Favorite Pictures from the Soccer Season -- Pick Em -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Jared's Favorite Soccer Photos

The soccer regular season recently concluded and the Cards are one of eight teams gearing up for the ACC Tournament.  This season went about as expected, with Louisville finishing 4-4 and earning the 6-seed. Like the field hockey photos from last year, the soccer photos range from action to celebration to pregame activities.  You may have seen some of the photos already while others may be new.

Louisville gears up for a first round match against 3-seed Virginia tonight at 8:00 p.m., on the ACC Network.

The Wahoos come into the match ranked #10 in the country, boasting a 7-2-1 record and 5-2-1 in the ACC.  They are fresh off back-to-back wins against Boston College and Syracuse.   Alexa Spaanstra leads Virginia with five goals.  Both goals in Virginia's regular season over Louisville came from Spaanstra.  Lia Godfrey leads the team with five assists.

Emina Ekic ranks second in the ACC and fourth in the NCAA with 1.88 points per match.  Her 0.75 goals per match is also second in the ACC and sixth overall in the NCAA. Louisville is 0-8 against Virginia all-time, including this year's 2-0 loss.

The match is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.  However, with three matches scheduled before the Cards play it is likely kickoff may be later.  Field conditions are also expected to be rough with no team to even the grass between matches.

Pick Em

We had six entries for field hockey.  Currently, there are six entries for soccer with one of them being a new face from the last Pick Em, but you still have until 12:30 p.m. today to submit those!

Paulie and Sonya each went 3-3 in the field hockey Pick Em, never able to fully recover from 1-2 starts on the first day.  Nick O and Arthur each went 4-2 with mirroring brackets.  Curtis was rocking a 5-0 bracket going into the championship game, where he had the Cards downing North Carolina again.  Jared edged out Curtis in the end by going 6-0 after picking UNC over UofL.  I think I'll pass on the prizes, although finding a way to take selfies on a camera would be quite interesting!

Soccer is a chance to redeem yourself or join in on the fun!  It always adds a little extra excitement when watching the other matches.  I will provide an update on Thursday.

Feel free to leave your picks in our comments section. In case of tie, you might want to leave a guess at the final score of the championship game also with the, You can also e-mail your picks to the Cardinal Couple e-mail address.... cardinalcouple@twc.com   or directly to me eupherjared@gmail.com

As it was in Field Hockey, no official prize is being awarded except for a date with Paulie, technology discussion with Case and Jeff or a photo shoot with Jared.,,,but if you win you can proudly boast about your prowess on social media outlets and those lengthy Zoom and Skype meetings a lot of us have to endure weekly.  

As an example for you, here are Sonya's picks: 

Quarterfinals: FSU, Duke, UNC, Louisville

Semifinals: FSU, Louisville

Finals: Louisville  1-0 

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Awards and Speculation -- Wednesday Cardinal Couple

 

CARDS GARNER HONORS IN FIELD HOCKEY AND VOLLEYBALL

A great week for Louisville Field Hockey and Volleyball when it comes to ACC Honors! Two Field Hockey student-athletes and one Volleyball student-athlete were recognized by the ACC for their accomplishments. Let's take a look. 

FIELD HOCKEY

A tip of the hat to Mercedes Pastor and Alli Bitting, who received ACC Field Hockey Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Pastor was her usual brilliant self in the Cards two games at Virginia. She tallied three goals and added an assist in Louisville's sweep of the Cavaliers. It the third time this season that "Mechi" has gotten the honor. 

On the defensive side of things, senior Alli Bitting is a huge part of the Cardinal defense that held the Cavs to just three goals in two matches and has limited opponents to just seven goals in seven contests. Bitting is also second in the ACC in assists per game. 

Louisville ends the regular fall slate of their schedule at Syracuse on Friday. The Cards have already clinch a portion of the regular season title and a win would give it to them out-right with a 8-0 record. That would also give UofL the top seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament. There is no "official" rankings this fall, but, when you are the only undefeated team in DI...well, you can figure out the rest. 

VOLLEYBALL

Anna DeBeer walks away with the ACC Freshman of the Week honors after the Cards split matches with Pittsburgh last week. DeBeer "led 'em all" with 22 kills in the Cards four-set win Sunday over Pitt and she was one of three Cardinals with seven kills in Friday's match.

The freshman outside hitter from Louisville Assumption has, obviously, had a huge impact on the Cards building a 5-2 record in the shortened fall slate. Look for the VolleyCards to "bring on DeBeer" a bunch in the spring, when things will hopefully get back to a larger slate of game and a NCAA Tournament will follow.

THINGS STILL UP IN THE AIR FOR ACC WSOC TOURNAMENT SEEDINGS

Only eight teams will make the ACC WSOC Tournament in November. 10 out of the 13 squads still, mathematically, have a shot at getting an invite. It's a situation where we may need Cardinal Couple columnists Worldwide Jeff and Case to step in and develop a "cheat code" or draw up an extensive blueprint for the final slate. 

Points are the key to earning the trip to the WakeMed Soccer Complex in Cary, NC starting November 10th. Just to refresh you, soccer squads get three points for a win and one for a tie. With the teams have either one or two matches left, let's take a look at the current point totals and scenarios as we go into the final week of the fall schedule. 

NORTH CAROLINA sits atop the ACC, in a tie with FSU, with 18 points. their final two matches are at Louisville and hosting Notre Dame. The TarHeels could end up with 24 points, depending on how it goes. They are definitely "in" the ACC Tournament and are playing for top seed. 

FLORIDA STATE also has amassed 18 points. They finish up hosting Clemson and Duke for their final two matches. So, wins could have them tied for first...they didn't play UNC, so the tie-breaker here could fall into play. 

CLEMSON has earned 12 points. They, too, have two matches remaining...with Pitt coming in and then a trip to FSU. They could vault themselves into a tie for the top of the conference if they win over both and UNC and FSU lose their remaining two games. Doubtful but still a possibility. Winning at FSU seems to be a tall order for anyone...

LOUISVILLE also has 12 points but just one match remaining and that's a doozy, with North Carolina tomorrow night at Lynn Stadium. The Cards could secure a berth in Cary with a win. A loss or tie makes it interesting...

NOTRE DAME has just one match left and they, too, have their work cut out for them -- travelling to North Carolina. They have to wait until Sunday to face the Tar Heels. A win would help ensure they're going to post-season. 

DUKE sits with 11 points and has two matches to go. They hit the road for contests against Miami and FSU, so they could possibly pick up six points. They'll probably handle Miami with no problem, FSU is a different story. It's possible they could end with 14 points, though, and vault over Clemson and Louisville, if those squads "lose" out. 

VIRGINIA has 10 points but could really advance if they take their final two contests on the road against Boston College and Syracuse. These are two squads who are pretty much eliminated from going to the ACC Tournament and the Blue Devils might find themselves with 16 points if they can pull off the road wins. 

PITTSBURGH checks in with 9 points. They have two matches remaining...at Clemson and Wake Forest. Winning both would propel them to 15 points. It's a tall order, but, that's why they play the games...

WAKE FOREST has 7 points and,, quite frankly,...needs a lot of help to make the top eight. They go to Pitt and Virginia Tech and have to win both, plus hope for some losses in teams ranked above them, to pack their bags and head to Wake Med. 13 points might get them in if they win out but the odds are stacked against them. 

VIRGINIA TECH has accumulated 6 points and needs a miracle of huge proportions to get to the ACC Tournament. They end with road trips to Boston College and Wake Forest. Sure, they could win both, wind up with 12 points and get a bid...but the chances of that are fairly remote. 

Teams that are mathematically eliminated are Boston College (3 points) Miami (0 points) Syracuse (0 points) The best they can try to accomplish now is being a spoiler with wins over teams with more points . Where's NC State, you might ask? They're sitting out the fall in Raleigh. Georgia Tech doesn't field an ACC WSOC squad. 

And there you have it. All clear, right? I hope so for you,,,all this speculation and "ciphering" gave me a headache and just may send me to the refrigerator for a little Bailey's with my morning coffee. 

This should be fun. By Sunday night, we'll know. My best guess is that the Cards are probably in, with 12 points, if they lose to UNC, but they'll be a #7 or #8 seed. I'd sure love to see UofL knock off the Tar Heels in Lynn and will root for that! 

Having to face either UNC or FSU in a #1 vs #8 or #2 vs #7 quarterfinal matchup isn't the best of luck in the draw, obviously...but, it's 2020 and we can all attest that it's been one strange year. And, NEVER underestimate a team that has Gabby and Emina...just sayin'. 

Have a Wonderful Wednesday

Defense Delivers in Cards Women's Soccer 1-0 Win at VT -- Monday Cardinal Couple

 CARDS SHUT OUT HOKIES 1-0 IN BLACKSBURG

On an ideal Sunday afternoon for soccer in Blacksburg, VA, the Louisville Cardinals Women's Soccer squad scored the lone goal and withstood numerous Virginia Tech shots to get the win 1-0. 

Defense did it for the Cards, shutting out the Hokies after they had put up eight goals on Thursday against Miami...and when you talk defense, you gotta be Gabby. 

The Cards redshirt senior goalkeeper Gabby Kouzelos recorded eight saves against the home-standing Hokies. Try as they might (VT took 18 total shots and five of them were on goal) Virginia Tech could not get the ball past the Cards stellar goalkeeper or Louisville defense. 

Kouzelos was "pretty in pink" and pretty proficient, leaving the box on numerous occasion tos cover VT shot attempts. Maybe the most spectacular stop for Gabby came in the final minute of play when VT, desperately seeking a score, got the ball to freshman Tori Powell on a cross and she fired at goal...but Kouzelos was there to make the stop and keep her slate clean. 

The shutout was Gabby's fourth of the season and 27th. of her illustrious career as a student-athlete at Louisville and improved the Cards to 4-2 on the season.

The Cards are playing in a new "system" during the 2020 slate, which Case Hoskins elaborated on in our Saturday Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast, and it seems to be defensively aligned...Louisville has allowed just three goals in six contests. 

Oh, yeah...let's not forget to mention how the deciding goal was scored...

Louisville turned to a freshman...Morgan Bentley...a midfielder from Atlanta, GA for their lone goal in the 32nd minute of the first half. The Cards had received a corner kick and after the ball was brought into play, VT made the stop on the incoming kick but the ball bounced to Bentley. She had a clear look at the net and drilled it home for her first goal of the season and her career at Louisville.

 

Statistically, the Cards only attempted five shots in the 90 minutes, compared to Virginia Tech's 18. Louisville's lone shot on goal was Bentley' conversion...the Hokies had eight shots on goal. Corner kicks were solidly in VT's favor as well, with a nine to three advantage in those. 

It's not how many times you kick it, though...it's how many times you kick it in the goal that determines wins, ties or losses in soccer and the Cards got the "W" for the first time against Virginia Tech since 1995. 

I tried several different sources to find any quotes from Louisville women's soccer head coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes but was unsuccessful. That sometimes happens when a squad is on the road... 

#13 ranked Louisville has two matches remaining on the fall schedule before the scheduled ACC Tournament. The contests will be home matches for the Kickin' Cards at Lynn Stadium and the first one takes place Sunday, October 25th. against the #14 ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

The Irish (3-3) hosted Clemson yesterday but fell to the Tigers 2-1. The Cards end the fall ACC slate and season with a bang as they bring in #1 North Carolina on Thursday, October 29th. 

The ACC Women's Soccer Tournament is scheduled for November 10-15th in Cary, NC at the Wake Med Soccer Complex. The top eight teams will vie for the tournament title -- Louisville is currently tied for third place in the league standings with 4-2 Clemson with 12 points. 

Florida State and North Carolina are atop the ACC standings...they're both 6-0 and that translates out to 18 points each.  You can do the math on the league standings below, keeping in mind a squad gets (3) points for a win (1) point for a tie and (0) points for a loss. 

    

LEAGUE STANDINGS AFTER SUNDAY, OCT 18th MATCHES: 

FSU                 6-0

UNC                6-0

LOU                4-2

CLEMSON    4-2

DUKE            3-1-2

VA                  3-2-1

PITT              3-3

ND                 3-3

WAKE          2-3-1

VT                 2-4

BC                 0-5

SYR              0-5

MIAMI         0-5

(NOTE:  NC ST IS NOT PLAYING FALL WSOC AND GT DOES NOT FIELD A WSOC TEAM)  

have a meaningful Monday!

paulie                                                                                                              xxxxx

What to Expect with Women's Soccer -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

There's plenty to focus on right now.  Women's Basketball starts in a week.  Volleyball is fighting to stay near the top of the ACC.  Field Hockey is about ready to start the ACC Tournament.  Women's Soccer is also preparing for postseason with Thursday's Senior Day having major implications on seeding.

What to Expect with Women's Soccer

Nimah Nelson is out.  The red card she received will cause the senior to miss her final home game.  She will get to participate in the Senior Day ceremonies but will have to leave the premises right after that.

With the senior centerback out the question surrounding Thursday's match is how the defense will look.  Gabby Kouzelos remains at goal and will be assisted by her other centerbsck, Sarah Hernandez.  Wingbacks Arianna Ferraro and Ravin Alexander are both expected to play.

We saw both Maisie Whitsett and Allison Whitfield get action in the wingback position this season.  There is a chance we may see Alexander or Ferraro slide to the middle and one of the forwards make their way to the corner.  There's also the possibility either Whitsett or Whitfield will take the centerback position and have the normal wings as insurance in case of broken coverage up the middle.  The rest of the starting 11 should remain the same.

What's at Stake

Seeding for the ACC Tournament is the big thing.  UNC has secured the 1-seed.  FSU and Virginia
are tied with each other for the 2/3 seed.  The Cards sit at 4th currently with 17 points.  Duke is close behind with 15 points.

A Louisville win secures the 4-seed.  A Louisville draw and a Duke loss/draw also gives the Cards the 4-seed.  A Louisville loss and Duke win would knock Louisville down to the 5-seed and out of home field advantage for the ACC Quarterfinals.  If Louisville draws and Duke wins the two teams would be tied with points at 18.

If Louisville and Duke finish the season tied here's what happens...

The Cards have scored 28 goals on the year and surrendered 12 (+16).  Duke has scored 34 goals and allowed 11 (+23).  If you break it down in conference games only the Cards are +1 and the Blue Devils are +8.  Since the Cards and Blue Devils drew in their head-to-head match-up the tiebreaker falls to goal differential.

If Louisville earns the 4-seed then they will host an ACC Quarterfinal at Lynn Stadium this Sunday.  Most likely it would be against Duke but there is the possibility NC State could leapfrog Duke for the 5-seed.  Clemson could finish tied for points with Duke but the Blue Devils own the tiebreaker.

There is no game time announced for Sunday, nor will one be announced until all ACC regular season games have concluded.  It is not expected to be an evening game but has a good chance at being a mid-afternoon game.

Before any of that, though, an important Thursday. Let's hope the WSOC Cards get a few treats and don't get tricked by the Wolfpack.


Senior Day

Louisville has eight seniors.  Five carry numbered jerseys while the other three remain with the team
and had early endings to their careers.

Sarah Feola played up through junior year but battled an achilles injury.

Sanela Hodzic played for two seasons before multiple ACL and leg injuries forced her to retire.

Bailey Florek battled several injuries and was limited in her first two years.

Arianna Ferraro became a starter her sophomore season after moving from the midfield back to defense.

Niamh Nelson was a defensive starter from the get-go.  She missed a few games sophomore year due to injury.

Brooklynn Rivers has been a starter her entire career and has been top two in scoring each season.

Callie McKinney started a majority of matches at Louisville and has been a strong defensive midfielder, although she found the back of the net in nearly every season.

Allison Whitfield is a senior from Louisville (duPont Manual).  She's bounced back-and-forth between being a starter and being a first off the bench player.

Join Paulie, Case, and myself at Lynn Stadium this Thursday night at 5:00 p.m. to honor the seniors and cheer on the Cards.Throwing candy this Halloween night game at me is a pretty good way to ensure you'll get me to take a picture of you.


Also, make sure to catch Paulie's coverage of today's WBB Media Day in the Thursday Cardinal Couple. I'm pretty sure you'll get much more than the 30 seconds the local TV channels might show during their nightly news.



Jared

Full Sunday on Tap - SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Full Sunday Schedule

The normal trio of women's fall sports are all in action today as we are approaching, or are already started into, post-season play.

Soccer

The women get the post-season underway first.  They are playing Virginia in Charlottesville in the quarterfinals (also first round) of the ACC tournament.  This is the first appearance in the ACC tournament for the Cards.  Of course, UofL has only been in the ACC for a handful of years, now, but it speaks to the quality of this year's team to even make an appearance in the conference tournament of one of the best women's soccer conferences in the country.

It also speaks to the quality of the conference that the last regular season game of decided for the Cards between a 3rd seed in the tournament, or the 6th seed that we ended up with.  Yes, the conference standings were that bunched up near the top.  Virginia ended up with that 3rd seed, and the two will tangle today at 1 p.m..

If the Cards advance, they'll move to Cary, NC where the rest of the tournament will be played.  The potential opponents for that one are Florida State and Duke.

UVA did claim the regular season victory over the Cardinals this season, in a 1-0 Thursday night matchup on October 4th.  The Cards did have several good shots during the game but were unable to keep them on-frame and slip by the UVA GK.

Field Hockey

Justine Sowry's squad wraps up their regular season today with a non-conference matchup at Kent State.  This one is a noon start.  There is a streaming URL listed for this one:

https://boxcast.tv/view/kent-state-field-hockey-vs-louisville-102818-420314

It does not appear to require any subscription.

Kent State is a decent mid-major team.  They 7-10 overall, 5-1 in the MAC, but don't let that record fool you, 6 of those 7 loses were to teams that were top 25 ranked.

This one faces off at noon.

Despite the overall regular season being concluded, the regular season conference play has all been completed, so the ACC tournament seedings are already known.  Louisville will be going into the tournament as a 3 seed, playing 6 seed Wake Forest.  Wake Forest took the regular season tilt 4-2.  Potential 2nd round opponents are Syracuse and Duke.  Both of these matches gave us plenty of drama, including some bonus field hockey.  The match against Syracuse was a victory for the Cards, the game winning coming with 23 seconds left on the clock in 2nd sudden-victory overtime period.  The match against Duke was a barn-burner, completing both 7v7 overtime periods, and going into an extended shoot-out to decide.

Volleyball

Unlike field hockey and soccer, volleyball still has several weeks of regular season play.  Part of this is because the ACC doesn't have a post-season tournament, so there's an extra week of regular season play.

Today, the wide netters will be facing the Syracuse Orange.  Former Cardinals head coach Leonid Yelin is at the helm of Syracuse these days, so he will be visiting a familiar location in Cardinal Arena for the 1 p.m. start.  This will be on ACC Network Extra.

Syracuse sits at 8-3 in conference, which puts them in roughly the top quarter of the conference.  Overall they're 12-7.  Notable loses are to BYU, Southern Cal, Marquette, and Pitt, all ranked teams (BYU is still undefeated and sits as the #1 team in the country).  They also lost in a sweep to Notre Dame Friday, so they're coming in to Cardinal Arena off a loss, which is never ideal.

Syracuse, courtesy of Yelin, is a very "at the net" sort of team.  Expect their emphasis of play to be at the net with blocking and hitting.  There is a single player listed on their roster as a DS, everyone else is listed as a hitter (middle, rightside, outside), or setter.  Also, as typical for Yelin, there's a strong international aspect to this team, with players from the Ukraine, Israel, Greece, Yelin's native Uzbekistan, Canada, and Russia.

I imagine UofL's goal in this match will be to be strong in defense (both blocking and digging), stay in system, and get good swings on the ball, with the intent of putting Syracuse out of system so they can't bring their offense to bear.

-- 

JMcA

WSOC Cards Fall in Final Game -- Weekend Scheduling -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WSOC Cards Fall in Home in Final Regular Season Game

Losing is never easy.  Last night's loss wasn't any easier than any other loss.  Louisville women's soccer fell at home to Virginia Tech in the regular season finale, 1-0.

Virginia Tech used a late first half goal off a corner kick to score the only goal of the match.  Jordan Hemmen found space off the set piece by Emily Gray to knock the shot in and put the Hokies on top.

The Hokies controlled the pace of the game for the full 90 minutes.  They used a speedy attack that swarmed to the ball to force the Cards into turnovers galore.  Louisville's offense relies on the sidelines to help move the ball up the field before passing into or near the box for a shot.  The Hokies hovered near the sidelines to disrupt the Cards.

Louisville outshot Virginia Tech 8-3 although it seems those numbers are flipped after witnessing the game unfold.  Virginia Tech's keeper recorded saves on all three of Louisville's shots on goal, with one of them nearly touching the line as the goalkeeper backpedaled near the goal line.  Virginia Tech's lone shot on goal went in, leaving Gabby Kouzelos with a goose egg in the saves column.

Emina Ekic had one of Louisville's better chances at scoring on a free kick a few yards outside of the box.  Her shot sailed mere inches to the outside of the right post.  Taylor Kerwin also had a shot dead center on the goal but a backpedaling goalkeeper kept the ball out of the goal by little more than a hair.

Louisville looked to have an opportunity for the equalizer on what was an obvious handball in the box.  A no-call by the official brought fans to their feet in an uproar.  However, you can't put the blame of a loss on the officials when Louisville was just outplayed.

Louisville falls to 12-5-0 overall and finishes with a conference mark of 6-4-0.  The Cards finish tied for fifth with Clemson.  A win, however, would've put Louisville in the top four and in position to host the first round. The Cards will be seeded #6 in the ACC Tournament because of the points differential scored during the regular season. Clemson's was higher, the Tigers get the #5 seed.

Virginia Tech played their way into the ACC Tournament with the win over UofL.

The Cards will begin play against #3 Virginia on Sunday in Charlottesville at 1 p.m.  Viewing options to be announced later, although we assume it will be ACC Network Extra. Our post-game with Karen Ferguson Dayes is below:






LINK:  KAREN FERGUSON DAYES AFTER 1-0 LOSS TO VIRGINIA TECH 10/25/18



FINAL  REGULAR SEASON CONFERENCE STANDINGS

1) North Carolina
2) Duke
3) Virginia
4) Boston College
5 Clemson
6) LOUISVILLE
7) Florida State
8) Virginia Tech

(WSOC photos courtesy of River City Cards. Check out their fine work at:

(www.rivercitycards.com)








Weekend Scheduling

Friday, October 26

WBB Basketball Tip-Off Luncheon. Noon today, At Downtown Marriott. It is a sold out event

Women's Golf begins the first day of the Alexa Stirling Women's Intercollegiate in Johns Creek, Ga.  They've had a great start to the season and are on pace to land back in the NCAA Championships in the spring.

Cross Country will begin the ACC Championships in Boston starting at 10:00 a.m.  Maybe they'll catch a World Series game while there.

Men's Soccer will conclude their regular season at No. 1 Wake Forest at 7:00 p.m.  The Cards dropped to 17th after a home loss to an unranked Lipscomb last week.  Louisville needs a win to be set to host through the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament.

Volleyball hosts Boston College at 7:00 p.m. The Eagles are in the bottom of the ACC standings.  Louisville is hoping to bounce back after a loss at Pittsburgh last weekend.

Saturday, October 27

Women's Golf continues the Alexa Stirling Women's Intercollegiate in the second day of the event.

Football hosts Wake Forest at noon for their homecoming game.  ESPN has the Cards favored but the approximate 20,000 fans that will be in attendance will probably think otherwise.

Sunday, October 28

Women's Golf wraps up their three-day event in Georgia.

Men's Golf competes in a one-day event in Kauai, Hawaii in the Princeville Makai Invitational.  Anybody up for a mini vacation?

Field Hockey concludes their regular season at Kent State at noon.  Louisville needs to get a victory stay in good shape for an NCAA Tournament bid.

Volleyball hosts Syracuse at 1:00.  The Orange are 8-2 in the ACC and tied for third.  This will be a tough match-up and a must-win.

Men's Basketball hosts Bellarmine at the KFC Yum! Center in a scrimmage at 2:00.  This will be the first time fans can see Chris Mack's squad in action.

Women's Soccer will travel to Charlottesville to face the Wahoos in the first round of the ACC Tournament. As mentioned earlier in the article they'll Virginia  sometime around 1:00 p.m.


WBB TIPOFF LUNCHEON TODAY

Bruce and Bill from last year's tipoff luncheon. GO CARDS! 

The University of Louisville WBB tip-off takes place today at noon in the Downtown Louisville Marriott main ballroom. This annual event features the coaches, players interacting with the fans as they get a preview of the 2018-18 women's basketball season.

These events are always fun and gives Sonya and I a chance to mingle with friends and die-hard Cardinal WBB fans. Coach Walz always gives a great preview and the public address duties are always handled with skill and finesse by the inimitable Sean Moth. A good media turnout always accompanies the event, as well.

Good times today downtown. The event is sold out, just in case you were thinking of dropping by for a quick salad.

HEAR JEFF WALZ ADDRESS THE MEDIA BEFORE THE LUNCHEON BELOW: 

JEFF WALZ -- PRE-WBB TIPOFF LUNCHEON 10/26/18 




NO-SHOW SATURDAY


There will be no Cardinal Couple Radio Hour tomorrow on WCHQ 100.9 FM or Facebook Live.  Paulie will be at the football game, Case is unavailable following his recent marriage, and I will be working and footballing.

We decided not to leave Worldwide alone in the studio since our regular stand-ins Mike Gilpatrick and Daryl Foust will also be at Cardinal Stadium.  The daily activities of the Cardinal Couple website will remain the same.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

- Jared -