Predicting Fall Records: Field Hockey -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Predicting Fall Records Part Three: Field Hockey

With two days remaining until the first UofL women's sporting event for the Fall 2020, we come to the third chapter of looking at fall sports and predicting their record.

Field hockey is the last of the three major women's fall sports to start their schedule.  Their first game is not until the very end of September, with a two-day double header beginning Sept. 26.

Of the three fall sports, field hockey appears to have the toughest schedule.  When it comes to field hockey, the ACC is THE conference to look to, with all seven teams being ACC contenders and national championship contenders every year.

As we discussed last week on the Cardinal Couple YouTube-Skype-SoundCloud-Anchor Hour Podcast, the ACC is only counting the opening game for conference standings, when they play an opponent twice, although teams will play a few more than the six-game schedule. Welcome to 2020...

The Cards kick off the season by hosting Duke for a two-game series on Sept. 26 and 27.  The Blue Devils have reached the Final Four six times since 2003.  Their 1-5 conference record last year is their worst record since before Louisville joined the ACC.  Pam Bustin, who used to coach Louisville before Justine Sowry, has had Duke as a national powerhouse every year.  This is a tough match-up for the Cards that I see them going 1-1-in, with Duke taking the first game.

North Carolina visits Louisville on Oct. 2.  Arguably the best program in NCAA field hockey history, the Tar Heels have four national championships in the last 13 years.  You can add five national runner-up finishes and three Final Four (non-championship game) appearances in that span.  North Carolina is incredible and is a favorite for a three-peat national title and the Cards will be one of the victims along the way.

The final home game is on Oct. 4 in a match-up with Boston College.  The Cards upset the Eagles in Chestnut Hill 3-2 during the regular season, but faltered in a sudden death shootout in the Elite Eight.  Boston College is no walk in the park, but I see the Cards finding a way to grind out a victory on Senior Day to improve to 2-2.

The road portion of the schedule begins with a stop in Winston-Salem for a two-game series against Wake Forest on Oct. 9 and 11.  The Demon Deacons were voted to finish last in the conference this year.  This is a team the Cards blanked 3-0 last year, but fell to twice the previous year.  Playing on the road in the ACC is tough but I see the Cards going 1-1 while getting the win in the first game.

Virginia is next on the list for the road trip, with games on Oct. 23 and 24.  The Wahoos finished second in the conference last year, advanced to the Final Four, and are preseason number two in the conference.  This is a team that has averaged about 2.5 losses at home per season over the last decade.  Like the Cards, a normal home schedule typically features 9-12 home games.  UofL will not be able to break through at Virginia, falling in both games to drop to 3-5.

Syracuse is the final stop on the schedule the day before Halloween.  The Orange are typically a middle of the pack or lower level team when it comes to the ACC.  Louisville fell to the Orange in overtime on Senior Day last year before winning in regulation to open the conference tournament.  Louisville won the three previous match-ups, with two of them going into double overtime.  This is typically an exciting game, but I think the Cards will come out on top.

If my math is correct, UofL will finish the season 4-5 by my prediction.  That also should have the Cards finishing 3-3 in conference play, which is on par for them.

So... with a tough schedule ahead here are some of my bold predictions:

-Madison Walsh will outscore Mercedes Pastor in goals scored.  With Bethany Russ graduated, the biggest offensive threat is Mechi, who scored nine goals last year.  The senior will draw heavy defensive attention.  Walsh finished last year with eight goals, but has flown slightly under the radar, giving her a good advantage.

-The Cards will average 1.25 goals per game.  This is a team that averaged 2.23 goals per game a year ago, but they don't have the luxury of dropping 3-4 goals against non-conference opponents.  They scored 10 goals in six regular season games last year, an average of 1.67 goals per game.  Carter Ayars and Bethany Russ, two of the top four scorers from last year are gone and the ACC is going to be tough.

-The sophomore class will be the most impressive class for field hockey this year.  The senior class is stacked so this is an ultra-bold prediction.  But look at some of the members of the sophomore class: Sam Minrath, Margot Lawn, and Julie Kouijzer, among others.  Only two players make up the junior class so much of the responsibility falls onto younger players.  This season will be a make or break year depending what the sophomore class does.  Coach Sowry is one tough cookie and she has high expectations and demands of them.  By them stepping up they will impress all of us.

How do you think field hockey will fare this season?  Are the bold predictions completely insane?

We still have some time before we find out, but it is coming quick.

Piggybacking Paulie

No, Paulie is not giving out piggyback rides.  He wouldn't make it too far if he tried.  However, I was in the same stadium as he was Saturday evening.

First of all, wear the mask.  The rules don't state that you can take them off altogether or pull them below your chin once in your seat.  UofL can quickly pull fans from all sporting events if they think the fans are responsible enough to handle themselves.  I'm sure Worldwide would love to keep up his volleyball tickets and Case his soccer tickets, but if fans cannot handle themselves at football then UofL has no problem putting their foot down on the other fall sports.

I, too, had some unpleasant experiences with WKU fans.  Mine involved four very drunk frat boys a couple rows behind me.  Their antics featured no masks and a 10-word vocabulary made up primarily of words I cannot repeat here.

Fans are typically better at women's sporting events with a few exceptions.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Predicting Fall Records: Volleyball -- All-ACC Players -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Predicting Fall Records Part Two: Volleyball

We move onto another fall sport that is just around the corner- Volleyball.  The VolleyCards begin their season of Friday, Sept. 26 at home.

Like soccer, volleyball has an eight-match schedule that features two home and two away style.  The regular season will conclude a month after it begins, with Louisville finishing the season at Pitt on Oct. 25.

Louisville and Notre Dame have a history of close matches and a solid rivalry.  Most matches have gone into five sets between these two foes minus a sweep over the Irish near Thanksgiving last year.  UofL returns pretty much all of last year's team minus Melanie McHenry and a couple transfers.  They should be locked up to start the season 2-0.

To kick off October, Louisville heads north to Boston College.  The Eagles caught the Cards in the midst of a losing streak last year and won in five sets.  The Cards will get revenge and take both matches, improving their record to 4-0.

The Cards return home for their final two home matches to host Syracuse in early October.  The two foes split their meetings last year, but the Cards are in much better shape than last season and will continue their winning streak up to 6-0.

One of the top teams in the country last year and reigning ACC Champ Pitt is the final stop of the tour for Louisville this year in late October.  Pitt has won the last three match-ups and the Cards are looking to halt the streak.  Still, playing at Pitt makes the challenge a little tougher.  Louisville and Pitt will split the two-match series and each claim a share of the ACC regular season title.  The Cards will finish the year at 7-1.

Here are some bold predictions for you:

-Coach DBK will spread the wealth, letting players see an equal share of playing time.  There is no ACC Tournament nor is there a current scheduled NCAA Tournament listed according to the NCAA website.  There is not much to play for this season so it's a good chance to let the new faces get accustomed to college ball.

-No one will break 50 kills on the year.  If you look at last year's numbers then we would see 50-60 kills as the high.  Following my previous prediction, no one will see the court enough to reach 50 kills.

-Louisville will get beat on digs, again.  Opponents had one more dig than Louisville last year (1557-1556).  As we see different rotations on the court we will see more errors on both the offensive and defensive end, leading to less digs in the back row.

I forgot to add my bold predictions for soccer on Tuesday's post so I'll add them now:

-Emina Ekic will not score the most goals on the team.  With Brooklynn Rivers and Allison Whitfield posing as offensive threats last season the focus was spread out, giving Ekic more scoring opportunities.  Rivers and Whitfield graduated and there isn't a clear number two to run with the All-American, allowing opposing defenses to focus on her.

-The Cards will average no more than 1.0 goals per match.  That average last year was 1.5/match.  With a tough lineup, Louisville is up against tougher defenses with fewer offensive weapons.

-Anna Henderson will emerge as the breakout player.  Henderson had a strong showing in the spring, but has had a relatively quiet career her first two seasons.  By being able to fly under the radar so far she will be able to surprise opposing defenses.

Pastor Selected to Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team

Mercedes "Mechi" Pastor was a preseason selection to the All-ACC team, as voted by the seven conference coaches.  Pastor was the only Louisville player selected to the 11-player team.

Duke also had just one player selected while Wake Forest had no selections.

The senior midfielder was also named to the preseason All-ACC team last year.  She has also been a National Field Hockey Coaches Association twice.  She scored a career-high nine goals last season, and finished with 22 points.  

Three Volleyball Players Selected to All-ACC Team

Louisville Volleyball had plenty of good news to share yesterday with three players being named to the All-ACC Volleyball Team.  Tori Dilfer, Aiko Jones, and Anna Stevenson all received the honors to the 18-player team.

Pitt and Georgia Tech each had three players as well to lead the way with Louisville.

Aiko Jones had a breakout season during her redshirt freshman year.  She started every set while leading the team in kills and attack percentage.

Anna Stevenson was the primary middle blocker for the Cards, starting all but one match.  She obliterated the rest of the team in blocks, even topping 10 against Boston College.

Tori Dilfer was the primary setter for the Cards last season.  The senior averaged nearly 8.5 assists per set and finished second on the team in service aces.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Predicting Fall Records: Soccer -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Predicting Fall Records:  PART ONE

We are officially in the single digits before the first women's sporting event for the fall of 2020.  The football game this Saturday kicks off the 2020 sports season, but the first UofL women's sporting event is next Thursday when women's soccer travels south to Miami. So, today,we'll look at women's soccer.

To help build excitement and anticipation for the upcoming seasons I thought I would give my "Jared's Predicitons" for the different teams.  Perhaps we may even see a bold prediction or two.

Women's soccer will begin the season in the Sunshine State next weekend, visiting Miami and Florida State.  They come home to host Syracuse and Boston College to open October.  Mid-October sees a trip to the Old Dominion State to take on Virginia and Virginia Tech.  The season wraps up at home right before Halloween with Notre Dame and North Carolina coming to town.

The Cards did not receive a favorable bid this season.  They finished fourth in the conference last year with the top three appearing on the eight-game schedule.

Louisville will begin the season with a win at Miami, a team that  they shut down on the road last season.  Cards start off 1-0.

Florida State, who was a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament last year and advanced to the Elite Eight, will not be an easy foe.  The Seminoles will handle the Cards with ease. Cards go to 1-1.

The home opener will feature a team that the Cards smacked on the road last season.  When Louisville and Syracuse played last year, half the Louisville team came down with food poisoning and the match was pushed back a day.  Louisville will open the home season with a win.  Put WSOC at 2-1.

Boston College, who finished dead last in the conference last year, comes to town next.  This should be another match that Louisville should have control of from start to finish, moving their record to 3-1 at the midway point.

The second half of the season begins with the Cards traveling to another 1-seed in last year's tournament, Virginia.  Louisville took a beating to them last year, and even though this year's match will be closer, the Wahoos will take the win and Louisville's record goes to 3-2.

Virginia Tech was a middle-of-the-pack team last year in the ACC.  Louisville last faced them in 2018, having a surprising and disappointing loss to them on Senior Day.  This time, it will be revenge as the Cards leave Blacksburg with a win and improve their season record to 4-2.

Notre Dame comes to town next.  The Cards and Irish, like with volleyball, have had some barn burners in recent years.  I remember a double overtime thriller from a few years back that Louisville was on the wrong side of.  However, this match at Dr Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium will be in favor of the Cards.  and UofL improves their record to 5-2.

Senior Day will be against the reigning National Runner-Up North Carolina, who was another #1-seed last year.  The Cards pulled off the Upset of the Decade back in 2015, but recent meetings have been ugly.  The Tar Heels continue to have a leg up on the Cards and will end Louisville's season with a loss.   Louisville ends the shortened regular season 5-3.

According to my math, that puts this season at 5-3 for the Cards.That percentage is a bit below last year's impressive total, but remains on the high side in recent years. That record shouls be good enough to get UofL WSOC into the ACC WSOC Tournament, which is scheduled to be held Nov. 10-15 at Wake Med Soccer Park in Cary, NC. Following that, it'll be a lengthy wait, since the NCAA WSOC Championships are not currently planned until sometime in the spring of 2021. 

Got a take or different opinion? Let me know in the comments section.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Asia Taylor Waived By Indiana -- Jared;s "Way Too Early" Fall Predictions -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

EDITOR COMMENT: 

(SOMEONE DELIVERED A LAPTOP TO JARED ANDERSON'S FRONT PORCH AND HE FIGURED IT OUT IN TIME TO GIVE US THE WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE ARTICLE... INSTEAD OF SENDING IT TO PAULIE FROM A SMARTPHONE VIA E-MAIL.

THIS COULD JUST BE A NATIONAL HOLIDAY,.....OR, AT THE VERY LEAST, A REASON FOR CELEBRATION AND REJOICING AMONG THE CARDINAL COUPLE CHIMPS)
                  
PAULIE


A-Tayy Cut By Indiana Fever

Joining the ranks of Sam Fuehring is Asia Taylor, who was waived by the Indiana Fever yesterday.

She appeared to make the original 12-player roster, but when Kennedy Burke became available after being cut by the Dallas Wings, Indiana opted to sign her and cut Taylor. Burke, a 6'1" combo guard  who played her college ball at UCLA was selected 22nd in the 2019 WNBA Draft. The Wings cut her, despite her being their leading scorer in pre-season...and three days later, Indiana picked her up off waivers and released Taylor.

Taylor is a success in Australia. She recently played for the Perth team overseas and was named to the Top Five in the WNBL for the third straight time. Her previous two seasons were with Sydney.

Taylor was also on the Fever's roster at the end of the 2018 season.

The former UofL star played in three preseason games this year but did not play in the Fever's lone regular season game.

Taylor was recently seen back in Louisville after getting cut. She is uncertain at this time whether she'll return to the WNBL later this year.but plans on spending time with friends and family before she makes her decision.


My Way Too Early Fall Predictions

With all the fall schedules out now we can start to look ahead to what each team may have to offer and what their goals might be. Here's the "way too early" Jared Anderson predictions for a few.

Field Hockey

Justine Sowry is not afraid to square off against the best teams in the country.  Apparently the powerhouse of the ACC isn't enough as the Cards have a difficult non-conference schedule.

If the season started next week I'd have the Cards going 13-6, mirroring last season.  The best offensive stars are returning but the Cards have three starters to replace including one of the best goalkeepers in the world.  They'll find themselves in the NCAA Tournament with another early exit.






Women's Soccer

Of all the fall sports women's soccer is in the best shape.  Karen Ferguson-Dayes lost two seniors (only one played more than 1/4 of the season) and lost a few transfers that were subs.

UofL showed improved work on both sides of the ball last year and made the ACC Tournament for the first time ever.  The also had no draws last season- a rarity in soccer.

As of right now I'd put the Cards at 13-4 in the regular season with trips to both the ACC and NCAA Tournaments.  They will not make it to the Sweet Sixteen.




Volleyball

Dani Busboom Kelly lost a lot of talent in graduating seniors and some transfers, but she was quick to
bring in new recruits and other transfers.  The ACC isn't dominant in volleyball like other sports, giving the Cards some cushion.

They'll finish the regular season 21-8 and get into the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid even though they weren't one of the top two in the ACC.  Louisville will fall just short of a Sweet Sixteen appearance as the program continues to rebuild.

Like I said, these predictions are way too early and I will revisit these in August right before their respective seasons start. These predictions should give you some cannon  fodder, though, to make points and take issues with and those ccomments are always welcome in the comments section below.  For now, enjoy the WNBA season and some sweet summertime.

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

Jared