Lacrosse Releases Schedule -- Field Hockey News -- Preview of Cats -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

LACROSSE SCHEDULE FOR 2019

Year two of "Teeter's Term" begins on Feb 8th. Officially, that is, with a game in Evanston against Northwestern. Long before that, Coach Scott, Kay Morrissette, Renee Poullett and the squad will be practicing, preparing and planning for the season and, from the eyeball test, it looks to be a challenging and exciting schedule. Who will be some of the players to get to know?


Only one senior on the Lacrosse roster, and she's a great one in Tessa Chad. In her first year donned in the Red and Black, she was second leading scorer on the squad with 42 goals. She played in all 17 Louisville Lacrosse matches. Before the Cards, she was with Teeter at Canisius and earned quite a few MAAC honors in two year as a Golden Griffin. 

The Blaylock sisters return for their sophomore year. Midfielder Caroline made second team ALL-ACC last season and led Louisville in scoring with 45 goals. Sister Sarah is also a midfielder and had eight scores in the 17 games. Lexie Ball is back to compete for the starting goalkeeper role and her backup Jen Schaaf is back as well. 

Freshman Shay Clevenger is a name you might want to get to know. She was ranked #32 in the Inside Lacrosse Top 49 Young Gun Seniors for the 2018 season. The defender played at Marriots Ridge high school, where the Blaylock sisters played. 

A roster of 24 student-athletes that includes 11 sophomores and nine freshmen. Geographical breakdown of the roster shows nine players from Maryland, four from New York, three from Canada, two each from North Carolina, New Jersey and Virginia and one apiece from Kentucky and Florida.  

After the opener against Northwestern in Evanston, the Cards travel to play Marquette on Feb 10th. and then at Denver on Feb.,16th. 

They'll take the pitch for the home opener on Feb.24th against Mercer. Vandy stops by next on Feb 27th. to close out February action. 

March finds the Cards in South Bend to face the Irish of Notre Dame on the 2nd. They'll find out if the Butler did it on March 6th up in Naptown and return home for action against Duke on March 6th. A trip to Pittsburgh will bring a match against Duquesne on the 11th. Back home, the Cards will invite Cincinnati in on the 13th., and Syracuse on the 17th. 


A few days with action before they travel to Blacksburg to go gobbler hunting at Virginia Tech on the 23rd. Then, it's back to the Ville for three in a row to close the home part of the schedule...Delaware on the 31st., North Carolina on April 7th., and Ohio State  on the 9th. 

Louisville concludes the regular season travelling. They'll visit Virginia on April 13th. and Boston College on the 19th. The ACC Lacrosse Tournament is in Boston this year and that begins on April 24th. 

A challenging 2019? You bet. Seven of the Cards foes participated in the NCAA Tournament last year. The Cards went 5-1 early in the 2018 schedule before losing 10 out of the last 11 to finish 6-11. This year's squad should have better luck of it, it's easy to see at least equaling last year's wins and maybe even getting a few more to hit double figure wins and achieve Teeter's first ACC victory. 

We'll cover and report on all the LAX efforts here at the Couple. Go Cards! 



FIELD HOCKEY HONORS

Congratulations to three of Justine Sowry's "stick girls", who received NFHCA DI All-American honors! 

Senior Ayeshia McFerran took first-team accolades, the goalkeeper extraordinaire became the first Cardinal in history to be named to the All-American team for all four of her four years at UofL. The best goalkeeper in the world was named to the third team as a freshman and first team her sophomore and junior years. Her accolades at Louisville would take me a full hour to list here...she is the best to ever step on the Trager Stadium turf and will have a long and successful career playing for the Irish National team now. 

Sophomore Mercedes "Meche" Pastor was honored with second team status. She showed her magician-like skills with the stick and ball for the Cards this season and added this award to her All-West Region and ACC first team selections. At 5'1", the Buenos Aires native meets the qualifications for our "Attack Yorkie" status and we look forward to the next two years of seeing her baffle, confuse and score on the competition. The "pastor" is in the pulpit again! All rise and rejoice! 

Senior Taylor Stone caps off a very successful student-athlete time here at the Ville with third-team honors. This is the second time she's made All-American status and the Herndon, VA native was also named to the All-West and ACC squads this year. She's also a part of the USA Field Hockey National Development squad. 

We wish all three the best of luck as they continue their skills on the field for Louisville and beyond in 2019! 



CAT COMMENTARY

Since I'll be out of the CARDINAL COUPLE writing rotation until Monday, I thought I'd provide a few thoughts and observations on the upcoming UofL vs. UK women's basketball game this Sunday at the KFC YUM! Center.  

Rest assured that Jared, Case and Jeff will provide much more in the next three days about the annual "Battle of the Bluegrass". Be sure to check back here for their columns. The Sunday contest should be all that's advertised. It is a "red out" so dress accordingly! 



CATS GUARDS WILL BE A CHALLENGE

Maci Morris and Taylor Murray run the show out front for Matthew Mitchell's squad and they've been quite successful in helping UK go 8-0 so far. Morris poured in 31 points last time out for UK in a 87-57 win over Morehead. Point guard Murray leads the squad in assists and has 13 against the Eagles. She's showing a brand new confidence out front and has picked up her aggressiveness this season. Backups Blair Green and Jaida Roper are quite capable of providing quality backup minutes. We'll cover another guard below. 

FRESHMAN FIREPOWER

Rhyne Howard has come in and found instant success. The freshman, who played under Walz on the FIBA Americas squad, leads UK in scoring with 18.1 p.p.g. She's listed at 6'2" and classified as a guard. She also leads UK in three-pointers made (23-45) for 51% and has the highest rebounds per game average at 6.9 a night. 

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS

Keke McKinney , a 6'1" sophomore and Tatyana Wyatt, a 6'2" sophomore are the other two probable starters for UK and prowl the paint. They combine for 8.3 p.p.g. a night and 8.5  grabs a contest. They could be the "weak links" in the UK configuration and an area where the Cards try to capitalize. 

Sam, Kylee and Bionca should prosper. 


WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? 

The Cats are 8-0 and their wins have come against Alabama St., Southern, Virginia, High Point and Morehead at home. They won the Paradise Jam Tournament with wins over South Florida, UCLA and UNC. A two-point squeaker against the Bruins. Every thing else has been by 10 points or more. They downed the ACC Cavs by 12 and the Tar Heels by 10.

They are ranked #19 by the AP. This will be their first top 25 test of the season. 

We'll have much more on the match-up in the following days.  If you want a sneak peek of UK, you can catch them tonight against Rhode Island in Lexington on the SEC Network tonight at 7 p.m.

(The weekly Paulie Podcast is up and you can hear him ramble at the following link):

Paulie Podcast for 12/6/18 
paulie
xxxxx




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WBB Media Day -- FH ACC Tournament -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

UofL Hosts Women's Basketball Media Day

In just a few short days the women's basketball team will begin their 2018-19 season.  They head to Bowling Green to face Western Kentucky to open the year on Tuesday.  Before that, we must have our annual media day. An event that traditionally start with Coach Walz making a "state of the Cards" presentation and then opening the floor to the assembled media.

After that, it's to the floor where breakout interviews with the individual players are available on the Denny Crum court floor. In past years this event has taken place at the S.A.C. building and on the Cardinal Arena court and also in the "Little Yum" practice facility on Floyd St.

Paulie will head downtown to 2nd and Main to cover the event for Cardinal Couple.  His much-anticipated interviews with co-host Arica Carter are sure to steal the show again.

Their will be interviews with the coaches and players as well as a chance to observe just a little bit of practice.  This is one of the rare times pictures and videos are allowed at a WBB gathering like this and having it downtown at the KFC YUM! Center this year, instead of on campus, makes it more of a gala-type and important event. Team pictures will be taken as well today, so we'll see what Paulie might have for us.  Tune in tomorrow to read and hear all about it!

Field Hockey Prepares for the ACC Tournament

Postseason play has started for a second fall sport.  The field hockey team hopes to build off of last year's postseason success as they face Wake Forest in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Game time is 4 p.m. on UNC's field. #3 seed vs. #6 seed. The RSN Network has the feed.

These 3-seeded Cards finished 3-3 in conference play after defeating Boston College, Syracuse, and Virginia.  This is the second straight year the Cards claimed the 3-seed after going 4-2 last year.

Earlier in the season Louisville fell at Wake Forest 4-2.  The loss was one of two on the year that the Cards fell by more than one goal (lost to UNC 3-1).  Louisville went into the half tied 1-1 with the Demon Deacons before being outscored 3-1 in the second half.  Wake Forest scored three goals in the span of 11 minutes.

Louisville is 2-4 in the ACC Tournament all-time with both wins coming in last year's run at Trager
Stadium.  They ended up falling in the final to North Carolina.  Every game Louisville has played in the ACC Tournament has resulted in a one goal differential whether they won or loss.

This game is a revenge game but is also trying to strengthen their argument to receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament.  At this point, with their 13-5 record, No. 12 coaches poll ranking, and No. 17 rpi ranking should be enough to get them in the 18-team tournament, but a victory over No. 20 Wake Forest should seal the deal.  Let's hope this UofL-Wake Forest match-up is a bit better than what we witnessed by the football team last week.

Four Cards Earn All-ACC Honors

Besides gearing up for the ACC Tournament UofL field hockey also had some good news as four players were announced to All-ACC teams.

Ayeisha McFerran and Mercedes Pastor were named to the All-ACC First Team.  This is third straight year earning conference honors for the senior goalkeeper.  Her 1.14 goals against average was second in the ACC and ninth in the country.  She has over 50 career victories and ranks high in wins, shutouts, and goals against average in Louisville history.

Pastor scored four goals and added two assists in a season where she started every game.  Besides her stat sheet accolades Pastor was the player the rest of the team looked to when needing someone to bring the ball up field or just for ball control purposes.  She should move into a bigger role next year as a junior.

Taylor Stone and Bethany Russ were named to the All-ACC Second Team.  Taylor, a senior midfielder also made the second team last year.  She's third on the team with four goals.  The co-captain played a crucial role on defense, helping the Cards record five shutouts and nine one-goal games.

Russ leads the team with 11 goals and a total of 24 points.  Six of those 11 goals were game-winners, ranking second in the conference.  Her scoring picked up in the second half of the season, providing an offensive spark when the Cards needed it most.

UNC swept the individual honors this year.


Donation Month

November is more than a month for Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving- it's the big month for Cardinal Couple.  Donation month is the one month of the year where we actively seek donations (although they are welcome year round!) to help us do what we do best- bring you everything in the realm of UofL women's sports.

The donations go toward keeping the website running, radio station costs, and travel and food for road trips for games.  Remember, all four of us are doing this for free just because of our love for what we do.Licensing, fees,...so many things to pay each year, but we do it in the aspect of bringing the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports.

As we progress through the month you will hear from all four of us about Donation Month, what it means to us, and some personal experiences and stories during our time here at Cardinal Couple.

Whether you have a dollar or a thousand dollars, or if the lottery winner is an active CC reader, we will gladly accept any donation you are willing to give.



You can send your donation via PayPal. Check out the link at the end of this article or go to the top of the article and click the PayPal logo there. Or, you can donate by mail:

Cardinal Couple
P.O. Box 91521
Louisville, KY 40291

You can make checks payable to "Cardinal Couple" and just write "donation" on the memo line!

Remember, YOU are Cardinal Couple!
We NEVER forget that and appreciate you.

LINK FOR PAY-PAL DONATION BELOW:

DONATE TO CARDINAL COUPLE VIA PAY-PAL

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Field Hockey wins on Senior Day -- Loretta Kakala transferring -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

BETHANY RUSS GOAL IN O.T. SENDS CARDS PAST MIAMI

In cool and damp conditions and for the second straight contest, the Louisville Field Hockey squad found themselves faced with overtime in their Sunday contest at Trager against Miami (OH). This match had been a scoreless affair, much like the Friday tilt with Duke, until the RedHawks capitalized on a penalty corner with no time left in the first half. 

Louisville drew even with about eight minutes gone in the final half. Meche Pastor sent a baseline shot net-ward that Madison Walsh corralled and put past the RedHawks goalkeeper. For Madison, it was her first score of the season. 

Miami was relentless on the attack, though, and with about 12 minutes of action remaining, drew a couple of penalty corners. The RedHawks found success on the second corner and Leonor Berlie got her second score of the contest to put Miami in the lead. 

As the end of regulation drew near, a succession of green and yellow penalty cards (four in all) started stacking up on the RedHawks and the ultimate came when Miami head coach Inako Puzo received a red card for comments and was ejected from the contest with 32 seconds remaining in regulation. Just a few seconds earlier, the Cards had earned a penalty corner and Bethany Russ got her first score of the contest to tie action at 2-2.

Miami nearly won it at the end of regulation when their leading scorer on the season -- Paula Portugal -- found herself in front of Cardinal goalkeeper Ayeshia McFerran with the ball. Her shot sailed high over the net, though -- the Cards had escaped the last ditch effort by the RedHawks and this bird battle was headed to overtime. 

With the 7v7 format in overtime in place, Miami (OH) actually had just six players on the turf because of the late yellow card on attacker Noor Breedijk and Louisville used the player-up advantage to control action, ultimately getting a penalty corner chance just a minute-thirty into extra action, where Russ delivered again, her ninth goal of the season...this time on a pass from Alli Bitting to end the sudden-victory session. 

More on Puzo...you could hear the Miami skipper's comments and complaints up in the press box and his continuous dissatisfaction and belittling of the officiating crew caught up with him. It's the first time I can remember a coach getting ejected from a field hockey contest that I've seen. He watched the remaining action through the fence on the McDonald's side of Trager. I did see him after the contest back on the field surrounded by his wife and children -- an unfortunate loss of control and decorum by him...earlier...which, although may have not cost the RedHawks the contest -- his assistants seemed in control of the situation out of the field -- but his unfortunate actions certainly didn't help the RedHawks chances. 

Louisville hits the highway for their final three games of the regular season. The Cards will visit ACC foe Syracuse on Oct 21st, swing over to Albany on the 23rd and end up at Kent State on Oct. 28th. 

Paulie caught up with Coach Sowry and the four seniors...Ayeshia McFerran, Maria Gomez, Taylor Stone and Katie Walsh...after the contest and you can hear those interviews below: 

MIAMI POST GAME JUSTINE SOWRY

SENIORS AFTER 3-2 WIN OVER MIAMI


LORETTA KAKALA LEAVING LOUISVILLE WBB SQUAD


The tweets started surfacing Sunday and my voice mail, inbox and texts started piling up in an rapid fashion. 

Redshirt freshman Loretta Kakala had made public via her Instagram account and Twitter feeds indicated that she was transferring from the University of Louisville women's basketball squad. Heading to Pacific (CA) University. 

And the question came up.....why? 

I guess we'll never really know. Indications seemed to lead to the stated desire to play closer to home and get a fresh start with the possibility of more playing time at school very close -- fifteen minutes -- to her home town of Manteca, CA.

Speculation developed after the Cards 2017-18 season what role she would play on the 2018-19 Cardinal WBB squad. Most figured she'd contribute a few minutes on the front line, with returnees Sam Fuehring, Kylee Shook and Bionca Dunham getting the majority of the minutes at power forward and center and incoming transfer Yacine Diop from Pitt definitely contributing there. 

Reports from a source near the program indicated that her conditioning wasn't exactly going as planned but these reports were not confirmed by me and the announcement of her transfer on Sunday caught many Cardinal WBB fans by surprise. The bottom line is, as it is in most transfer situations, is that you want to do the right thing for the player and their student-athlete experience and if it's determined that the player might be more comfortable and receive more playing time elsewhere...then they should go pursue those desires and goals. 

Hello there! 

A check of the UofL roster at the GoCards site still had Kakala listed, but sometimes it takes a bit to change this information, especially when the announcement is made on a Sunday. And, sports information rarely posts or discusses transfers out, which is understandable. 

The 6'2" center played in four games in 2017 for the Cards...a total of 43 minutes (10.8 a game average). She totaled 12 points on 6 for 16 shooting and had 12 rebounds. She red-shirted after the fourth contest. 

Pacific has a D-I women's basketball program and competes in the West Coast Conference. 10 conference members...maybe best known for Gonzaga, BYU and Pepperdine. The Tigers were 15-17 last season with a 7-11 conference mark and finished sixth in the conference. 


So, "Retta"...we barely got to know you and wonder what might have become of your career at UofL but...as women's college basketball fans...certainly wish you good times, a great career and the best of luck at Pacific. 

Transfers in. Transfers out. All an increasing part of the college basketball games these days. The bottom line analysis is that any college basketball roster is going to change throughout the year and those changes, whether they be injury, red-shirt or transfer...have to be dealt with in terms of what is best for the student-athlete and the team must move forward. 


paulie
xxxxx

Cardinals beat Cardinals -- Aijha down to three -- WSOC Tonight! --THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

LOUISVILLE FH DOWNS BALL STATE 5-1 

It was a battle of the birds Wednesday afternoon in Muncie, IN and the flock south of the Ohio River were triumphant...posting a 5-1 win over their northern feathered friends in Field Hockey action. 

"When we are disciplined and focused, we can play some really nice Field Hockey." Justine Sowry commented after #9 Louisville's ninth win of the season. "The positive today is that we created an increase in scoring opportunities and we put their defense under a lot of pressure. We look forward to carrying this over to our game this weekend".

The Cards wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard. Getting a penalty corner opportunity, Louisville set up Mercedes "Meche" Pastor for the shot and the Buenos Aires sophomore drove it into the net for a 1-0 Louisville lead just six minutes into the match. Another penalty corner halfway through the first half gave senior Taylor Stone the shot and she made good on it to give the UofL squad a 2-0 lead that they would take into the halftime break.

The Cards ramped up the shooting in the final 35 minutes against the 1-9 Ball State squad with 17 shots and eight penalty corner opportunities. Bethany Russ connected 11 minutes into the second half on an unassisted shot. That score tied her (temporarily) with freshman Erica Cooper for team lead in goals scored. Louisville was giving Ball State few opportunities to advance the ball into scoring territory and, with 13 minutes remaining, Stone notched her second goal of the contest off a penalty corner. 

4-0 Cards. The Cards were giving Justine Sowry an afternoon birthday gift. 

Cardinal goalie Ayeshia McFerran could hear crickets chirping down at her end of the field due to the lack of activity. 

B.S.U. did manage a score three minutes later when a rare Ball State foray into Louisville territory gave the northern Cardinals a shot at goal that barely scooted past McFerran. The all-world goalie for Louisville had notched shutouts in four out of the last five games and one has to wonder why she was still in the contest...with a comfortable Louisville lead and potential game experience available for back-up goalie...junior Hollyn Barr.

Erica Cooper...a Louisville gal. 

Louisville was quick on the counter attack, though, and drew another penalty corner with a little over seven minutes remaining. Cooper got her first score of the game to retake the scoring lead and provide the final 5-1 margin. Cooper, from Louisville Assumption, has been a pleasant surprise for the Stick Girls this season. She led Assumption to two straight Kentucky High School championships and was All-State both years. 

The Cards return to action on Sunday at noon with a match against another non-conference foe in Michigan State in Trager Stadium.  A rough season for Spartie Field Hockey...they are 4-9, 0-3 in the Big 10 and haven't scored in their last three games. 

The Sabbath contest is part of a very busy day on the Belknap Campus...WSOC playing at the same time in Lynn, Volleyball at 1 p.m. in Cardinal Arena and softball with a fall exhibition double-header against Morehead State that starts at 1 p.m. To the cloning chamber!! We'll figure out the Cardinal Couple coverage assignments eventually...


AIJAH DOWN TO TIGERS, JAYHAWKS AND CARDINALS


One of the most dynamic and impressive players on Jeff Walz's USA squad this summer was Missouri native Aijah Blackwell. In her recruiting process, she has now gone from 12 potential schools back in mid-June to three and Louisville is one of them. 

One of the most highly sought-after 2019 recruits, Blackwell is a 6'0" guard out of the Whitfield School...a private academy based in St. Louis, MO and has been consistanty ranked as one of the top three guards in the 2019 class. 

If you've seen her play, you know that she's a shot maker, has an explosive mid-range game, and create and set up her teammates, nail the three, clean the boards and go coast-to-coast with ease. 

Sounds like the proto-typical Jeff Walz type of guard for his system, correct? 

Daryl and Sonya say: "Come to the 'Ville, Aijha!" 

Along with Missouri (SEC) and Kansas (Big 12), the Cards are now in prime position to get her to  continue her student athlete pursuits here in the Derby City.  With some players, it's obvious to tell that they "get it" and the game comes very easy to them. Aijha is one of those players. 

The Cards have two lined up for the 2019 class so far in Nyah Green and Ramani Parker. Walz most likely is looking to add a couple more since the Cards have four seniors in Arica Carter, Asia Durr, Sam Fuehring and Yacine Diop.

The dynamic and explosive Blackwell looks to be a perfect fit for "Walz Ball".  Sources we have indicate she enjoyed her weekend visit to the UofL campus two weeks ago. 

Jump on in, Aijah...the water's fine. Show the "best fans in women's college basketball" your stuff. They're gonna love you! 

(Blackwell is expected to announce her college choice Oct. 20th.) 


WSOC TANGLES WITH WAHOO TONIGHT

A battle of 9-2 squads tonight at Lynn Stadium when the Wahoo Nation sends Virginia women's soccer to Louisville to face the Cards. 

Virginia, ranked #8 in the nation, has suffered their only two losses on the road, in ACC action, and by the same score...1-0 against Clemson and Virginia Tech. The UVA kickers cruised through a less that inspiring non-conference slate with five straight wins but have had only 2-2 conference success. 

The key for the Cards tonight concerns how well they can bounce back from a 5-1 loss on the road last out against #3 North Carolina. We spent a lot of time discussing Louisville Women's Soccer on Saturday's THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR
(you can hear and see the Facebook Live rebroadcast at https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/332609457320951/. ) and Case Hoskins seemed to think that Louisville would be fortunate to get out of the North Carolina and Virginia contests with any "points" (three for a win, one for a tie). The Cards have that opportunity tonight. 

Good golly, Miss Mollie! 

Can the defense step up and hold the Cavs to a minimum of goals? Louisville has scoring, be there no doubt about that. With Brooklyn Rivers, Maisie Whitsett, Emina Ekic, Mollie Rouse and Nadege L'Esperance all perfectly capable of finding net success...the question is...will they against a Wahoo squad that has allowed a scant seven goals in 11 contests? 

The Cards, defensively, have allowed 11 scores in 11 matches and this one looks to be a low scoring affair on paper. We'll see what actually happens tonight. Come out to "kickin' under the lights" tonight to watch this crucial match-up...if you can't attend, the ACC Network Extra will be showing the showdown. 


paulie
xxxxx

Last second heroics give Louisville WSOC a 2-1 win -- Field Hockey takes exhibition -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Maisie Whitsett goal with eight seconds left gives Louisville women's soccer 2-1 win over Xavier

The Louisville women's soccer team went to 2-0 on the season with a thrilling, late goal in the first over time in Lynn Stadium last night. As time ticked down on the scoreboard, Allison Whitfield flew down the field, went off the weak side with a cross and Maisie Whitsett found the ball and headed it in to create a pandemonium scene...with the Cardinal players rushing onto pitch to celebrate and congratulate the freshman from San Diego, CA. who gave the Cards the "golden goal" victory. 

For as much as Louisville's first win of the season was an offensive, scoring frenzy in a 8-1 win over Wright State...last night's game was a defensive duel. After an early goal that was called off by Nadage L'Esperance because of a offside call by the referee, the Cards settled in to a defensive battle that went 31 minutes before the Musketeers took a 1-0 lead on an unassisted goal by freshman Sydney Schembri. 

In a match that turned out to feature freshmen getting the goals, Delaney Snyder provided the equalizer in the 34th. minute of the first half when L'Esperance set up the Moon Township, PA. first-year forward with a throw-in that turned into a successful shot by Snyder.  

Louisville had ample opportunities to take the lead in the second half and held a 16-3 shot advantage in the contest but nothing was finding net for the Kickin' Cards. Callie McKinney sent a shot that went just barely high over the net in the final two minutes but the team's entered the first five-minute extra session knotted at 1-1. 

Louisville fired away at the Muskies late in the five-minute overtime session...Brooklyn Rivers had a nice attempt thwarted in the 97th. minute of action by Xavier keeper Toni Bizzarro (great sports name, right) before the "W" gals ended it with eight seconds to spare. 

I was in the press box and about to send out a tweet announcing a second O.T. when I heard the crowd roar and looked up in time to see the bang-bang play that gave Louisville the win and a perfect 2-0 record over the state of Ohio this season.  

Gabby Kouzelos and the Cards defensive line did a magnificent job of keeping their Big East foe at bay for the most part. Only four shots, two of them on goal, were attempted by XU in almost 100 minutes of play. 

The Cards get the win over an Xavier squad that is 13-3 lifetime against Louisville. UofL won the last meeting back in 2004 at Cardinal Park with a 1-0 overtime win. Louisville continues the Ohio overture with a trip to Dayton to face the Flyers Thursday night at 7 p.m. We'll keep you updated on any Dayton or A-10 viewing opportunities on-line. 

We caught up with a complimentary head Louisville women's soccer coach Karen Ferguson Dayes and "Gabby the Goalie" after the match for interviews...you can click the links below to see and hear how they felt about the game. 

KAREN FERGUSON DAYES POST GAME XAVIER

GABBY KOUZELOS DISCUSSES WIN

HIGHLIGHTS FROM LOUISVILLE WIN OVER XAVIER WSOC


FIELD HOCKEY BESTS MICHIGAN IN COLUMBUS 3-1

An exhibition Sunday afternoon at Ohio State against Michigan produced a 3-1 win for  Justine Sowry's Louisville Field Hockey squad. Why at Ohio State? The Wolverines were there as part of a two-game trip to face Louisville first and then Ohio State today in pre-season action. 

Louisville got two scores from senior Taylor Stone in the match and Carter Ayars added a goal in the Cards final pre-season tune-up against Michigan...who advanced to the 2017 Field Hockey Final Four. Coverage was spotty on this, but I was able to follow the updates at Michigan's twitter account before Louisville put up a recap later in the day at gocards.com

Justine Sowry comments: 

"Today gave us an opportunity to be tested by a very good team. They put pressure on both sides of the ball that we had not faced at this early stage". 

Louisville opened the scoring with Stone's first goal in the first half but UM responded to send the teams to the break tied at 1-1. The Cards got a second goal from Stone to take the lead for good in the second half and about six minutes later, Ayars added a bit of insurance with her score. 

Louisville Field Hockey starts the regular season on the road in Bloomington to face the Indiana Hoosiers on August 24th. for a Friday 3 p.m. match. We'll look for viewing options on this one and keep you in the loop. 


MOLLIE ROUSE, ENGLAND IN SEMI-FINAL WORLD CUP ACTION TODAY

Although she's in France, participating in the U 20 FIFA World Cup semifinals with the English, we're pretty sure Mollie Rouse is keeping up with Louisville WSOC success and excited for her return to the squad.

Forgive her if she's a bit pre-occupied this morning...she's also preparing for a semifinal World Cup U 20 game against Japan at 10 a.m. Louisville time. 

Rouse had to sit out the quarterfinal game because of yellow-card collection when the English knocked off The Netherlands 2-1. Expect her to be a viable and contributing force today for England as they play the first of two semifinals games today...with the hopes of meeting the winner of France vs. Spain for the championship match. 

This one listed as being available for watching on Fox Sports FS2 venue free. We'll see how that goes. 

Good luck to Mollie today. Go get your chance to gather some gold! 

UPDATE Japan got a 2-0 win over the English to advance to the finals. More on that in the Tuesday Cardinal Couple. 



paulie
xxxxx

Sunday Cardinal Couple - Field Hockey, Picnic, and Volleyball

Field Hockey Alumnae Game

The kick-off to the Field Hockey calendar is their annual Alumnae game.  Former Cards come from near and far (Vic Stratton probably gets the "farthest from home" award, being from New Zealand) to take on the current squad in a game where the Alumnae are, well, pretty much pre-ordained to go down in glorious defeat.

It's a fun event, alumnae get another chance on the pitch, and hopefully retain enough skills and conditioning (or least sheer numbers) to give the current squad some challenges.  This year? Mission accomplished.  The current squad put up 8 goals on the returnees, but the veterans did get a goal, and put some real pressure on the current squad, which should serve well as part of their warm up for the season.

Veteran returners Taylor Stone and Katie Walsh showed why they are leading this team.  Ayeisha McFerran, who has gained so many International accolades, and particularly Irish, in the past weeks, was relatively quiet.  To be honest, the defense on the current squad team was stout enough for the most part that she spent much of her time with that squad (the GKs, McFerran and backup Hollyn Barr split their time with each side) leaning on her stick, or against the side of the goal frame.

As for new(ish) faces, keep an eye on Mercedes Pastor out of Buenos Aires, Argentina.  She's a 5'1" midfield/attacker and was consistently a part of developing plays and made her presence known in the opponent's circle.  After regulation play, they set up for a shootout to whoever wanted to take shots from either squad.  Some nifty moves were made, and most scored.  Pastor took the last shot, and I think no one decided they wanted to follow it, when she dribbled in and then lofted a shot over the GK and bounced it into the goal.

Soon enough, the teams both came together in Coach Sowry's tradition circle to talk over the competition.  This circle was less about critique of play and more about honoring the alumnae, both those there and who couldn't be there, for their role in building the program.  Both teams introduced themselves around the circle and everyone just generally enjoyed the time together.

We did get post game audio and video with Coach Sowry and alumnae Gianna Perrone and Stephanie Byrne.  The rains did start at the end of the Sowry post-game, so excuse the location shift for the talk with the alumnae.

Picnic? Yes, Picnic

After the Field Hockey festivities concluded, a leisurely walk down Floyd Street to SAC made for a just about a perfect arrival time for the first of what the Volleyball program intends to be an annual event, a season ticket holder picnic.

Paulie joined my mother and me for this one, while Jared went the other direction down Floyd to catch some of the Men's Soccer exhibition action against Evansville.  The Cards would end up winning that one 2-0.

Good BBQ was had, and a fair time for season ticket holders to mix and mingle and catch up with
each other after the off-season, and also get to chat with the players and the coaching staff.  Coach Busboom Kelly did address the crowd and drew some questions from slips that had been submitted earlier by the crowd, mostly delegating answering duties to various players and the coaching staff.  Among the questions asked: 

Q: Who's the best dancer on the team?

A: (by Claire Chaussee, I believe) Bri Lester, who then was asked to prove it, and did so with Aiko Jones' assistance.

Q: Who is the most improved on the team?

A: (by Associate Head Coach Dan Meske) Megan Sloan, but if you asked everyone on the team that, you would get lots of different answers.

Hear some of the attendees for the event here:

https://soundcloud.com/user-748907999/dr0000_1457mp3

Volleyball Red and Black Scrimmage

As the team went off to prepare for their Red and Black Scrimmage, the crowd started to filter into Cardinal Arena (with some very real appreciation for the air conditioning after the muggy afternoon weather) and made their way to seats.  Most fans continue to arrive, until Cardinal Arena was maybe half full, a pretty good turnout for a pre-season volleyball intra-squad scrimmage.

In past years, players would frequently switch between the Red and White teams (yes, they were wearing red and white jerseys, even though the event is called the Red and Black Scrimmage), but there was none of that this year.  The white team was weighted with the bulk of the returning veterans and expected starters...though not all of them.  Despite the red team being heavily loaded with newcomers, they put up a real fight against the white squad, picking up one set out of the 4 set match.

(Photo by Jared Anderson - JDA Photography)

Particularly impressive was Claire Chaussee, a 5'11" freshman outside hitter from Sun Prairie,
Wisconsin.  She had 10 kills for the red team, matching veteran Amanda Green's 10 for the red, but also adding 11 digs for a double-double right out of the gate.  Chaussee impressed as an all-around player with a dynamite serve, a great swing, and, already as a freshman, a good head for the game.  Oh, and she also has some wheels, chasing down a shanked pass deep in the out of bounds area behind the court that I thought was unreachable.

Also shining on the red team was transfer Kelly O'Neil.  Classified as a sophomore and transferring back home from Arizona to Louisville where she played high school ball at Mercy Academy.  O'Neil is a 5'7" DS, and gathered 20 digs for the red team in the match.

On the white team side of the net, mostly veterans figured into the play.  Melanie McHenry, starting out her junior year, continued to be a dominant player, picking up a match high 13 kills.  She was followed by a newcomer to the team, Marijke van Dyke with 12, and Piper Roe picked up 10 in the middle along with 4 blocks.  Molly Sauer, unsurprisingly in the libero jersey for the white team, came away with 30 digs.

As for overall takeaways from this event, first you'll be amazed at just the sheer number of players on this team with a roster of 19, and as of right now, everyone seems generally healthy.  Aiko Jones had her swinging hand wrapped, and seemed to be flexing it like it was giving her some minor issues, but not enough to stop her from swinging away.  Consider that there are at most 12 players on scholarship, and consider what that means about how many players have decided that they want to play at Louisville and are willing to pay their own way to do so.

There is a lot of talent among the new faces on this team.  Claire Chaussee really stood out to me, with Aiko Jones showing amazing athletic ability that, with some refining, will result in an amazing player.  We've got DSes coming out of the woodwork, with Kelly O'Neil being perhaps the biggest addition.

Dan Meske pointed to Megan Sloan for most improved, but I'll nominate Akela Yuhl for the honor.

This is a difficult comparison as they play completely different roles on the team, with Sloan being solely a hitter, and Yuhl being solely defense, but Yuhl progressed from being the stereotypical walk-on player where the crowd was just excited to see her take the court last year, to this year being able to hold her own among a crowd of good DSes.  She's not a stand-out player, but the progression from last year to yesterday is impressive.  Most notably, she was composed and aware of everything going on out on the court, positioning herself well and just playing good volleyball.

The setter position is where we will be weakest, or at least won't have the depth of other positions.  Wilma Rivera is a great setter, and will serve us well in that role, but beyond that, it gets a little rough.  Our back-up setter is Anaya Martin, a 5'7" freshman out of Tyrone, GA.  She has talent and skills (she set for the red team), but she does need some time to mature and hone her abilities.  That will happen, but for now, if we lose Rivera for some reason, it's going to be a little bit of tough going.

All in all, I think this team will surprise on the upside.  There's not a whole lot of room to improve, qualitatively, within the ACC, being defending co-champions, so this team is looking to the NCAA tourney primarily for their goals this year.  The team wants to defend Card Arena again this year, with the goal of being undefeated at home, but they also look to hang some more black banners.  The motif that has been established is that conference banners are red and NCAA banners are black.  At present there are many red banners in Card arena, but only 4 black (representing Sweet 16 appearances, the most recent being 2005).  This team looks to add to that, and all indications are that they have a really good shot at it.

Action Friday in Cardinal Arena with a double-header in the Cardinal Classic. Tennessee-Martin at 12:30 p.m. and Southern Illinois at 7:30 p.m. Don't miss it!

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

A knucklehead-full house yesterday at the Magnificent Media Mansion on Mellwood. We had the entire "A" team on-board and they were on their "A" game.

The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour was a fun show with lots of recap and analysis by our soccer expert Case on the Cardinals season opening victory over Wright State.  We heard audio from Emina Ekic and Coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes.

You can check out the FaceBook Live replay at:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/231627561028232/

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JMcA