Bits and Pieces -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Happy Wednesday and a happy pre-Fourth of July! In preparation for tomorrow’s big day I will keep today’s post short and sweet for you.


SHE'S BACK! 

The biggest news from yesterday is that a Cardinal Couple favorite, Asia Taylor, is back in the WNBA. The former UofL star signed with the Minnesota Lynx. Minnesota is fifth in the league at 7-6 and is riding a three-game win streak currently. Best of luck to A-Tayy with the Lynx! It's her second time joining the Lynx in her career. The signing of Taylor comes courtesy of a roster exemption by the WNBA because of multiple injuries on the squad. 

Asia started her WNBA career with Minnesota, picked in the third round of the WNBA Draft. She should have an immediate impact, since the Lynx are without Damiris Dantas, Karima Christmas-Kelly, Seimone Augustus and Jessica Shepard...all on the injured list. 

IN THE CIRCLE

Softball announced a transfer coming in for the upcoming season. Chardonnay Harris joins the Cards from Auburn. Harris has a long list of awards and accomplishments including multiple high school state championships, several double-digit strikeout performances and a couple SEC Pitcher of the Week honors. The left-handed pitcher, something UofL has been missing, will have two years of eligibility remaining.

GETTING THEIR KICKS...

Congrats to the USWNT (that's the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team) on a 2-1 victory over England yesterday. Christen Press and Alex Morgan each scored in the victory that saw an injured Megan Rapinoe sidelined with a hamstring injury. The US was fortunate to have an England goal called back because of offsides and a spectacular save by keeper Alyssa Naeher on a penalty kick.

USA waits to see who they will meet in the finals of Sunday. Today's semifinal match between The Netherlands and Sweden will provide the answer. 

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLPARK...

Case Hoskins or Andrew Luck? -- We're not certain. 

 Case Hoskins among the masses at a Louisville Bats game.  The Bats games have sevveral Cardinal Couple contributors out therre on a regular basis. 

You can find Daryl Foust out there regularly as well, behind the camera. 

Or, wait patiently and I'll probably be by to take a photo of you, like I did of Case last night.  Or was it Andrew Luck?  

COMING ATTRACTIONS

A History of Louisville Women’s Sports --  Chapter 6 will be out this Friday. It marks the halfway point of the coverage, and if you’ve been following my seasonal approach to the sports you have probably figured out that this Friday will be women’s basketball.

Why are you setting off fireworks at midnight
on June 30??

As we approach tomorrow’s holiday please remember to be smart and use common sense when celebrating. But also have fun!

Case Hoskins will have the Thursday write-up, swapping days with Paulie this week. Case will venture to Indiana and attend the Madison Regatta...to watch boats go fast with no left turns. Last we heard, there is no parimutuel wagering available for the event, but, camping is involved. S'mores, anyone?  

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cards Fall Short at Duke -- Upcoming Weekend -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Come Up Short in Durham

Louisville women's soccer made the trip to Durham, NC., to face No. 10 Duke.  Unfortunately, the final score went in favor of the Blue Devils, 2-1.

Duke was having their breast cancer awareness game and the players were dressed in pink while Louisville's jerseys were of grey and black with red letters and numbers.

Emina Ekic put Louisville on the board early, scoring in the third minute to put the Cards on top.  Ekic received a pass from Allison Whitfield and drove down the middle of the box.  Her shot went past the goalkeeper and into the right corner of the box.

Duke answered 20 minutes later when Taylor Racioppi scored the equalizer.  Gabby Kouzelos came out to guard Kayla McCoy.  McCoy passed across the box to an open Racioppi for an easy goal.

The two teams went into halftime with the 1-1 tie, a promising sign for the Cards.

Louisville and Duke went head-to-head for a scoreless second half for 34 1/2 minutes before the Blue Devils struck.  Callie McKinney was called for a foul in the box.  McKinney was attempting to slide and knock the ball away, but made more contact with the Duke player than intended, leading to the whistle.  Karlie Paschall lined up in front of Kouzelos  Paschall kicked to Kouzelos' left, but she was unable to do any more than tip the ball as it rolled in for the lead.

Duke held an edge in 14-5 with seven shots on goal.  They also had advantage in corner kicks 7-1.  Louisville was called for 13 fouls compared to Duke's eight.  On paper, Duke dominated this match.  On the pitch, the Cards held their own well and looked highly competitive.  They just aren't at the playing level of teams like Duke, North Carolina, and Florida State quite yet, but are quickly heading that way.

Now 11-4-0 and 5-3-0 in the ACC, Louisville will face NC State in Raleigh on Sunday, at 1:00 p.m., before heading home for the final match of the season Thursday evening vs. Va. Tech..


Looking Into the Weekend

Friday, October 19

Men's Tennis hosts the Louisville Invitational, a three-day event held at the Buss-Rudd Tennis Complex.

Field Hockey visits Syracuse at 7:00 p.m.  The Orange are 8-5 and ranked 15th in the country, not far behind the 11-4 Cards who sit 10th.  This should be a close game that might find itself in overtime if the Cards can handle the cold.

Volleyball makes a trip to Virginia at 7:00.  The Cavaliers are a bottom dweller in the conference this year at 6-12 and 2-6.  Their home record is better than their road record, but doesn't say much.  I expect the VolleyCards to improve to 9-0 in the conference pretty easily.

Saturday, October 20

Women's Golf will host the first day of the Cardinal Cup at the Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, KY
roughly 30-40 minutes from campus.

Men's Tennis will continue the Louisville Invitational.  UofL-affiliated events on campus are free admission.

Rowing heads up to Cambridge, Mass., to compete in the Head of the Charles Regatta.  This event is one of the biggest in the world in terms of rowing is estimated to feature 11,000 athletes from 24 countries.  There should be approximately 800 schools, universities, and clubs represented.

Men's Soccer concludes their regular season with a Senior Day match against Clemson at 7:00.  The #10 Cardinals should earn a win against the Tigers, who have not won a conference match.

Sunday, October 21

Women's Golf will conclude the Louisville Invitational around mid-afternoon at the Louisville Golf Club.

Men's Tennis will wrap up play at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center, concluding their three-day event.

Volleyball will travel to Pittsburgh for a much-anticipated game.  This is the highlighted game of the week for UofL Sports.  These two teams split the conference title last year with UofL earning the head-to-head tiebreaker for NCAA purposes.  This year, the Panthers at 6th in the country with their unblemished 20-0 record.  They are the only team out of 336 Division I programs to be 20-0.  The #21 Cards will have their work cut out for them in this one.

Field Hockey visits Albany at 1:00 in their second-to-last regular season game.  Albany is 22nd in the country and hosts a 10-3 record.  Expect the Cards to have their hands full for another game up north.

Women's Soccer at 1:00 will hope to bounce back with a win at NC State.  The Wolfpack are 10-4-3 overall, but are just 3-3-2 in the conference.  Their 11 points put them at ninth in the conference.  The Cards need to manage to walk away with at least one point in this one.

Rowing wraps up their trip to Cambridge in the Head of the Charles Regatta.

Other News and Notes

As you all may or may not know Case has been engaged with the lovely Lindsay for some time now.

Tomorrow, the two will tie the knot and reach the "happily ever after" stage of their lives.  As you probably assume, that takes him out of the lineup for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour, but he has more important matters to attend.  To be able to balance all of the wedding planning along with his studies and work is quite an impressive feat.  On top of that he has still made time to continue attending UofL women's soccer matches, writing weekly, and appearing most Saturday's on air.  Congratulations to Case and Lindsay!

Jared will be sorting change and greeting dignitaries at work as well. We've asked in regular guest Daryl Foust and we're daggone glad to have here back behind the microphone Saturday. She gets reunited with Daryl the Disco Duck and she'll tell us all about her new job, as well as provide exc excellent and knowledgeable commentary on UofL athletics.

Anyone from Louisville is familiar with the "Where did you go to high school?" question.  For myself, I am a graduate of Louisville Male High School.  Tonight, they will face the Crimsons of duPont Manual, one of the old high school football rivalries in the country.  Male leads the all-time series 85-45-6.

Micah Bland and Keion Wakefield of football are Male graduates.  Louis Brandeis, Michael Bush, and Darrell Griffith are notable alumni.  Winston Bennett, father of current volleyball player Jasmine Bennett, is a Bulldog as well.

Emina Ekic and Allison Whitfield of women's soccer, Labreea Hall of women's track and field, Damien Smith, Dalen Horton, and Derek Dorsey of football are Manual graduates.  Nathaniel Cartmell (US Olympic gold medalist and first men's basketball coach for UNC), Richard Ballard (current member of Louisville City FC), Pee Wee Reese, and Mitch McConnell are notable Manual alumni.

Happy Friday and Go Cards! (and Bulldogs!)

- Jared -

Wasike Earns Honors -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Dorcas Wasike Named ACC Women's Track Athlete of the Year

Portions of this article appear on the UofL Athletics website (gocards.com).

After being one of the runners to break the NCAA Championship meet record last week in the 10,000 meter run, while finishing second, Dorcas Wasike was granted the top ACC honor and named ACC Women's Track Athlete of the Year. The ACC awards include a Track participant, Field participant, Freshman, and Coach for each gender. Wasike, also a First Team All-American, joins Edwin Kibichiy as an ACC honoree, as Kibichiy was named the Men's Track Athlete of the Year last outdoor season. Wasike is only a sophomore at UofL, and she will look to continue her successes this year as her career at UofL progresses. Our coverage of track and field here at Cardinal Couple may sometimes be overshadowed by other overlapping sports in season, but UofL's success in recent years in T&F cannot be ignored. The Cards have grown into a consistent competitor, with multiple qualifications in the NCAA tournament, and they will continue to push for team qualification and championship wins. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Only a short article from me today, as I'm out of town and juggling my attentions with the World
Cup, three dogs, and a screaming baby. I'll be out of the studio today, but the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour will continue as regularly scheduled. Paulie and Jeff will be without myself and Jared, but they'll fill the seats and bring a great show as normal. The prestigious one-eared bear toothpick holder will be back up for grabs in the Worldwide Quiz. Tune in at 11 AM to WCHQ in any of the places you listen to radio (100.9 LPFM, WCHQ App, WCHQFM.com, or WCHQ FM on Facebook).

Here's the station "listen live" link and check the show out on Facebook Live!

LINK: https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/2068421256514480/

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Sunday Cardinal Couple - Softball Season is a Wrap

Softball Regular Season is a Wrap

Wait, I hear you say...they have a 3rd game in the series against Pitt today at noon!  Nope, weather intervened, and the game today has been cancelled.  So the Softball regular season comes to a close on a pair of losses.

The Cards will play in post-season.  The ACC tournament brings 10 of the 12 Softball playing teams in the ACC to the tournament now.  The Cards will be the 8 seed of the tournament, which means they'll play 9 seed Syracuse in one of the "play-in" games, on Wed.  The first pitch for the UofL game will be at 1pm, with Duke and Virginia Tech to follow at 3:30.  These games will be carried on RSN (Raycom Sports Network), so look for them on Fox Sports South as a likely channel.  There is a Fox Sports Go app for devices and a companion website where you will likely find a stream of the games as well.

The Softball squad was in action yesterday against Pitt, taking the loss 10-2.  Runs came on mostly small-ball style of play.  The first run was scored in the 2nd inning on the efforts of relative youngsters.  Sophomore Celene "Play that funky music" Funke reached on an infield single, advanced on a groundout by Sophomore Caitlin "Fergy" Ferguson, and reached home on a single by Freshman pitcher/1B Kyra Snyder.  Pitt had scored a pair in the first, and would never relenquish the lead in the game.

Pitt put up another 7 runs in the 3rd inning, putting the Cards on their back feet.  The Pearsall squad didn't give up, though.  They battled for a run in the 5th inning, avoiding the run rule for the moment.  Kyra Snyder against coming through with a solid hit, whereupon Freshman Catie Barber was substituted in to pinch run.  The Junior couldn't let the youngsters have all the fun, though, Madison Cousineau walked, and Megan Hensley hit to bring Barber home.

The game would end up in a run-rule win, however, when Pitt tacked on another run in the bottom of the 5th with no outs to (unknowingly, at the time) end the regular season.

With an RPI hovering around 40, and maybe slightly lower than that after taking a pair of losses this weekend, the Cards are quite bubbly, and I'm not talking about their effervescent personalities, here (though many of the players fit that description as well).  A good showing in the conference tournament will help matters, though that will be a fairly tall task.  Looking at past play, the Cards split a weather altered, and shortened, series against Syracuse with scores of 3-2, and 3-4.  If UofL can advance, they have mighty Florida State waiting with a bye and a #1 seed.

Other Cards in Action

The only other Cards in action this weekend is Baseball who will be finishing up their series at Boston College.  The Cards lead in that series 2-0, with both wins being by fairly substantial margins (6-1, 11-3).

Let's also show some love to the UofL Marching Cards, who performed, as tradition, in the infield of the Kentucky Derby festivities playing "My Old Kentucky Home".  We want to show them some love, because NBC surely didn't, giving the Marching Cards exactly zero seconds of screen time during the performance, and by my aural experience, exactly zero mics to pick up their playing as well.  The Cardinal Singers did get good screen and audio coverage during the performance, and they did a fine job representing the University and the City.

Derby, Non-Radio and Other Odds and Ends

The Kentucky Derby was yesterday, of course.  Rain-drenched though it was, a good time seemed to be had by all.  The knuckleheads took the day off from radio due to heading various places to celebrate the municipal show-off event of the year, so there's no Facebook stream to point you to for a replay as their was no play to be replayed.  We'll be back in the studio next week with all the latest news and updates on UofL women's athletics.

Finally, I'd just like to take a moment to share my hearty congratulations to Case.  He, as he shared yesterday, passed his Fundamentals of Engineering exam as a first step on him way to be a licensed professional engineer.  I run in circles with some honest-to-goodness engineers, so I have had the opportunity to see, several times, just how much time and effort goes into preparing for this task in order to be successful.  And while my job title is "Senior Network Engineer", I tend to be careful to disclaim being a "real" engineer in the PE sense, because I know the level of rigor and standards are on a whole other level.

Congratulations, and maybe after the show next week, you can take us up to Frankfort Avenue and tell us all about the trains.

--
JMcA

A Brief Edition -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

The last couple of days have been articles mostly related to news, rather than sport. I haven't seen any new stuff come across the wire since yesterday, and Jeff covered graduation in his Friday piece. I briefly perused the Louisville athletic site to determine if there was anyway to find out the majors of some of our favorite players, but was unable to do so. At any rate, with a big game tomorrow, and nothing much having happened this week, I figured I would leave the rivalry preview for tomorrow and I would give our readers a bit of a break, as I need one myself after a long couple of weeks at work.

While there isn't much I have to say on the pages this morning, I feel quite confident that the words will flow at the microphone during the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. As many of you may have seen via Facebook and some mentions here at the site, the studio for WCHQ FM is moving locations. During this transition period, there will be no live shows on the channel. That means today is the last live Cardinal Couple Radio Hour that you will find until the New Year. There will be quite a bit of basketball and the bowl game for football between today and the next show. From what I hear, Paulie may be trying to work out a brief recording to fill some space so that your weekly "Cardinal Couple Radio Hour" time is not completely empty. If you really need your fix, you can go to the WCHQ website and access past broadcasts just to hear us rib each other.

Sometimes it can feel a bit wild in studio.

Today's show is sure to be full of basketball chatter. All of our other fall sports are done or otherwise irrelevant at the current moment, and there are big games on the horizon for Louisville WBB. Paulie, Jeff, and myself will be joined in studio by Julie Sullivan, another knowledgeable fan of WBB. Paulie will bring you the insider info many others don't have, Jeff will bring the snark, Julie will bring the true fan view, and I'll try to hold everyone (including myself) together. We'll see how well I can achieve my task. The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour airs on 100.9 WCHQ FM from 11AM to noon. Today's broadcast will take you right up to the men's basketball game against Memphis State. If you aren't in the broadcast area of the station, you can listen along on the WCHQ app or the website, at WCHQFM.com. Come along and join us!

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

From all of us at CARDINAL COUPLE to all of you, Happy Thanksgiving wishes and we'll return to these pages on
                                           Friday 



--  Paulie, Sonya, Jeff, Case, Jared and Julie

Cards Split Sunday -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Field Hockey Notches Big Win

PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON

The defending national champions, Delaware, came to town this weekend to get a look at the site for this year's tournament. While they were here, they figured they'd play a couple of games, and Louisville made them wish they hadn't. Even without starting goalie, Ayeisha McFerran, Louisville was able to hold the Blue Hens, the team that knocked them (and multiple other ACC teams) out of last year's tournament, to only one goal. The Cards scored three of their own and took down the number three team in the country, setting themselves up for quite a rise in the rankings.

Much like their game against the Hoosiers, this game came down to penalty corners, with all 4 goals in the game coming by way of the set piece. Whena Munn got the scoring started for the Cards, scoring on a corner sixteen minutes in. This one was assisted by Marisa Martin Pellegrina, who once again proved how big of a contributor she can be for this team. Delaware drew level on a penalty corner of their own ten minutes later. The Cards were sharp on the attack today but Coach Sowry did point out in her post game comments that there were still a few glaring errors that they needed to work on and they would review the contest video to correct these.

Refusing to go into the half without the lead, Louisville forced another corner, and Minnie Mink scored her first goal of the season, assisted by Marigrace Ragsdale, with less than a minute and a half left in the first. The two later hooked up again to provide the final goal of the game and make the scoreline 3-1. Once again, Louisville's corner efficiency was the difference. Louisville converted on 75% (3-4) of their penalty corners and held Delaware to a mere 1-7 effort. The teams tied on shots on goal, and Hollyn Barr was up to the task, collecting 7 saves. Yes, she's feeling the lofty expectations of Jared Anderson...but was very excited to meet her game quota today. 

This was a huge win for the Cards, and one that makes a statement this early in the season. Delaware returned a lot of their team from last season's championship squad. Even if it turns out that their win last year was a fluke, they were still good enough to be in a position to win and writers felt they were good enough for their top 5 ranking this season. Don't forget, also, that they mangled IU on Saturday, with a final score of 7-0. Louisville's opening weekend showed a lot of promise. There is still the buzzsaw of the ACC which they'll eventually have to face, and the inevitable rematches come tournament time, but this team is starting to prove that they'll be a force to be reckoned with. They return to play on Friday when they travel to Ohio State.


PAULIE DISCUSSES DELAWARE WIN WITH COACH SOWRY


PAULIE AND MINNIE MINK ON THE WIN OVER BLUE HENS


GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Soccer Drops Rough Game Against Marquette

Louisville's unbeaten start to the season came to an end yesterday at the hands of the team picked to finish 3rd in the Big East. However, we all know that preseason rankings mean nothing, since Louisville defeated the team ranked second (DePaul) earlier this season. For the first time this season, Louisville was held scoreless, with Marquette netting the only two goals of the game in the second half. 

The game was very physical and inconsistently called, much to the ire of the Cardinal faithful. At one point, while Louisville fans expressed their anger after a Cardinal was pulled down in the box during a free kick, a Marquette fan yelled "Welcome to the Big East, Ferguson!" While I understand the sentiment to mean they play physically in the Big East, that doesn't make me want Louisville to play in that league. (By the way, I'd like to extend a huge credit to the traveling contingent of Marquette fans. It sounded like they took a bus down for the game and they were very passionate about their team. They were mostly respectful toward Louisville and cheered loudly for their team rather than against their opponent.) Marquette didn't just play physically, they fouled. A lot. And they got away with it. A lot. That's not to say Louisville didn't as well, but I'll come right out and say that there's no reason Louisville should have finished yesterday's game having been whistled more often than Marquette.

From my vantage point, it became clear that Louisville should have taken advantage of Marquette's aggression. The Golden Eagles liked to tackle on the ground, and they were good at it. However, they telegraphed their slides, and I think the Cards should have been more willing to pull the ball back and take a slide to the feet in order to get the call. Too often, the ball was given away when slowing down could have resulted in a free kick and potentially even a card. Louisville allowed Marquette to play as aggressively as they wanted, and didn't force discipline which might have changed their approach.

After a physical first half in which there were chances on both sides, the teams headed to the locker room scoreless. Louisville had a few real opportunities, but only tested the keeper once that I remember, on a ball to the near post. In hindsight, and I'm sure this was noticed by the shooter as well, a shot at the back post would have been an easy goal, with the keeper already leaning, but it wasn't meant to be. Something that I noticed during the first half was that Marquette appeared to be the better team from my vantage point. They swarmed on defense, which I found strange, but it worked for them. Despite their fouling, some of which was called and some not, they made good tackles. They cut into passing lanes. On offense they were more technical with the ball at their feet and put Louisville on their heels with passes in the offensive third. Louisville still had a chance, don't get me wrong. They weren't completely outmatched, but the little things add up.

Marquette opened the scoring 5 minutes into the second half on a penalty. The Marquette winger had carried Inger Katrine Bjerke down the bench side of the field and attempted to send a cross into the center. The ball struck KB and the side judge immediately began waving his flag. Hand ball in the box: penalty. The event was pretty far away from me and there was no replay, so I didn't get a great look. However, it looked to me as though the ball played the hand (meaning it was a natural position for KB and the ball struck her) which should not have been whistled. In fact, yesterday's referee had waved off multiple similar calls in the game. Nonetheless, Marquette's Ryley Bugay stepped to the spot and Gabby Kouzelos tipped her hand far too early. Bugay had a slow run to the ball and when Kouzelos took her first jump step to her right (probably encroaching), Bugay slotted it easily to Kouzelos' left. Marquette led 1-0. 

Louisville continued their aggressive pressure trying to level the game, and the over aggression led to the second goal. It is easy to imagine the scenario where a ball gets away from the offense and it leads to an easy counter attack. However, what happened yesterday was far more frustrating. Louisville was pushed up on the attack, with the back line probably 15 yards from the midfield stripe in their own half. A ball was sent through the defense which Kouzelos came to send away. I have been frustrated by some of her choices to come out for the ball before, and yesterday helped validate those frustrations. The defense could have probably retreated for this ball, but Kouzelos went herself to send the ball forward. Rather than give it a safe clearance, perhaps due to the aggressive nature of trying to equalize, she attempted to send the ball back up to the offense immediately. It was mishit, and fell straight to the feet of Marquette's Eli Beard. Beard sent the ball towards the net from about 40 yards out and it was a clear goal from the time it left her foot. Kouzelos, who had been about 10-15 yards outside of the box when she hit the ball, was retreating as quickly as she could, but the ball sailed over her head and into the net. Louisville tried valiantly to get one back as the game wore on but were unable to find the net.

While a frustrating loss, Louisville did show promise. They seemed a bit sluggish at times in the first half but were reinvigorated at half time and never gave up when they trailed. They will face stiff competition in the ACC but they showed resilience in this game that I believe will serve them well throughout the season. The Cards are back in action Friday night in the unfriendly confines in Lexington. The game is at 7:30PM and does not currently list any viewing options. There's a lot of season left, and there is plenty of time for Karen Ferguson-Dayes to clean up some of the issues the Cards have had so far.

PAULIE iNTERVIEWS COACH KFD AFTER MARQUETTE WITH A CAMEO TRAIN APPEARANCE

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Fall Sports Underway in Earnest -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

After yesterday's competitions, all three major women's fall sports at UofL have officially gotten underway. Cross country, along with the major attention grabbing football, get their seasons started next Saturday. Women's golf hits the road for their first outing in the middle of September and rowing has yet to post their schedule. They'll likely get underway near the end of September if last season is any indication. Let's see how our Cardinals fared yesterday.

Field Hockey (like soccer) Takes Down Hoosiers

While the women's soccer team headed north to Bloomington to take on IU on Thursday night, they likely passed the bus of the IU field hockey team traveling south to face off against Louisville in a mid-afternoon affair yesterday. Like the women's soccer team, field hockey handled the border battle and started their season 1-0. The Cards were led by a new face in their first game. Freshman Marisa Martin Pellegrina earned a point on each of Louisville's four goals, scoring two of her own and assisting the other two. If yesterday is any indication, Martin Pellegrina is a name that you should get used to if you follow Louisville field hockey, because she is likely to continue making noise. Despite the lopsided final score of 4-1, Louisville didn't truly dominate yesterday's game statistically. The Cards finished ahead by only 3 in shots (13-10) and finished tied in shots on goal (7), penalty corners (6), and fouls (0, hooray for a clean game) although an IU player was given a green card in caution, so I'm not sure about the fouls number. It was Louisville's goalkeeping play that won them the game, with Hollyn Barr providing 6 stops to IU's 3. The Cards are still without Ayeisha McFerran, but it is promising that Barr has been able to provide solid play as the last defender. 

The game was never really in doubt for the Cards, as they scored their first goal on a penalty corner finish by Abby Grimes less than four minutes into the game. Martin Pellegrina scored her two goals within five minutes of one another near the middle of the first half. Taylor Stone finished the scoring for the Cards four minutes into the second half on yet another penalty corner goal (3 on the day for Louisville) and Louisville led 4-0. Indiana marred the clean sheet with a penalty corner goal of their own with 15 minutes remaining, but could do no further damage. Scoring on and defending set pieces with consistency is key, as I pointed out after the women's soccer opener, so if Louisville can continue to score on 50% of their penalty corners (unlikely) and defend at a 16% conversion rate (also unlikely) they will be in a good position this season. However unlikely those numbers may be to maintain, that the Cards came out fresh and ready for true gameplay is encouraging. Unfortunately for Jared, Minout Mink was held out in a limited role yesterday, entering from the bench. She was unable to score, which puts her well behind on her quest for 2 goals per game. She'll have some ground to make up if Jared is to be named Nostradamus. Louisville is back in action tomorrow at noon against Delaware. The Blue Hens are No. 3 in the country (Louisville is 9) and are the defending national champions. A win here could set the Cards up with a huge confidence boost and a hefty bump in the rankings.

PAULIE talks with Coach Sowry after the win   (featuring an impromptu walk-by from Minnie Mink).

PAULIE and Abby Grimes discuss the win over IU

Volleyball Falls in Hard Fought Match

The final scoreline, 3-0, wouldn't show it, but the volleyball team started their season with a tough match against a familiar foe to new head coach, Dani Busboom-Kelly, in No. 7 Wisconsin. Like most other Big Ten teams, the Badgers are tough. However, Louisville actually only lost these three sets 18-25, 19-25, and 24-26. The first set was the only one in which the Cards failed to tie or take the lead, and there were actually 11 ties and 5 lead changes throughout the second two sets. Despite a 3-0 loss, Louisville played an encouraging match last night, supported by the fact that they took the third set to extra points. This match is likely one in which last season's team would have been rolled over, especially after taking the painful loss in the first set with a very poor hitting percentage. I'm not one for moral victories, but I can find items about which to be positive in a loss against a superior team. Bouncing back to play hard in the next two sets with significantly better hitting percentages in those sets are some of those positive items. Jeff listened to every minute of this one on the radio last night and I'm sure he'll have quite a bit to add about his thoughts today. Louisville is back in action this evening at 5PM against Minnesota, another tough Big Ten team. DBK likely had a lot of teaching moments for her team after last night's loss, and it will be interesting to see (hear?) how they respond against a similar opponent. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

You can't keep me away for too long! I'm back in the studio with Paulie and Jeff (and maybe Jared? I'm actually not sure. You'll have to tune in to find out.) today and we'll have plenty to talk about with sports finally underway in real competition. There will be post game interviews, thoughts and observations, and plenty of statistical chatter from my end. Tune into 100.9 FM WCHQ in the Crescent Hill area or on the website or WCHQ app at 11AM for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour, and be sure to comment below or on any article when you've got questions or topics you'd like to hear our thoughts on. We're always happy to send a reply, or fill some air time with a conversation. The replay is HERE

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

A Winning Friday -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Field Hockey Takes Win in Exhibition 

Louisville took down Miami (OH) in yesterday's midday exhibition with a final regulation score of 6-2.  After the regulation period, the teams continued to play an overtime and shootout to get in some practice for future situations. Louisville prevailed in both of those as well, scoring about halfway through the sudden victory period and taking the shootout 3-2. Prior to Louisville running away with the game, the Cards and Redhawks were locked in a battle, reaching ties at 1-1 and 2-2. The half finished at 2-2 with Louisville holding a 10-3 shot advantage. The advantage in possession and scoring opportunities came to a head for Louisville in the second half as they scored 4 unanswered in the second half. Louisville's regulation goals came from all over with Whena Munn, Jillian Shive, Marigrace Ragsdale, Taylor Stone, Minout Mink, and Sydnie Smartwood. Whena Munn added her second goal during the overtime period and Stone and Mink grabbed their second goals during the shootout. Freshman Alli Bitting rounded out the scoring with a goal during the shootout.

Louisville is still without Ayeisha McFerran as she is on international duty, but sophomore goalkeeper Hollyn Barr did well in her place. She gained one save on Miami's 6 total shots. Louisville field hockey will be back in action today when they play their annual alumnae game at 2PM today.

Women's Soccer Holds on in Tight Win

The regular season got underway for the women's soccer team last night as they hosted Boston University. After a one-sided first half with Louisville leading 2-0, the game became very interesting in the second half before Louisville finished with a 3-2 victory. Fans on the west side of Lynn Stadium were treated to the most action with 4 goals coming in the goal in front of the Berm. Louisville dominated the first half, with 10 shots in the first half to BU's 1. They used their opportunities to gain a 2-0 advantage. They started the scoring in the 19th minute when Gabby Vincent sent a deep ball toward the box. Off the bounce, Brooklynn Rivers flicked a touch to the Boston goalkeeper's left and put her shot on frame in a mostly open goal. Boston goalkeeper, Hannah Ciolek, was able to get a hand on the ball as she worked backwards but not enough to keep it out of the net. Less than five minutes later, Louisville put up another tally when Emina Ekic slotted a ball into the bottom right corner of the net from the top of the box. Kaela Dickerman crossed the ball to the top of the arc, and Ekic turned a sent the ball on goal with her left foot. Ciolek was unable to get to the ball with her outstretched hand. 

The second half was much less in favor of the Cardinals and they actually wound up losing the half 2-1. Boston University scored their first goal in the 63rd minute when Kelly Park scored on a header from a free kick. Louisville stretched their lead back to 2 after a potentially frustrating sequence for the Terriers. A clearance went awry and bounced off of the leg of the center official directly to a Louisville midfielder who passed it to Allison Whitfield. Whitfield worked around defenders at the top of the box before sending an almost identical ball to Ekic's into the goal. Louisville led 3-1 in the 74th minute. The extended lead was short lived as Boston University's Kiana Ghamarifard scored a rebound shot from a corner kick 14 seconds later. The final 16 minutes were mostly on edge as BU threatened to tie the game and Louisville did their best to hold. Arianna Ferraro was issued the only yellow card in a fairly chippy match and Louisville played the stall game in BU's corner of the field for the final two minutes, much to the dismay of the Boston fans, players, and coaches.

The first half of last night's game looked much better than the second, but there are definitely items to focus on for the Cards today prior to their game against Miami (OH) tomorrow afternoon (1PM in Lynn Stadium). Many of Louisville's passes felt as though they lacked purpose, with balls being sent ahead to no one or sent aggressively out of reach on through balls or wide passes. This was something Coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes noticed as well as she spent much of the second half yelling "FEET" at her players, indicating she wanted passes to go TO a player instead of just around them. The second issue I had was with the comfort Louisville has in passing back to goalkeeper, Gabrielle Kouzelos. Against DePaul last week, the ball was sent back often, and Kouzelos almost always placed it to a Louisville player with her clearance. However, such was not the case last night. Kouzelos sent the ball out of bounds and straight to Boston players, putting herself in uncomfortable positions. Some of those errors were unforced but others were because she was fed the ball in bad situations. Louisville's defenders need to be more cognizant of when they are making those passes back or the Cards could find themselves giving up some very easy (and frankly, very stupid) goals this season. (Also, Gabrielle, if you're coming out for a ball outside the box and you're passing a defender to get to it, that shouldn't be your ball). Finally, Louisville struggled on set pieces last night. Both Boston goals were given up on set pieces and Louisville was unable to score on 9 corner kicks and at least 5 free kicks in the offensive third. It will take better execution on designed plays to succeed in ACC play.

All in all, Louisville came away with a 3-2 victory to open the season 1-0. You can't ask for too much of a better start, and hopefully the adversity will prepare them for future games. Paulie has interviews with Coach K and a player, which you can likely hear on today's radio show.

Volleyball Opens with Red vs Black Scrimmage

Tonight is the first opportunity to see the new Cardinal Arena as the volleyball team opens its doors for the annual Red vs Black scrimmage. Jeff McAdams had a great preview of the volleyball season yesterday so be sure to check that out. The match starts at 6PM and admission is free. Be sure to stop by and check it out if you're interested in all of the new excitement surrounding this year's team.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Today

Because I am out of town and on the wrong time zone, you're probably not reading this until after the CCRH has aired today, but I promise it's going up before air time. The guys are back in the studio with guests hosts as Jared and I will leave our chairs empty this morning. Tune into WCHQ 100.9 FM or the WCHQ app or Crescent Hill Radio website to listen in. The CCRH starts at 11AM and will give you all you need to know over an hour of conversation about the joy and excitement of Louisville Women's Sports. It's great to be back in the midst of the athletic season.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Still Swimming -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

World Championships Continue

I'm going to keep this Saturday morning article short and sweet. Something you can breeze through while you sip your coffee and wait for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour to come on. I'm also going to milk the cow which is the FINA World Championships in Budapest as long as I can while there isn't much else happening in the sports world. The event is nearing it's end however, so Louisville's amazing swimmers will soon be returning home bearing hardware.

As the second to last day of the event winds down, we may have seen the last of Mallory Comerford at this event. She swam in the 100m freestyle final last night, unfortunately failing to podium. Mallory finished fourth behind three Olympic medalists. She has had a successful event, nonetheless and it may not be over. She is not swimming in the women's 50m freestyle final, but she is still an eligible selection for the 4x100 mixed freestyle relay preliminaries.

Also continuing to impress is former Cardinal Kelsi Worrell. Worrell is swimming her hardest trying to catch the Swedish superstar, Sarah Sjostrom. Sjostrom is one of those who beat Comerford last night in the freestyle, and is also the swimmer that posted the world record split during the relay in which both Cardinals won gold. Worrell swam her fastest ever 50m fly yesterday in the semifinal and was still 0.27 seconds behind Sjostrom. Kelsi will have her work cut out for her in the final, but perhaps she'll be able to knock off the giant. Kelsi is also eligible for selection in the mixed freestyle relay.

Good luck to both of these ladies and the rest of the swimmers and staff representing UofL across the world. We look forward to seeing them return to their home pool and smashing the competition stateside just as they do globally.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Paulie is back from vacation and will man the helm during the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour today at 11AM. Be sure to tune into WCHQ in your preferred capacity to hear us chit chat for the second to last week of the dead period. This week marks the return of Julie "JC" Sullivan, The Bird Lady, and we'll hear her thoughts on some of the things we've discussed in weeks past as well as continue plodding through July. We'll also have a very special "Catching Up With..." segment and another unique quiz. As always, we thank you all for reading, listening, and commenting.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

A Look at New Pros -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Former Cardinals Doing Well Early

Today's article (which is coincidentally kind of about success) will be pretty short and unfortunately shies away from women's sports. I wanted to peek at how some of our former fan favorites have fared (say that five times fast) in the early stages of their professional careers. This will be brief and there is plenty more out on the internet about more in depth statistics and about the guys I don't mention. With all of our talk about success recently, though, I felt like this would be a good time to talk about former Cardinals we loved getting off to good starts on the road that they hope can lead to success in their respective sport.

We also will point out that, although this is primarily a women's sports site...many women's sports fans at UofL follow the baseball and men's basketball squads. We see many of you at baseball and men's basketball. 

Drew Ellis was drafted 44th overall to the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. His pro career started off better than he imagined as he was fully expecting to be sitting around for another 19 picks, where the Boston Red Sox had promised they'd select him. Ellis has since packed his bags and headed to Hillsboro, Oregon to play with the Short A league team there. In eight games, Ellis is hitting .324 with two different 3-hit games. Last night, he hit his first career professional home run. He'll need to knock down the strikeouts (10 in 34 at bats) to be sure, but he seems to be seeing the ball decently well and getting hits when he makes contact. As long as his glove continues to be sure--he's got 0 errors in 17 chances at third base in 53.2 innings--and he continues to improve his hitting, Ellis is probably not long for such a low league.

Ellis's teammate and National Player of the Year, Brendan McKay, has yet to suit up in a professional uniform but he has reportedly seen a victory of his own already. Much ado was made about McKay, the two way star, and how a professional team would be forced to make a decision on how to best utilize his talents. We knew that McKay did not want to be boxed in, and it seems as though the Rays will give him a chance to show all of his talents. Brendan will head to Short A Hudson Valley, where there is a schedule in place for him to be a starter and play first base/designated hitter on some (not all) days that he is not the starting pitcher. There is no word on whether he'll be allowed to hit for himself when he is the pitcher, but this is a major accomplishment nonetheless. Brendan McKay was more than a generational talent at the University of Louisville, and I hope that he gets every opportunity to shine in every way he can at the professional level.

Donovan Mitchell may not have come to the University of Louisville had he pursued baseball, but he did get the chance to throw out a first pitch for the Salt Lake City Bees after being drafted by the Utah Jazz. Mitchell has played in three summer league games so far, scoring 15.3 points per game on 43.9% shooting. He's 5/13 from three, has 10 steals, 10 assists, and only 4 turnovers. He scored 23 in his first game, and he may be best known so far for a fantastic behind-the-back-out-of-bounds-saving assist and for putting Jayson Tatum on his behind with a spin move. Mitchell has clearly impressed the Jazz leadership, as he earned himself a day off last night, presumably so other young Jazz players could get a chance to step out of his shadow and show their stuff. Mitchell has looked nothing but prepared for his transition to the NBA and I'm hopeful that his success continues when the real season rolls around.

He's hardly a new pro, but honorable mention goes to a player that is getting new life in Chinese
basketball. Russ Smith recently signed with a Chinese team and immediately proved that his poor showing in Turkey had more to do with misuse by the team and not a lack of talent. The fact that Russ Smith, who holds the single game scoring record in the D-League, has not been given another opportunity to go wild for an NBA team absolutely baffles me. I seem to see another Russ get to do whatever he wants on the court and receive MVP votes for it. Am I calling Russ Smith as good as Russell Westbrook? No, but it would be hard for you to convince me that Smith could not be a significant bench scorer and defender for an NBA team. By the way, the reason I mentioned Russ is because he's averaging an insane 58.5 points per game through six games on about 50% shooting. He made major headlines when he scored 81 points in his fifth game. It's easy to argue that he's doing this against significantly inferior defensive competition, but it's very challenging to argue against 60 ppg. 

There are many other men and women, a lot that have been mentioned on this site, performing well at the professional level of sports and business and fantastically representing their alma mater. For those who have completed their days at the University of Louisville, I wish them nothing but happiness however they can find it and success in the pursuit of their goals.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Success -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

What is Success?

A ride home from work the other day found me listening to a Louisville radio show. The hosts were discussing the desire of professional leagues to see specific players improve parts of their game to make them pros while the college fans of those players just wanted to see them do whatever gave them the best chance to win while still in school. The players are stuck somewhere in the middle of this argument, obviously wanting to be successful in college but also wanting to put themselves in the best position for success in the professional game. This is much more prevalent in a few revenue sports than it is in others where there isn't huge pressure from above to buck a coach's instruction for selfish personal improvement. However, it does beg the question: "How do you, as a fan, define success?"

There are multiple types of success in my opinion. I view team success as getting wins, both in the regular and post seasons. Individual success includes not getting in trouble, performing well academically, receiving individual honors, and succeeding in the professional ranks. There are many who do not care about individual success. Obviously a Heisman Trophy and having the most decorated player in college baseball history are exceptions, but some fans do not care about the names on the back of the jerseys. They may as well be playing the old NCAA sports games; the players likenesses are unique, but they're really just guys running out there with the team. Then there are those on the opposite end of the spectrum, for whom success in the professional ranks defines a player's legacy despite what the did in college. Many detract from players like Brian Brohm and Luke Hancock because they did not shine at the professional level, despite the fact that their two programs would not be in such a position today without those two guys.

In addition to the various types of success, there are levels to success. If a team fails to win a championship every year, is that team unsuccessful? Many fans on Seattle Seahawks blogs would have you believe that is the case. But there can only be one team champion in any given sport in any year. How far into the NCAA tournament is a successful basketball season? Is making the postseason an accomplishment for the women's soccer team or an expectation? The varying levels of success that different athletic teams have within the same program we cheer for make it hard to temper our expectations for one group while keeping excitement high and expecting the most for others. Many of us fans fall into the trap of seeing Team A repeat success over and over again while watching Team B struggle. We become cynical about Team B, not recognizing the differences in the landscapes of the programs. 

This season, we will see the same varying types and levels of success at the University of Louisville we always do. Teams will exceed expectations, while others fall short. Individuals will amass honors in some fashion and others will watch as their name isn't called. Some players will jump ship and see what the professional landscape holds. Others will graduate and look for a job in their field, a different type of success entirely. Yahoo recently ranked UofL Athletics as the 28th best overall program out of the power five conferences. The blurb about the Cards said that the program was on the rise, and I find myself agreeing. If a few more teams can pull out the championships they so desperately desire, the Cards will see themselves climb this list. 

So how do you define success? Sound off in the comments about what you consider to be a successful season for a Louisville Cardinals team. Does Donovan Mitchell going in the lottery add to the success of the men's basketball season? What about 8 baseball players drafted? Do they take the sting out of an Omaha loss a bit? As a fan of both college and professional sports, I find myself stuck in the middle on a lot of these questions. For the sake of Cardinal Couple, though, I will focus on what I would consider a success for a few women's teams. If these teams don't achieve these marks, I wouldn't consider them disappointments necessarily. Getting close but not achieving my goals would be a scratch, falling apart completely would be a disappointment. 

Soccer: 12 regular season wins; advance to second round in ACC tournament; NCAA appearance

Field Hockey: No more than 5 regular season losses; top 2 in ACC; quarterfinals in NCAA (stretch goal: win the NCAA Championship at home)

Volleyball: finish top 4 in ACC; advance to second round in NCAA tournament 

Basketball: Top 3 in conference; Elite Eight (basketball is one of the toughest to set goals for, in my opinion)

Lacrosse: Top 3 in conference; quarterfinals in NCAA tournament

Softball: Top 3 in conference; win a game in the regional round of the NCAA tournament

I have high expectations for many of these teams in the ACC because I believe Louisville is near the top of the ACC as an overall program. I would go so far to say that continued success across all sports puts Louisville in the top 2 in the conference. As such, I expect teams to show that in their conference standings. I also believe that successful seasons end with at least appearances in NCAA tournaments, even if you bow out early. Like I said, there can only be one champion. I've had my take, now have yours. Let me know where you think I've expected too much or too little from a team. I'm genuinely interested in hearing what you all consider a successful season!

The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Today's show features a return of the fearsome foursome to the studio. Paulie, Worldwide, Jared, and I will take our seats and ramble on for an hour about whatever it is we can think of. As mentioned yesterday, we'll have an exclusive interview with Asia Taylor on today's show that you won't want to miss. Tune into WCHQ at 11AM to hear all of the shenanigans. The show can be found at 100.9 FM if you're in the Crescent Hill area, on the free WCHQ app, or on the Crescent Hill Radio website. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-