WSOC Set to Face Kent State -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Host Golden Flashes at 7PM

After a run of beautiful weather, Louisville women's soccer may have their first chance to play on an "off" field this evening. Although the forecast shows the weather clearing up mid-afternoon, consistent rainfall overnight and through the morning will put Lynn Stadium's drainage capabilities to the test. Despite how well the field itself does, the berm and other grassy areas inside the stadium are unlikely to clear the water very well after the first major rainfall in weeks. That's unfortunate for tonight's Pups at the Pitch event. I foresee lots of folks with damp pants. 

Louisville is looking to maintain a strong run of form against Kent State. Despite Sunday's somewhat down night offensively, the scoring outburst from the Cards since beginning the homestand has them leading the NCAA in goals, assists, and total points (two points for a goal, one for an assist). Amelia Swinarski, who we talked a lot about taking a bigger role in the offense this season, has definitely done so. Swinarski leads the country in assists with nine. On top of leading the country, she's flying high in the ACC, as the second-leading assist getter in the conference has just four. 

Louisville has spread the love from a scoring perspective. While the team leading the country in goals and points, Swinarski and Mackenzie Geigle (team leaders in points at 13) are just ninth nationally as individuals. Geigle's five goals is just 11th in the country. The Cards have been getting it done on the offensive end, but Sunday night's match could hint at some concerns if it creates a playbook for how to slow this offense down. That said, I don't expect Louisville to play every match without four of their opening day starters. It will be interesting to see who is able to return for the Cards tonight. 

Kent State went 9-7-3 last season and finished 5-4-2 in MAC play. After defeating 5th-seeded Miami (OH), the Golden Flashes fell 4-1 at the hands of Western Michigan in the MAC Tournament to end their season. Kent State had a sparkling 7-2 record at home, with losses coming only to Miami and Western Michigan, but their road boots didn't work quite as well. The Flashes were 2-5-3 away from Dix Stadium, with the only wins being against Colgate and Toledo. 

Kent State is off to a similar start this season, as they are 2-1-2 through their first five matches. Interestingly, their only loss came against Duquesne in their home opener. The loss came after a 1-0 win on the road at Cleveland State to open the season. The Flashes have found a bit of momentum since then. They followed up the loss by stealing a draw against Northwestern in Evanston. After that, they returned home to crush Youngstown State 5-1. They're coming off of a 1-1 draw at Cornell on Sunday, which isn't saying a ton, but it's still back-to-back results on the road.

The Cards will need to keep their wits about them this evening if they don't want their good vibes to come crashing down by way of an upset. Weather is the great equalizer, and an off field makes it difficult for a "higher quality" team to do what they want with the ball. Louisville has made a lot of their offensive progress this season with speed and long ball movement. The short passing game has been there, but it hasn't been as effective, especially against Coastal Carolina. The Cards won't be able to get away with being so easily dispossessed tonight if the field doesn't allow them to get out on the break. 

After tonight's match, Louisville's long homestand will come to a close on Sunday against Dayton. The Cards would very much like wrapping up the non-conference schedule with an undefeated record in home non-con play, but they have to get through Kent State first. Tonight's match is scheduled for 7PM and will be available on ACC Network Extra. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WSOC Hosts Home Opener -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Bring in Detroit Mercy

After an unceremonious end to their season-opening road trip, Louisville women's soccer opens their slate at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium tonight on what is the first day of regular season action on campus. Karen Ferguson-Dayes's squad isn't the first team to compete on campus today, nor are they the first team to compete in Lynn. The men's soccer team will open its home schedule this evening as well, as the two teams take part in a double header. Tonight marks the only soccer double header of the season, making next Thursday's 3PM kickoff for the women a bit of a head scratcher. At any rate, the men will get things started against Southern Indiana at 5PM with the women to follow against Detroit Mercy. The scheduled start time for the women's game is 7:30, and the match will be available on ACC Network Extra. 

The Cards are coming off of a 1-1 SEC road trip following a 1-0 win at Auburn and a 2-0 loss at Vanderbilt. Louisville may have preferred those results come in the opposite order for multiple reasons. The first of those is that Vandy was the 17th-ranked team in the country when the two teams met and the second is for momentum. The great vibes created by the win they toughed out in Alabama were a bit deflated by their mild dismantling in the first half in Nashville. Louisville could be buoyed by their second half performance where, although they weren't able to find the net, they outshot Vandy 10-4 (3-0 on frame).

I think what I would expect most from tonight's match is for the defense to be lockdown. Both goals on Sunday were the direct result of defensive errors. On the first, a high defensive line was beaten by a breakaway on a good through ball. While the high line can create offsides and keep the ball forward for offensive chances, that opening goal displayed the potential pitfalls. If you lose track of a player, especially a speedy one, you can give away one-on-one opportunities. (Personally, I would have played the situation a bit more aggressively in goal and challenged the ball harder at the top of the box, but Erynn Floyd chose to test the freshman forward and forced her to make a clean shot. Either option was fine. One-on-ones are difficult and usually favor the attacker.) 

Speaking of one-on-one chances, the second goal came on the most advantageous of those: the penalty kick. A clumsy tackle in the box led to a penalty, even after video review, and penalties have about an 85-90% success rate. I absolutely see the case for a penalty in that instance, but I wouldn't have minded the commentating crew at least acknowledging the case against it. Olivia Stafford was never going to get to the ball after her heavy touch toward the end line, and Hadley Snyder's stab at the ball didn't create the contact with Stafford; Stafford started to chase the ball and crashed into Snyder's leg. Like I said, it was clumsy, and since it happened in the box, the only option is to not call a foul at all, which wouldn't have gotten much applause from the home crowd. So it goes. 

Louisville's defense cleaned it up in the second half, allowing four shots for the second straight half but keeping Vandy from putting the ball on frame. I think the Cards will look to keep their second clean sheet of the season, and I suspect the defense would like to keep Detroit Mercy from taking any shots at all if they can. 

Offensively, I'll be looking for a bit more consistency from the attack. So far, KFD has been much more fluid with the lineup in the front, partially to keep fresh legs in the tough conditions of the first two games. Amelia Swinarski (118) and Liza Suydam (114) lead the way in offensive minutes for the Cards. It will be interesting to see if Mackenzie Geigle is back to full strength or not. We never got a full report on what kept Gigs out of game one, but she did return against Vandy with limited minutes (31). Nicole Jodoin has been a presence as a freshman, starting both games so far and helping the offense move along. We'll see if she can continue to break out against the run of somewhat easier competition on this home stand. 

Detroit Mercy brings in a 1-1 record after opening the season with a 2-1 home win over Valparaiso before losing 4-0 to Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Titans were just 10-8-2 last year, but they went 7-1-2 in conference play. Detroit Mercy's 23 points in Horizon League play saw them finish in third behind Milwaukee's 28 (9-0-1) and Northern Kentucky's 25. The Titans were knocked out of the Horizon League tournament by the Norse in the semifinals by a score of 1-0. 

Louisville has faced Detroit Mercy just once before, and the Cards hold an 0-1 all-time record against the Titans. That lone matchup came in 1994, the first year after Louisville's first winning season and the final year of Louisville women's soccer's time as an independent. The Cards went 7-10-3 in 1994 and lost to Detroit Mercy 3-1 on October 9th of that year. It seems that I brought bad luck to the Cards, as their 11-7 1993 season came right before I was born. Despite back to back .500 seasons in 1995 (9-9) and 1996 (9-9-2), 1993 stood as Louisville's only winning record until Karen Ferguson-Dayes fifth season saw the Cards finish 12-5-3. From 2004 to 2019, Louisville had just four non-winning seasons with losing records in 2009 and 2014 and back-to-back .500 seasons in 2015 and 2016. Covid was rough on the Cards, as Louisville has not finished above .500 since 2019. 

Louisville is off to a good start in their quest to improve on last year's near .500 mark (7-6-5), but they'll need to build a fair amount of confidence heading into conference play. The Cards have won more than four conference games just twice since joining the ACC (2018 and 2019). Tonight's game is a good time to start that confidence building. I'm disappointed to be unable to make it in person, but it should be a fantastic night for soccer, with the forecast showing 78 degrees and partly cloudy at kickoff. If you're able, get out and support the women's team, and get double the action if you head out early for the men's game. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Women's Soccer Summer Accolades -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cardinals Honored in Summer Play

As the summer club season comes to a close and collegiate players return to their respective campuses to prepare for fall play, a handful of the many Cardinals to have participated have been acknowledged for their performances over the past couple months. The players announced as receiving awards were all playing for teams associated with the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) so any players that were participating in USL W play may still be acknowledged if that league decides to do postseason awards. 

In all, 19 players on Louisville's roster participated in summer play in some fashion, with at least 11 of those in the USL W league for Racing Louisville, Lexington SC, Indy Eleven, and NC Courage. That means that, at most, eight players were in ECNL play, though it may have been fewer as some of the clubs are difficult to nail down their affiliation. The reason I mention the numbers is that four Cards were honored in ECNL play, which means that it was at least half of the contingent. Not too shabby.
 

First up was Amelia Swinarski, playing for Internationals SC in northeast Ohio. Swinarski is a sophomore midfielder for the Cards from Madison, Ohio. She earned the best honor of the bunch as she was named the offensive player of the year for the Lake Erie Division. Swinarski played in 13 games for Louisville as a freshman, totaling 1 goal and 1 assist in 391 minutes. Her lone goal was the game winner against NKU. She took four shots, put two on frame, and converted one of those. If you boost the volume of those attempts and put more shots on target, that could turn out quite nicely for the Cards, and it appears to have worked for Swinarski in club play. 

The remaining three players to be awarded were all tagged to the Best XI teams for their respective divisions. Those honors went to Emma Kate (EK) Schroll (Southeast - Peachtree Division), Liza Suydam (Mid-Atlantic - Commonwealth Division), and Kiley Peat (Atlantic - Carolinas Division). Suydam and Peat are both among the many newcomers for the Cards this season. 

EK Schroll is a midfielder for the Cards who will look to expand her role in her senior season. She played in 14 games last season, starting three, and had two assists in 584 minutes. She took nine shots, put three of them on target, but wasn't able to find the back of the net. 

Liza Suydam is a junior midfielder who transferred from Monmouth following the 2024 season. This will be her first of two years of eligibility for Louisville. Suydam had a fantastic two years for Monmouth, scoring 16 goals and totaling 12 assists in her first two seasons. She led the team with 22 points on nine goals and nine assists while starting all 20 games last year and also started all 19 games as a freshman. Those seasons led her to, among other honors, 2023 Rookie of the Year in both the ECAC and the CAA, 2023 Second team All-CAA, 2023 CAA All-Tournament Team, 2024 First Team All-ECAC and All-CAA, and 2024 CAA Co-Midfielder of the Year. Apparently those good vibes continued with her club season. 

Kiley Peat, along with her twin sister Karina, is a freshman for the Cards this season. The Peats have spurned family tradition a bit, as their parents both went to NC State (father - soccer; mother - cheerleading) and their older brother plays soccer for UNC Asheville. Their high school team were two-time MEC Conference Champions and two-time NC 4A East Champions. Kiley, a defender, was named 4A All-State and First Team All-MEC twice and was named to the All-Region team three times. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

More Summer Soccer -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

19 Total Cards with Summer Clubs

Last week I wrote about the University of Louisville women's soccer players that had stayed with the hometown Racing Louisville development team for their summer play. In the process, I inadvertently left off a number of Cardinals that will be participating with other teams, including many remaining local. In all, 19 players are suiting up for clubs this summer to keep touches on the ball, which is 83% of the players currently listed on UofL's roster for the 2025 season. Not too shabby. 

First, another Louisville player was added to the Racing roster. Nicole Jodoin, an incoming freshman forward from West Boylston, Massachusetts, will join Fina Davy, AG Gibson, Betsy Huckaby, and Grace Maddox in a very attack heavy representation. 

Floyd (30) and 2024 graduate Ava Nielsen

The next largest contingent of Cardinals headed east on I-64 to play for Lexington SC. While Racing's squad sports mostly offensive players from Louisville, Lexington sees most of the starting defense held together. Erynn Floyd, Louisville starting goalkeeper, is joined by three of her starting backline: Karsyn Cherry, Lizzie Sexton, and Hadley Snyder. That group will play Racing twice this season, with the first of those matches coming last night. After a 9-0 victory to start the season, Louisville played Kings Hammer FC to a 3-3 draw before a 0-0 draw last night against Lexington. A good showing for Louisville's defenders, while hopefully not too concerning for the attackers. 

Another player that will see her teammates on the opposing side of the pitch is Emersen Jennings, who is suiting up for Indy Eleven. The rising senior forward is from Noblesville, so, like Huckaby and Gibson, she's playing for her hometown club. Jennings is one of eight players that is a sole Louisville representative on her squad. Mackenzie Geigle (F-Sr) is another of those players, as she will once again represent her local team with the NC Courage's development program. 

Maya Maxwell (8), Jennings (27), and Gigs (3)

Most Cardinals are remaining local, to be fair. Emma Kate Schroll (MF-Sr), a Dacula, Georgia native, is playing for United FA, a Georgia academy team tied to the Arsenal Football Development program. Likewise, Amelia Swinarski (MF-So), from Madison, Ohio, is playing for Internationals SC in northeast Ohio. Also competing this summer are Brooklynn Lee (D-So; FC Olympia), Liza Suydam (MF-Jr[transfer]; PA Classics), Kailey Kimball (GK-Sr; Oakland Soul), and Brielle Baker (GK-Fr; Paisley Athletic). The only two other Cards who aren't alone in summer player are rising freshmen Karina (F/MF) and Kiley (D) Peat. The twins are from Wilmington, North Carolina and are playing for Port City in their hometown. 

Good luck to all of the Kickin' Cards this summer as we look forward to the 2025 season, which will get underway in just under three months. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case