Rouse, England Fall To Japan 2-0 -- Davenport has a top five -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

ENGLISH LOSE IN WORLD CUP SEMIFINAL TO JAPAN 2-0 

It was a match-up of the two highest scoring teams in the FIFA U 20 World Cup semifinals yesterday in Vannes, France but the Japanese squad did all the scoring in a 2-0 win to advance to the finals against the Spanish team...who defeated France 1-0 in the other semifinal match. 

UofL women's soccer standout Mollie Rouse isn't quite done with her contributions to the English U 20's yet, though. The English will meet France with the bronze medals on the line Friday in Vannes. Rouse, from Warwichshire, England (a county in south-central England and about two hours northwest of London) went to Stratford-upon-Avon school...maybe best known for being located where famous writer William Shakespeare was born.  Rouse played in the semi-final match after sitting out the quarter-finals against The Netherlands. Like her teammates, though, Rouse could find no answers or scores against a technically sound and ball-hawking Japanese defense. 

Both goals were scored in the first half and within five minutes of each other when Japan connected on a Riko Ueki attempt from the outside corner of the box in the 22nd. minute of action. 

What it means for Louisville women's soccer is that Rouse will definitely miss the Thursday, August 23rd. game at Dayton and most likely the August 26th Sunday match at Michigan. The Friday August 31st. annual battle of the Bluegrass against Kentucky at Lynn Stadium is a definite possibility for her, though. 

As we saw with Field Hockey's goalkeeper extraordinaire Ayeisha McFerran, getting acclimated to "stateside" and college action takes a bit of time...although McFerran was impressive in the 2018 team's romp over the alumnae on Saturday and their 3-1 exhibition win against Michigan in Columbus, OH yesterday. 

Speaking of McFerran, she and Louisville head Field Hockey Coach Justine Sowry will be meeting with the media on Wednesday this week (tomorrow) at 2:30 over at Trager Stadium to discuss the 2018 season and Ayeisha's adventures in England with the Irish National Field Hockey squad that finished second in recent World Cup competition. 

The Field Hockey squad begins their regular season in Bloomington, IN against Indiana University with a 3 p.m. scheduled start. 


MAORI DAVENPORT NARROWS IT TO FIVE SCHOOLS

Maori Davenport, a 6'4" post out of Charles Henderson H.S. in Troy, Alabama, has narrowed her college list to five schools and Louisville is one of those five...along with Mississippi State, Georgia, Florida and Rutgers....according to several Tweets from last night.
Earlier reports that South Carolina was one of the five (at another website) appear to be incorrect. 

Davenport played on the USA U19 squad that Jeff Walz was the head coach of and that won the FIBA Americas tournament in Mexico City recently.  She was selected to the All-Tournament team after the competition. She's #2 ranked at her position in the latest ESPNW listings and #13 overall in the 2019 class. 

Davenport hasn't commented on when she'll narrow it down any further or make a choice between the five schools. Visits to the schools haven't been announced yet either. 


Three SEC Universities are represented in the final five and Florida head WBB Coach Cam Neubauer is a former assistant to Coach Walz. Maybe a bit of concern over the wealth of SEC suitors...all three schools are not that far of a drive for her parents and the close proximity of the other SEC schools to Troy, AL. are something to consider. Rutgers definitely a "long haul" from Troy but has the allure of head coach C. Viv Stringer. Tim Eatman, who served as an assistant coach at Louisville from 2004-07, is an assistant on Stringer's staff. 

Troy, AL. is just a seven-hour trip up I-65 from "the Ville". Ultimately, of course, it eventually breaks down to what is the best fit for the player, the coach and the team goals and philosophy fitting the player. 

Walz has the edge in coaching her in the FIBA events and both got a chance to evaluate each other's style and philosophies. The Cards had the second best 2017-18 season of the "final five" in Davenport's list.

The recruiting game. So many factors and intricacies. We'll let you know when we know more. CARDINAL COUPLE has a interview scheduled with Coach Walz on Wednesday, and although we can't talk recruiting, we'll discuss the FIBA and USA experiences Walz had and hopefully get a little first-hand insight into the 2018-19 season. Be sure to check back here on Thursday for the interview recap and audio! 


Guess who's going to classes? 

If there was any worry among our readership or Louisville WBB fans out there, rest assured. All three freshmen on scholarship are on campus, enrolled in classes and attending them.  They say a picture is worth 1000 words, so...we present this shot from 
Sam Purcell's Facebook account. 

All three would be best advised to avoid Sam as much as possible....everything, as we know, is his fault...study well and learn all you can Mykasa, Molly and Seygan! 



paulie
xxxxx