UofL Tops UK in NCAA First Round -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Beat Cats in PK Thriller

Could it have been any more dramatic? That's how Coach Karen Ferguson Dayes opened her postgame remarks yesterday evening, and the answer, quite frankly, was no. Louisville and Kentucky played a heart-in-throat match that needed not only extra time, but extra penalty kicks as well. In the end, Louisville prevailed in the eighth round of the shootout to take down their rival and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 

In yesterday's column, I wrote about a schedule quirk that gave UK an extra draw instead of a loss for their shootout loss against Georgia in the SEC Tournament. During the actual match yesterday, I learned that it wasn't a quirk: it's how the NCAA scores a penalty shootout. Both teams are granted a draw on their records and then whichever team comes out on top after penalties "advances" to the next stage of play. I mean... sure. But if that's the case, why make the overtimes golden goal? It matters not. What matters is that Louisville officially finished the season unbeaten at home, as they'll hit the road for any games they have remaining. 

Yesterday's match was everything you might have expected from a heated rivalry such as the Battle of the Bluegrass. With football last night, there were plenty of available fans, and the crowd size actually grew once people came over from downtown when the basketball game ended (more on that later). The official attendance was listed as 1,106, and I was somewhat pleasantly surprised that it seemed like no more than a third of the crowd were UK fans. Chants went back and forth, but most of both fan bases were well-behaved. At least as well-behaved as the teams, that is. 

The game ended with a whopping 36 fouls, and those were only the ones that were called. There were six total yellow cards (three for each team) and a couple of fouls could have seen yellows if the referee wasn't generous with players that already had one. There was a Louisville bloody nose that resulted in no foul and a yellow issued to the Kentucky bench (unrelated). Yesterday's match had it all. But even after all that, it wasn't a particularly ugly game. Emotions were high, and the players played hard and got a bit chippy, but the fouls were fairly evenly split (UK 20 - 16 UofL) and both teams were (largely) playing the ball throughout the day. 

Louisville opened the game very tight. They were playing at home in front of a big crowd, against their arch-rivals who were an underdog. UK had nothing to lose. While Louisville managed to get the first shot and forced a save, UK took a decent amount of control after that. Louisville maintained possession for 54% of the first half, but most of it was not held in a particularly attacking manner. The Cats ultimately took five shots in the first half, putting just one on target, but it was their second shot that nearly broke things open. A cross came in for a header in the center of the goal that had Erynn Floyd beaten. Fortunately for the Cards, the ball couldn't beat the bar. It hit the front-bottom of the crossbar and kicked down and out of the goal. The ball fell down to UK but a second attempt was blocked away. The entire stadium stopped holding its collective breath. 

UK would take three corners in that first half, more than Louisville would take in the entire game (two in the second). UK finished with eight corners, which had the Cards under quite a bit of pressure considering they scored their goal off of a corner in the second half. Louisville's offense was able to find shots in the first, taking four and forcing two saves, but they weren't particularly threatening. Louisville would have dearly liked to have scored before the end of the first half, but UK took advantage of the opportunity to play a new 45-minute game early. Just two minutes into the second half, the Cats earned a corner that found Thalia Morisi unmarked in the six-yard box. As a former keeper, allow me to let you in on a little secret: you don't want someone unmarked in the six-yard box on a corner. Morisi found the ball with her head and Floyd had little chance. UK led 1-0. 

Another note KFD made in her postgame interview (I won't spoil the whole thing, I promise), was that she specifically told the team at the half that she hoped it wouldn't take a goal to wake them up. Welp... Now was the time to wake up. To the Cards' credit, they did. Louisville's offense sprang into action after the goal and continued to hound the Cats. They took two shots and forced a save before the 60 minute mark. Both of their corners came in succession, but neither earned a shot. Then UK nearly doubled their advantage. Another corner managed to get to the feet of Catherine Rapp who forced an incredible save by Floyd to keep the deficit at just one. That was UK's third shot of the half, and they would earn just two more, with only one forcing a simple save from Floyd. 

Louisville seemed to press a bit with trying to find a goal, but they were able to find some good attempts at goal. The Cards finally broke through in the 79th minute as a ball clattered around near the top of the box. Amelia Swinarski managed to get control with just enough space to slide one through the surrounding defenders. The ball stayed low and Khadijah Cisse couldn't track it. She was unable to attempt a save as the ball rolled into the bottom-right corner. Cards had leveled it and it was game on for the final ten minutes. UK very nearly ripped Louisville's hearts out by scoring immediately after the equalizer, but the shot went high. The Cards had five shots over the final ten minutes and forced three saves, but we headed to overtime. 

Collegiate soccer dropped regular season overtime a couple of seasons ago, but it remains in the postseason. The teams play two (if necessary) ten-minute periods of golden goal overtime. If neither team has scored, it's on to penalties. Both teams were very tight in that first overtime period, with neither wanting to extend too much and give their opponent a counter-attack opportunity. The only shot came with just ten seconds left, when Rapp found herself open near the top of the box, but it was right up the middle and Floyd was able to fall on it to run the clock out. 

The second OT period was a bit more free. UK had a shot advantage, but all three of their attempts came in a single possession as shots were blocked away. They took three shots in a span of 24 seconds. None forced a save, and the third was off target out of bounds. Louisville took two shots in the period, including their attempt at a late game winner, which saw Swinarski test Cisse in basically the same way as the other period ended with seven seconds remaining. The clock hit 0:00 and it was time for penalties. 

By the way, penalties are often referred to as PKs. You probably already knew that, but remember how I said more on that basketball game ending earlier? Well, PK wanted to watch some PKs. Pat Kelsey was there to support the Cards after the men's basketball game ended, and it's impossible to not be a fan of the guy. He's so into the university and the athletic department as a whole and he feels like a fan of his own school. He was right behind the goal, getting into it with the rest of the crowd to try to distract UK shooters. 

But the stage was set. Penalties are the ultimate showdown. It's a mental battle just as much as a physical one. If you keep your tendency as a shooter, the keeper might know where you're going and pick up the save. If you try too hard to make a difficult shot, you might miss. If the keeper guesses wrong, it's almost automatic. The ball is placed twelve yards from the goal and it's away we go. 

UK had the opening shot and they opened the door for Louisville immediately with a miss. Karsyn Cherry stepped up and slotted home her shot to take the lead. UK scored their second and Amelia Swinarski kept the Cards ahead 2-1. UK scored their third, but Louisville was still in a good position. AG Gibson's shot was saved and it was 2-2 after three rounds. UK's fourth shot was off the mark and everyone waited to see who Erynn Floyd was delivering the ball to to take Louisville's fourth shot. After a few seconds of head-scratching, we realized it was herself. 

(Side note: this is an interesting move. In a professional game, this is bold but not crazy. If the shootout continued, the keepers would need to take a shot eventually anyway, and this would mean Louisville's had already gone and they'd have a shooter vs a keeper round. However, collegiate rules mean you only assign ten kickers. If the shootout continues beyond ten rounds, you just go back to the top. That means Floyd just was in the top ten (or top five, even) shooters for this Louisville team. It's not insane. Keepers are usually decent at penalties since they have to be very familiar with the ins-and-outs of the process.)

Unfortunately, Floyd's shot was high of the bar. UK sunk their fifth shot and the mood flipped immediately. After a chance to go up 3-2 after four, Louisville now trailed 3-2 down to their final shooter. Fina Davy nailed it and kept the Cards alive. After five rounds, it meant sudden victory. If anyone led after each round, it was game over. Floyd opened sudden victory with a save, but Liza Suydam was saved as well. 

Once you're in this part of the penalty order, the pressure on every taker ramps up. You weren't expected to be taking your shot and now the fate of the game could rest on your shoulders. In the case of the team shooting second, that was literally true. With each shot, you're either going to win it with a make or lose it with a miss. UK scored with their seventh taker and Grace Maddox calmly kept Louisville alive. In round eight, Erynn Floyd snagged her second penalty save of the sudden victory period, setting up her fellow senior. Mackenzie Geigle set the crowd alight with a goal and ran straight into her keeper's arms. Could it have been any more dramatic?

Louisville moves on to face 3-seed Kansas in Durham on Thursday afternoon. The match will be on ESPN+ at 4PM. The Cards' victory meant the ACC went 9-0 in the opening round. Incredible. I'm still riding high on yesterday's win. Check out the interviews below and join in on the elation. 

POSTGAME WITH MACKENZIE GEIGLE

POSTGAME WITH ERYNN FLOYD

POSTGAME WITH KFD 

Until next time, GO CARDS!!!

Case