LAX FACES PITT in ACC TOURNAMENT OPENER -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS AND PANTHERS KICK OFF ACC W.LAX TOURNAMENT

And, so, it's come down to Tournament time for Louisville Lacrosse.  The second season. The win or go home scenario. 

The Cards will face Pittsburgh at 2 p.m. at Notre Dame. It's viewable on the ACC Network. It's the #8 seed vs. #9 seed play-in-game. The winner gets UNC (#1 seed) on Friday at noon. The Cards (the #9 seed) go into the contest at 7-10 overall and 1-7 in conference play. The Panthers finished with a 8-9 record and 1-7 in the league. 

A history between the two? Well, no, not much of one.  It's Pitt's first year of competition, The Panthers did defeat Louisville during conference play.. The match, held in Pittsburgh in their Highmark Stadium went to the Panthers 17-10. 

A nice stadium, no doubt, that holds about 5,000 and is about two miles south of Heinz Stadium. On the south bank of the Monongahela River. Louisville had a rough second half in that previous meeting, scoring only four times, and losing despite three goals from Hannah Morris. 

So, what say you, Scott Teeter, about the matchup?

"We've got to battle. It's a short turnaround for us and a bit of a revenge tour. I think it's going to be a good battle between two good teams. We were unhappy with our consistency the first time we played them, so we just need to bring it for 60 minutes and give it everything we've got."

The Cards probably need to go on a four-game win streak in the ACC Tournament to make the ACC Tournament, although...if they can get by Pitt, UNC and either Duke or Notre Dame -- I'd think they might deserve at least a look for NCAA tournament consideration. The Cards were able to put a four-game win streak together early in the schedule against Marquette, Central Michigan, Virginia Tech and Butler -- but all four of those were in the friendly confines of the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium. 

The Cards will look for big scoring efforts from Morris, All-ACC Second Team selection Caroline Blalock, Nicole Perroni and a strong net presence from our goalkeepers J.Pleck and Sara Addeche

Let's hope our Cards can start a new win streak today. At this time of the year, you worry about one game at a game, because ii's either a win or your season is over. We'll worry about UNC once we're safely past Pitt. 

Here's UofL's "hype" video for the tournament: 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1519111584823627776

WHO AM I?

Jared had a little fun with the Cardinal Couple crew Tuesday when he texted us a picture from a photo-shoot and asked if we could identify the people in the photo. Our Jeff McAdams eventually made the correct selections. I was nowhere close with my guess.. Let's see how you do, leave your guess in the comments section if you want and Jared will have the answer for you tomorrow in his column. 

Jared will personally drive the first correct entry to a place that serves breakfast and spring for a cup of coffee and a three-hour review of the photos he's taken in 2022. The catch is, he'll use your car and you're responsible for any tip...and the facility must offer a "bottomless" cup of coffee...

Have a wonderful Wednesday! 

paulie