#13 Cardinal field hockey falls to #10 Duke

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Field hockey takes Duke to O.T.

-Volleyball today at the Arena

-Ironman Triathlon

-Success, Success!!

-PANERA contest wide open

-Sara Rising

The University of Louisville field hockey team took Duke to two overtimes before falling 3-2 yesterday in the Champions Challenge at Michigan State. (Thanks to Tony Viscardi Designs for this great rendering of field hockey and check out his merchandise over at CARDINAL DOMINANCE).

The Cards and Blue Devils battled to a scoreless first half..a defensive struggle where neither team was able to get a shot on goal or a penalty corner attempt.

The Dukies fired out strong in the second half and put the first point on the board with less than three minutes elapsed. Louisville countered with a Amber Thomas shot into the net and the Cards took a 2-1 lead a few minutes later when Tuli Lim sent a penalty corner pass from Rachel Hollenbach past the Duke goalie.

Duke came back to tie the game and the Cards had a golden opportunity to win in regulation but Karah Nall's shot from a penalty corner got blocked.

The team battled to a scoreless tie in the first overtime but Duke managed a winning goal in the second extra session to take the victory.

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Louisville Volleyball returns to action this afternoon with a 2 p.m. match against Ohio University. Leonard Yelin's team will try to stay undefeated in Cardinal Arena against a talented MAC opponent. It's a busy week for the Volley Cards...they travel to Lexington to face the Kentucky Wildcats on Wednesday.

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Sara Hammond, Rockcastle County's talented senior girls basketball star has been upgraded to 12th in the nation in the latest ESPN national rankings. She's scheduled for a visit Sept. 4th to Louisville and also will visit UConn. Vandy and WKU have also offered scholarships. Hammond was previously 27th in the ESPN rankings. The only other Kentucky high school girl that made the top 100 was Calloway County's Averee Fields at 80th. Obviously, the crew at the four letter network's ranking panel needs to spend a little time in the Bluegrass state watching the ton of talent out there on the hardwood. Their East Coast bias is way too obvious...

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The Ford Ironman Louisville triathlon takes place today in and around town. Competitiors will start with a 2.4 mile swim in the Ohio River, proceed with a 11.2 mile bike ride and finish at 4th street LIVE after a 26.2 mile run. Last year's women's winner Nina Kraft returns to defend her title. Much admiration to those who can complete this course. I might be able to do the .4 mile swim, .2 mile bike ride and .2 mile run (or walk) in about the same time...

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SUCCESS, SUCCESS hit the wire first for our favorite trainer Paul McGee in the third race at Ellis Park Saturday. Corey Lanerie got the winning ride and roared past contenders in the stretch to win by 1- 1/2 lengths and pay $6.80 to win as the 2-1 favorite. Our pick in the Travers Stakes yesterday FIRST DUDE set the early pace and fractions but could not hold off AFLEET EXPRESS or FLY DOWN in the Saratoga stretch. The DUDE paid $4.60 to show, though and he has finished in the money in all 10 of his lifetime starts. Calvin Borel and SUPER SAVER finsihed a dismal 10th out of 11.

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It's your next to last chance to win $10 in PANERA BREAD gift cards. We're still accepting entries for this week and quite frankly...it's still wide open for a winner. Can you beat this (name withheld) entry that reads:

"I like Panera bcoz they got fresh bread and stuff."

Send those entries to: cardinalcouple@insightbb.com by midnight Sunday.

Volleyball Cards best North Dakota State

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE COVERS:

-Cardinal Volleyball defeats NDSU

-Women's soccer upsets South Carolina

-Atlanta Dream sweeps the Mystics

The University of Louisville volleyball team defended the Cardinal Arena home court with a 15-25, 25-19, 25-17 25-19 win over visiting North Dakota State last night in the season opener for the Cards. Despite losing the first match, the Cards roared back to sweep the final three games and got the win over the Bisons. A good crowd on hand to watch Louisville led Lola Arsanbeckova conquer the Bisons...the Cards won the battle of the kill shots 46-39. Louisville will take to the floor again on Sunday against Ohio in Cardinal Arena.

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Louisville women's soccer pulled a major upset in downing South Carolina 1-0 in the Gamecock Courtyard Cup. The Cards (2-0) got a second half penalty kick score from Assumption High School's Jennifer Jones to provide the win against the 13th ranked Gamecocks. Louisville's defense stood strong in the final minutes of the contest...keeping USC out of the net.

A great win for Karen Ferguson Dayes young team against a quality opponent yesterday on the road. Dayes predicted early on that this year's version of the Soccer Cards would be much improved over last year's team and so far, she's looking like a prophet.

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Angel's McCoughtry's first half heroics led the Atlanta Dream to a 101-77 win over #1 Eastern Conference seed Washington last night in Atlanta. Angel pumped in 17 points by halftime to give the Dream a lead that the Mystics could not overcome. McCoughtry totaled 21 points in the victory despite sitting out most of the second half.

Atlanta used a 26-0 run in front of the home crowd to pull away from Washington. Iziane Castro Marquez added 21 points for the Dream...who advance to the Eastern Conference finals. They await the winner of the New York vs. Indiana series...New York has a 1-0 lead in the semifinal series and those two teams face off tonight.

Atlanta seems to have shaken off the late season slump that had them losing 6 out of their final 8 regular season games. They're back to the run and gun, get the ball down the court style that propelled them to the top of the division early in the season and Marquez seems to be playing with a lot more confidence and aggression now that her face mask protecting a broken nose has been removed. McCoughtry's determination and leadership have the Dream flying high when it counts...crunch time, win or go home time. Would you expect anything else from #35?

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Five stakes races highlight the Saratoga card today...including the $1 million dollar Travers Stakes. Kentucky Derby winner SUPER SAVER, with Calvin Borel on board will face ten contenders...including Derby participants ICE BOX, FIRST DUDE and FLY DOWN. The early 7-2 favorite in the race is Saratoga's Jim Dandy Stakes winner A LITTLE WARM.

Todd Pletcher, trainer of SUPER SAVER has to be praying for the skies to open up and create a sloppy track for his horse. SUPER SAVER won the Derby in wet conditions and hasn't won on a dry, fast track since his Derby score.

We're looking for big things from FIRST DUDE in the Travers. He adds blinkers for today's race and the mile and a fourth distance could test his early running style. The DUDE finished a close second in the Preakness earlier this spring and third in the Belmont Stakes. He's also got a nice and profitable early morning line attached to him at 8-1.

Yo, DUDE...let's party today! Veteran jockey Ramon Dominguez rides again on the three year old that is 1 for 9 in lifetime wins with four second place and four third place finishes. 9 for 9 in the money...could make for a nice across the board venture.

Belmont preview

As we are known for doing occasionally here at CARDINAL COUPLE...horse racing prognostication and bold predictions below for the Belmont. Today's offerings come from our senior columnist and guy who has been setting Churchill Downs on fire with his Spring Meet success so far. Take it away, Paul!

The horse pictured here is FIRST DUDE. He ran a strong second in the Preakness to LOOKIN AT LUCKY. Since LUCKY isn't entered in the Belmont, logic would dictate that FIRST DUDE just might go off as one of the favorites and win this thing.

I ask you, though...when did logic have anything to do with horse racing?

Trainer Nick Zito prepares his horses well for the Belmont and he offers two of them for the starting gate Saturday in the third leg of the Triple Crown. ICE BOX and FLY DOWN cannot be ignored and should be included in any "gimmick" wagering you attempt.

I also like STATELY VICTOR for this race. Can't exactly put my finger on it...but I think he'll show up big.

I'm putiing FIRST DUDE, ICE BOX, FLY DOWN, STATELY VICTOR and STAY PUT in an exacta box. I'll also work them into a trifecta..with ICEBOX and FIRST DUDE on top, the rest wheeled down in second with them and add a couple more to the bottom part of the wheel.

FIRST DUDE treated me very well on Preakness Day...so I'll put a small across the board wager down on him, too.

You want a live longshot? Consider DROSSELMEYER. Don't go crazy on him..though. MAKE MUSIC FOR ME, the talented filly, tries the boys Saturday also. She could shock at a nice price.

Remember, all comments here and selections are for entertainment porpoises only (certainly!) and CARDINAL COUPLE does not make any claims of supernatural powers, psychic revelations or a decent crossover and 15 foot jumper.

Good luck, enjoy the Belmont and God Save the Queen.