Huskers Shuck Cards WSOC 3-1 -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 NORTON ERA BEGINS WITH A STUBBED TOE 

The start of a new Louisville women's soccer season. A team that was coming off a very successful season last year and had played two impressive exhibitions. Bringing in a Nebraska squad that had not done too well in their season opening exhibition. 

What a difference a change in venue and opponent can make. Let's use the term "Husker Du" ...not referring to the American punk rock band that churned out memorable songs like "Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely" and "The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill". but the positive showing the women's soccer squad out of Lincoln, Nebraska had in the city known for bourbon. 

Scoring right off the bat,  with just three minutes off the clock in the first half, when Nathalie Lewis broke free on a jail brealk and planted one in the net past UofL goalkeep Kailey Kimball for the first goal of the match. 

LINK: Lewis scores on Louisville  

Nebraska would add a second goal, a long attempt...seemingly from the Louisville Lacrosse stadium to take a commanding 2-0 lead into the half-time locker room.  

The Huskers would add a third score in the second half before Louisville managed to get on the board with just 12 minutes left in the contest, when Liz Eddy found Liza Suydam on a pass for the final score of the game. 

Maybe this stat best exemplifies the Cards frustration on the pitch last night...the Cards had 18 shots and one goal.  

So...the Norton era at UofL women's soccer starts out with a stumble. The Cards kickers will get a chance for redemption and to even the season record when they bring in IU Indy to Lynn on Saturday. 

paulie

Cards WSOC opens 2026 season against Nebraska tonight --WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CORNHUSKERS VS CARDS TONIGHT AT 7:30 

Kayma Carpenter Univ. of Nebraska

We finally get into the UofL women's fall sports schedule...when Louisville women's soccer takes on Nebraska tonight at Lynn Stadium on the UofL campus at 7:30 p.m.

The Nebraska squad comes into Louisville to open their regular season as well. The have had an exhibition game, against Colorado St. but fell to the Rams 3-1. The contest will be shown on the ACC Network Extra. If UofL had an exhibition contest, it ws not made public. 

The Hunter Norton era begins at UofL with the retirement of long-time coach Karen Ferguson Dayes. Norton, a long time assistant at UofL...was named the head coach of the Cards in February, after "Coach Karen" retired after 26 years as the Cards skipper. She began in the year 2000 and amassed 224 wins. 

Nebraska head coach John Walker enters his 33rd. year as the Cornhuskers skipper. 

Who to watch for Nebraska? Kayma Carpenter, Ella Guyott and Ella Rudney are considered to be the best of the lot in Lincoln. . 

Carpenter had 15 points as a junior for Nebraska. She is a senior out of Lincoln, Nebraska. 

Ella Guyott is a senior midfielder/forward who sat out her junior year due to injury but was a solid sophomore for Nebraska and was named a Big Ten Player to Watch for the 2026 season.

Ella Rudney

Ella Rudney started every game for Nebraska last year as a midfielder and had 15 points. 

Admission is free for UofL women's soccer games. 

Good luck to the Cards for the start to their season! We'll have the recap tomorrow here at the site. 

paulie

Carys Baker a great addition to Louisville WBB -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

BAKER BOLSTERS UofL WBB FRONT LINE. 

Carys Baker had a very good season as a Hokie last year, with 14.3 p.p.g, 6.9 rebounds and was the second leading scorer for VT, just behind guard Wenzel Carleigh. Carleigh had 498 points for VT and Baker had 471. Both played in 33 games for the Blacksburg school, who went 12-6 in conference and 23-10 overall. 

However... she won't be in the maroon and burnt orange colors for her senior year. She has decided to wear the red and black and will be going to UofL for her senior senior. 

She's projected to be a starter for Walz & company, along with Tajianna Roberts, Mackenly Randolph, Zamareya Jones and Elif Istanbulluoglu. Depending on who you read, there are other starting lineups being touted, let's face it, only Jeff Walz knows for sure, and...it isn't as important  as who starts, it's who is out there in crunch time or the close thriller. 

Baker, a 6'2" forward, is a talented perimeter shooter and should fit in quite well with the Walz up-and-down the court style of offensive attack .

Basketball is in her blood...she's the daughter of NBA great and Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Vin Baker.

Carys led VT is threes made in the 2025=26 season with 56.  When she and the Hokies faced UofL last year in the KFC YUM! Center she had 16 points and nine rebounds in the 85-60 loss to the Cards. 

She'll be a welcome addition to the Cards and we look forward to seeing her participate as a Card!  

paulie

Louisville WBB offers Edmondson -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CLASS OF 2030 5'11" GUARD JYLIN EDMONDSON PICKS UP UOFL OFFER

where she started...

She already has an impressive resume..and now the George Rogers Clark guard has a offer from UofL WBB. 

She was at Franklin Country in 2025 and a part of the 2025 Kentucky 2A championship team. She also plays for FBC United Young Gunz on the travel circuit.

She runs the floor quite well for a freshman and has a deadly pull up jumper. 

She first began drawing notices when she was an eight grader at Boyd County, and is considered one of the elite already in Kentucky Girls High school basketball. 

She has a high basketball IQ and has also received offers from Florida St., Mississippi St. and Pittsburgh..in addition to Louisville, so far

Jylin released the Louisville offer news after speaking with UofL associate head coach Jonneisha Pineda.   

We hope that the Cards can land this elite baller but you can rest assured that the offers will continue to pour in for Jylin. 

paulie

Five key players essential to Louisville women's soccer successes -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CAN CARDS WSOC IMPROVE ON 13-5-3 2025 SEASON?

Ashlyn Hule

Louisville Women's Soccer goes into the 2026 season after a very good 2025 season where they went 13-5-2 and 6-2-2 in the ACC. And, now...with Hunter Norton in his first season, Cardinal fans will hope that the soccer squad can keep up the success. 

Junior Amelia Swinarski stands out as the primary returning star. She led the Cards in goals last season with 10, and also accumulated 30 points. 

Along with Swinarski, these other four players are expected to be significant contributors to the squad. 

-- Ella Bard, a sophomore defender, was named to the U.S Under 20 National Team Camp.

-- Grace Maddox, a junior defender, is another returning key anchor to the defensive line. 

-- Ashlyn Hule goes into her sophomore season as a forward with high scoring potential.

-- Kiley Peat will be a sophomore midfielder who contributed scoring last year and figures to add to that. 

Louisville brings in six transfers and five freshmen to the roster. The Cards were picked to finish ninth in the ACC preseason poll 

paulie

  

Louisville women's soccer opens 2026 season in five days -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CORNHUSKERS COME TO LYNN TO BEGIN CARDS SEASON

Nebraska WSOC

Imagine having the same coach for 33 yrs. Imagine having the coach that started the program still in place.In this day of NIL and colleges dumping coaches if they  drop below .500, John walker is a rarity. 

When Nebtaska decided to field a women's soccer team back in 1992, they selected Walker as their head coach. Going into his 33rd season, Walked will be on the sidelines when Nebraska comes to town on Wednesday, Aug 12th. in the season opener fo rboth squads. 

Walker is 372--203-62 in his only head coaching job and has been in both the Big12 and Big 10 conferences in his reign at Nebraska. 

Using a unique coaching style, he has built a well-respected program and draws the best of talent around the nation to Huskers soccer. 

They have already played a match this season...falling to Colorado St. 3-1 on Aug. 5th at Ft. Collins  Granted it was a exhibition match..but the Nebraska squad but could only get a goal from Reese Borer. 

Louisville head women's soccer coach Hunter Norton begnis his first seson as the UofL head coach.

The match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will be on ACC Network Extra online...if fyou can't go.. We won't have live coverage of the match, since I have been banned from attending any UofL women's athletic events or press conferences as a media person. I would assume I could still atttend matches as a fan ,buy health issues have me sidelines .If you are interested on what Norton and Swinarski had to say in a presser yesterday, it is linked up below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8w7Fm7TFqw&t=21s   . Norton and Swinarski.

...

paulie

Cards On The Table a fresh look at player interviews -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 EPISODE ONE of CARDS ON THE TABLE AN IN DEPTH DISCUSSION BETWEEN "E", IMARI and TAJIANNA AND MACKENLY

Cards On The Table isn't a new campus game of cards or hijinks in the team's dining area.

What it is..is an nicely moderated discussion with moderator Mackenly Randolph.and three current Cardinals Women's basketball players. Episode One features Elif Istanbulluoglu , Tajianna Roberts,MacKenly  Randolph and Imarr Berry.

Randolph asks the other three players questions and they respond to her. She is a natural for the moderator's role and the players respond well to her and also seem to be having a lot of fun taping the segment. 

It is a unique and well-designed format, where the discussion is free flowing and pretty funny at times...but the over 30 minute production is fast paced and informative. Walz is one of the topics that they discuss. 

One area they talk a lot about is the Versa. To explain it, the Versa is not the phrase "Vice versa" but a piece of equipment workout that involves upper and lower body vertical climbing movements. The low-impact training build high aerobic endurance and muscular strength without heavy joint stress from running. 

Click HERE. for a clip of the Versa Climber. 

This is supposed to be a regular feature that UofL WBB will be doing, and we look forward to the next one. 

paulie 

CARDS VOLLEYBALL ON TV THIS UPCOMNG SEASON -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS VOLLEYBALL CURRENTLY  SCHEDULED FOR 10 GAMES TO BE BROADCAST NATIONALLY. 

Louisville Volleyball will be shown on five different channels in the upcoming 2026 season. ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ACC NETWORK and ABC will televise the Cards, beginning three weeks from now when they'll face Texas A&M in Milwaukee on Augusr 21th at 6:00 PM on ESPNU in the AVCA First Serve. 

The list is as follow: 

-- 8/21  Texas A&M in Milwaukee on ESPN2                                                                                 --8/22  Wisconsin in Milwaukee Not assigned a network yet)                                                       -- 9/4   TCU in Louisville on ACC Network                                                                                     -- 9/6   Texas in Nashville on ABC                                                                                                 -- 9/9   Missouri in Louisville on ACC Network                                                                              -- 9/20  Kentucky in Lexington on ABC                                                                                          -- 10/11 Stanford in Lousiville on ESPN                                                                                        -- 10/25 at Miami on ACC Network                                                                                                -- 11/01 Georgia Tech in Louisville on ACC Network                                                                    -- 11/12 at SMU in Dallas on ESPNU                                                                                            -- 11/15 at Pittsburgh on ESPN

In additional to these nationally televised matches, all other home games and away ACC matches will be on-line on ACC Network Extra

The Cards were selected to finish third in the ACC Coaches Preseason Poll and were voted #8 in the Preseason D1 rankings.  We'll have much more on volleyball as the seaso start grows closer. 

paulie                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   -- 

WNBA Wednesday Standings -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 LYNX LEAD THE LEAGUE

Dana Evans on the dribble

With most teams around the 30 games mark right now, in a season that runs around 44 games, the Minnesota Lynx lead the league with a 25-6 record.

 No Louisville WBB former stars are o the Lynx roster, but the ACC is represented by Natasha Howard (FSU) and Liatu King and Kayla McBride (Notre Dame).in Minnesota. 

3.5 games behind the Lynx are the Las Vegas Aces at 21-9. Dana Evans is a reserve guard on the Lynx, and averages 3.0 p.p.g and almost two assists in back up duty. The ACC also has Chelsea Gray (Duke) on the roster and Jewel Loyd ,Brianna Turner and Jackie Young, all from Notre Dame on the squad and A'ja Wilson (UNC). 

The Golden State Valkyries are in third place...four games back of Minnesota. Thy play in San Francisco. No Walz players there, but the ACC is represented by Miela Sowah (Duke), Ashton Prechtel and Nadia Fingall...both from Stanford, 

The Dallas Wings are tied for fourth place at 19-11. .Playing from the ACC for Dallas is Aziaha James (NC State), Haley Jones and Alanna Smith (Stanford) and Arike Ogunbowale and Jessica Shepard (Notre Dame). Tied with them are tthe Indiana Fever. Myisha Hines-Allen is in Indy for the ACC along with Lexie Hull (Stanford) and Makayla Timpson (Florida State) and Ugonne Onyiah (California).

The rest of the league? 

6. Atlanta Dream  .7. New York Liberty. 8) Washington Mystics. 9) LA Sparks. 10) Phoenix Mercury. 11) Chicago Sky. 12) Portland Fire, 13) Toronto Tempo 14) Connecticut Sun and 15) Seattle Storm. 

Good luck to our Cards in the WNBA !!                          

paulie                                                                                            

How big a girl are ya? -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 ZHANG ZIYU IS OVER 7'2" 

It was Roy D.Mercer who recorded the hilarious "How Big A Boy Are Ya" clip, back in 1999, (you can hear it HERE) and the clip came to mind when this very tall woman came into the clinic I go to for my dialysis treatments. I was talking to one of the technicians after this tall woman left ,and we were discussing tallest people we had ever seen in person. She claimed she had seen a 6'9" woman at a trade show a few months back, I told her mine was a girl named Allyssa DeHaan, who played for Michigan State and was 6'9" when I saw her play around 2009 or 10. 

Was she the tallest girl to ever play basketball? The answer is "No". Zhang Ziyu of the Shandong Six Stars in the WCBA. The WCBA is the Women's Chinese Basketball Association and Ziyu is 7'2' (some say 7'3" ) and is 19 yrs. old. 

Your first question may very well be...why isn't she in the WNBA? That league has a rule that international players must be at least 20 on the day of their signing. If you are a player in the United States, the age requirement is 22. Why? My best guess is that the WNBA doesn't want to start usurping talent from the colleges too early, since it is their major recruiting source. Out of the roughly 160 players in the WNBA, around 120 attended a U.S. college or university. We also started talking about the tallest woman basketball player that has played at UofL. That would be either Liz Dixon, Eseosa Imafidon or Syndi Schetnan, who were all 6'5". An interesting fact is that Liz didn't start her college time at UofL...she first went to Georgia Tech. Sydni and Eseosa didn't finish their careers as Cardinals...Sydni ended up at South Dakota St. and switched primarily to Volleyball there. Eseosa is now a senior at Providence. 

Ayse Melek Demira. 

Who is the tallest Cardinals player this upcoming season? That's a tie between Grace Mbugna and Ayse Melek Demira at 6'4"

The tallest WNBA player award goes to Margo Dydek..who has seen time at the Connecticut Sun, Los Angeles Sparks and the Utah Starzz. She is 7'2". 

The tallest woman I ever dated was a 6'4" girl from Anderson County, KY who was the little sister of one of my fraternity brothers. She confided to me it was nice to finally go out with someone she didn't have to start down upon...(I'm 6'3") and dance with someone who's head wasn't buried in her breasts during slow dances. I wonder whatever happened to her? 

Know a tall girl? Make sure and remember her on June 20 or 21, that is National Tall Girls Day and comes about on the Summer Solstice. 

I wonder if it's too early for a "tall boy"? 

 paulie