Cardinals beat Cardinals -- Aijha down to three -- WSOC Tonight! --THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

LOUISVILLE FH DOWNS BALL STATE 5-1 

It was a battle of the birds Wednesday afternoon in Muncie, IN and the flock south of the Ohio River were triumphant...posting a 5-1 win over their northern feathered friends in Field Hockey action. 

"When we are disciplined and focused, we can play some really nice Field Hockey." Justine Sowry commented after #9 Louisville's ninth win of the season. "The positive today is that we created an increase in scoring opportunities and we put their defense under a lot of pressure. We look forward to carrying this over to our game this weekend".

The Cards wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard. Getting a penalty corner opportunity, Louisville set up Mercedes "Meche" Pastor for the shot and the Buenos Aires sophomore drove it into the net for a 1-0 Louisville lead just six minutes into the match. Another penalty corner halfway through the first half gave senior Taylor Stone the shot and she made good on it to give the UofL squad a 2-0 lead that they would take into the halftime break.

The Cards ramped up the shooting in the final 35 minutes against the 1-9 Ball State squad with 17 shots and eight penalty corner opportunities. Bethany Russ connected 11 minutes into the second half on an unassisted shot. That score tied her (temporarily) with freshman Erica Cooper for team lead in goals scored. Louisville was giving Ball State few opportunities to advance the ball into scoring territory and, with 13 minutes remaining, Stone notched her second goal of the contest off a penalty corner. 

4-0 Cards. The Cards were giving Justine Sowry an afternoon birthday gift. 

Cardinal goalie Ayeshia McFerran could hear crickets chirping down at her end of the field due to the lack of activity. 

B.S.U. did manage a score three minutes later when a rare Ball State foray into Louisville territory gave the northern Cardinals a shot at goal that barely scooted past McFerran. The all-world goalie for Louisville had notched shutouts in four out of the last five games and one has to wonder why she was still in the contest...with a comfortable Louisville lead and potential game experience available for back-up goalie...junior Hollyn Barr.

Erica Cooper...a Louisville gal. 

Louisville was quick on the counter attack, though, and drew another penalty corner with a little over seven minutes remaining. Cooper got her first score of the game to retake the scoring lead and provide the final 5-1 margin. Cooper, from Louisville Assumption, has been a pleasant surprise for the Stick Girls this season. She led Assumption to two straight Kentucky High School championships and was All-State both years. 

The Cards return to action on Sunday at noon with a match against another non-conference foe in Michigan State in Trager Stadium.  A rough season for Spartie Field Hockey...they are 4-9, 0-3 in the Big 10 and haven't scored in their last three games. 

The Sabbath contest is part of a very busy day on the Belknap Campus...WSOC playing at the same time in Lynn, Volleyball at 1 p.m. in Cardinal Arena and softball with a fall exhibition double-header against Morehead State that starts at 1 p.m. To the cloning chamber!! We'll figure out the Cardinal Couple coverage assignments eventually...


AIJAH DOWN TO TIGERS, JAYHAWKS AND CARDINALS


One of the most dynamic and impressive players on Jeff Walz's USA squad this summer was Missouri native Aijah Blackwell. In her recruiting process, she has now gone from 12 potential schools back in mid-June to three and Louisville is one of them. 

One of the most highly sought-after 2019 recruits, Blackwell is a 6'0" guard out of the Whitfield School...a private academy based in St. Louis, MO and has been consistanty ranked as one of the top three guards in the 2019 class. 

If you've seen her play, you know that she's a shot maker, has an explosive mid-range game, and create and set up her teammates, nail the three, clean the boards and go coast-to-coast with ease. 

Sounds like the proto-typical Jeff Walz type of guard for his system, correct? 

Daryl and Sonya say: "Come to the 'Ville, Aijha!" 

Along with Missouri (SEC) and Kansas (Big 12), the Cards are now in prime position to get her to  continue her student athlete pursuits here in the Derby City.  With some players, it's obvious to tell that they "get it" and the game comes very easy to them. Aijha is one of those players. 

The Cards have two lined up for the 2019 class so far in Nyah Green and Ramani Parker. Walz most likely is looking to add a couple more since the Cards have four seniors in Arica Carter, Asia Durr, Sam Fuehring and Yacine Diop.

The dynamic and explosive Blackwell looks to be a perfect fit for "Walz Ball".  Sources we have indicate she enjoyed her weekend visit to the UofL campus two weeks ago. 

Jump on in, Aijah...the water's fine. Show the "best fans in women's college basketball" your stuff. They're gonna love you! 

(Blackwell is expected to announce her college choice Oct. 20th.) 


WSOC TANGLES WITH WAHOO TONIGHT

A battle of 9-2 squads tonight at Lynn Stadium when the Wahoo Nation sends Virginia women's soccer to Louisville to face the Cards. 

Virginia, ranked #8 in the nation, has suffered their only two losses on the road, in ACC action, and by the same score...1-0 against Clemson and Virginia Tech. The UVA kickers cruised through a less that inspiring non-conference slate with five straight wins but have had only 2-2 conference success. 

The key for the Cards tonight concerns how well they can bounce back from a 5-1 loss on the road last out against #3 North Carolina. We spent a lot of time discussing Louisville Women's Soccer on Saturday's THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR
(you can hear and see the Facebook Live rebroadcast at https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/332609457320951/. ) and Case Hoskins seemed to think that Louisville would be fortunate to get out of the North Carolina and Virginia contests with any "points" (three for a win, one for a tie). The Cards have that opportunity tonight. 

Good golly, Miss Mollie! 

Can the defense step up and hold the Cavs to a minimum of goals? Louisville has scoring, be there no doubt about that. With Brooklyn Rivers, Maisie Whitsett, Emina Ekic, Mollie Rouse and Nadege L'Esperance all perfectly capable of finding net success...the question is...will they against a Wahoo squad that has allowed a scant seven goals in 11 contests? 

The Cards, defensively, have allowed 11 scores in 11 matches and this one looks to be a low scoring affair on paper. We'll see what actually happens tonight. Come out to "kickin' under the lights" tonight to watch this crucial match-up...if you can't attend, the ACC Network Extra will be showing the showdown. 


paulie
xxxxx