Women's Soccer Climbs Rankings -- Volleyball Weekend Photos -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Jump High in Top Drawer Soccer Poll

The continued success of the 2025 season for Louisville women's soccer has not gone unnoticed. The NCAA rpi currently puts the Cards at #21. Top Drawer Soccer seems to have been impressed by Louisville's strong push and has rewarded them with a #10 ranking. The updated coaches poll should come out today or tomorrow.

Louisville sits at 10-2 on the season and 3-1 in ACC play. The road ahead quickly becomes bumpy. Louisville visits #2 Notre Dame (United Soccer Coaches Poll) on Friday and then #18 Wake Forest in a week and a half. Road matches against ranked opponents will prove to be a tough test, but a draw or win on the road might help "wow" the tournament committee when it comes time to determine hosts. A trip to rpi-#112 Boston College follows after that before the Cards finally return home on Oct 18 to host #1 Virginia.

Volleyball Weekend Mini Photo Galleries

Louisville volleyball opened ACC about as easy as possible, with two commanding sweeps over Boston College and Syracuse. The Eagles and Orange both entered the weekend with impressive non-conference records, but those were a bit deceiving as the quality of those opponents was rather low. Louisville, being a top-six team, had no trouble earning the wins. Here are a few pictures from both matches.

Volleyball vs Boston College

Volleyball vs Syracuse

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

VolleyCARDS sweep Syracuse 3-0 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Good morning yall, 

We are closing in on the month of October which means a couple weekend getaways for me, so you'll be hearing from the guys in my absence.  Always appreciate their willingness to step in. 

I'm also looking forward to the leaves changing on campus in the coming weeks... Paulie and I mentioned on the podcast Saturday how crazy it is that the WSoc post season is upon us and NCAA watch party plans are being discussed.  

Volleyball

Louisville 3 - Syracuse 0

Louisville volleyball was in action Sunday afternoon when they hosted the Syracuse Orange.  The Cardinals dismantled the visitors from the get go, winning set 1 25-8, set 25-17, and set 3 25-20.

Cara Cresse led the scoring efforts for UofL with 12 kills on 19 attempts and contributed five blocks to the defense. Kalyssa Blackshear totaled 11 kills, three blocks and three digs on the match.  Chloe Chicoine and Payton Petersen both recorded 12 digs and Kamden Schrand contributed 10 of their own. Setter Nayelis Cabello served three of the Cards' seven aces, while Chicoine added two and Schrand served one.

Photo: Jared Anderson

Set 1: Syracuse 8, Louisville 25
A pair of 4-0 scoring runs allowed Louisville to get out to an early 10-3 and force Syracuse to use its first timeout. After trading points, another 4-0 scoring run put the Cards up by 11 at 16-5, highlighted by kills from Cresse, Chicoine and Blackshear and an ace from Cabello. The Orange burned their second timeout and UofL continued its run to 11-0, going up 23-5. Syracuse was able to add three more points, but Blackshear gave Louisville set point with a kill and Petersen sealed the set 25-8.

Set 2: Syracuse 17, Louisville 25
Chicoine and Hannah Sherman connected for a block to start the set, and the Cards pulled out to an 8-3 lead to force a Syracuse timeout. The Orange fought to get back within four at 13-9, but UofL went on a 6-0 scoring run to extend its lead to 10 at 19-9. Chicoine put Louisville at set point with a kill at 24-15. Syracuse held off the end of the set for two more points, but Cresse clinched the set 25-17.

Set 3: Syracuse 20, Louisville 25
Through the first 18 points, there were six ties before the Orange got out to an 11-9 lead and forced UofL to use its first timeout. Syracuse continued on a 7-0 run to lead 13-9, but the Cards got within one at 17-16 to force a timeout from the Orange. A kill from Cabello tied the set at 17, while two attack errors from Syracuse and a kill from Addison Makun gave Louisville a 20-17 lead as the Orange burned their second timeout. A service error from Syracuse gave UofL set point at 24-19, and the Cards won the set 25-20 after an attack error by the Orange.

UP NEXT

Louisville vs California

Friday October 3

10:00 PM

WGolf

Louisville is one of 10 women's teams competing this weekend in the split tournament with 10 men's teams as the UofL men's program is also competing this week. The 3 day tournament begins on Monday morning in Fayetteville, Arkansas.


Last season, the Cardinals placed 8th overall and they were 9th back in 2022. This week, the Cardinals will have the same 5 players they have used in both of the previous 2 fall tournaments played 9/8-9/9 and 9/19-9/21.

Bailey Burkett and Veronika Exposito lead the Cards with a 71.83 scoring average through the first two tournaments of the fall. Exposito was one of three Cardinals under par at the Sam Golden Invitational as she finished tied for 12th at 6-under-par. Burkett led the Cardinals at the Mason Rudolph Championship and finished a team-best tied for 13th overall. This is the third time in the last four seasons the Cardinals will compete in the Blessings Invitational. 

CARDINALS LINEUP

Bailey Burkett

Thienna Huynh

Veronika Exposito

Madison Moman

Millie Cottrell

As Always, 
Go Cards

~Daryl

VOLLEYCARDS HOST SYRACUSE TODAY -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 9-2 ORANGE COME TO LNFCUA TO FACE CARDS

The unranked Orange travel to Louisville for a 1 p.m. Sunday match against the Louisville Cardinals in the L&N Federal Credit Union Arena. Overall, the Cards are 29-4 over the 'Cuse and in 2024, the Cards won in straight sets over the school that is the home of Jim Brown, numerous sportscasters...Beth Mowins and Mike Tirico, just to name a couple... and where ex-Louisville Volleyball coach Leonid Yelin went after the Cards forced him into retirement. Bakeer Gaineshaatnam is the skipper at SU these days and my guess he's a easier to understand and interview than Yelin was....but hard to spell (I had to check three times and probably still didnt get it right)

The 'Cuse's losses have come to Colgate twice o back-to-back days on September 12-13. They did most recently take down Notre Dame 3-1 in South Bend. 

Gabriella McLaughlin leads the Orange in kills. 

It'll be the second ACC Conference game for the Cards, who knocked off Boston College in straight sets to open the conference slate. After the home stand, UofL will travel to the west coast to face Cal and Stanford. 

Syracuse has no Kentucky or New York player on their roster, but does have imports from Hawaii and Japan...and four volleyballers from California. 

The Cards are led by Payton Petersen's in kills with 141 and the have 552 as a team. Louisville's two losses have come to Texas and Kentucky and the #6 Cards have only gone five sets twice...against those to schools. 

This one will be available on the ACCNX if you can't get over to campus...and if you plan on seeing this one live and in person at the LNFCUA, my guess is you better be in line to get in around 11 a.m....capacity for seating is slightly below 1200 folks. 

I won't go into my usual tirade about needing a larger arena for Louisville volleyball here. But...that spot adjacent to Lynn Stadium would be a nice spot and all it does now is store cars for Ford. I guess the "building" das of Tom Jurich will never return.

We'll recap it Monday here at Cardinal Couple. 

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST

IT was just Daryl and I on the podcast Saturday, with Case and Jared busy taking care of issues with visitors and family...but we had a great discussion on the current fall sports at UofL and more! 

Give the re-broadcast a listen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdEIWi80oYU&list=PL1b1cLmDIkuqdZZ6JxJjQnvKVWnHWVOIy&index=1

We apologize for the choppy cut-in and cut-out of the re-broadcast. Gremlins and the absence of Case teamed up for the listening quality.  

paulie

Cards Split ACC Openers -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Volleyball Sweeps BC

Louisville volleyball opened their ACC slate at home against Boston College and took care of the Eagles in fairly short order. There wasn't a lot of drama in any set as the Cards won 25-12, 25-17, 25-15. Louisville hit .422 on the evening, compared to just .049 for BC, and that was despite BC winning the blocking battle. 

Outside of 8 total blocks, BC was not stellar on defense (as evidenced by Louisville's hitting percentage). Louisville's offensive leaders were incredibly efficient. Payton Petersen led the way with 13 kills and just two errors on only 21 attempts. That equates to a .524 hitting percentage from a pin hitter. Yeesh. Chloe Chicoine was also strong, going nine and one on 17 attempts for a .471. Kalyssa Blackshear rounded out the pin attackers (for the most part) with a .263 hitting percentage and seven kills. The middles were actually defended a bit better, with Cara Cresse and Hannah Sherman combining for eight kills and four errors on only 15 attempts. 

Nayelis Cabello continued to play well on the floor, as she finished with 35 assists and went three for three on offensive attempts. I say "on the floor" as she was one of many who stumbled a bit at the serving line. Louisville finished with seven aces, but they also had twelve service errors. Cabello had none of the aces and three of the errors. So it goes sometimes. Hannah Kenny led the way with three aces, but she had two errors as well, so Molly Wilson actually had the best day at the line with two aces and no errors. Kamden Schrand and Ava Utterback had the remaining two aces. 

Defensively, BC made it pretty easy. They did the thing you aren't supposed to do on offense, which is hit it basically straight to the libero every time. Schrand finished with 21 of Louisville's 40 total digs. Hannah Sherman had the best day at the net, racking up four block assists and one of Louisville's two solo blocks (Alanna Bankston had the other). Blackshear finished with three block assists and Cresse, Cabello, and Petersen all contributed one each. 

As I mentioned earlier, there wasn't a lot of drama in this match. Louisville trailed just once, and that wasn't until the third set. With the help of a block, a Louisville unforced error, and one of their three aces, BC had a three point run early in the third set to go from a 3-1 deficit to a 4-3 lead. Louisville won the next four points and didn't look back. 

They won't always be so easy, but after I mentioned that Louisville had been prone to dropping sets on last week's show, they responded by sweeping both opponents this week. The Cards are back in action tomorrow when Syracuse comes to L&N Arena for a 1PM match. The Orange are having a bit of a renaissance season, though their competition has been questionable, as they sit at 9-2 on the year. Their two losses came on back-to-back days in a home-and-away match up with Colgate. Syracuse defeated Notre Dame 3-1 Friday evening in South Bend. 

Field Hockey Falls in Shootout

Louisville hit the road to open their conference schedule and played a nail biter of a match with Stanford. Ultimately, Louisville was unable to find a game-winning goal, and they lost in a shootout. The final score of 2-1 represents the single point awarded to Stanford winning the shootout after each team scored one goal in regulation. Coincidentally, the final score of the shootout was also 2-1. 

The match was a constant struggle of early offensive action followed by periods of strong defensive play. Stanford scored the first goal on a penalty corner in the first quarter. Louisville matched that with a PC goal of their own in the second. After halftime, both teams were able to amass just one shot on target for the entire second half. Louisville's goal came from Rylie Wollerton, her seventh of the season. Assists went to Tatum Kroon and Annabel Sep. 

The overtime periods played out very similarly. Louisville survived a PC attempt from Stanford early in the first OT and managed to find three shots late in the period, but neither team found a Golden Goal. Their search continued in the second overtime, but the efforts were even more fruitless: neither team was able to even find a shot. 

Even the shootout had a similar flavor. Louisville scored on their first attempt (Gracie Potter) while Stanford scored their first two. The Cards were blanked for their remaining four attempts, and while Stanford was unable to extend their lead any further, one extra goal was all they needed. Interestingly, after Emily Young made three saves during the game, she was substituted for Alessia Cicuto for the penalty shootout. I won't second guess the goalie whisperer that is Justine Sowry, so I'll just assume that Cicuto has shown more in practice in the way of penalty acumen. 

It's a tough way to start the conference season, as Louisville's mercurial offensive play continues, but they'll have a long week to recover. It was a single game weekend for the Cards on the west coast, as they get a Sunday bye. Louisville is back in action Friday, when they return to Trager Stadium to host Wake Forest. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

Jared is off galivanting around Louisville, so he'll miss this week, but we'll have three on board the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast. Daryl will be forced to give us her rundown of the past two weekends and Louisville's annual music festivals before we get into the week that was in Louisville women's athletics. You can check out the show after it posts around 1PM, and be sure to subscribe so that it comes to your feed automatically. 

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Spotify: Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Kickin' Cards boot Miami 2-0 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Goood morning readers and welcome back to the weekend, finally!!! I will be taking a much needed R&R weekend and I hope you enjoy yours as, well! 

A lot to cover for the Cards so lets hop right in.  

Soccer

Photo: Jared Anderson

Recap

Louisville 2 vs Miami 0 


It was a nice evening out at Lynn Stadium for ACC soccer as Louisville welcomed the Miami Hurricanes to town.  The Cards came out on top 2-0 to make it 8-2-1 all time against the Canes.  UofL is now 10-2 on the season, its first 10 win season since 2019 when they went 13-5-2. 

UofL scored in the first 16 min in when Grace Maddox connected with Emerson Jennings on a boot into the back of the net.  It was beautifully orchestrated pass back to the top of the box and over the Miami goalkeeper.    It was Jennings 5th goal of the season. 

You can take your pick of which Louisville goal was more poetic as the Cards were able to net another goal before the halftime break when Kiley Peat managed to sneak a rebound through the Miami keeper's legs when she was unable to corral it after a shot attempt from Lizzie Sexton was saved by Emily Bredek. 

Miami switched out its goalkeepers for the second half where they still had work cut out for them recording 4 saves on attempts by the Cards.  Erynn Floyd recorded 2 saves in the match.  

NEXT UP 

Louisville at Notre Dame 

10/3 6pm

Field Hockey

Photo: Jared Anderson

Louisville vs Stanford preview

The Cards are heading west to visit the Stanford Cardinal (3-5, 0-2 ACC) in an ACC battle.  The match is scheduled for 8pm and is available on the ACCNX.  

Stanford has played Top 10 opponents in their last 3 matches and lost by a combined score of 13-3.

Stanford is led in scoring by Kate Nemec who owns the team-lead in goals (3) and points (6) at the halfway mark of the season. Following suit, Liv Martin and Summer Knight-Thompson sit second with five points a piece courtesy of a 2-1-5 line. Lending a helping hand, Mia Clark leads the Cardinal with two assists this season and is one of three Cardinal to have started every game this season (Maroussia Walckiers and Scout Butler). Overall, 12 players have recorded a point this season for the Cardinal.

Defensively, the Cardinal is led by Scout Butler and Natalie Hoppe.  Butler also leads the Cardinal in shots this season with 15 while Hoppe sits second in freshman scoring with four points which also slots tied for fourth overall on the team.

In the goal, Daisy Ford and Anya Jackson have seen action this season with the former starting seven of Stanford’s eight matches this season. Ford, who owns a 2-4 record with one shutout this season, leads the conference in saves with 34 and in saves per game (4.86). Ford also boasts a 2.34 goals-against average coupled with a .694 save percentage. Jackson, who sits with a 1-1 record that includes a shootout loss to No. 6 Harvard, owns a 2.40 goals-against average and a .667 save percentage in three games this season.

Volleyball

Photo: Jared Anderson

Louisville vs BC preview

Louisville welcomes Boston College to L&N FCUA today at 7:00pm. 

 You can watch the match on the ACCNX. 

The Eagles have an 11-1 record (good for 2nd in the ACC), are 3-0 on the road and coming off their first loss of the season, a 5 setter against Bryant. 

In the match, junior outside hitter Audrey Ross recorded 18 kills, Sophomore Lucy Mott tallied 25 assists, adding 10 digs to earn a double-double. Cornelia Roach contributed 6 kills and 4 blocks including a single solo. Freshman Bella Ehrlich posted eight kills, four blocks and 10 points Junior Sam Hoppes recorded 12 kills, three blocks and 13 points Brooklyn Yelland recorded 22 digs and two aces Senior Anna Herrington posted 11 kills and 12 points Hanna Hoffman recorded four service aces, a new career high for the senior.


BC is second in the ACC in total kills (565) and third in the conference in total blocks (117.0). Boston College is first in the conference and ninth nationally in opponent hitting percentage, holding opponents to a combined .141 clip this season.

As Always, 
Go Cards
~Daryl

Soccer Takes on Miami -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Look for Third ACC Win

As Paulie wrote in his column yesterday, Louisville women's soccer is off to a great start, but the road gets very tough soon. The Cards will work to stay on track when they take on the Miami Hurricanes tonight at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium. It's Throwback Night tonight, so who knows what exactly that promotion will mean, but it should be a nice night to take in a match if you haven't had the opportunity to get out to the stadium yet. Louisville has just two regular season home matches after this one, so you're getting into now or never territory. 

Miami is having a fairly strong season themselves, currently sitting at 6-3-1. Their biggest head scratcher is a 1-0 loss at App State in their second match of the season, but the opening conference losses to #17 Wake Forest (away) and #2 Duke (home) aren't terrible. The Canes lost that Duke match just 1-0. Miami's draw came against Princeton to open their September slate. 

The Cards and Canes are both coming off of a Sunday bye, but Miami is actually more rested than Louisville, having played on Thursday instead of Friday last week. Miami also hasn't played a conference game since the Duke match on Sunday the 14th. Their Thursday match last week was on the road against VCU; they won it 2-0. 

Miami has already surpassed their win total from last season, as they finished the year 5-8-4, and they were just 1-6-3 in conference play. Their lone conference win in 2024 came against Syracuse, who finished last in the conference at 0-9-1. Miami's improvements must be compared against Louisville's, though, as the Cards seem to be a completely different team than last season. Louisville didn't play Miami or Syracuse last season, but they picked up wins against NC State and Cal, and closed the year on a 1-1-3 run in which they allowed just one goal each to Stanford and Cal. The Cards would likely win some of those draws last year if they had the offensive performance that we've seen so far this season, as evidenced by turning last year's 0-0 draw at Clemson into a 1-0 victory this season. 

Louisville and Miami have faced off in women's soccer 10 times, all coming since Louisville joined the ACC. The Cards hold a 7-2-1 advantage in those meetings, with the draw coming in the first game they played back in 2014. Miami took their second win over the Cards in 2023. All three results earned by Miami have been in Coral Gables, with the Cards sitting at 4-0 against Miami at home. As such, tonight's match will see Louisville trying to maintain two home undefeated records: the one against the Canes and the one for the 2025 season overall. 

Miami has give up just nine goals on the season, and six of those came against Princeton, Wake Forest, and Duke. The Canes have earned clean sheets in every win except for a 3-2 victory over Lipscomb. They've scored 16 goals overall. Miami's offense can be a bit one dimensional, though, and their defense can be broken down. Of nine opponent goals, nine have been assisted. On 16 Miami goals, they've earned just seven assists. Louisville, on the other hand, has 45 assists on 39 goals, with opponents earning three assists on six goals. (Louisville is a bit more generous with second assist scoring.) Two of Louisville's six conceded goals have come on penalties and all six of their goals have been given up in just three games. We'll look for the defense to continue to be stout tonight. 

Action is scheduled to begin at 7PM, and the weather currently looks like it will cooperate. I'll be keeping tabs on this one virtually, unfortunately, as other obligations will keep me away from the stadium. You can tune into ACC Network Extra to watch it for yourself. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WSOC at 9-2 -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 WOMENS SOCCER OFF TO GREAT START

So...let's see a show of hands of folks that thought Louisville women's soccer would get off to a 9-2 start to the season?  Or, that they would be outscoring their opponents 39-6? Or that they would have eight shutouts on their list of accomplishments so far? 

A great start...no doubt...with losses to only FSU and Vandy, who are ranked #6 and #13 in DI WSOC. Both were away matches for Louisville, too. and each loss was 2-0 in score. The Cards are receiving votes to get in the top 25...they aren't there yet. Amelia Swinarski leads the Kickin' Cards in goals with seven, Mackenzie Geigle has 6, Liza Suydam has five and Emersen Jennings and Karsyn Cherry have three each to lead the way for UofL. 

In conference...Louisville is 2-1 and plays Miami next...on Thursday. 

The ACC does have several top 25 teams in the polls. Virginia is ranked #1, Notre Dame #2 , Stanford #3, FSU #6, Duke #9, Wake Forest #18 and North Carolina #22

The Cards have allowed just two goals in their last seven games while scoring 23. 

I do apologize that I haven't been able to get an interview with head coach Karen Ferguson Dayes yet about the season's successes. Due to health issues, I haven't been straying too far from home except for my dialysis treatment three days a week and to Indianapolis to talk with the kidney transplant team for IU in Indianapolis. Sadly, my oxygen levels now tend to drop pretty quickly and I do use oxygen...a rather tough thing to transport to an outdoor contest....where the press boxes involve a whole lotta steps.  

I am very fortunate to have three great writers on board in Jared, Daryl and Case. Jared, as we all know , takes excellent pictures. It does sadden me that I have not seen a live, at the facility, Field Hockey or Soccer game this season...but I follow them all on ACCNX and the other broadcast venues Louisville has access to. 

A look at the upcoming schedule for the Cards is a doozy, to say the least. Notre Dame, Virginia and Wake Forest are three of the next five opponents.

Let's hope the Cards can do well in their final seven regular season games and get a bid to play in the NCAA Tournament.

paulie

VBall sweeps WKU 3-0 at Yum! -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

Good morning readers!  

Its great to be back online (for the most part) after two weeks of music festival madness.   Really appreciate the gang for allowing me the time to step away from sports (I still managed to follow what I could..) and indulge in some local music with friends that are family :D 

Volleyball

Photo: Jared Anderson

*random thoughts*

Real quickly, I was bummed the way the rivalry volleyball match with UK played out.. was following online and got pretty excited when the Cards got ahead 2-1 in the battle.  Bummer the way the squad fizzled out to finish in front of the home crowd and drop in the rankings but hey! Im not gonna dwell on that one and I have a feeling this wont be the only time the Cards see the Cats this season (if the NCAA has its way)  and Ill take the Cards chances in a rematch!!

Photo: Jared and Katy Anderson

Louisville 3 vs WKU 0 

But the Cardinals were back in action on Monday night so Jared spent his birthday (Everybody say HAPPY BDAY JARED!) with the VolleyCards down at the KFC Yum! Center where we witnessed the squad sweep the visiting WKU Hilltoppers 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-20).

Louisville moves to 8-2 on the season with the win.

Photo: Jared Anderson

The Louisville offense hit at a .274 clip while holding WKU at a .080 rate. Cara Cresse lead all with 10 kills on 17 swings and also added 8 blocks. Payton Petersen and opposite hitter Kalyssa Blackshear each posted nine kills and combined for three blocks on the night. Outside hitter Chloe Chicoine hit .217 with 14 digs, eight kills and one block.



from gocards.com

Set 1
WKU 15, UofL 25
Schrand served an ace for the first point of the match before the Cards eventually got out to an 11-6 lead and forced the Hilltoppers to use their first timeout. A solo block and three kills from Cresse highlighted a run that put UofL ahead 18-12 and made WKU to burn its second timeout. Blackshear put Louisville at set point with a kill, and Hannah Sherman stuffed a solo block to clinch the set 25-15.

Set 2 
WKU 17, UofL 25
The Cards and the Hilltoppers kept the second set close through the first 15 points, with neither team taking a lead larger than two. A 3-0 scoring run gave UofL an 11-7 lead and saw WKU use its first timeout of the set. Louisville extended its lead to 18-13 before Western Kentucky climbed back within reach at 18-16. The Cards went on a 4-0 run to lead 22-16 and cause the Hilltoppers to burn their second timeout. Blackshear put UofL at set point once again with a kill and sealed the second set herself, 25-17.

Set 3
WKU 20, UofL 25
Louisville combined for three blocks and six kills to lead 15-9 and on a 4-0 run at the media timeout. The Cards pulled ahead 21-15 after kills from Petersen, Blackshear and Cresse and a second ace from Ava Utterback, forcing a Hilltopper timeout. Blackshear gave UofL set point once again with a kill and Schrand's second ace secured the match, 25-20.

UP NEXT

Louisville vs Boston College 

Friday 9/26 on ACCNX

7:00pm

Photo: Jared Anderson

As Always, 
Go Cards! 
~Daryl 

FH Earns Ranked Win -- SB Sweeps UK in Scrimmage -- VB Tonight -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Upset Saint Joseph's on Road

Courtesy of GoCards

Louisville field hockey continued their hot streak with a second straight ranked win. This time, the Cards went on the road to #15 Saint Joseph's and left with a 2-0 victory.

UofL got on the board early on, just six and a half minutes into the game. Taking advantage of a penalty corner, Annabel Sep found the back of the cage for her fourth goal on the year, tied for second best on the team.

Photo by Jared

The second goal came during the second quarter. In similar fashion, Louisville capitalized on a penalty corner with Tyler Everslage earning the honor of scoring the goal, her first of the year.

While the offense did its damage early on, the defense proved to be the true hero of the match. Saint Joseph's threw everything they had at Louisville with 18 shots and 13 corners. Emily Young put her pads to good use with seven saves and her second shutout this season.

Photo by Jared

Louisville improves to 5-3 this year. They open up conference play at Stanford on Friday before getting Sunday off.

Cards Sweep Cats in Fall Scrimmage

Courtesy of GoCards

Mother Nature could not halt Louisville softball from playing this weekend. The weather may have delayed the start time by nearly 90 minutes, but Louisville and Kentucky found a way to play a double header.

Little information was provided due to this being a fall scrimmage and Cardinal Couple not having anyone available to cover the event, but we do know the Cards won both games.

Courtesy of GoCards

Game One: Louisville 7, Kentucky 6 (9 innings)

The two foes needed a pair of extra innings to decide a winner. Kentucky plated two runs in the top of the ninth, but Louisville scored three to win in walk off fashion. They played international rules with a runner on second base in the extra innings.

Game Two: Louisville 3, Kentucky 2 (5 innings)

This game was equally as close as the first. The Cards scored a run in the fifth inning to take the lead before the game was called due to incoming inclement weather.

Let's hope this is a good sign come the spring season!

Volleyball Hosts Western Kentucky

Photo by Jared

Coming off a much-needed three-day break, Louisville volleyball has a rare Monday night match. The Cards host in-state foe Western Kentucky at 6:30pm at the KFC Yum! Center. It will be aired on ACCNX.

Louisville is coming off a five-set loss to top-10 Kentucky on Thursday, the Cards fifth match in nine days, four of those on the road and three against ranked opponents. Having Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off should help provide fresh legs.

Photo by Jared

Western Kentucky has kicked off the 2025 year hot with a 9-3 record. They swept then-ranked Dayton and also swept a receiving votes Indiana squad. Louisville is the highest ranked opponent the Hilltoppers will face in the regular season this year.

The Hilltoppers have posted a strong .300 attack percentage on the season while limiting opponents to just under .200. WKU has also blocked extremely well this season, which could put some pressure on the Cards' outside hitters. 

Photo by Jared

We do plan to have coverage for the match. There are still plenty of tickets available with many being less than $20, per Ticketmaster.

Happy Monday and Go Cards!

Jared

Field Hockey in battle of birds today -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 FH HEADED TO PHILLY TO PLAY ST. JOSEPH

Justine Sowry's squad has had an interesting season so far, and takes on another tough team today in the St. Joseph Hawks. The Cards are 4-3 and unranked and St,Joseph is 4-2  and went 20-4 last year. 

The Philly based school has had losses to Penn State and Maryland. Both those schools are in the NCAA Top 25 and the matches were road losses. This will be St. Joseph's second home game of the year and ESPN+ will have the coverage at noon...so yu'll have to shell out a little money if you aren't already paying for the service. 

Riley Guy, a freshman on the St. Joseph squad went to Assumption High school in Louisville. She was a part of two state championship teams and two runner-up team in her four years as a Rocket. Opponents fans have been known to yell "Whose that Guy on your team?" when St. Joe comes to visit, 

Her sister Parker plays for St. Louis. 

Hannah Prince is the Hawks head coach in her fourth season at the helm. If the name sounds familiar, Prince was an associate coach at Louisville in 2020 and 2021.

Hannah Prince

Have a great Sunday and...Go Cards!!

paulie

WSOC and FH Notch Key Wins -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Soccer Beats Clemson 1-0

Louisville women's soccer picked up their second straight 1-0 ACC victory last night, this time over the visiting Clemson Tigers. The loss was just Clemson's second of the season and their first in ACC play. The Tigers are now 3-2-5 (0-1-2) on the year. They opened their ACC slate with back-to-back 2-2 draws against #3 Stanford and Cal. Clemson has also drawn against #12 South Carolina and #15 Georgia. It may not seem like it based on their rankings, but this was a very big shutout win for the Cards. 

Even better than a shutout, Louisville held Clemson to zero shots on goal. Louisville's defense was relentless, albeit a little aggressive. The Cards finished with seven fouls compared to just three for the Tigers. Both teams totaled only five shots, but Louisville put three of theirs on target. It was an extremely defensive second half for Louisville, as they managed just one corner and one shot in the second. They did most of their attacking in the first half, including scoring their goal. 

That goal came in the 20th minute by Amelia Swinarski with assists from AG Gibson and Liza Suydam. Swinny continues her emergence as a key member of the Louisville offense and a player that is getting national recognition. Louisville's shift from the 4-5-1 formation most commonly used in recent years to a more balanced 4-3-3 continues to put more attacking players, like AG Gibson, in position to do something with those instincts. The Cards have missed out on scoring opportunities in the past and have lost games like this one due to giving up a single goal and being unable to respond. While the 1-0 victories aren't as thrilling as Louisville being on double-digit watch, they're still wins, and that's all that matters. 

The Cards move to 9-2 on the season and 2-1 in ACC play. Their lone losses came in ranked road matches. It's now very realistic to say that Louisville has a chance to finish the regular season undefeated at home. There are three matches left to play at Lynn Stadium, and one will be much more difficult than the others. The Cards take on Miami next Thursday, then Virginia on October 18th, and finish with SMU on October 30th. A draw still isn't a loss, so the Cards just need a point in each of those matches to accomplish the goal, but wins would be sweet. 

With their ninth win, Louisville guarantees that they will have their most wins since 2019, and they ensure a finish of at least .500. That said, finishing the season at .500 now would be an absolute disaster. Road matches against Notre Dame and Wake Forest will be very difficult, as will the home match against Virginia, but Louisville should consider themselves capable of competing in those games and should feel good about the other matches remaining (Miami, @ BC, @ NC State, SMU). The Cards are currently tied for 2nd in the ACC with ND and Wake all on 6 points, but that will likely shift around after Sunday. Louisville is on bye this weekend and they are among the only teams to have played three ACC matches so far. 

Louisville's next opponent is Miami. The Canes are 6-3-1 overall but 0-2 in ACC play. They opened their ACC season with a 3-1 loss at Wake and then a 1-0 loss at home to Duke. Those results aren't bad, but Miami's other loss came at Appalachian State and their draw was at home against Princeton. They could be frisky, but Louisville will be happy to have this game at home. That match will be Thursday at 7PM. 

Field Hockey Upsets Ohio State 3-2

Louisville field hockey bounced back from a tough weekend last time out by knocking off the 14th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes late Friday afternoon. The Cards win means that they finished their Big Ten season (haha) 3-2. The losses against Northwestern and Iowa stung, but the Cards can claim victories over three teams (MSU, IU, and OSU) in one of the top field hockey conferences in the country. If Louisville can also finish their conference season over .500, they'll be back in contention for a strong seed in the NCAA tournament. 

In this one, the two teams played a tough scoreless first quarter before exploding on offense in the second. Louisville scored goals just over a minute apart but Ohio State took one back right before the half to keep the Cards in touch. Louisville picked up their third goal halfway through the third quarter and found themselves on defense for the remainder of the match. The Buckeyes went empty net with four minutes remaining and found a goal 30 seconds later. They took another shot right after scoring, but Louisville's defense was able to control the ball for the remaining three-and-a-half minutes to secure the victory. 

Cardinal goals came from Rylie Wollerton (6), Gracie Potter (2), and Gigi Edwards (4). Wollerton's goal was assisted by Trijntje Herfkens and Edwards' came from Wollerton. It was an extremely hectic game for both defenses, with Louisville taking 17 shots (10 on target) and Ohio State taking 15 (8). Six of OSU's shots came in that fourth quarter. Both goalies were very active, and very efficient, as OSU finished with seven saves and Emily Young had six for the Cards. 

Despite 12 total penalty corners taken in the game (7-5 Cards), none of the five goals were directly counted as PC goals and only one of Louisville's really came as a result of the PC. Potter's goal came after she put a corner into play and she took a rebound shot after Annabel Sep had her attempt saved. 

Louisville hits the road today for a match against Saint Joseph's tomorrow afternoon. The Hawks are 4-2 on the season with their two losses coming on the road against #18 Penn State and #10 Maryland. The 15th-ranked squad from Philly has just one home match so far, a 3-0 win over St. Louis yesterday to open conference play. They've also got wins over #11 UConn, New Hampshire, and American, with UConn and American being neutral and New Hampshire being a true road match. 

The Cards will have their hands full with their penultimate non-conference opponent of the season. Louisville moves into conference play after tomorrow's match, but they'll also play Bellarmine on October 7th. Tomorrow's match is at noon and will be available on ESPN+. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We're planning a show this week, but it will be a two-man game, with both Jared and Daryl over near UofL's campus. Jared will be at L&N Stadium for a noon kickoff and Daryl will be headed to the Fairgrounds for early sets on the third day of Louder Than Life. Paulie and I will talk some big wins and one disappointing loss. You can check out the show after it posts around 1PM, and be sure to subscribe so that it comes to your feed automatically. 

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Spotify: Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Cats best VolleyCards in five sets -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CATS DOMINATE FINAL TWO SETS IN WIN OVER CARDS

From what went to a match that anyone could win after three sets to a UK blowout, the Cats defeat the Cards in five sets in the KFC Yum Center before about 11,000 fans. 

Louisville had a 2-1 set lead after three sets, winning a nail-biting 26-24 game...but UK came out hot in the fourth set and took the final two sets 25-12 and 15-7. The Cards blocking success seemingly caught a cab and left the premises in the final two sets...still winning the block totals 18-17 but only getting three in the final two sets. 

25-21, 21-25 , 26-24, 12-25 and 7-15 were the final set totals. 

UK had four players with double digit kills...Brook DeLeye with 24, Eva Hudson with 17, Brooke Bultema with 11 and Lizzie Carr with 10. The Cards had Payton Petersen with 14. 

The Cards looked tired at the end and they had good reason to be...having played their previous four matches in eight days against an 2024 NCAA opponent....all on the road.

A huge task, playing five matches in nine days ...four of them against NCAA Tournament teams from 2024, three of them top 20 teams this year and going five sets in two of the matches. The only thing missing were three French hens, two Turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree. 

Give UK credit, though...for solving the Cards blocking superiority and taking control of serve and volley. Hannah Sherman had 11 block for the match.

The Cards continue in-state contests when they welcome WKU for a visit on Monday. That day is National Ice Cream Cone Day... maybe the Cards will skip the soft serve and give WKU a rocky road.

Volleyball alums Elle Glock, Elena Scott, and Ceci Rush

Women's soccer is back home again tonight when they welcome Clemson to Dr Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium at 7:00pm. The Kickin's Cards put their 8-2 record on the line. We hope to see Case and Jared out there for some of this one.

Field hockey is also back home, looking to avenge their two losses last week... a heartbreaker to #1 Northwestern in overtime and a butt whooping from Iowa. The Cards and #14 Ohio State are set to begin at 4:00pm. Due to the early start time on a weekday, we will not have in-person coverage for this game.

photos by Jared

paulie