Louisville Volleyball downs Irish in five sets...WSOC in a must win scenario tonight -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

LOUISVILLE VOLLEYBALL ESCAPES SOUTH BEND WITH WIN

The action was fast and furious last night in South Bend, IN on the Notre Dame campus as Louisville Volleyball came back to win the fifth set and take a 25-22, 25-17, 18-25, 18-25, 15-10 over the Irish. 

Melanie McHenry's 20 kills led the way for the Cards ...who also got 13 kills from Tess Clark in the victory...which kept Louisville in third place in the ACC race...1/2 game behind NC State and Pittsburgh. The Cards are 15-6 on the season and 9-2 in conference.

Louisville had a rough start in game one...falling behind UND 9-2 early. Four early attack errors were costly to the Cards. They fought back, though, and a Jasmine Bennett kill drew the visitors back within one at 12-11. Louisville would tie the match at 13-13 and take a 17-15 lead on a Tess Clark steamer...capping off a 15-6 Cards run. The Irish took a timeout when UofL increased the lead to 20-17 and the Cards reciprocated with a action-stopper whe  UNC drew with two at 23-21. A McHenry kill and Irish hitting error put this one in the "W" column for Dani Busboom Kelly's squad 25-22.

The second set was a close affair early, with the teams tied at 5-5 and 7-7. Louisville grabbed a 14-12 lead after an errant Notre Dame kill attempt and pushed that out to 17-12 after the home team committed a blocking error. The "Damers" came back, though and got within three at 19-16...necessitating a Cardinal stoppage of action to talk it over. The strategy paid off as the Cards finished the set on a 5-1 run to win by eight. 

After the halftime break, the Irish came out on fire and jumped to a 7-1 third set advantage. Louisville would never lead in this one...an Amanda Green block got UofL within five at 18-13 but the teams basically traded points after that and UND has their first win at 25-18. 

The Cards started the fourth set slowly and fell behind 6-0. Another UofL timeout to control the barrage but the Irish were still en fuego. Two McHenry kills got the Cards within five at 10-5...but the Cards would get no closer the rest of the way...falling by the same score as the third set....25-18. Louisville had lost their earlier momentum and the Irish were fired up and seemingly riding the wave...appearing ready to take the final set and the match. 

It didn't happen.

The Cards grabbed an early 4-1 lead but saw UND score four straight points before McHenry notched a kill shot to knot it up at 5-5. Tess Clark regained the lead for the Cards with a kill right after that and a long ND serve kept Louisville ahead at 8-7. After the teams traded sides of the court, UofL's wide-netters put together a 3-0 run, culminated by Colene Coessens' third service ace...giving the Cards a 11-9 edge.  Wilma Rivera won a net battle next to make it 12-9 and after a Irish serve for score..."J-Ben" took over for Louisville...Bennett getting a kill and block to create match point at 14-10. The game/set winner came from a McHenry kill...to give the Cards the season sweep over the Irish. 

A clutch win by the Cards on the road. Louisville returns home to the friendly confines of Cardinal Arena to face league co-leaders Pittsburgh on Friday night at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available for this one (go to TICKETMASTER to review what's left seating wise) and the match will be shown on the ACC Network Extra if you're unable to attend.


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DO OR DIE TIME FOR LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S SOCCER

The scenario is pretty simple for Karen Ferguson Dayes' kickers tonight in Raleigh, NC against the NC State Wolfpack. A Cardinal win assures them a berth in the ACC women's soccer tournament. A tie makes an appearance dicey and a loss could eliminate UofL from the post-regular season action and end their season. 

The Cards are tied for eighth place in the ACC standings with Clemson at 3-4-2 in league competition. They own a season-win over the Tigers...so they would take any tie-breaker scenario...but Boston College lurks behind the duo with a 3-5-1 record (10 points) and owns a regular season win over the Cards 2-0.The  B.C. Eagles have a trip to last place Pitt tonight and Clemson entertains sixth-place Florida State tonight in their "boiled peanut" territory. 

Louisville has their work cut out for them against the Wolfpack. NC State is tied for fourth in the ACC and is on a four-game win streak. Louisville comes into the contest after two straight, double-overtime 0-0 ties. 

Hot for the Cards is red-shirt freshman goalkeeper Gabby Kouzelos, who was named ACC Defender of the Week on Tuesday...she has three straight shutouts in her resume. Youth being served on offense as well, with true freshman midfielder Emina Ekic leading the scoring stats for Louisville...she has seven goals and three assists so far this season. 

Difficult..yes, but not impossible. With the efficiency of the Cards defense lately, one has to think that if the Cards can manage at least one goal, they'll secure their entry in the ACC Tournament. 

Good luck "Kick and Score" Cards tonight in the regular season finale. This one will be available on the ACC Network Extra at 7 p.m.


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CONGRATS TO ERIN !

University of Louisville field hockey alum Erin McCrudden has been selected to the USA Field Hockey roster for the FIH Sentinel Homes Hockey World League Final as announced by U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach Janneka Schopma on Oct. 16th. 

Erin, who ended her senior season for the Cards in 2016, was one of 18 players selected to travel to Auckland, NZ 

While playing for UofL, McCrudden earned 2016 second team All-American honors. She led the ACC and was second in the nation her senior season with 18 assists. Always a fun interview...the Yorktown Heights, N.Y. native played basketball, field hockey and soccer in high school and figured she'd play basketball in college until "she stopped growing" and ended up 'five-foot something'.

Erin-go-stick! 


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FINALLY...

I'm 99% sure I wasn't at the Bama vs. Vols football game (unless a 3rd dimension transference of body occured) but the guy sitting between the two standing guys kinda looks like a short-haired, slighty fatter version of me. 

Uh, oh. U got some 'splaining' to do, Paulie...

paulie
xxxxx

International flair...UofL Field Hockey players in USA-Ireland Series...Paulie's "hippy" -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FOUR CARDS WILL PLAY IN INTERNATIONAL SERIES

Valuable experience upcoming for three current members of the Louisville Field Hockey squad and one graduate. Graduate Erin McCrudden, 2017 senior Nicole Woods and junior Taylor Stone participated in scrimmages against the Irish National team...which has junior Ayeshia McFerran on board as goalkeeper. 

McCrudden and Woods will be part of the 18-player roster that will face McFerran and Ireland in the upcoming three matches starting today at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Lancaster, PA. 

USA vs. Ireland Series

Game 1 -- Weds. May 24th -- 6:30 p.m.
Game 2 -- Thurs. May 25th -- 6:30 p.m.
Game 3 -- Sat. May 27th -- 6:30 p.m. 

The series will serve as the final round of preparation for the World Cup Qualifier FIH Field Hockey World League Semifinals...which will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa in July followed by the Pan American Cup...that will be held in Lancaster in August. 

A live stream (free) will be available for all three contests. You can find it game day at go.teamusa.org/2nnWToZ


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PAULIE TO I.R. LIST IN JUNE

We've covered our share of Cardinal athletes who have been sidelined by hip injuries over the years here. I never thought I'd be reporting one on our staff here, though. 

Me. 

Due to a degenerating right hip, I'll be going in for hip replacement surgery on June 8th. Too many QB sacks, diving for errant passes in the paint, long jump attempts and swings for the fence in my illustrious youth, I suppose. Or dislocation from prolonged bench-sitting? 

(We've all know I'm a degenerate of sorts, right?...now it has spread to my hip). 

Confidence remains high...the surgeon has done this for a couple of friends and they walk normally these days. That's something I'm looking forward to...recently I've had to resort to a cane to get around. 

Asia Taylor and Tia Gibbs had hip surgeries. They turned out pretty good, right? Just another thing I'll have in common with them beside our love for Cardinal basketball and ham and pineapple pizza. 

We'll keep you updated. What it will probably resort to is you, our readers, will be getting more articles from Case and Worldwide Jeff in a couple of weeks for a couple of weeks.

Which is probably a good thing...



paulie 

Field Hockey Shuts Out #3 UNC 1-0 -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

ERIN McCRUDDEN'S GOAL ENOUGH FOR CARDS IN ACC WIN

Field Hockey, like Soccer, is one of those sports where there isn't, at times, a whole lot of scoring. Witness yesterday, at the Trager Center, where it took 45 minutes before Louisville broke through to get a score against #3 North Carolina. That goal held up, due to some fine defensive work by the Cards, and Louisville knocks off their second top ten for in a row.

So, we got a happy Justine Sowry in the post-game chat: 

"I'm incredibly proud. To play against a UNC team that is coached by one of the legendary people in the game...you know you're going to get a good game. I think the bottom line is we played to our identity and when we do that, we can mix it up with the best in the game." 

After the scoreless first half, McCrudden was in the right place at the right time...taking a pass from Bethany Russ and sending the ball into the net. Despite being a player short to a yellow card issuance late in the second half...the Cards maintain that identity and played tough defense against the TarHeels the rest of the way.

UNC, like Northwestern in the Stick Girls previous game, pulled their goalie late in the game to try and increase their offensive attack. Always a dangerous and risky move...with a low percentage of reward...it failed for the Chapel Hill visitors. 

Quick turn-around for Sowry and the Trager dwellers...they'll take to the pitch against Kent State today at noon. Interviews? Yeah, we got plenty of them for you to sample after this huge Cardinal win...with Sowry, McCrudden and goalie Ayeshia McFerran: 

LINK: COACH SOWRY DISCUSSES THE WIN


LINK: ERIN MCCRUDDEN POST GAME INTERVIEW


LINK: AYESHIA MCFERRAN ABOUT THE UNC WIN


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RADIO DAYS! 

Coach Jo Anne P would
listen if she knew we
existed, I bet. 

We had us a real good time, y'all on the Saturday broadcast of The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour on WCHQ yesterday. Case Hoskins was back behind the microphone with Paulie and Worldwide. Reviewing, previewing and prognosticating on Cardinal Athletics...plus audio from Karen Ferguson-Dayes and Justine Sowry. 

We will be off the air next Saturday the 22nd. We promise to return for our Halloween show on Oct 29th. Did ya miss the broadcast yesterday? Well, weep no more my lady....there is a link below that will let you hear it again! We lost eight minutes of it somewhere in the SoundCloud ozone. Gremlins in the control booth, I suppose. 


LINK: https://soundcloud.com/chradio/cardinal-couple-20161015



paulie
xxxxx

Field Hockey Finishes in O.T. -- WSOC Prevails in O.T. -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

In a day that provides bonus time for both the Louisville Field Hockey and women's Soccer squads...both fall sports got wins. 



CARDS 1 - MICHIGAN ST 0

Erin McCrudden couldn't have picked a better time for her first score of the season...


Shortly after 70 minutes of scoreless Field Hockey...Shannon Sloss started an overtime drive and found McCrudden with a pass that she fired by MSU goalkeeper Katie Miller to give the Cards the hard-earned win in the 7 v 7 overtime session. 

The Cards had the chance to win it as time expired in regulation, but...off a penalty corner...Bethany's Russ sent a shot toward goal that would have ended it if it hadn't bounced the wrong way off the side post. Three minutes later, in overtime, the Cards extended their win streak to six with McCrudden's score. 

Louisville held the statistical edge with 19 shots -- compared to MSU's 6. 

Justine Sowry was pleased: 

" I am very proud of our team's performance today.  That is one of the grittiest wins we've had against a very resilient and energetic Michigan State team.  Their goalkeeper was superb and kept denying our shots and the easy thing for us to do would have been to panic and lose our pose. We kept to our identity and kept persisting. We deserved to win this game and fortunately overtime was on our side in this occasion and it was a great finish by Erin." 


It'll be an even bigger identity check for the Flock beginning on Friday when the Cards return home and face Duke to begin ACC play. Coached by former UofL head coach Pam Bustin, the Blue Devils won both their weekend contests -- over Virginia and James Madison -- To remain perfect at 6-0 also. They are ranked #2 in the nation

A great match-up that begins at 6 p.m. Friday at Trager....we'll have more on it as it gets closer. 

If you want to get a little early tailgating practice in before the Louisville v. FSU football game on Saturday, this is the perfect venue to practice it. Come out to the game and help the Flock protect Trager. 




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KICKIN' CARDS BOOT PAST BELMONT 2-1


Freshman Brooklynn Rivers provided both Cardinal scores...one in overtime..as the women's soccer soccer battled back from a 1-0 deficit to win in overtime over Bemont Sunday night in Lynn Stadium. 

Scoring off a deflection, the Bruins took the 1-0 lead 22 minutes into the first half and held it until there were just 18 minutes left in regulation. Rivers connected on a penalty kick and the teams played the remainder of the second half scoreless.

It was Rivers who won it...eight minutes into overtime...when she got free on a break and sent one over the goalkeepers head to give Louisville the 2-1 victory. 

Karen Ferguson-Dayes will take the win: 

'" I think it may have been our worst performance to date...the irony is that we won. We'll take the win. Give Belmont a lot of credit...they battled us hard the whole way. Brooklynn had a great performance tonight and you haven't seen the best of her yet."

Louisville improves to 5-2-1 with the win and will travel to Pittsburgh for a Saturday afternoon -- ACC Conference opener against the Panthers.

OUR VIEW AT THE TITANS GAME. WE WERE "UP THERE"

Once again, the Cards...as they did Friday...dominated the shots statistics...24-6 and shots on goal 13-4. Taylor Bucklin went the distance at goal and had three saves. 

So...in a contest I was fervently following on Twitter while returning from Nashville..."the Rivers" rose and the Cards salvage the weekend with a win. They could have made it easier on Paulie and just played the game down there...Belmont is located in Nashville...and I could have had a football (Titans vs. Vikings) and WSOC double-header Sunday... 

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SO...What does it all mean, Paulie? 

First off...Cardinal sports fans have to be pleased that both squads are well-over .500 at this juncture of the seasons. I know a few of you are disgruntled about the WSOC loss to UK...let it go and take a look at the overall "state of Lynn" report so far. 

5-2-1 and with freshmen providing a very huge contribution and role in women's Soccer's successes, Karen Ferguson-Dayes' squad has pretty much met my expectations for them at this point of the schedule. We expected the defense to be strong and and they are holding opponents to less than one goal per game. We hoped for an offensive resurgence and we've received that...the 2016 squad has already out-scored the 2015 squad and their are 10 regular season games left. All of those 10 are ACC games. We would like to see the Kickin' Cards make the eight-team ACC Tournament in late October - early November. If they can go .500 over the next ten we think they'll get there. Yes, three of the final four are on the road...(Miami, FSU and Virginia Tech) but a four game home-stretch that begins 9/25 should help them build up a few wins. 




Finally, Field Hockey has been nothing short of amazing in six outings. 13 regular season games remain...the final three of the season on the road. Nine of these 13 opponents are currently ranked in the top 20...so the competition doesn't get any easier...five ACC schools grace the top ten and the Cards sit at #8  You have to beat the best to become the best, though...and Justine Sowry's stick-swingers will have that opportunity to control their own fate. The state of Trager...well, it hasn't been too challenged in two games...but with a 15-2 scoring edge at Trager...we have to think the Cards will hold their own with anyone who comes into the stadium. We'll find out Friday against the Dookies. 


paulie
xxxxx

Another Fall Sport hits the pitch -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FIELD HOCKEY FACES OHIO U TODAY AT TRAGER IN EXHIBITION MATCH

They call the field of competition the "pitch" in Field Hockey and several other sports and the UofL Field Hockey team takes to the pitch today at 1 p.m. to face the Ohio Bobcats in an exhibition match at Trager Stadium. 

This year's version of the Flock includes 15 returnees, seven of which started last season for head coach Justine Sowry. Irish goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran, Erin McCrudden, Nicole Woods, Lotta Kahlert and Louisville Assumption's Hailey Netherton will blend their talents in with a very impressive freshman class that includes players from New Zealand (Whena Munn), The Netherlands (Minout Mink) Australia (Bethany Russ) and a highly regarded fifth year senior in Lizzie Gittens...from Southhampton, England. All eight newcomers are capable of competing for starting positions and playing time. The class may be Sowry's best in her six years as the Cards head skipper. 

Ohio U. comes to Louisville after a 8-10 2015 season and did not face the Cards in 2015. Louisville did down them 2-0 in 2015 in Athens, OH. For you mascot enthusiasts...theirs is Rufus the Bobcat...who gained notoriety back in 2010 when he took down Brutus Buckeye several times before the start of the Ohio U v Ohio St. football game (see clip below) in a classic battle of predator vs. nut. It's doubtful he makes the trip, though, to battle Louie. 

LINK: RUFUS BATTERS BRUTUS

The Cards went 13-7 in 2015 and made their second straight NCAA appearance...getting bumped from the tournament by UConn 3-0. The Cards finished #12 in the finals polls. Two ACC schools...Syracuse and North Carolina...played for the NCAA Championship...the Orange getting their first title ever.  

The weather looks great for today's match against the Bobcats. Time to take a half day and catch the action on Warnock!    

paulie
xxxxx

Justine Sowry Interview -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FIELD HOCKEY PREPARING FOR THE CHALLENGES AHEAD

I had the great opportunity to sit down with Louisville Field Hockey head coach Justine Sowry yesterday to catch up on things with her and the program. The entire interview will play on our Saturday morning CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR...which begins at 11 a.m. 

Here are some of the highlights: 

-- On Camps:

" It's the summer season and with Field Hockey we have had a lot of young kids on campus, teaching them the ropes and the skills of Field Hockey. We just finished our second week of our 'kiddies' skills camp. The numbers are growing...we had over a hundred at each camp. We had a really great time and our staff had really great energy with these kids." 

-- On The Five Players selected for the USA Young Women's Championships: 

"I am really proud and two of the rising seniors in Shannon Sloss and Erin McCrudden...they've been doing it every year since they've been here at UofL. It's really going to help them with their leadership skills and bringing back to our program for this year. The other three are getting a taste of it as well. Nicole Woods just got back from winning a silver medal in the Pan American Games. Taylor Stone just got back from a USA U 19 tour and has aspirations to move up to the next age level group."

-- Ayeshia McFerran:

"She had an outstanding freshman year...becoming our first freshman ever to earn All-American honors. She'll be getting her banner up on the wall along with Victoria Stratton this fall. Ayeshia has continued to be involved and we're working with the Irish Federation Field Hockey Association...so she's able to do both right now. She had a really successful tour in a tournament in New Zealand. She did great! It went to one-on-one penalty shootouts multiple times...and it turned out well. She's got her summer planned with international hockey and is on track to being a long term international star." 

-- The season ahead:

"Being part of the ACC, the best conference, it's always going to be challenging. When we look at the average RPI of the conferences...the average for the ACC is 5.5 and the next strongest is the Big 10...which was something like 26 or 27, so we're crushing the other conferences. We've also got teams like Michigan and Northwestern back on the schedule...teams that are top 10 in the nation. It's a schedule that is stronger than it was last year, incredibly challenging...but this is where we want to be." 

-- On Acdemics:

"We recently had the best semester academically in the five and one half years I've been here. They're great, incredible all-around student-athletes. 

Be sure to catch the entire interview to find out: 

-- What did the Field Hockey squad receive a national award for recently?

-- Where does Coach Sowry see that the squad will be much stronger at this year? 

-- Which players will be expected to step it up for Coach  Sowry this fall? 

-- Just how much help will the team be getting from the incoming freshmen and graduate students? 

All in all, a wonderful afternoon spent with the energetic and eloquent Justine Sowry looking at Louisville Field Hockey. My sincere thanks to Coach for spending a few minutes with me to catch us up on things in Trager and beyond. Get more on this interview Saturday when we play it on The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour! 

paulie
xxxxx