Fall Sports Midseason Check-In
We have hit or are close to the midway point of several of our fall sports. The good news is that the 'Big Three' fall sports we cover currently have winning records, but the road ahead does not look to get easier for any of them.
Field Hockey
Justine Sowry's squad is a bit younger than we've seen over the last couple years. She has seen several players graduate recently after they used their COVID-19 eligibility season. The offense has had no problem scoring, but defense has been an area of concern.
The Cards are 5-3 on the season and have won three straight. All three losses have come against ranked opponents with two of those teams currently being in the top 10. Louisville has outscored opponents 17-12 this season.
Louisville started 1-0 in the ACC with a convincing win over Stanford. The resume conference play this coming weekend. Six of the remaining nine opponents on the schedule are currently ranked in the top 20.
Soccer
Many folks, including myself, were surprised to see the hot start for Louisville this year, especially after averaging less than one goal per match last season, but Karen Ferguson-Dayes' squad has shown quite a bit of life on offense.
Louisville is currently 5-2-2 on the season but have lost two straight to Dayton and Pitt. The Cards are in a weird 12-day gap of no matches. However, they are back in action against Virginia Tech on Thursday as they have transitioned to the ACC slate of the schedule. They have outscored opponent 20-8 this season, but half of the Cards' goals came in the opening two matches of the season.
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Four nine remaining opponents are ranked in top 25 with another one hanging out in the receiving votes categories. Three of the remaining opponents made it to the Elite Eight last year.
Volleyball
A team that has had an absolutely brutal start to the schedule is Dani Busboom Kelly's volleyball squad. The Cards have played six ranked opponents already with four of them currently being in the top 10. They still have seven more ranked opponents remaining plus another opponent who could crack the rankings in the next couple weeks.
The Cards are 8-2 on the year with both losses coming in sweep fashion. Thankfully, both losses came to opponents ranked in the top five so it's not too terrible. Louisville has swept four opponents already this season.
We've seen two different Louisville teams show up to play this season: the one that can go in and overwhelm and dominate an opponent; and the team that forgets how to play volleyball altogether with a terrible serve-receive and attack percentage. Consistency has been a concern so far, but the amount of talent and strength of schedule should help prepare the Cards for the postseason.
They open up ACC play this coming weekend at home against newcomers California and Stanford.
Softball Fall Ball
Louisville softball began their fall slate last week with a sweep over Bellarmine in a double header. They still have six more games to go on the fall schedule, which does not count towards the 2025 results. After graduating eight players from last season, the Cards retained everyone else from last year's roster and have added seven new faces via incoming freshmen or the portal. Here are a few photos from Friday.
Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!
Jared
Volleyball really went flat on the highway with that Nebraska performance. Especially in front of all those fans. It''ll be interesting to see how they come back against the west coast additions to ACC Vollyball.
ReplyDeleteNick O