WSOC kicks off on Aug 12th -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 THE HUNTER NORTON ERA GETS UNDERWAY AGAINST NEBRASKA

The 2026 Louisville Women' Soccer season  brings on a new head coach for the Kickin' Cards...in Hunter Norton...but he is far from "new" to UofL or women's soccer on campus. 

Norton served as an assistant coach to Karen Ferguson Dayes for 12 years and spent his collegiate playing days at Georgia Southern. Bonus points to you this morning if you know what town Georgia Southern is based? Answer at the end of today's article. 

He takes the reigns after UofL's very successful 2025 season where they went 13-5-3 and 10-0-2 at Lynn Stadium on campus. 

The 2026 season begins with a visit from Nebraska on Wednesday, Aug.12th. The Lady Huskers went 8-5-5 in 2025 and 3-5-3 in the Big 10. After hosting them, IU Indy visits on Sunday, Aug. 16th. It'll be the first time the Cards have played either school in women's soccer. 

Returning for the Cards are impact players Ella Bard, Grace Maddox, Kate Kantu on defense, along with goalkeeper Brielle Baker and midfielder Betsy Huckabee. 

The Cards begin ACC play Sept 12th. vs Pitt at Lynn Stadium and will take part in 10 ACC matches, including a trip to the west coast to face Stanford and California. I still chuckle at the Atlantic conference having two schools that sit on the Pacific Ocean.

We'll keep you up on all the ACC WSOC and UofL WSOC news as it happens here at Cardinal Couple. 

(Answer to today's question...Statesboro, GA.)

paulie

Weekend Photo Galleries -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Happy Monday! Daryl is off on a trip out west so I am filling in for her until she returns. We saw a few women's teams in action at home this weekend dating back to a big time Thursday night win for women's soccer. Field hockey had a crucial win Saturday at lunchtime and volleyball wrapped up that evening with a sweep.

Women's Soccer

Field Hockey

Volleyball

Women's Soccer at Duke

Louisville women's soccer fell on the road in the ACC Quarterfinals to 3-seed Duke 1-0 last night. The 10th-ranked (Coaches Poll) Blue Devils scored a goal midway through the first half and that was all that was needed. 

The Cards outshot Duke but could not get one into the back of the net. The heavy run throughout the match slowed the pace down and caused the Cards to pull back a bit compared to normal in their aggressive nature.

Still, a single goal loss on the road to a top-10 team shouldn't hurt much when it comes to rankings and the NCAA Selection Committee. The RPI places Louisville in the top 16, but the Coaches Poll has them lower. The latest Selection Committee ranking is outdated from October 11.

Women's soccer awaits their destination for the NCAA Tournament for now. With their RPI and Coaches Poll ranking, there is no question that they will hear their name called, and their opponent and location will be announced during the Selection Show next Monday.

Field hockey prepares for the ACC Tournament, where they will face top-seeded North Carolina tomorrow morning.

Volleyball still has a few more weeks of their regular season remaining.

Happy Monday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cards womens' sports play three on Sunday -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 WSOC, FIELD HOCKEY AND VOLLEYBALL ALL PLAY ON SUNDAY

It'll be a busy Sunday for you if you like to follow UofL women's sports. 

WSOC is visiting Boston College, Volleyball  hosts Virginia and Field Hockey visits UNC. Let's take a look at the upcoming battles. 

WOMEN'S SOCCER AT BOSTON COLLEGE

The kickin' Cards go northeast to face an Eagles squad that is 4-5-5 overall and 0-4-2 in the ACC. Losses to Pitt, UNC NC ST and Stanford aren't going to get you into post season, either in the ACC Tournament or the NCAA Tournament. 

It's a noon game, available on ACCNX and Louisville arrives after going 1-1-1 in their last three games...10 wins over the Cards on the season so far, with just three losses and one tie. 3-2-1 in the ACC isnt exactly stellar for UofL WSOC, but it means the Cards are 7-1 out of conference. They are, however, 1-3-1 on the road. BC is that bad, though, and Louisville should get the win in Beantown. 

FIELD HOCKEY AT UNC

The Tar Heels are 4-1 at home and the Louisville "stick girls" are 0-2 on the road.  oh, yeah, UNC is ranked #3 in the DI coaches poll..the Cards are 19th but just 6-6 overall. 

You could definitely say that a Cardinals win in Chapel Hill would be a huge upset.

Coach Erin Matson, a pretty fair player "back in the day" and head coach at UNC has instilled in the Heels that same fighting spirit and striving for success that she had. after all, she won the national title at UNC in her first year of coaching...at the tender age of 23. 

There is a good article on Erin if you read Women's Health magazine. You can access it:

 here

It's a noon game as well and can be viewed on ACC Network. 

VOLLEYBALL HOSTS VIRGINIA

13-2 Louisville Volleyball brings in the "Hoos" or Virginia if you will...the serve and spike gals will play this one in the LNFCUA (Louisville and Nashville Federal Credit Union Arena) and draws a 1 p.m. start. 

Virginia is 8-7 on the season overall but only 1-4 in ACC play. The Cavaliers have lost...in conference...to Stanford, California, Boston College and Notre Dame and only beaten syracuse...in five sets. 

it'll be ACCNX for viewing, don't expect to just walk up and gain admission, from what our photographer tells me, it's maybe the hardest seat to get in all of UofL sports. Dan Meske has handled the coaching transition well,,,but...seriously...shouldn't this team being playing in an arena that seats more than 1,000 all the time at home? 

THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST

It was Case, Jared and me (Paulie) on the weekly podcast. Daryl was out drowning golf balls somewhere and could not join us. 

A very good podcast, as we covered the three main UofL women's fall sports, Peytona/Waddy (or is it Waddy/Peytona?), visiting in-laws, home improvements. puppies  and other worldly matters. 

OK, maybe not other worldly matters...but it deserves a listen and you can hear it HERE

paulie

Karen Ferguson Dayes Interview -- Thursday Cardinal Couple

 LOUISVILLE WSOC HEAD COACH KAREN FERGUSON DAYES INTERVIEW

I was able to catch up with Louisville WSOC Head coach Karen Ferguson Dayes on Wednesday and get her thoughts on the season, the program and the 2024 squad:

CC: We are here with Louisville Women's Soccer Head Coach Karen Ferguson Dayes. Coach, we appreciate the chance for the interview. I understand you are in two-a-days with the squad now

KFD: We are! Where has the summer gone, Paulie? We're back, we are in our second day of practice, having meetings and the squad is working hard.  

CC: With 204 wins under your belt, you are the winningest coach in Louisville history.  I can remember when the team played out at the track and field cpmplex next to Ulmer Stadium. Taking a look at last year, a kind of rough season for the squad with a 4-9-5 record and 3-5-3 in the ACC.

KFD: Yeah, not one of our most proud records, but if you came and watched us play, you'd be shocked that that was our final record. The ame is won and lost on the scoreboard, though and that was an area where certainly we just didnt score enough to get more wins. Scoring will be a point of emphasis this year. 

CC: How are things  looking so far with the squad? 

KFD: Time will tell.  We are going to need some time,we have 14 returning players and 13 new...we're taking a look in the early sessions to see how the new players are meshing with the returning players. the almost 50% new isn't that uncommon, i think you'll probably see it with other squads here on or campus and across the nation because of the transfer portal.  But, all has gone well so far, quite frankly. 

CC: Have we gotten to the stage where the players have taken off the "Hello, my name is..badges?" 

KFD: (laughing) Yeah, yeah we are past that stage. The grow fairly quickly to a level of comfort with each other. 

CC: What do you see the role being for players Karsyn Cherry, Lizzie Sexton and Erryn Floyd this year?

KFD: Karsyn is our captain and i feel that she wasn't quite at her best this year because of some injuries.  She just got caught behind the eight ball, she had more, she just couldn't physically give more.  This year she is rocking and rolling. She's as fit as she has even been, as strong as she's ever been and playing as well as she ever has. She has grown into a leadership role.  Lizzie is awesome and such a firece competitor and she's coming off a injury from last year . She spent a lot of time this summer getting better and we're excited to see how she is going to perform for us. Although she may not being wearing the captain's armband, she'll be a very influential player on this year's team . Erryn is growing as well, Unfortunately, she didnt play in the summer, she was dealing with a little bit of an injury, but she.s back at it now. She looks great out there . Every year she just gets better and better. Our new goalkeeper coach Olivia Mills has been working with her and we're excited to see her help Erryn fulfill her abilitues. 

CC: You're having three new teams joinng the ACC, What is your thoughts and observations on them?  

KFD: Yeah, we definitely didn't need to add those three in regards to how good they are (laughing)  Stanford was in the championship game last year againt Florida State, I haven't seen Cal as much as Stanford but I know they are excellent as well  I'm good friends with the SMU coach and she has build a really good and strong program down there. 

CC: Who are some of the other players we should keep an eye on? 

 

KFD: Betsy Huckabee. We played her in a lot of different roles last year as a freshman and I feel she's is a player that really doesn't get enough recognition . We going to try and play her in the center, in midfield this season and if we can let her grow in that spot , I think you'll see what we think she can become and turn into to. Lauren Contini is a freshman who can score goals and A.G...Anna Grace Gibson is a local freshman from Assumption and I think she'll be really good for us this year as well. She played for Javanon and the Racing Louisville FC Academy and we really like her skills and talent. 

CC:  Some others that are new and you see contributing?

KFD: We have five transfers and eight freshman  Jolie St. Louis is a transfer from UAB that will contribue a lot for us. Gianna Angelillo joins us from Miami (FL) and will be of signfificant help, has great talent and knows our league.  Ella Kane come over from UK and is a really good player. Kailey Kimball was a goalkeeper at Purdue and joins the roster. 

CC; Any final words for our readers?

KFD: i think we are a team you'll love to cheer for. We fight for each other. We are hard working. We've got each other's back . They are a group you can get behind and cheer for. Come out and watch this bunch play and help us get to the finish line.

paulie

Volleyball Showdown Day -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Clash of the ACC Volleyball Titans

OK, maybe the heading is a little overblown, but today is finally game day for the volleyball match that the whole conference has been waiting for.  The story lines have developed as expected, with the offensive juggernaut, and the scrappy, balanced squad meeting up to see if specialization can win out over generalism.

Pitt plays a high power offense, much like last year, that about sums up the team.  They swing hard, and they usually find the floor with their hits.  UofL has put together a bit of a rag-tag bunch of players that are, but perhaps not spectacular, at all aspects of the game, defense and digging, serving, blocking, hitting (both middle and outside).  It's an all-around game played by UofL, vs a very offensive focused Pitt team.

Pitt is sitting just outside of the top 5 nationally, at number 6, while the scrappy Cardinals are creeping up the lower parts of the poll, currently sitting at 21st.  Pitt is undefeated, overall, not just in conference, and have yet to play a 5th set in a match this season.  The Cards are undefeated in conference, but have dropped 4 matches in non-conference against some very good teams, and have played in 5 5th sets this season.

The Cards have a lot to play for.

This game likely decides the conference championship, and by way of that, the awarding of the automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament (remember that the ACC does not host a conference volleyball tournament, the AQ goes to the regular season champion).  Here's a bit more about how that breaks down.  Assuming that both teams win out the rest of the conference schedule (not much of a stretch of a possibility), the winner of this match ends up undefeated, and the loser ends up 1 loss.  That scenario is easy.

It is a little more nuanced than that, however, as the winner of this match would then potentially have the luxury of losing another match.  If the loser of this match wins out the rest of the way, then the two would end up being co-champions, again.  Florida State does play a potential spoiler (at 8-1 in conference) and confuser of this scenario with matches still to go against both Louisville and Pitt.  In the co-champion scenario, the winner of this match would get the AQ (again, caveat confusion that could potentially be caused by FSU) win the head to head victory over the other.

With another co-championship, Dani Busboom Kelly's squad gets to hang another red banner in Cardinal Arena.  Coach, and the team, even their intro video, have built the season theme around the color black, though.  The volleyball banners in Cardinal Arena are colored coded.  Red banners are for conference successes (usually championships, both regular season and tournaments from previous conferences).  The black banners, though...the black banners are for NCAA tournament successes, at least a Sweet 16 berth (the NCAA volleyball tournament is 64 teams).  This team wants to hang a black banner this year, and it's not much of a stretch to say it's a possibility.

Another motivator for NCAA tournament prospects is hosting the first two rounds of play.  The top 16 teams get to host first and second round games.  UofL currently sits in 21st in the national coach's poll.  A win over #6 Pitt would go a long way towards lifting them into that Top 15 region where hosting teams hang out.  A little help from some Top 15 teams (ie, if they lose some games) also helps that along.  A hosting slot is still a possibility with a lose to Pitt, but the odds get pretty long in that case.

In a more abstract terms, the Cards need to win this one to really take the next step in competitive play.  If they play like they did Friday against UVA, it won't happen (well, except for that 5th set, but Pitt won't roll over like UVA did, this is a certainty).

This game is hyped, it is hyped here in Pittsburgh, and it promises to be a loud and live arena.  I will be in attendance at 1pm, but for those who aren't here, it will be streamed on the ACC Network Extra.

A Quick Note on Men's Soccer

In what seems to be a developing theme, another UofL team won a game in double-sudden-victory-overtime last night.  This time it was the Men's Soccer team's turn.  The foe was Clemson, and the venue was Lynn Stadium on Floyd Street.  There's one more game in the regular season for Men's Soccer, but it's a doozy, with #1 ranked Wake Forest waiting on their home pitch for this one on Friday evening.

Sunday Schedule

There's a lot of Cardinals teams in competition today.  In addition to Volleyball at 1pm, Field Hockey and Women's Soccer both get their games underway, also on the road, at 1pm.  Field Hockey is at Albany, and apparently no video stream is available for this one, but Women's Soccer can be picked up on the ACC Network Extra in their tilt against NC State in Raleigh.

WSOC needs this win. Last road game of the regular season and second-to-last game of the regular season. ACC Tournament qualification status and points on the line. 

Rowing is in action this afternoon on the Charles River in Cambridge, MA at the prestigious Head of the Charles competition.  There is streaming available for this on a Vimeo livestream from The Rowing Channel at https://livestream.com/row.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

We had two knuckleheads in the studio, Paulie and myself, yesterday for the Cardinal Couple Radio
Hour.  We also were graced with the presence of Daryl Foust, who can in no way be said to be a knucklehead.

Much merriment was had, maybe slightly less informative than usual, but we had fun, and we did get to discuss topics of importance to UofL Women's Sports.  We covered Volleyball, Field Hockey, Soccer, and touched on Men's Basketball.  If you're in the Boston area to watch the Head of the Charles, tune in to learn about an idiosyncratic unit of measurement used on the Harvard Bridge over the Charles River.  You can also read some about it at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Bridge#Smoots.

I particularly love this statement from that Wikipedia article, "Officials' original determination to omit the smoot markings from the reconstructed bridge, and to scrupulously prevent the fraternity from repainting them, evaporated when it was realized that police routinely used the smoot marks as reference points in accident reports."

Paulie plans on  presenting the UofL WBB team in terms of smoots status this year. He, Daryl and anyone else they can convince will be using the comparison.


"Get her the ball! She's three smoots open!  Not quite smoot height. She nailed that three from about 5 smoots out!"   

You can hear and watch the CCRH replay at:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/1844082199041793/

-- 

JMcA