#4 DUKE TO FACE LOUISVILLE IN FIELD HOCKEY
The Cards go into Friday action with a 10-3 record overall and are 2-2 in the ACC. Duke is 11-3 and 3-1 in conference play. Duke is second in the ACC with that record while the Cards are tied for third with Boston College. North Carolina sits atop the ACC with a perfect 5-0 conference record.
Louisville successfully defended the Trager turf Sunday with a 4-1 win over Michigan State. Overall Coach Sowry was pleased with the outcome, especially the first half, where the Cards did their damage to the Spartans.
Duke will be the last regular season ACC opponent to visit Trager this season. Coached by former Cardinals skipper Pam Bustin, Duke and Louisville split in action last year. The Blue Devils walloped the Cards 5-0 during the regular season but Louisville got revenge in the ACC Tournament semi-finals with an overtime, shootout win 3-2. That Cardinal win sent them to the tournament finals.
Rose Tynan leads the Duke attack. The current ACC Player of the Week has 12 goals on the season. Goalkeeper Sammi Steele has four shutouts on the season and has a 1.46 goals against average. We caught up with Justine Sowry Thursday and got a preview of the upcoming game and weekend. Coach talks about the importance of the game, what they'll try to do and try to prevent against Duke and salutes the seniors among other things in our conversation. We'll have more on Sunday's match in the Sunday Cardinal Couple edition.
All-World Cardinal goalkeeper Ayeshia McFerran has 47 career wins going into the weekend, which places her second out of all the active goalkeeps in college women's soccer...one behind Penn State's Jenny Rizzo
ACC Network Extra will have the feed.
LINK: COACH SOWRY DISCUSSES DUKE AND WEEKEND
WOMEN'S SOCCER (FINALLY) GOES TO WINSTON-SALEM FOR WAKE FOREST MATCH
Getting there can be half the battle sometimes.
I've made that trip numerous times over the years...en route to Greensboro for the ACC Women's basketball tournament, see Louisville Football in action and to visit relatives in Burlington and Haw River, NC. That's been by car for the most part. The hills of West Virginia and Virginia are a formidable task, driving wise, if you go the I-64 route.
The Cards face a formidable opponent in Wake Forest. The Deacs are 6-6-1 ( 2-4 in ACC) and gave Boston College their lone loss of the season, in overtime, back on Sept 27th. Since then, Wake had dropped three in a row, all against ranked opponents and most recently to FSU in Talhassee. Wake Forest is currently 10th. in the conference standings with six points and desperately need a win to be in contention for the ACC Women's Soccer Tournament.
Louisville (10-3, 4-2) sits tied for fourth in the ACC with Clemson and Virginia. The Cards
have gained 12 points in conference play. UNC leads the way with 18 points and Boston College sits in second with 15 points. Duke is one point ahead of the Cards in third place. A Cardinal win would certainly solidify their ACC Tournament hopes and, depending on what the Tigers, Blue Devils and Cavaliers do...maybe even lift them into third place or a tie for second. Louisville looked great offensively and held Miami to just one shot in a 3-0 win at Lynn Sunday. Here's hoping the Cards can continue the scoring and keep on demonstrating their dominant defense. The Friday forecast for Winston-Salem is dry with a high of 68 degrees, although that will probably drop into the 50's by the second half of the contest.
This one is listed as being available on the Fox Sports Network.
# 22 VOLLEYBALL BRINGS IN VA. TECH FRIDAY
The Hokies (or Gobblers, take your pick) come to Louisville with a 12-6 overall record and 3-3 in ACC play. They've won their last two...straight set sweeps over Clemson on Sunday and Georgia Tech last Friday.
The Cards soar along undefeated in ACC play (7-0) and 14-4 overall. They remain tied with Pitt for the conference lead and the two are the only undefeated team against conference opponents . VT is in sixth place in the ACC standings...needing a win against a top 25 foe to salvage chances for a possible NCAA bid. VT is 3-2 on the road this season and 9-4 at home
A trap game? We certainly hope not. Preferably, the emotion and exhilaration from Wednesday "Miracle of Sacred Heart" will roll over tonight and the Cards will be sharp. crisp and avoid any early serving errors. With a chilly night here in the Ville, it just might be a good night to whip up a batch of chili or bean soup and hang out in front of the internet to watch all three contests if you're unable to hit Floyd Street for either match. Paulie will be in Trager and we're guessing Worldwide gets back in town to descend upon Cardinal Arena in time for "serve and volley" action.
CARDS WBB HOSTS JAPANESE PLAYER
A visitor from Japan on the UofL campus this weekend to check out the WBB program. So, where does the UofL coaching staff take a player and parents to eat? Why, a Brazilian steakhouse, of course! A CARDINAL COUPLE reader noticed the happening last night while dining there and dutifully reported the sighting to yours truly.
Coach Jeff Walz is known for his bold strategies and combing the globe for prospective talent and he's failed to disappoint again with this new prospect. Our guess is that it's maybe Noriko Konno, a 5'11" guard who has had great FIBA 3x3 success with Japan...plus valuable experience in the 2018 Asian Games.
Walz was in Japan to scout out talent earlier this summer. Although we don't know exactly who he watched...my internet research seems to lead to her as the visitor. I don't know much more than that. Recruiting is one thing, verbal commits another and nothing is settled until that player announcement of college choice, of course. Maybe keep an eye open at the various UofL women's sports events tonight and Sunday to see if they show up at Volleyball or Field Hockey.
Hey, I'll drink a sake toast to that!
We'll have the full recap of all three events here at the Couple tomorrow morning.
paulie
xxxxx
