Annabel Sep gets pre-season ACC Field Hockey honors. -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 SENIOR DEFENDER FROM NETHERLANDS IS ALL-ACC

Annabel Sep

Annabel Sep had a tremendous junior season in the Louisville field Hockey defensive backfield in 2025 and will be looked upon to bolster the Cards ball-stopping efforts in the 2026 season. 

She made the second team National Field Hockey All-West Region in 2025 and All-ACC Second team honors as well. She also did a bit of scoring for UofL Field Hockey with four goals and two assists.  

Justine Sowry recruited her and used the international student-athlete recruiting agency SianStox to help facilitate the transition to the States from the Netherlands. 

Minout "Minnie" Mink ...one of my favorite UofL field Hockey players of all-time

Louisville has had a fair modicum of success going the Netherlands route in past years. Julie Kouilzer and Charlie van Oirschot are two that come to mind immediately, although van Oirschot ended up going to play at Duke as a junior and was a three year starter in 59 games for Pam Bustin. Other former "Dutch" Cards include Tatum Kroon and Minout Mink. 

Louisville field Hockey goes against Bellarmine in an exhibition contest on Wednesday and will also scrimmage Ball State (on the 22nd) before officially getting the season underway against Miami, (OH) on August 28th. 

paulie

 

Jared reveals his favorite players -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Jared’s Favorite Players

*Note: the opinions below are Jared’s and may not reflect the views of the rest of Cardinal Couple*

As we continue to go through summer my article ideas continue to slim down. I figured a good one would be my personal favorite all-time Cardinals. I’m going to limit it to from the time I started as a student in the fall of 2012 to now.

Women’s Basketball

There’s plenty of players in the running for this one. Some of the players I thought about included Jazmine Jones, Monique Reid, and Shelby Harper. Ultimately I went with Myisha Hines-Allen. I met Myisha through a friend early on and remain friends with her up through today. Back when she was a student we would carry on the occasional conversation on Snapchat.

Field Hockey

I don’t have much of a personal connection to the field hockey players as much as I do with some other
sports but there have been plenty of exciting players over the past few years. My favorite during my time is Minout Mink. Although Mini Mink transferred out of UofL and went back home she has been one of the most exciting players I’ve watched, including her performance in the ACC Tournament in 2017.

Volleyball

For me, there’s not much competition here. Katie George is my all-time favorite. I knew Katie pretty much from her first game and was a good friend of my roommate and I. I stay in touch with Miss Kentucky to this day and am happy to call her a friend.

Soccer

Many recent players have a strong case to be my favorite including Emina Ekic, Taylor Kerwin, Jill Vetere, and Tori Gabor. My favorite, though, is Gabrielle Vincent. Gaby is one of the few UofL players to come to a concert of mine, which means a lot to me. I got to know Gaby’s parents very well at the game and would talk and learn soccer from “G$”.

Softball

This might have been the toughest to decide. I am a huge fan of several players like Sidney Melton, Morgan Meyer, Celene Funke, and Maddy Newman. However, it was Nicole Pufahl who originally got me to a softball game, which later progressed into my arrival here at Cardinal Couple.

I’m not ignoring the other sports and their players. I just haven’t followed many of the other sports well enough or closely enough to really have gotten a favorite player yet.

WCHQ Donation

Cardinal Couple is fortunate to have WCHQ as our host station, allowing us to be on air every Saturday from 11-12. They are having an “All Day On Air Fundraiser” today. 100.9 FM WCHQ is a non-profit that relies heavily on donations to stay up and running. Besides hosting CC, they bring in the best local music you can find. Please check it out! 

All Day Today, Wednesday July 24. 24 Hour On Air Fundraiser Help Us to Continue Our Mission of Bringing All Local Music to the Airwaves. Click Here to Donate Now

Have a great Wednesday!!

Jared Anderson 

Field Hockey Advances, Volleyball Sweeps -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cardinal Couple Donation Month

As I joined the Cardinal Couple team last year, this is my second Cardinal Couple Donation Month. Last November, whenever I wrote, I left it to Paulie to fill in this section. As I've taken on a more consistent role with CC, though, I feel just as comfortable writing this as I expect Jeff or Paul would be. We say every week on the radio, and periodically throughout the week on the site, that YOU, the readers, are Cardinal Couple. Without you all, everyone writing for this site would be just voices spouting off into the ether. Heck, maybe we still are, but your comments and kind words keep us going. When it comes to all of the behind the scenes part of the site, unfortunately, just comments aren't enough. 

One of my favorite follows on Twitter is Shea Serrano. He's a former writer for Grantland, current staff writer for The Ringer, and 2x NYT Best Seller. He's also hilarious and supportive of other people wanting to get into writing. One of his biggest pieces of advice is to not write for free. He and I must have different definitions of free, though. I don't collect a paycheck. I didn't get into this expecting one. I don't need or want one to do this. My pay is a media pass, if I want it, to cover the uncovered Louisville sports. Oftentimes, the sports we cover get no further press from their own university than the recap post on the Louisville athletics website. 

Paulie, with the help of others, put together this brainchild and has grown it to what it is today. For those of you that check in often, you see what he does to bring you the news and coverage that he does. The rest of us can't quite offer his same level of commitment, but we do our best. When we have donation month, don't consider it begging, and please don't think that you have to help fund our endeavors entirely by yourself, dear reader. If everyone gave whatever they thought was fair to help keep us going (keep in mind we don't have ad revenue or anything like that), we'd be more than appreciative.

Volleyball Gets Road Win at Wake Forest

As Jeff mentioned on last week's radio show, the Louisville volleyball team needs only to win to stay atop the ACC. After an extended break, they showed that they were completely capable of continuing to do so, sweeping Wake Forest in Winston Salem yesterday afternoon. Wake Forest is no world beater, with an ACC record now of 3-10 and an overall record three games below 0.500, but Louisville struggled with even the lowest teams last season. In fact, Louisville was one of the lowest teams last season. One of the marks of a good team is beating the teams you are supposed to without significant opposition. Louisville defeated Wake with the closest game being decided by six points.

Louisville started the match trading points with the Demon Deacons for the most part, before the Cards put together separate 5-0 and 4-0 runs to extend their lead and win the set 25-16. Louisville hit 0.567 in the set, so good luck to any team having to face that kind of efficiency. The second set started much like the first, with teams working each other down, drawing near to 10 points each, before Louisville set off another extended run to distance themselves. This time, Louisville hit only 0.267 in the 25-15 win, but Wake's 0.000 made them much less of a threat. The third set was the closest of the match, both in points and hitting percentage. Louisville ended up winning the set 25-19 to complete the sweep, but hit only 0.175 to Wakes's 0.111. This time, Louisville actually trailed early before drawing level and then using yet another large run to get out front. Once ahead, the Cards traded points with the Deacs until Louisville reached the magic number.

A few things were concerning to me despite the sweep. Louisville's hitting numbers continually declined in the three sets of the match. Extrapolation is dangerous, but if Wake had managed to squeak out a win in the third set, there was potential for Louisville to continue hitting worse and give the match away. Fortunately, they didn't do that, and there's no real way to know if that would have happened. I would just prefer to see a bit more consistency in the hitting. The second concerning thing was that Melanie McHenry hit only 0.059 with 5 kills. She is usually a rock for the offense, so her swoon could be dangerous for the team if it lasts longer than this match. The silver lining is that the rest of the team was able to makeup for her struggles, but you don't want to continue trying to compete for a conference title with one of your best players struggling. Finally, the fact that Louisville depended so much on large runs surprises me. Obviously, against lesser teams, I expect the Cards to go on big runs, but I expect them to do it consistently with opponent points intermingled. I don't expect them to need long runs to come from behind or stretch out a lead mid match. Maybe I'm being picky, but I guess it goes with consistent hitting. Louisville is a good team, and they need to cut down on errors to keep the ball in their control and win big. 

Louisville continues to strive for a conference title as they head to Duke tomorrow. Duke is 16-8 this season, 8-5 in conference, but are currently riding a five game win streak. Louisville will go into Blue Devil Country to try to shut down that win streak and extend their own streak to five. The match starts at 1PM and is available on ACC Network Extra.

Field Hockey Gets Revenge Against Duke

After a rough 5-0 loss to the Blue Devils earlier this year, Louisville field hockey got the last laugh when they took down Duke in a shootout yesterday in Trager Stadium to advance to the ACC Championship game. This huge win comes just after Louisville won their first ever ACC tournament game against Syracuse on Thursday. Now the Cards will look to beat North Carolina for the second time this year when they face off in the championship game at 1PM (marking the 3rd Louisville event at 1PM on 11/5. Hope you have enough screens.). Regardless of tomorrow's result, Louisville has put themselves in a much better position going into NCAA tournament selection season.

Ayeisha McFerran deserves a tip of the cap from everyone in the field hockey world after yesterday's performance. Looking at offensive stats, Duke looked as though they'd blow Louisville away. The Blue Devils had 31 shots, with 20 on goal. Louisville finished with 8 and 4. Duke had 11 corners to Louisville's 2. By the end of regulation, Duke had taken 16 shots to Louisville's 6. However, the Cards had the score tied at 2-2. In two sudden death overtimes, Louisville fended off 15 shots from Duke. The Cards then won the shootout 4-3. Ayeisha McFerran finished the game with 18 saves, an absolutely stunning effort. Credit also goes out to the Louisville defense for the efforts in the game. 

Louisville's regulars were to thank for their two goals, with the scores coming from Marisa Martin Pelegrina and Minout Mink. Shootout goals game from Nicole Woods, Martin Pelegrina, Madison Walsh, and Mink. Louisville will need continuing strong efforts from both the offense and defense for the remainder of this postseason. They've already made history in winning their first ACC tournament game and advancing to their first ever ACC championship game. Here's hoping that they can make even more and potentially win their first ACC and NCAA championships, both of which will be held on their home turf. 

Check out Jared Anderson's Facebook page for some great photos from yesterday's win!

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

As it may be clear, we'll have plenty to talk about on today's Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. We'll get things started at 11AM on 100.9 WCHQ FM. You can also find the show on the WCHQ app and wchqfm.com. Tune in for fun and games as we cover all I've talked about today and more.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Field Hockey Wins on Senior Day -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Ride Big Second Half to 6-0 Win

Louisville celebrated three seniors Sunday afternoon prior to their game against Ohio University. Abby Grimes, Marigrace Ragsdale, and Nicole Woods have been huge factors since arriving on campus, especially this season, and their presence will be missed going forward. There is still time to enjoy them this season, though, and they continued their contributions this weekend. I mentioned on Saturday's radio show that Louisville field hockey needed a big win to get a confidence booster going into the postseason. After only a 1-0 lead at halftime, it looked as though the Cards would be in for a tougher challenge than previously anticipated. 

The first half goal was scored by Minout Mink, her ninth of the season. Mink came up well short of Jared's prediction of two goals per game, but her nine tops the team. Louisville was relentless in that first half, despite only the one goal, with 10 shots on frame and 8 corners. Ohio got only two shots in the half. In the second half, the pressure kept up and the floodgates opened. Whena Munn got the second half party started in the 41st minute. She was followed by Alli Bitting, Marigrace Ragsdale, Abby Grimes, and Madison Walsh on 17 second half shots. 

The big win was mostly expected, with Ohio's rough season thus far, but it is still good for the Cards to accomplish what they needed to. A six goal, shutout performance is a great end to the regular season for Louisville after last week's frustrating losses. This will be a big confidence boost as the Cards look to begin postseason play. Louisville will shoot for it's first single game win in the ACC tournament since joining the conference when they face Syracuse on Thursday evening. An important part of postseason play is the ability to be streaky, and Louisville has shown that they maintain that capability, having gone on a seven game win streak earlier in the season. As long as they can shake last weekend's rough outings and focus on the things that they did well during their streak, the Cards could be poised for a big postseason.

(Editor Note) 

Jared Anderson handled the post-game interview with Coach Sowry in true CARDINAL COUPLE fashion! Good work, Jared.   LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x769d7yAMwU&feature=youtu.be

He also took all the photos you see here today.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

PS: I intended to talk about women's soccer a bit today, but life has pulled my time in other directions. Look for my thoughts on the issue in the upcoming days. Sorry for the brief article today!!


OTHER JARED PICTURES FROM SUNDAY'S GAME

Senior Nicole Woods

Senior Marigrace Ragsdale

Senior Abby Grimes

Vince Tyra was there. Talking to Carole Banda before match

Worldwide Looks On The Bright Side -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

First off...

You might have figured out that many of us here at Cardinal Couple like musical references and borrowing themes from songs.

Today's theme: "Always Look On the Bright Side of Life" from Monty Python's Life of Brian.

You can listen to the tune HERE....be advised there is one "potty" word in the lyrics...if that kind of thing brings you down. There were plenty of potty words out at PJCS yesterday...

To that end, we're going to keep this first section really short.

Football

Boston College, who is, let's face it, the traditional doormat of the ACC Atlantic division, came in to
PJCS and hung an L on the Cardinal Football team, 45-42.  Novels could be written about this one, and I suspect, if you combine the output of various sports media properties associated with Cardinal Athletics, essentially one has already been written.

Paulie reports that Louisville played
 "efense" quite a bit  ( no "D") 

Moving on.

Swimming and Diving

The SMU Classic has wrapped up and UofL Swimming and Diving finished the competition in 2nd place.  8th ranked USC just narrowly edged UofL out of the top spot, by half a point.  UofL came into the competition ranked 7th, and beat out 6th ranked Michigan by 8 and a half points.

Mallory Comerford won all 3 of the events she entered, the 500 free...she's not just a sprinter, folks...the 100 free, and the 200 free relay.  Beyond those victories, there were a lot of 2nd and 3rd place finishes.

The other victory for the Cards last night was in the 200 medley relay, with Alina Kendzior, Maria Astashkina, Grace Oglesby, and Lainey Visscher.  Molly Fears, who won the 1-meter springboard event Friday evening, came in 4th in the 3-meter event.

This meet was a great showing, in a unique format, by one of the most successful teams at UofL right now against very high level competition.

Field Hockey

Minnie

We've said it many times before.  ACC Field Hockey is mind-bogglingly good.  UofL met the latest
challenge in the conference gauntlet with the #11 Cardinals squad meeting the #5 North Carolina squad.  

While it was a bit of a lackluster first half, they did go into halftime tied with the TarHeels at one apiece.  The Cardinals goal came on a corner with 12 minutes left in the first half.  Marisa Martin Pelegrina inbounded the corner, Katie Walsh provided the stop, and Minout "I score goals" Mink fired it home.  If you're keeping track, and I think Jared has given up at this point, that's a team leading nine for her on the season.

The Cardinals would score again early in the 2nd half on another corner.  Abby Grimes gets the tally on this one off the stop by Marigrace Ragsdale.  The insert came from Marisa Martin Pelegrina.  UNC would tie it up again at 2-2 on a rebound from a shot.  The final, game winning, score of the game came just a couple of minutes later with just under 10 minutes left in the game when Taylor Stone to the rock to the hole unassisted.

Ayeshia

With about 8 minutes left in the game, UNC called a timeout and lifted their GK to get a little more offense on the field.  The Cards were able to hold off the extra attacking and finish out the game with the 3-2 win.

This is another huge positive result for the Field Hockey squad.  After their woes early in the season on penalty corners, it's good to see them pull that part of play together and get two goals out of their corners.

In ACC standings, this win leaves the Cards tied for 1st with only Virginia, dropping UNC to 3-2, compared to the 4-1 records of UofL and UVA.  Duke also holds a 3-2 record to hold the tie with UNC in 3rd.  Beyond that, the standings are Wake Forest at 2-3, Syracuse at 2-4, and Boston College at 0-5. The Cards face the Hoos next (at Virginia) for top spot in the conference. 

Next Up

On tap today, all four of the golf and tennis squads are in action.  Only Men's Tennis is here in the 'Ville, at Bass-Rudd hosting the Louisville Invitational.

For a entry in the  Panera Card drawing...be the FIRST
to identify this guy in front
 (by name in movie) in the
comments section.

In team sports, Volleyball finishes the weekend at home with a 3 o'clock start (note the later than
typical start time!) against Georgia Tech.  I've said in past articles and on the radio that GT really shouldn't be a major challenge for this UofL team the way the Cards have been playing, Dani Busboom Kelly, after the Clemson match Friday, disagreed, and GT really is something of an enigma.  In one week of play, they lost in four to Boston College, who isn't an absolutely awful team...but they're not very good, either.  Then they go in Friday and beat Notre Dame in 4.  OK, Notre Dame isn't the powerhouse they used to be, they're rebuilding (and rebuilding fast!), but they can put up some stiff competition and GT rose to the challenge.  Admittedly, Notre Dame is also a bit of an enigma this year, having split a two match home and home weekend with Ohio State, though that's somewhat explicable by pointing out that each team won on their home floor.  Then they went 1-1 on a weekend at home losing to Miami and beating Florida State.  And, ok, you can kind of explain that by pointing out that FSU isn't nearly as good as we thought they were early in the season, but they are still a good team.

The takeaway from all of this I think can only be, if you're trying to predict outcomes in ACC volleyball right now, Good Luck!  If UofL shows up and plays the way that we know they are capable of playing, this should be a win today, but things are topsy turvy enough around the conference that it's really hard to get a good feel of how good various teams are, and that certainly includes the engineers from Atlanta.

This one will be on the ACC Network Extra. Could we possibly get out buddy Cortnee Walton doing some audio?

CCRH

Julie JC Sullivan also goes by the
moniker "Bird Lady".  

The recording of The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour is up on the Soundcloud.  You can listen to the replay, here.  I was able to catch most of the broadcast via TuneIn in my car on my way to Indianapolis where I joined my mother for a zany 20 minute dash in and out of an opening weekend Ikea store.  What I will say is that the Swedes (did you know that they're actually headquartered in The Netherlands, now?) know how to do traffic and crowd control really well.  Over 7,000 had entered the store as we were going in at around 1pm, and yet we were able to make it in, pick up what we needed and get out in 20 minutes.  Impressive!

Back on topic, I was able to hear Jared, JC, and Case cover the latest, and deal with the tense confusion of pre-recorded shows ("This event will have been played by the time you hear this.").  They did a fine job, and it was an excellent show, please check it out if you didn't hear it at broadcast time.

-- 

JMcA

The Asia Taylor Interview...Minnie and the Stick Girls face a Saturday test -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

ASIA TAYLOR

We caught up with Cardinal Great Asia Taylor this week. She's in Sydney, Australia, preparing for a season in the WNBL with the Sydney Flames. Although we couldn't establish a phone connection, Asia was kind enough to answer a few questions we asked her. Enjoy this exchange with "A-Tayy" !!

PAULIE:  First off, let's take a step back. You made the playoffs with the Mystics and eventually fell to the Lynx. That had to be a little bittersweet since you previously played for them. Describe the season and what you learned from it?  

ASIA: It was awesome being in the league and playing with the best players in the world. There's no substitute for that experience! The season was a learning lesson, though, and made me extremely hungry to advance in the league. 

PAULIE: You're now in Sydney getting ready for the WNBL season. You have a solid team coming back and you're one of the key players on the roster. How does it feel to be back in Australia? 

ASIA: Sydney is amazing and I'm so excited to be back here!! It feels good to be back in this type of role. I get to show a lot more facets of my game here and continue to improve individually. I accomplished a lot last year but I'm not satisfied with that. I have even higher goals that I'm pursuing this year. 

PAULIE: How long does it take to get over the jet lag/time change? 

ASIA: Well...it feels like it takes from about the day I get here until the day before I get ready to leave (LOL. I'm just kidding!!) I figure about 12 days...two weeks. 

PAULIE: You're playing again with 6'7" center Jennifer Hamson (BYU/Indiana Fever) with the Flames. That has to be a lot of fun, right? 

ASIA: Yes! Jen is a good teammate and it's always good to have her as an extra life line back there blocking shots and rebounding! 


PAULIE: You lost Tahlia Tupaea again this season. How will the Flames adjust to that? 

ASIA: That's a huge blow to us. "T" is extremely talented and helped us a lot last year. We just have to hold things down while she's on the road to recovery and hopefully we can get her back by December. 

PAULIE: Can you find a decent ham and pineapple pizza over there? 

ASIA: Ha, ha, ha! And, Yes, I can! There are plenty of places to grab a slice here. My favorite is actually Domino's..they are in Sydney...and it's only $5 for a whole pizza. True heaven! 

PAULIE: Describe some of the differences between WNBL and WNBA ball? 

ASIA: I actually love the treatment we get in the WNBL! The games are broadcast all over Australia, which is amazing, our fans are die hard and we're taken care of with travel, apartments and our cars! 

PAULIE: What's your favorite "off-court" activity? 

ASIA: Going to the beaches with my teammates. 

PAULIE: Your thoughts on the 2017-18 Louisville women's basketball squad and their chances? 

ASIA: I only know a few of them but from what I've read and heard...the team is super talented and I wish them the best of luck! I know CARDINAL COUPLE will keep me up on them! 

PAULIE: Your thoughts on the UofL MBB scandal? 

ASIA: What has happened is truly unfortunate, but I'm not one to judge on legal matters. I can only speak from my personal experiences with them and I have nothing but respect for Coach P. and Tom Jurich for the way they treated me during my time there. I hope what has happened doesn't stop the amazing support from the Cards fans and that everyone comes together to help rebuild our reputation back to being the outstanding University that Louisville is. Support the student-athletes with your attendance. They love and depend on you, the fans.  

We thank Asia for her great responses and for doing this!
-Paulie-


#12 LOUISVILLE TRAVELS TO #5 UNC SATURDAY

The #12 UofL Field Hockey team has done a lot of right things this season. At 10-4 and 3-1 in the ACC on the season, they are currently on a six-game win streak. Last weekend, they stormed through New England and took convincing wins over Boston College (4-1) and New Hampshire (5-2). Memories of the three game losing streak earlier this year are fading quite nicely into the past. As head coach Justine Sowry likes to say...paraphrasing former UofL football coach John L. Smith, they've torn off the rear view mirror and concentrated on what's ahead. That losing streak came against some pretty formidable competition, in the Cards defense, at #2 Duke, #9 Northwestern and #16 Maryland. 

The Cards are a perfect 6-0 at home, in Trager Stadium. They have all-American goalkeep Ayeshia McFerran back again between the pipes. Making sure she stays out of trouble are defenders senior Abby Grimes, junior Taylor Stone, sophomore Carter Ayers and freshman Anne Marie Habelow. Delaware, St. Louis, Massachusetts, and Virginia represented there, if you're keeping geological track. They've been very stingy on goals allowed...just a 1.5 goals per game average for the 14 Cardinal opponents this year. 

And, then, there is the offense. Averaging 2.5 goals a game...nine different Cardinals are responsible for scoring 34 goals this year. The leader is Minout "Minnie" Mink, who has almost 1/4th of the squads net finders with eight goals. 

Minnie's a scorer. She told Coach Sowry that when she arrived on campus back in the summer of 2016. Coach Sowry uses the same phrase when she's asked about the Haaksbergen, The Netherlands sophomore forward. And that's what she's done at Louisville for the last two years. She led the Cards in scoring last season with 15 goals. She had a goal in each game of the Cards weekend trip and she's scored in the last four Cardinal contests. 

Yet, she doesn't start. Coach Sowry was vague when asked about that. We've seen it before in other sports with other players. A chance for visualization from the sidelines, to pick up the flow of the action and get the overall picture before entering the battle...maybe. It seemed to work for UofL WBB a few years back when Gwen Rucker would start the game so that Keisha Hines could get a look at what lay ahead for her in the pivot. 

Minnie holds the school record for freshman goals. She was named to the 2016 All-West First Team (yes, they have Louisville in the Western region. Because of all those tumbleweeds blowing down Floyd Street and the cactus popping up everywhere, I suppose.) She was also named to the All-ACC team. In life back in The Netherlands, she played for the Dutch U-18 National team and she lists winning the European championship with them and scoring the decisive goal in the championship game as a couple of her favorite personal sports moments.

(I'm pretty sure her interviews with Cardinal Couple came in third...) 

She'll lead the Stick Girls into action this Saturday against the TarHeels down in Chapel Hill, NC. Louisville runs into a 11-2 TarHeel squad that saw their junior back Ashley Hoffman named National Defensive Player of the Week after a shutout 3-0 win over #3 Virginia last week. Hoffman also leads the TarHeels in goals scored...so Louisville would be well-advised to keep a watchful eye on her. 

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

FUN FACT QUIZ ON LOUISVILLE FIELD HOCKEY (Answers below) 

No cheating! 

1) How many different nations are represented on the Field Hockey Squad? 

A) 8  B) 6  C) 12  D) 9 

-----

2) How many schools play Field Hockey in the ACC? 

A) 5  B) 7  C)  9 D) 11

 -----
3) Which of these players for Louisville FH is actually from Louisville

A) Annie Mulford  B) Bethany Russ  C) Carter Ayers  D) Katie Walsh 

 -----


4) How many years in a row has Louisville FH made the NCAA Tournament? 

A) 10  B) 8  C) 6 D) 3 

-----

5) In which of these Conferences did Louisville Field Hockey NOT participate in? 

A) MAC  B) Big East  C) KWIC  D) AAC


-----

ANSWERS

1) A. 8 nations represented. US, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia. N Ireland

2) B.  7 schools. UofL, Duke, UNC, Va., B.C., Wake Forest, Syracuse

3) D. Katie Walsh played for Louisville Ballard. 

4) D. The Cards have made three straight NCAA appearances

5) D.  The AAC does not offer a Field Hockey league. 


So, how did you do? 

-- 5 correct. You're ready to grab a clipboard and join Coach Sowry on the pitch! 

-- 4 correct. Not bad. Join me in the press box next home game

--3 correct. Average. We'll let you sit in the top bleachers

--2 correct. You need to pick your game up. Report for practice 8 a.m. Friday

--1 correct. Really?  OK, you're assigned to chasing errant shots during practice. 

--0 correct. We're lining you up in front of one of the water cannons at halftime.



paulie
xxxxx 

A Busy Sunday -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Soccer Earns First ACC Win

After finally breaking through into the ACC scoring column late in their game against Florida State, Louisville's women's soccer team got their first ACC win of the season over Miami yesterday, with a final score of 1-0. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the goal came at the feet of Emina Ekic, the freshman sensation that has led the Cards in scoring thus far. Ekic can do great things with the ball at her feet and can also create off of set pieces. She has been a driving force for the success of Louisville's young season and will continue to do great things for the Cards in her remaining years at UofL.

Although Ekic's goal didn't come until the 83rd minute of play, the box score shows a relatively lopsided game. Louisville led in shots 16-7, shots on goal 7-2, corners 7-4, and fouls 6-11. Those numbers show one team having a greater time of possession and keeping the other on its heels. Of course, in soccer, one team can dominate an entire game and the other team can win by getting lucky once. Such was not the case yesterday. Louisville finally snagged that first conference win, dropping the Hurricanes to 4-4 (0-2) on the season and improving their own mark to 7-4 (1-2). Louisville returns to the field in Lynn Stadium on Friday at 7:00 PM to take on the Duke Blue Devils. The Cards will look to improve upon their scoring (only 2 goals in 3 conference games so far), but will also hope to continue to play solid defense.

Field Hockey (hopefully) Gets Offense Back on Track

Something that has been missing for Justine Sowry's team this season has been consistent offense.

Scoring has not been a problem for the team in the past, but this year's iteration, for whatever reason, has had trouble putting the ball in the cage. Louisville has lost a couple of games they should have won because the defense simply couldn't support the offensive woes. (As a Seahawks fan, I totally get this.) Yesterday may have been a large step in the right direction. After opening the home conference slate on Friday with a win against Wake Forest, Louisville was back in action yesterday against the thirteenth ranked James Madison University. When JMU scored in the first 7 minutes, it looked as though it might be a long day for the Cards.

Fortunately, Louisville broke through with a goal just before the half ended. Minout Mink tied the score at 1-1. Louisville would not look back, scoring three times in the second half (Martin Pellegrina, Swartwood, and Stone) and not allowing another JMU goal to win 4-1. Louisville created a ton of offense, putting up 14 shots, with 11 being on frame. They also converted 2/6 penalty corners and prevented goals on either of JMU's 2 corners. The defense held JMU to only 5 shots (3) with only the one goal scored. This late in the season, a ranking means something. Yesterday's game was only their 3rd loss of the season. The Cards might have proven that they aren't yet done hanging with the big dogs this season. They'll get a chance to continue their winning ways when they take on Syracuse at 3:30PM on Friday. The game is in Trager Stadium. 

Volleyball Drops Fifth Set to Tar Heels

After a thrilling five set victory over Notre Dame on Friday, Louisville was on the wrong side of things yesterday, falling victim to a reverse sweep by the North Carolina Tar Heels. After winning the first two sets hitting .269 and then a whopping .429, Louisville's hitting broke down. Their best set of the final three was .163. Louisville looked poised to sweep, hitting well and leading 13-10 in the third set. UNC then went on a big run, jumping out to an 18-14 lead before ultimately winning the set 25-18. UNC won the fourth wire-to-wire. Louisville's best and last chance came when they jumped ahead in the fifth set 7-3. They led 8-4 at the turn, but were unable to close it out. Cards fell 15-12 and dropped the match 3-2.

It's a frustrating end to a great start, but sometimes things like this happen on the road. Louisville can only learn from such an experience, and it may prove to be a benefit later in the season to help them grind out a win when the opponent has momentum. Louisville was led statistically by Melanie McHenry (18 kills), Maggie DeJong (6 blocks), Wilma Rivera (53 assists), and Molly Sauer (18 digs). Volleyball will be back in action (you guessed it!) on Friday, when Florida State visits Cardinal Arena. The match is set to start at 7:00 PM.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Paulie battles D.P.S. to a scoreless tie

(EDITOR NOTE: The latest update on me against UofL's Department of Public Safety)

(Are these guys my last resort ?) 

In keeping with the various battles concerning UofL...this update in from Paulie's contest against the
University of Louisville's Department of Public Safety. We're tied in a scoreless battle...I did receive a call Monday morning from the D.P.S. informing me that they had approved a four-year handicapped spot for me...first year cost $100.

I had originally asked them to "comp" this for me. We are a non-profit 501c organization here at CARDINAL COUPLE. So is WCHQ 100.9 FM, where we broadcast the radio show and play a lot of the clips that you hear on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR. I mentioned this and asked if there was anyone I could appeal the cost to. I won't declare a win until it's free.

I was sent to a Mr. Becker's voicemail. Now...if this is former Softball pitcher Maryssa Becker's Dad or brother...I may have a shot here.  It probably isn't, though. Could it be my House of Cards buddy George "Screech" Becker? Once again, probably not bloody likely....

My point is this. I am only going to use this sticker 1-2 times a week. For interviews at the "Little Yum" and the SAC building. That's it. I am actively promoting the UofL Sports programs and not asking for a penny in return.

I am walking better with the right hip but, sadly, the left knee has stepped into the batter's box and now giving me fits.  Steps are still an issue with me. I try to avoid walking on grassy, uneven surfaces.

(I wonder if it's too late to get in on this deal?) 

I did receive a call back from Mr. Becker. In all fairness, he was polite but right to the point. He explained that the University had many volunteers and such that work with various departments on campus. To "comp" them all was be impossible. He further added that any possible "comps" should actually be implemented (or paid for) by the organization the volunteer (or media reporter) is covering.

What he's saying is that UofL Athletics would pay for me to park. (With-hold laughter until the end of the performance, please.) We all know the likelihood of UofL Athletics sending me $100 a year to park is like me outrunning Lamar Jackson (or Minnie Mink or Jaz Jones) in the 40 yard dash.

Would someone please get the nice Softball
lady a golf cart? That I could borrow? 

I say this is a scoreless tie. The next thing I have to decide is whether I want to take the money out of a tightly-budgeted, under-funded Cardinal Couple account or pony up the 'sheckles' myself. Or do neither? I can still see me absconding with a golf cart, hiding it in Sandy Pearsall's shed (we BOTH benefit that way) and running a-muck around campus that way. With a few chimps, social director, a Bjerke, Mink, Arica or two and business cards.

Maybe I should have got in on some of that Foundation money-grab or hit Andre McGee up for a few $$$ when the getting was good.

The rich get richer, the non-profits continue to struggle and what else is new in your Monday World.?

Excuse the rant today...mind still turning, revisiting options and strategies...

Paulie

That Winning Feeling -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Field Hockey Wins Shootout Thriller

Louisville and Wake Forest went the distance last night, playing a full game, two sudden death overtimes, and finally going to a shootout before Louisville came away victorious. The final score will go down as 3-2, but Louisville did officially score two goals in the shootout. One of them was scored by Minnie Mink so we'll give her that credit. For the first time this season, she scored two goals in a game as Jared wished she would all year. Both sides of the ball have been struggling lately, so it was good for the Louisville defense to limit goals with the number of opportunities Wake had and it was great for the offense to support the defense's efforts by scoring two goals. 

Ayeisha McFerran looked to return to form as the All-American goalkeeper we know her to be and she did so with 5 saves last night as well as keeping balls out of the cage during the shootout. Wake's offensive attack last night was ruthless, as they ended the game having earned 9 penalty corners and taken 15 shots, with 8 on goal. After an efficient second half, in which Wake scored a goal on only 2 shots and Louisville scored their only shot of the half, the teams played an aggressive first overtime. Both teams earned a PC and had three shots. The second overtime was all Wake Forest, but the Louisville defense was up to the task. Wake earned 3 penalty corners and took 6 shots in the second overtime period. Louisville's offense was nonexistent during that time. However, the defense held strong and kept the Demon Deacons off of the scoreboard, taking the game to the aforementioned shootout. In the shootout, Wake failed to convert its first four shots (thanks, Ayeisha) and Meghan Schneider and Minout Mink scored in the first and fourth positions for Louisville. Since Wake's fifth shooter couldn't score two goals at once, the game was over and the Cards were victorious.

Scoring in the regular period, in addition to Mink, was Marigrace Ragsdale, which brought her goal total to 3 on the season. It may not have been the prettiest win, but after the dreadful road trip the team just endured, I'm sure Coach Sowry is more than happy to get a win in any way possible. The victory moves Louisville back above .500 with a 5-4 record (remember that according to my prediction, they can't lose anymore games in the regular season) and earns them their first conference win. The game last night was Wake's first conference loss. Louisville gets the day off before hosting James Madison at noon tomorrow. The game is at home and available on ACC Network Extra.

Paulie Interview with Minnie Mink

Paulie Interview with Ayeshia McFerran

Paulie Interview with Coach Justine Sowry

Dani Busboom Kelly Wins First ACC Game

It was an up and down and back up again match for the Cards last night, but it seemed to be destined from the start. After going the full length with Notre Dame and winning in 5, Louisville is now 20-3 in conference home openers since 1995 (per gocards.com). The win gave Dani Busboom Kelly her first ACC victory as head coach in her first ACC game. Here's hoping for many more.

 The Cards jumped out early, winning the first game 25-23, having to come from behind as they trailed 16-20. This would come to be a theme throughout the match. Louisville led the second set 21-19 before ultimately falling 23-25 and led 17-9 in the third set before stumbling to a 25-27 loss. The Cards finally took control in the fourth set, leading wire-to-wire and winning 25-18. The Cards were again in control of the fifth set, trailing only 0-1 before winning 15-11 and taking the match. On offense, the Cards were led by Melanie McHenry with 21 kills, Tess Clark (16), and Jasmine Bennett (15). On defense it was Molly Sauer with 36 digs, Wilma Rivera (21), and Alexis Hamilton (16). 

The win over Notre Dame is no small feat. The Irish lost only one game in their non-conference schedule, a sweep against a ranked Ohio State team which they managed to avenge with a 3-1 win two days later. ND also has a win over Michigan State and did not drop more than one set in any match other than the OSU loss. Louisville will continue to test their mettle as they travel to North Carolina to face off with the Tar Heels tomorrow at 1PM. The game will be available on ACCNE.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

With Paulie and I hitting the noon football game, Jared at work, and Jeff fearful of facing the studio alone, we're taking the week off from our standard set-up. However(!), you can still tune into WCHQ via your radio, app, or online at 11AM to hear a collection of exclusive Cardinal Couple interviews compiled throughout the week. These sound clips will include previews, conversations about players, and post-game thoughts that can't be found anywhere but Cardinal Couple. As always, we thank you for reading, commenting, and listening.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-