Louisville WSOC Kicks Off Fall Calendar -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Head to Miami (OH) for Sunday Exhibition

Louisville women's soccer will get the fall season underway for Cardinal Athletics when they take on the Redhawks of Miami University tomorrow at 2PM. As we discussed last week, there isn't likely to be much in the way of coverage on this game, so we'll have to do our best to pick out what we can from various sources. We'll work to bring you as much on the action as we can.

Let's take a look at tomorrow's game from a historical perspective, though. Louisville, as we've discussed at length, is turning over a new roster (for the most part) as they look to improve upon a 6-8-2 mark from last season. The Cards were one of the teams that, a bit surprisingly, didn't see a major uptick in draws with the rule change. Louisville had a pair of 0-0 draws to close out the non-conference slate (at JMU and home against Indiana), but every game the Cards played in which a goal was scored saw a result, one way or the other. Louisville's 13 goals in the season were front loaded, with eight coming in their first four regular season games. It's tough to pull out draws if you can't score, and the Cards suffered only two of their eight losses by more than two goals. On the flip side, Louisville's three conference wins were all only 1-0 victories.

Enough about that. The Cards and Redhawks didn't play last season. In fact, they've not played since 2017. That 2017 game was part of an ok season that disappointed after a relatively hot start. Louisville went 6-2 in non-conference play, beating IU and UK on the road while losing to Purdue and Marquette at home. The real indicator should have been the 3-2 victory they escaped with in the opener against Boston University. The Cards' woes were compounded by another Boston school when they dropped the conference opener at Boston College. Louisville went just 3-5-2 in conference, missing the ACC tournament with a 2-1 loss at NC State after struggling for a point in a home draw against Wake Forest and stealing a point on the road at UNC in the two games prior. 

Before all of that (except the BU game) Louisville won the game against Miami (OH) 2-0 to take a series lead at 6-5. The Cards first played Miami in 1997, dropping the first game 1-0. The two teams are pretty evenly split, with both teams winning three road games and Louisville holding a 3-2 advantage in victories at home. Both the biggest win (3-0) and the smallest win (3-2) for Louisville have come in Oxford. That said, Louisville also has a 3-0 win (2005) and a 1-0 win (2009) at home. Emina Ekic and Gabby Kouzelos were both in their debut seasons for Louisville in 2017 after Kouzelos redshirted in 2016 and Ekic joined as a true freshman. Ekic had two shots on goal in 48 minutes in the Miami game. Gabi Vincent and Alison Price both played all 90 minutes and scored for Louisville. 

In 2022, Miami slumped a bit early after starting with a 0-0 draw against Austin Peay. They won on the road at Loyola Chicago 1-0 before dropping their next two against Wright State and Purdue. The Redhawks closed out their non-conference slate, though, with three straight wins. Two of those were on the road, with one coming in Louisville against Bellarmine. 

Miami ultimately finished the season 9-5-6, a fair shout better than Louisville. The competition was different, to be sure, but Miami was able to capitalize on the new overtime rule and finish more games tied than behind. Whether you agree with games ending in draws or not, I think we can agree that, since they exist, finishing tied is better than losing. Miami advanced to the MAC tournament after finishing the regular season 8-4-6, but they had to play their first two games on the road. After a 1-0 win against Ohio, they lost their rematch (0-0 tie in the regular season) against Buffalo 1-0. I wouldn't want to play in Buffalo, New York on November 3rd, so more power to them.

Miami Athletics: Makenna Morrison scored five
goals and added an assist as a sophomore in '22.

Despite the number of overall draws, Miami scored 21 goals last year, with 20 coming in the regular season. Only three of their six draws were scoreless, and five of their 20 goals came in games which did not see a winner. Miami also only gave up 14 goals, with 13 coming before the MAC tournament. Although the Redhawks are replacing all 1800 goalkeeper minutes from last season, they return their top five points earners and nine of their twelve points earners overall. The top five accounted for 75% of the team's 58 total points and 11 of their 21 goals. It is safe to say that Louisville's new look defense may have their hands full.

Regardless of tomorrow's outcome, it's exciting to be talking about games for Louisville women's athletics again. The summer, while it can seem so long in the midst of it, really flies by once you reflect on it at the end. We'll see what the women's soccer team can do with their spot at the front of the schedule before other teams get underway shortly after.

No Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

For various reasons (vacation, event travel, work), the majority of the crew is out this week. Let's look at it as the calm before the storm, as it should be our last week off from the show for quite some time as the seasons get underway. We'll be back in your feeds next week, barring something unforeseen.

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WSOC battles to a tie against Wake Forest -- The weekend ahead -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS, DEACS GO SCORELESS THURSDAY NIGHT

( If you were expecting Worldwide Jeff's Friday column...sorry to report that he was called in for an emergency meeting at work this morning . Ol' Paulie steps up to the plate today and takes his stance in the batter's box...) 

110 minutes of soccer is a long, grueling affair. Especially when neither team produces a goal. Such was the case Thursday night at Lynn Stadium...where the UofL women's soccer team and #15 Wake Forest battled to a scoreless tie in double overtime. 

Louisville had and excellent change to claim this one with three minutes remaining in the contest. In 30 seconds...Emina Ekic fired a shot that hit the crossbar. Allison Whitfield claimed the rebound and kicked a steamer that was deflected by a WFU defender.  Finally, Alison Price gathered the block and sent one toward the cage...but just a tad too high and over the net. 

Coach Karen Ferguson Dayes on the contest: 

"I wouldn't use the word "frustrated" but I think we deserved to win tonight. We created enough chances. The game turned, which I thought was in our favor and I though it was more in our favor through the overtimes. I'm going back to watch the replay. I want to see if Ekic's shot crossed the line." 

At the start of the second half, Ekic and Price both had chances to put UofL on the scoreboard but could not find net success. In the 85th. minute of action, Brooklyn Rivers saw her attempt hit the crossbar and bounce away from the goal. So close, yet no score.

Louisville had nine shots on goal. Wake Forest four. Cardinal goalie Gabby Kouzelos turned all four Wake attempts away. Credit to Deacs net-guarder Lindsay Preston with eight saves. Attacker Bayley Feist was a constant thorn in the Cards side with half of her teams eight shots. 

There were also a total of 12 offsides called in the contest. The most I've ever seen in a college soccer That I can remember. What did they do...hire college football reps to call this one? It was almost comical. 

The Cards go to 9-6-1 with the draw. They currently sit in eighth place in the conference standings with ten points and a 3-4-1 ACC record. 

Next up...the Cards travel to North Carolina to end the regular season against North Carolina on Sunday and North Carolina State for a Thursday match. If they qualify, they'd participate in ACC Women's Soccer Tournament action beginning November 3rd. 

Below: Post game interviews with Coach KFD and Gabby the Goalie. Edited by UofL SID department. We'll play the unaltered version on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR Saturday. They're a lot more entertaining at the end than these below.

PAULIE AND COACH FERGUSON POST GAME

PAULIE, JORDAN, MIKE AND JARED GAB WITH GABBY

(We get a train and Kim walk thru! )

GAME HIGHLIGHTS


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THE WEEKEND AHEAD

Plenty of activities to follow this weekend on campus and on the road. Here's Friday and Saturday events and be sure to listen to the radio show tomorrow for upcoming action for the week ahead...flawlessly related by Worldwide from the command module! 

FRIDAY

Volleyball -- at Miami
Swimming --  at Michigan
Men's Tennis in the Ohio Valley regional 


SATURDAY

Men's Soccer -- vs. NC State  7 p.m. Lynn Stadium (ACC Network Extra)
Women's Golf --  CARDINAL CUP
Men's Tennis -- still in the Ohio Valley Regional
Rowing -- at The Head of the Charles invitational (Boston, MA) 
Football -- at Florida State Noon  ESPN
Field Hockey --  Virginia Noon Trager Stadium (ACC Network Extra)


Have a great weekend and we'll see you on the radio tomorrow!


paulie
xxxxx

A Full Friday -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

But First, FOOTBALL!!

I know that we all come to this site for the women's coverage, but I cannot pass up the opportunity to share my excitement about the start of football season. Louisville is returning it's first ever Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback, the stable of wide receivers has been supposedly restocked, the offensive line is under new tutelage, and the defense is more than ready to go behind their new leader. Louisville takes on Purdue tonight at 7:30 in Lucas Oil Stadium. If you didn't already know that, where have you been? Purdue is coached by former Cardinal, Jeff Brohm. According to multiple sources, Brohm was working to get Louisville on the schedule at his previous place of employment (Western Kentucky) under the stipulation that Lamar Jackson be off the Louisville team prior to the game. Unfortunately for him, Purdue hadn't made such arrangements. Sorry, Jeff! Louisville is heavily favored in tonight's game and they should be chomping at the bit to get the bad taste of last season's collapse out of their mouths. Purdue is a good team to do that against. They aren't a cupcake, so there is some talent to match up against, but they are also a team that isn't quite good enough to punish every mistake Louisville makes. Let's hope we're going into next season's opener against Alabama after ending this year on a higher note. But we can't worry about next year, yet! There are 12 (hopefully 13, maybe even 14 or 15) games to be played before we turn the football calendar over. It all starts tonight, so let's sit back and enjoy the ride.

Field Hockey Takes First Loss in OT

Marigrace Ragsdale was once again a point getter for the Cards yesterday as she netted her first goal of the season at the end of the 21st minute. It was the first goal of the game for either team and the last goal of the game for Louisville. Ohio State was able to draw level with fewer than 10 minutes remaining in the game after a Louisville defended corner was deemed to be illegal and Ohio State was awarded a second penalty. Louisville was unable to defend a second time and the score was tied 1-1. The teams played 10 and a half minutes of overtime before a second corner goal for Ohio State ended the game and Louisville's undefeated streak. Coach Sowry was clearly disappointed by the team's performance, noting in her post game remarks (per gocards.com) that "it was ... a disappointing performance on the field, and really, that's no surprise given how we practiced all week." Scathing words from Coach who later went on to lament that Ohio State dictated the play and that Louisville is an inexperienced team that needs to look at a lot of things on the individual and team level. It's a hard fall, losing to an unranked team after defeating the defending national champion, but there is still plenty of time to recover. Perhaps Louisville needed a loss like this, one in which they were in control for the first half and just coasted to a loss in the second and beyond, to wake up before conference play starts. There will be no days to take off in the ACC. While it is frustrating to lose any game, it is important to learn from that loss rather than let it lead to additional failures. Louisville is back in action, hoping to get back on track, against Kent State tomorrow at noon at a neutral site.

Wide Netters Break the Win Column

After hard fought losses to top ten teams last weekend, Louisville was ready to put a tally in the win column this week as they returned to Cardinal Arena for their first regular season action in their official full time home. Last night's match came against the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky, a team that found themselves in the top 25 after a good opening weekend. It was not "Tops on Top" last night, though, as Louisville pulled away in the third and fourth games to win the match 3-1. WKU started out strong, taking the first game from Louisville 18-25, and it appeared as though there might be another long night in store for the Cards. The first game saw only 4 ties and 1 lead change. Louisville hit only .107 in the first to WKU's strong .343 mark. However, the Cards came out in the second game and led wire to wire, drawing level on the set score after a 25-19 win. Louisville hit .214 to WKU's .161 in the second game. The Toppers fought valiantly in the third and fourth games, holding tight to the Cards for the first 20 points or so in both games and forcing 14 ties and 4 lead changes between the two games. Louisville pulled away though, due partly to costly WKU errors and very good hitting by the home team, to win the last two games 25-15 and 25-16. 

On the night, Louisville was paced on offense by Melanie McHenry, Maggie DeJong, and Tess Clark, who all hit over .300 on more than 10 attempts. Wilma Rivera did her part on offense with 34 assists. Gabey Wiley did her part with 5 aces and 0 service errors. Defensively, Rivera and Molly Sauer held strong with 12 and 11 digs, respectively. Wiley chipped in 7 and McHenry 6, to go along with her 12 kills. The Cards stood tall with 13 team blocks to WKU's 4. It was a game to be proud of, but one that Coach DBK is still likely to find places to improve, as all good coaches should. The Cards will look to pull their season record level today at 12:30 as they take on Kent State.

Cards Take First Rivalry Game of Season

Both inhabitants of Lynn Stadium were on the road last night, protecting our glorious soccer field from the tortures of long spikes on such a rainy night as last night. The men's team took a 1-0 win against Georgia State with a goal by Tim Kubel (that guy is really good), but it is the women's team with which we are interested. After 6 straight losses in the series, Louisville finally took one off of the Cats in Lexington. It was a rain soaked field, a goalkeeper's worst nightmare, and it showed, with 4 goals on the final scoreline. Kentucky was able to mar Louisville's clean sheet with a goal off of a corner kick in the 77th minute, but were unable to overcome the three goal lead Louisville had already built by that time. After a previously wide open goal race, the offense of Louisville is starting to settle in and one player is beginning to stand out as a present and future force that opposing defenses need to be wary of. Freshman Emina Ekic netted her 3rd and 4th goals last night, once off of a free kick and once off of a post rebound, adding these types of goals to her arsenal after already showing this season that she can score in space and off of the dribble. Alison Price, a senior stalwart on the front line, scored her second goal of the season on a corner kick. If you've paid much attention to my writeups so far this season, you'd know I am glad to see that Louisville is scoring on set pieces (twice this game). It is unfortunate that they gave up a corner kick goal, but they also defended two more and probably defended a few free kicks as well. (I have no way of knowing exactly how many fouls because that is an a statistic that is egregiously left off of the box score, but with 5 yellow cards issued in the match, I have to figure both teams had more than a few fouls.) (Also, I know it's a lot to ask, but possession stats and passing percentages would also be really cool to have.) It is great to see Louisville bounce back from the tough loss against Marquette, especially against their biggest rival, but I will have to wait until they return home to see if they've made some of the adjustments I can't get out of a game recap or box score. Louisville is back in action against Southeast Missouri State on Monday at 6:30. The road trip continues, so hopefully the Cards can take another road win before returning home against Purdue next Friday.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

If you've made it this far, I applaud you. There was a lot to talk about today. If you didn't get your fill from the text on this page and would rather hear a few goofs talk about it over the airwaves, tune in to the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour from 11-12 on WCHQ FM. The station is 100.9 in the Crescent Hill area or you can listen on the WCHQ app or station website. The show is always available for rebroadcast, usually beginning on the Sunday after the original air date if you've missed it. 

Until next time, Go Cards! (Beat ... Purdue!)

-CH-

Cards Eclipse Redhawks -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Karen Ferguson-Dayes Earns 150th Win

After a closely fought victory over the Terriers of Boston University on Friday, Louisville's Women's soccer team settled in yesterday for their second victory in three days. This one wasn't quite as much of a nail biter as the Cards scored two goals to Miami's zero. It was the 150th career win for head coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes. Many have their own opinions about the skipper of the Louisville women's soccer team, but I would argue she is working diligently to produce a fine on-field product in a tough sport to recruit and perform well without conference continuity. The ACC is a tough place to play and Louisville will likely take a few lumps this year. However, this team has looked decent in its first two games this season and will look to iron out the creases as they get closer to conference play. Having the mental toughness to finish in close games, even if they shouldn't be close, will help this team a lot this season.

In her post-game interview, Coach K expressed that she was not pleased with the first half, despite the Cards leading 1-0 after an Allison to Alison connection in the 29th minute. Both teams finished the first 45 with three shots, even with Louisville holding a possession advantage. Whether or not this is carry over from the purposeless passing issues from the last game, I couldn't say, as I was unable to take this one in myself. However, whatever was said in the locker room at halftime seemed to have a marked effect on the team, with Louisville winning the second half shots battle 13-4. Louisville continued to hold the ball in the attacking end of the field, earning 11 corner kicks to Miami's 1. Increased chances are bound to lead to increased goals eventually, which was the case when Kennadi Carbin was brought down in the box in the 74th minute, and Gabi Vincent was able to convert the penalty. This came just after Miami's best opportunity of the day to equalize on a free kick was kept out by Gabrielle Kouzelos in the Louisville goal. 

Louisville moves to 2-0-0 this season, which puts them only 10 wins away from my regular season goal. The Cards have two more games this year, against Southeast Missouri State and Gardner-Webb, which I believe they absolutely cannot afford to lose (not just for my 12 win goal but also for their confidence and tournament hopes). The rest of the schedule is made up by tough non-conference adversaries and the brutal ACC schedule. Louisville has shown that it can be diverse on offense--all 5 goals this year have come from the foot of a different player--and stingy on defense--earning their first clean sheet yesterday afternoon. Their first big test of the season will come this Thursday when they travel to Bloomington to take on Indiana University. The game begins at 7:30PM, and the Louisville site does not currently list any viewing options.

Post game interviews with Paulie below. New video guy...he actually showed both Paulie's face briefly and the legendary Tascam DM-50 audio recorder during the interview. I hope he still has a job this morning. They also featured the Gator golf cart audio -- but no planes, trains or sirens. As usual, they deleted some of Paulie's stuff.

POST GAME KAREN FERGUSON DAYES

POST GAME GABI VINCENT

Keep Your Eyes Safe

Today is the day of the Great American Eclipse, as the shadow of the moon will go coast-to-coast just like Russ Smith. It will be an awesome experience as millions of Americans gather along the path of totality to see midday turn to dusk in an instant. No matter where you intend to be while you view the eclipse, make sure to take care of yourself. Direct viewing of the sun can lead to permanent retinal damage. Even while wearing approved safety lenses, do not make a habit of staring directly at the sun during the eclipse. If you are in the path of totality, be sure to perform proper research about when it is safe to remove your glasses and when you must replace them before totality ends. If you do not have safety lenses, there are many other ways to safely experience the eclipse which do not include risking your eyesight because "a little look won't hurt." It will. You cannot even feel the rays burning your retinas until it is too late. Additionally, the forecast around the Kentucky area shows potential cloud cover. You would not stare at the sun through light clouds on a normal day, and those clouds will not protect your eyes today. Be smart, be safe, and enjoy what may be a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

WSOC gets third shutout in a row with 4-0 win over Toledo -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WOMEN'S SOCCER OFF TO BEST START SINCE 2012

Confidence.

It was the rapid reply from Coach Karen Ferguson Dayes during our post-game interview when I asked her what the squad could gather out of this 4-0 win over Toldeo...and as they prepare for Kentucky on Friday night at Lynn Stadium. 





Confidence.

The attitude junior mid-fielder/attacker Alison Price exuded when she talked about the difference between this year's squad and the 2015 version. Confidence and comfortability in her teammates. 

Louisville women's field hockey gathered their third straight 4-0 victory of the season in front of a sweltering crowd at Lynn Stadium Sunday and wasted no time in taking the lead. I barely had time to sit down after the National Anthem (yes, I did remove my cap and mouth the words) when the Cards took the opening offensive sequence and got a score from freshman Sarah Feola off a nice cross set up by Brooklynn Rivers just 21 seconds into the contest. 

It is easy to be confident when your team is doing most of the scoring and the opponent struggles just to get off shots against you. All told, in four regular season matches and two exhibition contests...Louisville has allowed two goals. 

What is just as impressive and confidence-building is that the Cards have scored 13 goals in building their 3-0-1 record. In 16 games last year, they totaled 15 goals. 

Louisville pushed yesterday's match to a 3-0 halftime advantage...getting a score from Price 20 minutes in when she schooled the goalie on a one-on-one maneuver and a late score with 71 ticks left in the first half from senior Caroline Kimble on a "bloop" kick over Toledo goalkeeper
Katie Wilson's head following a deflection by Rivers. 

Heat, substitutions (the Cards played 11 non-starters throughout the second half) and maybe a bit of fatigue from playing their second game in less than 48 hours limited Louisville to one goal in the final 45 minutes. It was a beauty though...sophomore Jill Vetere getting loose on a cross and firing one off the left post that bounced in.


What was just as impressive was Vetere's post-score celebration...where she took down Price with a full leap/jump/sack that Cards' football defensive coordinator Todd Grantham would have been proud of. 

The Cards held a 22-7 shot advantage and 11-2 shots on goal edge. Taylor Bucklin had both the Louisville saves...in her first strenuous athletic efforts since she was asked to pass the fried chicken at the 4th of July picnic. Tory Gabor spent the final 22 minutes between the posts for the Cards...a goalie Coach KFD is very impressed with and the probable successor to Bucklin when she graduates. 

All told, the Cards had four different scorers from four different classes (freshman, sophomore, junior and senior). They are off to their best start since they opened 6-0 back in 2012. That team went 10-4-4 and had their win streak stopped by UK. Guess who is next on the 2016 schedule for the Kickin' Cards? Yup, the Big Blue.

Confidence. 

It's a wonderful thing to establish early in a season with a roster that is so young (11 freshmen and 5 sophomores) but also blessed with three returning starters on defense and the incredible Bucklin between the pipes. 

"Whaddya mean you haven't got our UK versus UofL tickets yet?"

Yesterday, another home game, another shutout win and another four goals scored. Another confidence builder. Friday is when confidence will meet competition in a crucial contest concerning two camps that are colliding at a critical confluence in their seasons. 

The Cats are 0-2-2 to start the year. Yesterday's match in Lexington against Northwestern ended in a cancellation after 45 minutes of play due to rough weather. I heard reports of torrential rain. August weather. Always unpredictable once you get past the heat guarantee.

We hope Kentucky doesn't come to town and rain on Louisville women's soccer parade. The Cats might be a little confident...and rightfully so, since they've won the last five matchups against the Cards and have posted shutouts in the last four. 

Time to shine, Louisville. Celebrate this last one a bit longer and then get ready for the Battle of the Bluegrass. 

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Catch my post-game interviews with Coach KFD and Alison Price at the two links below. I even snuck my head and cap into camera view at the start of these. 

Confidence...it even extends to the senile old guy doing the post-game chats.

POST GAME WITH KAREN FERGUSON DAYES

POST GAME WITH ALISON PRICE




paulie
xxxxx

Louisville Women's Soccer focused on the next, prepared for the future -- Wednesday Cardinal Couple

CARDS FINAL SIX A CHALLENGE...STARTING WITH #1 THURSDAY NIGHT

It is truly hard to believe that the UofL women's soccer team is 2/3rd of the way through the regular season. The Cards (6-5-1, 2-2) have faced a very tough pre-conference schedule and have been involved in 1-0 affairs the last four games...winning three of them....and against three ACC opponents.  

But this last 1/3rd of the schedule is absolutely brutal and will test a young team that has already exceeded hopes for a rebuilding season. 15 of the 25 on head women's soccer coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes' roster are freshmen or sophomores. Two of the triad of leading scorers are sophomores in Bella Habuda and Alison Price. 

The gauntlet over the next two weeks is without a doubt the toughest four game stretch any UofL women's soccer team has ever faced. #1 UNC comes to town Thursday night. They'll be followed by #20 Duke and then #2 Florida State visits Lynn Stadium. After that, the Cards travel to #3 Virginia. 

Insanity, yes and a schedule no coach would ever purposely arrange...the ACC provided this nightmare to Coach KFD at no additional charge. Welcome to the show...

To be the best, you must beat the best and the Louisville Soccer women know full well the challenge ahead. On campus yesterday, I was impressed and proud of how sophomores Habuda and Price are taking the upcoming challenge.

Where there might be fear, and understandably so...there is excitement instead. There is confidence in their own abilities and their teammates skills. A confidence built by having only known one conference since their arrival to Louisville and how well the team plays against the "best of the best". Ready to see how they fare against against 1,2 and 3 in the nation. 

As freshmen, Habuda and Price were involved in a tie against Duke and just a one-goal loss to Virginia. They know they've gotten better individually in their second season and are also looking for revenge for a dominating 6-0 loss at FSU in 2014. They believe they can win these next four. Having the Lynn Stadium crowd behind them for the first three is huge.   

The first step is UNC. A team that Louisville did not play last season and unique and different in their three-forward attack and aggressiveness designed to keep the ball in opponent territory and hammer away offensively, with an average of 22 shots per game. North Carolina (11-0-1) has allowed only five goals in their 12 contests. Intruders trying to invade the fortress known as The Palace on Floyd Street. 

Coach Ferguson-Dayes speaks of how the "back four" have become the anchor of this team. They will certainly get a chance to steady the boat tomorrow night against the mis-named TarHeels.   

Quality, top-notch women's soccer at the finest soccer facility in college athletics. A litmus test to see just where this Louisville women's soccer squad is after 12 games. Another possible huge upset by a school that has provided several of them over the last several years. 

You need to go see this one Thursday night. Game time is 7 p.m. Bring your voice.

paulie

LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S SOCCER HOSTS MOREHEAD ST TONIGHT...MORE WBB NEWS -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Thursday, October 1, 2015

KICKIN' OUT OF CONFERENCE TONIGHT.

The Louisville women's soccer squad takes a brief break from ACC play this evening with a 7 p.m. start against Morehead State in Lynn Stadium.

For the Cards (4-5-1, 1-2-0) it's a chance to work on a few items that might be beneficial when they return to ACC play and also a revenge game. Louisville traveled to the Morehead campus last year and suffered a surprising 2-0 loss to the Eagles. 

The Cards do lead the series 11-1 and hold a 6-0 record against MSU in home competition.  

Louisville will look for a way to ramp up the scoring output in tonight's contest. Through ten games, the Cards have scored just 10 goals...while averaging 6.3 shots on goal per contest. Casey Whitfield and Alison Price lead the eight Cardinals who have scored this season with two goals each. 


The defense has been solid for UofL...allowing just 11 goals this season and limiting opponents to 5.5 shots on goal per contest.Taylor Bucklin and Paige Brownhave been splitting time in between the pipes...Bucklin defending the net in the Cards latest match...a 1-0 loss to Pitt on Sunday.

Morehead (4-6-1) is led by freshman Dani Wilson and her five goals and four assists this year. Goalie Katilynn Murphy has been solid in front of the net with a 1.59 goals against average stat and a .811 save percentage. 

Tickets on sale at the Lynn Stadium box office. The first 200 fans to enter will receive a UofL seat cushion. 

                               *            *            *

ESPN PICKS UP 4 MORE WBB CONTESTS

For those of you unable to attend UofL WBB home games...there is good news about more on-line chances to watch the Cards.

ESPN has announced that they'll show the home games against California (11/15), Virginia Tech (1/7), Clemson (1/20) and Virginia (2/18) on ESPN3.

This bumps the total to 15 games that will be airing to a national audience for the 2015-16 UofL WBB season. It also means that all of UofL's home games will be available either on TV or on line. 

46 days until the Cal game. 

paulie
xxxxx

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Kelsi Worrell nominated for USA Swimming Award -- Wednesday Cardinal Coupe

Louisville junior Kelsi Worrell has been nominated for Breakout Performer of the Year as USA Swimming announces the 2015 Golden Goggles Awards, which are presented by the USA Swimming Foundation every year to celebrate the top swimmers and coaches' achievements over the last year.
 
There are eight categories: Breakout Performer of the Year, Coach of the Year, Perseverance Award, Relay Performance of the Year, Male Performance of the Year, Female Performance of the Year, Male Athlete of the Year, and Female Athlete of the Year.
 
Worrell is up for the 2015 Breakout Performer Of The Year award which is given to the athlete whose performance(s) stand out in relation to other years, with special emphasis given to the 2015 FINA World Championships.
 
The three nominees for the Breakout Performer of the Year award are Katie Meili, Jordan Wilimovsky, and Kelsi Worrell.  
 
Worrell's signature race, the 100-butterfly has put her atop

the podium at the NCAA, Pan American Games and Phillips 66 National Championships. Worrell won an NCAA title and set an American record in the 100y fly for the University of Louisville in March, becoming the first woman to break the 50-second mark. In her first international meet at Pan American Games in Toronto, she set a Games record and notched the third-fastest time in the world in 2015 with a 57.24 effort in the 100-meter fly prelims. She went on to win gold in the event and added two relay medals. At the National Championships, Worrell carried her momentum with a victory in the 100m fly at the Phillips 66 National Championships.
 
Online fan voting is now open and will continue through Friday, Nov. 13. A percentage of the fan vote will count towards the final ballot. Beginning later this week USA Swimming will highlight Golden Goggle Awards categories weekly on usaswimming.org and across its social media channels in the lead-up to the Nov. 22 event.

 Vote here:http://usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=2104&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en


( A special thanks to Nancy Worley for the information on this!) 

paulie
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Louisville Softball begins fall schedule with (2) wins...Beat the Paulie...Radio Today-- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

2016 SOFTBALL WILL BE A MIX OF THE OLD AND NEW

Sandy Pearsall's Louisville softball squad is getting in a few fall exhibition games before they start their season in the spring of 2016. 

On Sunday, the Cards entertained Bellarmine in "The Battle of Eastern Parkway" and took a double-header against the Knights 8-5, 6-2. Red-shirt sophomoreNicole Pufahl provided the big hit in the first game...her three run homer in the seventh inning proved the distance. In the Cards second win, Pearsall turned freshmen pitchers Kaylea Horn(Richland, KY) and Jordan Hensley (Ashland, KY) loose on the Knights to get the win. 

Cardinal "pitch and hit" fans will remember about half the current roster from last season and there are some big names back to play in Ulmer.

Maryssa Becker would have to top that list of stars back on Floyd Street. The junior pitcher from Oregon was the Cards ace last season and we don't see that changing. Pufahl hit for power at times for UofL last season and should provide the same "boom factor" this year. Senior infielder Brittany Sims is also very capable of parking Spaldings out on Brandeis Street and can cover several infield positions as needed. 

Madi Norman was a very effective pitcher at times for the 2015 Cards and returns to fill that role again. Everyone's favorite "slap" hitter...the speedy Jordan McNary will be a familiar site sprinting down the first base line again for Louisville. Senior 3rd baseman Hailey Smith proved to be a steady performer and the "hot corner" and also provided the Cards with an offensive punch in 2015. 

Tierra Sanabria saw plenty of action at first base for UofL last year and Alison "Mike" Szydlowski handled catching duties with aplomb last year. Add letter-winners Ashley Nikolao, Morgan Meyer, Morgan Hart and Sidney Melton into the mix and Pearsall has a solid nucleus of experience to work with.

The Cards graduated shortstop Whitney Arion, outfielder Kelsi Jones, DH Brittany Duncan and the pride of New Egypt, New Jersey...Kayla Soles. ( Kayla has sent "new pride" however...in the form of her little sister Jamie Soles...who joins the Louisville roster this year).

Names missing from last year's roster are Shelby McCombs, Kristina Dillard, Bridgette Flaherty, Paige Alford, Hannah Tow, Sydney Benz and Autumn McDuffie. Maybe I missed something here...did selected players in the Classes of 2013 and 2014 go on some sort of strike or something? McCombs is at Ohio State now, Flaherty enrolled at Georgia State, Dillard to Maryland and Tow at Missouri. Not sure about Benz, McDuffie or Alford. 

Five freshmen and six transfers also join the roster...and they played significant roles in the double-header sweep of the Knights Sunday. 

All in all, a roster comprised of 12 girls from in-state, three seniors, six juniors, eight sophomores and five freshman. The contingent looks to better last year's 30-19 overall record and 16-7 fourth place ACC finish. The Cards went to the Columbia, MO regional in NCAA Tournament play in 2015. 

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BEAT THE PAULIE

The question is...can you? 


Each week, Paulie will try to successfully predict the outcome of four or five UofL women's athletic contests. If you can "beat the Paulie" on his picks...we'll enter you for the chance to win a $25 gift card for Panera or Cracker Barrel (your choice!) . Last week's inaugural run found Paulie going 3-1 and no one could top him.

You can leave your picks in the comments section or send them to cardinalcouple@twc.com via e-mail.

Why not beat Paulie each week and get several entries to win the gift card? Here's the Paulie Picks for week ending Sunday Oct 4th.

MAKE SURE YOUR PICKS ARE IN BY 6 P.M THURSDAY OF THIS WEEK!! 

1) Louisville vs. Syracuse (Volleyball). I'll go with the Cards here in a tough match. Former UofL coach Yelin returns.

2) Louisville @ DUKE  (Field Hockey) . Taking the Dookies here in another battle of present and past Lou FH skippers.

3) Louisville @ UMASS (Field Hockey). Cards win at Justine Sowry's former head coaching gig. 

4) Louisville  vs. Morehe (Women's Soccer). Cards get revenge in Lynn for last year's loss

5) Louisville @ Syracuse  (Women's Soccer). tough call here but I'll pick Syracuse on their home turf. 

REMEMBER, PICKS NEED TO BE IN BY 6 PM THURSDAY

paulie
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