Softball Begins ACC Tournament today -- Ahlana Smith to Miss. State -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

SOFTBALL CARDS FACE SYRACUSE TO OPEN ACC TOURNAMENT

 

Louisville Softball opens ACC Tournament play today as the #8 seeded team and will face #9 Syracuse in Pittsburgh at 1 p.m. The contest will be shown on the ACC Network.  

For the Cards, it comes down to three simple thinhs -- three of the major tenants in softball or baseball

1) Get runners on base  2) Get those runners across the plate to score runs 3) Do that more often than Syracuse does. 

They weren't able to do much of those three in their season-ending series against Notre Dame, scoring just two runs in three days against the Irish, but, Louisville plated 15 runs against the Orange in a three-game sweep of them at Ulmer Stadium a few weeks ago-- 8-0, 4-1 and 3-2.

The Cards have the power and hitting ability to do it again. Carmyn Greenwood, Taylor Roby, Kendall Smith and Korbe Otis have led the offense most of the season and have accounted for 167 RBI's and 117 Runs scored for the Cards in 51 games and the Louisville squad outscored opponents 276-258 on the season 

One of the keys, tomorrow is going to be limiting the number of runs the Orange are going to be able to push across the plate. And, obviously, good pitching and accurate fielding are the major factors involved in keeping foes from touching home plate. The "ace" of the staff -- Taylor Roby -- has shown in the past she can deliver the effective pitching to limit opponents from tallying up runs scored. Let's hope she's "on" again tomorrow. 

An interesting philosophy was tossed my way earlier today, when someone expressed the hope that Roby WOULDN'T start today and Taja Felder would be given the assignment of containing Syracuse. that way, you could sane Roby for #1 seed Virginia Tech, who would be the Cards next opponent, if they get by Syracuse. An interesting thought, since Felder and Sam Booe split and shared strong performances in a win over Syracuse in the middle of April.. 

You must win today to play tomorrow, though, and Roby probably gives you the best chance of doing that, She had two wins over the Orange earlier in the season and I think you go with your strengths in "the second season".

Good luck to the Cards tomorrow ! Survive..and advance. .

(Thanks to Jared Anderson and Ryan Greenwood for the softball photos used in the article)  

AHLANA SMITH TO MISSISSIPPI STATE

When Ahlana Smith entered the transfer portal, the gang at Cardinal Couple discussed the possibility of her joining up again with Sam Purcell -- at Mississippi State. 

It has come to pass. 

It'll be her fourth school in her time as a collegiate student athlete. Her journey began at aT UCLA,, then Gulf Coast, two years at Louisville and now at MSU. 

Purcell gets a capable guard who scored 4.3 ppg at Louisville last season in 32 games, which was seventh-highest on the team. She was a reserve who usually entered if Kianna Smith, Chelsie Hall or Hailey Van Lith needed a rest or got into foul trouble.  A very capable ball-handler with much better than average speed and a decent three-point shot. 

The thing is, with both Kianna Smith and Chelsie Hall graduating, you just couldn't see Ahlana as a starter. Too much incoming talent, the development of Payton Verhulst and Kasa Robinson returning seemed to indicate that Ahlana would keep the same role, only with a different cast of starters to spell. 

So, she's off to a fresh start with a head coach who she's familiar with (and who recruited her out of Gulf Coast) -- in a situation where an experienced guard just might help Purcell fill one of the gaps in defining capable players for a Bulldogs team that went 15-14 overall, 6-10 in the SEC and lost their last six games. 

She's the sixth guard listed on the latest 2022-23 MSU roster.

Wishing Ahlana a lot of luck under Sam with the Bulldogs. Beating UK twice would be a great start. 

(WBB photos of Ahlana from Jared Anderson) 

Have a wonderful Wednesday

paulie

 

Softball Series to be Settled - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Virginia Evens Softball Series

Visiting Virginia evened up the softball series at one game apiece yesterday, taking the win by a score of 5-3.  The Cards celebrated senior day, honoring five players: Kendall Smith, Payton Hudson, Rebecca Chung, and both Greenwood sisters - Cassady and Carmyn.  All five players played in the game yesterday, with Kendall Smith in her usual spot at catcher, and Carmyn Greenwood patrolling left field as normal.  Payton Hudson and Cassady Greenwood came in as a pinch runners, while Rebecca Chung took a turn as a pinch hitter.

Senior Day picture - Kendall Smith, Payton
Hudson, Rebecca Chung, Carmyn Greenwood,
and Cassady Greenwood (left to right)

In basketball, games tend to look like chaos when the defense of a team is playing aggressive and performing well.  Softball is the reverse, if a defense is playing well, the game looks routine, and one could argue, even a bit dull.

That was not the case with yesterday's game.  Not all of it can be pinned in defensive breakdowns, but there were certainly some breakdowns to be critiqued.

Virginia got on the board with a run in the first inning.  The Cards would answer in the second and third.

The human black hole, Jenna Servi, fields what
appears to a be a foul ball grounder at third base.

After the bottom of the first inning where the Cards went 3-up, 3-down with only four pitches, they started the scoring in the second with a Hannah File homer to left field.  Add on doubles by Dylann Cravens and Ally Alexander that scored Cravens and the UVA pitcher got chased from the circle after just 20 pitches thrown.

The third inning, Korbe Otis singled to center field, Taylor Roby followed with much the same to right center and was replaced on the base paths with a pinch runner.  Roby's single did advance Otis to third who then was able to score on a wild pitch.

Kendall Smith easily tags a runner out at home.

Unfortunately that would be it for the Cards scoring  in the game, though with the 3-1 lead at that point, UVA had some work to do.  They were helped some by some definite choices that were made by the Cards defense.  Very few actual errors were recorded, one for each team, but choices made by UofL on defense allowed UVA some opportunities that they probably shouldn't have had.

UofL will look to win the game and the series today with a noon start from Ulmer.  After being on the linear ACC Network yesterday, back to "just" the streaming on ACC Network Extra today.

Photos by Jared Anderson

Hannah File finishes rounding the bases after her
solo home run shot to left field.

Dylann Cravens does a great Stretch Armstrong
impression to tag second base to get the force out.

Track and Field

The Cards saw quite a bit of success in Track and Field yesterday, wrapping up the Clark Wood Invitation.

Gabriela Leon topped the previous school record in pole vault, that she already owned, and of course set a new personal best in the process with 4.61 meters (15' 1.5") for the win.  The Cards took the whole podium with  Aliyah Welter clearing 4.36m (14' 3.5") - a personal best - for second, and Auriane Viola cleared 4.06m (13' 3.75") to take third.

 Synclair Savage, Taylor Herbert, Je'Nyia Burton and Kiyah Yeast stopped the clock at 44.91 in the 4x100m relay for a school record, and also the win.

Former volleyballer Emily Scott continues to shake up the high jump standings.  She cleared 1.76 meters (5' 9.25") for the win.  This is short of her personal best set a couple of weeks ago of 1.81 meters (5' 11.25").

Morgan Bentley and Rachel Darden went one two in the triple jump.  Bentley leaped 12.37 meters (40' 7"), for a personal best and Darden cleared 12.02 meters (39' 5.25").

And one final win for the Cards in the meet with the 4x400 meter relay team breaking the tape at 3:43.40.  That team is composed of Katie Martin, Je'Nyia Burnton, Taylor Boggess, and Riley Burger.

Basketball News

Ahlana Smith Enters the Transfer Portal

Ahlana Smith has put her name in the transfer portal.  With the inundation of the UofL roster with guards, this may not be a huge surprise to most.  After averaging just over 12 minutes per game for 4.3 points per game average, no one could fault Smith for looking for a school where she can garner a bit more playing time in her 5th "Covid" year.

Of course, there is always the option to come back out of the portal and not actually leave the current school, and we have no reports of any situation that would indicate that she was not welcome to finish out here at UofL.  With her skills and capabilities, however, it is likely that another school will come calling and offer her the opportunity that she is looking for, in which case, we here at Cardinal Couple and all of CardNation will wish her the best.

C. Vivian Stringer Retires

Long time Rutgers coach, icon in the industry, and inspiration for many has decided to call an end to her career in September.  While Stringer has no particular ties to Louisville, she was an honored frequent opponent during UofL's years in the Big East.

Stringer retires after 50 years of being in the head coach seat and 27 years at Rutgers.  She was the first coach, men's or women's to take three different teams to the Final Four, completing the hat trick in 2000 with Rutgers, after having taken Iowa and Cheyney State to appearances earlier in her career.  She is the first African-American coach to have reached 1,000 wins in their career.

Stringer has left a great mark on the game of basketball.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

Daryl, Jared, Paulie, and myself were on the call yesterday, where we talked about Basketball news, Softball, Lacrosse and plenty more.  A bit of a longer run on this one, but we had a lot of good discussions.

You can catch this one via the Youtube stream at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muLdqRBmiQM

WBB Visits UNC -- WBB Keeps Two Seniors -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Cards Visit Carolina

Louisville women's basketball has another ranked opponent on their schedule- what a surprise. UofL, who is 6-2 against teams ranked in the Top 25 at the time of their respective game, now visit #23 North Carolina.

Teams: #3 Louisville vs. #23 North Carolina

Records: Louisville (22-2, 13-1 ACC), North Carolina (19-5, 9-5 ACC)

Where: Carmichael Arena, Chapel Hill, N.C.

When: 6:00 p.m. ET

TV: Bally Sports Network/Regional Sports Network

Radio: 790-AM WKRD

Head-to-Head Record: Louisville leads 8-3

Coaches: Jeff Walz (15th season as Louisville head coach)

                Courtney Banghart (3rd season as North Carolina head coach)

Key Players: Louisville: Hailey Van Lith (13.2 ppg), Kianna Smith (12.0 ppg, 2.9 assists per game .410 3-pt pct), Emily Engstler (10.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg, .431 3-pt pct, 2.6 steals per game), Olivia Cochran (8.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg)

                      North Carolina: Deja Kelly (15.9 ppg), Alyssa Ustby (13.1 ppg, 8.7 rpg), Eva Hodgson (10.1 ppg, .396 3-pt pct), Kennedy Todd-Williams (10.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg)

North Carolina is a team that has been underrated much of the season. The Tar Heels currently sit sixth in the ACC but are just two games out from being tied for third in the conference. All five losses on the year have come in conference play and to top ACC teams- NC State twice, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, and Virginia Tech. Three of those losses have been single-digit losses. Similar to Louisville, the Heels had a second half collapse against NC State after having a lead at halftime.

UNC likes to go score and has been held under 61 points just three times this year. In fact, their 74.3 points per game ranks second in the ACC. Their defense is nearly as good, ranking third in the conference at 54.2 points allowed per game.

For the Tar Heels, Carmichael Arena has been a strong home court advantage. They're 11-1 at home this season with the only loss being an eight-point loss to NC State. Their crowd of 1,880 people per game is small but mighty.

Fresh off a huge win against Notre Dame and with Senior Day looming in the shadows in just a few days, this could be a trap game for the Cards. Sitting tied with NC State in first in the ACC with one loss apiece, Louisville cannot afford to add a second "L" to the conference loss column.

If you don't have Bally Sports Network, you're SOL for viewing this one on TV. It will be blacked out on the ESPN app and website. If you are unable to watch I encourage you to tune into Nick Curran and Adrienne Johnson on 790-AM WKRD.

Two Seniors Announce Their Return for Extra Season

One of the few positives to come from COVID-19 is that NCAA student-athletes were given an extra year of eligibility. Fortunately for Louisville, Mykasa Robinson and Ahlana Smith have decided to return for another year. Jeff Walz hinted that we would hear some seniors decide to come back and now we have confirmation at least two will return.

So what of the other four? Well, as of right now, none of them have announced their return for next season. My best guess is that Emily and Kianna will both pursue professional playing career opportunities. Chelsie Hall, who is already in grad school, is using her extra year this year and cannot return. Liz Dixon, who would still have another year of eligibility could potentially return still unless she decides to finish her education.

Whether we see just Kasa and Ahlana return or we see more names join the list, it's exciting to see them return to help build up next season's roster!

WALZ NAMED TO NAISMITH WATCH LIST

Congratulations to Jeff Walz, who is one of 15 on the late season watch list! 

For more info and a listing,  of the 15, go to: 

Naismith List

(FEATURED SELECTED PHOTOS FROM JARED ANDERSON AND PAULIE TODAY) 

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

CARDS 64 - CATS 58 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 THREE IN DOUBLE FIGURES IN WBB WIN OVER UK

Kianna Smith is presented her 1,000 pt. ball 

Another season, another Louisville women's basketball win over Kentucky. 

Another close affair, the Cards having to overcome a 54-53 UK lead with 3:37 left in the game, but...to the delight of 12,167 fans in the KFC YUM! Center...the Cards ended the contest on a 11-4 run and #7 Louisville improved to 8-1 on the season. 

Chelsie Hall led UofL with 15 points and Ahlana Smith and Hailey Van Lith added 13 each in the win. Credit a Cards 32-28 point edge in the paint, 21-9 edge in points-off 21 UK turnovers and holding UK star Rhyne Howard to just nine points on 3-13 shooting to give Louisville their fifth straight win over UK. The Cards won the battle of the guards on a night where Olivia Cochran left in the third quarter with a blow to the head and Liz Dixon saw just seven minutes and had just two points. In a game of runs, it was Louisville's final one that spelled the difference. 

A tightly called contest where 36 fouls were whistled, three technical fouls were issued and Kianna Smith fouled out with eight minutes to go. The "over-attentive" refereeing drew the ire of the Cardinal faithful -- Cardinal favorite Eric Brewton seemed to be on a mission to call the slightest hint of any contact and UK, for all their determination to hang with the Cards, seemed intent on giving the ball back to Louisville. The Cats had 23 turnovers and the Cards 10 steals. 

Louisville did build a 19-13 first quarter lead, but managed just two points in the final five minutes of the second quarter to go in down by one at halftime 33-32. A final five minutes of the first half that started with the Cards holding a 30-22 lead, but 1-5 shooting and a questionable technical foul called on Olivia Cochran after blocking a UK shot and looking at a UK player led to two Howard free throws. Let's order a set of horse blinkers for "O", I guess. 

 

It wasn't the best of nights for UK's potential ALL-American. She went 3-13 from the floor, had just seven rebounds in 39:30 minutes. Constantly frustrated by the Cards switching defensive tactics, she failed to score in the second half. 

Louisville used a withering defense to hold UK scoreless for the first six minutes of the final half.  During that strettch, the Cards built a eight point lead (43-35) and outscored UK 12-6 in the quarter. UK shot 1-13 in the third and one had to be optimistic that Louisville had this one if they could continue the defensive pressure. 

UK wasn't having it. 

With the Cards leading 49-42 after an Engstler steal and layup, UK got a timeout and started to chip away at the led. A 5-0 run had them within two at 49-47 with 6:26 to go and they tied it 30 seconds later on two free throws from the aptly named Treasure Hunt. A Hall steal and layup put Uofl back ahead but UK gained a 54-53 lead after a Howard block and Dre'una Edwards layup on a fast break. 

3;37 remained in the game. How would the Cards respond? 

The answer is...impressively. Ahlana Smith knocked down a jumper and Van Lith sunk a fast break layup to put UofL back up by four. Smith nailed another jumper to make it 59-54 with 1:41 to play. Cardinal fans started breathing a bit easier. UK's final points came with 84 seconds to play on an Edwards jumper.  A clutch bucket by Van Lith (she had eight fourth-quarter points) and three Hall free throws... after a technical on UK coach Kyra Elzy (who was a bit upset that a foul had not been called on Kasa Robinson after a Howard missed shot).secured the win. 

A win that sent Cardinal fans home happy. A win that UK tried to prevent, but, ultimately, fell out of their reach, despite 7-14 fourth quarter shooting. Turnovers will get you almost every time and the Cats six miscues in the fourth were a key factor in sending them back eastward on I-64 after the game with a loss and 6-3 record. 

THE FRED REPORT

As Fred Rogers used to say, it was
a beautiful day in Cardinal-hood Sunday 

Free Throws -- The Cards went 8-12 from the charity stripe,...getting four of them from Hall. 66% does not meet our 70% standard for a letter, though, so no letter here. 

Rebounds -- We had a 37-37 tie in the board grabbing category/ Engstler led Louisville with 10....no one else had more than five. We didn't lose the battle of the boards, so I'll award a small-case "r" for the effort/ 

Effort/Execution -- A 40% shooting night for Louisville (26-65) and just 13 turnovers. I'm not thrilled about the 4-13 three point effort, nor just nine assists -- but the overall effort got the Cards the win and I'll award a small-case "e" .

Defense -- I liked what I saw on the defensive end. UK shot 38.9%. They had 21 turnovers. The Cards had 10 steals and six blocked shots, winning both those categories handily. I have.no hesitations in handing out a CAPITAL "D".  Our defense won this one for us.

FINAL FRED TALLY:  _-r-e-D

We spoke at length at the start of the seasson about the Cards depth at guards and that was the area that UofL excelled in Sunday afternoon. Ahlana Smith and Chelsie Hall had 28 points, add in Van Lith's 13 and those three guards had 64% of our scoring. And none of the three are over 5'8". 

Louisville brings in Eatern Kentucky next -- on Thursday at 8 p.m.  A game scheduled when Samantha Williams was still coaching the Colonels. A nice tune-up for UConn next Sunday. 

(PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON)

THEY SAID IT:

: 

POST GAME WALZ

POST GAME CHELSIE HALL/AHLANA SMITH

paulie

    

WBB -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Hello Readers!  Daryl checking in this Thursday AM.

With Jared out at Yum! Center last night, I wanted take the opportunity to recap the Cards WBB squad.  It's crazy to think we are 3 games into the 2021-22 season.   Coach Walz loaded the schedule with non-conference challenges that will no doubt help shape the squad for the post-season deep run demands.  

WBB vs UT Martin

I will be honest, I thought this game would be a little more competitive for the Cards than Tuesday night's throttle vs Bellarmine.  But the Skyhawks score got caught on that 5 pt mark for what seemed like forever and I knew we would see some bench minutes early. 

End of 1Q 18-5 Cards

FG %
7-16 43.8% Cards
2-10 20% UT Martin
Reb. 11-6 Cards
3-pt %
4-5 80% Cards
1-5 20% UT Martin

Emily Engstler shines for a second straight night!  The senior went 5-6 for 13 points in the first quarter.  She even left with a couple minutes left on the clock.  The first substitution for the evening was Liz Dixon for Olivia Cochran with 4:34 on the clock, giving O the breather and Liz the opportunity to be a quality rotator for starting five.  A minute or so after entering, Dixon made her presence known recording a block and 2 rebounds for the Cards. The next exits for UofL starters was Kianna Smith, Emily, Chelsie Hall out and Mykasa Robinson, Payton Verhulst, Norika Konno in with 1:37 left and the Cards up 18-5.

End of 2Q 14-6 Cards

FG %
5-14 46.7% Cards
3-11 27.3% UT Martin
Reb. 11-6 Cards
3-pt %
1-3 33.3% Cards
0-3 0% UT Martin

HALF 32-11 Cards

Engstler would not come back into the game until there was 5:34 left in the half.  Hailey Van Lith exited for Ahlana Smith to see the floor and Coach Walz reached even deeper into the bench when he put Merissah Russell in for Liz Dixon with 8:22 on the clock. 

The starters rotated back in with five and a half left until halftime.  The Cards put 9 more points, 5 of them from Engstler, on UT Martin to make it 32-11 at the break.   As a team, UofL made 63% from 3-pt land (5-8) in the first half , Emily leading the charge, going 4-4 from deep. 

End of 3Q 16-11 Cards

FG %
6-10 60% Cards
3-9 33.3% UT Martin
Reb. 5-6 UT Martin 
3-pt %
1-2 50% Cards
1-5 20% UT Martin

Kianna Smith welcomed the audience back to the match when she buried a 3-pt 12 seconds into the second half, assisted by HVL.  Cochran got the block on UT Martin before laying it up on the following offensive possession.  The Cards would not score another basket for almost 3 minutes.  One more layup from Olivia before the Cards went on another scoring drought for almost 4 minutes to close out the quarter.

End of 4Q 14-8 Cards

FG %
5-12 41.7% Cards
3-10 30% UT Martin
Reb. 9-6 Cards
3-pt %
1-3 33.3% Cards
0-3 0% UT Martin

HAPPY  BIRTHDAY AHLANA SMITH !!

With the Cards holding a commanding lead, Coach Walz let the bench run the floor for the majority of the quarter.  Mykasa Robinson had 4 points on 1-2 shooting, making her 2 free throws, 3 rebounds and an assist in her 16 minutes in the game.  She did pick up all 3 fouls in 4th quarter, though.. I'm sure she just let the technique get a little lax.  Another bright spot was Ramani Parker's 6 points in 5 minutes! 

FINAL 62-30

A quiet night for the starting back court, Chelsie Hall went 0-4 on the night. She did have 6 rebounds and 3 assists in her 19 minutes on the floor... Hailey Van Lith as she went 1-4 for 2 points, missed both free throws, 1 rebound, 3 assists and a turnover.  HVL saw 26 minutes in this game.

(PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON) 

(The Cards danced by UTM like the legendary Fred Astaire) 

FRED REPORT  

F-Free Throws The Cards went 9-12 (75%) at the free throw line.  They also committed 16 fouls of their own to send the Skyhawks to the line for only 8 free throw attempts total.  The visitors went 6-8 on the night.   HVL missing her two free throws was rather disappointing.  I give the squad a lowercase "f"

R-Rebounding The game's leading rebounder was Holly Forbes for the Skyhawks with 9.  The Card's outrebounded 36-24 overall, but I would think the team with the taller players should dominate this stat line.  lowercase "r"

E-Effort/Efficiency The team didn't seem to have any tired legs after playing the previous evening.  In fact, I think they could've gone for another quarter or two and been able to get the back court out of their shooting slump.  While they were cold, the energy from the two did not seem to rub off on the rest of the squad.  HVL and Hall combined for 6 assists and 7 rebounds and as a team, the Cards had 17 assists on 23 made buckets. CAPITAL "E"

D- Defense It was a not so great welcome back to the Yum! for the now UT Martin guard, former Card, Seygan Robins who managed just 4 points on 2-7 shooting, 0-3 from 3 point range.  As a team the Skyhawks shot 27.5% from the field and making only 2 of their 16 3-point attempts.   The Cards held their opponents to 'football scores' in back to back nights.  They forced 18 turnovers, scoring 23 off of them.  CAPITAL "D"


FINAL Fred Report: f-r-E-D

THEY SAID IT: 

Post Game Walz

POST GAME EMILY ENGSTLER

UP NEXT:

Saturday @ Washington - 5 p.m.

Have a great end to the week.  7 days until Thanksgiving!! 

Daryl

Smith Named All-American; Soccer Throwback -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Ahlana Smith an All-American

Louisville will be home to another All-American next season. Cardinals' signee Ahlana Smith was named an NJCAA All-American yesterday after averaging 20.3 points per game in 25 starts for Gulf Coast State College this past season. Smith is the fourth All-American honoree of the season that will be playing for Jeff Walz next season, joining Olivia Cochran (McDonald's AA), Hailey Van Lith (MAA), and Dana Evans (2nd Team AA). We talked a lot last week on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour about the players that Louisville would be losing and how other players could develop and fill the gaps, but Walz has plenty of talent still on the roster or coming in. Next season should be an exciting one. 

Missing Soccer

Being a soccer fan is tough right now. The English Premier League season should be getting into the exciting final quarter of its season while MLS, USL, and NWSL should be underway or about to start. College soccer would be in the midst of spring exhibition schedules, and if the organization pushing to reform the college soccer schedule gets their way, we'd be smack-dab in the middle of the season. Instead, we're left to reminisce. So, I've chosen to do just that. I'm re-upping the recap of the November 15th match against Lipscomb, Louisville's first NCAA Tournament win since 2011. The Cards would go on to fall in the next game against a tough BYU team in Provo, but that doesn't take away from the excitement of the last game of the season in Lynn Stadium.

Soccer Ends Two Game Losing Streak at Perfect Time

The Cards ended their season with a pair of matches against NC State. The Wolfpack won both of those, sending Louisville into the NCAA Tournament with some confidence to rebuild. The Cards were able to do so last night, dominating possession of the ball on their way to a 1-0 win against the Lipscomb Bisons. Coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes noted in her post-game comments that she believed the possession was one thing Louisville could have done better on, but I believe Lipscomb's counter attacking ability was skewing her view of that stat. Louisville held possession for 71% of the first half and 64% for the entire game. 

Louisville's game plan in this match was pretty simple, and matched the rest of the season: sit on the ball, work possession through the midfield, and get chances on goal. Lipscomb's game plan was equally simple: disrupt the Louisville attack, win the ball, and counter. Had the Bison strikers been able to stay onsides for the life of them, we could be having a very different conversation this morning. After being called offsides 11 times in their last game, Lipscomb was called for four in the first half of last night's match. In each one, the Cards were beaten and Lipscomb either had a one-on-one opportunity or were poised for a very dangerous cross. On two, Lipscomb attempted shots after the whistle. On both of those, Gabby Kouzelos refused to get the ball out of the back of the net and made a pair of saves that don't go in the stat sheet. In scoreless games, seeing the ball in the back of the net can do things for both the offense and defense. Kouzelos refused to lose that psychological matchup.

As Louisville held possession, they also gathered a lot of chances. Fortunately for Lipscomb, Melissa Gray was up to the task. Gray had five saves in the first half, and would go on to finish with eight on the night. A couple of those first half saves were real beauties. However, all it took in this game was one chance, and Sarah Hernandez took that chance. Finishing her third goal of the season, all three on headers, Hernandez took flight Superwoman style to get to a perfectly placed free kick by Emina Ekic. Gray was caught out just a bit and the ball found the back of the net with 34 seconds remaining in the first half. Louisville finished the first half with 10 shots and six on frame, showing that they intended to keep beating on the door until they broke it down.

The second half saw quite a bit of the same. Louisville continued to earn chances much as they had in the first half. The Cards got five corners in the second half and ultimately put up seven shots. Though only three were on frame, the pressure was evident and the six shots off of the frame of the goal were close. As Coach Ferguson-Dayes mentioned in her postgame comments, Gray's play in the first half affected Louisville's shots in the second, putting more pressure on the Cards to be fine with their placement and ultimately leading to misses. 

Gabby Kouzelos maintained her staunch defense in the back, assisted of course by the back line. Lipscomb only finished with three shots and Kouzelos with two saves, but the defense saw quite a bit more work than the stats imply. Hernandez and Niamh Nelson both saw plenty of chances to clear crosses, through balls, and overhead balls, and they were up to the task last night. Kouzelos even got quite a bit more work than the box score shows, having to come all the way out of her box to win jousts at least three times and gathering a number of searching balls into the box by Lipscomb. Louisville picked up their tenth clean sheet on the way to this win.

Louisville's path gets harder from here. Their quadrant has seen nothing but chalk so far, as BYU, Arkansas, and NC State advanced last night. The second and third rounds will be held next weekend at the home site of the highest seed in the quadrant. In this case, the teams will travel to Provo, Utah, where Louisville will take on the Cougars of BYU. More information will be available as the first round ends across the tournament.

Hear the press conference style interview with Coach KFD, Emina Ekic, Sarah Hernandez, and Brooklynn Rivers here.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We made it happen! Last week, everyone else was as thrilled as Jeff and I were to have Paulie back "on the air". We were also joined by Jared, and the four of us rattled on for over an hour. We're back today (at least three of us, we never did a roll call this week), and we'll bring you the joy and excitement of Louisville Women's Athletics as always. Tune into the Cardinal Couple YouTube at 11AM for this week's show.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Cards Trounce Trees -- VBall Travels to Notre Dame -- WBB News -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Top Trees, Beat Stanford 3-0

Thanks to a scoring by committee affair, #5 Louisville field hockey topped #16 Stanford 3-0.  The win was the sixth shutout of the season for the Cards.

Bethany Russ gave the Cards an early lead- her ninth goal of the season- six minutes into the game.  A penalty corner was stopped but the Cards maintained possession.  Russ was positioned near the right side of the box and knocked the ball past the Stanford goalkeeper.

Mercedes "Meche" Pastor scored her seventh goal of the season in the second quarter.  Accompanied by fancy stick-work, Pastor flipped her stick around to send her shot into the top of the cage.

Erica Cooper was the final score of the game on a goal in the final quarter.  A Louisville penalty corner was deflected and Cooper was in position to take an open shot.

Hollyn Barr played the full 60 minutes in goal and recorded two saves.  Her day was pretty quiet thanks to a stellar defense that shut down Corinne Zanolli, the nation's leading scorer.  Zanolli came into the game with 21 goals in 14 games and was limited to one shot on goal.

The Cards basically stuck Carter Ayars (who deserves ACC Defensive Player of the Week) on Zanolli and she responded like a magnet to metal.

UofL improves to 11-2 on the year.  They wrap up their six-game home stand with a Saturday noon game against Longwood and Sunday 1:00 game against Iowa.

Without the ailing Paulie on hand to get the scenario from Coach Sowry and a player or two, here's a brief clip UofL did of Justine discussing the victory.

LINK:  JUSTINE SOWRY DISCUSSES UOFL WIN OVER STANFORD


Volleyball Travels to Notre Dame

It's a quick turnaround for #23 Louisville volleyball.  After having their normal Friday-Sunday slate last weekend they play a midweek Wednesday night match in South Bend against a Notre Dame squad that's receiving votes.

Louisville and Notre Dame have identical records- 13-3 on the year and 6-0 in conference play.  The only other team perfect in the ACC is a Pitt team that's 17-1 overall.

The Irish fell early on in the Purcell Pavilion to Wright State and then later at a neutral site to Cincinnati and north up at Michigan.  In their six conference matches, Notre Dame has not dropped more than one set per match and is 18-4 in sets.

Notre Dame holds a 22-15 edge in the history of the two teams.  Last year, each team won in five sets on their home turf.

UofL Volleyball alum Katie George will be joining Eric Frede on the ACC Network for the 7:00 match.


WBB Adds a 2020 Commit

Ahlana Smith is the newest WBB Cardinal.

She's a 5'9" guard out of Charlotte, NC who started her career at UCLA, transferred to Gulf Coast Community College for the upcoming season and will join the Cardinals in 2020.

Word is that she's a lightning-fast guard who can nail the mid-range jumper and create havoc on defense. Another weapon in the Walz arsenal of players who want to be here. Another transfer that Walz and the staff went after because of the potential based on what they'd seen from the past.

Welcome to the "Ville", Ahlana !!



Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

Jared