Lacrosse has three on All-American teams -- Friday CARDINAL COUPLE

READ, KOLOSKI and SIVERSON ALL-AMERICANS

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The IWLCA has named Louisville's Brittany Read, Hannah Koloski and Meghan Siverson to the 2017 Division I All-American teams. Read and Koloski are on the second team and Siverson the third team. 

They'll be invited to the awards banquet on Saturday, June 3rd. at the Hunt Valley Inn in Hunt Valley, MD. 

Coach Kellie Young on the trio: 


"What a remarkable year this has been. I couldn't be prouder of these three student-athletes and I'm incredibly grateful for the contributions they made to our program this year. Hannah graduated as one of the most prolific scores in program history. Brittany has solidified herself as the best goalie to ever play at Louisville. Meg, just a sophomore, made a statement in Division I lacrosse as both a draw specialist and an offensive presence...scoring in every game this season. " 

Read was the ACC Defender of the Year....leading the league in saves and had the second best average in goals allowed. 

Koloski led Louisville in scoring with 62 goals. She was also named first team All-ACC and first team All-West/Midwest Region....as was Read. 

Siverson finished second on the squad with 55 goals and was also named second team All-ACC and first team All West/Midwest All-Region. 

We, at Cardinal Couple will miss watching the fleet Koloski dashing down the pitch on a fast-break. We're thankful to have both Siverson and Read back...they will be the anchors of the 2018 Lax Cards. 

Everyone have a great weekend....The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour will not be broadcasting Saturday because of The Mighty Kindness Festival that WCHQ 100.9 is helping sponsor and providing live air to. Jeff and Case will get you thru the weekend here at the site, though. 


paulie
xxxxx 

Lacrosse, Kakala, Expansion and Papa....FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

LACROSSE FALLS TO VIRGINIA 13-12 

A heart-breaker last night in Richmond Virginia...Louisville Lacrosse going to sudden victory against the Virginia Cavaliers in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament in Richmond, VA. and losing 13-12. 

The Cards came out strong and led 2-0 in the early going. Virginia regrouped, though, and rolled off three straight scores to take the lead. UofL roared back with a 3-0 run their own and led 5-3 after 10 minutes of exciting, bang-bang action on the pitch. 

Louisville led 7-5 with nine minutes remaining in the half but went scoreless the rest of the way and the Wahoos tied it up at 7-7 as the teams took the midway break. The Cards were controlling the draw control 10-5 and Brittany Read was defending the net with all her skills...with eight saves in the first 30 minutes. 

UofL took the early lead in the second half when Meghan Siverson got her third score but Virginia came back with three straight goals to go up 10-8. With 20:22 to play, an unfortunate and controversial second yellow card was awarded to Siverson and the Cards leading scorer for the game and draw control specialist was disqualified from the contest. It gave the Cards something to rally around...and Louisville scored four straight goals to take a 12-10 lead with 9:40 to play. Kellie Young's squad was still up 12-11 with 1:16 to play...but UVA managed the tying goal and held the Cards scoreless over the next 76 seconds to force the extra session. 

Virginia won the overtime draw control and 47 seconds later, Kasey Behr fired a steamer from the left side of the net past Read to give the Wahoos the victory.

Kellie Young: 

"We left our hearts on the field but needed a little more grit to secure the win."  

The Cards now await their fate in the NCAA women's lacrosse selection show Sunday at 9 p.m. Louisville looks to be on the bubble for making the tournament. 26 teams, including 13 conference champions, will take place in a single elimination process...the six top-seeded getting a first round bye. 




RETTA KAKALA NAMED TO CA ALL STATE TEAM

2017 Cardinal signee Loretta Kakala was named to the 2016-17 All - California Girls All State second team. The 6'3" center from Manteca High School comes to Louisville as the #2 ranked post in the nation by ESPNW and has impressed the coaches with her football, rebounding and aggressiveness in the paint. 

On coming to Louisville...Retta K had this to say: 

" I want the Louisville fans to know I am excited about coming there and will work hard to make everyone proud of me and be a part of a great group of teammates." 

She'll get that chance right away, it would appear. She'll be the only center listed on the roster and the second tallest player on the 2017-18 team...only Kylee Shook at 6'5" is taller. With Shook being projected as a possible high post player or wing, the Cards will need someone besides Myisha Hines-Allen to bang the boards. Sam Fuehring and Bionca Dunham round out the projected front line for the squad. 


EXPANSION AND IMPROVEMENTS

UofL plans to construct an $8 million TV projection studio as part of the ACC Network. The new facility will be home to video control rooms, studios and editing rooms. The facility will have the capabilities to host live shows at all venues for games and have access for live player and coaches interviews. 

New balconies and bleachers are scheduled for Cardinal Arena...where Volleyball will play their 2017 home games. The women's basketball team will move to the "Little Yum" and expansion and remodeling is scheduled for that facility. New turf is coming for the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium and the Trager indoor facility. 

A video wall and ribbon board has been approved for Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and a private donation has funded a $9.5 million dollar expansion and renovation at baseball's Jim Patterson Stadium.

Good things on the way. Tom keeps building. 



SOFTBALL STARTS THREE GAME SET WITH VA.

Louisville Softball starts their final home game series today against the Virginia Cavaliers. First pitch for today has been switched from 6 p.m. to 2 p.m...the stated reason was concerns with expected rain this evening. Louisville (26-17, 9-6) 

The Cavs (21-19, 8-13) come in fresh off a win at George Washington and a three game sweep over Notre Dame at South Bend. They are on a seven-game win streak...tops in the ACC right now. 

Louisville is a perfect 6-0 against UVA since joining the ACC. 

Jordan McNary has reached base for Louisville via a walk or hit in 26 or her last 28 games. She is a perfect 12-12 in stolen bases this season. 

Nicole Pufahl leads Louisville in hitting with a .372 average and has reached base safely in her last 17 games. Last year, in Charlottesville, the Cards swept the Wahoos 2-0, 7-2 and 2-1. 
PAPA JOHN LEAVES BOARD

"Papa John" Schnatter has resigned from the University of Louisville's athletic association board . The announcement was made at yesterday's board meeting..where athletic direction Tom Jurich and athletic financial director Kevin Miller outlined what was going on with the athletic department and fielded questions...also with President Greg Postal. 

One thing that wasn't revealed was why Papa decided to withdraw from the board. The resignation comes a couple of weeks after he accused the athletic department of being "invisible" and needed to solve their crisis for the good of the University. 

Papa did not elaborate on what items the athletic department needed to work on or what they needed to do to become more visible. Making a sweeping statement like that and then not explaining it leads to a lot of speculation and media questioning. We won't get into the speculation here...only Papa can explain what he said and that may never happen...but the athletic department has been far from being "invisible" and Jurich showed once again yesterday that he is committed and continuing growth for the programs and facilities at Louisville. Jurich commented: 

"I wouldn't trade my staff for anyone in the world and I most certainly would not replace any of my head coaches for anyone in the world...they're the best in college athletics." 

His viewpoint seems pretty viable and visible to me. Always has. 


paulie
xxxxx 

Lacrosse opens ACC Tournament against Virginia -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

#6 Seeded Cards face the Cavs at 8 p.m. 

Kellie Young's Louisville Lacrosse squad begins ACC Tournament play tonight in Richmond, VA at Sports Backers Stadium. The Cards (11-6, 3-4) are #18 in the nation. They face the #3 seed Virginia (10-7, 4-3) which is #12 in the nation. 

Louisville visited Virginia earlier in the season on April 15th and fell to the Cavaliers 11-7. The Cards had a 6-5 lead at halftime but a strong second half defense from UVA limited UofL to just one second half score.

For the Cards, Hannah Koloski leads the offense with 58 goals and two assists in 2017. She, along with Brittany Read made the 2017 All-ACC First squad. Meghan Siverson was selected for the second team. Koloski, a senior from Lakeville, MN leads the nation in free position goals with 1.53, is second in shots on goal with 6 a contest fourth in goals scored with 58. Coach Young on the trio: 

"Hannah, Brittany and Meghan have been such significant parts of our success. Hannah has faced the top defenders from every team...game after game...she has battled face guards and double teams and still fond a way to score."  

Read, a junior from Gibbsboro, NJ has been stellar in goalkeep after returning from a season ending injury last year. She's fourth in the nation with 10.06 saves per game and stops 51.7% of the shots she faces. She leads the ACC in saves, save percentage and saves per game. Read also owns the school record with 300 career saves. 

Siverson has been a pleasant surprise this season. After a freshmen year of limited playing time, she stepped into center midfielder spot and produced 51 goals and eight assists. Another "Jersey girl" ...from Morristown...she averaged three goals made per game.

Madison Hoover (18) and Ashley Lynch (17) led Louisville in assists this season. Freshman McKayla Conti has also been a valuable contributor in the attack and senior Stephanie McNamara is one of the best defensive players in the nation. 

All games today will be shown on the ACC Network Extra and action gets started at 11 a.m. when #1 seed North Carolina faces #8 seed Duke. #4 seed Notre Dame will face off against #5 Boston College at 2 p.m. #2 Syracuse goes against #7 Virginia Tech at 5 p.m.

25 teams participated in the 2016 NCAA women's lacrosse tournament. With a current rank of #18 or #19 (depending on which poll you look at) in the nation, you have to like Louisville's chances of getting a bid...but a win or two in the ACC Tournament would certainly secure the Cards a spot in the bracket. 

Seven of the eight ACC schools are in the top twenty. The Cards RPI is #27. 

Finish might be the most appropriate word to use when assessing the Cards chances over the next several days. Young's squad has held first half leads over five of the seven ACC schools they played this year (Virginia, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Syracuse and Duke). They lost three of these games (Virginia, Notre Dame, North Carolina). The Cards trailed Boston College at halftime and lost. Against Virginia Tech, Louisville was tied at the half and went on to win. 

60 minutes. Finish as strong as you start. That is the key, if LouLax wants to pile up a few wins at the end of the season. That quest begins tonight, in what could possibly be the final game of the year for Louisville...if they fall. 


paulie
xxxxx

Lax Wins, Selection Season -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Lacrosse Handles Duke in ACC Home Opener

After falling to Notre Dame in South Bend last Saturday in the conference opener, the Louisville lacrosse team evened their conference record with a win over Duke yesterday afternoon. It was considered an upset, with Duke being ranked 15/17 and Louisville falling into the "receiving votes" category. The 11-8 loss pushed Duke to 0-3 in conference, and they'll certainly be looking to right the ship.

The game opened with a flurry of goals, as the Cards and Blue Devils traded two goals apiece before Louisville picked up the fifth overall goal of the game in the first nine minutes. Action was a bit more stagnant for the next 15 minutes as Louisville clung onto a 3-2 lead. The Cards extended that lead to 4-2 but Duke was able to pull it back within one. Starting with a Meghan Siverson goal with 1:26 remaining in the first half, Louisville scored four straight spanning into the second half to go up 8-3 and effectively put the game out of reach. Duke scored three of the next four goals to bring the tally to 9-6, but Louisville went up 11-6 with four and a half minutes remaining. Duke could only score two more to set the final score. 

It was an eventful second half when, after only one yellow card in the first, five yellow cards were awarded. Three went to Louisville and the other two to Duke. After a big scoring game, Hannah Koloski picked up her 33rd goal of the season to lead the team. Meghan Siverson is hot on her tail with 32. It was also a great game for Louisville goalkeeper, Brittany Read, who picked up ten saves in the win. Louisville is still struggling to replace the reliable draw control from years past. Duke handled Louisville in that category with a whopping 16-5 deficit. Like the rebounding battle in basketball, you can win the game without winning the draw control battle, but you make it a lot harder on yourself. 

Louisville, who looks to climb back into the rankings in the next poll, travels to Coastal Carolina on Wednesday.

KELLIE YOUNG POST GAME COMMENTS

MEGHAN SIVERSON POST GAME INTERVIEW

Softball Set to Brave "Inclement Weather"

After cancelling yesterday's games of the Louisville Softball Classic due to what was announced as "inclement weather," the tournament will conclude today on an even colder day. The Cards will play the middle game on this final day against Northern Iowa. The game is set to begin at 2, an hour and a half after the originally scheduled time.

March Madness is Officially Here

As Championship Week concludes today (which I still think is obnoxious), the Selection Committee will lock themselves away to determine the fate of the 68 teams who will vie for the title. The men's team looks well in line for a three seed, with talk of a potential two. However, we've seen crazier things happen in the past. Whatever happens, being in the tournament again will be step up from last year's heartbreak.

Similarly, a committee will convene tomorrow night to select the 64 women's teams that will battle it out. Louisville is hoping to grab a top four seed and play host at the Yum! Center. We've mentioned it before, but the selection show watch party will be tomorrow night at Sports & Social Club on 4th Street Live. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Everyone's favorite hour (ish) of local radio aired yesterday and saw the triumphant return of its fearless leader, Paulie. We were also joined by Cards superfan, Julie "JC" Sullivan. The show centered mostly around basketball, which seems appropriate for this town around this time of year, but we also squeezed in a bit more as time allowed. Check out this link to hear yesterday's show and tune in to WCHQ next week for more wild antics.

Until next time, Go Cards.

-CH-

Sunday Cardinal Couple - Not Notre Dame Day

Three Cardinals sports teams tangled with Notre Dame yesterday, and two of them came away on the wrong side of the win-loss divide.

MBB

The Men's Basketball team was the sole team to knock off Notre Dame, with a 71-64 win at the KFC Yum! Center on a Red-Out Senior Day.  The win was enough to cement the double bye for the men's team when they head to New York for the ACC Tournament.

WBB

On the women's side of things, however, Walz's squad couldn't get it done.  This was a tight affair through 3 quarters until the Irish were able to push out to the final 11 point margin in the 4th quarter.  The final score was 84-73.  The biggest lead by either team in the first 3 quarters was 7, but most of the time, the leads were below 5 point margins.

The big culprit here was turnovers...yes the bakery is fully up and running today with an inventory of 18 turnovers compared to NDs 5.  As you might expect with such a margin in turnovers, the points off turnovers stat is equally lopsided, 19-3, more than accounting for the margin of victory.

On the positive side, Myisha Hines-Allen had yet another double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds in 37 minutes of play.  Asia Durr and Mariya Moore went for the full 40.  Moore dropped 7 points...not nearly what she's capable of...but she contributed well in other ways with a team leading 8 assists and corralling 4 rebounds.  Durr was the biggest offensive engine on the team with 26 points, while also getting 4 assists and 5 rebounds.  Kylee Shook is finding her way back to some significant playing time, with 29 minutes on the court.  Those minutes will likely continue as she dropped 16 points in, but she really should be getting more than 5 rebounds.  That'll come with time and we have to remember that she is just a freshman, but time is running out to make a contribution in that are for this playing year.

The Cards now will wait to officially find out if they make the field for the NCAA tournament, which really isn't in much doubt.  But things are still very much in the air as to what sort of seeding they'll get.  Losing to the #3 ranked team in the country shouldn't hurt much, particularly after getting what is arguably an upset win over a very good NC State team.  The selection show will be Monday March 13th, at 7pm and it will be on ESPN.

Lacrosse

The other team to tangle with the Irish was the Lacrosse team, who went on the road to South Bend, and also couldn't get into the win column.  Though, as with seemingly all games against Notre Dame, this one was also a back and forth affair with Notre Dame eventually getting the win 9-7.

The high scorers for The Cards in this one were Meghan Siverson and Hannah Koloski, with each finding the net twice.  Notre Dame was generally able to generate more offense, though.  In addition to the scoreboard, their attack lead to 16 saves by Brittany Read between the pipes, while the Irish GK, Samantha Giacolon only stopped 9.  Notre Dame took 36 shots to Louisville's 19, though the Cards had a better on-target percentage, with 16 on goal, compared to the 25 from the Irish.

Ultimately, I think you can credit both teams with running good defenses, as neither really got the offense running at full speed for the full game.  Louisville does continue to be generally dominant in the draw control, coming down with 11 of them compared to Notre Dame's 6.  Credit mostly to Meghan Siverson for that with 5, and also to Heidi Smith with 3.

The Lax squad will be back in action against Duke back at home with first draw at high noon, right after The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour.

Radio

Speaking of the Cardinal Couple Radio hour, WCHQ was foolish enough to let us back on the radio again yesterday.  Paulie was away in Conway, SC covering the ACC Women's Basketball tournament action, but we did get him on the radio, so we could get good audio of the battle of the Notre Dame and UofL pep bands.  In the studio were myself, Case Hoskins, and our special guest Jared Anderson from River City Cards.  As always, you can check out the chaos on the soundcloud.

-- JMcA

Louisville women's basketball -- Cards shut down BC 68-43...Softball and Lacrosse get wins...MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WBB HOLDS BC TO 27% SHOOTING IN WIN

The adage is...offense fills seats and defense wins games came to pass yesterday in the KFC YUM! Center in the Louisville vs. Boston College women's college basketball game. The Cards held Boston College to 28.1% from the floor and 9306 filled the seats to watch the Cards shoot 46.3% and get an overall strong offensive performance from multiple players in the 25-point win. 

Louisville (22-6, 9-4) shut down the Eagles early and went on a 14-2 first quarter run that spanned the first nine minutes. Emphasizing the inside game, Kylee Shook, Myisha Hines-Allen, Cortnee Walton and Taylor Johnson all scored for the Cards and the first ten minutes ended with Louisville leading 14-4. UofL held Boston College (9-17, 2-11) to 2 for 16 shooting (12.5%) and was doing it with two regular starters...the usual beginning guard contingent...watching from the bench. 

Briahanna Jackson was sidelined with continuing back spasms and Asia Durr sat out the contest...serving a one game, unspecified violation of team violation of rules suspension. Mariya Moore sat out the second half with sore feet. 

The Cards continued the stifling defense in the second quarter and Louisville received significant sparks from Sam Fuehring and Jazmine Jones to push the advantage to 35-16 at the half. The Eagles were still on ice...with a 7-29 shooting (24.1%) mark and Louisville had forced nine B.C. turnovers. The Cards were controlling the boards 27-12 and had scored 12 points off turnovers...plus eight points on second chance baskets. 

Nine Cardinals had played at least six minutes....Hines-Allen leading the scoring with eight points and nine rebounds. Jones and Shook had six each and the UofL defense had held B.C.'s leading scorer Kelly Hughes to just three shots and zero points. The 16 Eagles points tied for the third-fewest points in a half by a Louisville opponent this season. 

Shook started the third quarter on a tear for the Cards...scoring eight of Louisville's first nine points...and after her second three of the period made it 44-18 Louisville...B.C. coach Erik Johnson called a timeout to refocus his squad. The Cards went back to the inside attack after that and took a 50-27 edge into the final period. 

Walz emptied the bench for the majority of the fourth and Brianna "Jonesy" Jones, Jessica Laemmle, Syd Zambrotta and Bionca Dunham all scored...Dunham getting the final six Cardinal points...Walton was the only starter who scored in the final ten...early in the quarter...and Louisville breezed home to the 68-43 triumph. 

A lot of things to comment about in this one. B.C. made only two threes...one by Hughes...who ended with just three points. All the Cards who played scored. That is the first time this season that has happened. 33 bench points. 34 points in the paint. A 50-25 rebounding edge. Yes, the Eagles are at the bottom of the conference standings...so, maybe a big win was expected here...but the fashion in which the Cards did it and the stellar defense were pleasant surprises. 


HOW DID FRED DO? 

Louisville gardening expert...the late
Fred Wiche. 

Free Throws -- 16-20...which is a solid 80%. Seven Cards attempted them. Sam "leaning to the left" Fuehring hit all four of hers and three other Cards are perfect from the line also in multiple attempts. Here's your capital "F".  

Rebounding -- The Cards ruled the boards with a 50-25 rebounding advantage. Hines-Allen with 13 and Ciera Johnson grabbed eight in 17 minutes of action. All 12 Cardinals had at least one except Fuehring and Laemmle recorded a career high with three. We proudly award a capital "R" here. 

Effort/Execution -- The Cards got good minutes out of all who took the court. 34-22 points in the paint edge, 15-4 on second chance points, 46.3% shooting and 21 points off of 14 turnovers. No extended offensive woes. A capital "E" is up.

Defense -- One of the best efforts of the season. Forcing 14 turnovers with their starting guards sitting. Allowing less than 30% shooting. Six steals and 2 for 17 three-point shooting for the Eagles. 43 points. We'll complete the capital sweep with a capital "D". 

FINAL FRED COUNT:  F-R-E-D


THINGS WE LIKED

Inside Dominance -- Excellent efforts Sunday from Hines-Allen (who claims she's a guard now) Fuehring, Shook, Ciera, Bionca and Cortnee. No drop-off... no matter what combination was prowling the paint. 

Freshman fantastic --  The six freshmen combined for 39 points and 24 rebounds. They logged 92 of the 200 minutes available on the court. Walz put the challenge out for someone to step up and claim playing time and all six entered the race and made a statement. 

Overcoming Adversity -- With two starters out and Moore playing just 14 minutes...plus Hines-Allen coming back from a leg injury...one had to wonder how well the team would hold up. Just fine, thank you. All good here.  


THINGS TO WORK ON

-- Getting people back. The Cards have a week until their next game. That should allow Mariya's feet to rest, Briahanna's back to receive some relief and Asia to return. The ones who played Sunday did a fine job...no doubt about it...but most Cardinal fans would feel less stressed if these three are ready to go for UNC on Sunday. 

-- Turnovers. 19 for Louisville. Yes, with a depleted lineup and 12 people playing...but still a number we think is too high. Only seven from the six freshman. This number was not really a big factor in Sunday's game but against a Wake Forest or Virginia? The Walz Bakery was flourishing Sunday and we'd like to see it closed on Thursdays and weekends. 


SO...

"Mayor" Jer was in attendance and brought snacks! 

A fun romp in front of an appreciative crowd Sunday. Watching Kylee Shook's shooting, Jazmine Jones' athleticism, Bionca Dunham's tenacity and Myisha Hines-Allen's adaptability and dominance from where-ever Walz decides to play her was a good afternoon's entertainment. 

Disturbing..a bit...about the ailments with Moore and BJ. Disappointment over Asia sidelining herself. These are three players the Cards must have at full sail when tournament time surfaces....in our opinion. 

Against Boston College, who is not a great team, Walz probably could have gotten a win with Dunham, Zambrotta, Laemmle, "Jonesy" and Louie the Cardinal Bird. That's not a slap at the players...it's just a commentary on Boston College. They may be the last "weak sister" the Cards face the rest of the regular season. 


THEY SAID IT

MYISHA AND KYLEE DISCUSS THE WIN

( Myisha mis-interprets my question at the 4:40 mark...unless they've changed the ACC Tournament format.) 

JEFF WALZ POST GAME


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LACROSSE DOWNS ROBERT MORRIS 9-4

The Lou LAX squad got hat tricks from Meghan Siverson, Hannah Koloski and Heidi Smith and a strong Cardinal defensive effort kept visiting Robert Morris stymied in the 9-4 win Sunday at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium.

Hear Kellie Young's comments HERE

Unfortunately, we did not have a CARDINAL COUPLE contingent at the contest due to WBB and monitoring Softball coverage. We continue to be in a bit of a quandary why games and events sometimes run into overlapping playing times. A noon start would have made both games "do-able" for the fans (and us) and the LaxCards do have four noon starts on the schedule...so it isn't like they'd be going into un-chartered water. 

Nevertheless, after a quick turnaround that had them at Marquette Friday, Louisville jumped out to a 4-1 halftime lead on a windy day the the "Ellis" (LLS) by scoring the final three goals of the half.  The Cards also won the final half 5-4 to go to 3-0 on the season. Louisville held a 31-17 shot advantage. 

The Cards resume to action Saturday in Denver against the Pioneers.


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SOFTBALL FINISHES SPORTCO WITH A WIN

The University of Louisville Softball squad started the three-day Sportco Softball Classic with a bang...scoring 30 runs the first day. They ended their stay in Vegas with a 1-0 win over Indiana State. 

Maryssa Becker tossed the two-hit shutout for the Cards (4-1) and Nicole Pufahl provided the offense with a two-out second inning triple that scored Megan Hensley. Five games in three days...a busy and somewhat tiring start to the season. Still, Louisville showed they don't need an offensive barrage to win contests...but can provide fireworks at the plate. 

The hit-and-pitch Cards return to action Friday against Purdue in the ACC/BIG 10 challenge at UNC's diamond in Chapel Hill, NC. 


paulie
xxxxx

Softball Sweeps first day of Sportco...Lacrosse wins at Marquette -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS PLATE 30 RUNS IN TWO GAMES IN VEGAS

If the Louisville Softball team was appearing as an act at one of the Las Vegas hotels, you'd have to say they were a "hit". Or, they'd be there for a long "run". 

The Cards put up 30 runs on 24 hits and allowed just five in wins over Southern Utah and Cal State Bakersfield in the opening day of the Sportco Kickoff Classic...hosted by UNLV. (Why they call it a "kickoff" classic is beyond me...maybe the hosts were ready to kick Louisville off the field for wearing out the base paths...) 


CARDS 17 - SOUTHERN UTAH 3 

Louisville wasted no time in getting the scoring started in the opener...gathering three runs in the bottom of the first...a Maryssa Becker single scoring Sidney Melton, Megan Hensley single bring home Jordan McNary and Nicole Pufahl sacrifice fly getting Becker to the plate for a 3-0 first. While Becker was taming S.U.U. on the mound, Louisville added a deuce in the second...Hensley connecting on a two-RBI double to send Melton and Becker to the plate. 

The top of the third was golden for the RedBirds...seven runs...which featured a Pufahl two-RBI single. When the dust had cleared on the infield...the Cards were up 12-0 and a five-inning affair seemed to be in the cards for the Cards over the Thunderbirds. 

Louisville tacked on five more in the fourth...Pufahl knocking in two more with a single and Becker and Hensley also adding RBI's. Up 17-0, Sandy Pearsall started substituting freely in the fifth and freshman pitcher Sydney Warriner relieved Becker on the mound...who had compiled a four-hit shutout. S.U.U. touched Syd for three runs...but the Cards eventually collected three outs and the contest end with a 14-run, 17-3 five-inning win for the Ville over the Thunderbirds.  

CARDS 13 - CSU BAKERSFIELD 2 

Louisville returned to the field 30 minutes later to face CSUB. Hensley took the mound for UofL and the first inning went scoreless. The Roadrunners pushed a runner across the plate in the bottom of the second and one wondered if the Cards might have ran the scoring well dry. 

Nope.

Louisville put together four singles and a walk for four runs in the top of the third and led 4-2 when they came up to bat in the top of the fourth. The Cards loaded the bases again, McNary's fielders choice scored Alison "Mike" Szydlowski and kept the bases loaded for the Cards first home run of the season...a grand slam shot by Becker over the left field fence. 

That 9-2 advantage carried into the top of the fifth. Hensley was controlling the Roadrunners and the Cards were smelling another five-inning affair possibility. "Mike" doubled to start the inning and Melton and McNary followed...scoring "Mike". 

That set the stage again for Becker...who planted another one over the left field fence...a three-run blast...to make it 13-2 Cards. Hensley sent CSUB away quietly in the bottom of the fifth and the Cards had an 11-run victory.

Becker had eight RBI's in the contest...McNary three and Hensley went five innings, allowing two runs on four hits. The Cards play two again today...getting Indiana State at noon and host UNLV at 2:15 p.m. The UNLV game will be available at the UNLV website...I bounced back and forth between StatTracker and Sidearms Stats to follow the the action last night. Once they got going, they did an OK job of coverage...I prefer StatTracker. 


LACROSSE HOLDS ON AT MARQUETTE 13-12

The Jersey Girls are at it again. 

McKayla Conti (Ocean Township) and Meghan Siverson (Morristown) netted five goals each and LouLax held on late for a challenging 13-12 win over a determined, home-standing Golden Eagles squad Friday afternoon. 

The Cards fell behind early in this match 3-0 before Siverson got UofL on the board. Down 4-1, Louisville battled back to tie it at 4-4 with Conti, Ashley Lynch and Heidi Smith finding net success. Marquette held a 6-5 edge with five minutes left in the firsst half...but two straight goals from sophomore Conti...the final one with 24 seconds on the clock...gave UofL a tenacious 7-6 advantage after one. 

Marquette started the second session strong with two goals to regain the lead. Conti gathered her fourth score to tie the contest, Hannah Koloski connected on her only score of the day to forge UofL ahead 9-8 and the teams went back and forth...Conti scoring her fifth goal to make it 11-10 Louisville with 6:43 to play. A minute later, the Golden Eagles knotted it back up. Siverson put in two shots in the next two minutes to send Louisville on to 13-11, but Marquette narrowed that to 13-12 with 90 seconds to play. With the shot clock off, the Cards played "keep-away" on offense and were able to hang on for the 1-goal victory. 

A valuable win under challenging circumstances. The contest was played in Marquette's domed all-purpose facility...which provided an almost surreal white, parachute kind of glow to the background and made following the ball...at least for this viewer...fairly difficult. Kudos to the film crew...who just showed the action and didn't provide any background babble. 

Louisville (2-0) returns home to face Robert Morris Sunday at 1 p.m. With WBB at 3 p.m....our coverage may be brief...but we'll have a recap, nevertheless. 


THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

Case, WorldWide and I will plunk ourselves down in front of the microphones and belt out another 60 minutes of Cardinal Athletics this morning at 11 a.m. on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR. Coordinates are WCHQ 100.9 on the FM airwaves and CARDINAL COUPLE 2-11-17 via Internet. 

We have a fine broadcast lined up for you! Case will catch us up on men's BB and preview the 2 p.m. game against Miami at the KFC YUM! Center today. We'll also discuss WBB, Softball. Lacrosse and other UofL sports...plus get a review from Worldwide on his test-drive and hear Paulie rant about on-line coverage of softball. 

Punkin is waiting for her treat and Monk is grinning...since we have light audio this week for her to download and monitor. We'll muddle through somehow and you won't want to miss it. 


Paulie
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Louisville Lacrosse takes season opener 19-8 over Vermont -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CONTI LEADS CARDS WITH SIX GOALS

One of the questions about the #18 Lax Cards going into the season was where was the scoring going to come from beside seniors Hannah Koloski and Heidi Smith? And, although the "H & H" girls did their part with three goals each...it was a pair of talented sophomores who found the most 'net' success in McKayla Conti and Meghan Siverson.

The duo combined for 11 goals (Conti six and Siverson five) in Louisville's convincing 19-8 win over un-ranked Vermont.

Conti, a midfielder/attack specialist from Ocean Township, NJ, got things brewing for the Cards early with the first score of the season just 72 seconds into the contest. Koloski, from Lakeville, MN followed that up with a goal at the 27:37 mark and it looked like the Cards were off to a furious start. 

Vermont wasn't ready to climb back on the bus and head for Burlington, though. They countered with four straight goals over the next eight minutes...three of them from another sophomore on the pitch...Jenna James...and Louisville head coach Kellie Young decided to use a timeout with 19 minutes left in the half to talk things over. Young on the time-out: 

"To be honest, it was a pretty calm timeout. It usually would be a time to light this team up but I don't think they needed that. We just needed to settle in. Vermont was using a consistent pattern and we needed to understand that pattern and make the necessary adjustment." 

The adjustment worked.

Louisville shut down the Catamounts offensively and the Cards scored the final six goals of the half...two from Conti, three from Siverson and one by another sophomore in Elsie Koehl and took a 8-4 advantage into halftime. 

Smith kept the Cardinal scoring spree going with an unassisted goal just 12 seconds into second half play. Vermont threw one last challenge into the LouLax 
squad with a three-goal counter...two from Alison Bolt...and the Cardinal lead had been trimmed to 9-7 just five minutes into final half action. 

Once again, the Cards would stiffen up the defense...limiting the America East Conference visitors to just one score the rest of the way. UofL scored eight times in the final ten minutes to put the contest away...Conti getting three in a row and Siverson tossing in the final for the 19-8 win. Freshman Ashley Lynch also picked up the first goal of her career in the second session. 

Brittany Read had six saves in goal for the Cards and allowed all eight Catamount scores. She wasn't as busy as her net counterpart on the other end of the fiedl...the Cards put up 51 shots, compared to Vermont's 18...and Vermont goalkeeper Maddy Kuras allowed 19 goals and had 20 saves. 

The Cards travel to Marquette for their next game...facing the Golden Eagles Friday at 3 p.m.


A Cardinal squad that looks to have a ton of attackers and scoring options. An impressive group of sophomores starting to reap the benefits of working hard and learning as understudy freshmen. And, an opening win on a day where two new names...a couple of Jersey girls (Siverson is from Morristown, NJ)  popped into the Cardinal Lacrosse vocabulary for the fans.

And...the name Conti in Louisville now appears to have an additional description besides a coffee roaster. Someone in Louisville marketing/advertising needs to hop on that pronto, right? 

Photos by Nancy Hanner / The Louisville Cardinal


QUOTES AND COMMENTS

I caught up with McKayla and Coach Kellie after the game for these comments on the victory. 

MCKAYLA CONTI ON THE VICTORY


COACH KELLIE YOUNG AFTER THE 19-8 WIN


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PAULIE PICKS

Even though Louisville women's basketball doesn't play until Monday night...along with Notre Dame, Miami and Florida State...the rest of the conference isn't taking Sunday off. Let's look at the Sunday contests first and then the Monday games. 

Duke heads north to Wahooland facing a Virginia squad that has been on again and off in their last five games. The "off" button gets selected today for UVA against a Duke squad ensconced in the five-way tie for third in the ACC. DUKE 

Syracuse goes east...something they don't do so very often in ACC play to climb the Chestnut Hill and face Boston College. Q has his oranges in that traffic jam for third-place and should beat Baldwin's bunch in Boston. SYRACUSE

North Carolina takes a southern sojourn to the Tigers den to face a Clemson squad that got dumped by Duke last time out. Things don't get any easier for the felines as they get it stuck to them by the TarHeels. NORTH CAROLINA

In a "tech"nical battle, the Virginia version heads to Georgia to roll with the Ramblin' Wreck. The Hokies haven't been able to find the formula recently but they solve the equation today against Georgia Tech. VIRGINA TECH.

Wake Forest defends the trees against a prowling pack of Panthers in Winston-Salem. A tough call here...but Pittsburgh hasn't won an away game in ACC play yet this year and it's not going to happen today for them. WAKE FOREST

On Monday...

A top-20 battle between the Florida entries in the ACC. Miami heads north to face Florida State looking to topple the tribe. These Noles aren't any wooden Indians and should take another scalp by beating Miami. FLORIDA STATE.

The Cardinals fly north to battle the Irish in a ESPN2 game. Notre Dame has had a few scares this season and, in my upset special, the Birdies take the fight out of the Fighting Irish and get the win in South Bend.  LOUISVILLE.


ON THE ELECTRIC RADIO AND LAPTOP

We gathered in the basement on a hill Saturday for the weekly edition of THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR and had a lively time discussing Cardinal men's and women's hoops, lacrosse, Spring Sports Media Day and other topics of possible interest. A fun show where Case outlined how Louisville MBB would defeat Boston College (and they did convincingly) and WorldWide revealed his plans for going to Cincinnati and trying out for the baseball Reds. 

OK, he's going for a test-drive on a new vehicle...not a quest to take over third-base...but the car conversations were inter-spiced with some great audio and observations. You can hear the replay at the link below: 

THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR 2-4-17

Have a GREAT Super Bowl Sunday and we'll be back Monday to preview the Cards WBB squad's contest against Notre Dame. 


paulie
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