Women's Soccer Outlasts Clemson -- Weekend Scheduling -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Women's Soccer Outlasts Clemson

Callie McKinney's goal just two and a half minutes into the game was the decider between Top 25 conference foes Louisville and Clemson.  McKinney headed the ball into the far post on a corner kick by Allison Whitfield.

The two foes were nearly deadlocked in most stats with the Cards' biggest advantage was nine corner kicks against the Tigers' four.  Louisville capitalized on the corner kicks with several good looks including McKinney's score.

Despite the early goal and press from the Cards, it was Clemson who looked more solid in the later first half.  The Tigers controlled possession and won the battle in the midfield with multiple scoring threats right before the half.

Clemson continued their attack in the early second half, beating the Cards both over the top and on the outside.  Eventually, Louisville settled in to control the game for much of the second half, winning the possession battle by a hair.

Louisville was forced to switch to a five person defensive line when Clemson brought an all out offensive attack that featured their goalkeeper in the mix.  Clemson's attack pushed the Cardinal defense back into its goal post shadow.  Gabby Kouzelos captained the Cards and kept things calm in the final minutes where most of her four saves accrued.

As far as the lone goal goes, which came just 2:24 into the match, it was McKinney's first of the year, adding her to the list of Cards to have recorded a goal on the year to 12.  Two other players- Niamh Nelson and Arianna Ferraro- have recorded points but only from assists.  Emina Ekic still leads the charge with seven goals and six assists for 20 points.

The win is the fourth on the year in conference play for the Cards.  The 12 points ranks in the top three in the ACC.  FSU has 15 points and UNC has 13 points.  The Cards are two wins shy of their six-win mark in the ACC from last year.

Louisville improves to 11-1-0 on the year, adding to their best start in program history. In the overall, life-time series against the Tigers, UofL is now 2-1 and has won the last two meetings. The win streak for 2019 is now four in a row.

Paulie predicted a low-scoring contest yesterday and that came to fruition.

On the "over/under" for trains rolling by Lynn Stadium last night, if you took the "under" against the prognostication of two, you would have been a winner. We did not have any trains at all chug past the north-side of the field during action last night.

Louisville heads to South Bend this Sunday for a match-up against a 9-4-0 Notre Dame team at 1:00 p.m. in Alumni Stadium.


They Said It

Post-game interviews below:

Callie McKinney Video

Gabby Kouzelos Video

Coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes Video


Weekend Scheduling

Friday

Women's Swimming and Diving will head to Dallas to compete in the SMU Classic.  The event hosts solely the women's teams, which will cut the meet time in half.

Field Hockey remains home to host a high-ranked Virginia team at 6:00.  Paulie will be otherwise occupied, so he's throwing the pressure on me for sole coverage of the event.... *eye roll*.



Volleyball hits the road for their first conference away game against Duke at 6:30.

Men's Soccer travels to a Top 10 Clemson team at 7:00.


Saturday (Happy Birthday Katy!)

Swimming and Diving continues their stint in the SMU Classic.

Football travels to Wake Forest for a 7:30 kickoff.

Sunday

Volleyball continues their road trip with a 1:00 match at Wake Forest.

Women's Soccer travels to Notre Dame for a 1:00 kickoff.


The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Join Jeff and Case for radio excellence tomorrow at 11 a.m. for The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour on WCHQ 100.9 FM.  There is a possibility they'll also be joined by the legendary Daryl Foust as they try to survive Jeff's snarky rebuttals and "off the wall" meanderings on anything and everything except UofL women's athletics.

(Provided they didn't scare Daryl off last week,)

When they finally get to the business of covering sports, they do a pretty decent job and they'll have plenty to discuss in regards to this week's events.

It's always unique, never boring and you won't hear anything else like it on the airwaves or FACEBOOK LIVE. You can go to the WCHQ website to listen or/watch live and even download the WCHQ app while you're there.

LINK:  www.wchqfm.com

Take the station with you wherever you go and leave a bag of peanuts on the front porch for Floyd the Squirrel, the station mascot.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared

Louisville women's soccer holds their fate in their own hands -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WSOC FACES VIRGINIA TECH TONIGHT AT 7 P.M. IN LYNN

Will the Louisville women's soccer squad open the ACC Tournament at home or on the road? That the question before the Cards (12-4, 6-3) tonight as they welcome Virginia Tech into Lynn Stadium at 7 p.m. in the final regular season match of the year. 

The Cards are in the ACC Tournament, the question is where will they be seeded? Eight teams make the tournament. The Cards could go into the three game tournament as high as the #3 seed. Or they could drop to the sixth seed depending on how they fare against the 8-6-3, 4-5-0 Hokies. Ah, the point system...which awards a squad three points for a win and one point for a tie. A multitude of possibilities for the 14 teams that play ACC women's soccer. (Ga.Tech does not field a squad). 

A win over Virginia Tech (who has 12 points) gives the Cards three points and keeps them in at least a tie for third place with Virginia at 21 points. If the Cavs defeat N.C. State tonight in Charlottesville, they would clinch third place, the Cards would drop to fourth via the tie-breaker (Virginia defeated Louisville earlier in the season) but still open at home in the "round of eight" against the #5 seeded squad. Karen Ferguson Dayes' squad could face either Boston College, FSU or Clemson...depending on how those teams fare tonight. 

A tie or loss tonight isn't what Louisville wants to achieve.

A tie gathers (1) point, as mentioned earlier and would give either Boston College or FSU a chance to tie the Cards with 19 points should they win. Both have 16 points currently. The B.C Eagles face Pitt in Boston, who is tied for last in the ACC with zero points. FSU goes to Miami to face the 'Canes...who have seven points. 

A Louisville loss would be a blow and could plummet the Cards to a tie for sixth with Clemson, who needs a win tonight against win-less Syracuse to move up. Since Clemson and Louisville did not play in the regular schedule, a tie-breaker comes into play. BC and FSU would vault past the Cards if they are able to win and the Cards lose.  

Confused yet? 

Don't worry, all should be clear by 10 p.m. or so tonight and the eight will be determined. With four teams battling for that eighth spot (VT, Wake Forest, Notre Dame and N.C. State) and the right to play #1 UNC on Oct 28th...a lot of people will be checking the conference scoreboard as the night progresses. 

Worldwide probably couldn't develop a I.T. solution for this scenario, Case would have a hard time constructing a blueprint for all the possibilities and Jared...well, that's a lot of change in the offing that he'd have to count, sort and cipher. I just smile and nod. It's what I do best. 

Oct. 28th. (Sunday) will be the next time Louisville plays after tonight, regardless of how they do tonight and they'll be appearing in the Great Eight.  Then, first round winners advance to Cary, NC for the semifinals on Nov. 2nd (Friday) and potentially the finals on Nov. 4th. (next Sunday). 

Based on the regular season stats and performances, it looks like the road to the title will go through UNC. 9-0 in conference play, and 14-2-1. The Tar Heels defeated the Cards 5-1 earlier in the season in Chapel Hill. 

NCAA bid implications? That's a whole different scenario and we'll look at that after tonight's slate is complete.  

Right now, the best thing the Cards can hope for is a win tonight and a Virginia loss.

Come out to scenic Lynn Stadium, with the spectacular view of the tractor-trailer lot and I-65, for exciting WSOC action! We'll have trains, planes, automobiles and wild-eyed groundskeepers driving golf carts! Mike the Clemson Tiger would feel right at home. You don't want to miss it, but if you have to, ACC Network Extra will be providing coverage.

It will be a wee bit chilly by game time and there is a chance of rain, but when did we ever let that stop a good party and chance to see this hard-fighting, defensive-minded WSOC team take the pitch and go to battle? And, no sun in Gabby-the-goalie's eyes. 

Plus, they're giving away free UofL winter scarves to the first 300 through the gates! That, alone, should inspire you to get out and be social...Jared will bring the news tomorrow. Wearing a scarf, maybe. 


ACC STANDINGS

TEAM                              POINTS        ACC RECORD

1) North Carolina           27 points        9-0
2) Duke                          22 points        7-1-1
t3) Virginia                    18 points         6-3
t3) Louisville                 18 points         6-3
t4) Boston College         16 points         5-3-1
t4) Florida State            16 points         5-3-1
5) Clemson                    15 points         5-4
t6) Virginia Tech            12 points         4-5
t6) Notre Dame              12 points         4-5
t6) Wake Forest             12 points         4-5
7)  NC State                   11 points         3-4-2
8)  Miami                        7  points         2-6-1
t9) Pitt                           0 points           0-9
t9) Syracuse                   0 points           0-9  



TONIGHT'S SCHEDULE


Virginia Tech at Louisville
UNC at Wake Forest 
Duke at Notre Dame
NC State at Virginia
Pitt at Boston College
FSU at Miami
Clemson at Syracuse 



VERY SCARY

Gregory Alan Bush is the guy who killed two people at Kroger yesterday in J-Town.

He also followed me on Twitter and followed Cardinal Couple.

A self-professed UK sports fan, Bush and I never had any interchanges at the Cardinal Couple website. I did some tracing of anonymous comment and replies on the site and none came back to him.  He would, however, occasionally respond to my Tweets about the success of Louisville women's sports. Not in a positive manor. He had no love for Louisville WBB, that was pretty obvious from his comments and replies. 

Let me make it clear that I never met the guy. After seeing his picture, that became more obvious. One wouldn't forget a guy that looks like that. 

I went shopping at Kroger yesterday to get chili fixins' . Fortunately , it was not the Kroger where the shooting took place. I have gone to that one, though, before. It's close to one of my "watering holes" and I've popped in from time to time to pick up a few things on "the Sonya list". 

Our hearts, sympathies and prayers go out all to have been affected by this senseless, horrific act. 

I'm a little creeped out, I don't mind telling you.  


paulie
xxxxx




                                                            ######

First 2018-19 Battle of the Bluegrass Tonight -- Volleyball in Florida -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY FACE OFF IN WOMEN'S SOCCER 

There will be 16 events between Louisville and Kentucky in the 2018-19 schedule for Louisville Athletics. 14 sports go head-to-head, with Softball and Baseball meeting twice. 8 on the men's side, 8 on the women's side. 

The first "Battle of the Bluegrass" takes place tonight in Louisville's Lynn Stadium...when the Cards and Cats take to the pitch at 5:30 p.m. 

Tonight's contest is part of a soccer double-header at Lynn, with Louisville Men's Soccer facing St. Louis after the women's game. The match has been designated a "Red Out", so make sure you're sporting your red Cardinal gear if you go. (Unless you're a Cat Fan, of course). 

Karen Ferguson Dayes and her Cards come in unblemished after four matches this year. Louisville has earned wins over Wright State, Xavier, at Dayton and at Michigan so far in August. Brooklynn Rivers and Maisie Whitsett lead UofL in scoring with three goals each. 

- Rivers' scoring came in one game, when she pulled off the hat-trick against Michigan. The Cards have scored 14 goals in their four wins, while allowing just three to be scored against them. 

UK enters Lynn with a 3-1 record. They recently fell against Wisconsin in Lexington and have gained victories over Morehead, SIUE and Arkansas-Little Rock. Kentucky was pushed to overtime in the Morehead and Arkansas-Little Rock wins. The Cats are led in scoring by Yuuka Kurosaki and Hollie Olding...who have three goals each on the season. 

Last year, Louisville visited Lexington and came home with a 3-1 win in rainy Bell Soccer Complex. It broke a six-game UK winning streak over Louisville women's soccer. 

Keys to a Cardinal win tonight? We'll look at three things in Paulie's Pre-Game Primer.  

1) Shutting the door.  Louisville's defensive middle of "Gabby squared"...keeper Gabby Kouzelos and Gabrielle Vincent have proven to be a tough task for offenses to overcome so far this season. They'll need to stay strong on the stops to ensure the Cards outscore the Cats. Freshman Sarah Hernandez and Arianna Ferraro have also helped build that impenetrable wall by the net and continued success from those two will be needed if the Cards are to push the win streak to two against Big Blue. 

2) Flying Freshmen.  The Cards have received a pleasant burst of efficiency and scoring from their freshmen this season. In addition to Whitsett's three scores, Delaney Snyder has found net success twice. UofL has also gotten valuable contributing minutes from first-year student-athletes Anna Henderson, Amari Hopkins and Morgan Jackson . Anything the freshman can contribute tonight will only boost UofL's win chances. 

3) Ekic Energy.  The scintillating sophomore Emina Ekic has two goals on the season and had two goals against Kentucky last year. She's a marvel and joy to watch on the pitch and seemingly fully recovered from the ACL that ended her season in 2017. A midfielder from Louisville Manual High School, Ekic knows one speed -- full throttle. We would like to see her duplicate her scoring total from last year against UK. Know this -- a good Ekic performance tonight is essential for a Louisville victory.

This one will be available on the ACC Network Extra and ESPN + at 5:30 if you can't get out for it. There is a 40% chance of rain and temperature is expected to top out at 90.
Good ol' muggy Louisville weather, right?  


VOLLEYBALL FACES UCF IN FRIDAY FLORIDA ACTION

Moving on to a different type of net and different player personnel, Dani Busboom Kelly  takes her Louisville Volleyball squad to Gainesville, FL for action in the Bubly Tournament...hosted by the University of Florida. No pre-game tailgating for the Louisville/Alabama football game for these set and serve stars...they'll be involved in three games in three days and start it off against an Orlando squad and former conference foe in Central Florida. 

Jared Anderson gave you a great preview of all three matches in the Thursday CARDINAL COUPLE and I encourage you to check out his article. He's down in Orlando, doing whatever Jared and Katy do, but it's rumored he'll be tweeting and taking phone pics. Follow him at @MrAndersonJared. 

The Cards found net success in their season opening Cardinal Classic tournament with convincing wins over Tennessee Martin, Southern Illinois and IUPUI...sweeping the three game round robin. 

Louisville's offense, so far, has been led by Amanda Green and Melanie McHenry. They lead the Cards in kills with 28 and 26 respectively. Senior Molly Sauer stands out for the defense with 40 digs. She was also the Cardinal Classic MVP and joined on the All-Tournament team by teammates Jasmine Bennett and Wilma Rivera. 

The competition goes up a few notches this weekend, starting with UCF. They began their season with two wins and a loss in the Sunshine State Challenge....downing Florida Gulf Coast and Florida Atlantic but falling to ACC opponent Miami. 


MYSTERY AND INTRIGUE...PLUS THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR. 


We'll have more on the other two opponents (Florida on Saturday and Southern California on Sunday) as those matches draw closer. Viewing for UCF today is allegedly available at the link below: 

http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3429012/ucf-vs-louisville-w-volleyball

The listing at the link, though, shows the match will take place Sunday at 1 p.m., which is incorrect, according to what we've heard. The Golden Knights and Cards are scheduled for a either 4 p.m. or 6 p.m. start (once again, two sources, two different game times listed). 

You can also supposedly follow action at the stats link below...I tested it, however, this morning and I got a "not valid URL" message : 

http://www.sidearmstats.com/florida/wvball/

We'll have a recap of the opener in Florida for you regardless of time and stat availability, though, here in the Saturday Cardinal Couple column and we'll also recap it on Saturday morning's broadcast of THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR at 11 a.m. on WCHQ 100.9 FM and Facebook Live. No mystery or intrigue there, as far as we know. 

We'll have Ky. Women Talk Sports co-host Daryl Foust joining Worldwide Jeff McAdams and I for the broadcast along with River City Cards managing editor Mike Gilpatrick. It should be a legendary show...don't miss it! 


paulie
xxxxx

Some Purple Soccer Updates -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville City FC

I thought I'd take a minute today to step away from UofL Athletics and get an update on other Louisville Athletics action.

The boys in purple, Louisville City FC are having another fantastic year, and are looking to repeat their USL championship from last year.  LouCity is currently sitting in 2nd place in the USL Eastern Conference 5 points back of their fierce rival FC Cincinnati.  The ones in purple do have two games in hand, and with a 7-2-4 record, a reasonable chance of making up those points in the extra two games.  We're only about halfway through the season, so there's plenty of time to make up those 5 points in any case, but the extra two games in hand certainly give Lou City an extra leg up.

Outside of league play, Lou City is competing in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, commonly called just The US Open Cup, or even just The Open Cup.  Louisville City is the only USL team to advance to the round of 8, after knocking off fellow USL representative Nashville SC on June 20th.

By being the USL team to advance the furthest in the tournament, Louisville City FC receives a $25,000 bonus.  Louisville has, to this point, played all of its Open Cup games at home, and this year, all of those Open Cup games have been held at UofL's Lynn Stadium, an arrangement that seems to be working out well for the hometown team.  They will be heading out on the road for the next Open Cup game, heading up to Chicago, to play the Chicago Fire July 18th, a middle-of-the-pack Eastern Conference MLS team.  For comparison, the New England Revolution, who Lou City defeated at Lynn stadium in the 4th round stand with 24 points, while the Fire stand with 20.  Based on that, I'd say that this is a very winnable game for City.  Knocking off two MLS teams in the Open Cup would be a coup, particularly when combined with 2 wins over FC Cincinnati who announced in May that they would be joining the MLS.

Personally, I'm glad to see UofL taking a bit more collaborative approach with Lou City.  We
effectively have 3 quality teams representing the city between the UofL Men's and Women's teams and Louisville City FC.  While soccer is the most popular sport in the world, it's not quite so popular in the US.  Working together to grow the size of the overall game is a benefit to everyone.  While I understand the wear and tear that extra games during the summer visits to the turf at Lynn Stadium, presumably UofL is getting some remuneration to help offset the costs of the TLC given to the field during a time when the field would still need upkeep, but would otherwise not see all that much use.

If you're not keeping up with Louisville City FC, I would encourage you to do so.  They are a great team, representing the city with excellence and class.

CCRH

As always on Sunday mornings, if you didn't get a chance to check it out live, do please go catch the Facebook Live recording of The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour.

It is available at https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/2079170958772843/.

Jared was off changing 20s into 5s and 10s, but in his spot we had the ever-awesome Daryl Foust join Case, Paulie, and I.  We didn't talk much about UofL women's sports, alas, but we had a lot of fun and I think the conversation was engaging and entertaining.  See how you do in the quiz about UofL facilities.

We gratefully acknowledge our hosts at WCHQ 100.9 FM for their continued hosting of The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour and a very special "Thank You!" to Kathy Weisbach, station manager, for foregoing a couple of extra hours of Saturday sleep to engineer our broadcast and Facebook Live.


--
JMcA

Sandy Pearsall Retires-- MLB Draft -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Sandy Pearsall Calls It Quits After 19 Seasons With UofL Softball

Once summertime arrives it can be tough to find a topic to write about sometimes so we always hope there will be news to write about.  Unfortunately, the news is not always the greatest, and sadly, we are announcing that Sandy Pearsall is retiring.

Pearsall helped build the UofL softball program from the ground up.  She was called in in 2000 to start a softball program with hopes of it becoming nationally recognized and she did just that.  In her 19 seasons at UofL, Pearsall has accumulated 718 wins,  six conference championships, 13 NCAA Regional appearances, and four NCAA Regional titles.  With Louisville, Pearsall went 718-371 for a .659 win percentage.

Louisville saw major success including a 55-5 season and a national ranking as high as seventh in the country while only having two losing seasons.  In the 19-year history Louisville has had losing records in conference play just twice and had a franchise-best 20-2 conference record in the 2012 season.

In 2000, Pearsall was named Conference USA Coach of the Year.  In 2012, Pearsall and her staff were named NFCA Great Lakes Region Coaching Staff of the Year.

Louisville players were extremely successful with individual awards.  There have been 101 all-league selections- 27 All-Conference USA, 54 All-Big East, five All-American Athletic, and 14 All-ACC.  Some of the highest honors include two Players of the Year (Asst Director of Marketing Chelsea Bemis is one of them), two Pitchers of the Year, one MVP, and one Freshman of the Year.

Before her time with Louisville Pearsall spent several years with a handful of schools.  The former Oregon State standout spent time at Pacific, San Francisco, Florida A&M, Colorado State, and Miami.  She was named to the Pacific Hall of Fame and won the 1990 Western Athletic Conference Championship with the Rams.

Pearsall released a statement, "It is with mixed emotions that I have decided to retire from the University of Louisville.  It has been a great ride, but after almost 35 years in the profession, it is time to walk away and focus on my family and my health.  I  am very thankful to the university, the administration, my staff, and co-workers for their hard work, support and friendship throughout the years.  I am especially thankful for the players who have come through our program.  They have helped lay the foundation for the success we have built here."

Vince Tyra had kind words for the well-known coach, "We sincerely appreciate all of Sandy's efforts in building our softball program from the ground up.  The 718 wins, NCAA regional appearances and conference titles are significant, but her legacy is united with the abundance of student-athletes' lives she touched and the investment she made in advancing softball in our community and university.  We wish her the best in her well-deserved retirement.  We will begin a national search for a new softball coach immediately."

Softball alumna Kelsi Rynard (formerly Kelsi Jones, 2015 graduate) thanked Pearsall via a Facebook post, "To the woman who took me in and gave me a chance, I can't imagine what my life would be like without you.  You kicked my ass when you needed to and you loved me when I needed it most.  I'm so thankful to have played for you, to have learned from you, and to have been a very small part of your tenure.  Louisville softball would be nothing without you.  Sandy P, you are the greatest [heart emoji]."

From someone who has only actively followed UofL softball for the last four years it was immediately clear to me the impact Coach Pearsall had on the university and this program.  It has quickly become one of my favorite sports to cover as media and to attend as a fan.  Her successor will have major shoes to fill.

Unfortunately, as always with the departure of a head coach, we will probably see an exodus of players and assistant coaches.  Pitching coach Kassie Stanfill already departed to accept a job at another school a couple of weeks ago.

I'm sure we will hear more from Paulie and Worldwide regarding this announcement in the comments or upcoming articles.

On a side note still softball related, congratulations to Florida State on winning their first ever NCAA softball championship.  The title is also the first in the history of the ACC.  The Seminoles, who beat Louisville four times this year, won the series against Washington 2-0.  When I had the chance to shoot a couple games earlier in the season while in Tallahassee and Florida State definitely looked like the team to beat then.

Louisville Has Three Selected in MLB Draft

Josh Stowers

Josh Stowers is packing his bags and heads to Seattle, well after some time spent in the lower divisions, to become a Mariner.  He was taken in the second round with the 54th overall selection.  The outfielder was a team captain and was an All-ACC First Team selection after his stellar season.

Adam Wolf was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the fifth round, 135th overall.  The lefty pitcher was a Third Team All-American and struck out over 100 batters en route to an 8-2 record in the 2018 season.

Devin Mann

Devin Mann was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fifth round, 164th overall.  The second baseman started every game and remained in the top half of the lineup.  Mann ranks sixth in the NCAA in walks and 17th in runs scored.

We wish these Cardinals the best of luck in the pros!





Other Cardinals in the Pros

Because of the wonky schedule with the WNBA I will keep my weekly WNBA updates on Friday, but there are a couple other UofL alums that were in town last night.

Andrew Farrell (New England Revolution, first pick in 2012 MLS draft, Atherton High School graduate) and Paolo DelPiccolo (Louisville City FC) went head-to-head last night at Lynn Stadium as the two teams competed in the US Open Cup.  The boys in purple and gold walked away with a win 3-2 and improved their record at Lynn this year to 3-0.  The hometown USL team and reigning USL Champions shocked the MLS team and will advance to the round of 16.

Maybe the biggest win (so far) in Lou City FC history. 

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Lynn Stadium Sees Action -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Women's Soccer Opens Home Play

Though it is only exhibition play, Louisville soccer's Lynn Stadium will see its first action of the Fall 2017 season for both men's and women's soccer tonight. The women will get things started at 5:00 PM against DePaul, with the men following directly after with an exhibition game of their own against Lipscomb. Paulie lamented the struggles of covering exhibition games on the road, with many of those problems likely not coming to play at home tonight. True, there was no scoreboard, clock, or announcer for the spring exhibition games, but I believe that with the publicity around both of tonight's games and the double header format, we are likely to see a full production for this game. If not, at least we'll be there to keep track of things with our own eyes.

The women's soccer and field hockey teams will start Louisville's 4th season in the ACC officially next week. For now, the spotlight is on the women's soccer team as the first home game of the year, even in an exhibition fashion. Louisville will take on DePaul in an exhibition game for the second time in two years. Last season, the Cards took on the Blue Demons on the road. While I don't have access to real stats, as it was an away exhibition, if memory serves, that game was a loss. Louisville will look to repay DePaul at home. The Cards last faced DePaul in an official capacity in 2012 when both teams were in the Big East. Louisville took home a win that day and a lot has changed for both schools in the five years since. Coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes will look to use tonight's scrimmage as a springboard for the upcoming season. Louisville has slumped in recent years but have the team for a strong season this year. Getting a victory against an old foe is a great way to hit the ground running. Admission today is free for both games, so come out to Floyd Street and enjoy the nice summer evening. Sports are back in Louisville.

Asia Durr in Japan

(Information per usab.com and Twitter) After scoring 11 against Australia in U-23 team's August 9th scrimmage, Asia Durr outdid herself in the team's first real game early this morning. Team USA downed Australia again, this time with a final score of 78-60. Durr led Team USA with 14 points in the victory. I apologize for the small update, but the recap of the game has not yet been posted at time of writing since the game just ended. Be sure to return to Cardinal Couple in the coming days for additional information as this tournament goes on.

An Update on the Statistical Recap

Unfortunately, due to increased stress at work and trying to balance my life outside of work in general, I was unable to complete the statistical recap prior to fall action getting underway. However, this is something that I am still interested in so I will still be pursuing it, just with a slight change in format. I will be performing some statistical analysis of our covered sports throughout their respective seasons and will do statistical recaps for each sport at the end of play. I will compare this season's success to my goals and to last season. That way it is a bit more engaging and fresh in everyone's minds. At the end of the last season next spring/summer, I'll see what I can put together for overall comparisons of every sports. I'm sorry to anyone that was looking forward to this (I'm a bit disappointed in myself), but I hope the final product is worth the wait!

The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

It's another Saturday Cardinal Couple which means it's time for another reminder about the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. Every week we bring you an hour of conversation about things covered here at Cardinal Couple. We have a unique group of hosts and often bring exclusive interviews you can't find anywhere else. If you're ever unable to tune in, you can find archived broadcasts via the Crescent Hill Radio website at this link where you can also listen to the show live. You can also listen on 100.9 FM in the Crescent Hill extended area or anywhere by downloading the WCHQ app. This week we'll discuss the upcoming fall sports seasons which are right on top of us, as well as the fall sports media day yesterday. We'll have audio from yesterday and tons of fun in studio. Tune in at 11:00AM for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour!

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Harper joins USA U23 squad...WSOC around the corner -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

LINNAE HARPER ADDED TO USA U23 SQUAD

Just in the few times I was able to watch Ohio State guard Linnae Harper perform in the USA U23 trials...I thought she had the stuff to be one of the 12 to make the roster. That happened for her yesterday...as South Carolina center A'ja Wilson is now sidelined with a groin strain and Harper gets added to the roster for the practice sessions and upcoming trip to Japan.

We all remember Linnae...right?  She began her career at UK and was instrumental in helping the Cats beat the Cards in her freshman and sophomore years. Things didn't quite work out for her in Lexington...so the Chicago, IL native decided to move north and join the Ohio State Buckeyes after the 2014-15 season...one of the schools that was in her top five consideration list in high school. She took to Buckeye ball quite well in 2016-17 and was named the Big 10 Sixth Player of the Year in the 2016-17 season as a junior after sitting out 2015-16 under NCAA transfer rules. 

She joins Buckeye teammate Kelsey Mitchell on the squad and also brings an extensive USA and international basketball resume to the roster. She was on the 2011, 2012 and 2013 FIBA World Championship teams playing for the U16, U17 and U19 USA teams. She was on the 2015 USA Pan American team and also played on the 2016 FIBA USA 3X3 squad.

Maybe a bit interesting that the committee replaces height (in Wilson) with guard play (Harper)...but certainly the experience factor Harper has in International play should be beneficial for the team. Erin Boley, at 6'2" impressed me during the medal round games and she can also step out and hit the three. Naturally, I would have loved to see Myisha Hines-Allen get the call...but I'll trust the deciders' judgement here.

With the addition of Harper, three teams now have two players on the roster....UCLA (Monique Billings and Jordin Canada) and Tennessee (Jamie Nared and Mercedes Russell) and Ohio State. Louisville's Asia Durr is also on the squad that includes ACC and Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale, Ariel Atkins, Kalani Brown, Sabrina Ionescu and Brittany McPhee. 

USA U23 continues their practice sessions under Jeff Walz in preparation for their August 12th. opener in Tokyo. 

FINALLY, THE COMPETITION IS HERE

We get to see some actual competition in women's fall sports this week...with Louisville women's soccer starting the action off tomorrow with an exhibition game at Ohio State and then returning home to face DePaul on Saturday in another exhibition contest. The DePaul game is part of a double-header at Lynn Stadium...the girls will go first with a 5 p.m. start and the #9 ranked men's team takes on Lipscomb around 7:30 p.m. 

We'll get our first look at some very talented freshmen that have joined Coach Karen Ferguson Dayes roster...including a couple with International backgrounds in Nadage L'Esperance (Canada) and Mollie Rouse (England). There's also some local flair on the roster...with Emina Ekic DuPont Manual) and transfer Kennadi Carbin (2015 Kentucky Player of the Year).

The Kickin' Cards return a wealth of experience on the attack with standouts from last year. Nine of the Cards top 10 scorers return and Ferguson-Dayes will have plenty of options in Shelby Cohen, Daryl Bell, Brooklyn Rivers, Gabby Vincent, Sarah Feola, Alison Price, Kaela Dickerman, Allison Whitfield, Niahm Nelson and Callie McKinney.

Senior Inger Katrine Bjerke returns to lead a defense that allowed just 1.11 goals last season. She'll get help from Arianna Ferraro and Bailey Florek in front of the goal. With the graduation of goalkeeper Taylor Bucklin...we've heard the competition between Gabrielle Kouzelos, Tori Gabor and Lana Batson has been intense for the net-keeping spot.  

Admission is free for the exhibition games at Lynn and season tickets get you into both men's and women's soccer....so why not grab a few for the family and enjoy the action on the pitch? 



paulie
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Summer Draws to a Close -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

The FINA World Championships wrapped yesterday, which means the end of Cardinal sports for a little more than a week. However, the month that seemed like it might never end has done just that. Tomorrow is August 1st, which means heading to the all-sports calendar on the Louisville Athletics website will show you actual university competitive events. It will be a magical time, as it always is when the fall sports swing into gear. After a brief (and final) swimming update, we'll take a look at what is to come for your favorite fall sports.

Worrell Wins Gold

Kelsi Worrell, Cardinal Forever, one whom we should not quickly allow to leave the annals of our memories, added yet another medal to her collection yesterday in the final day of the FINA World Championships event. Swimming her preferred stroke, one at which she is quite masterful, Worrell helped the USA Women's 4x100 Medley relay team win gold and set a world record. Worrell spun a 56.30 butterfly leg to help the team become the first women's team to ever go sub 3:52 with a final time of 3:51.55. The silver medal finished in 3:53.38, the Russian team setting a European record. Essentially what I'm saying is that they swam really fast. Congratulations to Kelsi, Mallory (who helped set up this team with a preliminary win), and all of the other Americans and Cardinals representing their schools and countries at this event. We look forward to more great swims this season and perhaps a first full title.

Women's Soccer Clarity

After some digging on B1G athletics sites, I have come up with my own answers regarding Louisville's first two competitions this year. Despite none of the three school's schedules indicating such, Louisville will begin the season with exhibition games against Ohio State and DePaul. The first game will be against Ohio State on the road on August 9th, which will be a good indication of how this season may shape up early. Coach K will lead her Cardinals back to the Ville for a home exhibition against DePaul on August 12th at 5PM. In addition to being the first game for this sport, it will also be your first chance to catch Louisville athletics at home this fall. The Kickin' Cards will get their real season underway the next Friday, 8/18, against Ball State University. The game comes during a double header with a men's game so be sure to block out your evening for a full night at Lynn Stadium. I've still got high hopes for this team and I am looking forward to seeing them get started.

Field Hockey Openers

Justine Sowry will get her team in shape and begin the quest for their first national championship when Miami of Ohio comes to town on August 18th. The game gets started at 1:30, so it may be a tough one to make for the working crowd. However, there will be plenty of other opportunities to see one of the women's teams that is experiencing a lot of success early in Louisville's ACC tenure. Louisville beat Miami (OH) last season 2-0 and will look for the same success to get their year started off on the right foot. The annual alumnae game is on August 19th and will be a good chance to see this year's iteration of the team as well as some of your favorite players from the past. It may not be the most competitive event around but it is sure to be a lot of fun. I hope to make it to some of my first field hockey games this season, so maybe I'll see you there!

Volleyball in on the Action

It seems as though the weekend of the 18th will be a busy one on campus. In addition to all of the students returning from their summer breaks of various lengths (Speed School's is only about a month), nearly ever fall sport will be in action in some capacity. Volleyball will get in on the fun with their annual red vs black scrimmage on August 19th at 6PM. This will be their first event with Cardinal Arena exclusively hosting their games so be sure to stop by to get a look at the team and the facilities. Jeff will be more than happy to bring you more information about this event and just about every other game throughout the season regarding volleyball so stay tuned.

Basketball Trials

While true competition for the 2017-18 Louisville women's basketball team is not yet on the horizon, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the U-23 trials officially begin today. I am not sure how tight lipped these sessions will be, but I believe that if there is information to be had about the event, there is a good chance Paulie can find it for you. If nothing else, the event ends this week so we can see relatively quickly which Cardinals will be heading to Japan.

Football Open Practice

Camp officially began for the Cardinals last week, but Coach Petrino held off on practice for a few days. I'm sure his days have been full of meetings, video sessions, one on one instructions, and the like, but today marks the true beginning. We're about a month from kickoff in Indianapolis against and old friend in Jeff Brohm, and practice gets underway today. Louisville football will host an open practice today beginning at 4PM. This is a great chance to see the work that many players put in over the summer to perfect their craft as well as seeing the new faces. With so many members on the team, it's never too early to begin memorizing numbers. There are high expectations after last year's season ended with a thud, and I believe this team has the capacity to meet them. We'll all find out together.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Promising spring, incoming class give Ferguson-Dayes plenty to smile about -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WSOC Opens Home Exhibition Schedule Aug. 8th.

On a sun-splashed Tuesday morning I headed to the Belknap Campus to discuss the Louisville women's soccer program with head coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes. Instead of the usual, yearly in-office, pre-season chat...I was directed to the McDonald's practice field to conduct the interview. (Ever wondered what the name of the soccer field next to the Bass-Rudd tennis courts and across from Trager Stadium and McDonald's was called? You now know.) 

Summer camp was in session for 65 eager young girls dressed in white t-shirts. The Future Cardinals camp is designed to work with the younger players to develop comfortably and control of the ball. I got lucky, the campers were on a re-hydration break when I showed up..so Coach K. and I were able to get about ten minutes in before the whistles started blowing again. And...two UPS planes joined us as well....which you'll notice during the interview we'll play on Saturday's THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR. (We pride ourselves on getting a plane, train or siren during our outdoor interviews).  

Louisville women's soccer begins the exhibition season on Aug 4th at Ohio State. Most the players are already on campus and a few were present working the camp. I kept my questions pretty short and direct for coach. 

You had a very good spring season from all reports: 

We did! It was actually an excellent spring and something we have prided ourselves on. We kept a clean sheet for our goal keepers and didn't give up a single goal all spring (in four games). We felt really good about that defensively. 

What are some of the expectations you take out of the spring as you get ready for the fall. What are some of the things you're looking for? 

We have a lot of returning players who know our language. Know how we talk. Who have played significant roles for us...who will continue to keep us riding the success of the shutouts in the spring. 

Tell us a bit about the returnees. You have five out of your seven top scorers back and a Bjerke back from China...

K.B. is fantastic. One of the best leaders I've ever coached. she's locked in with what our expectations are, making her teammates better. She's a team captain...this will be the third year she's been a team captain and I'm super excited to get her back on campus. She went to Norway from China. 

A lot of freshmen who have become sophomores. That bodes well for you. 

Absolutely! That class is fantastic. A lot of key kids that played significant roles for us. They are a year older, a year wiser, a year stronger, a year quicker and a year smarter. 

You have some adds on this year. A transfer and some talented freshmen come in. 

Kennady Carbin has been with us here. She came in as a transfer (Mississippi St) last spring and it was invaluable for us to have her for that spring schedule. An exceptional athlete. We look for her to provide an impact for us in scoring goals, creating goals.

The team had a unique opportunity to go to Costa Rica during spring break. Fill us in on that. 

It was a wonderful experience for our team. I think we are a very special group. It gave us a chance to get ever closer. there was not a lot of centered media or telephones...so it gave us a chance to hang out together. We got a lot of positives that will help us be successful this fall. 

( For the entire interview, be sure to catch the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Saturday)

                                    --           --           --          --          --


Successful. It is something the Louisville fans want to see out of "The Ladies of Lynn". 

Coach was hesitant to discuss the freshmen at length...even though all but Emina Ekic are already on campus...but the Cards have some very good ones in her, Taylor Kerwin, Nadage L'Esperance and European standout Mollie Rouse all part of the class of eight newcomers. 

Will they, along with "K.B."...a handful of leading scorers back from last year and a new mindset be enough to get the Cards over the 7-7-4 2016 season and the 8-8-2 record in 2015. Can the Kickin' Cards compile an above .500 slate in the highly-competitive ACC? The Cards haven't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2013...something fans bring up to me at times when we discuss the program. 

On a bright, beautiful morning on the Louisville campus...all seemed possible. All sounds well for the UofL WSOC program. We'll find out how it starts when the ball hits the pitch in Lynn Stadium in a little over three weeks when the the Cards host DePaul in an exhibition. The Blue Demons bested the Cards last year. The returnees haven't forgotten that. 

The ACC competition will not get any easier in 2017. The Cards will be challenged with the pre-conference slate as well...with UK, IU, Purdue, Boston University and Marquette as a few of the teams that will test the Cards. 

Fall sports. They're getting closer and the coaches and players (along with the fans) can't wait. 


paulie
xxxxx