Sunday Cardinal Couple - A Look at Volleyball Roster

Prospective, and Speculative, Volleyball Lineup

Case posted a run-down of the expected Women's Soccer line-up for the fall.  That seems like a pretty good idea for the beginning of the official "Summer Slump".  So let's take a look at the Volleyball.  There's been some roster news for Volleyball since we last talked about it here, so there may be some names in here that you don't recognize.

Let's start with the obvious and we'll work our way through the more speculative ones as we go.

Melanie McHenry

Melanie is expected to be the only Senior on the team this year, barring further transfer news.  She has been a mainstay of the Cardinal line-up since the opening weekend of her freshman year where she won MVP of the Bowling Green Tournament in Bowling Green, OH.  If you have followed Cardinal Volleyball anytime in the past three years, you know Melanie.  She's an outside hitter with a wicked cross that can dent the floor.  She's also a very competent 6 rotation player giving her the chance to rack up some digs as well as swing out of the pipe from the back-row, perhaps even in the same play.  Mel is a no-brainer for one of the starting outside hitter roles.

Alexis Hamilton

With Molly Sauer graduating, I don't think there's much doubt that Alexis Hamilton gets the Libero jersey.  Red-shirting last year with an ACL tear immediately before the start of the season, that puts the only question mark on the beginning of her reign as Libero...will she be back 100% for the start of the season?  Or at least enough to take the role?  If you haven't seen Hamilton play, she's a dynamo on the court.  She throws herself all over the court with reckless abandon and regularly reaches and betters balls that I thought were dead.

Claire Chaussee

I think you'll see Claire Chaussee also swinging from the outside more than you saw last year.  Claire will be a sophomore and can also bring the thunder, both swinging at the net as well as from the service line.  We saw some service control issues last year, let's hope she's spent some time in the gym bringing some discipline to the power.  Big power serves are always high risk/high reward, but let's hope we shift more to the reward side this year.  Chaussee is more effective at the net, but even swinging away she does have some control challenges.  This isn't uncommon for young players, but it is always an open question of how much they improve through their career.

Tori Dilfer

Transferring in from TCU, I think we see Tori Dilfer running the team at setter.  There could be a little bit of a position battle with Shannon Shields coming in from Arizona, but until I see evidence otherwise, I suspect Tori gets the nod.  Tori will be playing for Team USA at the World University Games next month, so she'll be getting practice against high level opponents and should come in to Cardinal Arena ready to play at her best.

Mia Stander

We're getting into a bit more speculative predictions here, but I still feel like I'm on pretty solid ground by saying the Mia Stander will be one of the DSes that we see on the court.  With Alexis Hamilton going down last year with the ACL tear, and Kelly O'Neal battling back issues all season, Mia Stander and Akela Juhl were called on to step up and handle the DS role.  Alexis returns and takes the Libero role, Kelly doesn't.  I think Mia was the better of the two between her and Akela and gets the bulk of the time in the role this year.

Now we start getting into seriously speculative territory...

Alexa Hendricks

An incoming freshman from Assumption High School here locally.  A product of the Ron Kordes/Assumption/KIVA world, I've only seen a very minimal amount of Alexa's play, but have heard good things.  I think, maybe, she edges out Akela for the 2nd DS role.

Middles

Volleyball lineups usually include two middle hitters/blockers.  This whole role is completely a coin-toss bracket in my estimation.

Piper Roe is headed off to Anaheim to play for one of the US Collegiate National Teams.

Emily Scott played in the other middle position some last year when now-graduated Jasmine Bennett was unavailable due to injury, and competed with Piper for time in the position when Bennett was healthy.

Anna Stevenson transfers in to UofL from Auburn and will be a Junior when she hits the Cardinal Arena court.  Averaging nearly a block per set, her videos look pretty good.

Amaya Tillman is a highly lauded incoming freshman.  Will she be able to adjust quickly to the speed of collegiate level quick sets?  If so, she could definitely compete for time in this role.

If forced at gunpoint to predict how the middle roles will play out.  I'll say that Anna Stevenson gets regular time, Emily and Piper split the other position, with Amaya making occasional appearances.

What About the Right Side?

Oh who knows.  Opposite hitting is similarly up in the air.  You rarely see more than one dedicated right side hitter in a lineup, but you could see Aiko Jones in that role, or perhaps incoming freshman Nena Mbonu.  Otherwise, you can add another general outside hitter and spread the right side duties among them with all of the same names in the mix.

There are still a couple of names we haven't mentioned on the current roster.  Amber Stivrins is a freshman, but enrolled in January, and Jamie Vasilou.  Amber will probably see the court some, but don't expect her to be a major contributor this year.  Her time will come.  Jamie Vasilou was a manager last year, but has earned a spot as a walk-on setter this year.  I wouldn't expect her to get many sets being a likely third in the setter lineup behind Dilfer and incoming freshman Shannon Shields.

So there are lots of new faces with some positions that are only questionable because of the prospective of some of that amazing new talent arriving.  Regardless I expect the action in Cardinal Arena...sorry, L&N Federal Credit Union Arena...to be fun and exciting, and I think we'll see another year of good UofL Volleyball play among the top teams of the ACC.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Three of us made it to Mellwood to grace the airways, despite my bungling on the controls.  Case, Jared, and I held down the fort my Paulie was away.

Case brought a quiz, and Jared and I came out with a better score than anyone expected.  Baseball, WNBA, and more were on the topic list.

Check it out:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/vb.123009984388960/2812786012081763/?type=2&theater

-- 

JMcA

A Look at the Women's Soccer Roster -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

An Early Prediction of the Starting Lineup

As we're in the heart of the 2019 Women's World Cup and the first game of Louisville's season is only 56 days away, I figured today would be a good day to take an early look at how the Louisville lineup may shake out this year. Jared touched on it a bit with his Wednesday article about returners, but Karen Ferguson-Dayes squad is in a good shape as far as holes to fill go. Without further ado, let's go group by group through my anticipated starters for the upcoming season.

Goalkeeper:

This one is pretty simple. Gabby Kouzelos is going to get the start in goal. The junior started every game for the Cards last season and gave up only 20 goals in 19 games. If you eliminate the 5 goal game against North Carolina, Kouzelos' sparkling 0.83 Goals Against Average in the other 18 games is plenty to look forward to. Of course, the defense will have an effect on defensive and goalscoring statistics, but Kouzelos will be strong between the pipes. Senior Lana Batson will figure to be the primary backup, as the only other minutes-earning keeper last season. 

Defenders:

Defense is the only position group looking to fill a starting position with last season's graduation of Gaby Vincent. Kennadi Carbin graduated as well, but was medically ineligible for the majority of the season. Carbin's contributions will be missed, but not like Vincent's. Louisville's 2018 roster listed only six defenders and the four starters--Vincent, Niamh Nelson, Arianna Ferraro, and Sarah Hernandez--were all top six in minutes on the team. Nelson and Hernandez each played greater than 1,710 minutes, the number of available minutes if each game in the season went only regulation length. The four started every game and played almost every minute, barring injury.

With Vincent's departure, and no freshmen yet on the roster, the 2019 roster shows only three defenders: Nelson, Ferraro, and Bailey Florek. However, Sarah Hernandez is listed as a midfielder, and I find it hard to believe that the player that led the team in minutes last season, playing every one of her 1,722 minutes at center back, would be changing position. Florek is a senior, and did not log a single minute last season. Her contributions to the team to this point have been limited, but she could be available to provide assistance to the defense, depending on who else can take over. 

My guess would be that a freshman fills the second center back spot. Maisie Whitsett played in the position during some spring games, but that is unlikely to stick, as you don't want one of your top goal scorers playing the position on the field that earns the fewest opportunities to score. Niamh Nelson will likely play left back, with the unnamed freshman beside her at left center. Arianna Ferraro will be at right back with Hernandez picking up the fourth defensive spot. Coach Ferguson-Dayes may flip the two centerbacks, but my guess is that Hernandez will be beside Ferraro due to Ferraro's penchant for advancing in attack. Hernandez will provide a more experienced defensive presence in case she is left alone on that side.

The real fear will be next season for the defense. Without very many defenders on the roster, the two wingbacks being seniors is cause for a bit of concern. Fortunately, midfielders can be turned into wingbacks a lot more easily than they can be turned into centerbacks, but I am not looking forward to losing Ferraro and Nelson.

Midfielders: 

As you might have guessed, without very many defenders, the team is flush with midfielders and forwards. Louisville played two common formations last season, a 4-5-1 and a 4-4-2. I've already named four defenders, because I don't see a reason for the team to change that part of the lineup, but the next part is a bit confusing. There are a lot of different ways Louisville can line up, even within those two formations. I'm going to go ahead and name this a 4-4-2 because of the way I see a particular player being utilized, but there could be a different philosophy on the Louisville sideline.

I'm not having to take a lot of chances with this lineup, as the ten players I'm naming (remember, I don't have freshman on the roster) were all over 1,000 minutes. That said, there will be some players knocking on the door for playing time, and it would be foolish for them not to get it. Fortunately, in collegiate soccer, substitution rules are a bit more relaxed than at the professional level, so we will see plenty of rotation. 

Two players that will be guaranteed to start in the midfield are Callie McKinney and Emina Ekic. Ekic will play the primary attacking midfield role, what many in professional soccer call the "number 10". Any attacks that go through a typical build up process will go through Ekic. She was Co-Freshman of the Year in the ACC in 2017 and was named to the All-ACC first team in 2018. McKinney earned the third most minutes on the team last season playing in the defensive midfield role. Might she be an under the radar candidate for moving to the centerback position? I guess we'll see.

Since we're going with a four player midfield, the other two players will be our "wings". Senior Allison Whitfield will play one of these wing positions as she has for her entire career. Whitfield has struggled a bit with injuries, but her contributions on the field can't be understated. She tied for the team lead in assists last season with seven while starting only 13 games. If Whitfield can stay healthy, her chemistry with the rest of the offense will pay dividends this season. On the other side, Nadege L'Esperance will round out the midfield. L'Esperance is not a natural wing, but she was a key part of the midfield last season and I can't imagine her not seeing the field in every game. 

Forwards:

Louisville's offense will be one to watch next season. The two players that will be deployed as the goal scorers for the Cards next year combined for 17 goals and 9 assists in 2018. Maisie Whitsett and Brooklynn Rivers are scoring forces. With the combination of speed and height, both can make the most of opportunities, whether running onto long balls or attacking crosses in front of goal. Whitsett is the wildcard in this lineup, as she is listed as a midfielder on the roster. She may be deployed as the second wing in a five player midfield, pushing L'Esperance into the center where she thrives as a link between the defense and the attack. If either Whitsett or Rivers have improved their endurance and defensive ability, they could very easily move to that second wing position.

The player that hasn't been listed in this lineup, but will be fighting to get on the field is Delaney Snyder. Snyder had the most minutes on the team outside of the starters last year with 3 goals and an assist. She can play as a direct forward, or in the same position midfield position as Ekic. I imagine that Snyder will be the super sub next season, playing in whichever position is available. 

In case you can't tell, I'm pretty excited for this next year at Lynn Stadium. Barring the question mark (a pretty big one) at centerback, Louisville's roster is constructed almost entirely of the same pieces that was quite successful last season. I'm anticipating a big year for the Cards, and I hope you'll join me at a few matches to root them on.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Paulie is out this week, but we're trucking on for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. I'll be joined by Jeff and Jared at the very least, with a chance for an appearance by the one and only Daryl Foust. Join us as we get into the real summer break, and I bring an obscenely difficult quiz to the show. I apologize in advance. Tune in to WCHQ at 11AM as we bring the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics. The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour is available at 100.9 FM, the WHCQ App, wchqfm.com, or on Facebook Live.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Friday Cardinal Couple - History of Cross-Country and More

A History of UofL Women’s Sports Chapter 4: Cross Country

Continuing with our Friday history lessons we proceed with the final fall semester sport- women’s cross country.  Of all the sports I’ve researched so far, this one has been the most difficult due to lack records and documentation.  Cross country has often been a combined mixture of men’s and women’s cross country, adding to the difficulty of deciphering everything.

GoCards only shows history back through 1999 but Wikipedia goes back to 1996, when the Cards were conference champions, the only one in program history.

Dale Cowper is the current head coach for both cross country and track and field for the men and women.  Being the head coach of multiple sports can be quite a task, but Cowper has been happy to take on the challenge, where he has been since 2013.  Prior to becoming head coach, Cowper was an assistant from 2006-2013. 

Cross Country has had a moderate of success despite lack of coverage.  Many of the players, who also compete in track and field in the spring, have earned All-American honors.  Dorcas Wasike is a recent name that is well-known.  She has ACC Runner of the Year and ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year accolades among other awards.

Although the University does not have a set location for cross country to use they do have Cardinal Park that can be used in track and field season.  E.P Tom Sawyer State Park has become the unofficial home for UofL Cross Country.  Last season, Dorcas Wasike claimed the title for the 5km race on the women’s side during the Louisville Cross Country Classic.  The ACC Championships have also been held at the state park off Westport Rd, with the Cards placing second.  Most recently, the NCAA Championships were hosted in town.  Several events happen on the road in nearby places such as Nashville, Knoxville, Terre Haute (Ind.), and Evansville.

Unfortunately, even trying to dig back as far as 10 years in history for roster, coaches, and results is near impossible so we’re left with very little for Chapter 4, although I will continue to do research and sneak in tidbits here and there.

Local High School Teams Nationally Ranked

We don’t always appreciate the local talent in terms of sports recruitment but here in Louisville some of the best talent around the country can be found.

During the fall of 2018, Assumption High School volleyball finished 43-0 en route to a state championship and finished in the USA Today national rankings #1.  Mercy High School (32-7) finished ranked 16^th.

Sacred Heart high school finished high in the USA Today national rankings in soccer.  After a 25-1-1 season Sacred Heart was ranked 8^th.

Recently, Louisville Male High School softball (Go Bulldogs! -myself and Daryl) won the state championship and finished 39-0, ending the season ranked #1 in the USA Today national rankings.

Other Tidbits

Major shoutout to UofL baseball on their walk-off victory over Mississippi State last night. They advance to the baseball version of the Final Four and play Vanderbilt tonight. They’ll have to beat Vandy twice to advance to the best-of-three championship.

Paulie is out of town this weekend so it will be Worldwide, Case, and myself in studio with hopes of having Daryl Foust join us.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared

All-ACC Academic Honors Announced--THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Land on Rowing and Golf All-ACC Academic Teams 

Two more All-ACC Academic Teams on the women's side were announced yesterday, with golf and rowing getting the call. To be eligible for All-ACC Academic teams, players must earn a 3.0 GPA for the previous semester and also hold a 3.0 cumulative GPA. Despite Louisville joining the ACC with groans from the "elite" academic schools in the ACC, Cardinals have historically done well on these teams. Also, one of those groaning schools had a huge scandal regarding fake classes, but I can't quite pin it down. Must not have been a big deal. I digress.

Lauren Hartlage was named to the Third Team for golf, nabbing her third all-academic honor as she has achieved the mark in each year of her career. Hartlage becomes the second player to earn all-academic three times, and will be going for the career sweep next year. I'd say she's got a pretty good shot. 

On the rowing side, Louisville matched their program record with 10 honorees on the all-academic teams. The ten ties the record that was set just last year. Three's a trend, Boating Cards. Named to the teams were Abbi Fitts (her second), Perie Howard, Mallory Burnett, Margaret Geraghty, Lucie Heranova, Madison Luette, Caroline Lynch, Haylee Judge, Violette Legrand, and Misia Partyga. The first seven of those rowers are seniors, so the responsibility of continuing the rowing team's academic and athletic successes will fall to the underclassmen. 

Louisville's academic successes have been widespread across the women's teams. Including these honorees, Louisville has had 21 honorees across four women's teams and 27 more across the split teams of swimming&diving and track&field. Not bad for the school some people didn't even want in the league for academic reasons.

Today's is a shorter article as I fill in for Paulie, but Saturday's will be more in-depth. Plus, I've got an original quiz to plan for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour!

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Wednesday Cardinal Couple

Returners to Keep an Eye on for the Fall

Schedules and tv announcements have all been made and falls rosters are just about set. The only thing separating us from fall sports is about two months. We’ll get to know plenty of new faces once the fall seasons start but we’re pretty familiar with returning players. There’s a few returners to keep an eye in each of those sports.

Soccer

Of the three big fall sports women’s soccer is in best position to improve from last year. A big part of that is the few seniors graduating and the minimal transfers. Nearly the entire starting roster is returning.

Emina Ekic is a rising junior and an All-American. She had a stellar freshman year and recovered from an ACL injury to have a strong sophomore year. Now back to 100% and a great crew around her Ekic will command the Cards on the pitch.

Brooklynn Rivers will be one of many seniors on the starting roster this year. She has been high on the scoring charts since she stepped foot on the pitch. Rivers is in the drivers seat to lead the Cards in scoring for the second straight year.

Maisie Whitsett was the new kid on the block last year and quickly earned her starting role. The forward matched well with Rivers on the offensive side of the ball and went toe-to-toe with the upperclassman in goals and will make a strong case for another great season.

Volleyball

The only fall indoor team lost a few key members but found replacements in transfers and freshmen. But the doesn’t mean that the returners are too be overlooked.

Melanie McHenry made an impact immediately her freshman year with her powerful outside hitting. She’s been one of the most effective outside hitters her entire career and should close her UofL career on a high note.

Alexis Hamilton complimented Molly Sauer on the back row two years ago but did not play last year due to a torn ACL. She’s back on the court and could see herself take the libero position with Sauer graduated. She comes from a long line of local talent from Assumption High School and could ride under the radar because of her injury.

Claire Chaussee was a name not talked about the first half of last year. The then-freshman rose to the spotlight when injuries plagued the team late season. She leapt her way into the starting roster and should have secured a spot this year too.

Field Hockey

Mercedes Pastor wasn’t high on the scoring list last year but showed tremendous ball control and captained the midfield. Her scoring she see an increase as she winds her way through defenders.

Bethany Russ led the team in game-winners and goals scored last season. The Australian has a high-powered strike that has contributed to her success around the cage. A rising junior, Russ can easily make an impact for the next two years.

Carter Ayers is one of the few rising seniors on the team and the best defensive specialist on the team. Ayers played a crucial role in limiting shots on goal last season even though she had a nice cushion to fall back on with Ayeisha McFerran.  With McFerran gone it’ll be up to Ayers to lead the defense and rally the Cards.

The fall sports season cannot come soon enough but will be here before we know it.



Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

Welcome to DI athletics Bellarmine! -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WHAT DOES BELLARMINE'S ENTRY TO DI ATHLETICS MEAN TO UOFL WOMEN'S SPORTS?

Unless you've just come out of a coma or been recently returned to earth by an alien spacecraft, you're probably well aware the Bellarmine University is joining NCAA DI Athletics. The formal announcement will be made today (Tuesday) at 11:30 a.m. 

The Knights are joining the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) and will become the tenth institution in that conference. Their conference mates are Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Liberty, Lipscomb, NJIT (New Jersey Institute of Technology), North Alabama, North Florida and Stetson. 

Bellarmine leaves D II competition in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). 

Since we are a women's athletics fan site, I'll concentrate in today's article about the women's side of Bellarmine's athletics. 

Bellarmine currently has 10 women's athletic squads competing in D II and we would guess that all ten will carry over to the Atlantic Sun. Those sports are basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field and volleyball. Bellarmine does not have a women's lacrosse team, maybe surprising...since men's lacrosse was the only DI competing program on campus prior to today's announcement. 

But, Louisville doesn't field a DI men's lacrosse program...so it'll be interesting to see if the Knights make the commitment to take on the sport (of if the Cards move to create a DI men's lacrosse squad.) In the ASUN, only four of the nine programs currently compete in WLAX (Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Liberty and Stetson). Kent State, Howard and Coastal Carolina are "out-of-conference" squads who are in the seven-team alliance. 

The city of Louisville now matches Cincinnati with two D I college athletic programs. UC and Xavier have built up quite the rivalry over the years and one has to wonder if the same type of "cross-town" competition will develop between the Knights and Cards. 

Let's look at the ten women's sports that Louisville and Bellarmine both compete in and examine possible competition between the two schools. 

BASKETBALL 

"C.B." is now CW? 

--  It would be a tough task right off the bat for Chance Dugan's WBB squad to be included the Cards in their schedule. A profitable one, yes, for Bellarmine...if played at the YUM! Center and the two schools have played 12 times over the past 43 years. I have this vision of 10,000 Louisville fans trying to get into Knights Hall for a...well, never mind, that's not going to happen...

-- They last met in 1999 and Louisville holds a 10-2 record advantage. My guess is that Chance will want to recruit for DI a few years to build up an already impressive roster before inquiring about openings in Jeff Walz's schedule. 

-- Former Cardinal great Candyce (Bingham) Wheeler is an assistant coach for Bellarmine WBB. 

-- Jeff Walz has shown a willingness to play mid-majors over the years with games against Tennessee-Martin, Tennessee State, Hartford, Houston Baptist, Chattanooga and Marist. The Cards have played ASUN member Liberty twice....the last time in 2009 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. 

CROSS COUNTRY

There is previous interaction between Louisville and Bellarmine's women's cross country squads in the annual Greater Louisville Invitational and in several NCAA Regional events...so we see that continuing. 

FIELD HOCKEY

The ASUN doesn't have a Field Hockey conference of their own.  Liberty competes in the Big East. Whether Bellarmine decides to explore conference affiliation there or maybe with the MCA, CAA or other conference remains to be seen. Louisville Field Hockey regularly schedules mid-majors ( Miami, OH, Longwood, Kent State) so if Bellarmine goes for a DI conference, the thoughts here are that Justine Sowry would welcome a match against the Knights...

GOLF

Chancellor Dugan is BU's WBB head coach

The ASUN has a women's golf conference and six of the schools participate in it. Matches tend to be more of an invitational format these days...one would think that the Cards might extend an invitation to compete in the Cardinal Cup each year, and Louisville and Bellarmine could show up as contestants in other invitationals...as well as NCAA Regional qualifying events. 

SOCCER

All nine of the ASUN Conference schools compete in women's soccer, so we'll figure Bellarmine will, too. The Cards only get 7-8 non-conference matches a year, due to the heavy ACC commitments, but have played a wide variety of out-of-conference schools during Karen Ferguson Dayes time at Louisville. I could see an early season match between the two down the road. 

SOFTBALL

Few could "mow 'em down" like Maryssa Becker...

The Cards and Knights used to face each other regularly in the fall exhibition schedule and Louisville did play ASUN Conference member Lipscomb this year, so we like the idea of the two getting a yearly game or series started in the spring.

Add to the fact that Cardinal pitching ace Maryssa Becker is an assistant coach for Bellarmine. (Let's just be glad she's used up her eligibility...Cardinal batters might have a rough go of it against her.) 

SWIMMING

No official announcement yet or where Bellarmine swimmer will compete (the ASUN doesn't have a swimming conference) but the CCSA (Coastal College Sports Association) is likely. Three ASUN schools compete there already and the ASUN is one of the associations official partners. The chance of the Cards and Knights matching up in dual meet is always possible down the road but Bellarmine may want to wait a bit and get a solid core of DI athletes on roster first is my assumption. 

TENNIS

Possibilities exist here for dual matches (the Cards faced Northern Kentucky, Furman and Charleston Southern last year) and various regional invitationals and classics could include both schools. 

TRACK AND FIELD

A sport where matchups already exist. Bellarmine participates in the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational each spring on the Belknap campus and at the Kentucky Invitational (along with Louisville) in April. We fully expect to see those interactions continue. 


VOLLEYBALL

All nine ASUN conference members play volleyball (they even play beach volleyball) so we'd expect Bellarmine to be the 10th team. The Cards like to have a couple of classics and in-season tournaments each year where they bring in multiple schools and I can see Bellarmine getting an invite to participate in one of those when space allows. The key, once again, is building a roster suited for DI instead of GLVC level competition. 


                                          ##########################


So... welcome to DI, Bellarmine! We hope that this venture grows consistently and favorably.  A budding potential rivalry in many DI spots awaits you with Louisville and the Louisvillians who sponsor and support either or both school's athletic programs eagerly await "Knights vs. Cardinals" ! 

A step up to the next level of competition can take time. I hope that our readers will be supportive, encouraging and attend some Bellarmine women's athletic events in addition to your Cardinal support. I know some of you do already. I get to 2-3 Bellarmine WBB games a year and plan on upping that number.  I've watched Bellarmine Field Hockey, Soccer and Softball as well in the past. 

Join me and the CARDINAL COUPLE crew in welcoming our city's newest NCAA DI School and get out and spend "a few days and nights" with the Knights when you can.



paulie
xxxxx

Still stopping -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

MCFERRAN MAKING THE PLAYS IN IRELAND

So, what does the best goalkeeper in women's Field Hockey do once she's graduated from college? I'll not put the answer in the form of a quiz question...too easy for you. 

She continues to protect the pipes in her home country with the National team. 

Ayeshia McFerran is the starting goalkeeper for the Irish Women's Field Hockey Senior National team. The squad recently competed in the FIH series finals...with implications for the 2020 Olympics... and came in second, losing to Korea 3-1 in the championship game. 

With the second place finish, though, the squad has successfully qualified for the main qualifiers in August. The Irish won three matches in Pool A, including a 4-0 blanking of the Czechs on Friday, to lead to the finals and are ranked eighth in the world currently. 

McFerran discusses the loss and the great goal ahead at the link below: 

LINK:  Ayeshia McFerran


McFerran recently graduated from the University of Louisville, getting her degree in Exercise Science. She was part of Cardinal Field Hockey squads that went 55-27 over the past four years. She was also a four-year NFHCA All-American, the only Cardinal to ever achieve that honor for four years.  

Despite the graduation of McFerran, the UofL Field Hockey squad looks to be a formidable foe for their ACC opponents and beyond in 2019. 10 current, future or former Cardinal are playing in the USA Young Women's National Field Hockey Championships that end tomorrow in Lancaster, PA. 

Returnees Carter Ayars, Hollyn Barr, Alli Bitting, Erica Cooper, Isabella Leeker, Sam Minrath, Meghan Schneider and Katie Schneider...2016 graduate Erin McCrudden and incoming freshman Margot Lawn (Archbishop Spalding High School, MD) are part of the 144-player, eight team championship that began Friday. The Cardinal contingent isn't all on the same squad, they're evenly divided among five of the eight teams. 

2019 Cardinal commit Margot Lawn (left)

On the 2019 recruits...Lawn is a consensus top 10 player in the 2019 class. India Reed, another 2019 Louisville commit, is from Louisville Manual High School and considered to be in the top 25 of the 2019 High School rankings. 

The Cards also return their leading scorer in Bethany Russ, who is from Australia...and Mercedes Pastor, third leading scorer, who hails from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Whena Munn goes into her senior season and the New Zealand native has participated in all of the Cards 63 games over the past three years...starting in 16 of them. 

Here's a great article on Ayeshia that looks at her past and what's ahead: 

LINK: Ayeshia takes her own path

Who will replace McFerran as the Cardinal goalkeeper in 2019? 

Most feel the battle is between redshirt junior Barr and redshirt freshman Minrath. Barr started five games in 2017 while McFerran was fulfilling Irish National team obligations and Minrath lead Christian Academy to the Kentucky State Championship title as a senior in 2017. Both were on the 2018 roster, Barr played in one contest. 

The Cards will have their work cut out for them in the always-formidable ACC, where North Carolina reigns as the National Champions and Duke was ranked in the top three in 2018. The Cards have 11 home matches this season and start the 2019 campaign with four straight home contests, plus the alumnae, at Trager Stadium. 

Head coach Justine Sowry will miss McFerran, plus graduated seniors  Taylor Stone and Katie Walsh...but Cards return their top three scorers from last season plus experience and depth on the defensive end.  

For Field Hockey news, be sure to check back here at Cardinal Couple...the Cards first action is in 68 days, on Aug 24th. against the Alumnae. 

paulie
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Sunday Cardinal Couple - Baseball and Soccer

it's not often that we get to talk about a diamond sport and soccer in the same articles, seeing as we're a UofL focused site, and baseball and soccer at the college level are in opposite seasons.  Today, though, we have both UofL Baseball playing the College World Series and the US Women's National Team in action in the Women's World Cup.  OK, neither are perfectly on point for the Cardinal Couple mission, but we do stray off the side where interest and significance warrants, so let's do this.

Women's World Cup

2 matches today in the Women's World Cup.  both in Group F.  Sweden is starting off the day against Thailand.  At the time of this writing, the game is 23 minutes in and Sweden leads 2-0.  The US will match up against Chile at noon eastern time (EDT).

The US played Thailand on Tuesday, and won convincingly, 13-0.  Thailand qualified for the World Cup.  That means they are a good team in the overall context of the world stage, as only 24 teams qualify, but in the context of the World Cup competition...yeah, ok, they're not great.  After the game there was some punditry and commentary about whether the US should've let up on the gas, put in substitutes, or not celebrated goals after a certain point.

Hogwash (and I'm doing my best to resist using stronger language, here).

They're playing in the World Cup.  This is the most prestigious soccer competition around (yes, even surpassing the Olympics, in my estimation).  Any team that is playing in the World Cup, is a world class team, pretty much by definition.  Goals scored are things to be celebrated.  Goal differential is a thing that can, and frequently does, matter for advancing and seeding in the knock-out round.  Put in the subs?  Doesn't matter too much on this deep US team, and besides, you can only substitute 3 times in International soccer.  Goals are hard to achieve in soccer.  Celebrate away!

So, back to today's matchup.  Chile played Sweden on Tuesday and lost 2-0.  The US should come out on top of this one, but again, this is the World Cup, there are no bad teams, here.  The World Cup history is replete with plenty of big upsets over the years.  The US will need to come out and play the game that they know they're capable, don't listen to the sexist punditry saying they shouldn't play their hardest, and play their best through the last echo of the last whistle.

All Women's World Cup games are televised on Fox Sports.

College World Series

Now let's come back to UofL sports, though we'll need to switch over to the guys side of things.

Baseball starts their College World Series campaign today at 2 eastern (EDT), and will be matched up against a familiar, and always challenging, foe in Vanderbilt.

The CWS is structured as 2 parallel 4-team double-elimination tournaments, the winner from each of those double-elimination tournament then plays a best of 3 series to determine the final champion.  Softball has much the same structure, but they have a "crossover" where the loser of the 1-0 game in each bracket crosses over to the elimination side of the opposite bracket.  Baseball doesn't have that feature (and I do consider it a feature as it gives a little bit more mixing up of the teams than the baseball format that lacks the crossover), so for near future, UofL only has to worry about the other teams their 4 team bracket.

Interestingly, all 3 other teams in Louisville's half of the CWS bracket are SEC teams, with Auburn and Mississippi State joining Vanderbilt as the potential opponents.

From the other 4-team bracket, the potential championship series opponents are Texas Tech, Michigan, Arkansas, and Florida State.  Florida State has been playing very well of late, as a sort of grand farewell tour for their coach who is retiring after the season, so there's a very real chance of an all-ACC championship series.  The CWS did kick off, overall, yesterday with a Florida State win over Arkansas, and Michigan over Texas Tech.

Back to today, Louisville and Vanderbilt have a long history of entertaining and competitive games, including a number of games in NCAA Regionals, a Super Regional, and even at the College World Series (Vanderbilt won, on the way to winning the whole event).  The oak barrel, the trophy for the matchup between the two teams, currently resides in Nashville with Vanderbilt after they beat the Cards 6-2 earlier in the season.  The barrel is not on the line for post season games between the teams, so regardless of the outcome, it will remain in Nashville until next spring when the teams meet up in the regular season again.  The Barrel rivalry began in 2012, and the series is currently evenly split at 4 wins apiece.  In the full history of the teams, which goes back to 1971, Vanderbilt leads 24-10.

Today's game is available on ESPN.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

The quiz slump is real!

Paulie, Case, Jared, and myself were in the studio yesterday and the usual hilarity ensued.  We talked
about Asia "Nite-nite" Durr's 20 point WNBA performance, the Women's World Cup, and plenty of other random topics.

Paulie brought a mixed bag of questions for the Cardinal Couple quiz, on the theme of coaches, where some were (at least in my opinion) easy, and some got a bit tricky.  Jared came away with the one-eared toothpick holding bear, with toothpicks, trophy.  See if you can beat him.

As usual, the stream is available on Facebook Live:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/vb.123009984388960/693043604477833/


Happy Fathers Day ! 

From all of us at CARDINAL COUPLE to all of you Dads out there...HAPPY FATHERS DAY. This is your day, so we hope you have the chance to spend it in the way you choose.

If you're Dad is still living, be sure to do something special for him today. Even a phone call or visit for lunch and conversation.

Remember, it "took two to make you" -- so give a bit of acknowledgement to the guy who taught you how to put the chain back on your bicycle, stood patiently across from you while you tried to toss the ball in his glove, gave up that weekend morning of golf to make sure you got to (fill in the sport or activity) practice and offered advice when you were uncertain or listened when you had something you needed to discuss. The guy who played with you and your siblings in the yard and responded so sagely when Mom yelled "You're tearing up the lawn!" with the reply "No we're not. We're raising kids."

-- 

JMcA

Women's Athletics Coming to your TV this Fall -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Volleyball, Soccer, Field Hockey to be Featured on ACCN

The ACC Network has started announcing programming for its first fall on television, and the coverage choices may come as a surprise to some. If you are like me, and cut the cord, you probably watch a lot of your sports through sports apps on a SmartTV or computer or phone, so this won't affect you as much. Most people expected that the ACC Network would focus on the primary money making ratings sports--football, men's and women's basketball, soccer to an extent, baseball--and some associated programming to go along with these sports. This idea was supported when it was announced that Louisville would receive and "all-access" football show, similar to the NFL's "Hard Knocks", on the ACC Network this season. It would seem that these sports aren't all the ACC has in mind, though.

As the programming announcements have come out, three women's sports in particular stand to gain quite a bit from the new channel. The ACC Network has announced the airing of 20 volleyball matches (three of which will feature the Louisville Cardinals) as well as announcing that Wednesday nights will be dedicated to ACC volleyball during the season. Thursday nights will be devoted to women's soccer, with some Sunday games being aired as well, and both the field hockey and women's soccer ACC tournaments will be aired to some extent on the channel.

As I mentioned earlier, this won't have a major impact on me. The ACC Network will be an ESPN channel and will be available on cable, but I will probably choose to watch most of my events on the ESPN App if available due to the longer delays I get from my cable streaming service. That said, the exposure that this will bring to women's athletics will be very big for the league. The more people that the ACC can get interested in these sports that sometimes fly a bit under the radar, the better it will be for everyone. Increased interest usually turns into increased attendance, which increases profits league-wide, which is good for the players, coaches, and universities alike. 

These announcements are exciting for the fall women's sports, but also for the winter and spring sports. As often as men's ACC basketball games are covered by other networks, the ACCN should be open to quite a bit of women's basketball this winter. Additionally, lacrosse, softball, and baseball should all see their airtime increase.

After hearing the announcement that the ACCN was coming, most Louisville fans were excited that there would be fewer Louisville football and basketball games on internet only viewing options. That may still be the case for a lot of fans, but this one in particular (and if I had to guess, most people writing for and reading this site), this news is very well received. I'm looking forward to the fall already.

I'll toss the question out there. How will you and how have you watched the Cards when you're not in attendance at events? Have you "cut the cord"? Are you excited about the ACC Network and how will you view events that Louisville women's sports are involved in? Feel free to reply in our comments section.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

We'll have a full house again this week, this time without Jared having to hit the road mid-show. Hopefully we can avoid catastrophic microphone incidents this time around.

We'll catch up on anything we've missed throughout the week, get started into the true heart of the summer slump, and see if Jeff and I can do any better than our embarrassing showing on last week's quiz. Tune in to WCHQ at 11 a.m. to catch the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. You can find the show at 100.9 FM, the WCHQ App, online at wchqfm.com, or watch us on Facebook Live.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-