Karen Ferguson Dayes Interview -- Thursday Cardinal Couple

 LOUISVILLE WSOC HEAD COACH KAREN FERGUSON DAYES INTERVIEW

I was able to catch up with Louisville WSOC Head coach Karen Ferguson Dayes on Wednesday and get her thoughts on the season, the program and the 2024 squad:

CC: We are here with Louisville Women's Soccer Head Coach Karen Ferguson Dayes. Coach, we appreciate the chance for the interview. I understand you are in two-a-days with the squad now

KFD: We are! Where has the summer gone, Paulie? We're back, we are in our second day of practice, having meetings and the squad is working hard.  

CC: With 204 wins under your belt, you are the winningest coach in Louisville history.  I can remember when the team played out at the track and field cpmplex next to Ulmer Stadium. Taking a look at last year, a kind of rough season for the squad with a 4-9-5 record and 3-5-3 in the ACC.

KFD: Yeah, not one of our most proud records, but if you came and watched us play, you'd be shocked that that was our final record. The ame is won and lost on the scoreboard, though and that was an area where certainly we just didnt score enough to get more wins. Scoring will be a point of emphasis this year. 

CC: How are things  looking so far with the squad? 

KFD: Time will tell.  We are going to need some time,we have 14 returning players and 13 new...we're taking a look in the early sessions to see how the new players are meshing with the returning players. the almost 50% new isn't that uncommon, i think you'll probably see it with other squads here on or campus and across the nation because of the transfer portal.  But, all has gone well so far, quite frankly. 

CC: Have we gotten to the stage where the players have taken off the "Hello, my name is..badges?" 

KFD: (laughing) Yeah, yeah we are past that stage. The grow fairly quickly to a level of comfort with each other. 

CC: What do you see the role being for players Karsyn Cherry, Lizzie Sexton and Erryn Floyd this year?

KFD: Karsyn is our captain and i feel that she wasn't quite at her best this year because of some injuries.  She just got caught behind the eight ball, she had more, she just couldn't physically give more.  This year she is rocking and rolling. She's as fit as she has even been, as strong as she's ever been and playing as well as she ever has. She has grown into a leadership role.  Lizzie is awesome and such a firece competitor and she's coming off a injury from last year . She spent a lot of time this summer getting better and we're excited to see how she is going to perform for us. Although she may not being wearing the captain's armband, she'll be a very influential player on this year's team . Erryn is growing as well, Unfortunately, she didnt play in the summer, she was dealing with a little bit of an injury, but she.s back at it now. She looks great out there . Every year she just gets better and better. Our new goalkeeper coach Olivia Mills has been working with her and we're excited to see her help Erryn fulfill her abilitues. 

CC: You're having three new teams joinng the ACC, What is your thoughts and observations on them?  

KFD: Yeah, we definitely didn't need to add those three in regards to how good they are (laughing)  Stanford was in the championship game last year againt Florida State, I haven't seen Cal as much as Stanford but I know they are excellent as well  I'm good friends with the SMU coach and she has build a really good and strong program down there. 

CC: Who are some of the other players we should keep an eye on? 

 

KFD: Betsy Huckabee. We played her in a lot of different roles last year as a freshman and I feel she's is a player that really doesn't get enough recognition . We going to try and play her in the center, in midfield this season and if we can let her grow in that spot , I think you'll see what we think she can become and turn into to. Lauren Contini is a freshman who can score goals and A.G...Anna Grace Gibson is a local freshman from Assumption and I think she'll be really good for us this year as well. She played for Javanon and the Racing Louisville FC Academy and we really like her skills and talent. 

CC:  Some others that are new and you see contributing?

KFD: We have five transfers and eight freshman  Jolie St. Louis is a transfer from UAB that will contribue a lot for us. Gianna Angelillo joins us from Miami (FL) and will be of signfificant help, has great talent and knows our league.  Ella Kane come over from UK and is a really good player. Kailey Kimball was a goalkeeper at Purdue and joins the roster. 

CC; Any final words for our readers?

KFD: i think we are a team you'll love to cheer for. We fight for each other. We are hard working. We've got each other's back . They are a group you can get behind and cheer for. Come out and watch this bunch play and help us get to the finish line.

paulie

Interviews with Cardinals women's soccer's Karen Ferguson Dayes and Field Hockey's Justine Sowry -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

THE FALL INTERVIEWS

It has become a tradition over the years for me to do preseason interviews with many of the women's sports coaches at UofL.. I usually break these up between the fall and the spring.

I got out on a steamy, hot Tuesday to talk with Women's soccer and Field Hockey. I respect and like both coaches -- (Karen Ferguson Dayes and Justine Sowry) a lot -- and they have been on campus a combined 33 years. 

The interviews were great, in my opinion, but the ordeal of transferring them from my DR-50 Tascam Recorder to my computer was quite the ordeal. I forgot how! 

I sent out a "HELP!" text to our writer group and Jeff answered me and helped walk me through the process -- all the way from Iceland, where he is starting his vacation. Now...that's dedication! 

Here are the interviews: 

https://www.dropbox.com/t/rGRruhnxlHnNWW4C https://www.dropbox.com/t/FSX62WEnDxu5PJ3d I hope you enjoy listening to them as much as I did doing them.   paulie

Cards fall to Canada -- Cardinals in the ACC -- WSOC Edition -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Hello readers and welcome back.  I just checked last night and GoCards.com has a blank 2023 record for the next program were covering on the summer mini series: Cards in the ACC, the women's soccer program.   Case just did an excellent preview of the Louisville soccer roster for the upcoming season, if you missed it.. definitely scroll back a couple days to check out the coverage.  

Soccer tends to be the kick off sport for the new seasons. along with Field Hockey  so I definitely need to get to them next.

Let's see how UofL has faired over the past decade ish in the Atlantic Coast Conference. 



Women's Soccer

Vs ACC Competition 


Vs Boston College 4-4 series history (2014-2022)

Vs Clemson 2-2 series history (2016-2022)

Vs Duke 0-4-5 series history (2006-2022) 0-4-4 since joining the ACC

Vs Florida State 0-9 series history (2001-2022) 0-7 since joining the ACC

Vs Miami 7-1 series history (2014-2022)

Vs NC State 4-5 series history (1999-2022) 4-4 since joining the ACC

Vs. North Carolina 1- 4 series history (2015-2022)

Vs Notre Dame 4-14 series history (1989-2022) 1-5 since joining the ACC

Vs Pittsburgh 7-3 series history (2006-2022) 4-2 since joining the ACC

Vs Syracuse 8-0-1 series history (2006-2021)

Vs Virginia 0-11 series history (2014-2022)

Vs Virginia Tech 4-2 series history (1986-2020)

Vs Wake Forest 3-3-1 series history (1991-2021) 3-1-1 since joining the ACC

How they finished.. 

2022 record 6 - 8 - 2  

2021 record 7 - 7 - 2  

2020 record (Covid Year) 5 - 7 Cardinals fell 4-1 to No. 9 Virginia in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals.

2019 record 13 - 5 - 2 No. 14 Cardinals Fall to NC State in Overtime of ACC Quarterfinals, 2-1. Fall 4-0 to No. 4 BYU in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament

2018 record 12 - 7  University of Louisville women's soccer team fell 2-1 at No. 11 Virginia in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. end the season at in the first round of the NCAA Tournament 2-1 to No. 10 Tennessee

2017 record 9 - 7 - 2

2016 record 7 - 7 - 4

2015 record 8 - 8 - 2

2014 record 7 - 9 - 2

ALL ACC Awards

2021 - Nina Nicosia All freshman team

2020 - Offensive Player of the Year: Emina Ekic, Louisville, Sr., M Gabrielle Kouzelos All ACC Third Team

2019 - Emina Ekic All ACC First team , Gabby Kouzelos All ACC Second team, Brooklynn Rivers All ACC Third team

2018 - Emina Ekic All ACC First team, Brooklynn Rivers All ACC Third team

2017 - Emina Ekic All ACC Second team

2016 - Gabrielle Vincent, So., M, Louisville All ACC Third team

2015 - Taylor Bucklin, Jr., GK, Louisville All ACC Third team

Current Head Coach 

Karen Ferguson Dayes 

With 200 wins (200-183-41), Karen Ferguson-Dayes is the winningest coach in Louisville history. She took a struggling soccer program at the University of Louisville and molded it into a top-25 program.

In 2000 when she was named the eighth head coach in program history, the situation that Ferguson-Dayes inherited with the Cardinals was the challenge of her career. The program has just one winning season in the previous 15 years.


Thoughts?

The program has had a steady head coach at the helm of this program and have made a couple post season appearances but does not have a lot of hardware to show for it however there are several memorable players over recent history.  Ekic is still on the forefront of our minds but Vincent and Rivers also made impressions in the ACC.  The Cardinals have a huge roster turnover ahead of them for the 2023 season and look to be relying on young athletes to make a run this year.  I am very curious to see who will stand out for UofL especially with such strong competition in the ACC on the national stage.  

WBB

Louisville battled before falling to the hosts Team Canada, 74-71, Thursday night. The Cardinals were down by eight with under 2 min left but turned on the press and got it within three with 12.8 seconds remaining. Jayda Curry's three was in and out and Canada came away with the narrow win.

Kiki Jefferson led all scorers in the game with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting to go with four rebounds and four assists. Nyla Harris led the Cardinals with 11 rebounds and tallied 11 points for the double-double. Olivia Cochran was also in double digits with 15 points and had seven rebounds.

UofL was 13-21 from the free throw line for 61%.. Jefferson made all 4 of her attempts while Russell and Rickards made their 2 free throws. 

The Cardinals will be off tomorrow and back in action on Saturday, July 15, for the final game of the group stage. Louisville will face Basketball Africa League Select at 11 a.m. ET and the game will be streamed live on YouTube and the team twitter account.

Below are Walz's post-loss comments: 

WALZ DISCUSSES LOSS TO CANADA

THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST

No decision has been made on whether we'll do a Saturday podcast tomorrow or not, With Paulie and Jared out of town, and my availably uncertain as of Friday morning, it might just break down to Case and Jeff doing the feed. 

Check tomorrow in Cse's column to see if it's a "go" or not. 

As always, 

Go Cards

~Daryl 

WSoc beats NC State 1-0 -- Louisville LIVE -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL

Hello readers and hello weekend!  It is going to be a great weekend in the Ville with the temperatures going back up (enjoy it while it lasts!) 

SOCCER

The Cardinals break the losing streak to the Wolfpack...winning 1-0 on the road Thursday night. 

Corrine Dente connected for the game winning goal in the 28th minute, assisted by Morgan Bentley.  Maria Echezarreta, goalkeeper for the Wolfpack, had her work cut out for them, registering 14 saves compared to UofL's Erynn Floyd just saving 2 in the entire match.

First half

In the game's first substitutions, Bentley and Dente both entered the match in the 27:47 minute mark and connected under a minute later to put the Cards ahead for good.   It was Dente's second career goal and first since 2019.  The goal was the 7th shot attempt by the Cards at that point in the match.  The Cards had 11 shots in the first half while NC State had just 3.  

Second half

The Cards continued to pressure the Wolfpack registering 13 shots in the second half compared to NC State's two...late in the 49th minute by Leyah Hall-Robinson and then Mia Vaughan in the 67th minute. Neither could get it past Floyd.  In the span of the 70th to 72nd minute, the Cards had 4 shot attempts, two each by Bentley and Karsyn Cherry respectively.  

With the win, Head coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes collected her 200th career win.  The Cards move to 6-6-2 on the season and 3-5 in the ACC. 

UP NEXT 

Louisville at #10 Duke 

Sunday 1:00PM
ACCNX

FIELD HOCKEY

#4/5 Louisville at #12 Syracuse

6:00PM

ACCNX

Currently 12-3 on the season, the Cards hit the road for the final road trip of the season. UofL is 9-12 against Syracuse all time, winning the previous two meetings against the Orange. It is the 8th ranked matchup for the Cards where the Cards went 5-3. Syracuse is 7-0 at home this season and the Cards are looking to spoil that and pick up their 2nd ACC win.

Louisville's Sasha Elliott carries a 0.92 goals against average, standing second in the ACC and fifth in the NCAA. She also leads the nation with an .846 save percentage. Elliott is the reigning ACC and NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week - she has earned both honors twice this season.

Graduate senior forward, Quirine Comans, leads Syracuse with 12 goals on the season. Senior forward, Charlotte De Vries leads in assists with 9 while also taking the teams most amount of shots.

Fun Fact: Freshman midfielder, Lindsey Schiavone, from Louisville KY is on the roster for the Orange. No stats to report. She went to Sacred Heart, winning two state titles.




VOLLEYBALL

#2 Louisville at Virginia

7:00PM 

ACCNX 

Louisville is 17-1 overall and 8-0 in ACC and ranked . The Cardinals have won 37 consecutive league matches. The last team to beat Louisville was Pitt on Oct. 23, 2020.  Louisville leads the all-time series with the Cavaliers, 9-3, beginning in 1995. The Cardinals are winners of the last five matchups against UVA. 

UVA is 9-10 on the season and 1-7 in the ACC.  Outside hitter Grace Turner leads the team with 263 kills. She had 15 kills against FSU and 16 against Miami last weekend.

Middle blocker Abby Tadder posted a career-high 18 kills and hit .517 to lead the Cavaliers to their first win over the Seminoles since 2010.  Virginia is currently 2-76 all-time against AVCA ranked foes, 0-17 all-time against AVCA top-10 and 0-9 against top-5.  

After a career weekend last week for Claire Chaussee and Amaya Tillman,  Louisville has a top 10 showdown with the #8 ranked Pitt Panthers airing on ESPNU at 1:00PM on Sunday afternoon.  




LOUISVILLE LIVE

 

8:00PM 

Louisville Slugger Field

Doors open at 7:00PM 

ACC Network

 

Since the event is being held at Slugger Field, I have the opportunity to work it so I will definitely be out there to 'work' (but mostly cheer) the celebration for the 2022-23 basketball squads.

I can't wait to see Juniors HVL and Olivia out there vibing with each other and the crowd!  I like that this event is 'touring' the city at different iconic local venues.  I hope the fans show out!

 

   

News:  Olivia Cochran is one of 20 watch list candidates for the 2023 Katrina McClain Award. Louisville is one of three teams to have a player named to each of the four positional watch lists so far this season.

Chrislyn Carr was named to the Lieberman Award Watch List, Hailey Van Lith was named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List and Morgan Jones was named to the Cheryl Miller Award Watch List.

As Always 

Go Cards! 

~Daryl 

Field Hockey Downs Penn State -- WSOC beats NKU -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

SECOND HALF RALLY GETS FIELD HOCKEY BY PENN STATE 2-1

Louisville Field Hockey improved to 2-0 on the season with a come-from-behind win over Penn State at Penn State Sunday afternoon. The Cards got goals from Katie Schneider and Aimee Plumb to tie and pass the Nittany Lions, after Louisville found themselves trailing at halftime 1-0 

Head coach Justine Sowry was deservedly proud of her Field Hockey flock: 

"I am so proud of this young team. We took some lessons from Friday's game and we were able to connect on some great attacking plays.  The winner of the day was our gritty defense all over the field against a quality opponent." 

The #9 Cards have gathered four 2-1 wins so far this season, two in exhibition games and two in the regular season... 2-1 wins over Bucknell and, now, #11 Penn State. The Cards were probably pretty lucky to be trailing by just a 1-0 margin after the first half. Penn State had a 8-2 advantage in shots on goal and a 3-2 edge in penalty corner attempts.  A tip of the cap to UofL goalkeeper Sasha Elliott, who had seven first half saves.

Whatever strategy Justine and the coaches discussed with the Louisville squad to rev up the offense during halftime worked.

The home-standing squad wasn't getting nearly as many shots or shot opportunities in the third quarter. Try zero, as a matter of fact, for PSU. And, with 27 seconds left in the third quarter, Katie Schneider worked her way open for a shot-on-goal and sent it into the net to tie the match at 1-1. 

The squads combined for eight shots UofL 5 - PSU 3) in a frenetic final quarter. Louisville drew a penalty corner with 4:20 to play and Aimee Plumb scored to put the Cards ahead 2-1. 

Louisville survived a couple of Penn State penalty corners in the final 30 seconds of play. Elliott got a block on the first attempt and a Cards defender made sure the second attempt failed also. 

Penn State's head coach Charlene Morrett-Curtis saw the loss this way:

"I thought it was our game to win. We have to either find a teammate, get the ball on corner or get a corner. It was hard for us to get corners or players in front of the goal. We made great runs to the goal and we got the ball into the circle but people weren't there. That can't happen." 

The Cards return to action Friday when they continue the run of playing schools from Pennsylvania...this next one against Penn at UNC. 

 

WSOC DOWNS NKU 1-0

Louisville women's soccer made the trip up I-71 to Highland Heights, KY and defeated Horizon league member Northern Kentucky 1-0 Sunday evening. 

The Cards got the only score of the night when they earned a free kick with 14:44 gone in the contest. Maisie Whitsett's shot was deflected, but Karsyn Cherry was there for the header to give the Cards a goal. 

Louisville dominated this one in offense stats numbers. The Cards had a 18-1 shot advantage and held a 7-1 corner attempt edge.  

Louisville dominated this one offensively. The ball spent a lot of time in the NKU half of the turf. I know the Cards had a huge shot advantage at one time, the major problem is that the shots were wide or high. Shots on goal were 4-1 in UofL's favor. 

Cardinals goalkeeper Erryn Floyd had a pretty quiet evening. A great defensive effort by all the Cards, but Sarah Hernandez, Anouk Denton and Cherry made sure the Norse weren't getting a good look at anything except Louisville maneuvering with the ball in the NKU portion of the pitch.  

Louisville did have a huge opportunity to score with 16:21 let in the first half when a shot went off the crossbar and landed in front of Morgan Bentley. Her put-back sailed just left of the goal, though.   

And, so...it was a win that the Cards needed after losing to Xavier on Thursday.  A win that had to reinforce in Karen Ferguson Dayes' thoughts that this squad can definitely play some very good defense. Something that will be needed when ACC play rolls around. 

A road trip for the Cards (2-1) to James Madison University next --  to play JMU and Memphis next week -- will give the Cards a chance to try and develop a few more offensive weapons. We know Maisie Whitsett can be a scorer, the question is who will join her in burying balls in the back of the net. Pam Ward, Ravin Alexander and Savina Zamborini seem to be the logical candidates and we can't help think that Corinne Dente could add a lot to the attack also. Morgan Bentley and Brooke Dardano have shown they can move and distribute the ball quite effectively and I'll wager neither is shy about shot attempts. 

When the defense keeps giving you the ball possession, you need to convert with goals.   

Still, we'll take a 1-0 win a dozen more times or so the remainder of the season. The old adage is that offense puts people in the seats but defense wins games. In Louisville's case, defense is leading the way right now and offense needs to catch up. 

paulie

. 

 

WSOC douses Flames 3-0 to open the regular season -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 STRONG FIRST HALF SENDS WSOC CARDS BY UIC 3-0

A convincing, shutout win to start the 2022 Louisville women's soccer regular season. 

Louisville women's soccer scored twice in the first eight minutes of play and added a third sore before the half ended to hold a comfortable lead over the UIC Flames Thursday night in Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium on the UofL campus. Coming out with an aggressive attack, the Cards got an unassisted goal from freshman Karsyn Cherry with just 6:20 played. Cherry corralled a  deflected shot and sent the rebound into the net.

I barely had time to tweet out the score when the Cards struck again. It was grad student/athlete Maisie Whitsett performing the honors for the second score...a nice unassisted put-back into the Flames net at the 8:38 mark. It was 2-0 Cards and, strangely enough, it was those same two who did the scoring in the Cards 2-0 exhibition win last Friday night over Cincinnati.  

Louisville would go on to pick up another goal in the first half, this time it was grad student-athlete Autumn Weeks (a transfer from IUPUI) with ten minutes remaining in the first half. Weeks goal was assisted by Whitsett. 

The Cards took the 3-0 advantage into the halftime locker room, and had held the visitors to just one shot in the first half and no shots on goal. Erryn Floyd drew the start in goal for UofL and she and defenders Anouk Denton, Sarah Hernandez and Karsyn Cherry were keeping the Flames out of any significant offensive attack or pattern. 

The Cards had 11 first half shots, four on goal.

We figured there would be a pretty large amount of Louisville substitutions in the final 45 minutes, but Louisville head coach Karen Ferguson Dayes only went six deep into the bench and did not alternate out goalkeeper Floyd at all. 

The Cards defense looked just as sharp in the second half, allowing just one shot again and no shots on goal but the offensive attack failed to produce any Louisville scores in the second half. Louisville had their chances with seven shots and three of them on goal, but nothing found the net for Louisville. 

The Flames did have three goalie saves in the second half, as goalkeeper Lauren Keiser  replaced first half goalkeeper Sara Sanabria.  (I did check,and Sara is not related to former Louisville softball infielder Tiarra Sanabria)

It's always good to win the season opener and to get a shutout in the process, but, you could tell the crowed was anticipating a little more offense and scoring from Louisville in the second half. One thing that definitely hurt the Cards was a total of eight off-sides calls from the referees, seven of them in the second half.  We have bragged about Louisville's increased speed this season, and it just might have needed to be held in check in the second half.

Still, a win in front of an appreciative and loud crowd of about 400 is always a great way to start the season. Especially in the way Louisville did it -- establishing dominance early and keeping the opponents offense quiet and unproductive for the entirety of the match. The night's goal was to "win in Lynn" and Louisville did that, convincingly. 

The Cards will face #24 Xavier next Thursday at Lynn -- a Musketeers squad that shut out visiting WKU Thursday night 1-0 and comes off a 16-3-1 season in 2021., losing to Milwaukee in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. 

POST GAME

We caught up with Coach and Maisie after the win: We even got a train to come by and show appreciation for the win. The music? yeah, a distraction after the game, but it's early in the season, we'll work on eliminating that post-game deterrent for interviews.

KAREN FERGUSON DAYES

MAISIE WHITSETT

(photos and post-game video recording by Jared Anderson) 

paulie

2022 UofL Fall Sports Media Day -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Field Hockey, Cross Country, Volleyball and Women's Soccer Meet the Media

Another sports season begins at UofL and another Fall Sports Media Day, where the coaches and the players answer media questions. Back to the soccer meeting room for the 2022 "Meet and Greet" and I was glad to be back in the facility this year. A balky, stubborn train parked on Floyd Street ruined any plans I had in getting there early, so... a last-minute "turn-around" and approach to Lynn Stadium in a southward direction down Floyd Street instead of north got me in the lot at 10:59 for the 11:00 presser. 

There was actually a spot to park at the facility  -- a rarity anymore, so I maneuvered in it and walked toward the complex. Field Hockey and Softball S.I.D. Lori Harmon was waiting outside for me and mentioned that she had saved me a spot, as well. This old man's legs are really appreciative of the thoughtfulness of  Lori and the other UofL SID's

Louisville Field Hockey was the first squad to address the media and answer questions. Coach Justine Sowry was flanked by seniors Mattie Tabor and Julie Kouijzer at the teams' table. I've found over the years that the best way to cover these in an article is just to just put the link up where you can hear it -- instead of making a lot of observations and comments on it. 

LINK: FIELD HOCKEY 2022 FALL SPORTS MEDIA DAY

Cross Country went next and since Dale Cowper coaches both the men and women's squads, there was a representative for each squad at the podium table with him. Sophomore Lexie Paszkiewic represented the womens' squad student-athletes. 

LINK: CROSS COUNTRY 2022 FALL SPORTS MEDIA DAY

Volleyball was the next Fall sport to be heard from and Dani Busboom Kelly had sophomore Elena Scott and senior Amaya Tillman with her to answer questions. 

LINK: VOLLEYBALL 2022 FALL SPORTS MEDIA DAY

Women's Soccer was the last group to address the media and Coach Karen Ferguson Dayes had redshirt senior Ravin Alexander and grad student Sarah Hernandez. Since WSOC is the only sport that was there who hs actually already had a competition so far this fall, it was good to here the coach and players observations on how the team looked and performed. 

LINK: WOMENS SOCCER 2022 FALL SPORTS MEDIA DAY

                                                         *************************

Men's soccer was also there and, although we don't cover them -- here's a little bonus for you with their segment:

LINK: MEN'S SOCCER 2022 FALL MEDIA DAY

A SPECIAL THANKS TO THE COACHES, PLAYERS, SID'S, STAFFERS AND INTERNS WHO HELPED PUTTING THE FALL SPORTS MEDIADAY TOGETHER ! 

JUST A REMINDER,,,

Louisville Women's Soccer gets their regular season started tonight with a 7:30 p.m. match against UIC in Lynn Stadium. It's free admission to soccer this season and the action is fun, fast-paced and full of energy, so "c'mon in for a win in Lynn"

paulie

ALYSSA ZALAC TO LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S SOCCER -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

CARDS WSOC PICK UP GOALKEEPER FROM OLE MISS

One of the things we like to watch closely in these months where there are no games or matches going on is player movement. Especially student-athletes that are joining the Cards. It can be very beneficial to a squad -- imagine WBB without Emily Engstler last season or Softball without Carmyn Greenwood....both transfers-in -- who not only made the Cards better but improved their games and got into the "pros" after their collegiate eligibility was done. 

The Louisville women's soccer squad said "Goodbye" to five year starter Gabby Kouzelos at the end of the 2021 season and a lot of us wondered who would replace the 85-game starter in goal service. I remember thinking that it was going to be strange, .not hearing Gabby's chatter between the poles or not seeing #1 flying through the air to stop goal attempts and deflect shots. 

Besides being a top notch goalie she was also a great and genuine person to have an after-game chat with or just congratulate on the effort. When I'd cover home soccer games, Jared would ask me who I'd want a picture of and I'd always say..."an action shot of Gabby." We've ran plenty of those here at the ol' Cardinal Couple over the past five years, for sure. Your goalkeeper is the defensive captain of a squad and, as it has been said many before..everyone plays defense on the soccer pitch. 

Alyssa Zalac

We also wondered who would replace Gabby. Going in to 2022, there is Olivia Pratapas on the roster and we had heard about freshman Erron Floyd joining the roster in 2022. The news broke yesterday that a third goalkeeper would be joining the Cards WSOC team when it was announced Alyssa Zalac was transferring in from Ole Miss. 

Zalac was listed as a freshman on the 2021 Ole Miss roster but did not see any time at goalkeeper. She is out of Montreal, Canada was named the best goalkeeper in Quebec in 2018. She has extensive experience in playing on Canadian National teams at the U15 and U17 levels, too, and she was also at Vanier College in Montreal but the squad did not compete in the 2020 season because of COVID. 

Impressive words from Louisville head soccer coach Karen Ferguson Dayes about Zalac: 

"We are thrilled to have a goalkeeper of Alyssa's caliber join our goalkeeping corps. She is a very good shot stopper and excellent with her feet. We are excited to have her at Louisville." 

It's hard to say "goodbye" to someone like Gabby and it'll take me a little time to get used to not seeing #1 defending those pipes and shouting out to defenders Anouk Denton and Sarah Hernandez. But, we all look forward to see who emerges as the Cards new "gal between the pipes" for the 2022 season. The battle should be an intense one, just as it was five years ago when Gabby won the job. 

And it's only 60 days until the season starts...

paulie 

#3 FH Cards vs #15 Wake Forest, #3 VB on the road -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL

🎃 Welcome to October !

I wanna start with a huge thanks to the Cardinal Couple gang for picking up my slack these past few weeks.  In short, there's been a lot going on on the personal and professional fronts but I did get to enjoy some vacation time last week and I've been tying up some loose ends here and there.  

This one's for the players.

FIELD HOCKEY

The #3 ranked FH Cardinals (9-1) are scheduled to face off with the #15 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Friday at 4pm at Trager Stadium.  Admission is free and it is a Pink Out. This will mark the sixth straight ranked opponent for the Cardinals. Wake Forest (4-4) is tied for fourth at 1-1 in league play.  The Cardinals have outscored opponents by a combined total of 23-7.  Julie Kouijzer was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week this Tuesday (9/28) marking her second weekly honor this season after earning the accolade on Sept. 7.  ACC Network Extra has the feed if you can't attend and so does RSN on cable. (RSN is Channel 70 on Spectrum). 

VOLLEYBALL

The #3 ranked VB Cardinals (12-0) are on the road this weekend and set to face Clemson Friday night.  The Cards are 9-0 vs the Tigers all time, with UofL sweeping them 3-0 in their last matchup back in 2019.  UofL, Pitt, GT and Clemson are all 2-0 in ACC play.   So this weekend has the potential to shake up the standings. It's a 7 p.m. start tonight and will also be shown on the ACC Network Extra. 

DANI BUSBOOM KELLY PRESSER

The skipper of the VolleyCards spoke with the media yesterday afternoon to field questions about the upcoming road trip and the team's #3 ranking.   You can hear it below:

LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvYbFgPn5ho 

The Cardinal Athletic Fund Launches 'The New Standard' to Raise $10 Million for Women’s Sports

"Investing in women's sports is a powerful way to say Women Matter. It will empower the current generation to dream big and equally as important it will give our younger generation the positive female role models that they can aspire to be like," said Coach Karen Ferguson Dayes, UofL's longest tenured female coach.

The New Standard will help fund capital projects across all women's sports at UofL. From upgrading Ralph Wright Natatorium, revamping softball's indoor facility, locker room renovations at tennis, rowing, women's basketball, and track and field, to replacing the scoreboards at Lacrosse and field hockey, the campaign will benefit female athletes for years to come.

"Build it and they will come"

Here's a Tweet about the initiative: 

LINK: https://twitter.com/GoCards/status/1443727758631309314 

A great new month to all.  As always, Go Cards 

~Daryl