Volleyball Survives Friday Night Frights -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Volleyball Sweeps Cal

Louisville volleyball was the last team to get underway for the Cards last night, but they were only one of the three to come away with a win. The only drama in the 3-0 victory came in the second set when the question was just how badly would Louisville win the set. Sandwiched between a pair of 25-16 wins, the Cards beat the brakes off the Bears in the second with a 25-5 victory. 

Cal is... not very good. They hit for 0.000 on the match, and Louisville only finished with eight total blocks. The Bears hit 22 total errors, although they did have fewer service errors that the Cards (3-5). Both teams had two aces. Louisville's offense was fairly efficient in their own right, finishing with a .384 hitting percentage. The Cards had eight total errors and five of those were blocks by Cal. Only hitting the ball out of the court on your own three times is pretty good. 

Chloe Chicoine led the way for Louisville with 13 kills and no errors. Kalyssa Blackshear also hit for no errors as she finished with eight kills. Payton Petersen had eight kills as well, but she was more covered by Cal and had four errors. Cara Cresse was first in efficiency among hitters as she finished with a .538 percentage and had nine kills.

Louisville's defense was all over the place as Petersen and Hannah Kenny led in digs with ten apiece and three players (Chicoine, Kamden Schrand, and Nayelis Cabello) finished with eight. Cresse led the team with four block assists and Cabello tied Hannah Sherman for second with two assists and one solo block. 

This one was never really in doubt, but it serves as a good preparation match on the west coast for Louisville. The Cards have a big test coming up tomorrow when they take on Stanford. The Cardinal are ranked 3rd in the country and have won 20 straight matches at Maples Pavilion. Notre Dame gave them a ride in the second set last night when they pushed it to extra points, but Stanford came out ahead in that one and finished with a 25-22, 26-24, 25-14 sweep. Tomorrow's match is on ESPN at 5PM. 

Overturned Goal Sinks Field Hockey

Louisville field hockey tried to give Justine Sowry a good birthday present yesterday against Wake Forest, but they weren't able to overcome a tough call in the fourth quarter. The 18th-ranked Cards fell to 5-5 (0-2) on the season with a 2-0 loss to #7 Wake Forest. 

Louisville struggled offensively early in the match, with Wake suffocating them every time they received the ball. That pressure paid off for the Demon Deacons in the second quarter, when they used a turnover to work forward and score the first goal of the match. That goal came about halfway through the second quarter, and both teams continued to keep the opponent at bay afterwards.

Louisville's offense finally showed up in the fourth quarter. After failing to record a shot for the first three periods, the Cards put up five in the fourth. Early on, they appeared to equalize, but the goal was overturned on replay review. Instead of a 1-1 match in which they had some momentum, Louisville found themselves still trailing and a bit deflated. Wake ultimately earned the first penalty corner of the game for either team and scored to double Louisville's deficit. The Cards weren't able to find the back of the cage and the final score was 2-0. 

Each team finished with five total shots and three on target. That's an unfortunate stat when you consider how good Emily Young has been this season. Louisville has to avoid giving up clean looks to the opponent and they have to be able to score more effectively. 

Nevertheless, the Cards are back in action Tuesday at Trager Stadium. Louisville will play their last non-conference match of the regular season when they take on Bellarmine at 5PM. 

Soccer Falls Short in Second Half

Louisville women's soccer had the toughest draw of the evening for the three sports, as they faced a road game against the second-ranked team in the country. For the first 45 minutes, Louisville looked every bit as if they could pull off a big upset. Adjustments at halftime for Notre Dame found the mark, though, and back-to-back goals early in the second set the final score. 

Louisville came out on a mission in the first half, and their tenacity got them an early lead. Notre Dame had the first shot inside the first minute, but Louisville settled in and held them at bay until their second shot in the ninth. Erynn Floyd picked up her first save of the match on that one and Notre Dame was offsides a minute later. Then it was Louisville's turn to play offense. Over the next eight minutes, they had three corner kicks and eight total shots. The eighth shot finally found the mark. Following a corner, Ella Bard had an attempt that was blocked and came to Hadley Snyder's feet. Snyder settled and sent it into the back of the net for her second goal of the season. 

Notre Dame didn't allow Louisville to celebrate for long, as the Irish equalized just seven minutes later on strong team play. What was extra unfortunate for the Cards is that their early goal seemed to wake up the Notre Dame midfield and defense. Over that eight minute stretch, Louisville had three corners and eight shots with two on target. Over the final 72 minutes of the match, Louisville had no corners and just three shots with one on target. 

Don't get me wrong: Notre Dame is very good, but man that is a disappointing final stat line after a frenzied start. Notre Dame, on the other hand, was relentless in the second half. The Irish had Floyd under constant pressure as they took five corner kicks, earned 13 shots, and put eight shots on target. Erynn Floyd finished the match with seven saves, but you can't blame someone for yielding a couple of goals when they're getting that much work from a top offense like Notre Dame. 

At the end of the day, this is another two-goal road loss for the Cards. Is that frustrating? Yeah, a bit, but if your only three losses so far have all come by just two goals on the road to teams in the top-25, that's not terrible. Louisville's next opponent won't be any easier, though. The Cards take on Wake Forest on Thursday in Winston-Salem. While the Demon Deacons will lose some of the shine from their #12 ranking after their last match, a shocking 2-1 loss to NC State will have them fired up to get revenge on the Cards. Wake is 9-2-2 (3-1-1) with a 3-2 victory over Duke on the resume. 

No CCRHP This Week

With a couple of hosts out and about and other obligations keeping me away, we'll take this week off from the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast. We'll look to return next week to bring you the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics.

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Field Hockey Opens Exhibition Season With a Win -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Drop Bellarmine 4-0 in Extended Exhibition

Louisville field hockey opened their season yesterday afternoon with an exhibition game against Bellarmine. Whether Louisville was on the road or at home is a matter of linguistic preference, as the teams share Trager Stadium as their home facility. After picking up the win yesterday, Louisville is truly on the road today, as they head up to Athens, Ohio to take on the Bobcats of Ohio University in their final scrimmage tomorrow.

Bellarmine won four games last year, their fourth in D1. Their head coach was MAC coach of the year in 2021, a season in which they also won four games with two of those being in conference. In 2022, Erin Schneidtmiller joined the Bellarmine staff as an assistant coach. As I mentioned previously, the home locker room would have stayed the same, so hopefully it wasn't too much of a transition.

There isn't much out there about this game, since Louisville doesn't typically post box scores for exhibition games. We did have Jared on site, though, so we've got at least the final results and the makeup of the match. Louisville was mostly unthreatened in this one, and they jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first half. It would probably be safe to assume that the Cards tried a few different lineups and introduced some new players in the second half, as Louisville only extended their lead to 4-0 by the end of regulation.

Because field hockey is played to a result in every game, it is important to practice the various post-regulation methods for when they're inevitably employed during the season. As a result, the two teams played one overtime period before going to a shootout. Remember that field hockey overtime is played with a reduced field player count, leading to different strategies and play styles. Neither team scored in the overtime and Louisville finished with a 4-3 advantage in the shootout. 

After the match Jared was able to catch up with Coach Sowry to get her thoughts on the team's performance. You can listen for yourself below, but one of the interesting items she mentioned was that she'll play almost an entirely different squad tomorrow. Jared was also able to throw Coach off a bit with a question that he could have only gotten away with given the final result. The sisters Plumb also got a special shoutout.

Postgame with Coach Sowry

The Cards are back in action tomorrow at noon, though we're likely to find out very little about that match with it being on the road. Their regular season will get underway next Friday when they host Northeastern at 5 PM. Bellarmine will actually open the regular season action at Trager when they host St. Louis at noon that day. Northeastern will also stay in town for the weekend, playing Bellarmine on Sunday. To make things more confusing, Louisville will travel to Evanston to play Northwestern on the 27th.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We should have four in the booth once more as Daryl remains in full house prep mode. We'll have plenty to talk about now that there has been some on field action for Louisville, and I'm sure we'll get some preview time for the volleyball red and black scrimmage, which Jeff will talk about in his column tomorrow. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Field Hockey Escapes Upset in Opening Scrimmage -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Take Down Miami (OH) in Shootout

Miami (OH) has become a regular opponent for Louisville in many sports, particularly in field hockey. Such familiarity can make a team more of a challenge than you might expect on paper, as was the case in yesterday's opening scrimmage for Justine Sowry's squad in Oxford, Ohio. The Cards needed not just overtime and not just a shootout, but the extended sudden victory portion of a shootout to close the door on the RedHawks.

Louisville gave up the opening goal of the game as the clock wound down in the first quarter. A clock stoppage for a penalty corner with 12 seconds remaining gave Miami time to set up their offense and execute the set piece. The RedHawks converted the penalty corner to take a 1-0 lead. They would only hold the lead for seven minutes or so, as the Cards responded in the middle of the second quarter. This goal came from open play, with Mattie Tabor finding Caroline Pusey for the goal. 

The two teams wouldn't score in the second half, setting up the overtime sequence. Playing a full overtime sequence isn't the most common occurrence in a scrimmage, especially when you are on the road and have another scrimmage 48 hours later. I have to imagine Coach Sowry agreed to the format not expecting to have to see it out. At any rate, the two squads sent out their six field players for the condensed 7v7 overtime. Neither was able to find the back of the cage, so they headed to the shootout. After both teams went 2/5 in the opening round of the shootout, they moved to golden goal. Tabor played the hero, connecting on her attempt--the second Louisville attempt of the sudden victory segment--with Miami failing to convert twice. 

Though it's not the type of win you necessarily want to see in a scrimmage against a non-P5 team that isn't typically considered a field hockey power, it is the type of win you'll take when you are working to see what your team and offense will look like with a lot of changes to adapt to this season. We talked on the podcast last week about some of the offense that has departed the team, and a 1-1 regulation score at Miami (OH) seems to justify some of our concerns. The Cards outshot the RedHawks 19-7 in regulation and scored only one goal. They outshot Miami 4-1 in OT and couldn't find a goal. That's not going to cut it. Louisville will have to be more efficient with their opportunities, especially with the new look back line and goalie. 

Though they are new, the defense and goalkeeping was good. They held Miami to just the one goal and gave up just five corners overall. They did allow a goal on one of those corners, but a 20% success rate for the offense isn't great. Sasha Elliott, the graduate transfer from VCU, got the start and played the entirety of yesterday's game. She finished with five saves and gave up the one goal. I'll be interested to see if Logan Jancerak gets any time in tomorrow's scrimmage or if Elliott has already staked a claim on the position.

There is one major stat that paints an ugly picture for the Cards. They went 0/11 on penalty corner conversions. That's... really bad. While I can't find a tracked stat from last season of penalty corner conversion, I can assure you that even 1/12 would be quite poor. For comparison's sake, Louisville averaged 5.25 corners per game last season. Even if you considered that they scored on a pace of one in every eleven corners, they would convert fewer than one per game on average. The leading corner taking team in the NCAA was St. Joseph's with 8.62 per game. Even they would not be guaranteed to score with that conversion rate. We've discussed the corner problem at length over the last few seasons, and it is a problem Louisville will need to solve in order to compete at the top this year.

The Cards are back in action tomorrow afternoon at 1PM at Trager Stadium. They'll host Bellarmine in their final preseason game before they head to University Park to take on Bucknell and Penn State next weekend. There's no grace period to open the season for Louisville, so they'll try to sort out some issues tomorrow. Admission to the scrimmage is free, so head out if you get the chance. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We'll have four this week as the Bats are on a homestand. We've got multiple games to talk about and a Red/Black Scrimmage to lightly preview before Jeff splits right after the show to get down to campus. We hope you'll join us for an exciting show. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

McFerran to Olympics -- YMNC -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 McFerran to Compete in 2020 Olympics

Anyone familiar with the Louisville field hockey program from recent years will recognize the name Ayeisha McFerran. McFerran was the program's first four-time All-American. The goalkeeper  graduated from UofL ranking near the top in wins, shutouts, and goals against average.

McFerran was selected to be a part of the 16-person field hockey roster for Ireland.  The Louisville alum has been a member of the Irish National Team, but this is the first time the INT has qualified to compete in the Olympics.

McFerran is the first former UofL field hockey player to compete in the Olympics on a field hockey roster. Cardinal alum Jessica Javelet competed in the 2016 Olympics, but with the US Rugby Team.

As someone who loves sports and loves the Olympics, I wish I could take off work for those few weeks and watch the events around the clock. But work and sleep and life say otherwise, but I will certainly find time to tune into watch Ireland compete and cheer on Ayeisha McFerran.

Four Cards Participate in YMNC

Sticking to the topic of field hockey, we turn our attention to the USA Field Hockey 2021 Young Women's National Championship, which was held at Virginia Beach June 15-20.

Katie Schneider, Sofia Pendolino, Mia Duchars, and Carter Ayars all competed in the event on different teams.

Schneider's squad, the Courage, took the gold with a 3-0 record and winning the title game 3-1. Duchars was on the Freedom, who fell in the title game and took the silver.

Ayars' squad, the Spirit, finished fifth while Pendolino's team, the Patriots, placed 10th. A total of 10 teams consisting of 16 players each competed.

Only one person from the state of Kentucky was on any of the rosters. 16-year-old and rising junior Mia Schoenbeck from Christian Academy of Louisville played on the Patriots. Schoenbeck is currently uncommitted and MAX Field Hockey ranks her as one of the best in her class around the country. She is sure to be on Justine Sowry's radar.

On a Personal Note

Digging into my personal life some, Katy and I are back to wedding planning, which is mostly me saying "Sure, whatever you want." I learned that trick already. We're still a couple years out from our date range, but we are all ears if anyone has any tips for wedding planning, especially since we both live in Louisville and we are looking at venues in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

CARDINAL STUDENT-ATHLETE FIELD HOCKEY NFHCA AWARDS -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 PASTOR, BITTING, SCHNEIDER HONORED AGAIN

When I exchanged conversation and pleasantries with Louisville Field Hockey asst. SID Lori Korte Harmon earlier this month about the awards being bestowed on Louisville Field Hockey student-athletes, she assured me that there were more on the way. 

And, she was right ! 

We found out yesterday that Mercedes Pastor, Alli Bitting and Meghan Schneider earned 2020 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFCHA) All-American honors and that Pastor made the first team. Schneider received an additional honor -- being named the 2020-21 NFCHA National Scholar-Athlete of the Year. 

This makes the fourth straight year that the Cardinals have had three NFCHA All-America selections and that matches a program record set in 2017. 

As you might well surmise and guess, the head coach of Louisville Field Hockey Justine Sowry was pleased: 

"Meghan garnering Scholar Athlete of the Year honors represents the first time this prestigious award has been received by a Louisville Cardinal. I am incredible proud of thse three young women and to have been a part of this truly unforgettable season." 

Sowry went on to discuss the program's season: 

This year, our program continued to build on last year's historic season. Despite the challenges of COVID and navigating both a fall and spring campaign, Louisville Field Hockey achieved unprecedented success both on the field and in the classroom. In a year that demanded so much, Mechi, Alli and Meghan anchored our team and demonstrated the resiliency that was instrumental in helping our program continue to reach new heights." 

Yes, incredible things are happening at the facility that's sandwiched in between a McDonald's and a Speedway. Even with several seniors "opting out" for the spring, the Cards still made the Field Hockey Final Four and were runner-ups to powerhouse UNC in the fall's ACC Tournament. And, of course, a fall victory in conference play over the Tar Heels that snapped their 47 game win streak. 

The obvious next questions are -- What can the Field Hockey squad do to top what has already been accomplished? And...who will be on the Trager turf to do it? The Cards return nine freshmen and seven sophomores from last season (that we know of) this fall --plus a couple of junior and maybe even a couple of senors. And, we have yet to hear about Sowry's incoming freshmen class in any great detail.

The obvious goals for the Cards FH contingent would appear to be winning the ACC  regular season and conference tournament outright and then going to the NCAA Tournament and winning it.. It's not something that is a mere pipe dream or unattainable. The Cards have performed well in the toughest Field Hockey conference in DI. They return a multitude of starters, and backups who are poised to try and become starters.  

I can remember looking at the the incoming freshmen last year and wondering what potential help could come from that class. As it turned out...plenty.  The Cards got significant contributions from Sofia Pendolino, Charlie van Oirschot, Aimee Plumb and Paulina Mayer. 

And, in the words of the late basketball coach Al McGuire -- the best thing about freshmen is they become sophomores. We saw last season the impact sophomores Sam Minrath, Julie Kouijzer, Katie Schneider and Mattie Tabor had on the squad. 

The Cards could use a little depth at goalkeeper -- sensational sophomore Sam Minrath was the lone goalie on the roster this spring -- and a higher rate of success on penalty corners is every coach's dream -- and something Sowry would applaud, as long as it is her team putting up the improved numbers and not the squad trying penalty corners on the Cards. . 

It'd be good to see the schedule return (hopefully) back to an elongated fall season with plenty of non-conference opponents as well as a full ACC slate participating.

Before you know it, it'll be time for me to trudge the steps leading to the Louisville Field Hockey offices and sit down with Coach Sowry to discuss the 2021 season. 

I can't wait !!!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

paulie. 

No Volleyball but big Field Hockey win -- Cardinal Couple Sunday

Volleyball

And now the recap on volleyball yesterday...

oh wait.

Alas, as we covered yesterday, the volleyball match originally schedule for yesterday was postponed due to "Covid protocol".  We here at Cardinal Couple speculated, and it was acknowledged as speculation and inferences, that the problem stemmed from the Notre Dame side of the equation.

With new information, it appears that this is a result of a positive test in Louisville's personnel.  Of course, the best wishes of the Cardinal Couple staff are with them, and let's hope that the testing regimen and protocols have caught it quickly enough to isolate it and prevent further spread.

Field Hockey

Field Hockey did happen yesterday, UofL's and Duke's season opener with a good win for the Cards, 3-0.  This is a very slight upset from pre-season rankings with Duke having been voted 4th with 26 points, with UofL immediately behind in 5th with 25 points.

Mercedes Pastor was the main difference maker in this one, tallying two of the three goals. 
Freshman Charlie van Oirschot (who joins countless others of UofL players who have challenged the Cardinal Couple staff on getting name spellings correct) picked up the other goal on an assist from Minna Tremonti.  Pastor's two were fed from Mattie Tabor and Madison Walsh.

The first goal, by Pastor was in the closing seconds of the 2nd quarter with the cross just in front of the goal from Mattie Tabor.  This was the only shot by the Cards in the 2nd quarter, which itself was the only quarter where Duke got off more attempts than UofL did (2-1).

van Oirschot picked up her goal about 10 minutes into the 3rd quarter with Tremonti's cross from the right side to the front of the cage.

Finally, Pastor would finish up the scoring for the game just a couple of minutes later.  Pastor's shot (though listed as a save in the play-by-play) bounced off the post, was recovered by Madison Walsh who sent the ball back to Pastor for the followup that found the back of the cage.

As was mentioned, this is a very slight upset with Duke only one spot, and one point, ahead in the pre-season voting.  This speaks volumes for the progress that UofL has made over the years.  To put a goose-egg on a perennially good Duke field hockey team and be able to compete at the ACC level is impressive and suggests that the development of this UofL program under the tutelage, originally, of current Duke head coach Pam Bustin, and for the past decade, Justine Sowry.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

The CCRH yesterday was...technologically challenged.  No, don't pin this one on Paulie at all, while we joke about his challenges dealing with technology, he had no hand in this one.  The stream has (and apparently had live) no audio through about half of the show.  I do have a complete recording and will be uploading it to Youtube to replace the stream that is there, but it is a large file and will take some time.  I will come back and include it here when that is done.

Case also had some challenges around getting a recording for his work to publish to the podcast feed, but hopefully he can get that sorted out as well.

We ask your indulgence as none of us are broadcast or recording engineers...this is a learning work in progress.  We're trying out various technologies to try to improve the quality of our recordings and streams, but any change adds an opportunity for mistakes to creep in.

JMcA

Well, that certainly took longer than I thought it would.  Check out yesterday's CCRH below.

Saturday Brings More Exhibitions -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

As the fall season continues to ramp up, more exhibitions are on the horizon. Field Hockey will get underway today, and Volleyball will take on their first opponent that isn't themselves. Oddly enough, Women's Soccer will play three regular season games before any other team on campus plays their first sanctioned match. So it goes sometimes.

Field Hockey vs Alumnae

The annual Alumnae Game is on the docket for Trager Stadium today, as the Louisville Field Hockey team looks to knock away the rust. This match will be a good time for Coach Justine Sowry to see what she has in some of her players, especially as she tries to replace some fantastic starters. The primary position battle everyone will be keeping an eye on will be that of the goalie. Hollyn Barr and Sam Minrath will likely both play for each team in order to get a view of both goalies in "equal" situations. Barr comes in as the "heir apparent" to the seat left open by the graduation of Ayeisha McFerran, having impressed in multiple starts last season during McFerran's international duties. However, Minrath has impressed heavily and has received high praise from Coach Sowry. I get the feeling this is a battle that will not be settled particularly soon.

One player that is not in a position battle is Mercedes Pastor. The junior from Argentina was an All-American last year and has been named to the preseason All-ACC first team. Pastor started every game for the Cards last season, scoring five goals and adding three assists. She'll look to improve on those numbers this year and lead the Louisville offense.

Today's event will get underway at 1PM over at Trager. Admission is free. After the Cards get warmed up with an in-house scrimmage today, they'll host Miami (OH) for an exhibition tomorrow at 2PM. Admission to that event is also free.

Volleyball Hosts a Second Scrimmage

Speaking of Miami (OH), I wonder if the field hockey team and volleyball team are taking the same bus. Louisville Volleyball will host its first scrimmage against an outside team this afternoon at 3PM when the Redhawks come in to L&N Federal Credit Union Arena. Louisville has not faced Miami (OH) since 2015, when the Cards were victorious 3-1 against the Redhawks in a season opening tournament hosted by Illinois. Obviously both teams will be quite different this year, with Louisville having changed coaches in that time and almost all players from those teams having graduated or transferred. 

Proceedings in the Arena will get underway at 3PM and admission to this event is also free. As is typical, the UofL clear bag policy is in effect for preseason games, so please plan accordingly.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

It's here. Louisville athletics are back on track, and the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour can finally break down sanctioned games on the air again. Join Paulie, Jeff, and me as we hit the airwaves on WCHQ FM at 11AM to bring you the joy and excitement of Louisville women's sports. We'll talk about the big win women's soccer had over Ohio State on Thursday, look ahead at Morehead State, and check in with Jeff about what he saw at the Red and Black scrimmage last week. Tune in to WCHQ FM at 100.9FM, wchqfm.com, using the WCHQ App, or on Facebook Live.
 Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

A Look Ahead at Field Hockey -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

A Brief Preview of Field Hockey

If the title looks familiar to you, let me say thank you for frequenting Cardinal Couple. Last week, I wrote a short piece about the upcoming women's soccer season. I called it a preview, but it ultimately became just some opinions about how the team might perform with the changes that have been made to the roster. With a lot of news about field hockey on and off the site this week, I figured it would be a good time to do the same thing for the field hockey team that I did last week for women's soccer. Admittedly, I know quite a bit less about field hockey than I do about soccer, but I have followed the team with interest since coming on as a writer at Cardinal Couple.

First, a quick look at some more honors that came in for UofL field hockey players. Four players on the team have been tabbed as potential future USA players, as Taylor Stone, Katie Walsh, Carter Ayers, and Meghan Schneider have been invited to Olympic Development camps. They'll join Ayeisha McFerran as players hoping to represent their country (McFerran is already on the World Cup roster for Ireland). I mentioned it last week, but these opportunities to train with the best players in your age group in the entire nation are incredibly helpful in the development of skills and understanding of the game. UofL Coach Justine Sowry is an incredible coach and teaches her players all kinds of things, but she would likely be the first to tell you that having additional training from other sources is nothing but helpful in situations such as these. Congratulations and good luck to these players.

Last year's season ended with a first round knockout in the NCAA tournament. After an overall 12-6 regular season record and a deep conference tournament run, it would not be unfair to say that a first round exit was a bit disappointing. However, the loss came at the hands of a good Northwestern team, and Louisville showed fight, losing only in overtime. Louisville's performance in conference last season (4-2 and a run to the semifinal game) is a much better indicator of their future success this season, as the ACC is widely considered the best field hockey conference by far. Louisville will hope to build on the experiences and success that they had last season going into a new year, in which much of last year's team returns.

Let's first look at the schedule. Outside of the conference matchups, which we already know will be rematches, Louisville plays seven games against non-conference opponents that they played last regular season. This includes rematches with Ohio State, Michigan, and Northwestern, who accounted for 4 of the 8 Louisville losses last season, and a game that counts against Miami (OH), with whom the Cards played only an exhibition last season. Following the alumnae game on August 18th, Louisville will dive straight into the meat of their schedule starting the very next day. They'll open the season with Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio State (all rematches), a breather game against UMass Lowell (which will need to be taken as seriously as any other game), and then a rematch against a Delaware team on the road that won the national championship two years ago (Card won last season 3-1 at home). If the Cards aren't awake to start this season, they could find themselves in an early hole. If they're chomping at the bit, ready to improve on their last year, though, they could open the season 5-0 with some impressive wins already under their belts.

Louisville will play a total of 19 regular season games, including the standard 6 against conference opponents. This schedule appears to be every bit as beefy as last season, if not more. Coach Sowry will need to get her team ready from the very beginning, as there is no time to ease into the schedule. Fortunately, she has a team of very experienced players that should be ready to answer the call. Of 16 players on the current roster (which does not include incoming freshman), 9 are juniors and seniors. These include the previously mentioned McFerran, Stone, Ayars, and Walsh, and adds in the influential Whena Munn and backup goalie (who was huge early last season) Hollyn Barr. The Cards did see four major losses last year with Abby Grimes, Marigrace Ragsdale, and Nicole Woods graduating and Minout Mink returning home after deciding the international life was not for her. Though the players filling these gaps have plenty of their own experience, we won't truly know the impact of these losses until the season is underway in earnest. All four players played in 22 of 22 games last season with Grimes, Ragsdale, and Woods all starting at least 21. The four players were all in the top 6 in team goals, and Mink was the team's leading goal scorer. These players will be missed to be sure, but only time will tell exactly how much.

Fortunately, the team stands to weather the departures. Every returning player on the roster saw at least 100 minutes last season, so the experience and knowledge of Coach Sowry's system is there. For better or worse, that majority of the schedule comes against teams that these players have faced before, so there is familiarity in the opponent as well. While the opponents know just as much about the Cards, there is benefit to newer players being comfortable with an opponent while trying to cement their roles. Louisville could have some bumps this season, but I would be shocked to see less than a .500 conference season and a .600 season overall. Those numbers may not be enough to get into the NCAA tournament, but those are only floor numbers for me. I believe that with the experience that this team returns, the ceiling is much higher. It all starts at the alumnae game on August 18th. We'll find out then.

The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Once again, Jared has chosen his job over his hobby and will abandon us at the station for his job at the bank. What a jerk, amirite? In all honesty, we look forward to Jared's return to the studio for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. Until then, we'll press on without him. Paulie, Jeff, and I will return to the studio on Mellwood and may or may not be joined by a special guest (Paulie really doesn't keep me as in the loop as you might think). Tune in to WCHQ FM at 11 AM for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour on any platform that you listen to radio. WCHQ is available at 100.9 FM when in the signal range, but can be listened to anywhere on the WCHQ app or wchqfm.com and you can watch the show on Facebook Live on the WCHQ FM Facebook page.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Hump Day woes

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Field hockey returns home for weekend series

Wednesday brings us to the middle of the week, waiting game.  There were no teams in action on Tuesday and we await the weekend for more Cardinal action.  Volleyball and soccer are on the road this weekend, in Fargo, North Dakota and Lexington, Ky respectively.  Field hockey, however, opens at home this weekend.

The field hockey team will play William and Mary on Friday, Sept. 6 with a start time of 1:00 p.m.  at Trager Stadium.   Coach Sowry’s crew brings a 1-1 record home, hoping to keep their most recent winning way alive. 

The Cardinals boast a 1-1 record, however playing a very close game against 7^th ranked Virginia on the road, eventually falling 3-2.   The Cards will play 10 home games this season, spread out over the course of 5 weekends during the season.  This weekend is the first of  said weekends to see your Cardinals live. 

The Tribe of William and Mary are members of the Colonial Athletic Association and have started the season 2-0.  The Tribe look to build upon last season’s success where they made the conference tournament last season, the first time in the past 3 years.   The Tribe boasts a stacked roster at every position and hope to make a run into the NCAA Tournament, which would be the firs time since 2002.   They have a veteran squad with 4 seniors and 9 juniors.  The Tribe has scored 9 goals this season, with 9 different players showing they can put the ball in the back of the net. They downed Radford 5-0 and vanquished VCU 4-2 over the weekend.   

Get out and see your only live, home action this weekend by your Field Hockey Cards.  If you cannot catch them on Friday, they are back at it again on Sunday, September 8 at 1:00 p.m. against Ohio at Trager Stadium.

-JENNY O'BRYAN

(Editor's Note: I got together with Coach Justine Sowry for an interview that will be played on the Saturday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR...which can be heard on CRESCENT HILL RADIO at 11 a.m. Saturday mornings. Coach spoke of the incredibly hot game conditions in the Richmond game...with field temperatures over 100 degrees. The Cards will host a clinic for field hockey kids Sunday at 10:30 a.m. that is free. Louisville is undergoing a youth movement of sorts...the four goals scored this season have come from three different freshmen and a junior. Be sure to catch her and Lacrosse head coach Kellie Young's interview plus a Q & A with lacrosse midfielder sophomore Kayla Sleece on the show. -PAULIE) 

WUGs, WUGs and ESPYs

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Corral corrrals in Koreans

- Field Hockey will teach you a thing or two

- WUGS in quarterfinals vs. Sweden

- Go Vote!


Charlyn Corral of Louisville Soccer seemsto be taking full advantage of her time representing her home country, Mexico, at the World University Games.   

Corral led her team to a 3-0 win over Korea in the quarterfinals on Thursday scoring 2 goals in the 3-0 win.  Corral has scored 7 goals in four matches and leads all scores in the tournament. 

Mexico will advance to the semifinals and face South Africa on Saturday, July 13. 

Congratulations to Corral for an outstanding performance thus far in the Games. 

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Coach Justin Sowry of Field Hockey kicked off her Elite Camp on Thursday, July 11 and it runs through Sunday, July 14.  The camp is for girls and boys in high school.  Campers can either commute or reside on campus for this event. 

If you are driving down Floyd Street you might see campers working on individual fundamental skills, team tactics or game play. 

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Shoni Schimmel and the basketball WUGs will be taking to the court Friday morning in the medal quarterfinals.  Teams win the medal rounds are competing for 1-8^th place. 

Team USA will face Sweden at 10:30 a.m. to open this round of play.  Also playing will be Australia vs Canada, Russia vs. Czech Republic and Taiwan vs. Hungary. 

You can follow updates through www.usabasketball.com.   The first opportunity to watch Team USA will be on Saturday, July 13 at 1:00 and 10:00 p.m. in the semifinals on ESPNU.  I believe the foregone conclusion is that Team USA will make it to the semi’s round.   Should Team USA advance to the gold medal game, that too, can be seen on ESPNU, Monday, 7/15. 

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Finally, if you have not done so yet, please VOTE!!!!  Louisville Women’s Basketball is nominated for ESPYs Biggest Upset in Sports for the biggest upset in the NCAA tournament (if not in the history of the tournament) , for the win over Baylor.   

Also nominated is former Cardinal Angel McCaughtry for MVP in the WNBA and Coach Rick Pitino for Coach of the Year.   

Please visit the below site and vote:

http://espn.go.com/espys/2013/vote/index?id=9402604
 

Several members of the team have been invited to attend the ESPY’s.  From what I can tell both Shoni Schimmel and Bria Smith will be in attendance.  Schimmel will arrive back in the States on 7/16 and will fly out to LA for the awards ceremony on 7/17.  I have read somewhere that 4 players were invited to attend, should I track down the names of the other two we will let you know.  

-Jenny O'Bryan

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