GOING THROUGH THE E-MAIL FOLDER -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

YOU SEND 'EM...WE'LL ANSWER THEM

One of the many fun things about running a website and doing a radio show is that we get e-mails from a vast array of people about a variety of subjects. Every once in a while, I like to post a few up (names ALWAYS withheld) with my reply. Snark and sarcasm sometimes come into play  

We joke on The Right Side Of The Site that the staff chimps print each one out, cover it in banana pudding and feed it to Bill The Goat after replying to you...actually, that isn't true...ol' Paulie adjusts the spectacles and sends a garbled response to each sender after mas tequila and a trip to the Oasis. 

What is going on with Dakota Weatherford?  We've received several inquiries about "the attack Yorkie" who shone so brightly throughout the 2015-16 WBB season. It seems her name is no longer on the WBB Roster over at gocards.com according to a few of you. I had CoCo the Chimp verify that (and, yes, it's true...she is no longer listed on the roster) so I sent several bloodhounds to the Belknap Campus to see if they could track her down. They came back with Sidney Melton and several unpaid parking tickets. 

Calls to Walz resulted in discussions of iambic poetry, the Derby contenders, a challenge to see who could hit the most free throws blindfolded and a lengthy review of the Keynesian economics platform. 

We expect the mad scientist will divulge more on this later when he feels it's time to do so and...on a personal note...c'mon people, it's not even May yet! Channel some of that women's basketball energy over to softball and lacrosse for a few weeks for ol' Paulie and the squads. OK? 

Is anyone else leaving the UofL WBB Roster? 

I get speculation on this from people who put way too much thought into it. I've heard, from a few of you, a varied range of possible departures...from Erin DeGrate to Brianna Jones...with a dash of Arica Carter and Sam Fuehring thrown in for seasoning. 

Let's turn this around. Let's play this game. Who else is leaving the UK WBB Roster? With the recent announcement of 6'2" freshman Batouly Camara and assistant coach Tamika Williams-Jeter jumping off the ship...UK has had six departures since the fall. For you conspiracy theorists out there among you, that's a much better story. 

Players come, players go. It's a fact of life in women's college basketball these days. Don't lose sleep over it.

WHY DIDN'T CANDACE PARKER MAKE THE OLYMPIC TEAM?

This one is puzzling to all. The roster will be announced Wednesday and the over/under on UConn players that'll go to Rio is currently at 5 in Vegas.

Personally, I think it's a shame.

Parker still has game and she is a great ambassador for women's basketball. Geno will formulate some type of response, he may have already....but as I tweeted out when I heard about her omission: 

" Leaving Parker off the USA team is like not inviting LeBron James to a dunking contest. Incredulous."

IS KELSI WORRELL THE BEST WOMEN'S ATHLETE TO EVER PLAY AT LOUISVILLE? 

That's a tough one. She certainly would rank in the top three, in my opinion. If I was forced to give you a "top five" of UofL women's athletes...she'd be in there with Angel McCoughtry, Lola Arsenbekova, Aja Sherman and Nikki Boltja. What say you? Is Kelsi top of the list? 

So...keep those e-mails coming. We relish your opinions, feedback and commentary. 

paulie
xxxxx 

Lacrosse Stadium to get permanent press box -- Thursday Cardinal Couple

CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON LACROSSE PRESS BOX

THE REMOVAL OF THE BLEACHERS HAS STARTED
FOR THE NEW PRESS BOX FACILITY'S HOME.

The Louisville Lacrosse program is getting a permanent press box facility. This may not be hold-the-presses, get out another special edition news...but to the SID's, reporters, official scorekeepers and staff associated with the dozen or so home lacrosse matches per season...it is a cause for celebration. Another reason to smile when we think ahead to the 2016 lacrosse season.

It will replace the "two story, state fair concession stand" type structure that has served as the official scoring and limited staff housing on the player's side of the field and provide a permanent setting for the statistics-gathering, media venue location and video-taping of games.

Every time I'd saunter across the field to gather halftime or post game stats and wait for the sheets to be handed down to me (when the printer was actually working)...I'd think about jokingly asking:

"And can I get two dogs with mustard and a large lemonade with that, please?" 

Over the past several years, Worldwide and I have covered lacrosse matches...along with the Cards TV and ESPN3 crews...from the bleachers. In every imaginable type of weather. Rain...below- freezing blustery winds, steaming-hot and humid scorchers and absolutely-perfect spring afternoons. 

Statistics sheets being blown out of reach by sudden gusts of wind. Watching Don Russell and Patty Norton construct a cardboard shield over the laptop screens to block the sun for viewing purposes. Seeing water cascade off of the tarp overhead onto the color commentary and play-by-play announcers underneath. 

Those days are gone.

Lacrosse deserves the upgrade. 

In their eight seasons of existing as a UofL women's sport , they've had but one less than .500 win/loss record. Over the past three years...they've made the NCAA Tournament, won the BIG EAST Conference and complied a 38-17 record. They now compete in the best lacrosse conference in college athletics and have had an All-American for the second year in a row....starting with Nikki Boltja and continuing with Kaylin Morissette. The program is nationally recognized and so is their head coach Kellie Young. 

The other outdoor women's sports we cover here at

CARDINAL COUPLE have press boxes for the most part. Softball just got a press box upgrade. Field Hockey and Soccer have nice game coverage permanent facilities. So does Track and Field. Golf, Tennis, Rowing and Cross Country really don't need press boxes (although the idea of a floating and self-propelled press box to cover rowing would be a novel concept...) 

We see Lacrosse continuing their successes and becoming a relevant competitor in the ACC. A conference that has three of the final four teams in the NCAA Lacrosse semifinals in Syracuse, Duke and North Carolina. The fourth team (Maryland) was a ACC member for many years. 

Although the advent of a press box will not affect player recruitment to any major degree...we see it as a commitment from Tom Jurich and UofL President James Ramsey to the continued excellence of all UofL sports. Best teams, state-of-the art facilities.  

And, it will be nice to cover this excellence in a facility that offers shelter from the elements. Players, obviously, play in all kinds of conditions. Fans attend and watch in all types of weather.

When it comes to the actual coverage and administration of an event, though, a permanent facility with dedicated electrical outlets and capabilities, accessible and convenient viewing venues and working Internet, communication and information gathering ports is mandatory.   

Thanks for the upgrade, Cards! 

paulie 

Five to remember from 2014 -- Friday Cardinal Couple

FIVE PLAYERS TO REMEMBER FROM 2014


As we wind down 2014 -- let's take a look at five players who left some long lasting memories on UofL women's sports during the last 12 months. 

Erin Yenney -- Soccer 

"Yen" was a four year starter and stalwart at midfielder for the Karen Ferguson-Dayes soccer team. Her role as one of the few seniors on a freshman and sophomore laden team was one of guidance, leadership and inspiration. She was second on the squad with shots-on-goal and led the team in shots. Her shoes will be big ones to fill...


Katie George -- Volleyball


The Louisville native was everywhere on the court as the team's primary setter...she was the one responsible for tracking down the Cards less than perfect passing so the Cards could score. An AVCA All-East Region selection, she returns for her senior year to lead a team that went through a learning season in the ACC.


Nikki Boltja -- Lacrosse


The senior scoring machine helped lead Kellie Young's squad to a perfect Big East season and trip to the NCAA Tournament. Young calls her the hardest working, most dedicated player she has ever coached and this year's team will get to reap those skills again this year...as Boltja has been added to the Lacrosse staff as a program assistant.

Alyssa Voelmle -- Field Hockey


The heart and soul of Justine Sowry's defensive squad...Vo
elmle was the guiding force behind the UofL point preventers that took the team to the NCAA Tournament. A key contributor on UofL's corner attack offense, the senior was selected to the First Team All-American squad.


Shoni Schimmel -- Basketball

Fill in your own memories of the four year career of the prolific, dynamic guard. I'll contribute two...shooting the Cards back into the Maryland game and almost putting the Cards into the 2014 Final Four and "the layup" against Griner.

All five were aided by the outstanding team and coaching support that surrounded them. Their accomplshments at UofL will last a long time.

Saturday Cardinal Couple -- Rowing ready for NCAA Championships

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


- Rowing heads to Indy with major upsets in mind


- Boltja an All-American


- Fellerhoff and Shine eliminated


- Radio Today!




The Louisville rowing team learned its heat race assignments
and seeding for the 2014 NCAA Rowing Championship on Tuesday afternoon as the
complete field of 22 teams was revealed on NCAA.com.

 

Earning their first NCAA Championship berth as an automatic qualifier with last
Sunday’s dominating win at the American Athletic Conference Championship, the
Cardinals will compete in the three-day event scheduled for May 30-June 1 at
Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis, Ind. Overall, the 22 teams in this year’s
championship are comprised of 11 automatic qualifiers and 11 at-large
selections.

 

Louisville’s varsity eight boat was seeded 16th overall and will compete in Heat
1 against San Diego, USC, Ohio State and Michigan. The Cardinals’ second varsity
eight crew was seeded No. 15 and will open the event in Heat 2 against Oklahoma,
Notre Dame, Stanford and Princeton. Louisville’s varsity four boat was seeded
No. 14 and race in Heat 3 against Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Wisconsin
and Jacksonville.

 

More information on the 2014 NCAA Rowing Championship is available online at
http://www.ncaa.com/sports/rowing/d1 .

 

2014 NCAA Rowing Championship – May 30-June 1

Eagle Creek Park – Indianapolis, Ind.

 

Varsity Eight – Heat 1

San Diego, USC, Ohio State, Michigan, Louisville


Second Varsity Eight – Heat 2

Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Stanford, Princeton, Louisville


Varsity Four – Heat 3

Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Louisville, Jacksonville


   ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////


Nikki Boltja's senior campaign is concluding as her most decorated one. The University of Louisville women's lacrosse attacker earned WomensLax.com All-America honors on Friday.
Boltja is one of 25 players on the website's All-America team and the only player from the BIG EAST on the squad.  Earlier this week, Boltja earned first team IWLCA All-America honors to become the first in program history to achieve the feat. In 2014, the Medina, Ohio, native also collected first team all-region honors, unanimous BIG EAST Attack Player of the Year status, and all-BIG EAST first team accolades. After totaling six goals and four assists, she was named to the league's all-tournament team.  She has achieved all-BIG EAST and all-region honors each of the last three years.Boltja finished the year ranked third nationally in goals (71), goals per game (3.55), and points per game (5.00), and fourth in points (100). She registered 14 hat tricks this year and totaled the 24th-most assists in the country (29).  Career-wise, Boltja finishes first on the school's career charts in free-position goals (52), second in points (235) and goals (193), third in assists (42) and game-winning goals (9), and ninth in game starts

Her coach, Kellie Young, told me a couple of years ago that Nikki had the strongest work effort of any player she had ever seen, or coached. Night or day, sun or snow...Nikki was continually practice her show and her moves to get open and score. Looks like it paid off...


////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////


Julia Fellerhoff and Rebecca Shine had formidable opponents in the first round
of the NCAA Doubles Championship but just walking on McWhorter Court in Athens,
Georgia  at the national championship was a historical moment for the Cardinals.

 

Louisville’s most successful doubles pair in school history drew the No. 3
ranked singles player in the country, Kristie Ahn, who partnered with the No.
21-ranked singles player, Carol Zhou from Stanford.  Fellerhoff and Shine, who
made the finals in the ITA Indoor National Championship, took the first set 6-4
before falling 6-3, 6-2 in the next two.  Ahn and Zhao improved to 29-5 with the
win and advanced in the bracket.

 

"This was a high level match. The points were being won and not given away.
Stanford is a very good team obviously and they executed a little more than
Julia and Becca. We definitely had opportunities to win it, so the only
disappointment is in the loss! These two have elevated Louisville tennis to a
national level. We will continue building on what they have started. These two
should be recognized as the two best to ever play at Louisville. They have had
amazing careers," said UofL head coach Mark Beckham. 

 

Not only did Shine and Fellerhoff reach the final match of the National Indoor
Tournament but entered the season ranked No. 2 in the nation as a doubles team,
the highest-ever ranking for a Cardinal duo. They each achieved milestones this
season. Shine registered her 104th win in singles to take over the school record
and she also notched her 102st victory in doubles placing her second on the
all-time doubles list. Fellerhoff went undefeated at home in singles over the
past two seasons with a perfect 16-0 record at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.


//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

We'll be radio-talking today at 11 a.m.

We'll discuss all kinds of stuff...and throw in a quiz as well. We're starting a campaign to get Jeff to shave for the summer and your cards, letters and telegrams are needed.

As his mom says:

"His beard is old enough to buy alcohol"

(Which explains a lot of his comments on the show)

Join us if you dare:

http://www.crescenthillradio.com


paulie
...
..
.

Tuesday Cardinal Couple -- Rowing title and another year of the Cards?

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

First, Some Results

The UofL Rowing team competed over the weekend in the AAC conference championship in Rowing.  I'm not sure how to put this other than to say that Louisville dominated the competition.

The Rowing competition consisted of time trials followed by the Grand Final in three different levels of 8+ person and 4+ person competitions.  In all 12 outings, the first boat across the finish line was Cardinal Red.  I went and watched the highlight video on the AAC website, and most of the finishes weren't competitive for first place.  By and large, the excitement was between Rutgers, UConn, and UCF for second, third and fourth places.

Unsurprisingly, given the above, there were four rowers - Darya Marchanka, Morgan Dunham, Hannah Ritter, and Jami Montesano - that earned placement on the AAC first team, along with three - Lucy Wilshier, Andrea Zorn, and Elise Valantine - on the second team.  The Coaching Staff of the Year award also went to Louisville, and how could it not, given that performance.

Another "Year Of The Cardinals"?

Hard to believe that last year about this time, all of the talk was about "The Year Of The Cardinals",
and everyone (yours truly included) was falling all over themselves recounting the various successes of UofL Athletics in 2012-2013.

No one could argue that 2013-2014 has been as successful as 2012-2013, but honestly, no one could have realistically expected it to be, either.

To be sure, however, 2013-2014 has been a good year, and its not yet over.  The Rowing team, as mentioned above, has just absolutely obliterated the competition in the conference and earned a berth in the NCAA championships in Indianapolis May 30th-June 1st.  We'll be continuing to follow the Rowing team as they finish out their competition for the year.

I'd like to take some of my columns over the next several weeks and look back on the successes achieved by some of the women's athletics teams at UofL.

Let's start with...

Lacrosse

The UofL Lacrosse squad achieved unprecedented success this year.  I'm almost obsessive about pointing out that the Lacrosse program at UofL is only seven years old, because its a lesser known sport and with the successes they achieved this year, a casual UofL fan could be excused for not realizing that it hasn't been around longer.

Preseason, our Lacrosse team was picked to finish third in The Big East, behind Georgetown and UConn.  In the preseason poll, no one voted for UofL to finish in first place (coaches aren't allowed to vote for their own school).  UofL had three selections for the preseason All Big-East Team, in Monica Negron, Kaylin Morissette, and Nikki Boltja...three names that I've learned well enough that I don't have to double-check their spelling anymore.  The three selections were overshadowed by the six selections from Georgetown and four from Rutgers.  Without a doubt, in the preseason, Georgetown was considered the cream of the crop of Big East Lacrosse.

The season opened with a loss, though to be sure a loss to Duke is nothing to be embarrassed about.  They followed that up with an overwhelming victory over Detroit, but we beat them pretty badly last year as well.  Next a close win over Old Dominion, who we substantially beat last year and all of a sudden some doubts about how well this season is going to go start to creep in.

A win over William and Mary, and then a good win over Denver that we lost to in a similar margin last year and things are starting to look up a little.  Next a heart-wrenching loss to a very good Ohio State team 11-12 which was an 12-11 victory for the Cards last year, followed up with a loss to another good team in Notre Dame, but one that we had taken to sudden-death double overtime the previous year.  At this point, a 4-3 record doesn't look terribly exciting, but one can take heart that the schedule to this point has involved playing a number of very good Lacrosse teams, so let's not give up hope.

A chance to start the winning ways with Canisius which was a solid win last year, but alas the
weather didn't cooperate and the game was cancelled.  The last non-conference game was against Vanderbilt, and a good win in overtime in Nashville is encouraging leading into the conference slate.

And the encouragement was needed as the conference slates starts off with the big one.  Playing Georgetown, on their home field in Washington D.C....and an upset, but very close, win.  Next on the road trip is Cincinnati...maybe in a few years they'll be ready to join the adults Lacrosse table, but right now they're not there.  I think they were tying together the shoelaces of some of the Louisville players to try and make it competitive, but it didn't work.

Finally finishing off the road trip with a weekend visit to Philadelphia to play both Temple and Villanova in one weekend.  A victory over Temple probably isn't terribly surprising, but such a solid win over Villanova perked up some ears.

Finally, returning home, and starting to think that maybe this team can win out the season.  UConn and Rutgers come to town one weekend and Marquette the next and all get cut down by what's now a rolling juggernaut of a UofL squad.  In doing so, laying claim to the Big East regular season championship.

Off to the conference tournament, again on Georgetown's home field in Washington D.C.  Knocking off first Rutgers and then homestanding Georgetown to capture yet another, and last for UofL, Big East Conference Championship.  History is made in the process, by ensuring UofL a bid for their first ever NCAA tournament in Lacrosse.

The tournament starts with a matchup against mighty Ohio State.  In six previous meetings with the Buckeyes, Louisville has only won one, last year, and it was a victory by only one point.  Also remember the meeting previously this year was also a one point victory, but that one for OSU.  Another fearsome battle ensued, your Cardinal Couple correspondents were glued to GameTracker and one of us to Twitter...a surely frustrating way to keep up with the progress of a game, but better than nothing.  Coming away with another sudden-death double-overtime win to advance to the second round of the tournament.

Mighty Northwestern awaits to put an end to an amazing year for the Cardinals Lacrosse team.  Like the opening game of the season, a loss to Northwestern is nothing to hang your head about.  Scoring eight points against one of the best teams in the country has to be encouraging to a program still in its early years.  Northwestern will be playing this weekend in the Lacrosse final four, having pulled off a minor upset, by one point, over another very good Florida squad.  Northwestern will be the only squad in the Final Four that isn't from The ACC, with Maryland, Virginia and Syracuse filling out the four teams.

Speaking of The ACC...UofL will be back playing Lacrosse next year, but this time in The ACC.  Going into the NCAA tournament with an impressive 16th place ranking in the country, UofL was still behind seven of the eight women's lacrosse playing teams in The ACC.  New challenges for sure await, but also new opportunities to learn, improve, and build this program to greater heights.

The UofL Lacrosse team picked "Finish" as their word for this year.  The team finished the year in grand style, and while it ended in a loss, its important to remember that its very difficult to finish playing with a win.

 This team has outperformed anything that was expected of them, and will be back and hopefully taking it to yet another level next year.

We're proud of you, Louisville Lacrosse.  We can't wait to see you take on the competition in The ACC next year.

-JMCA
.

Saturday Cardinal Couple -- Lacrosse, Softball advance in Tournaments

RADIO TODAY @ 11 AM
http://www.crescenthillradio.com

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


- Boltja gets game winner in double O.T. for Lax

- LeCoq, Keller lead Softball past Bulls 8-0

- Women's golf slips to 17th. after Day 2

It was a thriller in Evanston last night and Nikki Boltja came through in the clutch.

The senior scored on a free position shot with 4:37 left in the sudden-death second overtime to give the LAX Cards a 11-10 win over Ohio State in NCAA first round action. After Kaylin Morissette won the draw control to start the sudden death period, the Cards moved into OSU territory and Boltja was fouled...setting up the game winner.

It looked like Louisville had it won in the first (not sudden-death) extra session. With 1:13 remaining, Cortnee Daley was fouled and made her free position shot to give Louisville a 10-9 lead. Louisville controlled the draw, but a turnover with 36 seconds left got the ball back in OSU's possession and the Buckeyes came down field to score with 8 seconds remaining to force the second overtime.

Boltja had four goals for the Cards in the win. Faye Brust and Cortnee Daley added two each for UofL.

The Cards scored early in the contest...winning the opening draw and Boltja dashing to the goal to put one past OSU's goalie Tori DeScenza less than a minute into the contest. 

The Cards will face Northwestern Sunday at 2 p.m. in round 2 action.

#	Prd	Time	Team	Type	Assists	H-V
1.	1st	29:13	LOU	Boltja, Nikki (68)	Unassisted	0-1
2.		27:35	OSU	Dabrowski, Cian	Unassisted	1-1
3.		24:32	LOU	Patterson, Laura (7)	Boltja, Nikki (25)	1-2
4.		18:53	OSU	Chase, Katie	Free position shot	2-2
5.		17:17	OSU	Dabrowski, Cian	Unassisted	3-2
6.		11:40	LOU	O'Malley, Colleen (12)	Boltja, Nikki (26)	3-3
7.		11:11	LOU	Brust, Faye (68)	Unassisted	3-4
8.		10:50	OSU	Fee, Morgan (2)	Unassisted	4-4
9.		9:54	OSU	Ayers, Kelsea	Dabrowski, Cian	5-4
10.		9:09	OSU	Facchina, Mary Kate	Free position shot	6-4
11.		8:27	LOU	Corbett, Carissa (7)	Boltja, Nikki (27)	6-5
12.	2nd	21:01	OSU	Ayers, Kelsea	Unassisted	7-5
13.		17:59	LOU	Daley, Cortnee (38)	Free position shot	7-6
14.		17:23	LOU	Brust, Faye (69)	Unassisted	7-7
15.		15:10	OSU	Porretto, Jennifer	Free position shot	8-7
16.		14:51	LOU	Boltja, Nikki (69)	Unassisted	8-8
17.		13:10	OSU	Porretto, Jennifer	Unassisted	9-8
18.		5:54	LOU	Boltja, Nikki (70)	Free position shot	9-9
19.	OT	1:13	LOU	Daley, Cortnee (39)	Free position shot	9-10
20.		0:08	OSU	Chase, Katie	Unassisted	10-10
21.	OT2	4:37	LOU	Boltja, Nikki (71)	Free position shot	10-11

*          *          *          *          *        *          *          *          *

Cardinal Softball slammed their way past USF in the semifinals of the AAC Tournament in six innings 8-0.

A grand slam home run by Katie Keller was the big blow that sent USF starter Sara Nevins to the bench and gave Louisville a 5-0 lead in the second inning.

The Cards added a run in the fourth when Brittany Duncan singled in Kelsi Jones. Duncan accounted for the final two RBI's in the sixth when she sent a towering shot over both centerfield fences with Katie Keller on to push the margin to eight.

Rachel LeCoq, despite a rocky start, pitched her way out of a first-inning, two on and one out jam and ended up going the distance....allowing just five hits in six innings.

They got the game in just in time. Rains hit Houston and forced the postponement of the UCF-Rutgers game until 4 p.m. today. The title match goes Sunday at noon.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *         *

Cardinal women's golf fired a 301 in the second day of the NCAA East Regionals but slipped to 17th place in Tallahassee.

Leading the way yesterday for the Chip and Putt Cards was Laura Restrepo with a 74. Tara Lyons carded a 75, Katie Petrino checked in at 76 along with Emily Haas. Shannon Gramley finished the 18 with a 83.

The Cards have a 596 total for two days...30 strokes back of leader Vanderbilt.

paulie

Tuesday Cardinal Couple -- Lacrosse has tossed a excellent season so far.

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

Lacrosse Continues to Climb

...in the national rankings.  The progress is slow and steady, but gains continue to be made.

With the regular season and conference tournaments completed, there isn't much time for the Cards to continue the program-best progression up the rankings, but tournament appearances do have a tendency to make radical changes in the season ending polls.

In both of the major polls, the Cards climbed a spot this week to number 16, while the RPI has the Cards moving up to the 23rd spot.

I say it a lot, but this is an amazing accomplishment for a program that has only been competing for seven years here at UofL.  Part of this rise has to be attributed to...

Faye Brust

...who has picked up another honor - this time, the WomensLax.com Player of the Week.  This is on
the strength of her two goals against Rutgers in The BigEast Semifinal game and her amazing six goals in the tournament championship against Georgetown.

This impressive tally brings the BigEast Tournament Most Outstanding Player into a tie with Nikki Boltja for goals in the season at 67.  The pair take that tie into third place for goals nationally, and second place for goals per game.

Based on the success of those two, let's take a look at...

Some Other Stats

...where Nikki Boltja has more assists than Faye Brust and so has found her way into fourth place for points and points per game nationally (points are counted as goals plus assists).  Meanwhile Kaylin Morissette continues to dominate the center and holds second place in the draw controls per game stat.

As a team, Louisville ranks fifth nationally in scoring offense and tops the list in the draw controls.


The Louisville Lacrosse team will play in first round NCAA Tournament action on Friday, May 9th. against Ohio State in Evanston, IL. Game time is 8 p.m. Louisville (15-3, 7-0). The teams faced each other on March 4th in Columbus...Ohio State taking a 12-11 win. The Buckeyes scored five consecutive goals in the second half to take a three goal lead over Louisville but the Cards scored the final two goals of the game to make it a one-point win for OSU.

Louisville's defense looks to be playing considerably better than they were in March and with the scoring prowess of Brust, Morissette, Boltja and Cortnee Daley...we see the Cards getting the win and moving on to face Northwestern on May 11th.

The 26 team bracket can be viewed at:

http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/lacrosse-women/d1/2013

jeffmca

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday Cardinal Couple -- Lacrosse goes to BIG EAST Finals

  - Cards going to BIG EAST LACROSSE FINALS!


 - Paulie's OAKS picks are posted



Kaylin Morissette scored seven goals, Nikki Boltja added five, and the Cardinals defeated Rutgers 17-6 in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinal in Washington, D.C.   Morissette's seven goals tied the BIG EAST Tournament single-game record, and her six goals in the first half broke a 2007 tournament record for scores in a half. The sophomore also broke the tournament's single-game record for draw controls by five, as she finished with 12.  


"Kay had an exceptional day both on the draw and the attack," head coach Kellie Young said. "Her shot placement was as good as it's ever been."


Boltja, in addition to her goal scoring, tied the conference tournament record with four assists and boosted her point total to a single-season best 89. With her free-position goal late in the second half, the senior became the school's career leader in free-position goals with 49.  



The Cardinals (14-3) wasted little time in jumping to a lead, scoring a pair of goals in the first five minutes of play. Jamie Redding found the back of the net at the 29:13 mark on a pass from Boltja, and then Carissa Corbett notched her sixth goal of the season on Boltja's second assist of the game. Rutgers (9-9) registered its first of two goals in the half at the 22:32 mark, before Morissette went on a run that outpaced the Scarlet Knights.

After scoring her first goal in the 22nd minute on an assist from Colleen O'Malley, Morissette took a
pass from Redding and slotted it past Rutgers' goalkeeper for her second score. Twenty-three seconds later, Morissette achieved her seventh hat trick of the season, recording her third goal on an assist from Brust. Boltja scored the game's first unassisted goal to cap the Cardinals' 4-0 run, giving them a 6-1 advantage.



Rutgers' Megan Clements tallied the Scarlet Knights' second goal but  Louisville responded with eight unanswered goals. The Cardinals' run was started by Boltja's second unassisted goal and continued with two more scores from Morissette. Inside the eight-minute mark, Boltja, Brust, Morissette, and Kopecka pushed Louisville's lead to 13-2 at the half, with Kopecka's goal coming on Hannah Koloski's first career assist.


Morissette finished one of the best single-half performances in tournament history. Her six goals came on six shots, and she also totaled nine draw controls and one ground ball.



The second period featured nearly half the scoring, with Louisville and Rutgers each tallying four goals apiece. Boltja, who had two goals in the half, improved her season total to 66 to put her at No. 2 on the school's single-season list.



Louisville also received stellar play from its two goalkeepers in the victory. Ashley Peacock improved to 4-0 after making three saves and allowing just five goals in 54 minutes of play. Senior goalie Ashley Herbst, who had been sidelined with a knee injury,  came in for nearly six minutes of relief and totaled three saves with only one goal allowed.


In the last three meetings against Rutgers, the Cardinals have outscored the Scarlet Knights 49-13. The BIG EAST Tournament final on May 2 will be televised on Fox Sports 2 at 2:30 p.m.


Louisville will face Georgetown...who broke open a 5-5 halftime tie with Connecticut to win 16-8.


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He's checked the sheets, the times, the jockeys and the track condition and gathered all this information he's collected and tossed it out the window for Bill The Goat to eat. Paulie's OAKS picks are up for viewing on his website...

www.paulsykes.com

Tread lightly...but I will tell you that I absolutely DESTROYED them Thursday. Will it carry over to Friday? I am confident and we are a "go".

-paulie

Saturday Cardinal Couple -- Lacrosse downs the Owls

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Strong second half leads Louisville Lacrosse to win


Louisville Lacrosse gathered their fifth win in a row against Temple in Philadelphia Friday afternoon with a 15-6 beating of the Owls. The Cards are now 3-0 in BIG EAST play and 9-3 for the season.

It was a slow start for Kellie Young's team, scoring just four goals in the first half. They held Temple to two in the same time frame, though. UofL's Nikki Boltja had the game opener...the first of her team-high five on the afternoon.

Louisville got rolling in the final 30 minutes, outscoring the Owls 11-4. Kaylin Morissette scored twice to begin action. After Temple got their first score of the second half, Faye Brust went back-to-back on scores. Another Temple goal cut the Louisville lead to six...but the Cards responded with a 6-0 run to put the game out of reach for the Owls.

Nikki Boltja began the run and Cortnee Daley followed with a score less than a minute later. Jamie Redding found the back of the net next and it was suddenly 11-4 Louisville. The Cards weren't done...Boltja scoring again and Brust adding two more in a row.

In addition to Botja's five goals, Brust had four and Daley three for Louisville.

The Cards make the long trip from Temple to Villanova for a Sunday game that starts at noon.

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The Saturday CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR this morning will be an interesting one...since there isn't a whole lot of women's basketball news out there right now. WBB has been the focal point of our weekly broadcasts for the last six or seven months...so we'll take a look at the spring sports and spend the rest of the time throwing paperwads at each other or making prank calls. 

Tune in, be amazed. 11 a.m. Link below:

www.crescenthillradio.com

paulie

Wednesday Cardinal Couple - Softball beats the Redbirds, Boltja honored and 1 or 2?

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Duncan's big day leads Cards to 7-3 win

-Nikki Boltja named BIG EAST Lacrosse Player of Week

- #1 or #2? What's your point of view?


We've talked before here at the ol' Cardinal Couple about the long range hitting capabilities of the Louisville Softball team. Of how traffic on Brandeis and Floyd might need to keep a needful eye out when Pearsall's Pulverizers are playing at the Ulmer.

Brittany Duncan led credence to our conversations on Tuesday went she sent two out of the ballpark in Louisville's 7-3 win over Illinois State. Kelsi Jones also said goodbye to Mr. Spalding in the UofL win.

The Cards jumped on the Redbirds early in this one...five runs in the first. With two outs and Katie Keller and Maryssa Becker on base, Duncan sent one over the black chain link fence to make it 3-0 Cards. Maggie Ruckenbrod and Taner Fowler followed with doubles and Hannah Kiyohara added a single to give the Cards a sizeable lead after one.

Illinois State decided to make it interesting...with three runs off starter Rachel LeCoq in the third...but a solo shot from Jones in the fourth (her sixth of the year) and a bomber from Duncan in the fifth added to the winning margin for UofL.

Caralisa Connell finished for LeCoq and provided six strikeouts in 4.1 innings.

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In her four years as a UofL Lacrosse attacker, Nikki Boltja has gained a conference and nationwide reputation as a hard worker and scorer.

The BIG EAST has named her Player of the Week for the second time this season based on her efforts against Ohio State and Notre Dame last week. Tricky Nikki had eight goals and two assists and moved to fourth on the all-time goals scored list at Louisville, her 152 career scores got her past Cardinal favorite Emily Dashiell (2008-11).

She leads the BIG EAST this season in goals per game (4.29) and is second nationally with 30 net-finders this season.

Kaylin Morissette, the Ontario sophomore with radar range as well, was named to the league's weekly honor roll for the third time time season. When it comes to draw controls, Kaylin is superb...with 118 career...which is already third best in school history.

Louisville will stay home this week. A scheduled game against Canisius for today in Buffalo has been cancelled due to expected rough weather. Louisville hosts Drexel Saturday at 1 p.m.

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Now that the Cards only season in the AAC in women's basketball has come to an end, thoughts turn to the NCAA Tournament. Actually, we've been thinking about it for some time...with Louisville hosting a regional in a mere 17 days.

Where will the Cards be seeded? A #1 or #2 appears to be in the offing, according to those who track and pontificate about such things.

Two of the four #1 seeds are locked up with UConn and Notre Dame both undefeated on the season. There is much speculation on who will be awarded the other #1 seeds.

Stanford, Louisville, Tennessee and West Virginia are the names being bounced around the most. Our Cardinals have built an impressive resume for claiming one to the #1 seeds...just four losses, with three of them to the #1 team in the land.

Tennessee won the SEC Tournament and will merit consideration. Although they've lost a few more games than the Cards...they finished the season strong and have a stronger RPI than Louisville does.

Stanford was considered the front runner for one of the #1 seeds until their loss in the PAC tournament. They still look to be the best WBB team west of the Mississippi River to most...maybe something Kim Mulkey and Baylor would probably argue.

West Virginia has fared well in the BIG 12 and could also get a look. Losing to Baylor in the tournament  final, though...could hinder their chances at grabbing a #1 seed.

My thought? For #1 seeds, Louisville, UConn, Notre Dame and Stanford. Tennessee fans will howl about that...but send them to play in the Louisville regional and let them prove that they're better.

Does seeding really matter? The Cards were second best in the nation last year and weren't a #1 or #2 seed. UK has seemed to find their stride again and gets to play their first two at home. Will they end up in the Louisville regional?

UNC, Duke, Creighton, South Carolina...how will it all end up? We'll know on Selection Monday. Seems years away...

What's your take on the Cards? Who will the top four seeds be? And, can Notre Dame defeat the Huskies?  Give us your thoughts in the comments section.

paulie
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