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