WBB Luncheon -- Field Hockey loses in ACC Tournament -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

WBB TIP-OFF LUNCHEON

The Louisville women's basketball program held their 2022 Tip-Off Luncheon Tuesday at the Galt House East and a grand time was had by all. This pre-season fan event just seems to get better year after year and the fans/attendees I spoke with unanimously agreed it was a good gathering and great presentation. 

Fans entering the ballroom were greeted by the Cardinal Pep Band, Ladybirds dancing on stage and Louie the Cardinal Bird. It was good to see a lot of friends there and I was able to catch up with a few before we sat down to eat -- including Cardinal Great Valerie Owens Combs and her daughter Gia (pictured above). 

Nick Curran served as the emcee of the event and after his introductory remarks, fans were treated to a video of Louisville's accomplishments last season. The players were introduced after that and they all seemed pretty excited to be there. Mykasa Robinson delivered the invocation and fans began dining on the luncheon. A mixed green salad with rolls, followed by roast beef, mashed potatoes and green beans and tiramisu for dessert was the menu for the afternoon and everything was excellent (Sonya enjoying the tiramisu dessert the most). 

As people finished the lunch, Nick thanked the sponsors and brought up Louisville athletic director Josh Heird to talk to the attendees. Josh kept his remarks positive, short and sweet and the next segment was a Q and A session with Hailey Van Lith, Mykasa Robinson and Olivia Cochran. Unlike in previous years, where a microphone was passed amongst the crowd, this year Curran handled the question-asking and the players did a fine job responding to the questions.  

Jeff Walz closed out the luncheon with remarks and comments. I took a chance and recorded his remarks (and some things before them) and they are at the link below.

LINK: WBB luncheon with Jeff Walz, players and others.

All in all, a fine couple of hours with Cardinal Fans who were excited to be there, to see the team and celebrate the accomplishments of last year and the start of the season. 

FIELD HOCKEY FALLS IN ACC TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS TO VIRGINIA 1-0. 

A tough loss for the Field Hockey squad Tuesday evening to Virginia in the ACC Tournament. 

Virginia scored the lone goal of the contest with 4:30 left in the first quarter and the defenses reigned after that. A cursory look at the game's stat sheet (before seeing the score) might lead one to think Louisville might have won this match. The Cards had 13 shots, six on goal...compared to Virginia's four shots, two on goal. 

Credit UVA goalie Jet Trimborn with a wonderful job out keeping UofL attempts out of the net.

I don't normally go into a lot of detail on Cardinals lossesand I won't here. Let;s just say that they got outscored and leave it at that.  

The loss just may have negatively sealed the fate of Louisville's chances of getting into the NCAA Field Hockey Tournament. The Cards went 4-6 in their last 10 games and plummeted from their #4 ranking back on Oct 21st. Losing your last four games doesn't impress selection committee members, especially when the Tournament has only 19 teams in it. 10 conferences get automatic conference qualifiers for their conference champs and that eats up a lot of the spots, leaving nine at-large teams.  A "best guess" scenarios indicate the ACC will probably get four teams "in" -- North Carolina, Syracuse, Wake Forest and Virginia. 

The end of the season failure by Field Hockey is disappointing, puzzling and a bit depressing. I do truly hope that the Cards can get in -- maybe strength of schedule and high rankings early in the season can get them there...but, the odds are unlikely. 

Coach Sowry on the game and NCAA Tournament: 

“Tough game, tough loss. I think the first half was pretty competitive between both teams, back-and-forth with momentum changes, but in the second half, we were lights out, dominant. I’m just so proud of the way we played with the ball, playing Louisville field hockey and defending as a unit. We had our chances to win, unfortunately we were unable to put one in the back of the net. Now we wait. Our resume is still strong. We’ll be watching closely. I think we still have a chance and with the hockey that we’re playing, a potential opponent in the NCAA tournament would not want to face the Louisville field hockey team.”

We'll know Sunday night around 10 p.m. when the selection show is shown on NCAA.com. 

paulie

 

WBB -- Some thoughts and observations -- ACC FH Bracket -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

2022-23 WBB CARDS HAVE TALENT, HEIGHT AND SCORING

It all gets underway next Monday for this 2022-23 Louisville WBB squad. They've had their media day, they'll have their annual luncheon this Tuesday and they'll play their first game of a (at least) 32 game schedule against the Cincinnati Bearcats on next Monday at the KFC YUM! Center. 

There are a lot of questions out there about this squad. One that gets repeated probably the most is "is this the year that Louisville wins it all?"  And...I'd love to jump in a magical time machine and fast forward to Sunday, April 2nd and see which two teams are squaring off in Dallas at American Airlines Arena for the title. 

Some things that will make Louisville a contender for the title? I'll give you my top five things that I think will be helpful in building any Final Four run and appearance. 

1) The Cards have scorers. It's an old joke, but Jeff Walz will tell you about the players that approach him and tell him they are shooters. And, he tells them shooters are fine, but he prefers makers. This team has makers. Let's start with Hailey Van Lith and Olivia Cochran. Let's add new-to-the-roster Chrislyn Carr, Morgan Jones and Josie Williams. And we can't forget about Payton Verhulst, Liz Dixon, Norika Konno and three freshmen that come in with impeccable high-school resumes (yes, just three) since Imani Lester will red-shirt and Alexia Mobley is recovering from a foot injury. And scoring solves a lot of ills. 

2) Louisville WBB has height. Two 6'5" posts in Liz Dixon and Josie Williams. Cochran is 6'3" Louisville has four more players at 6'2". Height is a plus when it comes to rebounding. Altering and blocking shots numbers go up when you have decent height. 

3) Experience is also quite prevalent on the Cardinal squad. Five graduate players and one senior. A strong junior class with Van Lith, Cochran and Russell. Players who "have been there, done this or that and won't get rattled". Road crowds can get hectic and loud. They can rattle the less-experienced student-athlete. The self-confidence and mind set of coming in to concentrate on running plays and playing defense. 

4) Commitment. Being part of a all-for-one, one-for-all" mind set and philosophy. Ask the players on the team. They are committed to returning to the Final Four and winning two more game in it than last year. The new players want that magical ride also. They also know that commitment means doing the work in practice, doing it the right way and doing it as a unit. 

5) Luck. You have to have a little luck on the road to the Final Four as well, The opponents' shots that bounce off the rim into your hands. A star opponent not having a great game. You "shooting the lights out" early in a contest and burying an opponent. Some say that you create your own luck. Maybe so, but a bit of unexpected good luck can be very beneficial. 

Jeff Walz has a slide now that leads from his office on the second floor to the Cards WBB practice court.  Besides Lola and Lucy probably loving it to death, Coach says it gets him to practice in a hurry. i wouldn't be surprised if a prankster or two has (or has had) some fun with that already, or as the season progresses. I think a small swimming pool of red jello at the bottom would make for some great fun. I told a few unsuspecting people that the start of the slide was underneath the chair where media sit to interview Walz. If he's unhappy with the questions, he pushes a button and off you go. Can The Cards slide into a Final Four? We'll see. 

Here's hoping for a fun and entertaining season. Never underestimate how important you are as fan, either. Those swelling roars of approval and thunderous applause are a spark for your team and a hindrance to the opponent.  

ACC FIELD HOCKEY TOURNAMENT BRACKET SET

Louisville Field Hockey is the #6 seed in the ACC FH Tournament and will face #3 seed Virginia in quarterfinal action. The Cards play at 6 p.m. and it'll be shown on the ACC Network. 

UNC is the #1 seed and gets the quarterfinals "bye". #4 seed Boston College and #5 seed Syracuse meet each other at 1 p.m., #7 seed (and tournament host) Duke draws #2 seed Wake Forest and they'll take the pitch at 3:30 p/m.  Per usual, the game times are approximations...although it might be interesting and amusing to see officials and security take the field at 3:29 Tuesday and force stop the Duke vs Wake match, if it's still going on. 

For the record, the Cards did lose to Virginia at Virginia (Charlottesville) on 9/30/22 in regular season play by a final score of 2-0. Let's hope our Cards do better tomorrow. I expect Jared will have more on the Tournament in his column tomorrow (if we can get him away from taking selfies with anything that moves on the Belknap Campus or the playing facilities thereof). 

FINALLY...

(Jeff Walz from 2018 luncheon)

The Louisville WBB Tip-Off luncheon is at the Galt House tomorrow, beginning at noon. Always a fun affair and great to see the team in a relaxed setting. I*'ve gotten some pretty good interviews in the past from there -- I'll miss the yearly one I've done with Sam Purcell ever since he arrived on campus -- but, maybe it's time to start a new tradition. 

Doors open at 11;30 AM and lunch is at noon. Hope to see you there !

paulie 

WBB vs Union -- FH Awards -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Women's Basketball vs Union

Louisville Women's Basketball unofficially opens up the 2021-2022 with an exhibition against Union University tonight at 7:00 p.m., at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Cards come into the game ranked #6 in the preseason AP poll. They are listed second in the ACC preseason poll.

Louisville returns nearly their entire team from last year. Dana Evans graduated. Elizabeth Balogun and Malea Williams transferred out.

Jeff Walz reloaded, though. Payton Verhulst, Sydni Schetnan, and Alexia Mobley join the Cards as freshmen. Mobley is confirmed to be redshirting and Coach Walz has hinted that Schetnan may follow suit. He also brought in Emily Engstler and Chelsie Hall from the transfer portal.

The starting five is up for grabs and your guess is as good as mine. However, I'll take a jab at the starting five we see: Hailey Van Lith, Mykasa Robinson, Kianna Smith, Olivia Cochran, and Emily Engstler. I could take out any of those names and replace it with Chelsie Hall and I'd feel as confident with my guess either way.

Union University makes the drive up north from Jackson, Tenn. The DII school is reigning Gulf South Conference Champions and is the favorite to repeat as conference champions. The Bulldogs fell in the Regional Semifinals last year. They are currently ranked #12 (media poll) and #19 (WBCA poll).

Former UofL WBB player Sara Hammond was their assistant coach from 2017-2021. She's now married, living in Memphis and head coach at Lausanne Collegiate School, a college preparatory school in Memphis The Jeff Walz coaching tree continues to expand.

Union is no easy team to square off against, especially at the beginning of the year. The Bulldogs will keep the Cards on their toes tonight and should be an excellent game to watch.

There is no viewing option listed for this game, but you can tune into 790-AM WKRD to hear Nick Curran and Adrienne Johnson on the call.

Field Hockey Awards

The ACC Field Hockey Awards were recently announced and Louisville dominated the awards.

Justine Sowry was named ACC Coach of the Year after leading the Cards to a 16-2 overall record and a perfect 6-0 in ACC play.

Alli Bitting was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Bitting came back for a fifth season and was a crucial part of the defense that allowed 16 goals in 18 matches. The super senior also scored a pair of goals.

Mila de Kuijer was named ACC Freshman of the Year. After Sam Minrath was still recovering from what was described as  health issues, de Kuijer was immediately thrust into the starting goalkeeper and was the only active keeper on the roster for much of the year. Her seven shutouts was the best of any keeper in the ACC.

Katie Schneider was named to the All-ACC Second Team while Julie Kouijzer and Aimee Plumb joined Bitting and de Kuijer on the All-ACC First Team. 

Louisville earned the 1-seed in the ACC Tournament hosted by Syracuse. The Cards earned the sole first round bye. They will play the winner of 4-seed Boston College and 5-seed Virginia. On the other side of the bracket, 2-seed Syracuse and 7-seed Duke will play and 3-seed North Carolina and 6-seed Wake Forest will play.

The ACC Field Hockey Championship is scheduled for November 4, 5 and 7 at Syracuse’s J.S. Coyne Stadium. The quarterfinal games are scheduled for 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, Nov. 4, while the semifinals will be played on Friday, Nov. 5 at 1 and 3:30 p.m. The championship game is set for noon on November 7 on ACCN. Mike Corey (play-by-play) and Leah Secondo (analyst) will be on the call for all of the games of the championship. 

I'm not great at filling out brackets, as we've all seen in the famous Cardinal Couple Basketball Pick Em, but if I were had to make a Pick Em, the favorites would win all the way up to the final game. However, with Syracuse playing host for the event and having the comfort of home field advantage, I fear the Cards may fall in the final.

BUT, if Louisville were to take another loss this year, I would much rather it be in the ACC Tournament and then they go on to win the NCAA Tournament. Ideally, the Cards win out and take both titles.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

ACC Field Hockey Tournament Final: UNC 4 - Louisville 2 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS FIELD HOCKEY FALLS IN FINAL TO UNC

The weather was ideal for the ACC Field Hockey Tournament finals yesterday in Chapel Hill and so was the start for the University of Louisville squad. Unfortunately for Cardinals fans, the ending wasn't what was hoped for, as UNC overcame an early UofL 2-0 lead by putting four goals on the Cards in the final three quarters and taking the 4-2 win.

The Cards controlled the action on Karen Shelton Field early in the match and that dominance paid off midway through the first quarter when freshman Charlie van Oirschot maneuvered the ball close to the goal and fed Katie Schneider on the left side of the cage. The San Diego native fired a sot past UNC goalkeeper Amanda Hendry to give Louisville the first score. And, that's how the first half ended, the Cards holding a 1-0  lead

It was Schneider's turn again early in the second quarter. Louisville drew a penalty corner and Katie followed up on an Alli Bitting attempt with a tap into the net to make it 2-0 Cards.

 

Little did we know it at the time, but that was the Cards last score. UNC received a penalty corner about four minutes later and their star Erin Matson fired a shot past Cardinal keeper Hollyn Barr to cut the Cards lead in half. The squad went into halftime with that 2-1 tally, Louisville had a 6-3 shot advantage over UNC. 

The TarHeels really picked up their offensive attack intensity after the break and that paid off when they picked up the tying goal four minutes into action off the stick of Bryn Boylan. They forged ahea with about two minutes left in the third when Madison Orobono found success with a shot. 

Louisville had multiple opportunities to tie it up asthe third quarter wound down, getting four penalty corner attempt in a two-minute stretch...but the score remained the same. 

The match remained at 3-2 in the fourth until the final minute. To increase offensive chances, the Cards pulled Hollyn Barr from the game with about three minutes to go. Nothing seemed to work, though, and UNC was able to eventually draw another penalty corner and it was Matson again who put the final nail in the casket when her shot eent in to create the final 4-2 score. 

So, the fall season of 2020 Field Hockey ends with the over-achieving Cardinal squad surprising the rest of the league and making it to the finals of the ACC Tournament. A Cardinal squad that has a bright future and plenty of scoring options, a stout defense and quick-strike capabilities. What will we see in the spring? That's anyone guess right now, as far as competition opponents, venues and the NCAA Tournament, but I'm encouraged by this UofL squads talents and depth. They made it to the finals of a tournament that featured the best Field Hockey teams in NCAA College Field Hockey and will hopefully get the chance to expand upon those successes and get a high-seed in the NCAA Tournament this spring and create many more exciting moments in the sun at Trager Stadium and at other venues.

 

Coach Sowry comments on the contest:  

"Congratulations to Coach Shelton and Carolina, they have a fantastic team and they know how to win championships," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "I'm really proud of our group right now, they played superb hockey in the first half, but the third quarter hurt us. They came at us and we couldn't get the ball out of the backfield. We went away from our game plan, so that gave an opportunity for the momentum to shift in Carolina's favor. We still had chances and opportunities - they took theirs and we were unable to capitalize on ours. I'm just really proud of the fight, resilience and toughness that our team has shown this season," said Sowry. "We deserved to be in this final. We've come a long way. We've grown so much as a program and we're not done yet. It's going to be a bright future for us."

We look forward to the spring as we now move on to the upcoming ACC Women's Soccer Tournament, the start of Louisville WBB and, hopefully, more success for those in the red and black. 

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Although the final results haven't been posted "official" yet, it's rumored Jared edged out Curtis Franklin for the Cardinal Couple ACC Field Hockey Tournament Pick 'Em contest. He was the only entrant that had UNC winning the event, so the tiebreaker never came into play. He will fill you in more in his column here tomorrow and reveal to us which of the prizes he'll select -- a date with me -- an hour of technology talk with Jeff and Case -- or...a photo-shoot with himself. 

paulie

 

Field Hockey Championship Day - Sunday Cardinal Couple

 Field Hockey Goes for the 'Ship

Championship day in the ACC for Field Hockey gets underway.  The UofL Cards will square off with the UNC Tarheels at noon today for the Tournament Championship.

Justine Sowry's squad has been on an absolute tear this year, with the only blemish on the record being the regular season closeout against Syracuse.  The biggest win, of the many wins, is undoubtedly the early October, late afternoon victory over UNC, which at the time, snapped the Tarheels incredible 47 game win streak.

Given that the ACC is the only Division 1 conference playing fall Field Hockey this year, due to Covid-19, there will be no NCAA tournament this fall, though there will be one in the spring.  Currently the Field Hockey Final Four is scheduled for May 7th and 9th with a "regular" season slated for February 2nd through April 23rd.  Does this mean the ACC, or ACC teams will have another "regular" season?  No word, yet.  The tournament will be 12 teams, with all but two of them getting automatic qualifiers.  Has UofL already locked up an automatic qualifier for the ACC by virtual of winning this fall "regular" season?  Again, we don't have certainty on this.

If you've seen anything of UNC Field Hockey this year, including UofL's game against them earlier in the season, you've heard about Erin Matson.  Definitely the star of the team, Matson has 11 goals on the season, more then double anyone else on the team.  They aren't without other goal scorers, however, with Paityn Wirth and Eva Smolenaars both have five on the season, and a trio with a trio each, Meredith Sholder, Cassie Sumfest, and Hannah Griggs coming of the bench.

Amanda Henry is in the cage for UNC and has only had 12 goals scored on her all season, with 47 saves (79.7% save percentage).  In comparison, UofL's Hollyn Barr has 10 goals against with 28 saves (73.7% save percentage).

UNC will be looking for revenge for the earlier matchup that Louisville won, 3-1.  Erin Matson will, no doubt, be looking to reassert her presence on the field after largely being shut down by UofL in the earlier matchup.  They are playing on their home field and have slept in their own beds, so UofL has their work cut out for them.

The matchup will be on the ACC Network at noon.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

We were three for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour yesterday, at least audibly.  Jared checked in with some comments in our chat during the show, but mostly it was Paulie, Case and myself.

We enjoyed the warm weather, covered Field Hockey, Soccer, Women's Basketball (the WUGs are back!), and the appointment of a new "Senior Woman Administrator" in UofL Athletics in Amy Calabrese.

Check it out below.

JMcA

ACC Field Hockey Championships Underway -- Cards play today -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS FH FACES VIRGINIA TODAY

The 2020 ACC Field Hockey Tournament is off and running and three matches took place yesterday. In quarterfinal action, Virginia bested Wake Forest 2-1, North Carolina had no trouble with Boston College 4-0 and Syracuse got a goal in overtime to defeat Duke 3-2. Here's a recap of the quarters: 

VIRGINIA 2 - WAKE FOREST 1

Laura Janssen scored both the Cavalier goals to open quarterfinal action in a 2-1 win over the Demon Deacons. With the win, Virginia advances to the semifinals to face Louisville today at 1:30 on Karen Shelton Field in Chapel Hill on the North Carolina campus. The #4 seed Virginia squad got the first score of the contest when they earned a penalty corner with 58 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Janssen took a deflected shot by Wake Forest goalkeeper Tori Glaister and sent it back past the Wake goalie to make it 1-0 UVA

No other scores occurred in the remainder of the first half.

Wake Forest came back to tie the match with 7:29 remaining in the third quarter. The Deacs earned a penalty stroke off an illegal touching of the ball in front of the goal and Alexis Grippo won the one-on-one battle against Virginia goalkeeper Laura Hausheer to make it 1-1. The squads went into the fourth quarter locked up at 1-1 and were even in shots taken at eight each.

The game decider came just 1:11 into the fourth quarter. Virginia drew a penalty corner and , once again, Janssen tracked down a missed goal attempt and scooted the loose ball into the goal for a 2-1 Virginia lead that the Cavs would not relinquish the rest of the way.

NORTH CAROLINA 4 - BOSTON COLLEGE 0 

The #2 seeded North Carolina Tar Heels had little trouble against a #7 College squad that was playing only their third game of the fall season with a convincing 4-0 sweep of the Eagles. 

Payton Wirth got the Tar Heels on the board for the first time midway through the first quarter when she field an attempt from the left side of the net that got past B.C goalkeeper Jonna Kennedy. The unassisted score made it 1-0 and that's the way the first quarter ended. UNC would look to Wirth again in the second quarter and the sophomore got her second score with about 12 minutes left in the second frame off a rebound on a penalty corrner attempt to give UNC a 2-0 lead that they would take to halftime. 

The squads played a scoreless third quarter until the final 44 seconds, when Madison Orobono tracked down a blocked shot by Kennedy and knocked it past the BC defense to set the tally at 3-0. UNC would add a final goal with a little over two minutes remaining in the game, Erin Matson following up a blocked shot on a UNC penalty corner attempt and drilling the rebound into the back of the net for the Tar Heels final score of the contest. 

UNC held a 26-13 advantage in shots in the second quarterfinal game and dre 15 penalty corners, compared to five for Boston College. Wake goalie Kennedy was busy, collecting 11 saves and North Carolina goalie Amanda Hendry turned away nine Boston College attempts. 

The win was legendary UNC head coach Karen Shelton's 700th of her career. 

SYRACUSE 3 - DUKE 2

The #3 seed Syracuse spotted #6 seed Duke two first quarter goals but rallied back to tie the contest and force an overtime. In the "first score wins" extra session, the Orange got the victory to advance to the semifinals.

Early on, it was all Duke. Just a minute into the contest, the Blue Devils found Alayna Burns wide open in front of the net and she blasted a shot past Syracuse goalkeeper Piper Hampsch to make it 1-0. Nine minutes later, the Durham squad found success again when Darcy Bourne took the feed on a penalty corner and tallied the Blue Devils second score. Duke scored a third time in the quarter but the call was reversed and the initial period ended with Duke on top 2-0.

Syracuse methodically battled back and found success five minutes into the second quarter. Laura Graziosi took a feed a let a missile loose from the left side of the circle after some fancy footwork and drew the Orange within one. The half ended with the score 2-1 Duke leading.

Eefke van der Niewenhof tied the contest up with a shot off a penalty corner after 5:22 of play in the third quarter. Try as they might, neither squad could find a deciding goal in the fourth quarter and the squads went to overtime. 

Overtime in college Field Hockey is a 7-vs-7 set up on the pitch, with each team using a goalie and six other players. It opens up the field quite a bit and the action is a bit more frentic and fast-paced than in the regular time. 

Duke's upset bid ended rather quickly in overtime. With just 2:56 expired in the ten-minute overtime, Syracuse's Graziosi created a steal from the Duke attack and took the ball in front of Syracuse goal, where she fired a missile past Hampsch for the game winner. 

So, the action held true to seedings yesterday, as the #2, #2 and #4 seed advance to he semis. Let's take a look at Louisville vs. Virginia today: 

LOUSIVILLE VS VIRGINIA

The Louisville Cardinals come into the semi-final tilt against UVA with a 7-1 record. The Cards scored two victories over the Cavaliers in the fall regular season matches. Louisville defeated UVA 5-2 on October 23rd and 2-1 on the 24th. 

In the first match, the Cards took it took the home-standing UVA squad early with two first quarter goals, one by Mercedes Pastor and the other from Aimee Plumb. The Cards led 2-1 at the half, but Pastor found success early in the third quarter with a score and, after a Virginia score, Madison Walsh gave the Cards a 4-2 lead after three. The Cards would get a final score from Margot Lawn with about four minutes left in the contest for a convincing 5-2 win. 

The following day, UVA gave the Cards a much tougher contest. The two squad battled through a scoreless first half and it wasn't until midway through the third quarter that UofL got on the board, when Pastor knocked in a shot on a penalty corner. UVA would tie it with six minutes gone in the fourth quarter but Louisville got the win as time was running out of regulation when Charlie van Oirschot intercepted a Cavalier pass, forwarded the ball to Pastor and she fed Madison Walsh near the UVA goal.

Walsh took aim and managed to scoot the ball between the legs of UVA goalie Laura Hausheer with 10 second left in the match...for the 2-1 Cardinal "W". 

What do I expect today? First off, the weather won't be a factor with ideal conditions, sunny skies, no rain threat and unseasonably warm temps expected in Chapel Hill in the mid seventies for the early afternoon opening pass-back. The only dubious factor is the annoying shadows cast on Karen Shelton Field in early afternoon contests. 

The Cards can expect an intense effort from the Hoos to shut down Pastor, but this is a Louisville team with plenty of scoring options -- so we might see Lawn, Walsh, Erica Cooper and a multitude of other Cards take aim at the UVA net. 

Defensively, Louisville will rely on the strong goal-tending abilities of Hollyn Barr and the defensive play of Alli Bitting and Megan Schneider to keep the ball away from danger. I'll guess a 4-1 Louisville win over UVA and also predict that UNC will hold field against Syracuse to set up a Cards vs Heels final on Sunday. A tired UVA squad might have trouble keeping up with the fresh-legged Cardinals, UVA's opening match forced them to exert a lot of effort and energy. 

As mentioned earlier, game time for Louisville vs Virginia is 1:30 p.m. and the Orange and Heels will follow about an hour after the first game is completed. The matches are being shown on the ACC Network and the commentary/play-by-play has been quite good and accurate so far. 

Go Cards! 

paulie

  

CARDINAL WIN AND CARDINAL LOSSES -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

NOVEMBER is donation month here at Cardinal Couple. Here is another reason why we could use your support. I'll be quite honest with you...I really like the group of writers and photographer I have here on the site right now. Three guys who work full time at other jobs, have lives outside of work and our website, friends and family and responsibilities. They take the time each week to express their thoughts and opinions about UofL women's sports...all UofL sports...on these pages. We are a non-profit. They do this for love of game. Here's the deal. I would like to be able to get them a little something besides the occasional gift card. Maybe a prepaid gas card now and them to help them with the expenses of going around and covering these events. Something to say "Thank You" for the hard work, dedication, Cardinal coverage and creativity that Jeff, Jared and Case bring to these pages. 

Please consider donating to Cardinal Couple. Check, Pay-Pal...heck, even walk up to me and hand me cash if you want.

Our mailing address is Cardinal Couple c/o Paul Sykes PO Box 91521, Louisville, KY  40291. Make your check payable to Cardinal Couple. Thank you. YOU are CARDINAL COUPLE and WE never forget that. 


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VOLLEYBALL ROARS BACK TO DOWN DUKE ON ROAD

As Duke and Louisville played Volleyball on Sunday afternoon in Durham, NC...they had two avid watchers on the ACC Network Extra. Worldwide Jeff and I were following the action while covering the Louisville Field Hockey game in the ACC Tournament Finals. I was also following it on Stat-tracker. Early on, it wasn't going so well for the Serve and Volley Cards. Down two sets and in a dog-fight in the third...the "Busboom Boomers" were in distress. 

Then, Field Hockey ended and I needed to wander down to get post-game chatter from Coach Sowry. Worldwide wasn't budging....choosing to remain in the press box and watch the action in Durham. I expected nothing less. 

Maybe it's good I left. While I unsuccessfully attempted to get post-game comments from Coach Sowry (she got those out of the way quite quickly before this old man could get down the steps and onto the pitch...talking to a media contingent that had been noticeably absent all season. Go figure) the Volleyball squad started to rally. While I trudged back to my car and headed home, the Cards had won the third and fourth sets and when I entered the house, I was able to catch the fifth and final set. 

Cards WIN! The Cards WIN! A back and forth, topsy-turvy exciting thriller on the Duke campus. 23-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-16, 15-19. Melanie McHenry with 16 kills. Backs to the wall and on the ropes, the Serve and Volley Cards come back. 

It almost didn't happen. The Cards fell behind in game three 19-17 before going on a 8-1 run to stay alive and win the contest. Maggie DeJong had two kills during the final nine volleys of the third game.  

The Cards commanded action in the final set by jumping out to a 5-1 lead. The Blue Devils could not contain Tess Clark in the final chapter...she registered three kills late -- including the set and match point. She ended up with 12 kills on the day. 

The win puts the Cards in a three-way tie for first place in the ACC standings with Pittsburgh and NC State...all 12-2 in ACC play. Louisville comes back from their Tar Heel state jaunt to face Virginia (7 p.m.) on Friday night and Virginia Tech (2 p.m.) on Sunday in Cardinal Arena. 

Be there.


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FIELD HOCKEY FALLS IN FINAL TO TAR HEELS 1-0

When you can't score, you aren't going to win and that's what happened to Louisville Field Hockey Sunday in the ACC Tournament Championship finals. Shooting predicates scoring and the Cards weren't doing much of that either against UNC...one shot in 35 minutes of first half action and just three in the final half. The TarHeels got 13 shots off in a game that emphasized defense. 

UNC was the #5 seed in the tournament but actually had a better record (14-4) than the third seeded Cards (14-6) coming into the match. And, make no mistake about it...this is a very good North Carolina squad. Ashley Hoffman is the ACC defender of the year. They were more organized than Louisville and played a lock-down, stifling defense. 

The Cards had a shot at getting on the board with 13 minutes left in the game. Whena Munn got free on a jailbreak and dashed down the pitch to try UNC goalie Amanda Hendry but her shot was denied. The Cards also got a penalty corner attempt a couple of minutes later. Hendry covered that shot up as well. 

Although I didn't get to record this, losing coach Sowry did say: 

" It's so disappointing that we were unable to put one in the back of the net. We're young. Even right up to the last minutes we really didn't know how to handle those moments. I'll put it down to youth, but it's been one heck of a season so far. To win back-to-back against Syracuse and a formidable Duke squad , that's preparing for the NCAA Tournament and ultimately the Final Four here. I'm super proud." 

Freshman Alli Bitting and sophomores Ayeshia McFerran and Carter Ayars were named to the All-ACC Tournament team. 

And so, the Cards move on to the NCAA Tournament. Yes, they are in...one of the 18 teams (and six ACC squads) who got invites. Louisville will open in Ann Arbor, MI against #9 Northwestern on Saturday (game time to be announced). If UofL wins, they would get either Michigan or Syracuse in Round Two. 

The Cards have played all three schools in the Michigan bracket this year. They fell to the Wildcats of the Big Ten 2-0 in the regular season and Michigan came to Louisville and knocked them around 5-0 in Trager. Louisville had two 3-2 wins over the Orange...one in regular season play and one in the ACC Tournament.

Chances of Louisville getting through this gauntlet and back to Trager Stadium for the Final Four? Difficult but not impossible. Michigan had their number, obviously...and starting the tournament against Northwestern wasn't the best match the Cards could have hoped for. 

Chances of Paulie getting a final post game interview with Field Hockey players and Coach Sowry this year...also difficult but not impossible. It is regrettable and a bit disappointing that the guy who conducted the vast majority of the post-game home interviews this year got shut out twice in a row...but I'll end on a positive note here and say that it has been a joy to cover them this season and they have played some exciting hockey. 

Turn Minnie Mink loose. Jared needs the goals. She's a scorer (that's what she does). A big thanks to him for the wonderful photo work he has done this year and it is featured here again today. You can see all of his photography work from Sunday (and the season) on his Facebook page (Jared Daniel Anderson). 

We'll update you when we get specific game times and ways to watch. The chances are 100% that Cardinal Couple won't be there for live coverage. 


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Louisville men's soccer went through 110 minutes of scoreless soccer Sunday against Virginia before losing in a shootout (Doc Holiday, Wyatt Earp, OK Corral!) The Cards are eliminated from the ACC Tournament with the loss at Lynn and will wait their fate in the NCAA Men's Soccer Selection Brackets that will be released on Saturday. The Cards were ranked 6th in the nation before the game and will hopefully get a chance to host opening action in the 64 team field. 



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THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

The weekly edition of The Cardinal Couple Radio finally got put up for rebroadcast at WCHQFM. Hear it here: 

THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR 11/3/17

We had big fun talking UofL women's sports, bashing each other, and went off on an interesting tangent about space launches. No, we're not sending Walz to the moon...nor Sowry to Saturn but it was revealing. 
Have a great Monday! 

Paulie

Sunday Cardinal Couple

Welcome to the Extra Sleep, No More Shootouts, Sunday edition of Cardinal Couple.

I hope everyone enjoyed their extra hour of sleep last night (unless we have some non-American readers...and Arizonans, what's up with that, Arizona?).

I'm sure Paulie appreciated the extra hour as he's been burning the candle at both ends to bring you the awesome sports coverage, particularly of Field Hockey, that you've come to expect from Cardinal Couple (as well as Handicapping Heroes, FWIW).

November is the one month of the year where come out and ask you, dear reader, for your support of this site, and the work we do.  We don't get paid for this, we don't even get our expenses covered, generally.  It's a hobby.  It's a hobby that we love, and we're glad that you love it too.

UofL Athletics, (heck, the University as a whole) has been going through some rough patches recently.  Our mission is to bring the joy and excitement of UofL Women's Sports (and more!) to you.  We are independent of UofL and UofL Athletics, they don't exert control over our coverage in any way.  Sports will go on through the hardships.  We promise that we will do everything we can, to bring you the same great coverage of the wonderful things happening along Floyd Street and elsewhere.  We won't shy away from covering the challenges and scandals, but know that our primary mission is to cover sports that have been relatively untouched by these challenges.

Help us highlight the great things in college sports, and help shine a light on how great college sports can be when the motives and incentives are right.

Tennis

It was a pretty quiet day for athletics for Cardinals yesterday, unless you swing a tennis racket as they
had about 897 competitions going on yesterday.

The women are hosting the Louisville Tennis Classic, with Ball State, West Virginia, and Michigan State in attendance.  The morning session was all about the doubles, and Louisville did well, sweeping both Ball State and West Virginia.

In the afternoon session, Michigan State would take the singles matchup, with the Cards only winning on one court.

The rackets will be swinging at Bass-Rudd against today with a singles matchup against Ball State starting, of course, at 1pm.

The men were in action in two separate events.  The men's doubles team of Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff and Parket Wynn were defeated in the semi-finals of the event.  They represented the Cards well, and lost to what Coach Rex Ecarma seems to think might be the eventual champions of the event.

At the Dick Vitale Lakewood Ranch Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic, UofL was represented by several players.  Federico Gomez had the most success on the day, winning two singles matches, with Brandon Lancaster picking up a singles win as well.

Rowing

Rowing was in action, and I have to say, they have the best competition names of any sport I've ever seen, at the Head of the Hooch in Chattanooga, TN.

The Cardinals picked up wins in the Championship 8+, the Championship 4+, and the Championship 2x events.

Field Hockey in Action Today

This is a big one, folks.  If you've been following Cardinal Couple in any of the ways we communicate over the past couple of days, you know that this weekend is a big deal for Field Hockey.

They have played their way into the championship game of the ACC Tournament where they are matching up with North Carolina today at 1.  Before this year, the Field Hockey Cardinals had never won a game in ACC Tournament competition, so to find their way to the championship game this year is a monster of a result to begin with.

UNC advanced over Wake Forest on Thursday, the day of 3-2 victories, and upset number 1 seed Virginia on Friday to reach the championship game from their side of the bracket.  The Cardinals beat UNC 3-2 in the regular season, so the Tarheels will be out for revenge.  Ayeisha McFerran, for the Cards, is coming off of a dominant performance in the cage with a career high 18 saves against Duke on Friday.

This one is on ACC Network Extra at 1pm, in the Louisville area, you may have to catch it on the Raycom Sports Network (RCN).  That will show up on one of the Fox Sports channels, most likely, and it should also be available through the Fox Sports Go app.  You can also follow https://twitter.com/CardinalCouple and https://twitter.com/CardCoupleRadio for twitter updates as I believe both Paulie and myself will be in attendance.  I think we will also have Jared Anderson there as well getting more great photos.

Volleyball

Volleyball is also in action today.  They are in Durham, NC for a 1pm (natch) match against Duke.  The Cards are looking to maintain their tie for 1st place in the ACC standings, and hopefully to finally get some respect in the national rankings picture.

As long as UofL shows up and plays the way that we know they can play, they should come away from this one with a W.

They return for a homestand in Louisville next week, bring Virginia and Virginia Tech in to Cardinal Arena.

Today's action should be on ACC Network Extra as well.  Alas, they have apparently removed the picture-in-picture feature, so if you want to catch both this one and Field Hockey, you'll need multiple screens to pull this one off.  Or, you could come out to Field Hockey at Trager and watch Volleyball on your phone...that's what I'll be doing.

Radio Time

The FCC still hasn't come calling, so the four knuckleheads were on the radio again yesterday.

Paulie, Jared, Case, and myself all gathered around the table in the WCHQ studio for another hour of joshing, ribbing, tomfoolery, and some occasional talk about sports.  You will be able to check it out on the Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/chradio/cardinal-couple-20171104 when it gets posted.  (It's not yet there as of this writing).

Contrary to what we said during the show, when we thought next week's football game was going to be at noon, the game was announced as a 3:30 start, so we will have time to do the show and still get football goers to the stadium in time for the game, so we are planning to be live on the air next week.

-- JMcA

Edited to add:

Men's Soccer

How could I forget Men's Soccer.  They get their ACC tournament campaign underway today at, all together now, 1pm, against Virginia.  UofL got the first round bye, Virginia defeated Boston College to advance.  This one is at Lynn Stadium on Floyd Street, so if you're running out of screens, this is another one that you locals can check out in person.