Sunday Cardinal Couple -- Lacrosse takes BIG EAST, Softball splits

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


- Brust's six goals lead Louisville to 9-8 win

- Softball splits in Memphis


The last time we interviewed Faye Brust, she assured us the team was ready to take care of business in D.C. and bring back the BIG EAST Lacrosse Tournament trophy. She failed to mention, though, that she'd account for the first half offense in the championship game. Thanks to her six first half goals and some clutch Cardinal defense at the end of the game, Louisville downs Georgetown 9-8 to take the tournament championship.

It is the goal that the team had been working for all season and Brust was the scoring offense for the Cards in the first thirty minutes as Louisville held a tenacious 6-4 lead over the Hoyas.

Kaylin Morissette picked up the scoring for the Cards in the second half...getting two of Louisville's three goals. Her consecutive scores gave Louisville a 8-5 lead and Nikki Boltja made it 9-6 with 9:29 to go.

Georgetown drew within one late but the Cards defense held solid and Louisville was able to hang on for the 9-8 win.

Named to the All-Tournament team were Boltja, Morrissette, Monica Negron and goalie Ashley Peacock. Brust received Most Outstanding Player selection.

Louisville finds out today where they'll be going in the NCAA Tournament. The conference tournament title clinched a berth for the Cards to make their first trip to the NCAA Lacrosse Tournament.

UofL improved to 15-3 and has won their last 11 games.

Brust describes the final sequence:

"It's just special. This is what we've been working for all season. I had the ball with 4-5 seconds left in the game and just threw it up it the air and we all dogpiled. It was the most amazing feeling."

Amazing is the perfect word to describe this team this year. We hope the amazement continues in the Big Dance.


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Softball got a four-hit shutout from senior Caralisa Connell yesterday to win the second game in softball action against Memphis 6-0, but dropped the first contest 3-2 to the Tigers

MEMPHIS 3 - UOFL 2

The Cards took an early lead in game one when Brittany Duncan belted a solo home run over the right field fence. Next inning saw Whitney Arion follow suit to make it 2-0 UofL.

The Cards could find no other scoring opportunities, though and Memphis scored a run in the fourth and two in the bottom of the seventh to win against Maryssa Becker. A two-out bases loaded single was the deciding factor.

UOFL 6 - MEMPHIS 0

In game two, Louisville got busy in the top of the first to grab a 2-0 lead. Duncan's double plated both Kelsi Jones and Whitney Arion.

The Cards increased it to 3-0 in the fifth, a fly ball with the bases loaded by Katie Keller got Hannah Kiyohara to the plate. Kayla Soles went fence in the sixth and Louisville had a 4-0 advantage.

The Cards finished with two runs in the seventh...Taner Fowler delivering a double that scored Jones and Arion for the final 6-0 win. The split gets Louisville to 32-20 on the season and 13-7 in the AAC.

It was a "good" Carl sighting in the circle for Louisville...the senior tossed all seven innings and struck out three to go to 10-5 for the season.

The schools end the series and the regular season for each today at 1 p.m.

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Finally, congrats to venerable trainer Art Sherman...a winner in first attempt to win the Kentucky Derby. California Chrome got the job done with ease...a classic ride from Victor Espinoza in a rather slow 2:03:33 time.

Will CC be a triple crown winner? We'll find out whether he can complete leg two in two weeks up in Baltimore in the Preakness.

paulie

Friday Cardinal Couple -- Lacrosse goes to BIG EAST Finals

  - Cards going to BIG EAST LACROSSE FINALS!


 - Paulie's OAKS picks are posted



Kaylin Morissette scored seven goals, Nikki Boltja added five, and the Cardinals defeated Rutgers 17-6 in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinal in Washington, D.C.   Morissette's seven goals tied the BIG EAST Tournament single-game record, and her six goals in the first half broke a 2007 tournament record for scores in a half. The sophomore also broke the tournament's single-game record for draw controls by five, as she finished with 12.  


"Kay had an exceptional day both on the draw and the attack," head coach Kellie Young said. "Her shot placement was as good as it's ever been."


Boltja, in addition to her goal scoring, tied the conference tournament record with four assists and boosted her point total to a single-season best 89. With her free-position goal late in the second half, the senior became the school's career leader in free-position goals with 49.  



The Cardinals (14-3) wasted little time in jumping to a lead, scoring a pair of goals in the first five minutes of play. Jamie Redding found the back of the net at the 29:13 mark on a pass from Boltja, and then Carissa Corbett notched her sixth goal of the season on Boltja's second assist of the game. Rutgers (9-9) registered its first of two goals in the half at the 22:32 mark, before Morissette went on a run that outpaced the Scarlet Knights.

After scoring her first goal in the 22nd minute on an assist from Colleen O'Malley, Morissette took a
pass from Redding and slotted it past Rutgers' goalkeeper for her second score. Twenty-three seconds later, Morissette achieved her seventh hat trick of the season, recording her third goal on an assist from Brust. Boltja scored the game's first unassisted goal to cap the Cardinals' 4-0 run, giving them a 6-1 advantage.



Rutgers' Megan Clements tallied the Scarlet Knights' second goal but  Louisville responded with eight unanswered goals. The Cardinals' run was started by Boltja's second unassisted goal and continued with two more scores from Morissette. Inside the eight-minute mark, Boltja, Brust, Morissette, and Kopecka pushed Louisville's lead to 13-2 at the half, with Kopecka's goal coming on Hannah Koloski's first career assist.


Morissette finished one of the best single-half performances in tournament history. Her six goals came on six shots, and she also totaled nine draw controls and one ground ball.



The second period featured nearly half the scoring, with Louisville and Rutgers each tallying four goals apiece. Boltja, who had two goals in the half, improved her season total to 66 to put her at No. 2 on the school's single-season list.



Louisville also received stellar play from its two goalkeepers in the victory. Ashley Peacock improved to 4-0 after making three saves and allowing just five goals in 54 minutes of play. Senior goalie Ashley Herbst, who had been sidelined with a knee injury,  came in for nearly six minutes of relief and totaled three saves with only one goal allowed.


In the last three meetings against Rutgers, the Cardinals have outscored the Scarlet Knights 49-13. The BIG EAST Tournament final on May 2 will be televised on Fox Sports 2 at 2:30 p.m.


Louisville will face Georgetown...who broke open a 5-5 halftime tie with Connecticut to win 16-8.


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He's checked the sheets, the times, the jockeys and the track condition and gathered all this information he's collected and tossed it out the window for Bill The Goat to eat. Paulie's OAKS picks are up for viewing on his website...

www.paulsykes.com

Tread lightly...but I will tell you that I absolutely DESTROYED them Thursday. Will it carry over to Friday? I am confident and we are a "go".

-paulie

Thursday Cardinal Couple -- Softball loses to UK...WBB ACC Schedule out...Lacrosse ready for BIG EAST Tourney

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Softball falls to UK 7-3 in extra innings

- UofL WBB ACC Schedule released

- Lacrosse ready for BIG EAST Tournament

- Thursday picks at Churchill

A tough loss for Louisville softball Wednesday night...losing to in-state rival UK 7-3 in eight innings. 

The Cards rallied in the bottom of the seventh from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game at 3-3 with solo home runs from Kelsi Jones and Brittany Duncan but could not quiet the UK bats in the top of the eighth.

The Cats rocked Maryssa Becker and Rachel Le Coq for four hits in the top of the eighth to take the four run lead...Louisville went 3 up - 3 down in the bottom half of the eighth to lose for the second time to UK this season. 

A stirring effort to get back in the game by UofL but a disappointing 8th inning busts up Louisville's three game win streak. 

The Cards end conference regular season play in Memphis Derby weekend. They'll travel to Houston for the AAC Softball Tournament next week. 

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UofL WBB has received their 2014-15 ACC schedule matchups and it looks like a tough 16 games.

The Cards will play all conference members once and Pittsburgh and Virginia twice in the ACC regular season schedule.

Coming to the KFC YUM! Center are Boston College, North Carolina, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, Virginia, Miami and Pittsburgh. 

Louisville will go to Cameron to face Joanne
P. and her Blue Devils.

The Cards will travel to face Clemson, Duke, Florida St. Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. 

Specific days and times will be released at a later date.

Louisville is one of five ACC WBB teams that have been included in ESPN.com's top 25 early rankings for 2014-15. The Cards are placed at 16th. Notre Dame is 5th, Duke 7th, North Carolina 10th and Syracuse is 21st. 

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Louisville Lacrosse will face Rutgers in the first round of the BIG EAST Lacrosse Tournament today in Washington, DC....home of host Georgetown.

The Cards received all four BIG EAST conference honors yesterday...Kellie Young selected as BIG EAST Lacrosse Coach of the Year, Kay Morissette BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year, Nikki Boltja BIG EAST Attack Player of the Year and Monica Negron BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year.

Eight Cardinals were selected to the All-Conference team.

Louisville plays Rutgers at 5:30 today. It can be viewed free of charge on-line at bigeast.com

Louisville defeated Rutgers in conference play 18-6 on April 14th at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium. It was a contest where the Cards outscored RU 10-2 in the second half. It was also a poor display of sportsmanship by the Scarlet Knights with unwarranted and overly aggressive fouls on Louisville players during the second half when the game was decided and out of RU's reach...a running clock in place because of Louisville 10+ point lead. 

Julie Hermann...control your LAX squad and coach. Playing dirty when your getting your butt kicked is no way to promote an image of sportsmanship and maturity.

Tom Jurich wouldn't put up with such nonsense.  

Rutgers drew the 4th seed in the BIG EAST Tournament by winning three of their last five games and breaking a three-way tie for 4th place in the regular season standings by goal differential. 

The finals will match the winner of Louisville's game against the winner of Georgetown vs. Villanova. The BIG EAST Championship will take place Saturday, May 2nd at 2:30 p.m. and will be shown on Fox Sports 2.  

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Kentucky Derby Opening odds and post positions.

Thursday at Churchill Downs is called "Thurby". Yeah, I know...pretty stupid, right? Who comes up with this nonsense and how much do they get paid for such poop?

Paulie will be out there. Meandering menacingly amongst the unaware and unprepared patrons. I've also done some handicapping for the card today...if nothing else...it might serve as a guideline for you on who not to bet if you are going. Link below:

HOW IN THE BLUE BLAZES DID HE COME UP WITH THESE ???

paulie

Friday Cardinal Couple -- Lacrosse clips Golden Eagles wings 12-5

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Brust's 4 goals...defense stifle Marquette in BIG EAST final

- Nice read on Shoni


The University of Louisville Lacrosse squad has completed a perfect regular season in their final year in the BIG EAST. The Cards won their seventh conference game in a row with a 12-5 win over Marquette. Louisville will be the #1 seed with a 7-0 conference record when they go to the BIG EAST Lacrosse Tournament Championships on May 1st.

Faye Brust continued her hot streak with four goals in the win...two of those in a first half when Louisville led 8-0 after 30 minutes and held the Golden Eagles to just one shot on goal. Louisville had 18 shots on Marquette goalkeeper Emma Salter in the first half.

Brust got the first score for UofL just 42 seconds into the contest on a free position shot. Two back-to-back goals by Cortnee Daley and an unassisted goal by Nikki Boltja had the Cards up 4-0 after just ten minutes of action.

Redshirt junior Anna Kopecka, Brust, Monica Negron and Boltja added the four additional goals in the first half...a half dominated by the Louisville attack, the Cards defense and Marquette's inability to advance the ball over the midfield logo.

Whatever the Golden Eagles discussed at halftime seemed to work for awhile. The Wisconsin visitors scored the first four goals of the second half to trim the Cardinal lead to four with 15:46 to go in the game. This necessitated a timeout by Coach Young, who discussed attack strategies and stopping the Marquette offense with the squad. The Cards were getting plenty of shots on goal in the first part of the second half but they weren't getting in the net.

Faye to the rescue. The junior from Bel Air, MD. collected two scores over the next three minutes to push the Cardinal advantage back to six at 10-4. Louisville would also get scores from Kay Morissette and Jamie Redding in the final 90 seconds for a 12-5 win. The Cards win...the CARDS WIN !!!!

We'll have comments from Faye and Coach Young about the win..as well as comments from those two and Kay Morissette after the Rutgers win...on the Saturday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE radio at 11 a.m.

Louisville outshot Marquette 37-8 and Morissette dominated the draw controls 17-2 to improve their record to 13-3.

Louisville awaits the BIG EAST Tournament at Georgetown in Washington, DC May 1-3.

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Reader Kenny S. found a great read on Shoni in the Portland Tribune and forwarded it to us. Kenny is great at tracking these down and getting them to us to share with our readers and we appreciate his detective work very much. Link below:

http://portlandtribune.com/pt/12-sports/218063-78185-shoni-


Paulie

Thursday Cardinal Couple -- Softball stumbles @ IU...Lacrosse today!

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Hoosier rock Softball Cards 8-3

- Lacrosse final home game today vs. Marquette



The University of Louisville softball team played their final non-conference game of the season at Bloomington, IN on Wednesday evening against the Indiana University Hoosiers and the results were less than desirable against the BIG 10 foe...Louisville falling 8-3 to IU.

A rocky start for the Cards...allowing three runs in the first inning...two more in the third and two in the fourth before plating three runs in the fifth to avoid the five inning, game ending rule.

Coach Pearsall used all four pitchers on the roster in the event but Caralisa Connell saw 0.1 innings of action before being replaced and the Hoosier batters teed off on Maryssa Becker, Rachel Le Coq and Tiarra Sanabria.

The Cards return home to host AAC foe Temple for three games this weekend...first pitch is Saturday @ noon.

The Cards need to take care of business to have any shot at contending for a conference title. Standings below:

                               Conference            Overall
     Team                   W   L   T   Pct       W   L   T   Pct
     UCF.................   9   3   0  .750      33  15   0  .688
     Houston.............  11   4   0  .733      28  15   0  .651
     Louisville..........   9   6   0  .600      28  17   0  .622
     USF.................   7   5   0  .583      33  13   0  .717
     Rutgers.............   5   7   0  .417      21  16   0  .568
     Temple..............   5   7   0  .417      15  20   0  .429
     Memphis.............   4  10   0  .286      20  26   0  .435
     UConn...............   3  11   0  .214      12  31   0  .279

Louisville also needs some losses by UCF, USF and Houston...plus a sweep of Memphis next weekend @ in Elvisville to be top-ranked for the AAC Conference tournament in Houston....which begins May 8th.

Maybe not the season we hoped for....Louisville pitching has been marginal at best despite two returning starters. A pleasant surprise from freshman Becker...but less than spectacular results in a conference that isn't all that strong.

If it wasn't for transfers Kelsi Jones and Brittany Duncan, one wonders if this team would actually be that close to the leaders in conference.

 Saturday’s games will honor the military and on Sunday, Louisville will honor seniors Caralisa Connell, Taner Fowler, Katie Keller, Hannah Kiyohara, Rachel LeCoq and Maggie Ruckenbrod.

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Lacrosse puts their undefeated conference record on the line today against Marquette at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium at 4 p.m.

This should not be a problem for the Cards. Marquette is in their second season of Lacrosse and they are mired at the bottom of the BIG EAST conference standings with Cincinnati.

One can expect the scoring juggernaut of Boltja, Brust, Daley and Morissette to provide plenty of chances for Al Greenert and the pep band to play the Louisville Fight Song.

Hats off to one of my favorite Lacrosse player to interview....Faye Brust...for the award below:

April 22, 2014
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week
Faye Brust, Louisville, Jr., A
Brust registered a pair of five-goal games last week, beginning with a crucial showing against Connecticut on Thursday before duplicating the performance against Rutgers on Saturday. After the Huskies started off with a 1-0 lead, Brust provided the game-tying score before adding the go-ahead tally two minutes later as the Cardinals never lost their lead from that point forward. The junior’s five goals against the Scarlet Knights came on five shots. She also picked up a pair of ground balls last week as the Cardinals remained undefeated (6-0) in BIG EAST play to clinch the top seed in the upcoming Championship.

All the way, Faye !!! (or 'Fabian'...as some of the other Lacrosse players instructed me to call her Saturday)


Come out and support your University of Louisville lacrosse team today as they try to run the BIG EAST table !!

Louisville	6-0	1.000	98	43		12-3	.800	226	125
Georgetown	5-1	.833	77	47		8-7	.533	176	154
Connecticut	4-2	.667	72	59		9-6	.600	166	149
Villanova	3-3	.500	57	68		8-7	.533	144	149
Temple	3-3	.500	63	63		6-9	.400	139	164
Rutgers	2-4	.333	65	71		8-8	.500	132	162
Marquette	1-5	.167	51	62		5-10	.333	129	171
Cincinnati	0-6	.000	30	100		6-10	.375	131	207

Friday Cardinal Couple -- UConn? Be gone. Cards win 12-7

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Faye Brust's five goals lead LAX Cards to 7th straight win

- Diamond to sparkle elsewhere. DeShields leaving UNC.

- Talk Derby to me



The UofL Lacrosse team comes up with a word at the start of each season. A word that embodies the tone, tenor and mission of the squad for the upcoming schedule.

This year's word is "Finish". The Cards did just that Thursday against the UConn Huskies LAX unit....winning 12-7 to remain atop the standings and undefeated in BIG EAST Conference play.

Faye Brust recorded a contest-high five goals in the win...in fact, it was Brust 4 - UConn 2 with 19:21 remaining in the first half. The Cards took a 7-5 halftime lead and held UConn scoreless for the first 23 minutes of the final half while building an 11-5 lead.

The game didn't quite start out to Louisville's expectations. Kaylin Morissette lost a rare draw control to begin the contest and the Huskies streaked down the field...Jacqueline Jordan flipping the ball by Louisville goalie Ashley Peacock just 10 seconds into the contest.

Peacock was making her first career start. The freshman recovered nicely, though , after lacrosse's version of running the opening kickoff back for a touchdown...

It only served to strengthen the Cards resolve. Brust got her first score with 28:16 left in the half. Two minutes later, she put the Cards ahead...off a nice assist from Jamie Redding. UConn tied the game with 24:11 left in action...but Brust was just getting started.

She scored unassisted four minutes later to give the Cards a 3-2 edge. Brust produced again with 19:21 to go to make it 4-2 UofL.

After the game Kaylin Morissette commented to me:

"I was aware she had all our scores and I told her after the fourth one...hey, if you want five...go for it and I'll do whatever I can to get the ball to you. She's an amazing player and I'm so fortunate to be able to play with her."

The Cards held UC scoreless for 13 minutes before Carly Palmucci got her first score of the contest to make it 4-3 with 13:01 on the clock. Nikki Boltja became the second Cardinal to score on a free position shot and Morissette decided to get in on the action next...receiving a feed from Anna Kopecka to make it 6-3 Louisville at the 5:50 mark.

UConn responded quickly...trimming the margin to two just 16 seconds later with Palmucci's second goal of the half. Boltja countered for the Cards on a unassisted shot on goal to push the Cards lead to 7-4. It looked like the half might end that way, but Karaline Smith got free on a drive and put the score at 7-5 with 24 seconds to go before the break.

Louisville held a 16-10 shot advantage over the Huskies after 30 minutes and had won eight of the 13 draw controls.

The Cards came out strong defensively in the final half. Boltja found Cortnee Daley with a pass three minutes into action and the sophomore found net to give Louisville a three point advantage. The Cardinal defense was denying anything UConn tried to do and Daley added her second goal of the clash with 14:44 displaying on the scoreboard.

Boltja gathered her second goal on a nice unassisted drive to make it 10-5 UofL with 9:19 to go and Morissette baffled the Husky defense with a free position score 90 seconds later.

The Huskies finally changed their total on the scoreboard with 7:12 left in action. Louisville had shut down the powerful UConn scoring machine for almost 23 minutes of action. The Cards kept the BIG EAST opponent quiet for another six minutes...Kacey Pippitt got her second score in a row with 1:35 to play to make it 11-7.

Louisville responded quickly...Morissette winning the draw control after goal...charging down the field and setting up Brust in just nine seconds for her fifth and final goal. 

A huge win for Kellie Young's crew and one that pretty much guarantees the Cards will be in this year's Lacrosse NCAA Big Dance and definitely assures they'll be in the BIG EAST Tournament. 

The Cards outshot the Storrs visitors 31-16 in front of a crowd of over 500 at the Louisville Lacrosse field. Louisville has only lost once at home in the last two years.

After the game, Kellie Young was exuberant and quite proud of her teams' effort.

"I'm so proud of the team effort we displayed today and these players who have come together and played so hard and so well this season. This win puts us in the NCAA Tournament."

Louisville, collectively, held the Huskies' top two scorers Katherine Finelston and Lauren Kahn scoreless for 60 minutes. Young was so involved in watching her teams' defensive sets in the first half that she was not aware until later in the contest that Brust has scored all of the first four Cardinal goals.

A beautiful, sunny 68 degree game conditions for the players as Louisville goes to 10-3 overall and 4-0 in the conference. Rutgers is next...on Saturday @ 1 p.m. It's CAF Appreciation Day and drawings and promotional items will be available for the fans.

It's also Senior Day. The Cards say goodbye to nine players...including Nikki Botja and Monica Negron.

Get out there. There's only two games left before the Cards embark to D.C. for the conference tournament. Help the Cards stay undefeated in BIG EAST play.

 Try Lacrosse.

You're gonna get hooked like we have here at CC...if you like non-stop action, great individual efforts and sudden and unexpected scoring.

Go.

Standings	Conference	Pct.	GF	GA		Overall	Pct.	GF	GA		Home	Away	Neutral	Last 10	Streak
Louisville	5-0	1.000	80	37		11-3	.786	208	119		4-0	7-3	0-0	8-2	W 7
Georgetown	4-1	.800	64	41		7-7	.500	163	148		3-4	4-2	0-1	4-6	W 4
Connecticut	3-2	.600	55	53		8-6	.571	149	143		4-3	3-3	1-0	7-3	L 1
Temple	3-2	.600	57	50		6-8	.429	133	151		5-4	1-4	0-0	4-6	W 2
Rutgers	2-3	.400	59	53		8-7	.533	126	144		5-4	3-3	0-0	5-5	W 1
Villanova	2-3	.400	47	59		7-7	.500	134	140		4-3	3-4	0-0	5-5	L 2
Marquette	1-4	.200	42	52		5-9	.357	120	161		3-2	2-7	0-0	3-7	L 4
Cincinnati	0-5	.000	24	83		6-9	.400	125	190		3-3	3-6	0-0	4-6	L 6

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Cameron Crazies seek to reach out and touch the Diamond.

THE NEWS ABOUT DIAMOND DESHIELDS DECISION TO LEAVE NORTH CAROLINA AFTER A FRESHMAN SEASON THAT GOT THE TAR HEELS TO THE 'GREAT EIGHT' AND GOT HER NATIONAL FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD IS SURPRISING.

AFTER ALL, IT WAS DESHIELDS WHO GATHERED THREE OTHER TOP 25 PICKS IN THE CLASS OF 2013 AND BONDED THEM TOGETHER TO GO TO UNC. DIAMOND NEVER GOT A CHANCE TO ACTUALLY PLAY FOR SYLVIA HATCHELL...WHO WAS OUT THIS SEASON WITH LEUKEMIA.

WHERE WILL SHE GO? NOTHING OFFICIAL OUT OF HER YET ON THE NEW DESTINATION BUT SPECULATION AND RUMOR SAYS TENNESSEE IS A CANDIDATE. SHE WAS TRYING TO GET MERCEDES RUSSELL TO JOIN THE FOUR AT UNC TO CREATE ANOTHER 'FAB FIVE'...LADIES STYLE.

WHEREVER SHE GOES...ASSUMING IT WILL BE A D1 TRANSFER...SHE WILL HAVE TO SIT A YEAR. HMMMM...LOUISVILLE LOSES BRIA AND JUDE AFTER THIS SEASON...

NAH. FORGET ABOUT IT. DIAMOND HAS ISSUES WITH BEING COACHED. JEFF WALZ LIKES TO COACH.


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I've done a little Derby muddling over the past couple of days. Clear as mud. You can look at the horses I'm mulling
over at my seldom-used, highly overrated personal blog.

15 days to Derby.

http://pauliesykes.blogspot.com/

paulie

Thursday Cardinal Couple -- Lacrosse takes Big East Awards...More on Shoni...A'ja Wilson decides

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Boltja, McNamara sweep BIG EAST Player awards

- Nice read on Shoni

- 2014 #1 recruit A'ja Wilson decides


Two Cards have taken the weekly BIG EAST Lacrosse awards


BIG EAST Women’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week
Nikki Boltja, Louisville, Sr., A
Boltja led the offensive effort for the Cardinals, who outscored their opponents 31-15 in a 2-0 weekend. The senior registered four goals on six shots and an assist against Temple on Friday afternoon before exploding for a six-goal, two-assist showing against Villanova in Sunday’s weekend finale. The senior entered the week ranked third nationally in goals per game and jumped to No. 2 following her 10-goal week for a 4.0 goals per game average. Boltja’s eight points against the Wildcats is third-most in Louisville single-game history and is tied for the 2014 BIG EAST single-game high.

BIG EAST Women’s Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Week
Stephanie McNamara, Louisville, Fr., D
McNamara was tasked with marking two of the top offensive threats in the BIG EAST last week in Temple’s Jaymie Tabor and Villanova’s Chelsey Henderson, holding both without a point. The freshman held Tabor scoreless for the first time this season and Henderson just the second time in 2014 and first since Feb. 26 against nationally ranked Navy. Without goals from two of their main contributors, McNamara and the Louisville defense held Villanova and Temple below their season scoring averages in a pair of Cardinal wins last weekend.

Lacrosse plays the first of three at home today with a 4 p.m. start against UConn. The Huskies are in second place in the BIG EAST standings behind Louisville.

Standings	Conference	Pct.	GF	GA		Overall	Pct.	GF	GA		Home	Away	Neutral	Last 10	Streak
Louisville	4-0	1.000	68	30		10-3	.769	196	112		3-0	7-3	0-0	8-2	W 6
Connecticut	3-1	.750	48	41		8-5	.615	142	131		4-3	3-2	1-0	7-3	W 1
Georgetown	3-1	.750	51	39		6-7	.462	150	146		2-4	4-2	0-1	4-6	W 3
Villanova	2-2	.500	45	46		7-6	.538	132	127		4-3	3-3	0-0	5-5	L 1
Temple	2-2	.500	46	43		5-8	.385	122	144		5-4	0-4	0-0	4-6	W 1
Rutgers	1-3	.250	44	47		7-7	.500	111	138		5-4	2-3	0-0	4-6	L 1
Marquette	1-3	.250	35	41		5-8	.385	113	150		3-1	2-7	0-0	4-6	L 3
Cincinnati	0-4	.000	18	68		6-8	.429	119	175		3-2	3-6	0-0	5-5	L 5

Get out to the Louisville Lacrosse field today to support your LAX Cards. Admission is free.

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If you're like us here at CARDINAL COUPLE, you can never get enough news and articles about Shoni Schimmel. The link below has a nice take on Shoni and her future in the WNBA. 

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/04/15/sports/basketball/schimmel-brings-flair-and-pride-in-heritage-to-wnba.html?referrer=

The buzz since Monday night has been about Shoni teaming up with Angel and also about Nita and Asia getting selected
for the WNBA.

Here's a couple of things you may have not known about the WNBA:

1) All rookies that make teams get $52,000 a year. That's not guaranteed, either. You get paid weekly. If you get cut or dropped by a team during the season...your paycheck stops also. Just because you get drafted doesn't mean you are guaranteed to make the team either.

2) WNBA teams will be allowed to have 12 players on the roster this season, but there is a salary cap in place also...so if a team has several high-salaried stars...they may only carry 9 or 10 players to stay under the cap.

3) A player can not play in the WNBA until they have been out of high school for four years. No "one and dones" in this league. I like it. It stresses the importance of getting the four years of college and a degree.

We wish Shoni, Nita and Asia all the best in "the league" and hope they are around for a long time. Long enough to make....one million dollars!

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The #1 ranked player in the class of 2014 high school basket ball seniors has made her mind up on where she's attending college to play ball and....surprise, surprise!!!...it's NOT CONNECTICUT.

A'ja Wilson will stay at home and attend South Carolina. A nice "get" for Dawn Staley...the 6'5" Wilson is a game changer and will make an immediate impact for the Gamecocks and in the SEC....if Staley uses her wisely and doesn't let her languish on the bench like Holly Warlick did with Mercedes Russell this year.


Congratulations, Ms.Wilson! We're glad you didn't fall for all the UConn hype and arrogance and we're also glad you're in the SEC...(we like it when teams there make acquisitions that will help them beat Kentucky.) The only thing better would be having you at Louisville in the ACC.

paulie






 




     

Thursday Cardinal Couple -- Lacrosse on a roll

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Lacrosse needs to sweep the BIG EAST

Louisville Lacrosse is on a roll recently. Which is, actually...kind of a bad thing when you look at the way the game is played. Carrying the ball in the wicket at the end of the stick is the preferred method of transportation of the orb, with a few well-planned passes and an eventual shot on goal. Rolling is usually detrimental. There are ground ball stats...but they involve recovering one and not producing one.  

Nevertheless...Louisville has won their last four games, is ranked #19 in the coaches poll and Canadian sophomore Kaylin Morissette was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week last week. (She can also score in bunches). She is the mistress of draw controls. The draw control is not a term for supervisory authority over artists. It's kind of like the jump ball in hoops and is performed after each goal. To describe it in detail would take another five paragraphs.

With two conference games in the books and two wins...they sit atop the BIG EAST standings with Connecticut and are 8-3 overall.

The three losses have not been blowouts and have all come on the road. They've been against teams ranked higher than Louisville. #7 Duke won 14-11. #11 Notre Dame defeated Louisville 12-9. #17 Ohio State squeaked by the Cards 12-11. Two of the three will be conference mates with Kellie Young's crew next season in the AAC

UofL is in a  very good place...position wise...with five regular season/conference games left before tournament time...but Louisville needs to "win out" and win at least the opening game in the BIG EAST Tournament to have a shot at an NCAA bid.

The ACC is the powerhouse of women's lacrosse.  Six ACC schools made the NCAA Tournament. The tournament had 28 participants. I know, it's a weird number. There are automatic bids for other conferences. Three of the Final Four were ACC schools and North Carolina won it all.

Despite a 11-6 record, the Cards did not get an invite to the tournament in 2013. The 3-5 conference record was probably a big factor in that...so conference wins are worth their weight in gold.

Louisville has already defeated Georgetown...in Washington D.C...who was tabbed the preseason favorite. Georgetown and Syracuse were the only two BIG EAST teams to make the NCAA Tournament in 2013. Syracuse is in the ACC now. Louisville needs to finish second at worst.

They will get a chance to play current co-leader Connecticut here in Louisville. They will also get Rutgers and Marquette at home to complete the regular season. Those should be wins...given the seasons both have had so far.

This weekend will be key toward winning the final five. They travel to play Temple on Friday (currently in sixth place) and Villanova on Sunday ( currently in third place). 

The team is jelling and absolutely destroyed rival Cincinnati 23-2 Sunday in the Queen City. Everyone scored, it seemed, except Coach Young and the assistant SID.

13-3 for the regular season and a conference tournament win should secure Louisville a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Depending, of course...on how many teams the NCAA decides to have participate in the 2014 Tournament. 32 seems like a good number to us...four regions with eight teams each.

It makes sense.

That is why the NCAA will probably decide against it...most of the rhetoric and policy that comes out of the governing body of college athletics is nonsense.

Get out and support the squad for the final three at home. The Connecticut game is on Thursday, April 17th. It's a 4:00 pm start. Take off work early and go. The Cards play Rutgers two days later at 1 p.m. The home finale is Thursday, April 24th. against Marquette at 4 p.m.

The BIG EAST Tournament is May 1st and May 3rd. The top four teams in the standings participate. It takes place in D.C. Current standings are listed below:

Louisville	2-0	1.000	37	15		8-3	.727	165	97		3-0	5-3	0-0	8-2	W 4
Connecticut	2-0	1.000	27	20		7-4	.636	121	110		3-2	3-2	1-0	7-3	W 6
Villanova	1-1	.500	24	23		6-5	.545	111	104		3-2	3-3	0-0	5-5	L 1
Marquette	1-1	.500	19	18		5-6	.455	97	127		3-1	2-5	0-0	5-5	L 1
Georgetown	1-1	.500	25	19		4-7	.364	124	126		2-4	2-2	0-1	3-7	W 1
Temple	1-1	.500	21	25		4-7	.364	97	126		4-3	0-4	0-0	3-7	W 1
Cincinnati	0-2	.000	8	37		6-6	.500	109	144		3-2	3-4	0-0	5-5	L 3
Rutgers	0-2	.000	22	26		6-6	.500	89	117		4-3	2-3	0-0	4-6	L 2

Wednesday Cardina Couple -- Lacrosse moves into top 20...Hoops final tests

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Louisville Lacrosse checks in at #20

- Before the Huskies....the Bearcats




Al and the Pep Band are Lacrosse-friendly

WE were impressed with Louisville Lacrosse's Virginia road trip over the weekend. Convincing wins for the Cards at Old Dominion and William & Mary. The pollsters must have been, also...since the Cards have jumped into the top 20...at #20 in the latest lacrosse poll and rankings.

Louisville will host #18 Denver on Saturday afternoon @ 1 p.m. over at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium.

This final season in the BIG EAST is the calm before the storm. When the Cards migrate south into the ACC, they'll be facing the powerhouses of the women's lacrosse D1 world. They got a taste of the supremacy to start the season with a narrow loss to Duke.  

Despite my camera ineptitude, Lacrosee ladies still look pretty

Six of the top ten schools in the recent rankings are ACC. Notre Dame was knocking at the door at #12. Louisville will test the Irish in South Bend on March 8th. A win there, as well as a win Sunday over Denver will serve as an example that the LAX bunch are legit.

Finish. It's the lacrosse "word" of the season. After Sunday, they might add another word as well...

Travel.

Eight of the next nine after Denver are on the road.

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I had a couple of co-workers grilling me about the upcoming UofL women's basketball game Monday night in the KFC YUM Center. These are die-hard men's basketball fans who haven't given the ladies a try in a live venue yet.

Upper deck? No problem. It's where they're perched for Pitino's games.

It is the talk around town.

May I suggest, though, that we focus on the next game before jumping directly into the dogsled and trying to mush those Huskies. Up the river from our fair city is Cincinnati. It's another underachieving year for the Bearcats, in terms of a won/loss conference record, but not a team that is residing in the AAC cellar.

In fact, Bearcat 6'2" forward Jeanise Randolph was the Player of the Week in the AAC last week. Nine double-doubles on the season. Alyesha Lovett put up 20 points against the Owls. Jasmine Whitfield has seen the double figure ledger several times and Kayla Cook can bomb away from beyond the arc.

Jamelle Elliott, UC head coach, is not going to stand by idly when the Cards come to visit this Saturday at 2 p.m. She rarely stays still as a rule when coaching...leading an observer at the UofL vs. Cincy game at the KFC YUM! Center to remark about the former UConn star...

"If her squad exerted as much energy as she does during a game, they'd be in contention for the conference title."

OK, I don't see that...but if there was ever a "trap" game scenario brewing, this is it. Highly favored team goes on the road, with a classic matchup two days after this one lined up. Underdog comes out hot, stays hot and delivers the upset over their rival.

I think A-Tayy would make a good news person, don't you?

It probably won't happen. Louisville beat UC in Louisville by nineteen. (Why is it that it seems we beat everyone by nineteen?). The Cards are a veteran, talented group that can reload many times with multiple attack weapons should a couple fail in the Queen City. Asia Taylor should school the UC front liners and Shoni bombed away for 21 last time.

But, never look too far ahead. UConn is still coming to the KFC YUM! on 3/3/14. Take care of business 3/1/14 first...

paulie
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