Cross Country Wins Blazer Classic
In their final regular season meet of the year, the women's cross country team put a stamp on the season with a victory in the Blazer Classic. The Cards were led by Purity Sanga, who won the 6 kilometer race by nearly 10 seconds over second place. Placing four more runners in the top 10--Bailey Beery, Ivine Chemutai, and Emma Bryant--Louisville took first place overall, nearly 30 points clear of second place Clemson. Clemson, South Carolina, Arkansas State, and Auburn finished within 11 points of each other for the top-five. Louisville will now prepare for the ACC Championship event, which is scheduled for October 30th in Cary, North Carolina.
Non-Con Schedule Finalized
As the WBB Cards started practice earlier this week, they've now released their full non-conference schedule. With the ACC set to announce the conference schedules later this week, Louisville's itinerary will soon be set.
The Cards will open the season on November 25th at Middle Tennessee before traveling to Cincinnati for a former rivalry game on the 28th. The home schedule opens the very next day as Louisville comes back down I-71 to host Eastern Kentucky on the 29th.
The Cards will get a short break before catching a plane to Storrs to continue their annual battle against the Huskies of UCONN on December 4th. Louisville's final non-conference game of the season will be a welcome to Division-I for Bellarmine, as the Knights come to the (still?) KFC Yum! Center on December 6th. Keep an eye out for the ACC schedule release later this week.
Women's Soccer Loses Striker
Following the loss to Virginia Thursday night, news surfaced yesterday of the reasoning behind a specific player not making an appearance in the game. Checking the roster shows that Jessica De Filippo is no longer listed, and we have confirmed that she has quit the team. The sophomore had appeared in three of Louisville's previous four games and scored one goal on nine shots.
That matches her goal tally from her freshman season in which she played 18 games and took 13 shots. De Filippo showed promise last season, though often unable to finish chances, but when one of the players ahead of her on the depth chart graduated and another made a full time move to defense, she likely expected her role to expand.
This season, though, Louisville made a change to a formation that doesn't make use of a hold-up striker position and De Filippo found herself still as the second or third player off the bench. As we've heard, the Canadian National Team player decided she wasn't getting the play time she felt she deserved. It feels very reminiscent, to me, of the Mollie Rouse situation from a couple of years ago.
While we haven't heard what's next for Jessica, we wish her the best in her future endeavors.
Cardinal Couple Radio Hour
Saturday is here, which means another episode of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour is on deck. We have a bit to talk about, with field hockey, volleyball, and soccer results coming in since the last show, plus a bit to preview as well. Join us as we dive into the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics.
The show is live on the Cardinal Couple YouTube Channel at 11AM, and the recording can be found on the channel following the live airing as well as in your podcast feed if you subscribe.
Until next time, Go Cards!
-CH-
De Fillipo was a Canadian star, from what I have read, and just never seemed to find her mark at Louisville. I wish her luck. Just DON'T TELL ME that anything is wrong with Gabby Kouzelos or Emina Ekic. It would spell doom for Louisville Women's Soccer.
ReplyDeleteI hate that there are only five non-conference games but, hey, it's 2020. Who knows if they'll take place at all, with the uptick in the Coronavirus?
Nick O