CArds WSOC and FH sweep Sunday -- MONDAY CARDINALCOUPLE

 ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SUNDAY ON FLOYD STREET

A fun afternoon of watching UofL women's sports on Sunday via the ACC Network Extra for me. If you made the drive down to campus to watch any or all of the action, i hope you have rehydrated and had a great time. 

Starting it off, Louisville women's soccer met the Akron Zips and pulled them down and exposed their weaknesses. To end the day, Cards Field Hockey battled a very good IU squad tooth and nail and finally prevailed in overtime. Let's look at the wins a little closer, shall we?

LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S SOCCER 5 - AKRON WOMEN'S SOCCER 0 

Louisville struck early in the match at Lynn Stadium, getting a score 11:47 into the contest when Liza Suydam took a feed from Nicole Jodoin and discovered net success. The Cards offense was the show pretty much all of the contest, and tacked on another goal about six minutes later when Amelia Sinarski got into the act after getting set up by Suydam and Jodoin. Two minutes later, Swinarski picked up another goal, this time on a pass from Karina Peat. It was 3-0 after 20 minutes of action. The Zips looked lost on the pitch. The Cards would not score again the rest of the half but got four more attempts off and a stubborn cross bar on the goal prevented the score from being 4-0 going into the mid-match break. Still..3-0 was a formidable lead and gave coach Norton a chance to explore some other combinations. 

UofL got four shots off in the first seven minutes of the second half and the one from Karina Peat , off a Jodoin assist, got by the Zips goalkeep to make it 4-0. The Cards would add their final goal in the 73rd minute of the 90 minute game...Abigail Cox getting an unassisted score.  It is the third time this season the Cards have scored five goals in a match. 

The stats indicated the rout. Louisville had 22 shots, 10 of them on goal. Akron attempted 2 shots with one of them on goal. The Cards had a 9-1 corners advantage and used 18 players..All of them got at least 37 minutes except for one. 

Next up for the Cards WSOC is a trip to Lexington to face UK on Thursday. 

LOUISVILLE FIELD HOCKEY 2 - iNDIANA FIELD HOCKEY  1 

The squads went thru a scoreless first period where  IU actually looked to be the more aggressive squad on offense. The Cards got off only three shots, two of them coming with less than a minute to play in the quarter and IU countered with five. Neither of the squads scored in the first 15 minutes. 

In the second quarter, the scoreless affair continued until the Cards got on the board when Lauren Master got her first goal of the season on an assist from Aubreigh Uba at the 26:43 mark of the contest. That lead lasted the rest of the first half and the Cards went to the locker room carrying a fragile 1-0 edge. 

A scoreless third period followed the halftime intermission . The Cards took only  two shots in the quarter, while IU had seven attempts.  That fragile 1-0 UofL lead was still in place but IU was getting way more shots off and you had to wonder just when they were going to finally connect on one. 

Almost eight minutes into the final quarter, IU got a tying score. The goal came only 18 seconds after IU had pulled their goalie to increase their scoring chances. Neither team was able to score the rest of the way, and the Cards were headed to their second overtime game in two contests. 

A ten minute overtime session ensued. 

Uba got checked rather roughly driving to the goal for a shot in the extra time and the refs awarded her a penalty stroke attempt against the IU goalie after a long review.  It was a golden opportunity for the Douglasville, PA native to end the contest and she did just that in her one-on-one contest...scoring her first goal of the season and giving the Cards the "W".  They are now 2-0 on the season.

UofL travels to St. Louis next...for a Friday, Sept 4th contest. 

paulie

Cards Field Hockey and WSOC return to action today on campus -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 AKRON AND INDIANA SCHEDULED TO FACE CARDS SQUADS TODAY

Both Louisville Field Hockey and Women's Soccer will return to play today, with the "Kicking Cards" going up against Akron at 1 p.m. and the "Stick Cards" engaging in a match with IU at 2 p.m. The ACCNX will show the soccer match...according to one source i found..and another source reads that the field hockey match will be on ACCNX..so I guess we'll know for sure when 1 p.m. rolls around.. . 

LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S SOCCER VS AKRON

This will be the first meeting ever between the two squads. The Zips come into town with a 2-1-0 record and most recently fell to Duquesne 2-0. 

Rachel Wenzel leads the Zips in scoring with two goals and the squad has scored five goals in three contests. 2025 was a rebuilding season for Akron...going 5-9-4 and posting a 2-7-3 record in MAC Conference play. 

The two Akron wins this season came against Oakland (3-0) and U.S.I. (2-1)

The Cards are now 3-1, after their win over Miami (OH) and, hopefully...won't be looking too far ahead to their upcoming match against UK in Lexington on Thursday, Set 3rd .  

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LOUISVILLE FIELD HOCKEY VS INDIANA

Last year the Cards and Hoosiers played to a 5-4 Louisville win in Bloomington. The Hoosier are 0-1 so far this season, losing to Miami, OH 2-1 Saturday at Trager Stadium.

IU has three players back who scored against the Cards last season. Junior forward Charlotte Glasper, sophomore midfielder Molly Shutte, and senior midfielder Inez Garcia Prado.

The Cards lead the series all-time with a 19-7 record. They are 11-2 against the Hoosiers at Trager and 8-5 in Bloomington. 

This one is a 2 p.m. start at Trager and is listed to be shown on ACCN.X

paulie 

UofL Field Hockey, Volleyball Pick Up Friday Wins -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 HOME TURF, COURT DEFENDED IN CARDINAL WINS

Two UofL women's sporting events on campus on the same day? And two wins? Yes, it did happen Friday down on the Belknap campus...as #18 Louisville Field Hockey started it off with a dramatic shootout victory over #10 Miami (OH) 2-1 and #7 Louisville Volleyball thumped the visiting IU Hoosiers all over LNFCUA in three sets....25-20, 25-12 25-11. 

FIELD HOCKEY UPSETS #10 MIAMI (OH) IN OVERTIME

On the Trager turf, the Justine Sowry coached Louisville Field Hockey squad had a defensive battle with Miami (OH)  in a match that saw Cards goalie Emily Young pick up eight saves in a affair that ended in a tie at the end of regulation play, and then went through two overtimes before a shootout ended in the Cards favor .

Sowry breaks down the win HERE 

Gigi Edwards scored the Cards lone regulation goal in the second quarter. Edwards took a pass from Annabel Sep with 3:43 left in the first half and drove to the goal to put in a shot which put the Cards up 1-0. Miami tied it up in the third quarter and the teams kept up the defensive pressure on each other the rest of regulation and thru two overtimes. 

In the best-of-five shootout, it came down to the final players taking attempts against the opposing goalkeeper. Both teams had recorded a shootout goal, Tyler Everslage sank her attempt to end it after Miami (OH) missed a go-ahead effort. 

The Cards return to Trager Sunday to face IU. A 2 p.m. affair, and ACCNX will show it.  

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VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS INDIANA

Louisville got a good battle from IU in the first of three sets in the LNFCUA Friday night before winning 25-20, then made the final two sets look pretty easy in the sweep over the Hoosier squad. The Cards offense recorded 39 kills and posted a lofty .346 hitting percentage.

Chloe Chicoine led UofL with 11 kills, Chloe Meester added 10 kills and Kalyssa Blackshear was good for nine. 

IU led once in the contest, on the opening serve. The Cards scored the next four points, and then went up 10-4. UofL stretched the advantage to 22-15 late in the first set, before IU rallied back for three straight points and closed the Cardinal edge to 23-20, but two Chicoine kills closed the book on the first set. 

In the second set, IU hung close early at 6-5, but a 13-3 UofL run put the Cards up 19-6. Louisville coasted in for the 25-12 eventual second set victory

After the halftime break, a 5-0 opening Cardinals run to start the third set indicated that the Cards weren't looking to "play four" last night and they eventually stretched the lead out to 15-4. That lead increased to 20-9 and the Cards finished with a 5-2 run to grab a 25-11 third set win and end the match. 

The VolleyCards return to action Monday night when they host Dayton in the LNFCUA. A 6 p.m. start for this one and ACCNX will handle the broadcast. 

Enjoy your weekend!

paulie

 

Cards WSOC Grounds Flyers 4-2 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 SCORING FLURRY PUSHES LOUISVILLE PAST DAYTON

This one was 1-1 with 17 minutes gone in the second half and one had to wonder if the next goal by either team would be the winning goal. Then, Louisville remembered..."Hey, we're the team that scored five goals in each of our last two games"...and unleashed a three goal scoring flurry in a seven minute period and coasted in for a 4-2 win at Dayton. 

Four different players scored for the Cards..and one of them wasn't Amelia Swinarski..which was a mild surprise...to push the Cards to a 3-1 season mark. 

The Flyers were the first ones to find the back of the net in the contest...when they scored off a throw-in 21 minutes into the match. Louisville would counter with 37:28 gone in the first half when Swinarski set up Trista Morris with a feed and the sophomore defender from the Brown School here in Louisville got her first collegiate goal of the season with a nice plant from the left foot into the bottom center of the net. 

That tied it 1-1 and that's the way the squads went into the half. 

At the 62:17 mark of the second half, the Cards took a 2-1 lead when Grace Morris took a pass from "you know who" (Swinarski) and headed it in. The Cards added a third goal six minutes later when Abigail Cox picked up her first goal of the season off a pass from Brooklyn Lee and just a minutes or so later the Cards made it 4-1 when Liz Eddy drilled one into the back of the net. 

Dayton would end the scoring in the game when they climbed back within two with15 minutes to play...to make it 4-2 and that's it how it ended. . 

The Cards will return home and host Akron on Sunday. It'll be a 1 p.m. kick back and ACCNX will broadcast it. 

paulie

WSOC faces Dayton at Dayton tonight -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 1-2 FLYERS HOST 2-1 LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S SOCCER

Louisville Women's Soccer heads north tonight to face the Dayton Flyers in Dayton, OH at Baujan Field. It's scheduled for a 7 p.m. start. Live streaming will be available on ESPN+ and live stats at the Dayton Flyers website. ESPN+ is a "pay for" service that runs $13.99 a month 

Last time out, the Flyers hosted the UK Wildcats but got grounded 5-0 by the Big Blue women.  UD opened the season at West Virginia and fell 2-0, then returned home and won over Toledo 2-1. 

Scoring the two goals this season for the Flyers this season are Olivia Baca and Lauren Contini, with one each. If the name Lauren Contini sounds familiar, she started her studies at UofL back in 2024 and is now starting her second second as a Flyer. 

Louisville began season action hosting Nebraska and fell 3-1. Since then, the Cards have won two in a row at Lynn Stadium, downing IU Indy 5-1 and Belmont 5-0.

Tops in scoring for UofL after three contests are Liza Suydam and Amelia Swinarski with two goals each. All told, nine different Cards have scored for the Red and Black this season. 

Dayton has only one player from Kentucky...junior forward Laney Smith, out of Ft. Thomas Highlands. 

The Cards have six players that hail from Ohio. Suzie Roginski, Norah Roush, Amelia Swinarski, Avery George, Fina Davy and Ella Bard. 

Eric Golz is the Flyer head coach, assuming the role back in 2016. 

We'll recap the action in the Friday Cardinal Couple, so be sure to come back at check out the results here on the only site we know of that likes to mix their black eyed peas with mashed potatoes and serve them on Zwieback crackers...usually to bewildered consumers. 

paulie

Walz adds another...Amiya Joyner -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 EX ECU, LSU STAR JOINS CARDS WBB

Jeff Walz continues to stock the pantry with goodies. 

He has brought aboard 6 foot 2 forward Amiya Joiner, who spent three years at East Carolina and a year at LSU. 

From Farmville, NC. she averaged 9.2 ppg and 7.2 rebounds last year at LSU and will add experience, depth and skill to a Cards front line that already has Mackenly Randolph, Carys Baker, Elif Istanbulluoglu, Grace Mbugna and Ayse Melek Demirer. 

Fifth year eligibility movement strikes again.  

Her numbers at ECU her junior year are even more impressive. She averaged 15 points a game and 9.2 rebounds. 

She joins a squad that is already bursting with top flight talent and impressive incoming freshmen. Back for the Cards are proven talent like Imari Berry, Mackenly Randolph, Elif Istanbulluoglu, and Taj Roberts.

Joyner was one of 30 student-athletes that received temporary eligibility for another year from the NCAA and access to the transfer portal. Jeff Walz jumped at the chance to bring her onboard the Cards roster. 

Joyner's career high point total was in 2024 when she put up 32 against Howard when she was at ECU. 

Welcome aboard Amiya and shoot and score! 

paulie

 

Volleyball brings three in to end August and start September -- TUESDAY CARDINA COUPLE

 VOLLEYCARDS FACE THREE IN THE LNFCUA

Chloe when she was a Boilermaker

Louisville Volleyball will bring in three opponents to close out August and start September. Being a squad that has two home courts, these next three will be at the smaller venue for Cards Volleyball, the on-campus L&N Federal Credit Union Arena. 

First up is Indiana on Friday, August 28th. The Cards lead the all-time series 9-8, but the two haven't faced each other since 2008, when IU won 3-2. The Cards are 4-2 overall against IU when UofL is the home squad. 

Next is Dayton on Monday, August 31st. Louisville leads the series 10-6 all-time and is 6-2 when they are the home squad. They last met in 2024 and the Cards won in five sets.  

Then, it's TCU on Friday Sept. 4th. The Cards are 5-0 all-time against TCU and this one will start at 4 p.m. on the Labor Day Weekend. 

There aren't any official Volleyball rankings at this time, although TV was showing the Cards as a #6 ranked team, I'm not sure who was doing the ranking. 

The Cards are 1-1 on the young season, defeating Texas A&M and losing to Wisconsin in Milwaukee. 

Louisville women's soccer blanks Belmont 5-0 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS FLY PAST BELMONT WOMEN'S SOCCER

Good to be back with everyone after a nice, restful vacation watching the water rushing by our scenic accommodations viewpoint in Gatlinburg. Despite there being Jeeps everywhere we went, we we able to get away from the go, go, go pace of life in Louisville and relax, rejuvenate and restore. Always good to catch up with acquaintances down there and dine at some of our favorite spots. 

Meanwhile.... 

Louisville women's soccer got out to an early lead on Belmont and never looked back, picking up a 5-0 shut out on the Bruins on Sunday night at Lynn Stadium. 

Louisville had a 27-2 shot advantage over the Nashville school and held a 12-2 shot on goal edge. 

The Cards opened the scoring when Brooklyn Lee found Amelia Swinarski with a set up ten minutes into first half action. UofL tacked on a second goal 25 minutes into the contest when Lee got a goal off a set up from Liz Eddy. Those two goals completed the first half scoring. 

In the second half,  the teams went almost 30 minutes without a goal...finally Swinarski found A.G.Gibson for an assist and the Cards were 3-0  leaders. Less than three minutes later, UofL struck again, this time when  Nicole Jodain sent a long shot toward the Belmont goal and it seemed to catch the defense by surprise and the goal made it 4-0 Cards. 

The Cards picked up their final score with about four and one half minutes to go in the contest when Kiley Peat set up Taylor Wilson for the closing score of the game. 

Louisville is now 2-1 on the season and will face Dayton at Dayton next on Thursday. 

paulie

Annabel Sep gets pre-season ACC Field Hockey honors. -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 SENIOR DEFENDER FROM NETHERLANDS IS ALL-ACC

Annabel Sep

Annabel Sep had a tremendous junior season in the Louisville field Hockey defensive backfield in 2025 and will be looked upon to bolster the Cards ball-stopping efforts in the 2026 season. 

She made the second team National Field Hockey All-West Region in 2025 and All-ACC Second team honors as well. She also did a bit of scoring for UofL Field Hockey with four goals and two assists.  

Justine Sowry recruited her and used the international student-athlete recruiting agency SianStox to help facilitate the transition to the States from the Netherlands. 

Minout "Minnie" Mink ...one of my favorite UofL field Hockey players of all-time

Louisville has had a fair modicum of success going the Netherlands route in past years. Julie Kouilzer and Charlie van Oirschot are two that come to mind immediately, although van Oirschot ended up going to play at Duke as a junior and was a three year starter in 59 games for Pam Bustin. Other former "Dutch" Cards include Tatum Kroon and Minout Mink. 

Louisville field Hockey goes against Bellarmine in an exhibition contest on Wednesday and will also scrimmage Ball State (on the 22nd) before officially getting the season underway against Miami, (OH) on August 28th. 

paulie

 

CARDS WSOC STORMS PAST IU INDY 5-1 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS SCORE ALL GOALS IN FIRST HALF IN WIN OVER JAGUARS 

In a game that was delayed by almost two hours because of thunderstorms in the Louisville area, it was the Louisville Cardinals women's soccer team who emulated the storm and thundered past IU Indy early and often in the 5-1 win at Lynn. 

Louisville scored 52 seconds into the contest when Karina Peat set up Liza Suydam with a pass and the goal that followed by Suydam made it 1-0 Cards. Louisville dominated the offense for almost all of the first half and got their second goal at the 11:38 mark after Liz Eddy and A.G.Gibson assists found Peat for a goal and a 2-0 lead. 

Louisville maintained the offensive attack pressure and Ella Bard got into the scoring at the 16:04 mark, this time Suydam supplied the assist and the rout was pretty much on with almost 30 minutes left in the first half. Five minutes later, Amelia Swinarski got into the goal scoring club when Peat picked up her second assist of the night. 

UofL picked up their final goal of the half, and for the game, when Abigail Cox connected from the passing of Fina Davy and Betsy Huckaby....with seven minutes left in the first half. The 5-0 halftime lead was a clear case of one-sided domination and superiority. 

IU Indy did pick up a score in the second half against UofL reserves, but the Cards worked on a lot of things with a lot of different personnel. Louisville used 21 players in the contest and none of them saw less that 15 minutes on the pitch. 

Stats wise, the Cards had 30 shots, compared to the Jags four.  UofL had 18 of those on shots on goal while IU Indy had just one. The Cards took 18 corners, where IU Indy took just one.  

Give IU Indy credit, they didn't continue to fall apart in the second 45 minutes and actually. won the scoring battle 1-0...but UofL got back to a .500 record on the young season with a dominant win after a stormy start to the evening. 

paulie

Former Card Sydney Taylor A Pleasant WNBA Surprise for Sky -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLEThe numbers were impressive, but

TAYLOR PUTTING UP EXCELLENT NUMBERS FOR CHICAGO SKY

Although she only spent a year playing basketball at UofL, Sydney Taylor's numbers were significant as a Card and she is now having a rags-to-riches success story come to life in the WNBA.  

Taylor is averaging 14.7 p.p.g. a game for the Chicago Sky. What's the back story on the 25 yr. old rookie in the league? 

She spent her first four years of college at the University of Massachusetts, after helping high school team St. Joseph's (NY) to four straight CHSAA championships and a state title her senor year.  

At UMass, she built a solid career. In her senior year, she was Atlantic 10 First Team All-Conference, scored over 1000 career points and put up 30 against Dayton. Her number were impressive but not quite WNBA type of numbers...so she took a fifth year of eligibility and came to Louisville. 

She arrived with the Cards in April 2023, after a nice stint playing USA U23 basketball and going to places such as Chile, Mongolia and Canada. She also was named the GLOBL JAM MVP after hitting the game-winning three against Canada to win the gold medal for  the USA. 

That graduate year was very significant in Taylor's basketball development...in no small part because of the Cardinals coaches. She lead the squad in the 2023-24 season with 57 made threes and was second best i scoring with 10.8 p.p.g.  She celebrated Paulie's birthday by scoring 31 points against Georgia Tech on Feb. 22nd., 2024.  Walz, Norman, Pineda and Robinson knew they had lightning in a bottle

But, she went undrafted in the WNBA draft that year. She tried the Euro circuit. Spent time in Lithuania and won a championship in 2025, then went to MB Zaglebie Sosnowiec in Poland to start 2026.

She was playing ball in the EuroLeague in 2026 for that same Polish team but had not given up her WNBA dreams just yet. and wrangled an invitation to Chicago on a training camp contract. 

"I'd been dreaming about it ever since early in my college career. I really believed it could happen, even when i was overseas and I was, like, I'm gonna get there." 

In a preseason game with the Sky, she scored 21 points and made the Sky roster, as a spark off the bench.  Her drive, desire and determination was paying off. She put up 27 in a loss to Toronto...then 30 in a loss to the Indiana Fever. It's was looking like she was "Taylor made" for the Sky. 

"Sydney knows what she is capable of. She comes in, she wants to make an impact and she does that." Sky coach Tyler Marsh has said about her. "The gravity she holds as a scorer impacts itself even when she is not scoring. People now know what she is capable of doing, nd that in itself holds some weight when she is pout there." 

Marsh moved her to the starting lineup on June 17.  

She is now a highly touted candidate for rookie of the Year in the WNBA along with Olivia Miles (Minnesota) and Azzi Fudd (Dallas). Although everyone is ready to hand the award to Miles, never count out the girl from Long Island ,who overcame long odds to get to the WNBA. 

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If anyone attended the Red & Black volleyball Scrimmage and would like to leave a synopsis or account of what you saw, please leave a comment in our comments section. All we can find out is that Black won, and that the players played on both teams. Thanks. 

paulie

Cards FH Eighth in ACC Preseason Poll -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Plenty of room for UofL to surprise in ACC Pre-Season Field Hockey Poll

Field Hockey season kicks off in two weeks for the nine ACC school participants In a league that is probably the best in NCAA DI Field Hockey...chock full of traditional powerhouses like North Carolina, Duke, Virginia and Wake Forest....the Cards have been selected to finish 8th in the league, with 19 points. Only California, with 17 points was selected lower than the Cards. 

So, Louisville could play the role of spoiler in a lot of ACC contests.  The Cards will have two exhibitions before the regular season begins...facing Bellarmine on the 19th of August at Trager and at Ball St. (in Muncie) on the 22nd before starting regular season action against Miami (OH) on the 28th at Trager. 

What are the standings? To explain, first, points are awarded depending on how high the voter thinks the particular school will finish. For the 2026 ACC Poll the voting was: 

1. North Carolina 73 (with four first place votes)                                                                              

2. Virginia 68  (with two first place votes) 

                                                                                     

T-3. Duke 64 (with one first place vote)                                                                                          

T-3. Wake Forest 64 (with two first place vote)                                                                                

5. Syracuse 42                                                                                                                                

6. Boston College 31                                                                                                                      

7. Stanford 27                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

8. Louisville 19                                                                                                                                

9. California 17                                                                                                                                

No surprise that the three newest teams to the ACC are the bottom three ranked.  Each team plays eight conference games and there is a ACC Field Hockey Tournament at the end omthe season. 

Louisville certainly has one of the best facilities around for field hockey out at Trager and the overall success of women's sports on campus would indicate Louisville can be successful in the highly competitive ACC. Since joining the league, though, Louisville field Hockey is 30-43 against other ACC schools.  

Here's hoping the Cards can turn things over .500 in conference play this season. The 2-6 conference mark last season needs a shot of adrenalin.   

paulie                                                                                                                        

 

Louisville Softball Adds Three to Roster -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 TILL, DEWATERS & SITARSKI JOIN HIT AND RUN CARDS

The 2027 Louisville Cardinals Softball squad will have a trio of transfers joining the roster. Coming into join the squad are Abbie DeWaters, Kaidance Till and Mak Sitarski. 

Abbie DeWaters

Abbie DeWaters was a freshman catcher last season at the University of South Florida. She batted .206 in 19 games played for the Bulls. She hails from Tobe Sounds, FL where she played for South Fork High School. 

Dewaters thoughts on becoming a Cards Softballer? 

"After visiting campus and meeting the coaches, I knew Louisville was the right place for me. The culture they have built and the energy around the team made me feel at home and it just seemed like the perfect fit." 

Kaidance Till

Kaidance Till redshirted last season at Ole Miss and hails from Metamora Township High School in Germantown Hills, Illinois. She is an infielder and was on four All Coference squads and NFCA All-American in 2025. 

What she said about joining the Cardinals ranks: 

"From the start, the coaches were amazing I felt very welcomed the moment I stepped on campus. The culture of the team was exactly what I was looking for. The coaching staff is genuinely a dream come true. I'm so thankful for the opportunity the coaches are giving me and the trust they have in me to become a part of their program." 

Mak Sitarski

Mak Sitarski is an outfield who heads to Louisville after a freshman season at Toledo. She is out of Allen Park, Michigan and was a three time All-Michigan selection at Allen Park High School. 

In her lone season with the Ole Miss rebels, she played in 29 games and made 13 starts in left field. 

"I chose Louisville Softball because of the speed of the offense and their unpredictability at the plate. " she said, about transferring to the Cards. "I love the aggressiveness on the basepaths and the overall grit of the team. The coaches made me feel one of the family beginning on Day One."  

L's up and a hearty welcome to the three newest Cardinals. Hit 'em where they ain't and catch everything hit your way!  

paulie

Huskers Shuck Cards WSOC 3-1 -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 NORTON ERA BEGINS WITH A STUBBED TOE 

The start of a new Louisville women's soccer season. A team that was coming off a very successful season last year and had played two impressive exhibitions. Bringing in a Nebraska squad that had not done too well in their season opening exhibition. 

What a difference a change in venue and opponent can make. Let's use the term "Husker Du" ...not referring to the American punk rock band that churned out memorable songs like "Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely" and "The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill". but the positive showing the women's soccer squad out of Lincoln, Nebraska had in the city known for bourbon. 

Scoring right off the bat,  with just three minutes off the clock in the first half, when Nathalie Lewis broke free on a jail brealk and planted one in the net past UofL goalkeep Kailey Kimball for the first goal of the match. 

LINK: Lewis scores on Louisville  

Nebraska would add a second goal, a long attempt...seemingly from the Louisville Lacrosse stadium to take a commanding 2-0 lead into the half-time locker room.  

The Huskers would add a third score in the second half before Louisville managed to get on the board with just 12 minutes left in the contest, when Liz Eddy found Liza Suydam on a pass for the final score of the game. 

Maybe this stat best exemplifies the Cards frustration on the pitch last night...the Cards had 18 shots and one goal.  

So...the Norton era at UofL women's soccer starts out with a stumble. The Cards kickers will get a chance for redemption and to even the season record when they bring in IU Indy to Lynn on Saturday. 

paulie

Cards WSOC opens 2026 season against Nebraska tonight --WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CORNHUSKERS VS CARDS TONIGHT AT 7:30 

Kayma Carpenter Univ. of Nebraska

We finally get into the UofL women's fall sports schedule...when Louisville women's soccer takes on Nebraska tonight at Lynn Stadium on the UofL campus at 7:30 p.m.

The Nebraska squad comes into Louisville to open their regular season as well. The have had an exhibition game, against Colorado St. but fell to the Rams 3-1. The contest will be shown on the ACC Network Extra. If UofL had an exhibition contest, it ws not made public. 

The Hunter Norton era begins at UofL with the retirement of long-time coach Karen Ferguson Dayes. Norton, a long time assistant at UofL...was named the head coach of the Cards in February, after "Coach Karen" retired after 26 years as the Cards skipper. She began in the year 2000 and amassed 224 wins. 

Nebraska head coach John Walker enters his 33rd. year as the Cornhuskers skipper. 

Who to watch for Nebraska? Kayma Carpenter, Ella Guyott and Ella Rudney are considered to be the best of the lot in Lincoln. . 

Carpenter had 15 points as a junior for Nebraska. She is a senior out of Lincoln, Nebraska. 

Ella Guyott is a senior midfielder/forward who sat out her junior year due to injury but was a solid sophomore for Nebraska and was named a Big Ten Player to Watch for the 2026 season.

Ella Rudney

Ella Rudney started every game for Nebraska last year as a midfielder and had 15 points. 

Admission is free for UofL women's soccer games. 

Good luck to the Cards for the start to their season! We'll have the recap tomorrow here at the site. 

paulie

Carys Baker a great addition to Louisville WBB -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

BAKER BOLSTERS UofL WBB FRONT LINE. 

Carys Baker had a very good season as a Hokie last year, with 14.3 p.p.g, 6.9 rebounds and was the second leading scorer for VT, just behind guard Wenzel Carleigh. Carleigh had 498 points for VT and Baker had 471. Both played in 33 games for the Blacksburg school, who went 12-6 in conference and 23-10 overall. 

However... she won't be in the maroon and burnt orange colors for her senior year. She has decided to wear the red and black and will be going to UofL for her senior senior. 

She's projected to be a starter for Walz & company, along with Tajianna Roberts, Mackenly Randolph, Zamareya Jones and Elif Istanbulluoglu. Depending on who you read, there are other starting lineups being touted, let's face it, only Jeff Walz knows for sure, and...it isn't as important  as who starts, it's who is out there in crunch time or the close thriller. 

Baker, a 6'2" forward, is a talented perimeter shooter and should fit in quite well with the Walz up-and-down the court style of offensive attack .

Basketball is in her blood...she's the daughter of NBA great and Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Vin Baker.

Carys led VT is threes made in the 2025=26 season with 56.  When she and the Hokies faced UofL last year in the KFC YUM! Center she had 16 points and nine rebounds in the 85-60 loss to the Cards. 

She'll be a welcome addition to the Cards and we look forward to seeing her participate as a Card!  

paulie

Louisville WBB offers Edmondson -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CLASS OF 2030 5'11" GUARD JYLIN EDMONDSON PICKS UP UOFL OFFER

where she started...

She already has an impressive resume..and now the George Rogers Clark guard has a offer from UofL WBB. 

She was at Franklin Country in 2025 and a part of the 2025 Kentucky 2A championship team. She also plays for FBC United Young Gunz on the travel circuit.

She runs the floor quite well for a freshman and has a deadly pull up jumper. 

She first began drawing notices when she was an eight grader at Boyd County, and is considered one of the elite already in Kentucky Girls High school basketball. 

She has a high basketball IQ and has also received offers from Florida St., Mississippi St. and Pittsburgh..in addition to Louisville, so far

Jylin released the Louisville offer news after speaking with UofL associate head coach Jonneisha Pineda.   

We hope that the Cards can land this elite baller but you can rest assured that the offers will continue to pour in for Jylin. 

paulie

Five key players essential to Louisville women's soccer successes -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CAN CARDS WSOC IMPROVE ON 13-5-3 2025 SEASON?

Ashlyn Hule

Louisville Women's Soccer goes into the 2026 season after a very good 2025 season where they went 13-5-2 and 6-2-2 in the ACC. And, now...with Hunter Norton in his first season, Cardinal fans will hope that the soccer squad can keep up the success. 

Junior Amelia Swinarski stands out as the primary returning star. She led the Cards in goals last season with 10, and also accumulated 30 points. 

Along with Swinarski, these other four players are expected to be significant contributors to the squad. 

-- Ella Bard, a sophomore defender, was named to the U.S Under 20 National Team Camp.

-- Grace Maddox, a junior defender, is another returning key anchor to the defensive line. 

-- Ashlyn Hule goes into her sophomore season as a forward with high scoring potential.

-- Kiley Peat will be a sophomore midfielder who contributed scoring last year and figures to add to that. 

Louisville brings in six transfers and five freshmen to the roster. The Cards were picked to finish ninth in the ACC preseason poll 

paulie

  

Louisville women's soccer opens 2026 season in five days -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CORNHUSKERS COME TO LYNN TO BEGIN CARDS SEASON

Nebraska WSOC

Imagine having the same coach for 33 yrs. Imagine having the coach that started the program still in place.In this day of NIL and colleges dumping coaches if they  drop below .500, John walker is a rarity. 

When Nebtaska decided to field a women's soccer team back in 1992, they selected Walker as their head coach. Going into his 33rd season, Walked will be on the sidelines when Nebraska comes to town on Wednesday, Aug 12th. in the season opener fo rboth squads. 

Walker is 372--203-62 in his only head coaching job and has been in both the Big12 and Big 10 conferences in his reign at Nebraska. 

Using a unique coaching style, he has built a well-respected program and draws the best of talent around the nation to Huskers soccer. 

They have already played a match this season...falling to Colorado St. 3-1 on Aug. 5th at Ft. Collins  Granted it was a exhibition match..but the Nebraska squad but could only get a goal from Reese Borer. 

Louisville head women's soccer coach Hunter Norton begnis his first seson as the UofL head coach.

The match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will be on ACC Network Extra online...if fyou can't go.. We won't have live coverage of the match, since I have been banned from attending any UofL women's athletic events or press conferences as a media person. I would assume I could still atttend matches as a fan ,buy health issues have me sidelines .If you are interested on what Norton and Swinarski had to say in a presser yesterday, it is linked up below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8w7Fm7TFqw&t=21s   . Norton and Swinarski.

...

paulie

Cards On The Table a fresh look at player interviews -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 EPISODE ONE of CARDS ON THE TABLE AN IN DEPTH DISCUSSION BETWEEN "E", IMARI and TAJIANNA AND MACKENLY

Cards On The Table isn't a new campus game of cards or hijinks in the team's dining area.

What it is..is an nicely moderated discussion with moderator Mackenly Randolph.and three current Cardinals Women's basketball players. Episode One features Elif Istanbulluoglu , Tajianna Roberts,MacKenly  Randolph and Imarr Berry.

Randolph asks the other three players questions and they respond to her. She is a natural for the moderator's role and the players respond well to her and also seem to be having a lot of fun taping the segment. 

It is a unique and well-designed format, where the discussion is free flowing and pretty funny at times...but the over 30 minute production is fast paced and informative. Walz is one of the topics that they discuss. 

One area they talk a lot about is the Versa. To explain it, the Versa is not the phrase "Vice versa" but a piece of equipment workout that involves upper and lower body vertical climbing movements. The low-impact training build high aerobic endurance and muscular strength without heavy joint stress from running. 

Click HERE. for a clip of the Versa Climber. 

This is supposed to be a regular feature that UofL WBB will be doing, and we look forward to the next one. 

paulie 

CARDS VOLLEYBALL ON TV THIS UPCOMNG SEASON -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS VOLLEYBALL CURRENTLY  SCHEDULED FOR 10 GAMES TO BE BROADCAST NATIONALLY. 

Louisville Volleyball will be shown on five different channels in the upcoming 2026 season. ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ACC NETWORK and ABC will televise the Cards, beginning three weeks from now when they'll face Texas A&M in Milwaukee on Augusr 21th at 6:00 PM on ESPNU in the AVCA First Serve. 

The list is as follow: 

-- 8/21  Texas A&M in Milwaukee on ESPN2                                                                                 --8/22  Wisconsin in Milwaukee Not assigned a network yet)                                                       -- 9/4   TCU in Louisville on ACC Network                                                                                     -- 9/6   Texas in Nashville on ABC                                                                                                 -- 9/9   Missouri in Louisville on ACC Network                                                                              -- 9/20  Kentucky in Lexington on ABC                                                                                          -- 10/11 Stanford in Lousiville on ESPN                                                                                        -- 10/25 at Miami on ACC Network                                                                                                -- 11/01 Georgia Tech in Louisville on ACC Network                                                                    -- 11/12 at SMU in Dallas on ESPNU                                                                                            -- 11/15 at Pittsburgh on ESPN

In additional to these nationally televised matches, all other home games and away ACC matches will be on-line on ACC Network Extra

The Cards were selected to finish third in the ACC Coaches Preseason Poll and were voted #8 in the Preseason D1 rankings.  We'll have much more on volleyball as the seaso start grows closer. 

paulie                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   -- 

WNBA Wednesday Standings -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 LYNX LEAD THE LEAGUE

Dana Evans on the dribble

With most teams around the 30 games mark right now, in a season that runs around 44 games, the Minnesota Lynx lead the league with a 25-6 record.

 No Louisville WBB former stars are o the Lynx roster, but the ACC is represented by Natasha Howard (FSU) and Liatu King and Kayla McBride (Notre Dame).in Minnesota. 

3.5 games behind the Lynx are the Las Vegas Aces at 21-9. Dana Evans is a reserve guard on the Lynx, and averages 3.0 p.p.g and almost two assists in back up duty. The ACC also has Chelsea Gray (Duke) on the roster and Jewel Loyd ,Brianna Turner and Jackie Young, all from Notre Dame on the squad and A'ja Wilson (UNC). 

The Golden State Valkyries are in third place...four games back of Minnesota. Thy play in San Francisco. No Walz players there, but the ACC is represented by Miela Sowah (Duke), Ashton Prechtel and Nadia Fingall...both from Stanford, 

The Dallas Wings are tied for fourth place at 19-11. .Playing from the ACC for Dallas is Aziaha James (NC State), Haley Jones and Alanna Smith (Stanford) and Arike Ogunbowale and Jessica Shepard (Notre Dame). Tied with them are tthe Indiana Fever. Myisha Hines-Allen is in Indy for the ACC along with Lexie Hull (Stanford) and Makayla Timpson (Florida State) and Ugonne Onyiah (California).

The rest of the league? 

6. Atlanta Dream  .7. New York Liberty. 8) Washington Mystics. 9) LA Sparks. 10) Phoenix Mercury. 11) Chicago Sky. 12) Portland Fire, 13) Toronto Tempo 14) Connecticut Sun and 15) Seattle Storm. 

Good luck to our Cards in the WNBA !!                          

paulie                                                                                            

How big a girl are ya? -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 ZHANG ZIYU IS OVER 7'2" 

It was Roy D.Mercer who recorded the hilarious "How Big A Boy Are Ya" clip, back in 1999, (you can hear it HERE) and the clip came to mind when this very tall woman came into the clinic I go to for my dialysis treatments. I was talking to one of the technicians after this tall woman left ,and we were discussing tallest people we had ever seen in person. She claimed she had seen a 6'9" woman at a trade show a few months back, I told her mine was a girl named Allyssa DeHaan, who played for Michigan State and was 6'9" when I saw her play around 2009 or 10. 

Was she the tallest girl to ever play basketball? The answer is "No". Zhang Ziyu of the Shandong Six Stars in the WCBA. The WCBA is the Women's Chinese Basketball Association and Ziyu is 7'2' (some say 7'3" ) and is 19 yrs. old. 

Your first question may very well be...why isn't she in the WNBA? That league has a rule that international players must be at least 20 on the day of their signing. If you are a player in the United States, the age requirement is 22. Why? My best guess is that the WNBA doesn't want to start usurping talent from the colleges too early, since it is their major recruiting source. Out of the roughly 160 players in the WNBA, around 120 attended a U.S. college or university. We also started talking about the tallest woman basketball player that has played at UofL. That would be either Liz Dixon, Eseosa Imafidon or Syndi Schetnan, who were all 6'5". An interesting fact is that Liz didn't start her college time at UofL...she first went to Georgia Tech. Sydni and Eseosa didn't finish their careers as Cardinals...Sydni ended up at South Dakota St. and switched primarily to Volleyball there. Eseosa is now a senior at Providence. 

Ayse Melek Demira. 

Who is the tallest Cardinals player this upcoming season? That's a tie between Grace Mbugna and Ayse Melek Demira at 6'4"

The tallest WNBA player award goes to Margo Dydek..who has seen time at the Connecticut Sun, Los Angeles Sparks and the Utah Starzz. She is 7'2". 

The tallest woman I ever dated was a 6'4" girl from Anderson County, KY who was the little sister of one of my fraternity brothers. She confided to me it was nice to finally go out with someone she didn't have to start down upon...(I'm 6'3") and dance with someone who's head wasn't buried in her breasts during slow dances. I wonder whatever happened to her? 

Know a tall girl? Make sure and remember her on June 20 or 21, that is National Tall Girls Day and comes about on the Summer Solstice. 

I wonder if it's too early for a "tall boy"? 

 paulie

Louisville Volleyball predicted to finish third in ACC Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 STANFORD, PITT AND LOUISVILLE TOP THREE IN ACC PRESEASON VOLLEYBALL COACHES POLL

The votes are in and the coaches have spoken. The Stanford Cardinal were selected first in the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll, followed by Pitt and Louisville

The Cardinal received 280 votes and 10 first place votes. The Panthers got 277 votes and three first place votes. The Cardinals got 257 votes and one first place vote. Rounding out the top five were SMU with 245 votes and North Carolina with 220 votes. 

The next five? Georgia Tech totalled 198 votes, Miami came in with 193 votes, Florida State received 180 votes, NC State came in ninth with 148 votes and Wake Forest rounded out the top ten with 131 votes. 

The other eight schools? Virginia (114), Notre Dame (104), California (93), Clemson (89), Boston College (87), Duke (70), Syracuse (37) and Virginia Tech (21).

Stanford was eliminated in the NCAA DI Austin Semifinals last year by Wisconsin in four sets . Pitt made it to the National Semifinals before Texas A&M knocked them out of the tournament. Louisville got knocked out by Marquette in the second round of the tournament. 

Four UofL student-athletes made the All-ACC Preseason Volleyball team: Nayelis Cabello, Kalyssa Blackshear, Chloe Chicoine and Payton Petersen.

paulie