ACC FIELD HOCKEY TOURNAMENT -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

ACC FIELD HOCKEY TOURNAMENT UNDERWAY

Although Louisville did not qualify for the ACC Field Hockey Tournament, we will be watching with some interest in the results here at Cardinal Couple.. The Tournament is being held in Winston-Salem, at the Wake Forest Field  (Gentner Stadium). 

The home team, Wake Forest played the third game out of four gmes on Tuesday, and...as a #7 seed, was a prohibitive underdog to #2 Duke, coached by former UofL Field Hockey Coach Pam Bustin. And, the Blue Devils won this "satanic" match-up over the homestanding Demon Deacons 4-1

Earlier in the day, #1 UNC opened the tournament and had no problems in diposing the #8 seed squad from California (that beat out Louisville for the #8 seed). The Golden Bears got stuck in the TarHeels trap and fell 5-0. That one was a 10 a.m. start. Who knows, but maybe the Cards were lucky not to get in the tournament. UNC is playing with their hair on fire lately. 

Next up was #4 Virginia vs #5 Syracuse, and we got maybe a slight upset in this one, with the Orange downng the Cavailiers 1-0. So, it'll be #5 Syracuse facing #1 UNC Wednesday at 1 p.m. Boston College gets Duke after the opener. 

The day's activities ended with #3 Boston College facing #6 seed Stanford. The Eagles beat the Cardinal 3-2. 

So, the #1, #2, #3 and #5 seeds advance to the semifinals today. ACC Network is showing all the contests, in case you want to get away from election results, and they begin at 1 p.m when North Carolina goes up against Syracuse. 

My pick? I loved the job that Duke's Pam Bustin did when she was Louisville's head field hockey coach and have been a fan of her ever since. I'd like to see her knock off B.C. and UNC. They also have former Louisvllle star, Charlie van Oirschot, who transferred there as a junior and is now a graduate student. In this rare case, I will say, "Go Duke..." 

 A lot of good Field Hockey players come from the state of Pennsylvania, so...why doesn't Pitt play Field Hockey?  Mystifying,isn't it? Penn State, Penn and Villanova do.  

paulie

UofL WBB Media Day --FH advances vs BC-- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 WALZ , CARDS WBB SPEAK

Tuesday was media day for Louisville WBB, so ol' Paulie shuffled down to campus and the Kueber Center to get the words. 

All told, I got fifty minutes of Walz and seven players. Not bad for a 90 minute stay. I've put the links below. Enjoy! 

The order of play below is: Jeff Walz, Lele Love, Kiki Jefferson, Nina Rickards, Alexis Mobley. Elif Istanbulluoglu, Jayda Curry and Olivia Cochran. One of these years, they're gonna give me enough time to get around to all the players. 

Just a word of advice, Walz was with the media for almost an hour, so be prepared for a long listen in his segment below...

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/3x8qt0icqk7yoc4yhf45s/DR0000_1895.mp3?rlkey=hgjox8rurvd8qrscw2c633hbw&dl=0   (Walz)

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/tivwp1vxbwyqhpvfbph2d/DR0000_1896.mp3?rlkey=tp24hc59amgg4ye24lzpuqfov&dl=0   (Love)

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/281bi1ajvai15ezn3hkec/DR0000_1897.mp3?rlkey=84d6d7zykq736p0nt2zyod3do&dl=0   (Jefferson) 

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/drdebukn8suloc0acp4x2/DR0000_1898.mp3?rlkey=zs7383z4jlqbgzv3820r9f7us&dl=0   (Rickards) 

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/vz46mmxyxfypnwpbe0fbq/DR0000_1899.mp3?rlkey=du1xt6tj1dv75wv6q32b4b88t&dl=0   (Mobley and Istanbulluoglu)

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/2r4x0l5wxrzzkdbqj4eqp/DR0000_1900.mp3?rlkey=mn2sk50w0k6iu0z3e64mwj5xo&dl=0    (Curry)

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/yycecdr1p7udc2q1w55ht/DR0000_1901.mp3?rlkey=pbkn6w44u8thg38xeo33tw4lr&dl=0   (Cochran)

You can watch Walz's interview here  : https://youtu.be/umMZMYWbMEk

FIELD HOCKEY KNOCKS OFF BOSTON COLLEGE IN ACC TOURNAMENT 3-2

Rylie Wollerton had two goals and a assist in Louisville Field Hockey's win over Boston College in Charlottesville. 

It was BC who opened the scoring in the first round contest of the day, scoring with 8:33 gone in the first quarter. The Eagles didn't hold the lead long, though, as the Cards came back to tie the contest a minute and a half later when Mia Duchars found Rylie Wollerton for the equalizer score. The first quarter ended in that 1-1 tie. 

Louisville capitalized with about two minutes gone in the second quarter when Rylie Wollerton struck again....this time on an unassisted shot The Cards were able to maintain the lead going into halftime, despite being outshot by Boston College 7-4. Credit Cards goalie Merlin Van Der Vegt with four first half saves. 

Louisville increased their lead to 3-1 with seven minutes gone in the third quarter, this time it was Tyler Everslage, scoring off the feed from -- you guessed it -- Rylie Wollerton. 

The Eagles pulled their goalie with about six minutes to go in the contest and immediately went on a barrage of shots on the Louisville defense. That "player-up" finally paid off for BC when they scored with 2 minutes to go to get back within one of the Cards at 3-2. 

But, the Cards were able to prevent any other potential opponent goals the rest of the way and held on for the win. 

Louisville will now face Duke in the semis, a 3 pm game tomorrow on the Virginia field. It'll be another match-up of "student vs. teacher"...Cards coach Justine Sowry was an assistant coach under current Duke head coach Pam Bustin when the two were at Louisville. Sowry then replaced Bustin after Pam took the Duke job. 

The ACC Network will show both semi-final games tomorrow, UNC and Virginia will square off in the opener at 1 p.m.

paulie

ACC Field Hockey Championships Underway -- Cards play today -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS FH FACES VIRGINIA TODAY

The 2020 ACC Field Hockey Tournament is off and running and three matches took place yesterday. In quarterfinal action, Virginia bested Wake Forest 2-1, North Carolina had no trouble with Boston College 4-0 and Syracuse got a goal in overtime to defeat Duke 3-2. Here's a recap of the quarters: 

VIRGINIA 2 - WAKE FOREST 1

Laura Janssen scored both the Cavalier goals to open quarterfinal action in a 2-1 win over the Demon Deacons. With the win, Virginia advances to the semifinals to face Louisville today at 1:30 on Karen Shelton Field in Chapel Hill on the North Carolina campus. The #4 seed Virginia squad got the first score of the contest when they earned a penalty corner with 58 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Janssen took a deflected shot by Wake Forest goalkeeper Tori Glaister and sent it back past the Wake goalie to make it 1-0 UVA

No other scores occurred in the remainder of the first half.

Wake Forest came back to tie the match with 7:29 remaining in the third quarter. The Deacs earned a penalty stroke off an illegal touching of the ball in front of the goal and Alexis Grippo won the one-on-one battle against Virginia goalkeeper Laura Hausheer to make it 1-1. The squads went into the fourth quarter locked up at 1-1 and were even in shots taken at eight each.

The game decider came just 1:11 into the fourth quarter. Virginia drew a penalty corner and , once again, Janssen tracked down a missed goal attempt and scooted the loose ball into the goal for a 2-1 Virginia lead that the Cavs would not relinquish the rest of the way.

NORTH CAROLINA 4 - BOSTON COLLEGE 0 

The #2 seeded North Carolina Tar Heels had little trouble against a #7 College squad that was playing only their third game of the fall season with a convincing 4-0 sweep of the Eagles. 

Payton Wirth got the Tar Heels on the board for the first time midway through the first quarter when she field an attempt from the left side of the net that got past B.C goalkeeper Jonna Kennedy. The unassisted score made it 1-0 and that's the way the first quarter ended. UNC would look to Wirth again in the second quarter and the sophomore got her second score with about 12 minutes left in the second frame off a rebound on a penalty corrner attempt to give UNC a 2-0 lead that they would take to halftime. 

The squads played a scoreless third quarter until the final 44 seconds, when Madison Orobono tracked down a blocked shot by Kennedy and knocked it past the BC defense to set the tally at 3-0. UNC would add a final goal with a little over two minutes remaining in the game, Erin Matson following up a blocked shot on a UNC penalty corner attempt and drilling the rebound into the back of the net for the Tar Heels final score of the contest. 

UNC held a 26-13 advantage in shots in the second quarterfinal game and dre 15 penalty corners, compared to five for Boston College. Wake goalie Kennedy was busy, collecting 11 saves and North Carolina goalie Amanda Hendry turned away nine Boston College attempts. 

The win was legendary UNC head coach Karen Shelton's 700th of her career. 

SYRACUSE 3 - DUKE 2

The #3 seed Syracuse spotted #6 seed Duke two first quarter goals but rallied back to tie the contest and force an overtime. In the "first score wins" extra session, the Orange got the victory to advance to the semifinals.

Early on, it was all Duke. Just a minute into the contest, the Blue Devils found Alayna Burns wide open in front of the net and she blasted a shot past Syracuse goalkeeper Piper Hampsch to make it 1-0. Nine minutes later, the Durham squad found success again when Darcy Bourne took the feed on a penalty corner and tallied the Blue Devils second score. Duke scored a third time in the quarter but the call was reversed and the initial period ended with Duke on top 2-0.

Syracuse methodically battled back and found success five minutes into the second quarter. Laura Graziosi took a feed a let a missile loose from the left side of the circle after some fancy footwork and drew the Orange within one. The half ended with the score 2-1 Duke leading.

Eefke van der Niewenhof tied the contest up with a shot off a penalty corner after 5:22 of play in the third quarter. Try as they might, neither squad could find a deciding goal in the fourth quarter and the squads went to overtime. 

Overtime in college Field Hockey is a 7-vs-7 set up on the pitch, with each team using a goalie and six other players. It opens up the field quite a bit and the action is a bit more frentic and fast-paced than in the regular time. 

Duke's upset bid ended rather quickly in overtime. With just 2:56 expired in the ten-minute overtime, Syracuse's Graziosi created a steal from the Duke attack and took the ball in front of Syracuse goal, where she fired a missile past Hampsch for the game winner. 

So, the action held true to seedings yesterday, as the #2, #2 and #4 seed advance to he semis. Let's take a look at Louisville vs. Virginia today: 

LOUSIVILLE VS VIRGINIA

The Louisville Cardinals come into the semi-final tilt against UVA with a 7-1 record. The Cards scored two victories over the Cavaliers in the fall regular season matches. Louisville defeated UVA 5-2 on October 23rd and 2-1 on the 24th. 

In the first match, the Cards took it took the home-standing UVA squad early with two first quarter goals, one by Mercedes Pastor and the other from Aimee Plumb. The Cards led 2-1 at the half, but Pastor found success early in the third quarter with a score and, after a Virginia score, Madison Walsh gave the Cards a 4-2 lead after three. The Cards would get a final score from Margot Lawn with about four minutes left in the contest for a convincing 5-2 win. 

The following day, UVA gave the Cards a much tougher contest. The two squad battled through a scoreless first half and it wasn't until midway through the third quarter that UofL got on the board, when Pastor knocked in a shot on a penalty corner. UVA would tie it with six minutes gone in the fourth quarter but Louisville got the win as time was running out of regulation when Charlie van Oirschot intercepted a Cavalier pass, forwarded the ball to Pastor and she fed Madison Walsh near the UVA goal.

Walsh took aim and managed to scoot the ball between the legs of UVA goalie Laura Hausheer with 10 second left in the match...for the 2-1 Cardinal "W". 

What do I expect today? First off, the weather won't be a factor with ideal conditions, sunny skies, no rain threat and unseasonably warm temps expected in Chapel Hill in the mid seventies for the early afternoon opening pass-back. The only dubious factor is the annoying shadows cast on Karen Shelton Field in early afternoon contests. 

The Cards can expect an intense effort from the Hoos to shut down Pastor, but this is a Louisville team with plenty of scoring options -- so we might see Lawn, Walsh, Erica Cooper and a multitude of other Cards take aim at the UVA net. 

Defensively, Louisville will rely on the strong goal-tending abilities of Hollyn Barr and the defensive play of Alli Bitting and Megan Schneider to keep the ball away from danger. I'll guess a 4-1 Louisville win over UVA and also predict that UNC will hold field against Syracuse to set up a Cards vs Heels final on Sunday. A tired UVA squad might have trouble keeping up with the fresh-legged Cardinals, UVA's opening match forced them to exert a lot of effort and energy. 

As mentioned earlier, game time for Louisville vs Virginia is 1:30 p.m. and the Orange and Heels will follow about an hour after the first game is completed. The matches are being shown on the ACC Network and the commentary/play-by-play has been quite good and accurate so far. 

Go Cards! 

paulie

  

Sudden Heartbreak -- FH Cards Fall to BC 2-1 in Shootout -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

#5 LOUISVILLE FIELD HOCKEY 1 - BOSTON COLLEGE 2

On a overcast and chilly Sunday afternoon in Louisville, two ACC teams took the field at Trager Stadium to play for the right to head to the NCAA Field Hockey Final Four. Louisville Cardinals and the Boston College Eagles. A epic and incredible match ensued.

Yes, the chance to go to Field Hockey's Final Four for one of them.

Louisville had beaten Boston College earlier in the season 3-2 in Boston. Throw all that out the window, though, this was win or go home time. In a battle for the ages...the Cards heart-breakingly lost 2-1 in a sudden-victory shootout that took place after 80 minutes of intense competition.

It is always hard to write about a loss that ends a squad's season. Even harder to do an interview with the coach of that losing squad. That still is the case this morning as it was yesterday afternoon at at jammed Trager Stadium. Still, we go on and review what was a monumental battle between two teams.

Boston College got on the board first. With just six seconds until halftime, the Eagles converted on a penalty corner. Elizabeth Warner gathered a missed Sky Caron attempt and tapped it home to give BC the lead. 

Louisville did not score until the third quarter of the match. Dependable senior Bethany Russ drove into the Boston College arc...barely...and released a reverse stick shot from the top of the circle that eluded Dwyer for the Cards goal. An official's review after the score verified that Russ had fired a "legal" shot and it was 1-1 with 5:13 left to play in the quarter.   

Neither team could get the decider in the net in the fourth quarter. This classic battle would go to overtime...the Cards sixth of the season and Eagles third venture into extra minutes

Stats-wise, the Cards out-shot the Eagles 20-9 and had nine shots on goal compared to B.C.'s three. Credit Boston College goalkeeper Sarah Dwyer for an outstanding afternoon between the pipes. 10 to 4 in favor of UofL in penalty corners also. The Cards dominated the final 30 minutes of action with a 7-0 shot advantage but the score remained the same.

After 60 minutes of play, that 1-1 score still held. A 10-minute, seven player vs, seven player overtime took place and neither team could grab a goal in the sudden victory format. So, the squads lined up and did it again. Once again, no goals in the second 10-minute session. 

For situations such as these, NCAA Field Hockey goes to the "shootout" phase next.

Each team selects five players. One-by-one, they try to score on the opposing goalkeeper in a allotted time period per attempt. The Cards went first.  Each team connected on three out of five attempts, so another shoot-out session was called for. It was Boston College's turn to shoot first. This time, if a team gained a one-goal advantage and the other team could not tie, the match would be over.  The Eagles made their first attempt against Cards goalie Hollyn Barr. The Cards followed suit and scored. A second score for BC, this time from sensational freshman Margo Carlin, and it was up to Louisville to score or the match ended. 

A Cardinal shot from sophomore midfielder Mackenzie Karl was sent. It was Karl who had given Louisville a 3-2 lead in the first shootout.The ball flew over Dwyer, but just a couple inches too high and over the top bar. Nine times out of ten, that shot is a score.

A brilliant idea and the right-thing-to-do it the spur-of-the-moment situation. It was the only way the ball was going to get past the on-charging Dwyer. Credit to Karl for the creativity and attempt. 

Boston College had the "W". I sat stunned in a quiet press box...only the sign-off from the ACC Network announcer audible.  


Yes, Field Hockey is a game of inches, like the other sports on the Belknap Campus. Inches that had saved Louisville at the end of the second overtime, when a BC shot attempt bounced off the right Cardinal goal post. An inch to the left and BC wins in overtime, not shootout. 


You win as a team and you lose as a team.

A tale of two teams developed after the winning goal. The Eagles celebrating loudly and wildly in the north end zone. A stunned, shocked and saddened Cardinal squad wandering around mid-field. Lots of tears and sympathy hugs being shared. 

Coach Sowry spoke with me for the post-game media interview after the match. It was one of the hardest interviews I've had to do in quite a while...and I barely uttered just a few words. Link below: 

COACH JUSTINE SOWRY POST GAME BOSTON COLLEGE

To mirror what coach said, after the disappointment and sadness eventually fades from this heartbreaking loss, it should be celebrated that this was a team that did reach new heights for Louisville Field Hockey. A lot of distraught, hurt and heartbroken Louisville girls walked off that field, and it will take time for the recovery...but they will recover and come back stronger. You can see it in the eyes, hear it in the words of this flock. They are a band of sisters. They were a part of Louisville Field Hockey history. 

The first squad to ever advance to the final eight in Cards Field Hockey history.

I'll let that stand alone a minute. 

In over 40 years of recorded, documented Louisville Field Hockey...no one had accomplished what the 2019 squad has. A group of seniors and underclassmen who banded together.

For senior Bethany Russ, a career that saw her a two-time All-ACC selection, tied for seventh on the Louisville all-time list for goal (26) and the primary scoring force late in the season to get the Cards as far as they got. Senior Carter Ayars the glue of the squad. 

As I wandered over to talk to a couple of the Cards assistant coaches after the Sowry interview, I happened to glance over my shoulder and Sowry had gone to the turf on her knees, head on the ground. After consoling a number of players, a emotional post-game circle with the team and speaking with the media, it was Coach's turn to "have that moment" and reflect. It was justly deserved. Even the strongest of leaders deserve to have that time of self-realization and contemplation after a major event. 

Four teams go on to the Final Four. North Carolina, who will face Boston College and Virginia who won over always-tough Maryland and will face the lone, non-ACC participant Princeton. They'll play on Friday in semifinal action and a winner will be crowned Sunday. 

And, so, a fall sports squad's season ends on a chilly Sunday. A season that gave Cards Field Hockey fans and observers a ton of fun, some thrilling wins, the highest ranking ever and the first chance to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. 

I hope "Ms. B." got a chance to watch it on-line. The patron saint of Louisville Field Hockey, I am sure, is very proud of these warriors for what they've accomplished and how far they went.

 It was a season to remember and one I'll not forget anytime soon.  

Good times, sad times -- they all are part of running a daily website. Even with the sadness of the Field Hockey loss yesterday, we still have to look for and find a bit of the joy and excitement that is our mission statement here at Cardinal Couple -- joy over how far this incredible bunch of girls went and excitement about the rest of the fall, winter and spring schedule for the rest of the women's sports on the Louisville campus.

What a season, Louisville Field Hockey! Record-breaking and unforgettable. 

(PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON) 

Have a meaningful Monday, 

Paulie
xxxxx

  

Field Hockey falls to Boston College 3-1...Radio today! -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS FALL to #14 BOSTON COLLEGE

#8 Louisville Field Hockey ran into an inspired Boston College last night in Trager Stadium and dropped a 3-1 decision to the Eagles in ACC action. 

Head Coach Justine Sowry gave credit to the visitors while also suggesting that her squad may have not performed to their abilities: 



" Credit to Boston College for playing a great game. They won the majority of the 50/50 balls. When they attacked the ball, they attacked in numbers and were able to generate some nice plays.  They broke our press, no doubt. We'll need to go back and look at some film. Hats off to them, they outplayed us by a long way today. I'm disappointed in our effort. We've got to get back to the drawing board and work together and play to our identity." 

And it was Boston College that took the Cards out of the earlier mentioned identity of fast strike, early scoring by clamping down defensively and keeping Louisville off the board until Minout Mink got free on a breakaway and found Shannon Sloss for a score with just two minutes left in the first half. By then, the Eagles already had two goals and the half ended 2-1 in favor of the visitors. 


Both the BC scores came off rebound shots after UofL goalkeep Ayeshia McFerran had deflected shots. 

Boston College kept the defensive pressure up on Louisville in the final 35 minutes and got an insurance goal with eight minutes left in the match. 
Although both squads had 10 shots each in the game...the Eagles had eight of theirs on goal...the Cards just three. 

Louisville falls to 10-3 on the season...all three losses coming in conference play. The Cards will step out of conference on Sunday...but the competition doesn't get any easier...#6 Northwestern comes to town for a 1 p.m. contest.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

We return to the studio this week for THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR and have an excellent show lined up for you...reviewing women's soccer, field hockey, volleyball, men's soccer, golf and women's basketball. We have audio from Justine Sowry, Marigrace Ragsdale, Karen Ferguson Dayes, Inger "K.B." Katrine Bjerke and will look ahead to another exciting week in store for UofL Athletics. Worldwide and Paulie will break it all down for you and get you ready for the future! 

Join us at 11 a.m. on WCHQ 100.9 FM or on the WCHQ app. 

www.crescenthillradio.com is the place to be for the joy and excitement of Cardinal women's sports...and more. Link below:

www.crescenthillradio.com


paulie
xxxxx