UofL Tops UK in NCAA First Round -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Beat Cats in PK Thriller

Could it have been any more dramatic? That's how Coach Karen Ferguson Dayes opened her postgame remarks yesterday evening, and the answer, quite frankly, was no. Louisville and Kentucky played a heart-in-throat match that needed not only extra time, but extra penalty kicks as well. In the end, Louisville prevailed in the eighth round of the shootout to take down their rival and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 

In yesterday's column, I wrote about a schedule quirk that gave UK an extra draw instead of a loss for their shootout loss against Georgia in the SEC Tournament. During the actual match yesterday, I learned that it wasn't a quirk: it's how the NCAA scores a penalty shootout. Both teams are granted a draw on their records and then whichever team comes out on top after penalties "advances" to the next stage of play. I mean... sure. But if that's the case, why make the overtimes golden goal? It matters not. What matters is that Louisville officially finished the season unbeaten at home, as they'll hit the road for any games they have remaining. 

Yesterday's match was everything you might have expected from a heated rivalry such as the Battle of the Bluegrass. With football last night, there were plenty of available fans, and the crowd size actually grew once people came over from downtown when the basketball game ended (more on that later). The official attendance was listed as 1,106, and I was somewhat pleasantly surprised that it seemed like no more than a third of the crowd were UK fans. Chants went back and forth, but most of both fan bases were well-behaved. At least as well-behaved as the teams, that is. 

The game ended with a whopping 36 fouls, and those were only the ones that were called. There were six total yellow cards (three for each team) and a couple of fouls could have seen yellows if the referee wasn't generous with players that already had one. There was a Louisville bloody nose that resulted in no foul and a yellow issued to the Kentucky bench (unrelated). Yesterday's match had it all. But even after all that, it wasn't a particularly ugly game. Emotions were high, and the players played hard and got a bit chippy, but the fouls were fairly evenly split (UK 20 - 16 UofL) and both teams were (largely) playing the ball throughout the day. 

Louisville opened the game very tight. They were playing at home in front of a big crowd, against their arch-rivals who were an underdog. UK had nothing to lose. While Louisville managed to get the first shot and forced a save, UK took a decent amount of control after that. Louisville maintained possession for 54% of the first half, but most of it was not held in a particularly attacking manner. The Cats ultimately took five shots in the first half, putting just one on target, but it was their second shot that nearly broke things open. A cross came in for a header in the center of the goal that had Erynn Floyd beaten. Fortunately for the Cards, the ball couldn't beat the bar. It hit the front-bottom of the crossbar and kicked down and out of the goal. The ball fell down to UK but a second attempt was blocked away. The entire stadium stopped holding its collective breath. 

UK would take three corners in that first half, more than Louisville would take in the entire game (two in the second). UK finished with eight corners, which had the Cards under quite a bit of pressure considering they scored their goal off of a corner in the second half. Louisville's offense was able to find shots in the first, taking four and forcing two saves, but they weren't particularly threatening. Louisville would have dearly liked to have scored before the end of the first half, but UK took advantage of the opportunity to play a new 45-minute game early. Just two minutes into the second half, the Cats earned a corner that found Thalia Morisi unmarked in the six-yard box. As a former keeper, allow me to let you in on a little secret: you don't want someone unmarked in the six-yard box on a corner. Morisi found the ball with her head and Floyd had little chance. UK led 1-0. 

Another note KFD made in her postgame interview (I won't spoil the whole thing, I promise), was that she specifically told the team at the half that she hoped it wouldn't take a goal to wake them up. Welp... Now was the time to wake up. To the Cards' credit, they did. Louisville's offense sprang into action after the goal and continued to hound the Cats. They took two shots and forced a save before the 60 minute mark. Both of their corners came in succession, but neither earned a shot. Then UK nearly doubled their advantage. Another corner managed to get to the feet of Catherine Rapp who forced an incredible save by Floyd to keep the deficit at just one. That was UK's third shot of the half, and they would earn just two more, with only one forcing a simple save from Floyd. 

Louisville seemed to press a bit with trying to find a goal, but they were able to find some good attempts at goal. The Cards finally broke through in the 79th minute as a ball clattered around near the top of the box. Amelia Swinarski managed to get control with just enough space to slide one through the surrounding defenders. The ball stayed low and Khadijah Cisse couldn't track it. She was unable to attempt a save as the ball rolled into the bottom-right corner. Cards had leveled it and it was game on for the final ten minutes. UK very nearly ripped Louisville's hearts out by scoring immediately after the equalizer, but the shot went high. The Cards had five shots over the final ten minutes and forced three saves, but we headed to overtime. 

Collegiate soccer dropped regular season overtime a couple of seasons ago, but it remains in the postseason. The teams play two (if necessary) ten-minute periods of golden goal overtime. If neither team has scored, it's on to penalties. Both teams were very tight in that first overtime period, with neither wanting to extend too much and give their opponent a counter-attack opportunity. The only shot came with just ten seconds left, when Rapp found herself open near the top of the box, but it was right up the middle and Floyd was able to fall on it to run the clock out. 

The second OT period was a bit more free. UK had a shot advantage, but all three of their attempts came in a single possession as shots were blocked away. They took three shots in a span of 24 seconds. None forced a save, and the third was off target out of bounds. Louisville took two shots in the period, including their attempt at a late game winner, which saw Swinarski test Cisse in basically the same way as the other period ended with seven seconds remaining. The clock hit 0:00 and it was time for penalties. 

By the way, penalties are often referred to as PKs. You probably already knew that, but remember how I said more on that basketball game ending earlier? Well, PK wanted to watch some PKs. Pat Kelsey was there to support the Cards after the men's basketball game ended, and it's impossible to not be a fan of the guy. He's so into the university and the athletic department as a whole and he feels like a fan of his own school. He was right behind the goal, getting into it with the rest of the crowd to try to distract UK shooters. 

But the stage was set. Penalties are the ultimate showdown. It's a mental battle just as much as a physical one. If you keep your tendency as a shooter, the keeper might know where you're going and pick up the save. If you try too hard to make a difficult shot, you might miss. If the keeper guesses wrong, it's almost automatic. The ball is placed twelve yards from the goal and it's away we go. 

UK had the opening shot and they opened the door for Louisville immediately with a miss. Karsyn Cherry stepped up and slotted home her shot to take the lead. UK scored their second and Amelia Swinarski kept the Cards ahead 2-1. UK scored their third, but Louisville was still in a good position. AG Gibson's shot was saved and it was 2-2 after three rounds. UK's fourth shot was off the mark and everyone waited to see who Erynn Floyd was delivering the ball to to take Louisville's fourth shot. After a few seconds of head-scratching, we realized it was herself. 

(Side note: this is an interesting move. In a professional game, this is bold but not crazy. If the shootout continued, the keepers would need to take a shot eventually anyway, and this would mean Louisville's had already gone and they'd have a shooter vs a keeper round. However, collegiate rules mean you only assign ten kickers. If the shootout continues beyond ten rounds, you just go back to the top. That means Floyd just was in the top ten (or top five, even) shooters for this Louisville team. It's not insane. Keepers are usually decent at penalties since they have to be very familiar with the ins-and-outs of the process.)

Unfortunately, Floyd's shot was high of the bar. UK sunk their fifth shot and the mood flipped immediately. After a chance to go up 3-2 after four, Louisville now trailed 3-2 down to their final shooter. Fina Davy nailed it and kept the Cards alive. After five rounds, it meant sudden victory. If anyone led after each round, it was game over. Floyd opened sudden victory with a save, but Liza Suydam was saved as well. 

Once you're in this part of the penalty order, the pressure on every taker ramps up. You weren't expected to be taking your shot and now the fate of the game could rest on your shoulders. In the case of the team shooting second, that was literally true. With each shot, you're either going to win it with a make or lose it with a miss. UK scored with their seventh taker and Grace Maddox calmly kept Louisville alive. In round eight, Erynn Floyd snagged her second penalty save of the sudden victory period, setting up her fellow senior. Mackenzie Geigle set the crowd alight with a goal and ran straight into her keeper's arms. Could it have been any more dramatic?

Louisville moves on to face 3-seed Kansas in Durham on Thursday afternoon. The match will be on ESPN+ at 4PM. The Cards' victory meant the ACC went 9-0 in the opening round. Incredible. I'm still riding high on yesterday's win. Check out the interviews below and join in on the elation. 

POSTGAME WITH MACKENZIE GEIGLE

POSTGAME WITH ERYNN FLOYD

POSTGAME WITH KFD 

Until next time, GO CARDS!!!

Case

WSOC Set to Face Kent State -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Host Golden Flashes at 7PM

After a run of beautiful weather, Louisville women's soccer may have their first chance to play on an "off" field this evening. Although the forecast shows the weather clearing up mid-afternoon, consistent rainfall overnight and through the morning will put Lynn Stadium's drainage capabilities to the test. Despite how well the field itself does, the berm and other grassy areas inside the stadium are unlikely to clear the water very well after the first major rainfall in weeks. That's unfortunate for tonight's Pups at the Pitch event. I foresee lots of folks with damp pants. 

Louisville is looking to maintain a strong run of form against Kent State. Despite Sunday's somewhat down night offensively, the scoring outburst from the Cards since beginning the homestand has them leading the NCAA in goals, assists, and total points (two points for a goal, one for an assist). Amelia Swinarski, who we talked a lot about taking a bigger role in the offense this season, has definitely done so. Swinarski leads the country in assists with nine. On top of leading the country, she's flying high in the ACC, as the second-leading assist getter in the conference has just four. 

Louisville has spread the love from a scoring perspective. While the team leading the country in goals and points, Swinarski and Mackenzie Geigle (team leaders in points at 13) are just ninth nationally as individuals. Geigle's five goals is just 11th in the country. The Cards have been getting it done on the offensive end, but Sunday night's match could hint at some concerns if it creates a playbook for how to slow this offense down. That said, I don't expect Louisville to play every match without four of their opening day starters. It will be interesting to see who is able to return for the Cards tonight. 

Kent State went 9-7-3 last season and finished 5-4-2 in MAC play. After defeating 5th-seeded Miami (OH), the Golden Flashes fell 4-1 at the hands of Western Michigan in the MAC Tournament to end their season. Kent State had a sparkling 7-2 record at home, with losses coming only to Miami and Western Michigan, but their road boots didn't work quite as well. The Flashes were 2-5-3 away from Dix Stadium, with the only wins being against Colgate and Toledo. 

Kent State is off to a similar start this season, as they are 2-1-2 through their first five matches. Interestingly, their only loss came against Duquesne in their home opener. The loss came after a 1-0 win on the road at Cleveland State to open the season. The Flashes have found a bit of momentum since then. They followed up the loss by stealing a draw against Northwestern in Evanston. After that, they returned home to crush Youngstown State 5-1. They're coming off of a 1-1 draw at Cornell on Sunday, which isn't saying a ton, but it's still back-to-back results on the road.

The Cards will need to keep their wits about them this evening if they don't want their good vibes to come crashing down by way of an upset. Weather is the great equalizer, and an off field makes it difficult for a "higher quality" team to do what they want with the ball. Louisville has made a lot of their offensive progress this season with speed and long ball movement. The short passing game has been there, but it hasn't been as effective, especially against Coastal Carolina. The Cards won't be able to get away with being so easily dispossessed tonight if the field doesn't allow them to get out on the break. 

After tonight's match, Louisville's long homestand will come to a close on Sunday against Dayton. The Cards would very much like wrapping up the non-conference schedule with an undefeated record in home non-con play, but they have to get through Kent State first. Tonight's match is scheduled for 7PM and will be available on ACC Network Extra. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WSOC Hosts Home Opener -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Bring in Detroit Mercy

After an unceremonious end to their season-opening road trip, Louisville women's soccer opens their slate at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium tonight on what is the first day of regular season action on campus. Karen Ferguson-Dayes's squad isn't the first team to compete on campus today, nor are they the first team to compete in Lynn. The men's soccer team will open its home schedule this evening as well, as the two teams take part in a double header. Tonight marks the only soccer double header of the season, making next Thursday's 3PM kickoff for the women a bit of a head scratcher. At any rate, the men will get things started against Southern Indiana at 5PM with the women to follow against Detroit Mercy. The scheduled start time for the women's game is 7:30, and the match will be available on ACC Network Extra. 

The Cards are coming off of a 1-1 SEC road trip following a 1-0 win at Auburn and a 2-0 loss at Vanderbilt. Louisville may have preferred those results come in the opposite order for multiple reasons. The first of those is that Vandy was the 17th-ranked team in the country when the two teams met and the second is for momentum. The great vibes created by the win they toughed out in Alabama were a bit deflated by their mild dismantling in the first half in Nashville. Louisville could be buoyed by their second half performance where, although they weren't able to find the net, they outshot Vandy 10-4 (3-0 on frame).

I think what I would expect most from tonight's match is for the defense to be lockdown. Both goals on Sunday were the direct result of defensive errors. On the first, a high defensive line was beaten by a breakaway on a good through ball. While the high line can create offsides and keep the ball forward for offensive chances, that opening goal displayed the potential pitfalls. If you lose track of a player, especially a speedy one, you can give away one-on-one opportunities. (Personally, I would have played the situation a bit more aggressively in goal and challenged the ball harder at the top of the box, but Erynn Floyd chose to test the freshman forward and forced her to make a clean shot. Either option was fine. One-on-ones are difficult and usually favor the attacker.) 

Speaking of one-on-one chances, the second goal came on the most advantageous of those: the penalty kick. A clumsy tackle in the box led to a penalty, even after video review, and penalties have about an 85-90% success rate. I absolutely see the case for a penalty in that instance, but I wouldn't have minded the commentating crew at least acknowledging the case against it. Olivia Stafford was never going to get to the ball after her heavy touch toward the end line, and Hadley Snyder's stab at the ball didn't create the contact with Stafford; Stafford started to chase the ball and crashed into Snyder's leg. Like I said, it was clumsy, and since it happened in the box, the only option is to not call a foul at all, which wouldn't have gotten much applause from the home crowd. So it goes. 

Louisville's defense cleaned it up in the second half, allowing four shots for the second straight half but keeping Vandy from putting the ball on frame. I think the Cards will look to keep their second clean sheet of the season, and I suspect the defense would like to keep Detroit Mercy from taking any shots at all if they can. 

Offensively, I'll be looking for a bit more consistency from the attack. So far, KFD has been much more fluid with the lineup in the front, partially to keep fresh legs in the tough conditions of the first two games. Amelia Swinarski (118) and Liza Suydam (114) lead the way in offensive minutes for the Cards. It will be interesting to see if Mackenzie Geigle is back to full strength or not. We never got a full report on what kept Gigs out of game one, but she did return against Vandy with limited minutes (31). Nicole Jodoin has been a presence as a freshman, starting both games so far and helping the offense move along. We'll see if she can continue to break out against the run of somewhat easier competition on this home stand. 

Detroit Mercy brings in a 1-1 record after opening the season with a 2-1 home win over Valparaiso before losing 4-0 to Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Titans were just 10-8-2 last year, but they went 7-1-2 in conference play. Detroit Mercy's 23 points in Horizon League play saw them finish in third behind Milwaukee's 28 (9-0-1) and Northern Kentucky's 25. The Titans were knocked out of the Horizon League tournament by the Norse in the semifinals by a score of 1-0. 

Louisville has faced Detroit Mercy just once before, and the Cards hold an 0-1 all-time record against the Titans. That lone matchup came in 1994, the first year after Louisville's first winning season and the final year of Louisville women's soccer's time as an independent. The Cards went 7-10-3 in 1994 and lost to Detroit Mercy 3-1 on October 9th of that year. It seems that I brought bad luck to the Cards, as their 11-7 1993 season came right before I was born. Despite back to back .500 seasons in 1995 (9-9) and 1996 (9-9-2), 1993 stood as Louisville's only winning record until Karen Ferguson-Dayes fifth season saw the Cards finish 12-5-3. From 2004 to 2019, Louisville had just four non-winning seasons with losing records in 2009 and 2014 and back-to-back .500 seasons in 2015 and 2016. Covid was rough on the Cards, as Louisville has not finished above .500 since 2019. 

Louisville is off to a good start in their quest to improve on last year's near .500 mark (7-6-5), but they'll need to build a fair amount of confidence heading into conference play. The Cards have won more than four conference games just twice since joining the ACC (2018 and 2019). Tonight's game is a good time to start that confidence building. I'm disappointed to be unable to make it in person, but it should be a fantastic night for soccer, with the forecast showing 78 degrees and partly cloudy at kickoff. If you're able, get out and support the women's team, and get double the action if you head out early for the men's game. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Soccer Kicks Off Fall Season -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Face Auburn Tonight

At long last, the University of Louisville fall sports will begin regular season action tonight. We'll have to wait a week for the home opener, but Louisville women's soccer will get the season underway tonight in Auburn, Alabama as they take on the Tigers from the SEC. Tonight's matchup will be the second meeting all-time between Louisville and Auburn in women's soccer with the Tigers taking the first match 1-0 on March 20, 2021. Yes, that was a regular season match, despite the date, as the Fall 2020 season was postponed to Spring 2021 due to the covid pandemic. 

Mackenzie Geigle

Auburn finished last season at 27 in the RPI after a second round exit in the NCAA tournament. The Tigers reached a highest ranking of 6th in the Coaches Poll and spent three weeks in the top ten before a bad road loss (4-1 to unranked Texas A&M) knocked them down to 16th. Auburn entered the NCAA tournament on a bit of a skid, going 1-1-3 in their final five conference games to finish 5th in the SEC at 4-2-4 in league play. They responded to that skid by losing in the first round of the SEC tournament to 11-seed LSU 2-1. The Tigers of Auburn had thumped the Tigers of LSU 4-0 just one month prior.

Auburn clunked into the NCAA tournament on a four-match winless streak, where they took on FIU in a first round match at home. The Tigers beat the Panthers 4-1, but their late slide put them in a disadvantageous seeding position. Auburn took on Ohio State in the second round in Winston-Salem and ended their season with a 2-1 loss. 

Auburn faced a rash of departures, mostly due to graduation, and they return just 11 players from last year's team. As a result, the coaches are much less bullish on the squad this season, as they enter the year receiving just nine points worth of votes in the preseason top-25 poll. While it's "just nine points," that is nine points more than Louisville received, so glass houses and all that. Also, of the 11 returners, three of those were in the top five in points scorers for the 2024 team, including Olivia Woodson, who led the team in points (25) and goals (11). Dylan Driver and Shelby Sallee each had 14 points, with Driver second on the team in assists (8) and Sallee tied for second with five goals. 

Erynn Floyd

Auburn did lose all of their goalkeeper minutes from last season and two of the top three minutes earners among field players were graduating defenders. Unfortunately for the Cards, the other two minutes earners in the top four were also defenders who are now seniors. While it will hurt Auburn to have broken up a very seasoned back-five, keeping two senior defenders will give Louisville's new look offense plenty of headaches. The Tigers appear to have an open competition in goal, as they return a redshirt sophomore and a redshirt freshman while also bringing in a transfer redshirt junior and a true freshman. We'll see who gets the nod against the Cards tonight. 

Louisville, to their credit, will have plenty of consistency from their defensive unit as well. The Cards will likely start a defensive unit that returns 5/5 players. Erynn Floyd returns in goal while Karsyn Cherry, Hadley Snyder, Lizzie Sexton, and Brooklyn Lee shore up the defense. Let's not think about next season just yet, as four of those five are seniors. The defensive consistency continues even more if you extend it to the defensive midfielders and Karen Ferguson-Dayes keeps the same philosophy as last year. In that case, Louisville's back seven will remain the same, with Betsy Huckaby and AG Gibson taking the lion's share of the minutes as the back two midfielders in a 4-5-1 formation last season. 

Cherry celebrates with Emma Kate (EK) Schroll

Karsyn Cherry, by the way, received a late preseason honor, as TopDrawerSoccer issued their preseason top-100 players earlier this week. The list excludes incoming freshmen, but there are still thousands of players across D1 women's soccer. TDS ranked Cherry 73rd among them. She was the only Louisville representative, but joins 25 other players from the ACC, including 14 of the top-25 and seven of the top-ten. Cherry is the 17th-ranked player listed as a defender on their roster. She'll shore up the defense for Louisville, and may even play a significant role in the offense once more, as she was second on the team in goals last season with six. 

Louisville will need a strong defense, as they may find themselves in quite a few rock fights this season. The Cards return their leading goal scorer in Mackenzie Geigle, but she had just seven last year. They lost their leading assister in Brooke Dardano and they'll see quite a few changes in the midfield and forward positions. Looking for big steps up from Fina Davy and Amelia Swinarski in their sophomore seasons, the Cards will also depend on Monmouth transfer Liza Suydam to make the offense go. 

All that gets underway this evening at 7:30 PM. The match will be carried on SECN+, which you should have the same access to for streaming as ACC Network Extra. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

More Summer Soccer -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

19 Total Cards with Summer Clubs

Last week I wrote about the University of Louisville women's soccer players that had stayed with the hometown Racing Louisville development team for their summer play. In the process, I inadvertently left off a number of Cardinals that will be participating with other teams, including many remaining local. In all, 19 players are suiting up for clubs this summer to keep touches on the ball, which is 83% of the players currently listed on UofL's roster for the 2025 season. Not too shabby. 

First, another Louisville player was added to the Racing roster. Nicole Jodoin, an incoming freshman forward from West Boylston, Massachusetts, will join Fina Davy, AG Gibson, Betsy Huckaby, and Grace Maddox in a very attack heavy representation. 

Floyd (30) and 2024 graduate Ava Nielsen

The next largest contingent of Cardinals headed east on I-64 to play for Lexington SC. While Racing's squad sports mostly offensive players from Louisville, Lexington sees most of the starting defense held together. Erynn Floyd, Louisville starting goalkeeper, is joined by three of her starting backline: Karsyn Cherry, Lizzie Sexton, and Hadley Snyder. That group will play Racing twice this season, with the first of those matches coming last night. After a 9-0 victory to start the season, Louisville played Kings Hammer FC to a 3-3 draw before a 0-0 draw last night against Lexington. A good showing for Louisville's defenders, while hopefully not too concerning for the attackers. 

Another player that will see her teammates on the opposing side of the pitch is Emersen Jennings, who is suiting up for Indy Eleven. The rising senior forward is from Noblesville, so, like Huckaby and Gibson, she's playing for her hometown club. Jennings is one of eight players that is a sole Louisville representative on her squad. Mackenzie Geigle (F-Sr) is another of those players, as she will once again represent her local team with the NC Courage's development program. 

Maya Maxwell (8), Jennings (27), and Gigs (3)

Most Cardinals are remaining local, to be fair. Emma Kate Schroll (MF-Sr), a Dacula, Georgia native, is playing for United FA, a Georgia academy team tied to the Arsenal Football Development program. Likewise, Amelia Swinarski (MF-So), from Madison, Ohio, is playing for Internationals SC in northeast Ohio. Also competing this summer are Brooklynn Lee (D-So; FC Olympia), Liza Suydam (MF-Jr[transfer]; PA Classics), Kailey Kimball (GK-Sr; Oakland Soul), and Brielle Baker (GK-Fr; Paisley Athletic). The only two other Cards who aren't alone in summer player are rising freshmen Karina (F/MF) and Kiley (D) Peat. The twins are from Wilmington, North Carolina and are playing for Port City in their hometown. 

Good luck to all of the Kickin' Cards this summer as we look forward to the 2025 season, which will get underway in just under three months. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Geigle Set for USLW Championship -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Mackenzie Geigle and NC Courage Vie for Title

Earlier this summer I wrote an article about the Louisville players representing local teams on club rosters. The information was a little hard to come by, and it seemed potentially incomplete. In what I have to assume was a direct troll of my lack of information, Louisville Women's Soccer made an Instagram post later that week about all of the players competing for professional clubs over the summer. Gee, thanks...

One of the players I missed was Mackenzie Geigle. Geigle is a rising junior from Raleigh, North Carolina, so it makes sense that she would play for her hometown NC Courage. She has competed with the club's development program since high school. Last season she played in 16 games for Louisville with one goal in 567 minutes. Geigle has the potential to be a key contributor going forward, so I'm excited to see her take the next steps. 

In the USLW season, the Courage have been unbeatable... literally. The team was top in the South Atlantic division with 34 points. They drew their first game of the season before going on an 11-game win streak. In the regular season, their goal difference was +50. The Courage weren't the only undefeated team in the league. The Florida Elite Soccer Academy bested NC by posting a 12-0-0 season for 36 points. Unfortunately for that squad, they bowed out in the first round of the playoffs. 

Geigle and the Courage will host the Colorado Storm (not to be confused with the California Storm or the South Georgia Tormenta or the Northern Colorado Rain; a fair amount of weather event names in the USLW) in Raleigh for the Championship match this evening at 6:00 PM. Geigle has played in all 12 games for the Courage this season and has started eight of them. She is averaging 49 minutes per game and has scored seven goals while tallying two assists. As I mentioned, she could be due for a big step up in contribution for the Cards this year. We wish her the best of luck in the final. 

For some additional background on the USLW Season, the Valley Division (which only played 10 games each) saw Indy Eleven finish top with 23 points. Racing Louisville and Lexington SC finished tied with 14 points. I haven't quite figured out why, but Lexington is listed above Racing, despite the squad in lavender posting a better goal differential. Either way, neither team made the playoffs. Like I said the other day, I'm excited to see this squad get back together and get to work next month. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We'll be without Daryl or Jared this week, so you'll have a return to the days of the basement on Crescent Hill with Paulie, Jeff, and myself. There's plenty to cover despite the late summer slump, and we'll be happy to bring it to you. You can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Spotify: Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case