Friday Cardinal Couple -- W.Soccer regular season starts tonight

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

SCORE UPDATE:  With two goals by Isabella Habuda,
Louisville starts the season off with a 2-1 win. More in the
Saturday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE. Cards win! 


( KIM PEMBERTON AND THE FRIENDLY FOLKS OVER AT THE UOFL
SID DEPARTMENT ARE OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZING THE START OF
SOCCER SEASON FOR THE GIRLS...we tend to look at the exhibition slate
as the starting gun here at CC...)

Women's Soccer Opens Up the 2014 Season on the Road against Wright State and Illinois Cardinals begin the season on the road against the Raiders and Fighting Illini Senior Erin Yenney Aug. 21, 2014 Louisville, Ky. - The University of Louisville women's soccer team will open up the 2014 season this weekend when it travels to Wright State and Illinois for two matches. The Cardinals will face Wright State in Dayton, Ohio, on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. before traveling to Champagne, Ill., to face the Fighting Illini on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The Cardinals are led by head coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes, who begins her 15th season with the Cardinals. Louisville went 12-5-2 and finished second in the American Athletic Conference in 2013. The Cards return four starters from last season, including senior midfielder Erin Yenney, a 2013 Second Team All-AAC selection, and sophomore goalkeeper Paige Brown, who registered four shutouts for the Cardinals during her freshman campaign. Wright State enters the 2014 season after compiling an 8-5-5 record overall. The Raiders finished 5-1-1 in the Horizon League and made a run to the conference tournament semifinal, where their season ended in a penalty kick loss to Oakland. Wright State returns 13 letterwinners from last year's squad, including senior defender Allie Metzler, junior midfielder Kalee Thompson and junior midfielder Ashley Gogolio who were recently named to the College Sports Madness Preseason Horizon League Teams. The Raiders lead the series 12-1-1 against Louisville, with the most recent contest ending in a 0-0 tie during the 2006 season. The Cardinals are 1-4 when playing Wright State in Dayton. Illinois is coming off a successful 2013 season after registering its fourth NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance in school history. The Illini went 11-9-3 overall and 5-5-1 in the Big Ten. Despite falling to Indiana in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals, the team received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament that led to its impressive run. Illinois returns seven starters from last year's squad, including senior Jannelle Flaws, the reigning Big Ten Forward of the Year and 2013 national goal-scoring leader. The Illini have never lost to the Cardinals and boast a 5-0-0 record through the series history. Louisville fell to Illinois 4-5 in overtime just last year when the two teams faced off in Louisville for the Cardinals' second match of the season. paulie