WBB National Media Day -- Teeter's Canadian Side -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Asia Durr Heads to Women's Basketball National Media Day

Asia Durr is one of seven collegiate players selected to attend the Women's Basketball National Media Day.  The event, hosted by ESPN and the NCAA, will be held later today, just one day before Louisville's media day.  This is Durr's second straight year attending the event.


Kalani Brown (Baylor), Chennedy Carter (Texas A&M), Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon), Arike Ogunbawale (Notre Dame), Katie Lou Samuelson (UConn), and Teaira McCowan (Missisippi State) will be the other six to join Durr.  Geno Auriemma (UConn), Muffet McGraw (Notre Dame), and Vic Schaefer (Mississippi State) are the coaches that will present.

The senior was also named to the preseason All-ACC team.  Her 1,743 career points ranked her sixth in school history and she sits second on the list in made three-point field goals with 278.  You can follow @UofLWBB on their social media platforms to stay up-to-date with the events.

The honors and awards keep lining up for the
Douglasville, GA native. The WBB Cards will open their season on Nov 6th. with a short road trip to Western Kentucky to battle the Hilltoppers and first-year coach Greg Collins.

UofL will be looking to avenge a loss they suffered the last time they visited Bowling Green. On November 21st., 2015, Louisville fell to WKU 71-69 in E.A. Diddle  Arena. The Cards started the 2015-16 season at 3-5 before going on a 15 game win streak. That was UofL's first season in the ACC and Durr freshman year at Louisville.


Teeter Selected as U-19 Women's Canadian Lacrosse Team Head Coach

Scott Teeter's international accolades continue to pile up.  This time, The Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA) announced that Teeter will lead the U-19 Women's Canadian Lacrosse Team at the 2019 FIL U-19 Women's Field Lacrosse World Championship in Ontario.

In 2015, Teeter led Team Canada to the U-19 Championship, winning gold.  He led the team to two silver medals in 2017, one at the FIL World Cup and one at the World Games.  In 2011, the team won a bronze medal at the championship.

On the U-19 coaching staff with him is Louisville lacrosse alumna and current assistant coach Kaylin Morissette.  A Canadian herself, Morissette was an assistant coach under Teeter at Canisius and has played on the Canadian National Team on multiple occasions.

Morissette is widely recognized as one of the best to don the red and black and play Lacrosse at Louisville. Her mastery of the draw control was legendary and she was named to the All-American teams three times in her playing days at UofL (2013-16).

With both Teeter and Kay helping coaching the Canadians, we can see them having great success and giving us another reason to admire and appreciate the brain trust of "Teeterssette".


Halloween


.No tricks here, just treats by Cardinal Couple.  Today is Halloween!

Halloween can be traced back all the way to Celtic times, where people would build bonfires and wear costumes as part of a fortune telling ceremony but also to ward off evil spirits.  The event, held on November 1, was known as Samhain.

The Roman Empire under Pope Gregory III later adopted the tradition in a more religious version.  November 1 was used to honor all Christian martyrs known as All Saints Day.  The tradition of games, costumes, masks, and parties became popular.

In America, the Protestant north was opposed to Halloween, but the holiday was adopted by the south, where parties became more extravagant.  Ghost stories started becoming more popular partly due to the influence of the Native Americans.  During the Irish potato famine the population of America grew rapidly and Halloween spread around the country.

Americans would walk door-to-door asking for food or money in the early forms of trick-or-treating.  The media encouraged households to decorate their homes in a frightening or grotesque manner to add to the holiday.  Small vandalism began appearing on homes or schools during the Halloween period.  To help their homes from being vandalized families would offer candy and other treats to keep the children at bay.

Here on the campus of the University of Louisville teams have added their own fun to Halloween by having practices featuring costumes.  Athletes will also have Halloween parties as a chance to dress up in a costume and have fun.  I guess college students are too old to go trick-or-treating anymore.


You can check out the UofL Symphony Orchestra's Halloween Spooktacular tonight if you're looking for something to do for free.  In the past they have been known to play pieces such as Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, Harry Potter Hedwig's Theme, In The Hall of  the Mountain King, Pirates of the Caribbean, and much more while performing in costumes!  Seating fills up fast so arrive extra early if you plan to go.

Here are some popular Halloween songs to help get you into the spirit:

Monster Mash (Bobby "Boris"Pickett & The Crypt Kickers) music video

Thriller (Michael Jackson) music video

Ghostbusters (Ray Parker Jr) music video

This is Halloween (The Nightmare Before Christmas) music video

Have any Halloween stories, funny or scary?  Feel free to share!

We are approaching Donation Month at Cardinal Couple so don't forget to leave us a "treat" in the form of a donation. We accept Pay Pal donations (see the top of the site for the link), or you can send your check or money order to:

CARDINAL COUPLE
P.O. Box 91521
Louisville, KY  40291

Happy Wednesday, Happy Halloween, and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Louisville women's basketball -- The recruiting game is played on many levels -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

RECRUITING AND THE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY

I don't take a lot of stock in a promising high school player announcing that a particular college or university is in their final three or four list. For years here at CARDINAL COUPLE, we went by the philosophy that "a player is going to go where they are most comfortable...and if and when they arrive, we'll start to notice them." 

If they choose Louisville, we're happy to have them and hope they do well, last 4-5 years and have a great college experience. If not, that's the way it is. Coach Walz has said in the past and if you were to ask him today, he'd tell you that he wants players who want to be here....or in similar words. 

That's not to say we haven't watched with interest in the past. I've talked to former and current Cardinal WBB greats before they arrived on campus but approached it from purely a generalized interested in what they are interested in. I've talked to some players who didn't end up at Louisville. I've posed questions about favorite movie starts, cars and comfort foods to prospective players and had fun doing it. 

I've called players mom's and dad's and asked permission to speak with them. All from a human interest standpoint. Once you get past the numbers...the points scored, rebounds grabbed, assists created and such...there is a living, breathing human being there. Someone who has likes, emotions, feelings and thoughts. 

I get asked about players and recruits a lot.

"Do you think [this girl] will end up at UofL?". "Why did [that girl] go there? Why is Louisville after [so-and-so]? Why isn't [name your player] playing more? I

 'm not the one to answer these types of questions and I can also tell you that I have no idea or clue, usually. I'm not there during the decision process, the talks with family, friends, mentors and coaches. I can speculate like most of you do. I choose not to for the most part. I leave recruiting alone, assured and trustful that those who do it for a living and understand the game, the process....full well know what they're doing, who they are targeting and why they are in pursuit. I leave playing time issues alone as well. (Like I know better than the coaches? I think not...) 

I've heard from various sources that the Cards want Zia Cooke and Breanna Beal out of the 2019 class also. If that's who the coaches want, I hope they get what they desire. I like Cooke's game. I don't know much about Beal but she sounds like a great one. 

Recruiting is a "who, what, where, when, why and how" process. Social media, more than ever, allows people to know so much about prospective players and their thoughts. I recently saw a tweet from Bree Hall. She's a 2021 target for Louisville and a whole bunch of other schools. 

Bree Hall ✨ ‏ @breezyhalll 22h22 hours ago More Thank you to the coaches of the University of Louisville WBB for an amazing unofficial visit 🤩! I really enjoyed being there 😎! #GoCards #GoCardinals ❤️!

The things I first thought of were...I'm glad she had a nice time on her visit. It's always nice to read about someone enjoying going somewhere. Then, I considered, she's a sophomore in high school. A whole lot is going to go on in her life before she moves on to college, Finally, I made a mental note to check out her stats and where's she's from. 

I'm glad she liked our city, the UofL campus and the coaches. I like them, too ,and I'm proud of what my city is (for the most part) and what the Louisville coaches have done. 

So, here's what I know about current recruiting. Louisville has three players in the 2019 class who have indicated they'd like to come to Louisville, so far, and given verbals. Here's also some questions I have. From purely Paulie perspectives. 



NYAH GREEN is a 6'1" guard from Allen High School in Texas. She's highly ranked in all the recruiting services. She's been a Louisville commit for quite some time. I hope she does well here. I wonder if she plays any musical instruments? Does she have regular study habits? Are her parents and family in love with the city like she is? Does she binge watch things on Netflix? All things we'll hopefully get to know about her as she pursues the college experience. 

RAMANI PARKER is a 6'4" forward from Montverde Academy in Florida. The staff at Louisville can't talk about her, but she has verballed. I wonder if she gets those "Oh, there is a tall girl" stares when she goes about in public and how she deals with them if she does? Has she any pets and what are their names?  How will she adjust to the sometimes bitterly cold Louisville winters and has she ever thrown a snowball?  Does she like to plant seeds and watch them grow into flowers?  Will she hang out at the newly renovated S.A.C. with her teammates? 

NAKIRA KONNO is a 5'10" guard from Seiwa Gakuen High School in Japan. Not much is known about her, except that she's played on the Japanese U 18, U 23 and 3x3 teams and played quite well. I wonder if her parents will try to learn English like she did, or whether Jeff Walz will have Sam Purcell learn Japanese to better communicate with her. I wonder if she's ever seen a Seinfeld episode and what she things of Kramer if she has?  How will she adjust to American food and dining habits? What will she choose as a major and will she go watch softball and lacrosse when she has free time? 

Many tend to look at players purely from a stat level and competitive nature. Let's turn that around. How would you like your life to be summarized in that fashion? 

"Let's see...Harold woke up and went to the bathroom with a smooth, full-out stride and finished well near the sink. His crossover toothbrush move was impressive and he communicates well with toothpaste in his mouth. Possesses great coffee-making skills and excels at getting the exact and right amount of creamer and sugar in his cup. Needs to work on turning off lights when he leaves a room and finishing the bowl of cereal he started. Son of a butcher and candle-stick maker. Has three brothers...Moe, Larry and Curly. Plans on hitting his boss up for the open Underwater Bicycling supervisor position at work. Doesn't like beets in a salad. His Uncle once crossed the street in the pouring rain and without an umbrella. Voted for Trump and thinks puppies are cute"

We get to know things about student-athletes as they progress toward their degrees. Sometimes, the knowledge is sad. Sometimes enlightening. Sometimes revealing and sometimes surprising. Let's remember this: They are student-athletes. I hope they enjoy their college experience like I enjoyed mine. (OK, maybe not in the way I did...) 

Recruiting is a game. A game of chess. Of Clue. Of Blackjack and Monopoly. Some play the game, some prefer to watch. It's jockeying for high schoolers who you want to consider an education at your school and participate in an activity in your athletic department. An activity that also serves as entertainment for the community. Ultimately, coaches are judged on how well they recruit and how well their squads do. Coaches lose jobs, change jobs.  People want winners. Look at all the current Petrino debate out there. One thing we have to remember, most of all, though:  

It isn't life-and-death. It's a game. 


NOVEMBER IS DONATION MONTH AT CARDINAL COUPLE

In a couple of days...we will start our annual donation drive. November is our designated donation month. CARDINAL COUPLE is a non-profit organization. We have expenses. 

We come to you, hat-in-hand, and ask if you'll be kind enough to donate. No amount is too small or too large. We appreciate what you decide to do. We'll get into the details of the different ways to do so and why we ask for your help in a few days, but checks are always appreciated. 

Send to: 

CARDINAL COUPLE
P.O. Box 91521
Louisville, KY   40291

Thank you! 


paulie
xxxxx  

Mixed Results Sunday for UofL women's sports -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

A Sunday that had both wins and losses for the three major UofL women's sports transpired yesterday. Earlier the better might be the key observation here, as Field Hockey started the action and took a 3-1 win in their visit to Kent State. Women's Soccer took the field in Charlottesville, VA. to play first-round ACC Tournament action and fell to the Cavaliers 2-1. Finally, Volleyball brought in Syracuse to Cardinal Arena and suffered a heart-breaking loss in five sets to the Orange and former UofL coach Leonid Yelin. Here's the recaps, we'll start with the win: 

FIELD HOCKEY

The Cards traveled to Kent State to match up with the Golden Flashes on their Senior Day and in the final regular season game for both squads. Dry but cool conditions present as the schools battled scoreless for 18 minutes before the Golden Flashes got on the board. Our old friend penalty corner came into play and Kent took a rebound off a missed attempt and scooted the ball past Ayeshia McFerran for the early lead. 

The Cards were having problems getting any continuity against KSU's defense in 
the first 35 minutes. The strong Cardinal defense was also having difficulty in preventing Kent State from keeping possession but Louisville earned a penalty corner with 90 seconds left in the first half.  Alli Bitting's feed was set by Katie Walsh and Bethany Russ took the shot that rocketed into the net for the equalizer. The squads went into the locker room at the half knotted up in a 1-1 tie. 

Louisville picked up the pace offensively in the final 35 minutes.  Another corner chance nine minutes into action found the same three that got Louisville's first goal involved and Russ once again found success with the shot to give the UofL squad the lead 2-1. 

The Cards were able to maintain possession most of the final half and that paid off one more time when Madison Walsh (no relation to Katie) sent a feed to freshman Erica Cooper and she sent the attempt past KSU goalie Mary Crumlish for the final score of the day with a little over four minutes remaining in the match. 

Kent State goes into MAC Tournament play next with a 7-11 record. The #11 Cards head into ACC Tournament play next to put their 13-5 record on the line, as a #3 seed, against #6 seed and #19 in the nation Wake Forest. The ACC playoffs take place in Chapel Hill, NC on the UNC pitch and Louisville plays their match against Wake on Thursday at 4 p.m.


WOMEN'S SOCCER

First round ACC Women's Soccer Tournament action began yesterday and the Cards traveled by bus(es) to Charlottesville as a #6 seed to take on #3 Virginia. The schools met earlier in conference play with the Cavs getting a 1-0 win. 

Louisville (12-7) was the first to score yesterday and wasted little time getting on the board. Hello, once again, to our pal corner opportunity. The Cards got the ball into the box when Emina Ekic received the corner kick, sent a shot skyward into the box and Sarah Hernandez sent a header net-ward that found success.   

That, unfortunately, would be the Cards lone highlight of the match. Virginia used a aggressive and attacking defense to limit Cardinal drives and possessions and their offense patiently worked against the Cards defense to set up several scoring chances. UVA managed to tie up the score at the 14 minute mark. Louisville goalie Gabby Kouzelos found herself faced with a 2 on 1 Virginia drive in the box and went one way when the scorer and ball went the other direction and led to a tying goal. No further scoring took place in the first 45 minutes. UVA held a 5-2 shots advantage and 5-1 corner opportunity in the first half. 

The second half saw the # 11 Cavs continue the offensive control of the match. That came to fruition with 17 minutes left in the contest. A lead into the box found a flying Meghan McCool, who tapped the ball into the corner of the goal for the tie-breaker. It was McCool who had scored the only goal in the Cards loss to Virginia earlier in the schedule and she, once again, provided the decider. 

The Cards tried a couple of shots as time expired but none found the net. Emina Ekic was awarded a free kick with seven minutes remaining but sent it wide. Louisville was out-shot 12-4 in the match and UVA had a 7-2 corner edge. 

The Cavaliers advance to Cary, NC for the semifinals, where they'll face Fla. State. The other side of the bracket has Clemson going against #1 seed UNC. 

UofL now waits for the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament selections on Nov. 5th. to see if their season continues. The Cards have a #32 RPI in the latest rankings, and were receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll -- which are two good things and should be able to get Karen Ferguson Dayes team into the tournament and maybe even a chance to host a first round game in the Field of 64.  

A great season, so far, for a very young Louisville women's soccer squad. We certainly hope the Cards get a chance to extend it with an NCAA bid and possible home match. 


VOLLEYBALL

A nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat thriller yesterday between Louisville Volleyball and Syracuse that ultimately came down to a fifth-set 14-13 Clemson lead and the Cards with the serve. High-risk, high reward server Wilma Rivera bringing the rocket serve she possesses to the net, but not quite over the net and the 'Cuse survives the epic battle 15-13 to take game, set and match....21-25, 25-18, 17-25, 25-18, 15-13. 

A fifth set that embodied the match.  Cards getting an early lead, Syracuse coming back to tie it at 5-5, tying it at 11-11 and then taking a late lead that held. A season high in kills for Melanie McHenry with 22. A match that saw the expected Syracuse front line blocking having success but also featuring another nice effort from Jasmine Bennett, off the bench and recently back from an abdominal strain with 16 kills. Cardinals Megan Sloane and Piper Roe only participating in one of the five sets, a coaching strategy, perhaps by Dani Busboom Kelly.

Such a heroic effort by Louisville, who suffers only their second conference loss of the season and their first loss in Cardinal Arena since facing UK in September. 16 service errors for the Cards, a scenario that our Volleyball expert Jeff McAdams has touched upon throughout the season. Both he and fellow "A-Teamer" Jared Anderson were on hand for the action and will hopefully add their thoughts and observations on the match in our comment section. I watched from my laptop, busily shuffling back and forth from WSOC to Field Hockey to Volleyball. Sore index fingers this morning for this guy. 

My observations are, first off, any one in attendance certainly got their money's worth and more Sunday afternoon in Cardinal Arena. No pep band yesterday, Al Greener taking his contingent to the men's exhibition basketball game against Bellarmine  in the KFC YUM! Center. The Cards were either hot or cold in their hitting...averaging .471 in the first set win, .423 in the third set win, but just .152 in the second set loss, .067 in the fourth set loss and .179 in the deciding fifth game. It's interesting to note that Louisville actually has a higher hitting percentage in the the fifth set (Syracuse's number was .158). 

We feature Jared's pictures from Volleyball today. Louisville (10-2 in ACC play) returns to the court Friday, Nov. 2nd to host Miami at 7 p.m.


OTHER ACTION

We'll mention that the Chris Mack era got off to a good start with a 71-60 win over cross-town foe Bellarmine in exhibition action. This one featured ice-cold shooting at the start and the Cards managed just 6-25 three-point shooting for the afternoon, but grabbed a 26-18 half-time lead off a 10-2 closing run and held on against the highly ranked and regarded Division II Knights. 

I'll take any wins Louisville gets this season, as the Cards have their toughest schedule in history ahead of them and have just 10 scholarship players who are experiencing the Chris Mack style of hoops for the first time. 

A team that needs to work on three-point shooting but plenty of pre-season left to do that. Stephen Enoch shows possible potential inside (and out) for the Cards. The big guy nailed a couple of threes to the delight of the 14,000 or so on hand for the contest. 

Louisville Football? Another discouraging loss, at home, to a Wake Forest squad who came in win-less, like Louisville, in ACC play, but managed to put 21 first quarter points on the beleaguered, baffled Cards. There is an obvious lack of motivation, effort and performance present on the sidelines and field for Louisville and so many questions about the Cards effort that I have no answers for or clues about. Clemson next, and that one, sports fans, could be real ugly down in South Carolina. 


LOUISVILLE WBB TIPOFF LUNCHEON

I've haven't written since Thursday and have had no chance to review the banquet to kick off Louisville women's basketball season until today. I did put Walz's pre-luncheon press remarks over on The Right Hand Of The Site....if you'd like to hear them, and here's a link as well:   JEFF WALZ PRE TIPOFF LUNCHEON REMARKS

Held at the Louisville Downtown Marriott, the luncheon was another wall-to-wall, table packed affair. A nice pre-banquet presser from Jeff Walz, our greeting and conversation with  many friends and fans before Sonya and I made our way to one of the media tables. We sat with our buddies Howie Lindsey, Daryl Foust and Paige Sherrard and were joined by Courier-Journal's men's basketball columnist/reporter Danielle Lerner. 




In typical fashion and what's become a tradition, I ate dessert right after the salad and then enjoyed a passable meal of a cornish hen quarter, rice and black beans and a pineapple slice with rolls and veggies. Howie and I confirmed his plans to have me back on his daily morning show Louisville First on Tuesdays, beginning October 30th., where we'll talk UofL WBB in the final hour (around 9:20 or 9:40 a.m.) WKRD 790AM in Louisville or at
this link: https://www.iheart.com/live/cards-radio-790-krd-4836/ 

Sean Moth...with another top notch emcee performance and Vince Tyra had remarks as well from the podium. The Canon representative referred to "the Lady Cards"...which got a collective groan from our table, and Sean engaged seniors Asia Durr and Arica Carter inn a spontaneous Q&A with Sean before Coach Walz took the podium.

It may be the only time Walz "out-fashions" assistant Sam Purcell all season. Coach discussed each player on the roster and, in predictable Walz fashion. delivered a good-natured wise crack remark about each. 

Great fun and close to two hours of Cardinal WBB fans socializing and getting the scoop about the team they love. Due to Sonya's having to be at work, we unfortunately had to leave immediately after the banquet and did not get a chance to mingle post-banquet with the players, coaches and fans or get any post-luncheon interviews, like I usually do.  

Plenty of time for that in the upcoming season. "Worldwide" Jeff McAdams was present as well and revealed to us that his table was actually a chair short at the beginning. I think he was just checking to see if we had any extra desserts left. 

Maybe they were trying to tell you something, Jeff...



paulie
xxxxx



                                                          #######

Full Sunday on Tap - SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Full Sunday Schedule

The normal trio of women's fall sports are all in action today as we are approaching, or are already started into, post-season play.

Soccer

The women get the post-season underway first.  They are playing Virginia in Charlottesville in the quarterfinals (also first round) of the ACC tournament.  This is the first appearance in the ACC tournament for the Cards.  Of course, UofL has only been in the ACC for a handful of years, now, but it speaks to the quality of this year's team to even make an appearance in the conference tournament of one of the best women's soccer conferences in the country.

It also speaks to the quality of the conference that the last regular season game of decided for the Cards between a 3rd seed in the tournament, or the 6th seed that we ended up with.  Yes, the conference standings were that bunched up near the top.  Virginia ended up with that 3rd seed, and the two will tangle today at 1 p.m..

If the Cards advance, they'll move to Cary, NC where the rest of the tournament will be played.  The potential opponents for that one are Florida State and Duke.

UVA did claim the regular season victory over the Cardinals this season, in a 1-0 Thursday night matchup on October 4th.  The Cards did have several good shots during the game but were unable to keep them on-frame and slip by the UVA GK.

Field Hockey

Justine Sowry's squad wraps up their regular season today with a non-conference matchup at Kent State.  This one is a noon start.  There is a streaming URL listed for this one:

https://boxcast.tv/view/kent-state-field-hockey-vs-louisville-102818-420314

It does not appear to require any subscription.

Kent State is a decent mid-major team.  They 7-10 overall, 5-1 in the MAC, but don't let that record fool you, 6 of those 7 loses were to teams that were top 25 ranked.

This one faces off at noon.

Despite the overall regular season being concluded, the regular season conference play has all been completed, so the ACC tournament seedings are already known.  Louisville will be going into the tournament as a 3 seed, playing 6 seed Wake Forest.  Wake Forest took the regular season tilt 4-2.  Potential 2nd round opponents are Syracuse and Duke.  Both of these matches gave us plenty of drama, including some bonus field hockey.  The match against Syracuse was a victory for the Cards, the game winning coming with 23 seconds left on the clock in 2nd sudden-victory overtime period.  The match against Duke was a barn-burner, completing both 7v7 overtime periods, and going into an extended shoot-out to decide.

Volleyball

Unlike field hockey and soccer, volleyball still has several weeks of regular season play.  Part of this is because the ACC doesn't have a post-season tournament, so there's an extra week of regular season play.

Today, the wide netters will be facing the Syracuse Orange.  Former Cardinals head coach Leonid Yelin is at the helm of Syracuse these days, so he will be visiting a familiar location in Cardinal Arena for the 1 p.m. start.  This will be on ACC Network Extra.

Syracuse sits at 8-3 in conference, which puts them in roughly the top quarter of the conference.  Overall they're 12-7.  Notable loses are to BYU, Southern Cal, Marquette, and Pitt, all ranked teams (BYU is still undefeated and sits as the #1 team in the country).  They also lost in a sweep to Notre Dame Friday, so they're coming in to Cardinal Arena off a loss, which is never ideal.

Syracuse, courtesy of Yelin, is a very "at the net" sort of team.  Expect their emphasis of play to be at the net with blocking and hitting.  There is a single player listed on their roster as a DS, everyone else is listed as a hitter (middle, rightside, outside), or setter.  Also, as typical for Yelin, there's a strong international aspect to this team, with players from the Ukraine, Israel, Greece, Yelin's native Uzbekistan, Canada, and Russia.

I imagine UofL's goal in this match will be to be strong in defense (both blocking and digging), stay in system, and get good swings on the ball, with the intent of putting Syracuse out of system so they can't bring their offense to bear.

-- 

JMcA

Volleyball Back on Track; A New ACC Champion Approaches; WBB Luncheon -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

It's been awhile! After a couple of weeks off for wedding festivities, I'm back in the Cardinal Couple saddle and ready to bring the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics to these pages. Unfortunately, my reintroduction to the studio will have to wait a week as the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour this week has been cancelled due to scheduling conflicts, but I'll be back on Mellwood soon enough. The bachelor party and wedding week were tons of fun, and now it's on to the real adult things like house hunting. Thanks to everyone for the well-wishes! Now, let's get into the real reason we're here!

Volleyball Takes Down Boston College 3-1

In a bit of a hangover from the loss against Pitt last week, Louisville's win over Boston College in Cardinal Arena last night was a very sloppy one. Louisville erred 6 times in the first game and finished the match with 22, yet still managed to hit a reasonable .284 in the match. The Cards dropped that first game 18-25, and it looked like there may be trouble afoot against the Eagles. BC came into the match at 13-9 (3-7), so a loss would have been quite the surprise. Fortunately, Louisville found their footing and swept the next three games to take the match pretty handily at 3-1.

Despite the talent gap, Louisville did not truly dominate BC in the match. The Eagles blocked well, tallying seven, and the Cards' largest win was 25-17 in game 3. BC was close at 25-20 and 25-23 in the remaining two games. If it was a matter of loss hangover, hopefully the Cards have put that behind them with this win and can carry a bit more confidence into their next game against Syracuse. If it was more than that, Louisville may be in some trouble. 

Statistically, Louisville didn't play a terrible match. Every hitter with at least ten attempts hit at least .214 despite the 22 errors. The Cards did have more service errors than service aces (5-4), but it wasn't like a couple of games ago when they couldn't serve the ball without giving up a point. The Cards chipped in 14 block assists to go with their one solo block for a total of 8. Jasmine Bennett and Marijke Van Dyke jumped off of the page the most to me with 8 kills (.571) and 10 kills (.444) respectively. Amanda Green led the team with 16 kills but chipped in 6 of the 22 errors which tarnishes it a bit. Melanie McHenry played her typical game (which is crazy to say that this is typical), adding in 13 kills. McHenry was also honored for recording 1000 kills in her career. She is only a junior.

The Cards will look to put this win behind them, but may need to take a lesson two from it as their next match is against the Orange of Syracuse tomorrow at 1PM in Cardinal Arena. The Orange are 12-7 (8-3) on the season but are coming off of a tough 3-0 loss to a struggling Notre Dame team. In that loss, Syracuse tallied 15 blocks. If blocks were part of Louisville's struggles against Boston College, that issue is not going to be relieved against Syracuse. Here's hoping that Coach Dani Busboom Kelly can prepare the team effectively for high pressure at the net, and that the Cards can have an accurate swinging game to find their way around the blocks while staying in bounds.

Dorcas Wasike Becomes ACC Champion

While the Louisville women's cross country team struggled on the whole in the ACC Championship race yesterday (placing 14th out of 15 overall), there was one bright spot for the Cards in the event. And it was very bright. Dorcas Wasike claimed the women's championship trophy with a first place finish, coasting to the finish line after six kilometers a full 8 seconds ahead of second place. It was redemption for Wasike, who last year finished the race in second place. This victory was something she eyed all season, and she was determined to hold off those that she called very good runners in the final stretch. Wasike should qualify for the Southeast Regional meet with this victory, which will take place at Winthrop on November 9th. As Louisville will not be advancing to the NCAA championships as a team, Wasike can still make the NCAA championships as an individual. She'll have to finish in the top 25 of the regional meet and be one of the top 4 runners that has not already qualified with their team. Barring this method, she could still be selected as one of the two at large runners, but it would be best to get in the easy way. Best of luck to Dorcas as she continues her pursuit of a national championship to add to her trophy case.

Women's Basketball Tip-Off Luncheon

This was supposed to be the time when Paulie wrapped up the article with his takeaways from yesterday's tip-off luncheon. Unfortunately, I woke up a bit later than expected, pushing my timing for finishing the article back, and Paulie was unable to add in his thoughts before having to leave to tailgate for today's football game. See? Noon games aren't just frustrating because they're early. They have actual consequences. Anyway, I'm not even going to pretend that I have insight as to what went on yesterday other than what I saw on Twitter. Paulie, on the other hand, has plenty to say. You'll have to wait until Monday's article to hear about it, but with women's soccer and volleyball tomorrow, Monday is sure to be a column that you don't want to miss!!

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Additional pictures from last night's volleyball match below. As always, be sure to check out Jared's site for great photos of UofL athletic events.

WSOC Cards Fall in Final Game -- Weekend Scheduling -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WSOC Cards Fall in Home in Final Regular Season Game

Losing is never easy.  Last night's loss wasn't any easier than any other loss.  Louisville women's soccer fell at home to Virginia Tech in the regular season finale, 1-0.

Virginia Tech used a late first half goal off a corner kick to score the only goal of the match.  Jordan Hemmen found space off the set piece by Emily Gray to knock the shot in and put the Hokies on top.

The Hokies controlled the pace of the game for the full 90 minutes.  They used a speedy attack that swarmed to the ball to force the Cards into turnovers galore.  Louisville's offense relies on the sidelines to help move the ball up the field before passing into or near the box for a shot.  The Hokies hovered near the sidelines to disrupt the Cards.

Louisville outshot Virginia Tech 8-3 although it seems those numbers are flipped after witnessing the game unfold.  Virginia Tech's keeper recorded saves on all three of Louisville's shots on goal, with one of them nearly touching the line as the goalkeeper backpedaled near the goal line.  Virginia Tech's lone shot on goal went in, leaving Gabby Kouzelos with a goose egg in the saves column.

Emina Ekic had one of Louisville's better chances at scoring on a free kick a few yards outside of the box.  Her shot sailed mere inches to the outside of the right post.  Taylor Kerwin also had a shot dead center on the goal but a backpedaling goalkeeper kept the ball out of the goal by little more than a hair.

Louisville looked to have an opportunity for the equalizer on what was an obvious handball in the box.  A no-call by the official brought fans to their feet in an uproar.  However, you can't put the blame of a loss on the officials when Louisville was just outplayed.

Louisville falls to 12-5-0 overall and finishes with a conference mark of 6-4-0.  The Cards finish tied for fifth with Clemson.  A win, however, would've put Louisville in the top four and in position to host the first round. The Cards will be seeded #6 in the ACC Tournament because of the points differential scored during the regular season. Clemson's was higher, the Tigers get the #5 seed.

Virginia Tech played their way into the ACC Tournament with the win over UofL.

The Cards will begin play against #3 Virginia on Sunday in Charlottesville at 1 p.m.  Viewing options to be announced later, although we assume it will be ACC Network Extra. Our post-game with Karen Ferguson Dayes is below:






LINK:  KAREN FERGUSON DAYES AFTER 1-0 LOSS TO VIRGINIA TECH 10/25/18



FINAL  REGULAR SEASON CONFERENCE STANDINGS

1) North Carolina
2) Duke
3) Virginia
4) Boston College
5 Clemson
6) LOUISVILLE
7) Florida State
8) Virginia Tech

(WSOC photos courtesy of River City Cards. Check out their fine work at:

(www.rivercitycards.com)








Weekend Scheduling

Friday, October 26

WBB Basketball Tip-Off Luncheon. Noon today, At Downtown Marriott. It is a sold out event

Women's Golf begins the first day of the Alexa Stirling Women's Intercollegiate in Johns Creek, Ga.  They've had a great start to the season and are on pace to land back in the NCAA Championships in the spring.

Cross Country will begin the ACC Championships in Boston starting at 10:00 a.m.  Maybe they'll catch a World Series game while there.

Men's Soccer will conclude their regular season at No. 1 Wake Forest at 7:00 p.m.  The Cards dropped to 17th after a home loss to an unranked Lipscomb last week.  Louisville needs a win to be set to host through the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament.

Volleyball hosts Boston College at 7:00 p.m. The Eagles are in the bottom of the ACC standings.  Louisville is hoping to bounce back after a loss at Pittsburgh last weekend.

Saturday, October 27

Women's Golf continues the Alexa Stirling Women's Intercollegiate in the second day of the event.

Football hosts Wake Forest at noon for their homecoming game.  ESPN has the Cards favored but the approximate 20,000 fans that will be in attendance will probably think otherwise.

Sunday, October 28

Women's Golf wraps up their three-day event in Georgia.

Men's Golf competes in a one-day event in Kauai, Hawaii in the Princeville Makai Invitational.  Anybody up for a mini vacation?

Field Hockey concludes their regular season at Kent State at noon.  Louisville needs to get a victory stay in good shape for an NCAA Tournament bid.

Volleyball hosts Syracuse at 1:00.  The Orange are 8-2 in the ACC and tied for third.  This will be a tough match-up and a must-win.

Men's Basketball hosts Bellarmine at the KFC Yum! Center in a scrimmage at 2:00.  This will be the first time fans can see Chris Mack's squad in action.

Women's Soccer will travel to Charlottesville to face the Wahoos in the first round of the ACC Tournament. As mentioned earlier in the article they'll Virginia  sometime around 1:00 p.m.


WBB TIPOFF LUNCHEON TODAY

Bruce and Bill from last year's tipoff luncheon. GO CARDS! 

The University of Louisville WBB tip-off takes place today at noon in the Downtown Louisville Marriott main ballroom. This annual event features the coaches, players interacting with the fans as they get a preview of the 2018-18 women's basketball season.

These events are always fun and gives Sonya and I a chance to mingle with friends and die-hard Cardinal WBB fans. Coach Walz always gives a great preview and the public address duties are always handled with skill and finesse by the inimitable Sean Moth. A good media turnout always accompanies the event, as well.

Good times today downtown. The event is sold out, just in case you were thinking of dropping by for a quick salad.

HEAR JEFF WALZ ADDRESS THE MEDIA BEFORE THE LUNCHEON BELOW: 

JEFF WALZ -- PRE-WBB TIPOFF LUNCHEON 10/26/18 




NO-SHOW SATURDAY


There will be no Cardinal Couple Radio Hour tomorrow on WCHQ 100.9 FM or Facebook Live.  Paulie will be at the football game, Case is unavailable following his recent marriage, and I will be working and footballing.

We decided not to leave Worldwide alone in the studio since our regular stand-ins Mike Gilpatrick and Daryl Foust will also be at Cardinal Stadium.  The daily activities of the Cardinal Couple website will remain the same.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Louisville women's soccer holds their fate in their own hands -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WSOC FACES VIRGINIA TECH TONIGHT AT 7 P.M. IN LYNN

Will the Louisville women's soccer squad open the ACC Tournament at home or on the road? That the question before the Cards (12-4, 6-3) tonight as they welcome Virginia Tech into Lynn Stadium at 7 p.m. in the final regular season match of the year. 

The Cards are in the ACC Tournament, the question is where will they be seeded? Eight teams make the tournament. The Cards could go into the three game tournament as high as the #3 seed. Or they could drop to the sixth seed depending on how they fare against the 8-6-3, 4-5-0 Hokies. Ah, the point system...which awards a squad three points for a win and one point for a tie. A multitude of possibilities for the 14 teams that play ACC women's soccer. (Ga.Tech does not field a squad). 

A win over Virginia Tech (who has 12 points) gives the Cards three points and keeps them in at least a tie for third place with Virginia at 21 points. If the Cavs defeat N.C. State tonight in Charlottesville, they would clinch third place, the Cards would drop to fourth via the tie-breaker (Virginia defeated Louisville earlier in the season) but still open at home in the "round of eight" against the #5 seeded squad. Karen Ferguson Dayes' squad could face either Boston College, FSU or Clemson...depending on how those teams fare tonight. 

A tie or loss tonight isn't what Louisville wants to achieve.

A tie gathers (1) point, as mentioned earlier and would give either Boston College or FSU a chance to tie the Cards with 19 points should they win. Both have 16 points currently. The B.C Eagles face Pitt in Boston, who is tied for last in the ACC with zero points. FSU goes to Miami to face the 'Canes...who have seven points. 

A Louisville loss would be a blow and could plummet the Cards to a tie for sixth with Clemson, who needs a win tonight against win-less Syracuse to move up. Since Clemson and Louisville did not play in the regular schedule, a tie-breaker comes into play. BC and FSU would vault past the Cards if they are able to win and the Cards lose.  

Confused yet? 

Don't worry, all should be clear by 10 p.m. or so tonight and the eight will be determined. With four teams battling for that eighth spot (VT, Wake Forest, Notre Dame and N.C. State) and the right to play #1 UNC on Oct 28th...a lot of people will be checking the conference scoreboard as the night progresses. 

Worldwide probably couldn't develop a I.T. solution for this scenario, Case would have a hard time constructing a blueprint for all the possibilities and Jared...well, that's a lot of change in the offing that he'd have to count, sort and cipher. I just smile and nod. It's what I do best. 

Oct. 28th. (Sunday) will be the next time Louisville plays after tonight, regardless of how they do tonight and they'll be appearing in the Great Eight.  Then, first round winners advance to Cary, NC for the semifinals on Nov. 2nd (Friday) and potentially the finals on Nov. 4th. (next Sunday). 

Based on the regular season stats and performances, it looks like the road to the title will go through UNC. 9-0 in conference play, and 14-2-1. The Tar Heels defeated the Cards 5-1 earlier in the season in Chapel Hill. 

NCAA bid implications? That's a whole different scenario and we'll look at that after tonight's slate is complete.  

Right now, the best thing the Cards can hope for is a win tonight and a Virginia loss.

Come out to scenic Lynn Stadium, with the spectacular view of the tractor-trailer lot and I-65, for exciting WSOC action! We'll have trains, planes, automobiles and wild-eyed groundskeepers driving golf carts! Mike the Clemson Tiger would feel right at home. You don't want to miss it, but if you have to, ACC Network Extra will be providing coverage.

It will be a wee bit chilly by game time and there is a chance of rain, but when did we ever let that stop a good party and chance to see this hard-fighting, defensive-minded WSOC team take the pitch and go to battle? And, no sun in Gabby-the-goalie's eyes. 

Plus, they're giving away free UofL winter scarves to the first 300 through the gates! That, alone, should inspire you to get out and be social...Jared will bring the news tomorrow. Wearing a scarf, maybe. 


ACC STANDINGS

TEAM                              POINTS        ACC RECORD

1) North Carolina           27 points        9-0
2) Duke                          22 points        7-1-1
t3) Virginia                    18 points         6-3
t3) Louisville                 18 points         6-3
t4) Boston College         16 points         5-3-1
t4) Florida State            16 points         5-3-1
5) Clemson                    15 points         5-4
t6) Virginia Tech            12 points         4-5
t6) Notre Dame              12 points         4-5
t6) Wake Forest             12 points         4-5
7)  NC State                   11 points         3-4-2
8)  Miami                        7  points         2-6-1
t9) Pitt                           0 points           0-9
t9) Syracuse                   0 points           0-9  



TONIGHT'S SCHEDULE


Virginia Tech at Louisville
UNC at Wake Forest 
Duke at Notre Dame
NC State at Virginia
Pitt at Boston College
FSU at Miami
Clemson at Syracuse 



VERY SCARY

Gregory Alan Bush is the guy who killed two people at Kroger yesterday in J-Town.

He also followed me on Twitter and followed Cardinal Couple.

A self-professed UK sports fan, Bush and I never had any interchanges at the Cardinal Couple website. I did some tracing of anonymous comment and replies on the site and none came back to him.  He would, however, occasionally respond to my Tweets about the success of Louisville women's sports. Not in a positive manor. He had no love for Louisville WBB, that was pretty obvious from his comments and replies. 

Let me make it clear that I never met the guy. After seeing his picture, that became more obvious. One wouldn't forget a guy that looks like that. 

I went shopping at Kroger yesterday to get chili fixins' . Fortunately , it was not the Kroger where the shooting took place. I have gone to that one, though, before. It's close to one of my "watering holes" and I've popped in from time to time to pick up a few things on "the Sonya list". 

Our hearts, sympathies and prayers go out all to have been affected by this senseless, horrific act. 

I'm a little creeped out, I don't mind telling you.  


paulie
xxxxx




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