CARDS AT ACC WBB TIPOFF -- FIELD HOCKEY NEWS -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 ACC TIP OFF MEDIA DAY REPRESENTED BY WALZ, VAN LITH, SMITH

The University of Louisville women's basketball team has three representatives in Charlotte, NC  today for the 2021 ACC Tip-Off, 

Jeff Walz is in attendance and will appear on the ACC Network's Packer and Durham show at 10 a.m this morning. Hailey Van Lith and Kianna Smith are also attending and will be on the network's Nothing But Net programming around 12:15 p.m. 

The three will be involved in various events throughout the morning. You can using the hash tag #ACCTipoff to follow along, or just tune into the broadcast, The event begins at 7 a.m. this morning and runs through 3 p.m.

It should be interesting to see what the three have to say about the upcoming season, who is asking the questions and what they'll be asked. 

FIELD HOCKEY NOW #4

The latest NFCHA Field Hockey Coaches poll came out yesterday and the Louisville Field Hockey squad slid one spot from #3 to #4. The Cards took their second loss of the season Sunday at Michigan-- 2-1. 

It's a Big 10 dominated top of the poll, with Iowa at #1, Michigan at #2 and Rutgers climbing over the Cards to take the #3 spot. Louisville is at #4, followed by #5 Penn State and #6 Northwestern. Thee ACC does have Syracuse at #7...UNC checks in at #10, Boston College has moved up to #12, Virginia is #14 and Wake Forest completes the top 15 at #15. Duke, despite their 5-8 record, is at #23. 

The Cards are on the road this weekend, with stops at Boston College Friday at 1 p.m. and then Northeastern on Sunday at noon. 

PASTOR, McFERRAN NAMED TO QUALIFIER SQUADS.

 

We found out yesterday that Cardinals Field Hockey greats Ayeshia McFerran and Mercedes Pastor have been named to 2021 Women's European Qualifier teams. 

McFerran, as you might have guessed, will compete for Ireland in the the field-of-eight teams.

Pastor is on the Italian roster, a bit of a surprise to us at Cardinal Couple. Last we heard, she was competing professionally in Belgium. It seems Meche has a dual citizenship in Argentina as well as Italy. She's certainly well-travelled...

The tournament will take place October 21-22 in Italy and the winner gets an automatic berth in th 2022 Women's Field Hockey World Cup. Besides Italy and Ireland, France, Russia, Belarus, Wales, Scotland and Poland are in the field. 

The Irish start out against France and Italy gets Wales in the opening round.  

The 2022 FIH World Cup will be held in July 2022. 

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

paulie

Former Card McFerran on Irish Field Hockey Olympic team -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

IRISH, MCFERRAN ONE OF 12 COUNTRIES IN OLYMPICS

We take a great deal of pride here at Cardinal Couple when former Louisville women's athletic participants get the chance to compete on the world stage. Right now, arguably the biggest world stage -- The Olympics -- is underway and former Cardinals great Ayeshia McFerran is the goalkeeper for the Irish National team in the events at Tokyo.

McFerran has been called the world greatest goalkeeper and certainly earned the title at the University of Louisville with her work defending the net.  Ayeshia spent four years (2015-18) in goalkeep for Louisville and complied 50 wins and 20 shutouts in her four years for the Cards. 

The Cards made NCAA Tournament appearances in three of McFerrans's four years at Louisville and Ayeshia was named an All-American all four years she was at Louisville. 

After graduation, McFerran returned to her homeland  --Ireland -- and resumed her duties as the goalkeeper for the Irish National squad. The Irish qualified for the Olympics, one of 12 teams to do so, and were placed in Pool A for the Olympics, along with Germany, Great Britain, South Africa, The Netherlands and India.

Sadly, the United States did not qualify for the Olympics in Field Hockey. .

The 12 squads are involved in "pool play" currently and will play each member of their pool once. The top four teams in each pool advance to the quarterfinals. So far, the countries have played two games each and Ireland is 1-1 in Pool A. 

The Irish began pool play with a 2-0 win on Saturday, July 24th over South Africa. The competition got much rougher yesterday for Ireland, going up against The Netherlands. The Netherlands are widely considered the powerhouse of Field Hockey and dropped Ireland to 1-1 with a 4-0 shutout.. 

Ireland returns to play on Tuesday when they'll face 2-0 Germany. 

Standings in the pools are determined by a squad getting three points for a win, one point for a tie and no points for a loss. The Irish are tied, with three points, with Great Brittan in Pool A -- The Netherlands and Germany lead the way with six points and India and South Africa are at the bottom of Pool A with no points, so far.  

We at CARDINAL COUPLE wish Ayeshia the best of good fortunes in the rest of the Olympic competition. ! 

paulie

Justine Sowry Interview -- Taylor Signs with Mercury -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

THE JUSTINE SOWRY INTERVIEW

I caught up with UofL Field Hockey head coach Justine Sowry yesterday in her office that overlooks Trager Stadium, where the Field Hockey squad practices and plays. Coach "J" is busy with preparations for the squad's first practice of the fall, which will take place next week. 

We had a great discussion on last season, the loss of Ayeshia McFerran to graduation and the pros and who the contenders are to fill that spot at goal-keeper. As you'll hear, Sowry returns a veteran team, her top three scorers from last year and gets a talented group of six freshmen to join the roster. 

A special thanks to Field Hockey S.I.D. Lori Korte-Harmon for making the arrangements and to Coach, for sitting down with me and discussing the squad. Link below: 

JUSTINE SOWRY INTERVIEW

Some listening points for you: 

-- How was Coach's summer?

-- Who are the contenders for starting goalkeeper? 

-- Her evaluation of the freshmen

-- Her special message to Cardinal fans

-- Which former Louisville Field Hockey star is returning to Louisville and the team?  

Field Hockey begins their 2019 season on August 24th (Saturday) with the annual scrimmage against the Alumnae and will face Miami (OH) in a scrimmage the next day. 


ASIA TAYLOR SIGNED BY PHOENIX

The Phoenix Mercury have added 6-1 forward Asia Taylor on Tuesday as a second hardship exemption due to injuries.

It's the fifth WNBA team for A-Tayy since being drafted by the Minnesota Lynx out of Louisville in 2014. It's her third stop this season, having previously been on the Indiana and Minnesota rosters. 

The addition is a seven-day contract with the Mercury, the same as guard Arica Carter, who played Sunday against Washington.

The Mercury were missing five players due to injury on Sunday yet still won 103-82 over the Mystics. Including Taylor and Carter, they'll have nine active players Thursday at Los Angeles or ten if guard Briann January (foot) is cleared to return.

Taylor played eight games last month with Minnesota, scoring a career-high 13 points in 17 minutes against Chicago on July 10.

For trivia buffs, can you name the last time two former Louisville women's basketball players were on the same WNBA team, the team, and the players? Let us know in the comments section. 

Have a wonderful Wednesday!  Tomorrow we'll have my interview with senior guard on the Louisville WBB squad Jess Laemmle. 

Paulie

Still stopping -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

MCFERRAN MAKING THE PLAYS IN IRELAND

So, what does the best goalkeeper in women's Field Hockey do once she's graduated from college? I'll not put the answer in the form of a quiz question...too easy for you. 

She continues to protect the pipes in her home country with the National team. 

Ayeshia McFerran is the starting goalkeeper for the Irish Women's Field Hockey Senior National team. The squad recently competed in the FIH series finals...with implications for the 2020 Olympics... and came in second, losing to Korea 3-1 in the championship game. 

With the second place finish, though, the squad has successfully qualified for the main qualifiers in August. The Irish won three matches in Pool A, including a 4-0 blanking of the Czechs on Friday, to lead to the finals and are ranked eighth in the world currently. 

McFerran discusses the loss and the great goal ahead at the link below: 

LINK:  Ayeshia McFerran


McFerran recently graduated from the University of Louisville, getting her degree in Exercise Science. She was part of Cardinal Field Hockey squads that went 55-27 over the past four years. She was also a four-year NFHCA All-American, the only Cardinal to ever achieve that honor for four years.  

Despite the graduation of McFerran, the UofL Field Hockey squad looks to be a formidable foe for their ACC opponents and beyond in 2019. 10 current, future or former Cardinal are playing in the USA Young Women's National Field Hockey Championships that end tomorrow in Lancaster, PA. 

Returnees Carter Ayars, Hollyn Barr, Alli Bitting, Erica Cooper, Isabella Leeker, Sam Minrath, Meghan Schneider and Katie Schneider...2016 graduate Erin McCrudden and incoming freshman Margot Lawn (Archbishop Spalding High School, MD) are part of the 144-player, eight team championship that began Friday. The Cardinal contingent isn't all on the same squad, they're evenly divided among five of the eight teams. 

2019 Cardinal commit Margot Lawn (left)

On the 2019 recruits...Lawn is a consensus top 10 player in the 2019 class. India Reed, another 2019 Louisville commit, is from Louisville Manual High School and considered to be in the top 25 of the 2019 High School rankings. 

The Cards also return their leading scorer in Bethany Russ, who is from Australia...and Mercedes Pastor, third leading scorer, who hails from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Whena Munn goes into her senior season and the New Zealand native has participated in all of the Cards 63 games over the past three years...starting in 16 of them. 

Here's a great article on Ayeshia that looks at her past and what's ahead: 

LINK: Ayeshia takes her own path

Who will replace McFerran as the Cardinal goalkeeper in 2019? 

Most feel the battle is between redshirt junior Barr and redshirt freshman Minrath. Barr started five games in 2017 while McFerran was fulfilling Irish National team obligations and Minrath lead Christian Academy to the Kentucky State Championship title as a senior in 2017. Both were on the 2018 roster, Barr played in one contest. 

The Cards will have their work cut out for them in the always-formidable ACC, where North Carolina reigns as the National Champions and Duke was ranked in the top three in 2018. The Cards have 11 home matches this season and start the 2019 campaign with four straight home contests, plus the alumnae, at Trager Stadium. 

Head coach Justine Sowry will miss McFerran, plus graduated seniors  Taylor Stone and Katie Walsh...but Cards return their top three scorers from last season plus experience and depth on the defensive end.  

For Field Hockey news, be sure to check back here at Cardinal Couple...the Cards first action is in 68 days, on Aug 24th. against the Alumnae. 

paulie
xxxxx

FIELD HOCKEY FEATURES LONG HOME STRETCHES, TEN TOP 25 FOES -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

One caveat we have seen here hold true at Cardinal Couple since the days of Louisville joining the ACC is...that if it is ACC competition, it's going to be tough competition. This especially holds true in Field Hockey, where the other six schools that compete in the sport besides Louisville all finished in the top 20 in 2018. 

Add in four other schools on the schedule that finished in the top 20, plus one that played in the NCAA Tournament, and the 2019 Louisville Field Hockey slate looks daunting, challenging and highly competitive. 

It is also an interesting schedule in terms of travel and home games. The Cards will play their first five contests (which include the annual Alumnae Game and a scrimmage) at Trager Stadium. Then, it's on the road for six straight. Beginning in October, it's back to Trager for six in a row, and then two on the road before the regular season home finale.

From 2018, the ten top 25 on the schedule are #1 UNC, #3 Duke, #7 Iowa, #9 Penn St. #12 Wake Forest, #13 Virginia, #14 Boston College, #20 Syracuse, #21 Ohio St. and #23 Stanford. North Carolina was the NCAA Tournament Champion. 



2019 LOUISVILLE FIELD HOCKEY SCHEDULE 

(home games in bold italics)
( * indicates conference game) 


AUGUST

Saturday, August 24th. -- ALUMNAE GAME   1 p.m.
Sunday, August 25th. -- Scrimmage vs. Miami  2 p.m.
Friday, August 30th. -- Indiana  3 p.m.

SEPTEMBER

Sunday, September 1st. -- UMass  noon 
Wednesday, September 4th. -- Kent State  3:30 p.m.
Sunday, September 8th. --  at Michigan State  11 a.m.
Monday, September 9th. -- UC Davis (at Mich. St.)  11 a.m.
Sunday, September 15th. --  at Ohio State  1 p.m.
*Friday, September 20th. -- at North Carolina  5 p.m.
*Friday, September 27th. -- at Boston College  6 p.m.
Sunday, September 29th. -- at Providence  1 p.m.

OCTOBER

*Friday, October 4th. -- Wake Forest  6 p.m.
Sunday, October 6th. -- Penn State  noon
*Friday, October 11th.  -- Virginia  6 p.m.
Tuesday, October 15th. -- Stanford  noon
Saturday, October 19th. -- Longwood  noon
Sunday, October 20th. -- Iowa  1 p.m.
Thursday, October 24th. -- at William and Mary  6 p.m.
*Saturday, October 26th. -- at Duke  noon

NOVEMBER 

*Saturday, November 2nd. -- Syracuse  1 p.m.

November 6th.10th.  ACC Tournament  Chestnut Hill, MA.

November 16th.-17th.   NCAA Tournament 1st and 2nd rounds

November 22nd.-24th.  NCAA Tournament Championships   Winston-Salem, NC

The era of All-Universe goalkeeper Ayeshia McFerran has ended with her graduation. Senior Hollyn Barr saw the backup minutes between the pipes last year and the Cards also have sophomore Sam Minrath, from Louisville's Christian Academy, for goalkeeping needs. 

Besides McFerran's graduation, the Cards also lose Maria Gomez, Taylor Stone and Katie Walsh via diploma route. 

Who's back? Some names you might want to get familiar with are: 

On the attack, the Cards have their top three leading scorers back in Bethany Russ, Erica Cooper and Mercedes Pastor. Complimenting them on offense are Alli Biiting, Katie Schneider and Whena Munn. Katie's sister Meghan Schneider returns and veteran Carter Ayars will grace Trager also. The Cards return 19 letter-winners in all from 2018. 

Justine Sowry also has seven freshman for the 2019 class on campus. From Louisville, Mattie Tabor (Sacred Heart) and India Reed (Manual). Joining them are a pair of players from the Netherlands in Julie Kouijzer and Thirsa Kho. Emilia Kacmarczyk hails from England and Minna Tremonti (Ann Arbor, MI) and Margot Lawn (Pasadena, MD) round out the newbies. 

The Cards went 13-6 last season with a 3-3 ACC record. They fell to Wake Forest in the first round of the ACC Tournament and were not selected for the NCAA Tournament. 


88 days until the water cannons and competition begin at Trager. We'll keep you updated here at CARDINAL COUPLE with news as it develops. 


Have a thoughtful Tuesday,


Paulie

Lacrosse Releases Schedule -- Field Hockey News -- Preview of Cats -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

LACROSSE SCHEDULE FOR 2019

Year two of "Teeter's Term" begins on Feb 8th. Officially, that is, with a game in Evanston against Northwestern. Long before that, Coach Scott, Kay Morrissette, Renee Poullett and the squad will be practicing, preparing and planning for the season and, from the eyeball test, it looks to be a challenging and exciting schedule. Who will be some of the players to get to know?


Only one senior on the Lacrosse roster, and she's a great one in Tessa Chad. In her first year donned in the Red and Black, she was second leading scorer on the squad with 42 goals. She played in all 17 Louisville Lacrosse matches. Before the Cards, she was with Teeter at Canisius and earned quite a few MAAC honors in two year as a Golden Griffin. 

The Blaylock sisters return for their sophomore year. Midfielder Caroline made second team ALL-ACC last season and led Louisville in scoring with 45 goals. Sister Sarah is also a midfielder and had eight scores in the 17 games. Lexie Ball is back to compete for the starting goalkeeper role and her backup Jen Schaaf is back as well. 

Freshman Shay Clevenger is a name you might want to get to know. She was ranked #32 in the Inside Lacrosse Top 49 Young Gun Seniors for the 2018 season. The defender played at Marriots Ridge high school, where the Blaylock sisters played. 

A roster of 24 student-athletes that includes 11 sophomores and nine freshmen. Geographical breakdown of the roster shows nine players from Maryland, four from New York, three from Canada, two each from North Carolina, New Jersey and Virginia and one apiece from Kentucky and Florida.  

After the opener against Northwestern in Evanston, the Cards travel to play Marquette on Feb 10th. and then at Denver on Feb.,16th. 

They'll take the pitch for the home opener on Feb.24th against Mercer. Vandy stops by next on Feb 27th. to close out February action. 

March finds the Cards in South Bend to face the Irish of Notre Dame on the 2nd. They'll find out if the Butler did it on March 6th up in Naptown and return home for action against Duke on March 6th. A trip to Pittsburgh will bring a match against Duquesne on the 11th. Back home, the Cards will invite Cincinnati in on the 13th., and Syracuse on the 17th. 


A few days with action before they travel to Blacksburg to go gobbler hunting at Virginia Tech on the 23rd. Then, it's back to the Ville for three in a row to close the home part of the schedule...Delaware on the 31st., North Carolina on April 7th., and Ohio State  on the 9th. 

Louisville concludes the regular season travelling. They'll visit Virginia on April 13th. and Boston College on the 19th. The ACC Lacrosse Tournament is in Boston this year and that begins on April 24th. 

A challenging 2019? You bet. Seven of the Cards foes participated in the NCAA Tournament last year. The Cards went 5-1 early in the 2018 schedule before losing 10 out of the last 11 to finish 6-11. This year's squad should have better luck of it, it's easy to see at least equaling last year's wins and maybe even getting a few more to hit double figure wins and achieve Teeter's first ACC victory. 

We'll cover and report on all the LAX efforts here at the Couple. Go Cards! 



FIELD HOCKEY HONORS

Congratulations to three of Justine Sowry's "stick girls", who received NFHCA DI All-American honors! 

Senior Ayeshia McFerran took first-team accolades, the goalkeeper extraordinaire became the first Cardinal in history to be named to the All-American team for all four of her four years at UofL. The best goalkeeper in the world was named to the third team as a freshman and first team her sophomore and junior years. Her accolades at Louisville would take me a full hour to list here...she is the best to ever step on the Trager Stadium turf and will have a long and successful career playing for the Irish National team now. 

Sophomore Mercedes "Meche" Pastor was honored with second team status. She showed her magician-like skills with the stick and ball for the Cards this season and added this award to her All-West Region and ACC first team selections. At 5'1", the Buenos Aires native meets the qualifications for our "Attack Yorkie" status and we look forward to the next two years of seeing her baffle, confuse and score on the competition. The "pastor" is in the pulpit again! All rise and rejoice! 

Senior Taylor Stone caps off a very successful student-athlete time here at the Ville with third-team honors. This is the second time she's made All-American status and the Herndon, VA native was also named to the All-West and ACC squads this year. She's also a part of the USA Field Hockey National Development squad. 

We wish all three the best of luck as they continue their skills on the field for Louisville and beyond in 2019! 



CAT COMMENTARY

Since I'll be out of the CARDINAL COUPLE writing rotation until Monday, I thought I'd provide a few thoughts and observations on the upcoming UofL vs. UK women's basketball game this Sunday at the KFC YUM! Center.  

Rest assured that Jared, Case and Jeff will provide much more in the next three days about the annual "Battle of the Bluegrass". Be sure to check back here for their columns. The Sunday contest should be all that's advertised. It is a "red out" so dress accordingly! 



CATS GUARDS WILL BE A CHALLENGE

Maci Morris and Taylor Murray run the show out front for Matthew Mitchell's squad and they've been quite successful in helping UK go 8-0 so far. Morris poured in 31 points last time out for UK in a 87-57 win over Morehead. Point guard Murray leads the squad in assists and has 13 against the Eagles. She's showing a brand new confidence out front and has picked up her aggressiveness this season. Backups Blair Green and Jaida Roper are quite capable of providing quality backup minutes. We'll cover another guard below. 

FRESHMAN FIREPOWER

Rhyne Howard has come in and found instant success. The freshman, who played under Walz on the FIBA Americas squad, leads UK in scoring with 18.1 p.p.g. She's listed at 6'2" and classified as a guard. She also leads UK in three-pointers made (23-45) for 51% and has the highest rebounds per game average at 6.9 a night. 

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS

Keke McKinney , a 6'1" sophomore and Tatyana Wyatt, a 6'2" sophomore are the other two probable starters for UK and prowl the paint. They combine for 8.3 p.p.g. a night and 8.5  grabs a contest. They could be the "weak links" in the UK configuration and an area where the Cards try to capitalize. 

Sam, Kylee and Bionca should prosper. 


WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? 

The Cats are 8-0 and their wins have come against Alabama St., Southern, Virginia, High Point and Morehead at home. They won the Paradise Jam Tournament with wins over South Florida, UCLA and UNC. A two-point squeaker against the Bruins. Every thing else has been by 10 points or more. They downed the ACC Cavs by 12 and the Tar Heels by 10.

They are ranked #19 by the AP. This will be their first top 25 test of the season. 

We'll have much more on the match-up in the following days.  If you want a sneak peek of UK, you can catch them tonight against Rhode Island in Lexington on the SEC Network tonight at 7 p.m.

(The weekly Paulie Podcast is up and you can hear him ramble at the following link):

Paulie Podcast for 12/6/18 
paulie
xxxxx




                                                         ##############

WBB Media Day -- FH ACC Tournament -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

UofL Hosts Women's Basketball Media Day

In just a few short days the women's basketball team will begin their 2018-19 season.  They head to Bowling Green to face Western Kentucky to open the year on Tuesday.  Before that, we must have our annual media day. An event that traditionally start with Coach Walz making a "state of the Cards" presentation and then opening the floor to the assembled media.

After that, it's to the floor where breakout interviews with the individual players are available on the Denny Crum court floor. In past years this event has taken place at the S.A.C. building and on the Cardinal Arena court and also in the "Little Yum" practice facility on Floyd St.

Paulie will head downtown to 2nd and Main to cover the event for Cardinal Couple.  His much-anticipated interviews with co-host Arica Carter are sure to steal the show again.

Their will be interviews with the coaches and players as well as a chance to observe just a little bit of practice.  This is one of the rare times pictures and videos are allowed at a WBB gathering like this and having it downtown at the KFC YUM! Center this year, instead of on campus, makes it more of a gala-type and important event. Team pictures will be taken as well today, so we'll see what Paulie might have for us.  Tune in tomorrow to read and hear all about it!

Field Hockey Prepares for the ACC Tournament

Postseason play has started for a second fall sport.  The field hockey team hopes to build off of last year's postseason success as they face Wake Forest in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Game time is 4 p.m. on UNC's field. #3 seed vs. #6 seed. The RSN Network has the feed.

These 3-seeded Cards finished 3-3 in conference play after defeating Boston College, Syracuse, and Virginia.  This is the second straight year the Cards claimed the 3-seed after going 4-2 last year.

Earlier in the season Louisville fell at Wake Forest 4-2.  The loss was one of two on the year that the Cards fell by more than one goal (lost to UNC 3-1).  Louisville went into the half tied 1-1 with the Demon Deacons before being outscored 3-1 in the second half.  Wake Forest scored three goals in the span of 11 minutes.

Louisville is 2-4 in the ACC Tournament all-time with both wins coming in last year's run at Trager
Stadium.  They ended up falling in the final to North Carolina.  Every game Louisville has played in the ACC Tournament has resulted in a one goal differential whether they won or loss.

This game is a revenge game but is also trying to strengthen their argument to receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament.  At this point, with their 13-5 record, No. 12 coaches poll ranking, and No. 17 rpi ranking should be enough to get them in the 18-team tournament, but a victory over No. 20 Wake Forest should seal the deal.  Let's hope this UofL-Wake Forest match-up is a bit better than what we witnessed by the football team last week.

Four Cards Earn All-ACC Honors

Besides gearing up for the ACC Tournament UofL field hockey also had some good news as four players were announced to All-ACC teams.

Ayeisha McFerran and Mercedes Pastor were named to the All-ACC First Team.  This is third straight year earning conference honors for the senior goalkeeper.  Her 1.14 goals against average was second in the ACC and ninth in the country.  She has over 50 career victories and ranks high in wins, shutouts, and goals against average in Louisville history.

Pastor scored four goals and added two assists in a season where she started every game.  Besides her stat sheet accolades Pastor was the player the rest of the team looked to when needing someone to bring the ball up field or just for ball control purposes.  She should move into a bigger role next year as a junior.

Taylor Stone and Bethany Russ were named to the All-ACC Second Team.  Taylor, a senior midfielder also made the second team last year.  She's third on the team with four goals.  The co-captain played a crucial role on defense, helping the Cards record five shutouts and nine one-goal games.

Russ leads the team with 11 goals and a total of 24 points.  Six of those 11 goals were game-winners, ranking second in the conference.  Her scoring picked up in the second half of the season, providing an offensive spark when the Cards needed it most.

UNC swept the individual honors this year.


Donation Month

November is more than a month for Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving- it's the big month for Cardinal Couple.  Donation month is the one month of the year where we actively seek donations (although they are welcome year round!) to help us do what we do best- bring you everything in the realm of UofL women's sports.

The donations go toward keeping the website running, radio station costs, and travel and food for road trips for games.  Remember, all four of us are doing this for free just because of our love for what we do.Licensing, fees,...so many things to pay each year, but we do it in the aspect of bringing the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports.

As we progress through the month you will hear from all four of us about Donation Month, what it means to us, and some personal experiences and stories during our time here at Cardinal Couple.

Whether you have a dollar or a thousand dollars, or if the lottery winner is an active CC reader, we will gladly accept any donation you are willing to give.



You can send your donation via PayPal. Check out the link at the end of this article or go to the top of the article and click the PayPal logo there. Or, you can donate by mail:

Cardinal Couple
P.O. Box 91521
Louisville, KY 40291

You can make checks payable to "Cardinal Couple" and just write "donation" on the memo line!

Remember, YOU are Cardinal Couple!
We NEVER forget that and appreciate you.

LINK FOR PAY-PAL DONATION BELOW:

DONATE TO CARDINAL COUPLE VIA PAY-PAL

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Field Hockey wins on Senior Day -- Loretta Kakala transferring -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

BETHANY RUSS GOAL IN O.T. SENDS CARDS PAST MIAMI

In cool and damp conditions and for the second straight contest, the Louisville Field Hockey squad found themselves faced with overtime in their Sunday contest at Trager against Miami (OH). This match had been a scoreless affair, much like the Friday tilt with Duke, until the RedHawks capitalized on a penalty corner with no time left in the first half. 

Louisville drew even with about eight minutes gone in the final half. Meche Pastor sent a baseline shot net-ward that Madison Walsh corralled and put past the RedHawks goalkeeper. For Madison, it was her first score of the season. 

Miami was relentless on the attack, though, and with about 12 minutes of action remaining, drew a couple of penalty corners. The RedHawks found success on the second corner and Leonor Berlie got her second score of the contest to put Miami in the lead. 

As the end of regulation drew near, a succession of green and yellow penalty cards (four in all) started stacking up on the RedHawks and the ultimate came when Miami head coach Inako Puzo received a red card for comments and was ejected from the contest with 32 seconds remaining in regulation. Just a few seconds earlier, the Cards had earned a penalty corner and Bethany Russ got her first score of the contest to tie action at 2-2.

Miami nearly won it at the end of regulation when their leading scorer on the season -- Paula Portugal -- found herself in front of Cardinal goalkeeper Ayeshia McFerran with the ball. Her shot sailed high over the net, though -- the Cards had escaped the last ditch effort by the RedHawks and this bird battle was headed to overtime. 

With the 7v7 format in overtime in place, Miami (OH) actually had just six players on the turf because of the late yellow card on attacker Noor Breedijk and Louisville used the player-up advantage to control action, ultimately getting a penalty corner chance just a minute-thirty into extra action, where Russ delivered again, her ninth goal of the season...this time on a pass from Alli Bitting to end the sudden-victory session. 

More on Puzo...you could hear the Miami skipper's comments and complaints up in the press box and his continuous dissatisfaction and belittling of the officiating crew caught up with him. It's the first time I can remember a coach getting ejected from a field hockey contest that I've seen. He watched the remaining action through the fence on the McDonald's side of Trager. I did see him after the contest back on the field surrounded by his wife and children -- an unfortunate loss of control and decorum by him...earlier...which, although may have not cost the RedHawks the contest -- his assistants seemed in control of the situation out of the field -- but his unfortunate actions certainly didn't help the RedHawks chances. 

Louisville hits the highway for their final three games of the regular season. The Cards will visit ACC foe Syracuse on Oct 21st, swing over to Albany on the 23rd and end up at Kent State on Oct. 28th. 

Paulie caught up with Coach Sowry and the four seniors...Ayeshia McFerran, Maria Gomez, Taylor Stone and Katie Walsh...after the contest and you can hear those interviews below: 

MIAMI POST GAME JUSTINE SOWRY

SENIORS AFTER 3-2 WIN OVER MIAMI


LORETTA KAKALA LEAVING LOUISVILLE WBB SQUAD


The tweets started surfacing Sunday and my voice mail, inbox and texts started piling up in an rapid fashion. 

Redshirt freshman Loretta Kakala had made public via her Instagram account and Twitter feeds indicated that she was transferring from the University of Louisville women's basketball squad. Heading to Pacific (CA) University. 

And the question came up.....why? 

I guess we'll never really know. Indications seemed to lead to the stated desire to play closer to home and get a fresh start with the possibility of more playing time at school very close -- fifteen minutes -- to her home town of Manteca, CA.

Speculation developed after the Cards 2017-18 season what role she would play on the 2018-19 Cardinal WBB squad. Most figured she'd contribute a few minutes on the front line, with returnees Sam Fuehring, Kylee Shook and Bionca Dunham getting the majority of the minutes at power forward and center and incoming transfer Yacine Diop from Pitt definitely contributing there. 

Reports from a source near the program indicated that her conditioning wasn't exactly going as planned but these reports were not confirmed by me and the announcement of her transfer on Sunday caught many Cardinal WBB fans by surprise. The bottom line is, as it is in most transfer situations, is that you want to do the right thing for the player and their student-athlete experience and if it's determined that the player might be more comfortable and receive more playing time elsewhere...then they should go pursue those desires and goals. 

Hello there! 

A check of the UofL roster at the GoCards site still had Kakala listed, but sometimes it takes a bit to change this information, especially when the announcement is made on a Sunday. And, sports information rarely posts or discusses transfers out, which is understandable. 

The 6'2" center played in four games in 2017 for the Cards...a total of 43 minutes (10.8 a game average). She totaled 12 points on 6 for 16 shooting and had 12 rebounds. She red-shirted after the fourth contest. 

Pacific has a D-I women's basketball program and competes in the West Coast Conference. 10 conference members...maybe best known for Gonzaga, BYU and Pepperdine. The Tigers were 15-17 last season with a 7-11 conference mark and finished sixth in the conference. 


So, "Retta"...we barely got to know you and wonder what might have become of your career at UofL but...as women's college basketball fans...certainly wish you good times, a great career and the best of luck at Pacific. 

Transfers in. Transfers out. All an increasing part of the college basketball games these days. The bottom line analysis is that any college basketball roster is going to change throughout the year and those changes, whether they be injury, red-shirt or transfer...have to be dealt with in terms of what is best for the student-athlete and the team must move forward. 


paulie
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