Field Hockey Scores Double O.T. Win at Syracuse -- Volleyball downs Virginia -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FIELD HOCKEY CARDS ESCAPE AT SYRACUSE 3-2

Justine Sowry has said it time and time again. Her #10 ranked Field Hockey squad refuses to quit. For the third straight match, the Cards went into an overtime situation and won their second game in a row with a 3-2 double-overtime thriller at #15 Syracuse.

Louisville got the early lead nine minutes into action when Meche Pastor sent a cross to Katie Schneider in the box and the San Diego sophomore sent the ball into the net. That lead held until the Cuse responded on a penalty corner --their only of the half -- and Roos Weers drove a shot past the Louisville defense. 

The squads went into halftime with that 1-1 tie. Louisville had a 5-1 shot advantage and 2-1 corner edge. 

With 26 minutes left in the second half, Syracuse took the lead on another penalty corner and it was Roos Weers again with the scoring shot. Louisville needed an answer and finally got one with eight minutes left, after a review that upheld an awarded penalty corner to the Cards. Bethany Russ's initial shot was deflected but Alli Bitting was there for the bounce and stuck the ball into the net for the equalizer. 

Regulation ended with that 2-2 tie and the teams went to the 7v7 sudden victory, 10 minutes format. The Cards had two corner chances and out-shot the Orange 2-1 in the first overtime session but could not get a score. 

In the second extra session, Louisville finally got a chance with 39 second left on the clock. UofL had a penalty corner, this time it was Bitting who supplied Meche Pastor with the scoring opportunity feed and the Melbourne, Australia red-shirt sophomore made good on her attempt to give the Cards the win. She ran to the bench with hands in the air, a joyous celebration. Roos Weers threw her stick and penalty corner mask down in disgust. 

Louisville (12-4) continues the road trip with a stop at Albany on Sunday. 


VOLLEYBALL CAPTURES CAVALIERS MATCH IN FIVE

While Field Hockey was dealing with a pesky Orange squad, Louisville Volleyball was battling a determined Virginia Cavalier unit four states south in Charlottesville. The Cavs pushed the Cards to five set but UofL emerged victorious 18-25, 25-22, 25-19, 18-25, 15-2.

That old bugaboo -- service errors -- came back to see the Cards in the first set (Louisville produced four of them) and the home squad went on a nice run to bust open a close 16-13 game to win by seven -- getting their final point when Molly Sauer plunked a service attempt into the net. 

Game two was a back and forth chess match after Virginia managed to tie it at 14 all. From 18-18, the Cards managed to grab a 23-22 advantage and then got scores from Emily Scott and Mia Stander to grab the set. Sauer atoned for her earlier service woes with a couple of service aces in the set. 

After the break, Louisville went from a 9-7 lead to gain a 23-13 advantage behind the efforts of Piper Roe and Melanie McHenry. The Wahoo Volleyballers weren't quite ready to switch sides of the court yet, though...and ran off five unanswered point. Coach Dani sensed the need to have a chat with her squad, got a time out and the Cards emerged and turned the "Speedway Slammer" loose on UVA...McHenry getting the final two kills. 

"Vince, can you promise us we'll beat Virginia in something
if we give you this job?" 

The Cards couldn't sustain the momentum in the fourth game and trailed throughout. 11-6 turned into a 18-10 advantage for the Charlottesville jumpers and they went on to take a seven-point win. 

The deciding fifth set was all Louisville, all the time....don't go changing that dial. It was UVA's turn to hit incorrectly and seven hitting errors help the Cards go from an early 3-0 lead to a 10-2 advantage. UVA tried to regroup with a timeout but, if anything, it energized Louisville instead and the Cards took the final five points for the "double glance, did I read that right?" 15-2 match winner.

Louisville (16-4, 9-0) heads to their biggest match of the season next, on Sunday, Sunday, Sunday...where they'll tangle with the undefeated Pitt Panthers in the Fitzgerald Fieldhouse. Our Worldwide Jeff McAdams plans on buzzing the event in his electric car and he'll preview the event today on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR. 


RADIO, RADIO...OH, HAVE YOU HEARD RADIO?

The same two knuckleheads who brought fear and terror to Mellwood Avenue last week (Paulie and Jeff) are back at it again this morning, and they bringing in the closer as well, good friend and frequent guest Daryl Foust. We're never quite sure what we're going to get when Daryl dances through the door, and that makes the broadcast all that much more fun and improvisational. 

We expect we'll hear about her new job with the ACC Network and we'll attempt to cover Field Hockey, WSOC, Volleyball, both Soccer's and try to toss in a little women's and men's hoops for seasoning. It should be a fun and busy morning. 

Give us a whirl, eh?  Head to WCHQ FM to explore your listening and viewing options or dial us up at 100.9 FM locally. 


paulie
xxxxx











  

Field Hockey loses heartbreaker to Duke -- Volleyball and WSOC triumphant -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FIELD HOCKEY FALLS IN SHOOTOUT TO DUKE 1-0 

An exciting but ultimately sad outcome for Louisville Field Hockey in cold and wet Trager Stadium...the Cards falling in a shootout after regulation and two overtime periods failed to produce a score. The match went to a shootout and after that one ended in a tie, another took place. Duke scored one more goal in the shootout and takes the win over Louisville

Defense was the name of the game in this one...after regulation and the two overtimes, the Blue Devils held a 3 to 2 advantage on shots on goal. The Cards were holding firm against Duke all-Americans Margaux Paolino and Rose Tynan but couldn't put anything together offensively. It seemed the Cards spent most of their time on defense in the overtime periods but kept the shut-out intact. 

Onto the shootout. Five players lined up for each squad to try and score, one at a time and one-on-one against the respective goalkeepers. Meghan Schneider and Taylor Stone found success for the Cards but Duke countered with two scores on Ayeshia McFerran and the contest went to a continuation of shoot outs. 

Duke's Erin Scherrer knocked in the winner in the second attempt at shootouts and two hours plus of Field Hockey had come to an end. A challenge earlier led to a video review that took a goal away from the Cards Mercedes Pastor and the officials called for a "re-do". Louisville should have used the "liar, liar, pants on fire" response but the subsequent attempt...the re-do, if you will, was scored by Taylor Stone past Duke goalie Sammie Steele...so the officiating decision just wasted time.  Reports vary about what the referees saw that cause the re-do, I heard two different things...so I'll go with the time-honored classic..."The refs tried to screw Louisville but it foiled" . 

Duke won it when Steele blocked Bethany Russ's attempt to tie it in the second shootout.

The Cards go to 10-4 on the season and 2-3 in the ACC. Duke remains in second place in the conference standings at 12-3, 4-1. 

I got a brief chance to talk with Duke head coach Pam Bustin after the match (no audio recorded though) who was grateful for the win and commented on how good the Cards were and how Louisville vs. Duke contests are always good ones. The teacher got the pupil this time. 

We caught up with Justine Sowry, too, after the defeat. Here's that clip: 

COACH SOWRY DISCUSSES LOSS TO DUKE

VIDEO VERSION  (with the complementary CSX visit and Carole Banda walk-thru).

Louisville faces Miami (OH) Sunday on Senior Day. 


VOLLEYBALL DOWNS VIRGINIA TECH 

Louisville Volleyball goes to 8-0 in the ACC with a three set sweep of Virginia Tech tonight 25-17, 25-18, 25-20 in Cardinal Arena Friday Night.. 

Three Cards reached double figures in the kills department with Megan Sloan leading the way with 12. Both Melanie McHenry and Amanda Green recorded 11 for Louisville. 

McHenry became the 19th member of the Louisville 1,000 point club in the second set of the contest. 

The Cards jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the first set after Green powered one from the back row. Louisville increased that to 21-14 and went on to win by eight.

The second set proved more of the same for UofL...Wilma Rivera's service ace had Louisville enjoying an 11-8 lead. That lead increased to 20-15 as the set progressed and the Cards hit .400 in a 25-18 win. 


After the break, the Cards went up 7-4 and led 15-11 after a Molly Sauer service ace. Victory looked well-in-hand after a Piper Roe tip created a 22-16 UofL lead and the Cards went on to take game, set and match with the five-point win. 

The Pitt showdown looms ever closer...just eight days away between the top two in the ACC


Worldwide Jeff will bring a lot mote about this one on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR tomorrow at 11 a.m. on WCHQ 100.9 FM

Dani Busboom Kelly had this to say after the match: 

https://soundcloud.com/user-748907999/dr0000_1518mp3



WOMEN'S SOCCER WINS AT WAKE

Cardinal women's soccer picked up three points and improved to 11-3, 5-2 with a 2-0 shut out of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons Friday night in Winston-Salem. 

Emina Ekic got the party started when beat three defenders and fired a net-finder past Wake's goalie at the 23 minute mark in the the first half. That score held up for the remainder of the first half. Gabby Kouzelos was not tried in the first half, due to the Cards stellar defense. 

Just seven minutes into second half action, the Cards found success again. This time, Gabrielle Vincent sent a long, free kick toward the goal and Callie McKinney "used her head" to knock the ball into the goal. 

The Cards maintained possession for most of the second half...Kouzelos challenged with just two shots and getting two saves in the final 45 minutes and the defense held strong. Louisville had a couple of other scoring opportunities in the second half...including a chance by Delaney Snyder that bounced off the side post and a Maisie Whitsett attempt that just barely went high over the net.


Coach Karen Ferguson Dayes was pleased with the effort and outcome, commenting: 

"Tonight was a great team win against a very talented Wake Forest squad. I'm very proud of our group, they stayed extremely focused and I thought we played well tonight." 

The Cards return to action on Thursday night when they face #11 Duke in Durham, NC. 


THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

We'll be at half-strength Saturday Morning for The CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR...with both Case and Jared out of town, but Worldwide Jeff and I have "been there before" and went with a duo format often... back in the early days of The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour.

We'll still bring you the best hour of chat about UofL women's sports around. 

We've got player and coaches clips, plus a review of Volleyball, women's soccer, field hockey and more in store for you. Plus, Paulie bumbles through the upcoming schedule of events for Louisville Athletics.

Please join on Facebook Live, at 100.9 FM WCHQ or at the www.wchqfm.com Crescent Hill website for the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics! Download the WCHQ app at the website and take WCHQ with you wherever ye shall go! 


paulie

SUNDAY SUPERLATIVES -- FH, WSOC, VB ALL WINNERS -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Sunday was a good day for the Louisville Field Hockey, women's Soccer and Volleyball squads...all winning their matches against foes. The action began late Sunday morning for Cardinal squads and ended up late Sunday afternoon in Louisville, Chapel Hill, NC and Boone, NC...despite the different locations...the results were the same...wins for UofL teams! 


FIELD HOCKEY GETS A SUPER COOPER EFFORT

Justine Sowry's stick swingers traveled to Boone, NC to take on the Appalachian State Mountaineers in Field Hockey on Sunday and got a great performance from freshman Erica Cooper offensively in a 4-0 win. 

Cooper, a freshman from Louisville's Assumption high school, delivered all four of the Cardinal scores and didn't waste anytime in getting started. Just 30 seconds into the contest, she took a feed from sophomore Bethany Russ in the middle of the circle and sent a shot toward the net that found success and the Cards first score. 

That 1-0  lead increased just 90 second later to 2-0 when Cooper positioned herself low in the circle and got a tap-in against App. State goalie Rachel Gaines. The Cards kept firing, they ended up with 14 shots in the contest...10 of those on goal...and Cooper became the first Card to turn in a hat trick since Nicole Woods last year against Kent State when she followed up a rebound of a shot she took 30 minutes into the first half and guided that rebound into the net to make it 3-0. 

The first half ended that way 3-0 and Sowry encouraged The Stick Girls to continue to work hard and stay mentally focused in the final 35 minutes.

Aussie "Nic" Youman was a Cardinal FH great. 

Cooper's final tally came with ten minutes left in the contest. Mercedes "Meche" Pastor attempted a shot that was blocked by a App. State defender and Cooper was there to follow up the loose ball and knock it in. With the score, Cooper became the first Cardinal to reach four goals since September 17th, 2010 when Nicole Youman produced a four-bagger against Georgetown. 

With the win, Louisville improves to 7-3 on the season. They'll return to action Saturday when they travel to Virginia for a match against Wahoo Nation...UVA.



SOCCER SCORES LATE TO DOWN SYRACUSE 1-0

Louisville women's Soccer took the field Sunday afternoon in overcast and blustery conditions to face 3-7 Syracuse in ACC play. Most figured the 8-1 Cards would take the contest over the Orange...but few could have predicted just how they did it. 

The Cardinals began the first half, and spent much of the game, in Syracuse territory trying shots against both Syracuse goalkeepers (they switched the net-tenders at halftime) but the crosses weren't quite connecting and after 45 minutes of play, the teams were still right where they started...locked in a 0-0 contest. 


We don't know exactly what Louisville head soccer coach Karen Ferguson Dayes said to the squad at halftime...Coach told us post game that she'd been "rough" on the girls lately during the intermission breaks...but whatever she said seemed to inspire a more consistent and organized attack on Syracuse. 

The emotion level seemed to be more pronounced in the Cardinal players in the final half. The shots kept coming...Louisville had a 9-4 advantage in shots in the first half and a 10-3 domination in the final 45...but the Syracuse goalkeepers combined for 10 saves in the contest. Still, nothing was crossing the line and as time ticked down, it certainly appeared that we would be heading to overtime soccer.

Then, the "Rivers" flowed. 

With 15 seconds remaining in regulation, Maisie Whitsett drove toward the goal for what appeared to be another attempt to score. She deftly got a pass to Brooklynn Rivers on her left, though...the pass fooled the Orange keeper and Rivers drove it home with nine seconds on the clock. A beautiful cross...and the Cards had a 1-0 lead. 

Pandemonium erupted on the field nine seconds later and the Cards were now owners of a 9-1 record and 3-0 in the ACC. 

Our photographer Jared Anderson captured the celebration post-game. Another late win for Louisville, against a determined Syracuse squad that didn't play like a team that was 3-7 and 0-2 in conference. 

Cardinal goalkeep Gabby Kouzelos had a relatively quiet event, only having three shots on goal to defend. The 19-7 Louisville shot advantage included 11 shots on goal, Emina Ekic and Callie McKinney trying four shots. 

We caught up with a joyful Rivers after the contest. You can hear both her and Coach K's post-game remarks below: 

POST-GAME BROOKLYNN RIVERS

KAREN FERGUSON DAYES POST GAME REMARKS

One of the best starts in history for Louisville women's soccer. A team that was pre-season picked to finish ninth in the ACC now sits atop the conference standings with North Carolina. That showdown between #1 and #2 looms.... 

Louisville returns to action September 29th., when the Cards travel to Chapel Hill, NC to face the North Carolina Tar Heels. 




(Thanks to Jared for the WSOC pictures you see in today's column and the post-game remarks.)


VOLLEYBALL WINS IN FIVE OVER UNC

The Serve and Volley Cards completed the Sunday activities for Louisville women's sports and survived a five-set, back and forth tilt with the TarHeels in Chapel Hill...25-20, 22-25, 25-20, 25-27, 15-13. 

A match that featured 19 Melanie McHenry kills and 18 from Megan Sloan. It came down to a 13-13 tie in the fifth set. For UofL, though, Amanda Green stepped up with two straight kills to clinch game, set and match for the Cards...who go to 9-4 on the season and 2-0 in the ACC. 

A relatively easy first set for Dani Busboom Kelly's squad, jumping out to a 7-2 lead and leading 18-12 before taking the five-point victory. Emily Scott had three straight points in the set (two blocks and a kill) and Jasmine Bennett delivered the final kill to put the first one in the win column

Set two featured a high hitting average for UNC (.353) and the Tar Heels held a 21-16 lead before Louisville battled back to get within two at 23-21. North Carolina took two of the final three points, thoug, to get the three-point win. 

UofL rallied back after the break despite a slow beginning to the third set...trailing 7-1. The Cards evened the match at 15-15 on a McHenry kill and found themselves knotted with UNC 20-20 before running off the final five points. McHenry's service ace closed out the 25-20 Louisville win in set three. 

A back and forth set followed, the Cards leading early 5-1 but NC rallying to tie it at 8-8. Plenty of ties in the set (14) and it came down to a 25-25 tie before two straight North Carolina kills closed it out and a fifth set awaited. 

Louisville returns to the hardwood later in the week with another road trip...beginning Friday, Sept 28th. in Atlanta against Georgia Tech and then to Clemson to face the Tigers on Sunday, Sept 30th. 

A great Sunday for Cardinal women's athletics. Despite a rather dismal start to the weekend...when Cardinal Football fell on their face at Virginia 27-3...the sun came up Sunday morning and the Cards gather three wins. 

Have a great week, everyone! Enjoy what Jared and Case provide here the rest of the week and I'll "see you on the radio" and Facebook Live on Saturday with The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. 


paulie
xxxxx