EMINA EKIC WITH TWO GOALS IN WSOC WIN
The Louisville women's soccer team started the 2020 season with a bang, blanking the Miami Hurricanes last night in Coral Gables 3-0. All the scoring occurred in the first 20 minutes of the contest and senior midfielder Emina Ekic was involved in all three goals -- scoring two of them and getting one assist.
The win was somewhat tampered when sophomore forward Corinne Dente fell to the turf just 2-1/2 minutes into the match, clutching her left knee. Dente was assisted off the field and did not return. No word, as of yet, on the Stamford, CT star's extent of injury...but it looked like it might be an ACL
Louisville took a 1-0 lead seven minutes into the match when Ekic found junior Delaney Snyder with a pass into the box and Snyder sent it past Miami goalkeeper Tyler Speaks for a Cardinal goal.
The Cards got another opportunity with 30 minutes left in the first half when Ekic moved into the box with the ball and fired a shot past Speaks to make it 2-0 Cards.
Louisville added a third goal at the 19-minute mark when Snyder returned the favor to Ekic by setting her up with a pass into the box and Ekic deftly maneuvered the ball past defenders and into the back of the net. 3-0 Cards.
The rest of the first half featured Louisville controlling possession and limiting the Canes to just two shots.
Louisville head coach Karen Ferguson Dayes went pretty deep into the Louisville bench in the second half, inserting eight off-the-sidelines players into the match, including five freshman. Ferguson-Dayes also started a freshman to begin the game...forward Jessica Camken, a Florida native.
The Cards outshot Miami 6-3 in the final half, four of those coming from Jessica DeFilippo. Louisville held a 12-5 advantage in shots for the match and the Cards had five shots on goal, compared to Miami's one.
Louisville goalkeep Gabby Kouzelos had a relatively quiet night at the net, but the senior recorded the 24th shutout of her career. She recorded one save, in the second half with about 11 minutes to play.
Karen Ferguson-Dayes post-game remarks:
"It's always great to open the season with a win in this league. We put together some good moments but there are also plenty of areas that we need to improve on. Every day we will continue to work on getting better."
Louisville travels to Tallahassee next, to face Florida State in a Sunday, 1 p.m. match. The 'Noles hosted Notre Dame last night, but Irish eyes weren't smiling...ND taking a 5-0 loss to FSU.
All in all, despite the Dente injury, a very exciting game to watch and impressive showing for the Cards in their 2020 opener. Louisville got very fluid play from their midfielders and Ekic showed why she is an All-ACC selection and potential candidate for All-American.
Have a fortunate Friday
paulie xxxxx
An impressive win by Cards WSOC when you consider Miami had already played a game before Louisville. The Canes don't look very good. This week's award for Awful Announcing goes to the guy who was calling this one on the ACCNX. Twice, he had the Canes playing Virginia, he stumbled over half the Louisville players' names and probably doesn't watch much soccer. The girl, who I assumed was a former Canes player, was the saving grace of the commentary.
ReplyDeleteI hope Dente is OK. That looked awfully painful.
I surprised myself by watching most of it, the NFL game was a bunch of has-been and I have lost interest in the WNBA until Sunday, when Angel's Aces play.
Nick O.
Nice way to start the season. When Coach spoke of Emina and Delaney forming a bond in your interview with her Paulie, she sure wasn't kidding.
ReplyDeleteCurtis "Be Kind" Franklin
Cards came out aggressive early and looked solid. The second half was mostly subs so fresh legs could play and to prevent other injuries so I didn’t expect much there. It’s always good to start with a win!
ReplyDelete