Guessing the Soccer Starting Lineup -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

AUDIT NEEDED...

Paulie provided us with our first, and possibly last, Cardinal Couple quiz of the 2022 summer. We've been fortunate enough to have plenty to talk about this summer and now fall sports are just a few days away. 

That didn't stop me from pulling off a perfect score yesterday. As someone who doesn't follow recruiting heavily, the Nyla Harris question was a bit tricky. The visit to South Dakota for volleyball was another one that took me a minute. If you scored in that 40-60 range, I'll gladly take that lunch at the Melting Pot.

JARED BREAKS DOWN LOUISVILLE WSOC

Women's soccer made an appearance with the bonus question. Our friends up I-71 are making a trip to Dr Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium and it will be the first time we can see the Cards in action, and we have plenty of questions on what this year's team will look like.

Karen Ferguson-Dayes is a defensive minded coach so we have seen plenty of defensive formations in the past. Most commonly, the Cards have run the 4-4-2 formation, opting not to go with the 4-3-3 look that has been popularized in the United States.

What are these numbers I mentioned? These are formations that you have. Up to 11 players can be on the field at a time typically consisting of a goalkeeper plus a mixture of defenders, midfielders, and forwards/attackers.

The goalkeeper is not included in the number scheme as the keeper is assumed to already be there. The first number (usually a four) states the number of defenders. The second number (also most commonly a four) states the number of midfielders. The final number lists the number of forwards.

So who will we see in that starting formation? We'll work our way from the back to the front.

Goalkeeper

This is the first time we've seen an opening at goalkeeper in over half a decade. Olivia Pratapas is the only Louisville letter-winner on the current keepers list. She's still recovering from surgery in the offseason and probably won't be 100% by this weekend. That leaves Erynn Floyd, a true freshman, and Alyssa Zalac, a redshirt freshman, available. Due to the COVID-19 season and a true redshirt season last year, Zalac has seen two full academic years already. Based on her collegiate experience alone, I anticipate her getting the start.

Defense

The most sound position group for Louisville is defense. Sarah Hernandez and Maisie Whitsett have handled the middle of the defense (centerback) together for quite some time and the duo both are in a fifth year option. They should have the two centerback spots locked up tight. The outside corners on defense, sometimes referred to as fullbacks or defensive wingbacks, could potentially provide experience too. Ravin Alexander is a senior and has commanded one of those positions the last two years and should retain it. Brooke Dardano saw plenty of action as the other defensive wing as a freshman and should be a front runner for that position again this year. Louisville runs a style where the defensive wings will play way up on offense.

Midfield

The midfield is a bit trickier and is arguably the toughest position group to play in due to its high demand for cardio training as well as physicality. Midfielders can also have different responsibilities such as defensive midfield, offensive midfield, and sometimes playing a midfielder wing. Anouk Denton was a standout freshman at midfield last year and should hold more of a defensive midfielder position. Hayley Howard spent plenty of time in the midfield and should sit on the defensive side. Morgan Bentley has established herself as another strong midfielder and will play more on the offensive side. Savina Zamborini bounced back and forth as a forward and midfielder. I think she'll pull back and play more of an offensive midfield position this year.

Forward

That brings us to our group of forwards and attackers. Louisville doesn't play much of a style that features a true striker. Brooklynn Rivers would be the closest player we've seen to a striker in the last few years. After a strong back half of the season and several players ahead of her from last season gone, Emma Hiscock should be a frontrunner for a forward position. She was more of a right side attacker last year, but could potentially slide over depending who she's paired with.

I'd love to say Corinne Dente gets the start in the other spot, but after tearing an ACL, she tore her other ACL during the recovery process, which has now been over a year. Still, recovering from ACL tears in both legs at the same time is a tall task to ask. I see Dente playing more of a substitution role. Patricia Ward joins the Cards after four years with Minnesota, where she started 55 matches in her career and subbed in in another 10. Also being a track star in high school, Ward appears to have breakaway speed and has the potential to make an immediate impact on offense.

Note: These are just my guesses at who will get the start for the Cards this year. I haven't seen film or practice highlights on the incoming transfers or freshmen, so some of them could step up and be a bit of a surprise.

I'll also let Case come through to tear apart my thoughts on the formations and relaxed usage of position terminology as he will more than likely be able to provide a much more accurate and in depth prediction and expectation of the season.

Paulie should be at Friday's match in the press box hanging out with the new SID for women's soccer Matt Paras. Matt will also oversee women's basketball. I'll be out on the field with my camera taking selfies and catching the other Cardinal Couple members in the crowd. Both Case and Jeff mentioned that they have plans to be in attendance- women's soccer is free admission after all- this Friday. We haven't heard from Daryl yet on if she will be able to make it, but it would be awesome to have a full house to start the 2022-2023 Louisville sports season!

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Season Review: Soccer -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Season Review: Soccer

We find ourselves back to reviewing UofL sports seasons. Today, we will take a look at women's soccer, another team that split their season between the fall and spring.

A solid start to the season quickly turned sour and the spring ended about as disappointing as possible with the final two matches of the season cancelled.

The fall season consisted of eight regular season matches against ACC opponents and then the ACC tournament. The spring season was set to be a non-conference schedule.

Louisville opened the season with a 3-0 win at Miami with Emina Ekic and Delaney Snyder doing all the scoring against the Hurricanes. The Cards remained in the Sunshine State where they fell to eventual National Runner-Up Florida State.

The Cards game home for a two-game homestand. UofL defeated Syracuse 3-0 as the Ekic-Snyder duo contributed to a majority of the scoring once again with Jessica De Filippo scoring the other goal. Boston College visited Dr Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium next with the Cards taking the win 2-0. Ekic scored her fifth goal on the year and Taylor Kerwin recorded her first with the assist credited to both Ekic and Snyder.

Another road trip was next for Karen Ferguson Dayes' squad. It started with a 2-0 loss to Final Four contender Virginia, who did all their damage in the first half. They then went across the state to down Virginia Tech 1-0 with Morgan Bentley getting her first goal on the season.

Louisville came home to wrap up the regular season with a pair of matches. Notre Dame would take the first match 1-0. The regular season finale saw Louisville host Final Four contender North Carolina. It was Ekic who would put the Cards up early in the second half in the pouring down rain before the Tar Heels with three goals over the next 30 minutes to get the win.

At 4-4, Louisville earned the #6-seed in the ACC Tournament and saw a rematch with the Wahoos. Diana Ordonez would post a hat trick as Virginia would cruise to a 4-1 win. You can take a guess on who scored the Cards' goal- her seventh and final of the season.

We saw the spring season begin in early March with the Cards hosting Dayton and winning 1-0 on a Maisie Whitsett goal. Auburn came to town next and would go on to take a 1-0 in sudden death double overtime.

What would eventually be the final match of the season, Louisville traveled to Bowling Green. WKU relied on a goal 93 seconds into the match to get the win.

Matches scheduled against Tennessee and Wake Forest would get cancelled due to various reasons.

Louisville would end the year with a 5-7 record and a 4-4 mark in the ACC. One year after an impressive 13-5-2 mark, Louisville showed signs of struggling and a frustrating ending.

The Cards would end up getting outscored by just one, 13-12 on the year. Ekic led the way with seven goals and three assists. Snyder would be one of five Cards to score one goal this season but led the team with four assists.

Only three of the six scorers are set to return next season. Taylor Kerwin graduated after the spring semester. Jessica De Filippo transferred out after the fall season. Emina Ekic entered the NWSL Draft after the fall season and was drafted in the first round by Racing Louisville FC, where she has put on a show. Louisville is bleeding profusely on offense for next year. You cannot replace Ekic with any single player. Snyder looks to take the lead but needs a second and third scorer. Corinne Dente was a hopeful candidate but is still in recovery mode from a torn ACL. We may see Whitsett convert back to a forward or possibly Emma Hiscock steps up after a promising freshman outing.

Defensively, Sarah Hernandez is set to return as a centerback and power the back line. Gabby Kouzelos is expected to return for another season in goal. Kouzelos recorded 53 saves on 66 attempts for an incredible .803 save percentage. Louisville is set on defense for the fall 2021 season.

We quickly approach a holiday weekend with Memorial Day on Monday. Daryl returns back to her Friday column tomorrow and we should be back on our Cardinal Couple Radio Hour this Saturday.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

#16 Louisville women's soccer hosts #9 Clemson tonight -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

10-1 CARDS FACE 8-2-1 TIGERS IN LYNN THURSDAY

it's going to be a turf war tonight on Floyd Street between two top 20 women's soccer programs tonight at 5 p.m. Two offenses who have multiple weapons going against two opposing defense that are allowing less that one goal per contest (Clemson 0.53 - Louisville 0.59) this season. 

The Cards have a slight edge in ACC competition over Clemson with a 3-1 ACC mark -- falling only to #3 UNC in Chapel Hill. Clemson sits at 2-2 in the ACC, suffering a 1-0 loss to UNC, in their last match,  and 2-1 to Florida St. UofL fell to UNC in Lynn by a score of 3-0.

NUMBERS AND SUCH

The visitors are led on the offense by Mariana Speckmaier (five goals) and Maliha Morris (four goals).  Clemson alternates between two goalies (Sandy MacIver and Hannah McLaughlin). They have combined for six shutouts on the season. 

Emina Ekic leads the way for the Cards offensively. She has seven goals on the season and has also provided six assists. Delaney Snyder has found the net four times. Goalkeeper Gabby Kouzelos has tended net for six shutouts this year. 

The squads have met twice overall, with Clemson getting a 1-0 win over the Cards in Louisville back in 2016 and the Cards returning the favor with a 2-1 win at Clemson in 2017. 

There seems to be a bit of a conflict on where to watch the contest if you can't make it out to Lynn. Some say Fox Sports, while other sources indicate ESPN+ will have the coverage.

I did a little research and the contest will be available on Insight on Fox Sports Ohio (Channel 55 locally). I guess ESPN+ will carry it, too, for those who have "cut the cord". The surest way to make sure you don't miss the action is to go out and watch the match live at Lynn Stadium. 

The game was originally schedule for 7 p.m. but the contest was moved up to 5 p.m. Ostensibly so that Fox Sports could present an ACC WSOC doubleheader and show Florida St. at Virginia Tech around 7:30 p.m. I have to wonder why it wasn't the 'Noles vs Hokies that drew the early start instead of the Cards...maybe national rankings of all four teams or viewing numbers?

It could mean a late-arriving Cardinal crowd at Lynn tonight, with people coming in after work, picking up the kids and such. And, that sinking sun in the west could play havoc with the goalkeeper and defense who will be staring into it while they defend the east goal...if it's not a cloudy day. 


This is the biggest home test for the Cards at home so far this year.  It will be a battle of Ekic and company seeing if they can break the very strong Clemson defense and put the ball in the net. And, it will be a test, too, for the Clemson squad to see if they can overcome Louisville's strong defenders. A low-scoring, possibly even a tie match wouldn't surprise me one bit. Scoring first will be a huge advantage. Penalty kicks very crucial to tonight's outcome, I'll wager. 


We'll know about all of this around 7 p.m. or so tonight. This is one you don't want to miss...a lot on the line for both teams and the chance for Louisville to take down a top 10 opponent. 

Have a tremendous Thursday !! 


paulie
xxxxx

Meatloaf Monday? Not Quite - Monday Cardinal Couple

In the words of the classic Meatloaf song, "two outta three ain't bad". Alas the main three women's sports only managed one outta three Sunday. All three of, Field Hockey, Soccer, and Volleyball were on the road, but only Field Hockey chalked one up in the win column.

Field Hockey

We're down to the nitty gritty in Field Hockey, with only one game left this weekend.  The conference slate is all wrapped up and the ACC tournament field is set.  The Cards still have the opportunity to make a statement at the national level, with a game against #12 Michigan Saturday afternoon at 1pm in Ann Arbor.

In the meantime, the team took care of business this weekend in Virginia with bouts against #9 Virginia, and #17 James Madision.  The 3-2 win over Virginia was recapped in the Saturday edition of the Cardinal Couple.  The Cards continued to roll with a 4-2 win over James Madison, the Dukes, in Harrisonburg, VA.  The Cardinal faithful were loud and proud and could be heard on the live stream that JMU thoughtfully provided online.

JMU actually dominated a significant amount of the playing time, maintaining the pressure on the Cardinals defense and Ayeisha McFerran with 13 shots, and 6 on-goal.  The Cards only got 9 shots off, but were more efficient, with 7 of them on goal.  To be fair, the 4 score for the Cards was in the waning minutes of the game against an empty net (here's your cue Paulie).

Goals were scored for the Cards by Lotta Kahlert who fired a rebound off of a save home in the 6th minute, Lizzie Gittens who got a corner penalty in the net off a JMU deflection and assists to Nicole Woods and Stephanie Byrne in the 32nd minute  Finally, Nicole Woods gets the last two, both in the 2nd half, in the 42nd minute with an assist to Abby Grimes, and the last in the 66th minute into an empty net on a break, with an assist to Marigrace Ragsdale.

James Madison is definitely a quality non-conference win, and will only help the Cards' resume' as
they head into NCAA tournament selection time.  There is essentially no doubt that the Cards will have a berth, and of course, an ACC tournament victory, while a big challenge, is of course still a possibility for an automatic qualifier.  Really the Cards are playing for seeding, though.

Before we get too far ahead, however, we do still have a regular season game against another high quality non-conference opponent in Michigan.  The Wolverines have played a blistering schedule, with wins over then #1 UNC, #7 Wake Forest, #11 Stanford, and are just coming off of wins against current #16 Iowa, and #10 Northwestern.  The only head scratcher I can find in their schedule is only a mild one against an unranked Indiana team that has played some quality opponents to very tight games.

Beyond the regular season, the Cards will also tackle the ACC tournament starting November 3rd against 5th seed UNC with the winner to play top seed Duke, who gets the sole bye.  In other games, 7th seed Wake Forest tangles with Syracuse, and 6th seed Virginia draws 3rd seed  Boston College.  The tournament goes through November 5th, and all games are on The ACC Network Extra.

Soccer

The Women's Soccer team lost a heartbreaker against a good Florida State team who stands 2nd in the ACC with a 6-1-2 record.  This one was scoreless through most of the game, with the stats overall looking quite even.

I only got to watch a few minutes of this one in between watching Field Hockey and Volleyball, but after playing most of the game competitively, it has to hurt for the opponent to get the only goal of the game in the 81st minute.

Taylor Bucklin performed well in goal with 3 saves (matched by FSU's 3).  The only real stat divergence is in corner kick opportunities, where FSU had 4, with 3 of them coming in the 2nd half, while UofL didn't get any.  The would be a credit to clean defensive play by FSU.

The Kickin' Cards have one more regular season game, against Virginia here at Lynn Stadium.  The Cards current sit in 10th place in the ACC, while only 8 teams make the ACC tournament.  8th place is still theoretically in reach for them to sneak into the tournament.  A tie would put us in a tie in the standings with NC State (assuming they don't get any more points)...a team that we tied with when we played them (here's your cue Case).  An outright win by the Cards puts them in 8th place...assuming NC State and VT don't get wins of their own.  The takeaway here is that it's still a tangled mess, but UofL still has an opportunity to get into the ACC championship.

Volleyball

After a decent win against VT on Friday, the Cards dropped the match against Pitt, in Pittsburgh in
straight sets.  Pitt is roughly at the top of the middle of the pack in ACC.  They're a team that has consistently improved, year over year, for the past several years.

The Cards' passing and digging woes continue, although I felt (and this is a very subjective impression of the play) like it is improving, but it still has a long way to go.  Molly Sauer got 15 digs, which is pretty good for a 3 set match.  Meanwhile Melanie McHenry got 7, Morgan Miller, who is really developing well as a player late in this season, got 5, and Gabbie Wiley got 4.  What's not really captured in the stats, (and thus I can't really quantify well) is how many passing mistakes were made to get those digs.

On the offensive side of things, the bright spot, while not terribly bright, is Jasmine Bennet again, with a .200 average with 7 kills on 20 attempts.  Morgan Miller has the next highest percentage at .129 with 7 kills on 31 attempts.  The Cards were without Janelle Jenkins again this weekend as she is continuing to recover from a strained PCL.  Due to (I'm gonna be blunt, here) a very stupid ACC rule, the team can only take 15 players on road trips, so Jenkins didn't even travel with the team this past weekend.  The team is hoping to have her back in action this weekend at The KFC Yum! Center.

Still a lot of season left for Volleyball.  This weekend sees the Florida contingent of the ACC coming to town, with #12 Florida State on Friday with a 6pm start, and Miami comes in Sunday with a 2pm start.

-- JMcA

Field Hockey, WSOC record shutouts on Sunday -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Sunday women's sports for UofL produced two shutouts...the Field Hockey team downing the Chippewas from Central Michigan 3-0 and Women's Soccer taking to the road to get a 1-0 blanking of North Carolina State. 

DEFENSE RULES THE DAY IN TRAGER

The Cards couldn't have been too anxious about 1-15 Central Michigan coming for a Sunday visit...but the guests gave Louisville a tough battle in the first half of this non-conference contest...keeping Louisville off the board in a scoreless first half.

Not that the Cards didn't have a wealth of opportunities to put numbers in place of zeros on the scoreboard....Louisville outshot CMU 13-0 and had a 8-1 edge on corners in the first 35 minutes...but the Chippewa defense was holding.

Whatever Coach Justine Sowry said or stratagized during the break had an effect. Louisville scored just five minutes into final half action when Tess Hannah took a Chile Garcia inbounds on a penalty corner and the freshman connected to give UofL a 1-0 lead. 

Louisville kept the offense pressure up and it paid off again with 18 minutes remaining in play. Another penalty corner that had Hannah providing the inbounds set to sophomore Nicole Woods...who placed her seventh goal of the year into the net to put Louisville up by two.

The UofL defense continued to stymie the visitors. Louisville added a third score with 2:07 left on another penalty corner...Erin McCrudden knocking home a feed from Garcia. 

UofL (11-5) had 26 shots in the contest, compared to CMU's two. Goalie Ayeisha McFerran gets her eight shutout of the season while recording two saves. The Cards had 21 corner opportunities...the Chippewas two. 

Next up is Spartie...Michigan State comes to town for a Friday, Oct 30th. match that'll begin at 1 p.m.

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KICKIN' CARDS SHUT OUT THE WOLFPACK

Faced with the prospect of being on the road, being mathematically eliminated from the ACC Tournament and needing two wins to end the season to keep any NCAA Tournament hopes alive...Louisville women's soccer responded with a 1-0 win over North Carolina State Sunday in Raleigh, NC. 

Freshman Jill Vetere provided the lone score in the ACC contest...following up on a Rachel Avant shot attempt and sending in into the net from about 20 yards out in the 26th. minute of the first half. 

Louisville kept the offensive pressure up to start the second half and had several shot attempts go wide...the defense kept NC State at bay the final 45 minutes and the Cards take a hard-fought win on the road to improve to 8-7-2 and 4-4-1 in the ACC. 

Taylor Bucklin picked up five saves in the match and gets her fifth shutout of the season. The Cards won the statistics battle with 12 shots to NC State's 10 and a 4-2 corner kick advantage. 

Karen Ferguson-Dayes squad finishes the regular season on Halloween night in Winston-Salem, NC for a 7 p.m. match against Wake Forest. Louisville is in eighth place in the ACC...which is considered the strongest conference in women's soccer...and a win against cellar-dweller Wake Forest might be the difference between getting an NCAA at-large bid or ending their season. 

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GOLF TIED FOR FOURTH AFTER DAY ONE

The University of Louisville women's golf team is tied for fourth in the standings after the first day of competition at the Palmetto Intercollegiate in Kiawah Island, S.C.

The Cardinals compiled a 2-over-par 290 through 18 holes of play despite a slow start on the front nine and trail the overall leader Campbell by four strokes. All teams return to the Turtle Point Golf Course for the second round today at 8:30 a.m. ET, teeing off on hole No. 1.

Seniors Laura Restrepo and Katie Mitchell carried Louisville on Sunday, and both are tied for 11th on the individual leaderboard after carding a 1-under-par 71. Both finished their first nine holes at 1-under-par and capped the day with three birdies apiece. It is Restrepo's third round even or below par this year and the fourth for Mitchell.

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2016 FUNDRAISING DRIVE

Covering UofL women's sports gives CARDINAL COUPLE the opportunity to witness a lot of great athletic events and also be witness to a lot of community out-reach programs that women's sports at UofL are involved in. Breast Cancer Awareness, Juvenile Diabetes, Military Appreciation...just a few of the many ways that Cardinal Athletics helps deserving and charitable organizations. 

Our commitment to covering these squads who give back to the community is a labor of love and commitment as well. CARDINAL COUPLE is a non-profit L.L.C. that is staffed and ran by volunteers. We don't charge our readers for any of our content, there are no "premium" or "exclusive" levels or "pay per view" options. 

Any monies we raise that don't go into our operations are passed on to these sports programs and also the charitable organizations they support. In 2015, Cardinal Couple has been able to donate $500 to sports programs at UofL and also fund charitable causes in our community. 

Please help us help these deserving and worthy organizations again in 2016. Sponsorships of any kind can be mailed to:

CARDINAL COUPLE LLC
PO BOX 91521
LOUISVILLE, KY  40291

or...via PayPal

Donate to Cardinal Couple via PayPal

 

Thank you for your consideration.

paulie
xxxxx