News Roundup -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

There aren't a ton of major stories happening in Louisville athletics, so let's use today to briefly check in on some upcoming and recently announced events as well as some ongoing stories in the area.

Women's Golf Schedule Announced

Louisville women's golf released their schedule on Thursday, joining the long list of Louisville teams to have done so this week. The Cards will start the fall season on September 12th when they travel to South Carolina for the Cougar Classic hosted by the College of Charleston. Their last tournament of the regular season comes on April 3rd and 4th when they participate in a match play event hosted by NC State. Louisville will play hosts at the Moon Golf Invitational in Melbourne, Florida from February 19th through the 21st, but the Cards will not host an event at the Cardinal Club this season.

TV Reminders

There are multiple things to be on the lookout for this weekend as far as keeping up with the Cards goes. The first comes today at noon in the form of the Lacrosse World Championships women's gold medal match. That matchup, as I mentioned yesterday, is between the USA and Canada, the latter of which boasts 6 Cardinals. The game is on ESPN2, not ESPNU, so tune in after F1 qualifying and Sportscenter (or after you listen to the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast.)

The other TV item was profiled by Jared on Thursday. Louisville's ACC Network takeover will take place tomorrow. Settle in for non-stop Louisville game replays starting at midnight. The day will feature 11 total events and the last four are all scheduled to be women's games. Starting at 4PM, watch basketball and volleyball alternate through the evening with their games against UCONN, Pitt, Michigan, and UK.

Cards at Racing Louisville

Racing's winless streak was extended to six games last night when they lost 2-1 to Gotham FC at home. Emina Ekic scored earlier in the week to help the team draw against Orlando, but couldn't match it last night. She had a 25-yard free kick that she converted into a shot on goal, but the Gotham FC goalkeeper was able to make a diving save. Racing outshot NY 23-9 and led the expected goals rating 1.98-0.91. Sometimes, it's just the way things fall. Allison Whitfield was on the bench for the second straight game after being added to the roster to cover for players on international duty, but she is still awaiting the opportunity to make her debut. 

Ava Jones Family Update

This is a sad story and it's only obliquely related to Louisville women's athletics by way of the fact that it is related to women's athletics and happened in Louisville. Ava Jones, an Iowa WBB commit in the 2023 class, was in town for the Run 4 The Roses tournament when her family was struck on the sidewalk by an impaired driver downtown on Tuesday. Yesterday, the news was released that Ava's father, Trey, had succumbed to his injuries. According to an update from WDRB News, Ava's brother says that while Ava and her mother both remain unconscious, Ava has been displaying movement. Doctors fear she has suffered head trauma. 

Jones' team won their bracket's championship in the tournament yesterday and dedicated their win to the Jones family. We offer our condolences to the family and hope for speedy and full recoveries for those that have been injured. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

After being out last week for boat racing, I'm back this week for the show. Daryl will be working to get the swamp turned back into a baseball field after the visit from the Riverfrogs (and the rain) last night. Paulie, Jeff, and Jared should all be in the house, though, as we work to bring you a full hour covering the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Breaker: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Sunday Cardinal Couple - Soccer Alumnae Inaugurate a Venue

NWSL Turning Left?

Allison

Will Racing Louisville FC's game plan today involve attacking up the left side?  Emina Ekic has been playing as a left side attacker, and they'll be playing in a venue well known for left turns, so let's hope the strategy brings success.

Yes, Racing Louisville FC is playing in a special game against the Orlando Pride today.  It's an away game, so don't head down to Lynn Family Stadium to watch.  If you're in Orlando, well, it's not going to be there, either.

Instead, the teams will be matching up inside the Daytona International Speedway, to take part in The Daytona Soccer Fest.  It is being billed as the "first ever", so there seems to be some expectations that this is an event that may occur again.

Emina

Racing will be playing with two Louisville alumnae on the roster, with Allison Whitfield joining the club after having played for the organization's USL W League team, their pre-professional development side.  Whitfield played in every game for the side until she was signed to the international replacement contract with the main Racing Louisville FC team.

This is a great opportunity for our the NWSL as a whole, not to mention Racing Louisville, and the Orlando Pride, to get some prime-time exposure on CBS Sports at 8pm.  The game will immediately follow the New York Liberty vs Los Angeles Sparks game on the station.  Alas, no UofL rooting interests in that one anymore.

Will we see Whitfield get on the pitch?  She was added to the roster on a short term contract to help replace several players who have been called up to international duty, including Nadia Nadim, Emily Fox, Rebecca Holloway, and Satara Murray.  

WNBA Check in

Dana Evans played a little over seven minutes with the Sky yesterday in their matchup with the Phoenix Mercury.  She hit a pair of three pointers, got a defensive rebound and a pair of assists in Chicago's 91-75 win over the Mercury.

Emily Engstler and the Indiana Fever are not in action until Tuesday night.  The Fever seem to be showing all of their games on their Facebook page, which is nicely accessible.

For today's UofL rooting interests, you've got a 1pm game with Myisha Hines-Allen and the Washington Mystics and the Connecticut Sun on ESPN, and a 3pm game with AD Durr and the Atlanta Dream hosting the Seattle Storm and the Sue Bird farewell tour on NBA TV and maybe Amazon Prime?

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

( I do what when who gets the what where? Why?)  

Paulie returns, but Case had an early alarm to go watch boats go fast on the Ohio River, so it was a foursome yesterday on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast.  Daryl, Jared, Paulie and myself covered the news of the week, which was largely dominated by official fall sports schedule releases.  We got a sneak peak of Volleyball last week, but we got a look at Field Hockey and Women's Soccer this week.

You can check out the lightly edited audio at it's podcast home on anchor.fm at:

https://anchor.fm/cardinal-couple/episodes/Schedule-Announcement-Season-and-a-Tall-Basketball-Player-e1knu0a

or at any of your favorite podcast sources.

Whitfield to Racing Louisville -- Gabriela Leon to World Championships -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Allison Whitfield Signs with Racing Louisville

Louisville women's soccer alum Allison Whitfield has signed with Racing Louisville FC. Whitfield joins the club on a national team replacement contract while Racing Louisville has a few members with the US National Team, Jamaican National Team, and Northern Ireland National Team.

Whitfield will join her old duPont Manual High School and Louisville teammate Emina Ekic.

Most recently, Whitfield has spent time with Racing Louisville as a key member of their W league squad. She has logged 567 minutes in 10 matches this season after recovering from ACL surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The outside back will dress for Sunday's match against the Orlando Pride and will be with the club through at least the end of July.

Gabriela Leon to Compete in 2022 World Championships

NCAA Champion and Louisville track and field star Gabriela Leon has qualified for the 2022 World Athletics Championships.

Leon was originally listed as an alternate but was called up when Alina McDonald had to withdraw from the event.

The event will take place at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. from July 15-24. The Cardinals pole vaulter won the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships, you might remember. 

Women's Soccer Schedule Released

As Paulie mentioned yesterday, this week has been "Schedule Week". We reviewed the Louisville volleyball schedule on Tuesday and the Louisville field hockey schedule yesterday.

Louisville women's soccer is the latest team to release their fall 2022 schedule.

The regular season will consist of 16 matches- eight at home, seven on the road, and one neutral location match. The Cards will face six non-conference opponents while the final 10 matches will be against ACC opponents.

Admission is free during the regular season at Dr Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium.

Daryl will break down the schedule and opponents more tomorrow.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Women's Soccer Draws Duke -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Take Second Draw in a Row

Looking at Duke's season coming into last night, one could almost guess that the game would eventually head into double overtime. Including last night's match, the Blue Devils have now drawn four of their last five matches. They've got six draws on the season and seven overtime matches. The 9th ranked Blue Devils also came in riding an 11 game unbeaten streak having not lost since an early season non-conference match against North Carolina. (The origins of that match are complicated. I asked one of the Duke representatives about it last night and couldn't follow much.) Louisville and Duke have that in common, in that their only losses on the season came against UNC. 

Louisville's toughest charge on the night would be scoring goals. We discussed it a bit in the post game interviews, but Duke is excellent at keeping the opposing team out of the net. On the season, opposing teams have scored only 7 goals against the Blue Devils. In their 5 draws before last night, four had been scoreless. They've 8 shutouts, and their goalkeeper, Brooke Heinsohn, is 20th in the country in save percentage. All of that is to say that when Duke took the lead on an 11th minute penalty, Louisville could have been in a bit of danger.

Early in the game, Louisville held much of possession. They were passing the ball well and earning chances going towards the Duke goal. As you'll hear Coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes describe, Duke's goal actually came after Louisville's best early chance. After a Maisie Whitsett miss, Duke was able to quickly work downfield and on a sliding block attempt, Ravin Alexander was unable to keep her hand down by her side. She was charged with a handball and the referee pointed to the spot. Duke's Ella Stevens stepped up to the ball, took her time, and slotted it home to Gabby Kouzelos's left side. On the kick, Kouzelos actually had the pace and the range of the ball covered, but she guessed wrong on her dive and the ball found the empty side of the net. From that point in the half, the mood turned a bit and neither team was able to gather much control. Louisville would go on to finish the half outshooting Duke 7-2, but the possession stat was equal at 50% and Duke led 1-0 into the half.

Louisville came out of the second half with a fire similar to that in the first. The Cards continued dominating possession and would go on to finish the half with an 8-0 shot advantage. The only shot that found home, though, came just 8 minutes into the second half. On a counter attack, Emina Ekic found herself with a lot of space in the middle of the attacking half. She found her spot and sent a through ball behind the defense for an on-running Brooklynn Rivers. Rivers, as is her specialty, outran the defender to set up a one-on-one in the box. Rivers took a touch or two to settle herself and fired home a shot medium height to the far post. The score was tied 1-1. 

For the rest of the game, Louisville would continue to pressure the Duke defense, going on to dominate the possession stat to the tune of 57%. Whitsett and Jessica De Filippo earned chance after chance in the half, but were unable to beat Heinsohn for the lead. Ekic and Allison Whitfield made sure to push the defense from the middle and the outside, with Alexander and Arianna Ferraro getting in on the action as well. Unfortunately for the Cards, they were unable to break through, and we headed to overtime.

As I mentioned before, Duke was quite accustomed to overtime matches. In fact, the Duke representative I mentioned earlier wasn't frustrated that the match went to overtime. He was more upset that the potential draw would not be scoreless, as the team is just one scoreless draw from tying the NCAA record. In the pair of overtime periods, Louisville would go on to outshoot the Blue Devils 4-1 and continued to win the possession battle. Their best chance may have come without a shot, though, as Whitfield sent a dangerous low cross to Rivers at the top of the box. Rivers was just about in the same situation as her goal earlier, but the Duke defender was just able to nick the ball away and prevent the shot. The two teams would go on to finish with a tie and neither will move in the ACC standings.

Louisville will now hit the road and take on a fantastic Virginia team. The Cavaliers have not yet lost this season and sit just two points behind Louisville with a 3-0-3 record in conference. Louisville will need to play the way that they did for much of the Duke game, albeit with more goals, if they want to continue winning. At 14 points on the conference season, the Cards are just four points behind last season's total with three games remaining. Ultimately, though, the point total isn't as important as the location in the standings. Louisville currently sits third, and will hope to finish in the top four to host in the ACC tournament. The Cards will take on Virginia on Thursday night at 7PM. 

Coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes Postgame

Brooklynn Rivers Postgame

McHenry Out for the Year

As was feared when she went down on Wednesday night, Melanie McHenry's Louisville career is over. The University officially announced yesterday that McHenry's knee injury suffered against Notre Dame will put her out for the remainder of the year. Louisville has already passed the halfway point of the season, making her ineligible for a medical redshirt, and as McHenry is a senior, she is done with UofL volleyball. It's an unfortunate end to a wonderful career from the outside hitter, and we'll be sure to follow the Sparkplug wherever she goes in the future.

Radio Silence

With half the A-Team at Cardinal Stadium and another member traveling the country, I would have been left all alone in the studio for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. We all decided that would be in no one's best interest and canceled today's show. We'll be back on air next week, but, in the meantime, be sure to tune in to WCHQ FM anyway for all of the best in local music.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Soccer Falls to UNC; Softball Sweeps Bellarmine -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Soccer Sees Undefeated Season Broken

Sunday, Louisville knocked off top-ten Vanderbilt. Emotions were high and the Cards played nearly perfectly for 100 minutes leading to a game winning penalty from Emina Ekic. In the 20th minute last night, it appeared that lightning might just strike again. After a long ball went over the shoulder of Delaney Snyder, it looked like she would be on goal, until she was pulled down from behind by a North Carolina defender. The crowd appealed and the whistle was blown immediately. The referee pointed to the spot and Ekic lined up for the penalty.

To this point in the season, Ekic had not missed a penalty and had hit two game winners already, against Indiana and Vanderbilt. The shot seemed to be in slow motion. It went high, getting past the diving UNC goalkeeper  Josephson, but instead of sliding into the net, it skipped off the bottom of the crossbar and went straight down. After hitting the ground, the ball had enough pace to bounce nearly 15 feet in the air and seemed to float down for an eternity. Ekic waited patiently, but a taller UNC defender was able to get to the ball first and keep it away from the Cards. The threat had ended and Louisville had missed their first penalty of the season, simultaneously missing a huge chance in the game.

In the post game interview, Coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes called soccer a game of moments. The penalty was just the first of the critical moments in last night's game. Just 30 seconds after the penalty miss, the ball fell to Brooklynn Rivers, who fired a shot on goal. Again, it got high past Josephson and, again, it caught the bottom half of the crossbar, bouncing back toward the field of play. The ball was cleared away but only to the feet of Allison Whitfield, who took a shot of her own, only to see it saved. Each of these moments could have tipped the scales of the game. Each moment was a huge opportunity for the Cards, and each was just barely missed.

The next critical moment came just a minute later. This time, the moment belonged to North Carolina. The Tarheels got on a bit of a break, and Brianna Pinto put a through ball right in front of a streaking Alessia Russo. The English national was just onside and broke right in between Niamh Nelson and Sarah Hernandez. As Gabby Kouzelos came off of her line, she appeared to slip as Russo pulled the ball and stepped to the side, leaving Kouzelos on the ground out of the play. Russo slotted a shot that got between Nelson and Hernandez and found the side netting.

After multiple heartbreaks for Louisville, they now trailed 1-0.

After the goal, UNC maintained a significant amount of possession, putting more and more pressure on the Cards. Louisville's only shot in the remaining 24 minutes came on accident as a Nelson free kick leaked too close to the goal and was caught by Josephson. Kouzelos managed to keep the goal clean for the remainder of the half and the teams entered the locker room still at 1-0.

Coach Ferguson-Dayes noted after the game that really the only thing she was disappointed in was Louisville losing its moxie. The 1-0 deficit was the first time Louisville has trailed since the first game of the season against Ohio State.

Louisville was able to recover and went on to win that match 2-1, due to their resilience. Louisville didn't quite show the same resilience against UNC last night. The second half was much of the same as the later portion of the first half. UNC controlled possession and limited Louisville's opportunities. In the 67th minute, Ru Mucherera put a dangerous cross into the six yard box that found Alexis Strickland alone. Strickland calmly put it past Kouzelos, who was unable to get back across the goal in time. UNC led 2-0. 

After the second goal, the game didn't feel over quite yet, as it still seemed that the Cards could find a goal some time in the final 23 minutes and then it would be only a one-goal game in which anything can happen. The game was sealed 13 minutes later when Lois Joel found Russo once more at the top left of the box. Russo put a shot on the ground through traffic that Kouzelos saw just a moment too late. Kouzelos fell to the ground, but the ball slipped straight under her. UNC led 3-0 and that would be the final score. 

Jaz Jones does her best to push the Cards to victory.

This matchup was always set to be a tough one for the Cards. The Tarheels won the match last year 5-1 in Chapel Hill. They were ranked first in the country up until their 2-0 loss to Arkansas on Sunday. UNC is a very good team and they will certainly be in the hunt to hoist a trophy later this season.

This loss should not sit poorly for Louisville at all. While the final score is unfortunate, the Cards played pretty well for a lot of the game. Had one of those critical moments in the three minute stretch gone a different way for Louisville, the entire complexion of the game would be changed and this could be a completely different article. As it is, the Cards head to Syracuse seeking to regain the three league points they lost last night. The Cards will take on the Orange Thursday at 6 P.M.


SHE SAID IT

Coach KFD Post Game

Softball Takes Two Over Bellarmine

In a more enjoyable result, Louisville softball was in action at Ulmer for a bit of Fall Ball. The Cards took on the newly appointed Division 1 Knights of Bellarmine for an afternoon double-header. Bellarmine jumped out to a big lead, stealing four runs off of a freshman pitcher for the Cards before Danielle Watson came in in the fourth inning to steady things for Louisville.

In addition to preventing the Knights from scoring any more runs, Watson smashed a grand slam to tie the game just after coming in to pitch. A couple of batters later, Riley Schindler sent another ball over the wall to score a pair of runs and Louisville led 6-4. The Cards would go on to win the first game 8-4, exorcising the early defensive demons and showing some offense as well.

The second game of the day was all Louisville as the Cards jumped on the Knights early and often. Bellarmine had no offensive answer for Louisville in the second game and the Cards went on to shut out the Knights.

We've got no official stats or scores, so we can't be sure, but Jared reports that the score of the second game was "8 or 9 to 0". Louisville will get a better view of how their team will stack up in competition in the upcoming season next weekend as they head out to Lexington for a Fall Ball double-header against the Wildcats. We'll see if we can't get a report of some kind from that set of games as well.


Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Paulie, Jeff and Jared were present for our weekly radio show yesterday and reviewed results for UofL women's Golf, Field Hockey, Volleyball and WSOC. They also previewed Saturday's upcoming action .

I was not present, attending to such things as scaffolding and painting. It happens when you're a homeowner.

You can hear the discussion at the link below, as well as see the show on Facebook Live:

THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

A special thanks to WCHQ 100.9 FM for including us in their Saturday format. We appreciate the chance to discuss UofL women's sports once a week -- even if it's not always about the joy and excitement -- we feel it is a chance for our listeners to "catch up" on what's going on down on Floyd Street and on the road.  

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Photos from today's article from Jared Anderson. Check out more of his work on Facebook, Twitter, or his website jdaphotos.com.

A Cardinal's Ties to the USWNT -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Ekic Sees Time with USWNT U23s

I'll bet you didn't think I could do yet another women's soccer article this week. You'd be wrong. It's summer time. Nothing else is going on. I'm allowed to write about what I want, and the USWNT just knocked off their biggest challenger in their World Cup title defense. I've still got soccer on my mind. This week, though, I wanted to put some focus on a Louisville player that may very well see herself on this stage at some point in her career. 

We've talked about Emina Ekic at length ever since she committed to the Cards. Ekic was born and raised here in Louisville, and her high school soccer field at Manual was not far from where she plies her trade now. She has been critical to Louisville's success since joining the team and her success has been noted by conference and national honors. Apparently, her success has also been noticed by the US Soccer Federation. Earlier this spring, Ekic was invited to camp with the US Women's National Team U23 squad in Portland, Oregon. Only 19 at the time (she turned 20 this month), Ekic was playing well above her class in games against current NWSL teams. We didn't give this much coverage as it happened in late March/early April and something else pretty major was going on around that time. Can't quite put my finger on it.

Over the camp period, the U23s competed against Reign FC (Seattle), the Portland Thorns, and the Chicago Red Stars, going 2-1 in that time. Ekic saw very limited time in the "tournament", logging 17 minutes against the Red Stars in the final game. They were her only game minutes during the camp, but the U23s did score a stoppage time winner with Ekic on the field in that game. Considering the team scored only four goals in the three games, I would say that being on the field for a quarter of those goals isn't too bad. 

The primary benefit for Ekic in this situation is not the game time. Sure it would be nice for her to have gotten more, but this is surely far from the last time she will camp with the USWNT. Ekic's first invitation came just before her freshman season at UofL. Having just turned 18, Ekic traveled to the Czech Republic to compete with the U19s, again competing above her class. She started both of the games the US played on the trip. Given her past invites, her college credentials, and the willingness of US Soccer to bring her up, Ekic is in a fine position going forward. 

Of course, the USWNT pipeline is loaded with talent. This is why the USWNT is dominant on the world stage. Soccer is bigger for women here, especially in the youth stages, than it is in most other places throughout the world. Other countries are catching up, to be sure, and that is partially due to FIFA's encouragement of the growth of the sport. It's a good thing for everyone, but it means that being very, very good may not be enough to make it here. A number of international players make their teams because they are a very good player that does not compete domestically but has eligibility to compete for their country. In fact, Thailand's team in this world cup was the only team that had every member of the squad compete in the domestic professional league. That is not the case for US born players. The competition is fierce to be able to get to the same stage on which players like Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Megan Rapinoe, and Alex Morgan compete.

Could Ekic be that next big star to wear the stars and stripes? Of course she could. All signs point to her being in the good graces of US Soccer and we've seen what she can do here at UofL. All we can hope for is that her experiences against greater competition continue to help her improve her game individually and help the Louisville Cardinals improve. Last season, Ekic finished with 19 points on 7 goals and 5 assists. Her points, goals, and shot percentages were topped only by forwards Brooklynn Rivers and Maisie Whitsett. Her assists were third behind only Rivers and Allison Whitfield. She controlled the field from the center midfield position and will continue to do so as given the opportunity. I'm looking forward to year three.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

As Jared mentioned yesterday, his long stretch run on the radio must end as work finally calls him back. We'll carry on without him this week as Paulie returns from his vacation to bring Jeff and me the first mascot quiz of the season. We're still heavy in the summer slump so we'll bring more professional news, fall season prognostications, and weird happenings around campus. As they say during the offseason, "no news is good news", but Louisville has already appeared in the headlines a couple of times this week. Tune in to WCHQ this morning at 11AM for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. WCHQ is available at 100.9 FM, wchqfm.com, the WCHQ App, and Facebook Live.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Just Past Halfway -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Watch out! It's an article by Case, and it's not a Saturday. That's the surprising part. The unsurprising part is that this article is going to be about soccer. With no games last night to recap, I figured I would take today to look at the women's soccer team at the midpoint of the season. There are only 7 of 17 regular season games remaining, so I'm a bit late, but a bit late is better than not at all. Let's get right into it.

The Recap

Louisville sits at 9-1 on the season and at 3-0 in conference. Already, they have matched both win totals from last season. This is impressive. The Cards lost their defensive captain in Inger Katrine-Bjerke and their offensive leader in Alison Price. So many players have stepped into their places seamlessly that it would be like listing the entire starting lineup to do so. That is what has made this Louisville team good so far this year: teamwork. You cannot point at the additional development of any individual player as the cause for this season's success. Everyone from last season (and the freshman) has stepped up in a major way. 

This shows in the stats sheets as well as the overall style of play. Louisville does their best when they string together possession and make the extra pass to open up scoring opportunities. So far this season, Louisville has scored 26 goals. 22 of those goals have been assisted. The Cards are moving the ball well, finding their spots on crosses, and not playing hero ball. For reference, the Cards scored only 27 goals all of last year. The 2017 statistics page is unavailable, so I can't find the exact assist numbers, but to only be behind the goal total by one with seven games remaining is impressive in and of itself. Of course, the 13 goals scored against Wright State and Eastern Kentucky help that number tremendously, but the ability to put up that kind of scoring volume speaks to itself. 

With 7 games to go, Louisville sits at 9 points in conference. They finished last season with 11, 2 points out of a tie for 8th place with Boston College. I say this because there are only 8 teams that make the ACC tournament. Louisville finished 10th in the ACC last year, missing the ACC tournament because of it, and ultimately missing the NCAA tournament due to lack of noteworthy performances down the stretch. The Cards will have plenty of opportunities to show their mettle and prove they are worthy of a tournament bid. TopDrawerSoccer has taken notice, ranking the Cards 25th this week after listing them as "also considered" last week. They also named Brooklynn Rivers the player of the week for last week, as Jared pointed out yesterday. Finding yourself in the rankings is positive, staying there is key.

The Players

I mentioned how everyone has stepped up so far this season, but just saying so doesn't quite do it justice. Over the course of this year, 15 different players have seen their name called for the start. Of the 15, 9 players have started all 10 games. 12 players have seen action in every game, and 7 players have logged more than 800 minutes. Leading in minutes are Sarah Hernandez, a freshman (!!!!) centerback, with 912 and Niamh Nelson, the ever dependable left back, with 911. As best I can tell, those two have been on the field for every minute of every game, and I'm not sure where the discrepancy comes from in their total. Callie McKinney joins the two defenders in the 900 club, and they are the only three players with more minutes than goalkeeper, Gabrielle Kouzelos. The other three over 800 are the other two defenders, Gabrielle Vincent and Arianna Ferraro, and the other central midfielder, Nadege L'Esperance. These players have been putting their soul into this team so far and have not dropped off from a fitness standpoint. What appears to be a lack of depth in the defense may be something to watch, but the dependability of the four back-liners has been astounding.

Offense has been a bit more of a revolving door. No player I would classify as "offensive" has logged more than an hour per game average, including former freshman phenom, Emina Ekic. Ekic has still had a solid season, finding herself in fourth on the team with 6 points, but her shot percentage is way down, and she's not producing at the rate we may have expected. Fortunately, Coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes has recognized that Ekic may not be infallible and has been willing to substitute her, showing a propensity to put what is best for the team on the field at any given moment. I think, in the past, Coach KFD has been more focused on having the most talented players on the field at all times, even when those players are not having their best nights.

Brooklynn Rivers has been as dominant as we could expect, but she has been surprisingly matched by a freshman, Maisie Whitsett. The two are tied atop the team with 18 points, but Rivers has been arguably the MVP, with 4 game winning goals (out of 7) to Whitsett's 3 (out of 8). While Louisville has won 9 games, only 8 of them have been credited with game winning goals, and Rivers and Whitsett account for 7 of those. The two aren't usually on the field at the same time, but I'd be interested to see what a formation change that allows the two of them to play together at the top might bring. Then again, they say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." It doesn't appear to be "broke" so far.

Pacing the team-based offense I mentioned earlier has been Allison Whitfield, who leads the team with 5 assists. Whitfield has been playing in a much wider role than in the past and has been flourishing. She has enough speed and physicality to get around edge defenders, and Coach KFD trusts her to play on both sides of the field. She's creative with the ball and has exceptional placement with her crosses. Whitfield has been key in breaking down defenses, whether she's creating the final scoring chance or not, and that will need to continue for this team to see additional success late in the season.

The Future

Louisville has 7 conference games remaining before the conference tournament. One win will surpass their total for both overall and conference play last season and beat their points total from last season. Adding a couple of additional results to that next win should secure a spot into the conference tournament for the Cards. Unfortunately, the schedule is no pushover from here on out. Of seven games remaining, four come against teams ranked ahead of Louisville in this week's TDS poll. Louisville is lucky to avoid Boston College and Florida State this season, or the number of ranked teams would only increase. 

The big one-two punch comes in the next two games for Louisville. Saturday, the Cards will be in Chapel Hill to take on the fifth ranked Tar Heels. After that, they'll get less than a week to recover before taking on the third ranked Cavaliers of Virginia in Lynn Stadium. If the Cards can get out of those two games with at least one result, I'll be both shocked and ecstatic. My sights are set on the game following Virginia, against a lowly Miami squad at home on October 7th. The team will be coming off of a fairly short turnaround following the Virginia game, and confidence may be low. As I said, I'd be thrilled with a result from one of the next two matches, but I don't expect one. Miami will be an opportunity for Louisville to turn things around and get their confidence back. They absolutely cannot afford to come out with low confidence, play down to their opponent, and leave points on the table in a home match against a lower opponent. 

After Miami, Louisville heads to North Carolina again for three straight road games against Wake Forest, Duke, and NC State (the latter two of which are currently ranked). This will be a brutal road trip, but the Cards should come out of it with points. Wake is a middling team, and the Cards should be able to hold up against the Blue Devils and Wolfpack. Finally, the Cards return home for senior night against Virginia Tech on October 25th. VT is another middling team in conference, and that will be the final opportunity to pick up points heading into the tournament. Hopefully, Louisville will be jockeying for seeding and not inclusion for the ACC tournament, but we never know how the rest of this season will turn out. 

I'm looking forward to the rest of this season. I think that this Cardinal team is legit, and they have the talent and fortitude to make noise in the ACC regular season, ACC tournament, and potentially even the NCAA tournament. Let me know what you think about the Cards thus far and their potential for the rest of the year in the comments below.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Two Cardinal Sports Remain Undefeated -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Women's Soccer Opens 2018-19 Battle of the Bluegrass Series with Win

Louisville and Kentucky waited two and a half hours to start their game after inclement weather put things on hold. They then waited an additional 91 minutes before seeing the game's first goal. Less than two minutes into the first overtime period, Brooklynn Rivers received a pass from Allison Whitfield near the top of the box, turned, and slotted a shot past the diving UK keeper for the Golden Goal. I will leave my thoughts on the Collegiate Sudden Victory rules aside for today, not least because Louisville benefited from them last night. 

It was a game that Louisville deserved to win, dominating both possession and the efforts on goal. Despite an even first half and Kentucky being denied by the crossbar in the second half, it was mostly the Cards providing the offense, outshooting the Wildcats 14-5 and 9-1 shots on goal. Louisville's advantage was the product of what we've seen from the Cards so far this season, a strong defense and relentless attack. Fortunately, counterattacks and set pieces were not to doom Louisville last night, as the two teams were even on fouls with only 7, no cards were issued, and Louisville limited Kentucky to only 2 corner kick opportunities.

A look at how the Cards performed against Paulie's keys to the game shows that the Cards executed these keys perfectly and they led to the win. Ideally, they would have led to even more goals, but I'll take a win to remain undefeated any way that I can.

1) Shutting the Door: As I've already mentioned, Louisville's defense was on lock, holding Kentucky to just the one shot on goal and limiting chances in general on their way to a clean sheet. Goalkeeper stats are typically lost when you only look at saves, as Gabby Kouzelos walked away with only one from last night, but when you save the only shot on goal, you have a better chance of winning. Goalkeepers usually gain numerous touches which don't go in the box score but can have just as big an impact on the game. It was a strong effort from the defense last night and one that I hope they can duplicate. The offense will be unable to find the net in future games for sure.

2) Flying Freshmen: Did Coach Karen Ferguson Dayes read yesterday's column? Not only did the freshmen have a huge impact, but all three major players mentioned (Sarah Hernandez, Delaney Snyder, and Maisie Whitsett) earned the start last night. Hernandez had her normal spot in the defense, and we have already discussed how that went. Snyder and Whitsett started for Taylor Kerwin and Allison Whitfield respectively. Whitsett had two of three shots on goal while Snyder was unusually quiet. Of course, passing and individual defending stats are not kept so without being able to watch last night's game, I'm unable to provide a full assessment of their performances.

3) Ekic Energy: Like the two freshmen, I'm not able to fully assess the game that Emina Ekic played, but she did add another two of three shots on goal. Ekic always provides strength through the midfield and I'm sure that with the overall team performance on display last night, she played her typical high performing game.

4) Super Subs: This was one that I added in the comments and it also played a huge part in the outcome of the game. Coach KFD did not go as deep as normal into the bench, but she outsubbed Ian Carry 5-2. Her subs were also extremely effective, with two normal starters coming from the bench in Whitfield and Kerwin and Mollie Rouse returning to the team. Whitfield provided a single shot and the lone assist in the game, and Rouse was much more offensive than expected, putting two of three shots on goal and being part of the buildup for the goal.

Louisville has already exceeded my expectations through this tough three game stretch, gaining 2
wins when I said I'd be pleased with at least a win and a tie. The game at Purdue on Thursday will still be a test, but Louisville has proven that they can win games that they were unable to last season. The Cards have given me a lot of optimism moving forward to the conference season, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the Cards can do as the season progresses.

POST GAME REVIEW WITH KAREN FERGUSON DAYES:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NknuTd7TL78&feature=youtu.be

POST GAME WITH BROOKLYNN RIVERS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx7nRH0mNwM&feature=youtu.be


HIGHLIGHTS FROM UK vs. UofL:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNj-6QqLHxs

Volleyball Knocks off UCF to Move to 4-0

Facing a tough weekend, the Louisville volleyball team continued their hot start, moving their unbeaten streak to four matches. Through the four matches, the Cards have yet to drop a set, yesterday sweeping UCF in the first match of the Florida Bubly Invitational. As in the previous matches, it was a matter of Louisville’s superior hitting that propelled them to victory with the Cards outhitting the Knights 0.362 to 0.133.

Like before, Louisville struggled to close out the opponent in the second set, allowing UCF to bring the match to 23-22 before winning the final two points. Unlike other matches, though, it was not a failure in hitting by the Cards that made the set closer, as Louisville still hit .387 in the set, rather an improvement from UCF. Fortunately, Louisville was able to focus up and put the set away. Hopefully, this trend of second set letdowns will come to an end before the Cards are punished for it.

Statistically, the match was similar to what we’ve come to expect so far from UofL. Melanie
McHenry led the team in kills, Wilma Rivera in assists, and Molly Sauer in digs. If you’re new around here, allow me to inform you that those three names will be the team leaders for the majority of the matches this season. To go along with her 12 kills, McHenry completed a double-double with 10 digs. She did finish with 5 errors but peppered in 3 block assists and a solo block to put together a strong overall match.

UCF was not a pushover team, like those that the Cards faced last weekend, but their first true test will come today against hosts Florida. The Gators are coming off of a loss against USC last night and will be looking to put up a more notable performance after a poor showing last night. Louisville has played pretty good volleyball to this point in the season, but this will be the first match where Louisville is up against a team with a talent level at or above their own. The Cards can win today but will need to put together a complete performance to do so. Louisville and Florida get underway at 5PM and live video is available via ESPN Streaming. After a strong overall season in her first year at the helm, Coach Dani Busboom-Kelly will be looking for a marquee win early in this one


THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

With Case on the farm and Jared carousing with mice in Florida, Worldwide Jeff and Paulie welcome Mike Gilpatrick into the studio for The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour.

We'll have a lively hour of discussion about last night's soccer and volleyball, plus look at today's football game against Alabama.

Join us, won't you?  Listen live at WCHQ 100.9 FM, on the website, on the WCHQ app or see us on Facebook Live. Promoting the joy and excitement of UofL women's athletics.

www.wchqfm.com


OH...FOOTBALL TONIGHT! 

In closing, the University of Louisville Football team travels to Orlando, FL to take on last year's
National Champions Alabama.

We'll watch as fans and hope the best for our Cardinals. A tough task, no doubt, to begin the post-Lamar Jackson era. We'll see how these Cards are dealt against a formidable opponent. New defensive coordinator, a Puma  in the backfield and lots of questions on defense...for UofL.

Feel free to share your thoughts about this or any other topics in the comments section!

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Women's Soccer Defeats Dayton -- WNBA Playoffs -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Women's Soccer Earns Road Win at Dayton

Continuing their early season success, the Louisville women's soccer team left Dayton with a victory, 1-0.  Louisville moves to 3-0 on the season as they head up to Michigan to continue their road trip.

The Cards out-shot the Flyers 14-4 on the night, dominating the second half 10-2.  Six of the shots were on goal while Dayton was held to one shot on goal.

Corners were sparse with each team finishing with two on the night.  Fouls were fairly average, with the Cards fouling seven times compared to Dayton's six.

Louisville's lone goal came at the 21:29 mark of the first half.  Delaney Snyder dribbled to the end line (base line) and served one up into the box.  Allison Whitfield seemed to be the target, but the Dayton defenders attempted to clear it.  However, the ball found its way to the back of the net in an own goal.  Originally, on Twitter, UofL women's soccer marked it as a goal by Whitfield, but was later changed to an "own"goal allowed by Dayton.


EDITOR'S NOTE:  The reversal was highly questionable, in my humble opinion. 

Highlights of the contest, courtesy of Dayton Athletics, at the link below. As expected, the highlights are all Dayton-oriented, but worth a watch. Naturally, they don't show the score by the Cards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_kVc14yh74


-- All Quiet on the Defensive Front

Very little action has been seen around the net through three matches.  Gabby Kouzelos has two saves on four attempts and Lana Batson has one save on her only attempt.  TheWSOC Cards are averaging less than one goal allowed per game currently.

The defense has been strong and has not shown many weaknesses, other than the high line.  Faster opponents might be able to beat the line back on a fast break.  So far, Gabriele "Gabi" Vincent and Sarah Hernandez have held their own against opposing attackers.

-- Getting a Kick Out of the Offense

In three games, Louisville is averaging over three goals per outing.  Granted, eight of those came on opening night, but the offense hasn't slowed down their attack.  They have taken 54 shots compared to 10 by the three opponents combined.  Of those, 29 have been on goal, a .537 mark.

Six different players have scored this season with five of them being freshmen and sophomores.  This offense is young and fired up.  Expect to see the shots coming in hot each game and that goal counter will continue climbing.

Dream vs Mystics in WNBA Semifinals

Unfortunately, we won't see Myisha vs Angel squaring off on the court in the playoffs due to Angel's injury.  However, Angel McCoughtry's Atlanta Dream and Myisha Hines-Allen's Washington Mystics are gearing up for a best-of-five series with the winner advancing to the WNBA Finals.

The first two games will be held in Atlanta.  The third and if-needed fourth game will be hosted by the Mystics in D.C.  If there were to be a fifth game the two teams would travel back to Atlanta for it.

Atlanta had a bye and should be well rested.  Washington played last night and breezed by the LA Sparks 96-64.  Myisha played just under three minutes, but scored five points by going 2-for-2 from the field, including a three-point basket.  She isn't getting big minutes yet, but is getting good experience as a rookie and has a bright future ahead.


Volleyball

The Louisville Volleyball squad begins action today in the Cardinal Classic. Three matches on tap, including two today. Dani Busboom Kelly's servers start with Tennessee-Martin today at 12:30 p.m. and also take on Southern Illinois at 7:30 p.m. 

Melanie McHenry, Molly Sauer, Amanda Green, Jasmine Bennett, Wilma Rivera and 14 other talented Cardinal Volleyball players take the court at Cardinal Arena to test their skills against Skyhawks and Salukis. 

And, just what is a Saluki? Here's your options: 

a) a nomadic sheepherder
b) native American tribal chief
c) Persian greyhound
d) the title of Bon Jovi's fourth album

Answer at the end of today's column 



What Day Is It?

It's opening day for field hockey and volleyball!  Both teams have their season openers today with
Sowry's squad busing up to Indiana.  Dani Busboom Kelly's crew will remain at home and host Tennessee-Martin and Southern Illinois in the Cardinal Classic at 12:30 p.m., and 7:30 p.m.

There's a lot of weird holidays today including complaining about the weather, shooting stars, knives, can openers, waffles, peach pie, and strange music days.  For you astrology lovers it is also Pluto Demoted Day.  On this day in 2006 Pluto was demoted from a full-sized planet to a dwarf planet.  Since then, there has been much controversy on what Pluto should be, but it is officially a dwarf planet.  Pluto is also a dog owned by Mickey Mouse.

Today is also International Day Against Intolerance, Discrimination, and Violence Based on Musical Preferences, Lifestyle, and Dress Code.  The city of Louisville has a wide variety of people with different tastes.  That's what makes up this city and why it is so special to so many of us.  Let people live their life how they want to live it, within the confines of the law of course, and don't let their lifestyle bother you.

And, it's National Waffle Day. Do you own a waffle maker? Do you like waffles? HAve you been to Waffle House? Don't 'waffle' around. Let us know in the comment section.

Enjoy the hectic weekend for four different UofL sports and tune into them in person or on the ACC Network.  Try to play "I Spy" with which Cardinal Couple members will be where.

ANSWER TO SALUKI QUESTION: It is "C"...a Persian Greyhound. Chalk yourself up for a "W" if you got it right. 

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Analyzing Fall Sports -- Louisville women's soccer -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

LOUISVILLE WSOC -- TALENT RETURING, TONS OF FRESHMEN

Over the next several days this week, we'll be looking at some of the Louisville women's fall sports and trying to provide a pre-season analysis of how they might do and who will be doing it in their contests.

We'll start with Louisville women's soccer, who actually have started their season with a 4-0 exhibition win over Morehead State Saturday night in Louisville at Lynn Stadium. 

Cardinal Couple's Case Hoskins will provide a lot of the breakdown and analysis of the WSOC games this year -- he'll be our "lead" when it comes to the sport --  and his thoughts may differ from mine (Paulie) or the other staffers...but I'll also be at all the home contests I can make and will offer today my "take" on the season and squad. Plus, I hope to have plenty of post-game interviews with Coach Ferguson-Dayes and players through-out the 2018 season.

30 student-athletes are listed on the 2018 Louisville WSOC roster and 13 are freshmen. When 43% of the roster are freshmen, it can be a bit of an uncertain...but exciting and maybe a little nervous time for a coach. Ask Karen Ferguson Dayes. Out of the freshmen, it's our best guess that we'll see significant playing time from defender Sarah Hernandez, forward Delaney Snyder, midfielder Anna Henderson, defender Morgan Jackson and forward Amari Hopkins. 

Out of the returning 17 Cardinals, Emina Ekic returns from a season-ending knee injury last year and should be very influential in the offense. Midfielder Mollie Rouse is still in England playing for the English U 20 World Cup squad and, depending on how they do (they've already qualified for the quarterfinals), she may not be back until the Michigan or Kentucky game in late August. "Gabby squared" -- Gabby Kouzelos at keeper and Gabrielle Vincent at middle defender, give the Cards a strong middle in the defensive set. Those two were a strong presence in last year's defense, which produced eight shutouts.  Lana Batson provides strong backup as a reserve keeper.

Niamh Nelson, Nadege L'Esperance, Taylor Kerwin, Brooklyn Rivers, Allison Whitfield and Kennadi Carbin all provide excellent scoring potential for the Louisville offense...the state of Kentucky trio of Ekic, Rivers and Whitfield were the leading scores last year for the squad. Nine starters from last year return. 

A roster breakdown by state (and country) shows six players from Kentucky (five from Louisville), six from California (four from San Diego) and five from Ohio. Two players from Colorado and one each from New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Washington. Two Cardinals are from Canada and one is from England. By class the roster has 13 freshmen, seven sophomores, eight juniors and two seniors. 

The schedule features 17 games before the ACC Tournament. Nine will be played at Louisville's Lynn Stadium. There are ten conference matchups, Louisville playing each of the 10 schools once. There are actually 14 teams that play women's soccer in the ACC, the Cards will not face Boston College, Clemson or Florida State in regular season play. That might work out well for Louisville...FSU is ranked #10 in preseason polls and Clemson is in the "also receiving votes" column. 

In 2017, the Cards went 9-7-2 overall and 3-5-2 in conference. 

The Cards open the regular season with two home games... Wright State, from the Horizon League (12-8, 6-3 in 2017)  followed by A-10 school...Xavier (8-8-4, 4-3-2). I will predict the Cards put both in the win column.

Trips to another A-10 school in Dayton (9-9-2, 4-4-2) and the Big 10's Michigan (6-6-6, 3-5-3) follow. I'll predict a win over Dayton and let's go with a tie against the Wolverines. 

The Kentucky Wildcats (8-12, 3-7) visit Lynn Stadium on Aug. 31st. Louisville defeated the SEC school at Lexington last year 3-1 in a rain-soaked affair and I choose Louisville as the winner again this year.

Next the Kickin' Cards travel to Purdue (10-7-2, 5-4-2) on Sept 6th. The Boilermakers have looked pretty good in exhibition play, beating Indiana State and battling preseason #14 Notre Dame to a scoreless tie. I'll say Purdue in a low scoring affair up there.

Louisville ends the non-conference part of the schedule against Eastern Kentucky from the OVC (11-5-4, 6-1-3) at Lynn and I'll go with a UofL victory prediction here.  

ACC play begins Set 15th. at Pittsburgh. The Cards were predicted in the preseason poll to finish ninth out of the 14 schools. I think they'll do a little better than that and be one of the eight schools that make the ACC Tournament. Against Pitt (0-9-1, 3-12-3) I see Louisville winning their first conference game.

Thursday, Sept. 20th. features Notre Dame coming to town. The Irish were 9-8-5 overall in 2017 and 5-3-2 in conference. They finished the season ranked 18th. in the polls. The prediction here is a hard-fought battle that ends in a tie.

Louisville hosts Syracuse (7-8-2, 2-6-1) on Sept 23rd. and I'll go with the Cards getting their second conference win in this one.

A trip to North Carolina (17-3-2, 8-0-2) follows on Sept 29th. Last year, the Cards pulled off a major shocker against the #8 school in the nation with a scoreless tie. The TarHeels are preseason-ranked at #6 this year and I hate to say it, but I think they get the better of Louisville in 2018. 

October features six ACC matches. Virginia (13-7-4, 5-2-3)  comes to visit on Oct. 4th. The Cavaliers finished 2017 ranked #9 in the nation and took Louisville 1-0 last year in Charlottesville. I'll hope for a loud and rowdy Thursday night crowd that will help Louisville get a tie against Wahoo Nation this year.

Sunday, Oct 7th. brings Miami (1-9-1, 5-11-0) to "the Ville" and I think the Cards pick up their third conference win in this one over Bassy the Ibus and company. 

Louisville goes on a three game tour of the state of North Carolina next, beginning with a October 12th. stop at Wake Forest (13-7-4, 5-3-2). UofL tied the Demon Deacons last year in Lynn Stadium 0-0 and I'll call for another tie this year in Winston-Salem.

The road trip continues in Durham on Oct 21st. with a Sunday match against Duke (10-0-0, 23-2-1). The Blue Devils are placed #3 in the nation in preseason prognostications and I'm afraid they'll have a little more than the Cards can handle and defeat UofL. 

The tour of Carolina ends with a Oct 21st. visit to Raleigh and the North Carolina State WolfPack (15-5-2, 6-3-1). The Cards visited there in 2017 and left a 2-1 loser. N.C.State  finished 21st. in the nation in 2017 and they'll give Ms. Wuf a reason to dance and they'll probably best the Cards again this year.

Louisville ends the regular season on Oct. 25th. when they host Virginia Tech (1-5-3, 7-6-5) on a Thursday night. These two did not meet in 2017. I'm predicting a Cardinal win to end the regular season. 

So, let's recap. I'm calling for a 10-3-4 overall finish and 4-3-3 ACC mark. That would equal out to 15 "points" in conference standings. That's also four more points than Louisville amassed in 2017. Boston College was the final qualifier for the ACC Tournament with 13 points in 2017.

Feel differently about the season? Agree with me? Let me know in the comments section. 

Injuries, weather conditions and players who shine in reserve roles can obviously affect a season...as any coach will verify. Here's hoping for a minimum of "dings and dents", bearable temperatures with clear skies and lots of Cards contributing on the pitch. 

Join in the fun at Lynn this season, won't you? 




paulie
xxxxx