Ekic's Goal Lifts Cards -- Weekend Scheduling -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Ekic's Goal Lifts Cards

Emina Ekic is a star, no doubt about it.  She once again proved why her name is on the All-American list as her penalty kick goal in the second half was the difference in a defensive battle against Indiana.  The Cards won the Battle of the Border 1-0.

Indiana came out attacking early on in hopes to put Louisville into a defensive game plan and keep the Cards from pressing.  It worked for a good 15 minutes before Louisville was able to break through and take control of the half, owning possession the rest of the match. The Cards had a 61% to 39% possession edge in the first half and that number held true for the second half also.

The first half saw little offensive action as the teams ping-ponged for a while.  Once Louisville seemed to have control of the ball they struggled in the final quadrant of the field as the Hoosiers played a lock down defense.  The Cards finished with three shots with none on goal in the first half.

Louisville put the pressure on early in the second half but the IU goalkeeper stood strong.  The officials called a pretty tight game with the minor fouls getting whistles.  It eventually led to the Cards being awarded a PK in the 77th minute.  Ekic made quick work of it and buried it in the right side of the net for the game winner.

Louisville finished with nine shots on the night with Ekic recording seven of them.  She also finished with all three shots on goal.  When asked about her goal she just responded the she had 29 players relying on her but did not feel any pressure.

On the defensive side, Louisville limited IU's shots.  They had one in the first half and two in the second.  Both shots on target were saved by Gabby Kouzelos, who earned her fourth straight clean sheet.  Louisville has not surrendered a goal at Lynn Stadium this season.

They said it: 

Emina Ekic Postgame

Coach KFD Postgame


Weekend Scheduling

Friday

Volleyball has a pair of home games.  They'll take on Tennessee Tech at 12:30 pm and in-state rival Western Kentucky at 7:30 pm.  Classes are in session during the day so plan for possible parking troubles.  WKU always puts up a good fight and this has the potential for a sold out crowd.

Saturday

Softball begins their fall schedule with a double header against EKU at 12:30 p.m..  Admission is free and there are no marketing promos like free peanuts, but this will be a good chance to see the new team for the first time. Start your tailgating early with a trip to Ulmer to cheer on Holly Aprille's squad.

Right across the street from Softball's Ulmer Stadium, Volleyball has a regular season game at 3:30 p.m..  They'll face Arizona State as they wrap up the Fleur de Lis tournament. Plenty of time to catch the #24 Cards in what looks to be a very tough task against a strong Pac 12 squad.

Heading south on Floyd Street, Louisville has their second football game of the season.  Scott Satterfield has a good chance to earn his first victory as head coach at 7:00 against EKU. Let's hope that entering Cardinal Stadium will be easier this week for the fans and that "Security Theatre" takes it down a notch. .

Sunday

It's a quiet day on campus- no home games for any teams for the first time in 11 days.  Field hockey will still be in action, though, as they travel up north for a game against Michigan State at 11:00 am.  Make note of the early start time.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared

Field Hockey Ranked in Preseason Poll - WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Field Hockey Ranked in Preseason Poll

There was good news for UofL Field Hockey yesterday.  They were announced as the number 12 team in the NFHCA (National Field Hockey Coaches Association) Preseason Poll.  The tricky part is that every other ACC team was also named in the Top 25.

Reigning NCAA Champion North Carolina is the heavy favorite as preseason #1.  Duke is ranked 3rd and was the only other team that received first place votes.  Wake Forest is the other ACC team in the top 10 coming in at 10th.  Virginia and Boston College sandwich UofL at 11th and 13th, respectively.  Syracuse caps off the conference, coming in at 18th.

11 of the Cards' 18 opponents are ranked in the preseason Top 25 making for one of the toughest schedules in the country.  Coach Sowry has no fear when facing tough competition.  She also knows that a tough schedule and a strong RPI are crucial to make the NCAA Tournament.

This is the 65th straight week that UofL has been in the rankings.  They've reached as high as 8th.  At the end of last season the Cards were ranked 12th and somehow managed to get snubbed from the 18-team tournament.  If they can improve on the 13-6 record from a year ago they should have no problem getting around the politics and make the Big Dance for the 5th time in Sowry's nine years.

There was one major change to field hockey this year.  Instead of two 35-minute halves there are now four 15-minute quarters.  You might be thinking that the time doesn't add up but that's because the clock stops on penalty corners now, helping even the time back out.  One reason for the switch to quarters is to help with TV and the commercials. It also gives the coaches more chances for planning. More importantly, the four quarters are being instituted by the NFHCA (National Field Hockey Coaches Association) from FIH (Federation Internationale de Hockey) who switched to the quarter system for professional and high levels of hockey earlier this summer.

From most accounts and the chatter we've heard, the switch is getting approval from the players and coaches.  Coach Sowry likes the switch over and even some of the alumnae we interviewed recently approve of the change.

Louisville Field Hockey starts the regular season at home this Friday at 3:00 against Indiana.  They're also home on Sunday at noon against Massachusetts.  Admission is free.  Just be wary of the halftime water cannons at the half. .

In other scheduling notes, women's soccer (2-0) takes on Saint Louis tomorrow night at 7:30.  This game does require a ticket to enter.  Paulie will provide a preview on the 1-1 Billikens tomorrow.  Maybe he can also explain to us what a Billiken is?

Cardinal Couple coverage of the Cards vs. St. Louis match will be lessened by one, since Case Hoskins will be at a work function

Paulie will be reporting and watching from the press box and I'll be on the sidelines taking pictures and trying to refrain from illegal field participation while attempting to assist the ball girls.

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Louisville Field Hockey takes the "D" out vs. Indiana in 3-0 win -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

BYRNE'S TWO GOALS LEAD UOFL TO WIN

Justine Sowry has gotten a reputation over the last couple of years as a excellent defensive coach in the NCAA Field Hockey world. That recognition was backed up yesterday at Trager Stadium...the Cards winning the "Battle of the Border" 3-0 over the Hoosiers. Louisville has won the last four times they've met 

The "D" belonged to Louisville against "Iniana" Sunday....Louisville giving up just six shots and only three shots on goal for the Hoosier in 70 minutes of play. Ayeisha "Mac" McFerrran also gets the first official shutout in goal in what looks to be a long and successful career ahead between the pipes for the Northern Ireland native.

The Cards, who are now 20-1 at Trager Stadium over the past 21 games, got on the board when senior Victoria Stratton took the ball into the circle and found sophomore Stephanie Byrne waiting to knock it past the defense for the score. 

Byrne would get her second goal of the game and third of the season on a penalty corner at the 19 minute mark of play...following up on Chili Garcia's shot and tipping it past the Hoosiers to make it 2-0.

The Cards would get their third and final score of the contest with about five minutes left in first half action when freshman Tess Hannah corralled a missed (Whole) Lotta Kahlert shot and put it past IU goalie Noelle Rother.


The teams battled through a scoreless second half...Louisville outshooting IU 7-2 and getting a 5-2 edge on corners. The Cardinal defense held strong to push Louisville to a 2-0 regular season record. 

Field Hockey heads to the left coast next where they'll face California on 9/4 and UC Davis on 9/6. Ironically, IU will be out there also...playing Stanford and California...all part of the five-day, six team contingent that will gather for games at the UC Davis Sports Complex. Also coming in are St. Louis and Miami (OH). 

paulie
xxxxx

Volleyball takes two in Illini Classic...Field Hockey vs. IU today -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

FAIRS, JENKINS POWER CARDS TO WINS

Louisville picked up two wins in Volleyball yesterday in the Illini Classic...defeating Creighton 25-18, 18-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-11 and Miami 21-25, 25-18, 26-24, 25-10


   -- Fairs fires on Bluejays in Cardinal win --

Although the Erin Fairs era at Louisville will only last one season...it looks to be one that will have us mentioning her name a lot over the next several months. The fifth-year senior from USF had 21 kills in the five set win over the BIG EAST opponent.

After going on a 9-2 run to win the first game, the Cards watched as Creighton returned the favor in the second game...overcoming a 15-11 deficit to knock off Anne Kordes' crew. UofL trailed only once in the third game in getting the four point win.

Creighton rallied back in the fourth game...winning a back and forth contest when Maggie DeJong's kill attempt rolled off the net and out of bounds to give the Bluejays a two-point victory. The fifth game tie-breaker was Creighton's early until the Cards slammed their way from a 10-9 deficit to a 14-10 lead. Fairs had two kills in the roll...Katie George used one of her patented dumps to end it.

Janelle Jenkins was just getting warmed up and added 15 kills...stalwart Maya McClendon finished with 13 kills.

-- Red Hawks rocked in four after slow Cardinal start -- 


Janelle Jenkins became the force in the Cards' second game of the day...producing 23 kills and getting six blocks in the Cards 4 game win.

Louisville started slowly in game one...down 12-6...before rallying to take a 18-17 lead after four straight Jenkins kills. A Miami timeout righted the ship for the Ohioans...they exploded for a 7-1 run to take the first...helped by four Cardinal errors. 

In the second game, the Cards battled the RedHawks to a 14-14 tie before UofL and Jenkins seven kills forged ahead for the seven-point victory. Louisville stayed hot at the start of the third game and led by five at one point before a spirited Miami rally gave them a 21-20 lead. Knotted at 24-24, Louisville got a Maggie DeJong block and benefited from a Miami hitting error to win 26-24.

The fourth game wasn't close...Louisville jumping out to a 8-1 win and expanding that to a 15-point match-ending victory.  

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BORDER WAR AT TRAGER TODAY.

Louisville vs. Indiana
Aug. 30, 2015 – 1:30 p.m.
Admission: Free
Gametracker: GoCards.com
Series History: Louisville leads 10-7
Last Meeting: Oct. 26, 2014 – Louisville won 3-0 at Indiana
Scouting the Hoosiers: The Hoosiers are coached by Amanda Janney who is in her first season at the helm. IU’s key returners include: Karen Lorite, Nicole Volgraf and Kate Barber, who were selected to the Big Ten Conference's 2015 Players to Watch list. Indiana is coming off of a 9-8 campaign in 2014.

Live streaming: Fans may watch the Louisville/Indiana game online at GoCards.com The one-time subscription fee is $9.95 and can be obtained through College Sports Live.

Up next: Following this weekend , the Cardinals will head west for a pair of games. Louisville will face California in a neutral site matchup at UC Davis on Sept. 4 and will stay in Davis to play the Aggies on Sept. 6.

RADIO, RADIO...OH BOY! 

Our latest edition of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour is available for listening at the link below: 

THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

paulie
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