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.

Field Hockey drops one to Duke...Volleyball wins marathon...Soccer downs #1 Notre Dame! -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

BLUE DEVILS BEST CARDS 2-1

In a highly competitive match at Trager Stadium, with nearly 800 in attendance...Duke struck first and last to down #6 Louisville 2-1. 

As the score suggests, defense ruled the contest. The Cards came out sluggish, almost lackadaisical at times early on...which meant the action was taking place in front of Louisville's net a lot early on. That finally paid off for the #2 Blue Devils...when they converted on a penalty corner 6:53 into the match. 

The goal seemed to get Louisville's attention...they played with more intensity the rest of the first half...coming back to win the shots attempted (5-3) and shots on goal (4-1) for the half...but could not slip one past Duke's goalie Sammi Steele...who made some incredible stops to hold the "Ville scoreless after 35 minutes

The Cards found the equalizer 16 minutes into the second half when they connected on a penalty corner...Erin McCrudden and Nicole Woods setting up Taylor Stone for her second score of the year. 

Alas, the tie did not last long...11 minutes later Duke took a rebound off a defensive save and slipped it past Louisville goalie Ayeshia McFerran for the game winner. Louisville kept plugging away in the final eight minutes but couldn't tie it up again. 

No disgrace in losing to #2 in the nation. It hurts to lose in Trager...but this was an exciting match to watch. It could have been a Cardinal win if the early efforts were more fruitful...give Duke a bit of credit, though, for taking the Cards out of their game plan and identity.

Coach in her Cardinal days

I had the chance to talk briefly with Pam Bustin (Duke head coach and former Louisville head coach) after I interviewed Coach Sowry. It was good to see her again and chat about the "old days" and the strength of this Duke squad. She's always been a class act and that hasn't changed...gracious in victory and giving the Cards high marks. 

The Cards face Ohio State in Trager Sunday at 1 p.m. They'll be ready. 

LINK: PAULIE'S POST GAME INTERVIEW WITH JUSTINE SOWRY


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MARATHON AT CARDINAL ARENA

Louisville Volleyball (5-5) weathered a very tenacious Lipscomb (7-3) squad in a five-set match that eventually resulted the Cards a hard-earned 27-25, 26-24, 23-25, 18-25, 15-12 victory.

As the score indicates these were very close sets just about the whole night. It almost looked like the Wide Net Cards might pull an "Auburn" and lose this thing after winning the first two sets...but back-to-back, awesome kills by Tess Clark gave Louisville a 12-7 lead in the fifth...and they got another kill from Maggie DeJong to win the match

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED LAST NIGHT

1) The Cards missed Janelle Jenkins and Jasmine Bennett more than you realize against Kentucky. With them back, Louisville was able to get a few more kills, blocks and some continuity. Welcome back...J&J!

2) Carlyle Nusbaum is a force. The Lipscomb outside hitter had a whopping, unbelievable 32 kills against the Cards. The 5'10" sophomore from Overland Park, KS was a PrepVolleyball.com All-American her senior year. She also throws the javelin. What? 

3) Louisville Volleyball is 1-0 in Cardinal Arena this year. They're 1-3 in the KFC YUM! CENTER. Just sayin'. Worldwide will find something to fire back at me on this...but...statistics say....OK, never mind. The YUM! holds more bodies. I get it. 

4) 2 1/2 hours for Volleyball is a long, long time. After playing Friday as well, we would imagine the Cards slept quite well Friday night. As well as the fans who attended...

5) Three events on the same street on the same night right around the same time is over-kill. Field Hockey, Volleyball and Men's Soccer all within a half-mile or less of each other. Three different fan bases? Sure, I can see that...but it seems that a bit of separation would give all three the chance for a bigger attendance per event. Statistics, again...c'mon man...

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KICKIN' OF THE GREEN! 

Hats off and a huge hoorah for Ken Lolla's Soccer squad! They knocked off #1 in the land Notre Dame last night in Lynn Stadium 1-0. 

Mohamed Thiaw's goal 24 minutes into the first half was enough...the defense held and the Cards go to 5-1-1 and remain unbeaten in Lynn. 

Hopefully, it's not the only big win over a higher-ranked this weekend. 

Go Cards. Beat Noles. Bobby-ball today at Papa's House @ noon. Lamarvelous! 

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HELLO THERE! (WHAT DAY IS IT?) 

Is the man behind me mad at me because I'm
in a meditative state? He looks mad.
Consciousness, a good thing.

We won't be in the studio this morning for the weekly edition of The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour...because we were in there Friday afternoon. The show will still air at 11 a.m. Saturday (or dead-air...depending on your view) we just recorded it early because of the Football game today

Pre-recorded shows are always a bit confusing...and we missed Case not being with us...(hey, someone needs to work in this bunch) but Worldwide and I pulled it through. 

Great audio from Karen Ferguson Dayes, Anne Kordes, Justine Sowry and Erin McCrudden for you to hear...why not give us a listen while you're tailgating today? Or, if you're not tailgating...listen anyway and pretend that you're tailgating! Or just drive around and see if your wipers are working OK...the weather isn't looking promising. 

The joy and excitement of UofL women's sports...with a dash of men's sports for seasoning. We think you should listen...

LINK: www.crescenthillradio.com

paulie
xxxxx

Tuesday Cardinal Couple

No Danger of Fishing Here...

Worldwide McAdams here, and let me assure you, you'll never see me take off to traipse with trout in any mountain stream.

While Paulie skives off for a well-deserved vacation, I have just returned, and am refreshed and ready for some more UofL Women's Athletics.

Alas, we're firmly entrenched in the summer doldrums, but that doesn't mean we're totally bereft of news to report.

Lexie Brown Decides

Lexie Brown, the hot shooting guard that decided to depart Maryland, with many commenters believing that she was hoping to continue school, and basketball playing, at a school closer to home, has made her decision.

Brown has enrolled at Duke to finish out her final two years of eligibility.  Apparently Lexie really likes the ACC with a visit to here at Louisville, in addition to Duke.

With the desire to be closer to home, it can't be too terribly much of a surprise for Ms. Brown to choose Duke.

As always, we here at Cardinal Couple wish her the best and are confident that Mad Scientist Walz has a great team lined up for us to watch when the weather turns cold.

Justine Sowry...Teases?

Not really.  Paulie alluded to the idea the other day, and Field Hockey had been posting social media items for individual games from the schedule before the full schedule was posted.  I'm sure they'll continue to post in social media, but the whole schedule is now available on the website, and it looks like a lot of fun.

They start with what I would expect to be a warm home stand with two exhibition games on Saturday and Sunday, the 23rd and 24th of August.  They start off with Iowa coming in for a friendly, and then have an alumnae match slated for the second day.

Things get started in earnest on Friday the 28th with Appalachian State, and finish the home opening on Sunday with Indiana.  A road trip out west for the next weekend takes the Cards to visit the Cal Bears and UC Davis.

The weekend of the 11st is the conference opener with the always competitive UVA coming into Trager with Liberty for the Sunday bout.  Back out on the road the next weekend with conference play at North Carolina, and the Sunday followup with James Madison.

A light weekend follows with only a single game, a Friday matchup with Wake Forest coming to Floyd Street.  The team will need to take advantage of that easy weekend, because the next is a whopper.  A Friday battle with former Cardinal head coach Pam Bustin at Duke followed by a quick trip back home to spruce up Trager in time for UMass to visit on Sunday.

The next weekend, October 9th and 11th is also split, but the travel isn't as far, with the weekend starting out at home with Syracuse, and just scooting up the road a bit to Columbus to take on Ohio State on Sunday.

Massachusetts gets the Cardinal attention the weekend of October 16th and 18th with a trip to Boston College and Northeastern.  The season finishes out on a homestand, with Central Michigan coming to down on Sunday the 25th, and the final weekend, Halloween Eve and All Hallows Day see two really tough teams to finish off the season in Michigan State and Rutgers enjoying Louisville hospitality.

The ACC tournament will be November 5th through the 8th in Charlottesville, VA.

-JMcA

Giant Killers strike again -- Louisville Field Hockey downs #4 Duke 2-1 --- Saturday Cardinal Couple

FIRST HALF SCORES ENOUGH...CARDS NUKE DUKE 2-1


The Giant Killers strike again.

For the second time in two weeks, Louisville Field Hockey has defeated a top five program in NCAA Field Hockey...knocking off #4 Duke 2-1 in a rainy Trager Stadium Friday night. The Cards win streak on the home turf increases to 15 straight on an evening where ESPN3 was on hand to chronicle another upset dealt out by Justine Sowry's stick swingers. 

Louisville started out in a defensive struggle with the Blue Demons for the first 12 minutes before Erin McCrudden returned a missed Alyssa Voelmle shot into the net on a penalty corner play. It was McCrudden's first score of the season.

Sowry and Bustin enjoy a pre game chat

Three minutes later, the Cards capitalized on another penalty corner attempt...Chile Garcia getting the feed from Paige Monson and Mallory Mason to put the Cards up 2-0 with 20 minutes left in the first half. Louisville's defense held strong to put the Cards in the locker room with the two goal advantage. 

Duke came out strong in the final half...getting off two shots and a penalty corner attempt in the first 10 minutes. They cut the UofL lead to 2-1 when Martine Chichizola took one into the circle and fired one past goalie Sydney King.

Mallory Mason and Alyssa Voelmle celebrate the win

It would be the last the the Blue Devils were heard from, though...Louisville's defense holding strong and King closing the net with six saves for the game. 

Things got a bit chippy near the end of the game...Alyssa Voelmle drawing a yellow card and sitting for five minutes. The Dookies could not capitalize on the player advantage, though...and Louisville goes to 9-2 and 3-1 in the ACC. 

Justine Sowry recaps the win:

The coaches exchange post game handshakes

"We were nervous in the beginning. I think both teams were a little jittery. As we started to get in a rhythm, we starte to play to our strength and our identity. It was a very impressive first half. In the second half, Duke came out really strong. They're a very good team, so we knew they would come out strong. It was a gritty win. We has to be disciplined and we're happy with the win." 

The Cards outshot Duke 11-10 but the visitors had a 8-6 edge in corners. 

The game also marked the return of former UofL Field Hockey coach Pam Bustin to Louisville for the first time. Four years ago, she probably never dreamed she would be back here playing and losing in an ACC match against her former assistant. 

The Cards return to the field Sunday for a 1 p.m. match against #15 Michigan. 

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CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO AIRS TODAY! 

Worldwide and Paulie will be back in the studio this morning at 11 a.m. for another exciting edition of CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO on Crescent Hill Radio. 

The lads will discuss the big Field Hockey win, Worldwide will offer Volleyball musings and women's soccer, cross country and other UofL women's sports will be on the docket as well. 

They probably won't discuss Paulie's colonoscopy...but you never know. It's a good thing they don't use a video feed...he has pictures. 

Link below:

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO IS ON THE AIR !!!!


paulie
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The Return of Pam...Field Hockey faces Duke tonight. Friday Cardinal Couple

#4 BLUE DEVILS TO FACE FIELD HOCKEY TONIGHT

The No. 12 University of Louisville field hockey team will return
to ACC play when they play host to fourth-ranked Duke
Friday at 6:07 p.m. It marks the return of Duke Field Hockey
Coach (and former Louisville Field Hockey head coach) Pam
Bustin to Trager Stadium,

The Cardinals will face their second ranked opponent in as
 many games, when they play host to No. 15 Michigan Sunday
 at 1 p.m.  Friday's game against Duke will be aired live on
 ESPN3 and Fox Sports South. Mike Hogewood will handle
 play-by-play duties and Leah Secondo will provide color analysis.


 The Louisville/Duke game is a "Black Out." Fans are
encouraged to wear black. T-shirts and a slice of pizza will be
given to the first 100 students in attendance with a valid ID

 Paulie...still a bit under the weather after minor surgery Thursday...
will miss this one live but will be following via Internet. That's
probably good...less pizzas will be needed...because we don't
settle for one piece of pizza...that's how we roll.

The Cardinals (8-2, 2-1 ACC) enter the game ranked No. 12 in
 the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll released
 on Sept. 30.

UofL is coming off of a 1-1 performance on the road last weekend.

The Cards opened the weekend with a 2-1 overtime win at No. 16 Wake Forest to earn their second ACC win of the season. Louisville's five-game win streak was snapped in a 2-1 loss at Liberty on Sunday.

Senior Alyssa Voelmle leads the team with 17 points and seven goals. Junior Sydney King carries a 1.57 goals-against average with two shutouts on the season. The Cards have the distinction of defeating #1 UNC at Trager this season.

Bustin coached the Cards from 1998-2010 and left abruptly in December 2010 to take the Duke job. It was a chance to coach at the highest level of college field hockey...the ACC...and the Blue Devils were a program in need of rebuilding and a makeover. Any chance of the Cards joining the ACC seemed remote at best at the time and Sowry was summoned
from UMass to take the reigns at Louisville. Sowry picked up where
P.B. left off and had the best season in Louisville Field
Hockey history last year at 16-4.


Bustin brings a #4 team in the nation into
her old haunts that will try and break a 14 home-game win streak that
Justine Sowry (Pam's former assistant at Louisville) and her team has
built.

Should be an intense one. Try not to miss it.






paulie

Thursday Cardinal Couple -- Putting in the work

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


- For Field Hockey...the effort is there for the challenge

- OUR MID-YEAR DONATION DRIVE CONTINUES

It is shortly after 8 p.m. on a Wednesday evening.

Maneuvering his way through the jungle that has become I-65 South (and North) these days in downtown Louisville...Paulie motors his way to one of his favorite viewing spots en route to the Gene Snyder Freeway...the view of the UofL fields of competition.

First up on this travel is Ulmer Stadium...no lights on this evening but the view of the new pressbox is always impressive.

Next up is Cardinal Park and the track and field layout. It is vacant. Soccer's former home. I'm not sure if they are letting Lolla and KFD's players work out on the new digs on Floyd yet...but I can't wait to see a game in Lynn Stadium.

As I approach Trager Stadium and Field Hockey's home...the lights are shining brightly and a group of red and black shirted individuals are in motion on the field to my right.

It is almost enough to make me change lanes abruptly and take the Eastern Parkway exit to see what is going on. Traffic, unfortunately...won't have any part of such a daredevil move...and I roll by...wondering and speculating.

It isn't until I arrive safely home and hop on the internet before I realize that it is probably one of Field Hockey's Elite Camps that is scheduled for 7/9/14 still in progress.

Elite camps for Field Hockey. A sign that the program is preparing for the future, evaluating the prospective talent and...since players customarily assist at the camps...maybe Monson, Sloss and Garcia are out there honing a few skils while instructing the youth and future of tomorrow.

I'll be interviewing Justine Sowry at 10:30 a.m. this Thursday morning. We'll play that interview on our weekly radio show Saturday and I'll toss a few teasers out in Friday morning's column about what we talked about. 

It is an exciting, nervous and anticipated time for Louisville Field Hockey. Justine Sowry has hit the stage that Pam Bustin left Louisville for a few years ago...

ACC Field Hockey.

The best conference for field hockey in collegiate sports. Bustin brings Duke here on 10/3/14 for the "ex-assistant versus former mentor"...60 minute conference battle.

Bustin tells me she is rebuilding after her and Duke's runner-up finish in the NCAA Tournament in 2013. The Cards were inexplicably and bewilderingly left out of the NCAA Championships despite a 15-4 record and just one BIG EAST loss.

That lone conference loss was to the team that won the NCAA title. UConn.

Coaches and players always claim that they don't look forward to particular games on a schedule.

 Fans...do look forward and anticipate.

There are no players left on the Louisville Field Hockey roster that played for Pam Bustin when she was at Louisville. There are players left, though, who have been around for three years and have heard the stories from former upperclassmen about those days when PB was head coach.  

Game on.

paulie


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WE ARE STILL CONDUCTING OUR MID-YEAR FUNDRAISING DRIVE FOR CARDINAL COUPLE. PLEASE DONATE TO OUR SITE VIA PAY-PAL OR BY PERSONAL FUNDING. A LOT DEPENDS ON THIS. WE STATED WHAT WE WANT TO PROVIDE IN YESTERDAY'S ARTICLE FOR 2014.

MAYBE YOU COULD DONATE ENOUGH TO MAKE
IT A ONCE-A-YEAR EVENT.

YOU CAN HELP MAKE THAT HAPPEN.  

PLEASE DO WHAT YOU CAN.

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Tuesday Cardinal Couple - Certified Gall Bladder Free

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

( We are most happy to have Worldwide Jeff McAdams back on the site after taking a week off to drink Grape Slushies and flirt with post-op nurses. The gall of him!! Seriously, operations always carry a risk..he has made it through his with flying colors and he'll be playing the violin again very soon. Or fiddle. Depends on which school he's covering. Welcome back, amigo!)

 

Worldwide Returns

After spending some time on the injured reserved, having missed the Saturday Cardinal Couple Radio Show, I am recuperating and getting back into the swing of things.  I do want to thank everyone for their thoughts for my well-being.  I had my gall bladder removed as it was described as being "slushy".  Gall bladder removal, according to my surgeon, is the most common surgery in the US and is essentially a drive-thru surgery.  Approximately 30 minutes and I was on my way to recovery.

Speaking of recovery...I had been making the joke that my gall bladder was "slushy" and I hoped it was grape.  I dropped this joke during pre-op and the nurses enjoyed it.  One enjoyed it enough that she made sure that when I woke up in recovery...I had a grape slushy waiting for me.

BEST. NURSES. EVER.  Also, the best grape slushy I've ever had.

I have had a great care, between Baptist Healthcare and my parents who hosted me for a couple of days of recovery, and am well on my way back to full strength.

Thank you all.

Field Hockey Schedule

We're working on getting Coach J
in a CARDINAL COUPLE hat.

Paulie posted some comments from Field Hockey Head Coach Justine Sowry about this season's
match up with Duke.  I thought we might take a minute to look through the whole schedule for Field Hockey for the coming year.  Soccer has also posted their schedule and perhaps we'll take a look at it another week.  We're still waiting for those Volleyball slackers to release theirs.

After going undefeated at home, 8-0, last season, the Cardinals will look to repeat the feat at Trager Stadium this year with nine home games.  They will be challenged, however, with visits from four teams that ended the year in the Top 20, with New Hampshire, and conference foes Duke, North Carolina, Boston College.  Other visitors include Saint Louis, Ohio State, Michigan, California, and UC Davis.

The Cards start out with a road trip, for an exhibition match at Iowa on August 23rd, but get the formal season underway at home at Trager Stadium with Saint Louis and New Hampshire.  New Hampshire finished the season ranked 16th, behind the 15th position that Louisville occupied.  Iowa capped off the past season in 19th.

On the road, Louisville heads up to Chicagoland to play in a tournament in Evanston, IL with Dartmouth and Northwestern with Northwestern carrying over a 17th rank.

Lynchburg Lemonade should NOT be served
to canines or pre-teens.

The next week starts conference play with part of a tour of Virginia with a match in Charlottesville vs Virginia and their end-of-season 7th ranking, and then a jaunt over to Williamsburg, for a non-conference bout with William and Mary.

Coming back home, it doesn't get any easier with #3 North Carolina making their first conference visit to The Ville.  Ohio State follows up with a Tuesday visit to Trager on Sept. 23rd.

Back on the conference tour, Sowry will be taking her squad to Winston-Salem NC, to take on #13 Wake Forest.  While they're in the area, a visit to Liberty in Lynchburg, VA where I hear the lemonade is great.  What's that?  Wrong Lynchburg?  Well, shucks.

#5 Duke pays the visit that we've already had a bit of preview for on Oct. 3rd, with Michigan driving south for a Sunday afternoon meetup.  The game vs Duke should be one of the highlights of the year at Trager, don't miss it!

October 11th sees UofL make the trip up to Syracuse NY, to take on #2 Syracuse, and hope to get the game in before it gets too cold up there.

Returning home, #11 Boston College will pahk the cah on Floyd street for a Friday afternoon contest.  California visits the next day on the 18th

The Ohio Bobcats will hopefully be gracious hosts on Tuesday the 21st in Athens, OH, but Louisville
won't be able to stay long as they have to get back home to welcome in another California school, this time UC Davis, to Trager Stadium for Senior night on October 24th, 6pm.

A couple of trips northward finish off the season.  A quick road-trip up to Bloomington to visit the Hoosiers, and then finish off the regular season with a trip to East Lansing and #20 Michigan State to start the month of November.

The ACC tournament will be in Durham, NC November 5th-9th.


ROMERO LANDS

Leticia Romero’s quest to gain a conditional release from her basketball scholarship at Kansas State generated national headlines.

On Monday, Romero found a new lease on her career.

The multi-talented guard signed with Florida State and will be eligible to compete in the 2015-16 season.

(Oh, well...at least we'll get to see how she does against the Cards.)


jeffmca
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Thursday Cardinal Couple -- ACC women's sports preview: DUKE

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- ACC women's sports preview: Duke





We've been doing a weekly preview of the ACC women's sports teams and schools Louisville will face in the 2014-15 seasons over the last couple of weeks. Next up...the Duke Blue Devils. 

Duke University, founded in 1838, is located in Durham, NC. They joined the ACC as an original member in 1953 and enrollment was recently listed as 6247 students. 

Their nickname is The Blue Devils and colors are Duke Blue and White. Their mascot is....wait for it....a Blue Devil.


What exactly does Duke have to do with Devils? And why Blue Devils? Aren't devils supposed to be red? Well, according to their official web site, the Blue Devil name was inspired by French soldiers in World World I, nicknamed "Les Diables Bleus" (French for Blue Devils if you didn't catch that.) These guys were strong, specially trained, fierce fighters dressed in blue capes. When the U.S. became involved in WW I, Les Diables Bleus toured the U.S. to gain support and money for the War and left a lasting impression among Americans.

Duke competes in 12 women's sports...Basketball, Cross Country, Fencing, Field Hockey, Golf, Lacrosse, Rowing, Soccer, Swim/Dive, Tennis, Track and Field and Volleyball. 

Duke will be adding Softball as a varsity conference sport in 2018.

We'll look at eight of the squads that the Cards will probably face them in: 

Basketball.  Duke finished the season 28-7 and went 12-4 in the ACC. They were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by DePaul in the second round.

Joanne P. McCallie "Coach P" heads up the Blue Devils and she's starting her seventh season as head coach. She returns eight players from last season...notables are Elizabeth Williams, Alexis Jones and Owensboro's Rebecca Greenwell. Coach P recruited well within the class of 2014...bringing in three freshman and receiving a #3 in nation ranking from ESPN HoopGurlz.   

Cross Country.   The Duke distance runners finished 4th out of 33 teams in the NCAA Southeastern Regional. They were 5th out of 15 teams in the ACC Tournament and had the top place finisher in senior Julie Bottorff. 

Field Hockey.  Former UofL head field hockey coach Pam Bustin led Duke to the NCAA Championship finals, where they lost 2-0 to Maryland. They posted a 12-7 record and went 3-3 in the toughest field hockey conference in women's college athletics. 

Golf. Duke's women's golf team won the NCAA Championship in 2014. They also took the ACC Championship and four other matches during the season. They won the Bryan National Tournament by 18 strokes...a tournament where Louisville was also a participant and finished in 6th place...49 strokes back.

Lacrosse. The Duke Lax squad was 11-8 overall and 3-4 in ACC play. They made it to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, winning three games before falling to Maryland 15-8. They met Louisville early in the season, earning a hard fought 14-11 win over Louisville LAX. 

Rowing. Duke rowing faced a competitive schedule and finished fifth in the ACC Championships. They did not receive an NCAA bid. 

Soccer. The Blue Devils went 10-9-6 overall and 5-5-3 in the ACC. They qualified for the NCAA Tournament and three games before getting eliminated by Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals.

Volleyball. A program that won the ACC Tournament while posting a 28-5 overall record and 18-2 ACC mark. They surprisingly lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Durham to American in straight sets. 

Analysis:

They'll be one of the toughest foes Louisville will face in ACC play. Louisville will have their work cut out for them in hoops against McCallie's superb front line and Duke Volleyball looks to be returning a very strong squad. The lacrosse and field hockey squads will most likely handle the Cards and Duke women's golf...well, they were the national champs...you surmise the rest. Rowing and cross country probably won't hook up until the conference tournament...but both squads look comparable to Louisville's on a talent basis. 

Paulie's Favorite Duke memory:

It would have to go back to the summer of 2003...when Sonja and I visited relatives in Burlington and Haw River...a mere 15 miles from the Duke campus. We spent a day checking out the Duke Gardens and Forest, plus the beautiful Duke Chapel and campus architecture. We eventually hit Cameron Indoor Stadium and found it wide open. We walked the bleachers where the Cameron Crazies hang out and also got down on the court.

There were a couple of basketballs in a corner, so we saw no harm in hoisting a few shots. An elderly custodian came out and approached us with a disapproving look. I quickly explained our visit and it turned out he had relatives in Bowling Green. He smiled and his first question was...'Louisville or Kentucky fan?' I guess I answered correctly because he advised me I could take a few more shots if I wanted...my final shot was a "three" from the baseline in front of the bench that was 'nuthin but net'. 

I figured it was a good stopping point. 

My imagination had me with the ball, two seconds left and Laettner and Hill rushing out to block the potential go-ahead goal for the Cards. Minor, Rozier (and Sonja) crash the boards as I launch the pass from LeGree...and Coach Crum jumps to his feet as the shot goes through the net at the buzzer....Denny tossing his rolled-up program into the air. Jerry Jones shaking his head in disbelief as Coach K scowls and slowly walks toward the visitor bench.

Paul Rogers yells over the airwaves "GOT IT!!!!" and a stunned Cameron Indoor Stadium watches the wild celebration...

I know...but...sometimes it's fun to pretend.

paulie
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Friday Cardinal Couple --Field Hockey faces challenges in ACC

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FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Cards Field Hockey goes to premier conference.

- Hoopin it up!

With Louisville's entry into the ACC down the road, we've been giving reports over the past few days on what the Cardinal Women's athletic team will face there.

Louisville's field hockey team faces...without a doubt...the biggest challenges and upgrade of any of the Cardinal sports squads. Men or women. Consider these facts:

-- Since 2000, the ACC has had a representative in the championship game every year.

-- Since 2000, the ACC has won 10 national championships in field hockey. Maryland (who is leaving) has five, Wake Forest three and UNC two.

-- Since 2000, two ACC teams have played against each other for the national championship eight times in the final game.

Impressive (and quite scary) huh? In 2012, Princeton broke the ACC's 10 year hold on the national title by defeating UNC.

There are only six ACC schools that play field hockey. UNC, Wake Forest, Duke, Virginia, Boston College and Maryland. The conference adds Syracuse ( a perrenial powerhouse in BIG EAST Field Hockey) next year and then Louisville...to increase it to a seven team league. Pittsburgh does not field a team (surprising, when you consider what rabid regular hockey fans the Pittsburghian natives are). Neither does Notre Dame.

Louisville's Trager Stadium is familiar ground to ACC field hockey teams. The Final Four has been held here in 2002, 2005, 2008 and 2011. Each year an ACC school won and the last three title games in Louisville were an all-ACC final.

Louisville beat Wake Forest last year in field hockey. In Winston-Salem. The Demon Deacons finished fifth out of sixth in the league (1-4) and 9-11 overall.

Justine Sowry has her work cut out for her to increase the Cardinals talent and players to meet the level of competition. And, for added fuel on a already bright flame...former UofL field hockey coach Pam Bustin is the skipper at Duke.

Going to the elite conference should definitely help Sowry in recruiting. Hopefully, the Cards will hit the ground running in 2014 and have a great opening year. With Syracuse gone in 2013, the main competition left for Louisville grabbing a championship titile in the BIG EAST is UConn and Providence. ODU (Old Dominion) joins BIG EAST Field Hockey in 2013.  

Welcome to the big time, Cardinal Field Hockey!

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Whoa! Don't look now but the women's basketball regular season is close to being 1/3rds. over. At 8-1, the Cards are flying high....but just who is doing what?

Put your books and notes under your desk...it's time for a CARDINAL WBB Pop Quiz!

All answers come from the Louisville Cardinal WBB Official Stat Sheets, found at GoCards.com (except for the ones that Timmy the Intern tried to submit and were eventually shredded. He claims he got all ten questions correct...but had every answer circled on each question...)

1) Who leads the Cards in scoring average so far?

a) Monique Reid
b) Shoni Schimmel
c) Sara Hammond
d) Morgan Fairchild

2) Who has the most rebounds for UofL so far?

a) Patrice Gates
b) Shawnta Dyer
c) Monique Reid
d) Sara Hammond

3) Which of the following opponents has not played UofL yet?

a) Austin Peay
b) UT-Martin
c) Washington State
d) Oregon State

4) Which Lady Card has the highest shooting % so far?

a) Sherrone Vails
b) Monique Reid
c) Shelby Harper
d) Lola Arslanbekova

5) What is Louisville's record in the KFC YUM! Center so far.

a) 3-0
b) 3-1
c) 4-1
d) 0-9

6) Who led Louisville in scoring against Texas A&M?

a) Jude Schimmel
b) Sara Hammond
c) Sara Silverman
d) Monique Reid

7)  What is Louisville's home attendance average?

a) 759
b) 11178
c) 10178
d) 8998

8) Which Cardinal has the highest 3-point shooting %

a) Shoni Schimmel
b) Nita Slaughter
c) Starr Breedlove
d) Shelby Harper

9) Monique Reid has led the team in game scoring...

a) Once
b) Twice
c)  All nine games
d) Zero

10) Which combo has been the primary starting lineup?

a) Taylor, Deinies, Harper, Shoni and Rucker
b) Dyer, Hammond, Vails, Reid and Shoni
c) Smith, Deines, Shoni, Hammond and Dyer
d) Slaughter, Smith, Shoni, Sherrone and Shelby


Let's see how you did!

1) b. "Shake 'Em is at 13.2 ppg.a game
2) d. "The Hammer" has 70... good for 7.8 rebs.a game
3) c. Cards play Washington State on Dec. 18th.
4) a. Sherrone Vails is 14-21 which is 66.7%
5) b. Cards are 3-1 in The Bucket.
6) b. Sara Hammond had 20 pts. against A&M
7) c. 10178. We need to bump that up, fans!
8) a. Shoni at .355
9) a. Mo had a team high 14 against Austin Peay.
10) c. Smith, Denies, Shoni, Dyer and Hammond


Legend

All 10 -- Go grab your seat next to Coach Sam and Cam! You're up on things!
8-9 -- Very good! You know your Louisville WBB! WE salute you!
6-7 -- Not bad. Keep reading Cardinal Couple and you'll get that score up next quiz.
4-5 -- Could be better. Cardinal Couple's coverage of UofL Women's basketball will help you do better!
2-3 -- Welcome to Cardinal Couple. Keep coming back and watch that score zoom next time.
0-1 -- Obviously a UK or UT fan. Thanks for playing!

Just a reminder, the Lady Cards are back in action Saturday night against Valpariso at 7:30 p.m. in the KFC YUM! Center. Be there!

WE'LL have a preview of the contest in the Saturday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE and a full recap of the action after the game.
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