't worry too much about ACC positioning due to the competitiveness, but a semifinals appearance should be an easy goal. This is another season Louisville will make the NCAA Tournament and hopefully reach their second Final Four.

Volleyball

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I'm going all out and saying this is the year Louisville wins the national championship. The Cards have made it to the Elite Eight in the last three seasons and the Final Four in two of the last three seasons. If everything works out right then Louisville's entire NCAA Tournament run could be played at the KFC Yum! Center.

The graduation of Aiko Jones is the biggest killer to the team, but the roster for 2024 continues to be star studded. Anna DeBeer and Elena Scott enter their final seasons but they have plenty of talent with them including Charitie Luper, Kamden Schrand, Phekran Kong, Cara Cresse, and Reese Robins. DBK and Co also brought in a strong freshmen class and transfers. 

Unlike other DI womens fall sports, the ACC is not the dominant conference in volleyball. Louisville, Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Florida State, and Miami have all had moderate to good success in the last few years, but UofL, Pitt, and GT have pretty much carried the conference in tournament time. The addition of Stanford adds strength to the conference.

We'll dive deeper into each respective sports' upcoming season as things get closer. We plan to have plenty of coverage for all three teams in the fall.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared