LAX BESTS BUCKEYES --- SOFTBALL IN BATTLE OF BLUEGRASS TODAY -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

LACROSSE USES SECOND HALF SURGE TO BEAT OSU

Louisville Lacrosse used a 14-2 second half surge to down the Ohio St. women's lacrosse squad Tuesday at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium.  Kokoro Nakazawa fired in seven goals in the Cardinals win, a career high for her. All told, ten Cardinals scored in the contest, where Louisville had a dominating 39 to 21 shot edge over the visitors from Columbus. 

Louisville (7-8) was fairly evenly match with the Buckeyes in the first quarter...Nakazawa scored first for the Cards, but they managed only three more goals in the quarter. The output was still  two goals more than the OSU squad could muster and UofL ended the quarter on an unassisted Nicole Perroni goal to hold a 4-2 lead.

OSU wasn't ready to surrender the contest yet, though, and matched the Cards output of four goals in the second quarter  Nakazawa added two goals for the Cards and was joined by Abby Scully and Allegra Catalano. The Cards had built an 8-6 lead after a half of play.. 

So, what was the magic potion that got UofL energized to net 14 second half goals. What did head coach Scott Teeter tell the team at halftime? 

"We challenged them at halftime to step it up. All we wanted them to do was compete and we did that in the second half."  Tetter commented after the contest. And step it up Louisville did. 

The Cards went on a 14-4 second half blitz and got it started in the third quarter, outscoring OSU 6-2 .Nicole Perroni got the scoring started and Kokoro ws next with a score followed by Lauren Figas and Kylea Dobson finding net to build a 12-7 lead. Kokoro tallied again with four minutes left in the quarter, and the Cards had build the lead to 14-8 at the end of three quarters. 

Louisville dominated the fourth quarter action by outscoring the OSU squad 8-2. Six different Cards  (the Nakazawa sisters, Perroni, Seikel, Adkins and Catalano) tallied seven goals to build a 21-9 lead with five minutes to play in the contest. Ava Peers closed out the Cards scoring with less than a minute to play and Louisville was the proud owner of a 22-10 win. 

The Cards return to conference play next.. with a trip to Duke for a Friday match. 

SOFTBALL HOSTS BATTLE OF THE BLUEGRASS VS UK

Update: This game was cancelled due to weather and is not on the schedule to be made up at a later date.

Louisville Softball steps out of ACC play to face their in-state rival Kentucky on Wednesday. It's a 7 p.m. first pitch at Ulmer for the 23-16 Cards. 

UK comes in at 24-14, and comes in after a 1-0 win at Texas A&M. The Wildcats are led by Erin Coffel at the plate. she carries a .340 average and has 11 home runs on the season , tied for team lead and also leads in runs (27) and RBI's (29). 

Last year, the squads met in Lexington and UK slugged out a 7-4 win. A late., top of the seventh inning Louisville rally cut a 7-1 UK lead in half in the contest. 

In case you can't get out to the contest, the ACC Network will have the coverage. Our Jared Anderson will be on hand and will have the Thursday write-up on the outcome, plus his usual excellent photos.. UK leads in the series game history 24-20. 

paulie

Lacrosse Falls to Buckeyes -- Softball at UK Today -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 BUCKEYES BEST LOUISVILLE LACROSSE 16-6

Tough afternoon in Columbus for the Louisville Lacrosse squad, as the Ohio State women's lacrosse squad took down the Cards 16-6.

Ohio State started hot and put the first five goals of the match on the board before UofL could counter. The Cards were able to make it a 5-2 first quarter, thanks to scores by Kylea Dobson and Allegra Catalano. 

The Buckeyes played the Cards to a 2-2 tie in the second quarter. 

Louisville benefitted from a Nicole Perroni score and a goal from Kokoro Nakazawa.  OSU went into the halftime with a 7-4 edge. The Buckeyes held a 18-14 shot advantage and Nicole Ferrara and Jamie Lasda both had two goals for the Buckeyes. 

The third quarter was when OSU slammed the door on the visiting Cards. Five straight goals pushed the home team's lead to 12-4. Hannah Morris finally got a goal for the Cards, but OSU closed the quarter with two more goals and had built a 14-5 lead after three quarters. 

The Buckeyes scored with about nine minutes to go in the game to establish the running clock and Louisville never got the lO.S.U. lead back below 10 goals the rest of the way, getting an Izzy Seikel score with about two minutes left in the contest. A 16-6 final. 

Sara Addeche saw the majority on the minutes in goal for the Cards with 45. J Pleck (9:41) and Aubrey Bagenstone (5:19) split net-tending duties in the fourth quarter.

Scott Teeter on the match: 

"Unfortunately, we didn't come out of the locker room ready to start the first half. We fell behind, and when you're playing from behind...it's an uphill battle." 

The loss drops Louisville to 4-7 on the season and the Cards are 1-4 in ACC play. They'll travel to South Carolina to take on ACC opponent Clemson next on Saturday for a 1 p.m. match. 

SOFTBALL VISITS UK TODAY

Cats and Cards tonight at 6:30 in softball and the match is scheduled to be seen on ESPNU. 

It'll be the second meeting of the year for the two squads, UK took an 8-0 five-inning win back on Feb. 10th in Clearwater, FL in the NFCA Leadoff Classic. 

Louisville has complied a 22-9 record so far this season and is currently on a seven-game win streak. The Cards swept the ACC series with NC State in Ulmer last out. 

The Cards are batting .323 as a team.  Korbe Otis (.417) and Sarah Gordon (.405) are leading the way at the plate with batting averages. Taylor Roby has 11 home runs for the Cards this season and Otis leads the squad with five triples. Gordon is atop the Cards batting stats with nine doubles. 

In the circle, freshman Alyssa Zabala is 10-3 on the season and Taylor Roby is 6-4. Sam Booe has a 3-0 record and Taja Felder, Cassie Grizzard and Gabby Holloway have one win each. 

UK is 20-7-1 on the season and Vanessa Nesby bats .470  for the Cats. Erin Coffel has 12 "touch 'em alls" for UK. Stephanie Schoonover is the work-horse of the circle and is 12-1 on the season. 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-- Holly Aprile and UK head coach Rachel Lawson were teammates at UMass and went to the college World Series in 1992. 

-- The Cards have only four players on the roster who are from Kentucky. UK has just three native Kentuckians. 

-- Korbe Otis was named Co-Player of the Week last week in ACC Softball. It's the second time this season she's received the award. Otis went 8-16 at the plate and stole four bases. 

Let's hope the skies stay dry for this one !  Our Jared Anderson is headed east on I-64 for this one and he'll have pictures for us. Daryl Foust will be watching the contest and have the report in the Thursday edition of Cardinal Couple...don't miss it !! 

paulie

Thriller at Lacrosse -- Cards down OSU 12-11

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SUNDAY CARINAL COUPLE

- Lacrosse pulls huge upset over OSU 12-11

- Softball splits in second day of J'Ville Tournament

- Cards WBB faces DePaul in YUM!


It was huge. It was totally awesome.

Simply said, it was the biggest win in the history of Louisville Lacrosse.

On a bitterly cold day in the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium, Louisville overcame a 10-8 deficit with 14:16 to go in the second half and defeated #13 Ohio State University 12-11 Saturday afternoon.

It was originally 13-11. What we don't understand about Lacrosse is how a referee can take a point away because of a stick/net inspection. Kay Morissette scored a seemingly brilliant gola with 6:46 left in the game to put the Cards up 13-11. Then, as the teams line up for the face-off after the "goal", a referee inspects Morissette's stick and net and decides there is something wrong with it. Two point Cardinal advantage gone. Kay's score erased.

 Seriously?

Whatever. These refs were biased against Louisville for the majority of the game, so...it wasn't surprising. Good teams find a way to win, though and Louisville did.

Louisville held on to the 1-point advantage and goes to 2-0 on the season with the win.

The Cards overcame a 5-4 halftime deficit to take a 6-5 lead shortly after the second stanza started.

No...wait...the refs take another goal away from Louisville. Back to 5-5. Maybe Nikki Boltja was chewing gum in class. Maybe they didn't say "Mother, may I.." after scoring.

Whatever. I don't understand Lacrosse rules yet. Maybe I will someday. The refs seem to make stuff up as they go.

Anyway, fast forward to the second half. Cards down 10-8 after OSU's best player (Jackie Cifarelli) gets her first score of the game. That's how well the Louisville defense was playing. 14:16 to go. Colleen O'Malley gets Louisville within one. Nikki Boltja ties it 90 seconds later. After OSU goes back ahead 11-10...the clock stops for some reason, the refs catch that...but it them becomes B.S.T.

Boltja Standard Time.

Nikki scores to tie it with 9:17 (maybe) left. Nikki puts Louisville ahead 12-11 with 7:31 left.

Nikki, I think I love you...

See Cardinal fans go nuts. See Louisville shut out OSU the rest of the way. See the team and fans go nuts as the final seconds tick off and celebrate. See the squad rush over to thank the students, parents and fans in the bleachers.

This was beautiful. 

I talked with Julie Hermann minutes after the upset.
Beaming, incredulous and thrilled after the win, she told me about the dedication. Three seniors coming into her office early in the spring and telling her that Lacrosse was going to thrive. Pleading with her to not give up on the program. Asking her not to give up on them. They were changing the attitude, the meaning of Louisville Lacrosse.

I've never seen Julie Hermann cry. She looked pretty close to it today. A look of happiness. Full of pride. Happy Julie.

One proud mama.

Walking the field after the win. Pride. Joy. Reflection.

Kelly Young looked pretty close to tears,too. A signature win. A team she so strongly believes in. Her pride in Boltja, O'Malley, Oliverio, the freshmen. Everyone. 

Her girls, her brood. A renewed dedication to team, to the Louisville Lacrosse brand. A satisified and happy coach.

I've seen coaches thrilled over wins. Young's look of rapture and excitement will stay with me a long time. I recorded her comments on the sidelines. They don't do justice to the gleam I saw in her eyes. I won't forget that for a very long time. Sometimes, words just don't express what vision can. Picture worth a thousand words stuff.

I saw a masterpiece today.

Job well done, ladies. Louisville Lacrosse has arrived. Get on board, Cardinal fans. The CSX tracks run right behind the Lacrosse Stadium. It's doubtful either of the trains that rolled by Saturday afternoon during the game could have matched the power and steam of the Cardinals.

Boltja had four goals for the Cards, O'Malley four, Cortnee Daley two and Faye Brust and Monica Negron one each.


-Paulie

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Softball splits in the the second day of the Jacksonville Classic. A tough 1-0 loss to OSU in eight innings...the Cardinal bats falling silent after 16 runs the day before.

Transfer Rachel LeCoq pitching her Cajun heart out...giving up a run in the top of eight...tiebreaker rules in effect. The Cards fall short...runners on the corners and one out. Can't score. Bats...funny how they come and go.

Bats woke up in the second game against Jacksonville. A 9-0 fun-fest. Three hitter for Caralisa Connell, the same amount of hits LeCoq gave up.

Louisville finishes the Jacksonville stay tomorrow...facing Stony Brook for the second time... at 7:30 p.m.


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Quentin Voigt's preview of Lady Cards WBB against DePaul tomorrow at 1:30 in the YUM! below:

RING, RING, RING, Riiiiiiiiinnnnnggggg !!!

Time to attack! No quarter surrendered, no quarter asked!

Doug Bruno, head coach of DePaul has probably been worried about this game since he was miraculously able to vanquish UofL in Chi-Town on January 5th. The loss he should have accepted then - would have not built the fervor apparently building within CardNation for the beat-down of epic (EPIC, I repeat) proportions, destined to be visited on the Blue Demons. Sunday. 1:30 p.m. The place: One Arena Plaza (the KFC YUM! Center) , Louisville, KY.

Herr Bruno's squad features 5'8" Brittany Hrynko, a sophomore who's getting 15.6 ppg, dished out 129 assists this season and grabs 4.8 rebounds a game. She went for 21 points, 7 assists and 4 steals last time against the Cards. Will Anna Martin be a factor? We'll see if the knee will let her play. She had 22 against Louisville in the previous meeting.

Jasmine Perry is a talented forward for Dougie. He says:

"Jasmine Perry is one of the best players in the state of Indiana. Jasmine will bring great athleticism to campus and is a excellent rebounder, defender and shooter. Jasmine is also the total package in that she is an honor student that will help carry on DePaul's tradition of striving for success  --both on the court and in the classroom."

A just bit of praise for the young lady that adds 14.1 a game for DePaul's offense. She was 6 for 6 against Louisville earlier this year and hit 3 for 4 from the charity stripe.

And then there's Katherine. The leading rebounder in the BIG EAST. Katherine Harry gets the boards. She defends well, too...holding UofL's posts to 1 for 3 from the field last time out.

I believe in SPEED! Speed kills, in time. Ask Muhammad Ali, he proved it time and time again. The Lady Cards have the speed to beat DePaul today. Witness UK stepping on the accelerator earlier this year and demolishing DePaul by 32 in Rupp.

Running with purpose, shooting with the cold eye of an assassin, owning every rebound, valuing the ball. Attack them, attack them....and attack them! Go Cards. Give them "L"

- Quentin Voigt

I do think the Cards can win today. A lot of it will depend on the heart and effort that they display. It's an emotional game today. Monique Reid's grandmother passed away a couple of days ago. A grandmother to the team. To Mo, who might play today. To all who were fortunate enough to know her. A beautiful lady.

Will UofL use that emotion? Will last year's scenario play out...Louisville loses in Chicago, wins the second match-up in Louisville. The only game this year where Louisville outrebounded an opponent and lost.

"Why is it, Coach...that I must play when
the women are playing also. Please explain
this to me. I am not happy, sir. Not at all."

Who will show up for this one? The men's team plays at 1:00 on ESPN. Walz wants 12-13,000 there. We'd like to see that, too. Anything over 9,000 is a big boost to Louisville's WBB chances today. In case you're out-of-town and can't attend, the WBB game is on ESPNU.

It's 'go' time for Walz and the Cards. Five games left before the Hartford Invitational.

As I said in an earlier column this week...

Whatcha got left, Cards?

(Today's game is a "wear Pink" in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. Pink 'em up! See you there! We'll have post-game coverage later today. Go Cards!)

-Paulie


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Saturday Cardinal Couple -- Softball Cards sweep in Jacksonville, Lacrosse plays OSU today

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SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Softball downs Stony Brook, Bethune-Cookman

-Lacrosse hosts Ohio State

The University of Louisville softball team swept two Friday in the Jacksonville University Tournament...knocking off Stony Brook 8-0 and beating Bethune-Cookman 8-1. A good day for Cardinal pitching...both Rachel Le Coq and Caralisa Connell picking up complete-game wins. The Cardinal bats had 14 hits in the first game and 11 in the second game, continuing their hot-hitting ways. Louisville had 21 hits last week against Minnesota.

CARDS 8 - Stony Brook 0


An early start (9:45 a.m.) in 55 degree weather for the opening game and it took the Cards an inning to get untracked. In the top of the second, Kayla Soles punched a double  to right and rode home on Hannah Kiyohara's home run blast to left field...her first round-tripper of the year. 2-0. C-A-R-D-S!

Louisville tacked on two more runs in the third. Katie Keller singled up the middle, Alicja Wolny advanced her to second after getting hit by a Allison Cukrov pitch and Taner Fowler doubled to right to score Keller. Soles got her second hit of the game, an infield single, to score Wolny...the Cards were up 4-0.

In the fifth, Fowler drew a walk and advanced to third on a Jordy Trimble double to center. Soles hit a sacrifice fly to score Fowler and Maggie Ruckenbrod drove home Trimble on her double to right. Le Coq had allowed just two hits from the circle and UofL led 6-0 after five at-bats.

Keller added another single in the sixth and scored on a Fowler single to increase the lead to 7-0 Cards.

The Cards pushed another across in the top of seventh when
Kiyohara singled and scored on pinch-hitter Chrisanna Roberts single to right. 8-0 Pearsall's squad for the final.

LeCoq allowed a scant three hits, retiring 13 batters in a row, to go to 3-0 on the season.

Cards 8 - Bethune Cookman 1

Katie Keller carried the big bat with a 4 for 5 plate bonanza in game two for Louisville, including her fifth homer of the year.

After a scoreless first, Louisville drew first blood when Trimble doubled to left and scored on a Ruckenbrod sacrifice fly to right. 1-0 Cards after two innings.

Two Cardinal singles helped get the score to 2-0 in the third. Keller and Wolny hit safely and Keller got home on a Soles fielder's choice.

B.C. cut  UofL lead in half with three singles off Caralisa Connell in the top of the fourth. Louisville had scoring opportunities in the 4th but failed to capitalize on a bases-loaded opportunity with one out.

The bottom of the sixth saw UofL bust it wide open. Keller started off the inning with a blast to left and touched them all. After Wolny was hit by a pitch (for the fourth time of the day.....seriously...why you gotta be hatin' on her, pitchers?)  Brittany Sims came in to pinch run...advanced when Fowler and Trimble both got on base with errors and scored on a Soles single. Ruckenbrod also reached first on a Bethune miscue and Fowler ran to the plate to make it 5-1 Cards. Soles scored on a BC fielding error and a Kiyohara ground out got Trimble home, and Roberts produced a single to left...scoring Ruckenbrod to make it a six-run inning and 8-1 UofL lead.

CARDINAL COUPLE'S  2012 most popular Lady Card Student-Athlete  (as voted by our readers) Caralisa "Carl" Connell (3-1) gave up four hits in the win and fanned nine batters.

The 6-1 Cards play two again tomorrow...Ohio State at 11:45 and Jacksonville at 6:30.

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The #13 Ohio State Buckeyes come to the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium to open their season against Kellie Young's squad at 2 p.m. today.

OSU went 11-6 in 2012 and returns eight starters from a squad that defeated UofL 21-7 last year in Columbus.

Tayler Kuzma and Heather Gravinese star on the defense, Tori DeScenza is solid between the pipes for OSU and leading attacker Jackie Cifarelli returns to lead the offense.

For Louisville, a winner 13-3 over Canisius last Sunday, freshman Kay Morissette led the Cardinal offense with four goals. Last year's leading scorer Nikki Boltja had three in the Cardinal triumph. Morissette was later named LAX freshman-of-the-week.

Bundle up if you go...but show up if you can. This is an exciting squad to watch and they attack the goal....Louisville had 32 shots against Canisius while holding the Golden Griffins to just 18. And, it's "Black Out" Day...so dress accordingly. The first 100 through the gate get a lacrosse t-shirt.

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