Split Decisions as Two Cardinal Teams Open Season -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Field Hockey Shuts Out Indiana

After a somewhat disappointing offensive performance against Miami (OH) on Sunday, the Louisville Field Hockey team set out to learn some lessons from that game. The Cards were able to put those lessons learned to good use in their first opportunity, as they took it to Indiana yesterday, finishing the game with a final score of 5-0. Bethany Russ scored three goals for the Cards, her first career hat trick coming in the first game of her senior season. Also scoring for the Cards were Madison Walsh and Mercedes Pastor. Walsh also picked up an assist, while Whena Munn assisted on two goals as well. 

The scoring started early, with Russ getting to the IU goal just over three minutes into the game. It was Louisville's first shot of the season, and it found the back of the cage. Good start. The Cards and Hoosiers would finish the rest of the first quarter without any goals, as Louisville continued to pressure the goal but couldn't get anything else to show for it. Louisville's scoring difficulties were dismissed in the second quarter. The Cards scored their next three goals in the first 5:12 of the second quarter, scoring on all three shots in that time period.

Louisville was stifled for much of the second half. According to Coach Justine Sowry, IU adjusted the pace of play and Louisville was unable to react effectively to continue the relentless pressure from before. Flexibility to play styles in different situations is a portion of their game on which the Cards will need to work. Louisville did finally get a fifth goal late in the game, with Bethany Russ scoring her third with just under three minutes remaining in the game, a nice parallel to her first goal.

Despite the strong overall showing, one glaring question remains: who will be the primary goalie going forward? That question wasn't really answered yesterday. Hollyn Barr and Sam Minrath both played 30 minutes yesterday, with Barr taking the 1st half quarters and Minrath getting the 2nd. Both finished with one save, thus giving no one a positional advantage in the shutout. Coach Sowry has been clear that there is not yet a favorite for the position, and has backed that up by giving the two goalies different opportunities with their playing time. It may be notable that Barr has started in both this game and the scrimmage against Miami, but there may not be a lot there given the way that the playing time has otherwise been split. If they can effectively both play significant minutes and continue to not give up goals, maybe it doesn't even matter if there is a true starter.

The Cards will be back in action on Sunday at 12PM when they host UMASS at Trager Stadium. The two have met just twice previously, most recently in 2015. The Cards have won both games in the history of the matchup, but with such a long time between the games (12 years between games one and two and now four years since the last game), the historical matchup is probably not particularly indicative. The Cards will look to continue the strong offensive showing and clean up some of the missteps against the Hoosiers.

Volleyball Falters in Opener Against Florida

Once again, Louisville volleyball is opening the season with a very tough couple of matchups. Once again, they find themselves in a hole to start the season. In front of a sold out crowd at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena, the Cards stumbled their way through a season opening sweep. Louisville kept it fairly close in the second and third sets, ultimately losing both 21-25, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, neither of which describes the sport of volleyball. 

Louisville's issues from last night aren't hard to find when you open the box score. Louisville was outblocked 14-3 by Florida, and the Cards finished the night with a whopping .107 hitting percentage. While blocks do contribute to the final error number, committing 21 errors while finishing only 32 kills is not an ideal situation. Melanie McHenry led the team with 11 kills, while committing only 5 errors for a final percentage of .222. She was second on the team in hitting, behind Anna Stevenson who finished with a .286 on six kills. The freshman we're all looking for to have a big season as a hitter, Aiko Jones, had a night not worth writing home about, putting in 4 kills but adding 5 errors and finishing with a negative .071. Amaya Tillman was also negative with 2 errors on 8 attempts and no kills. She did contribute with the only solo block on the night and two block assists, however. 

Outside of hitting, Louisville was forced into positions they couldn't quite be fans of. Alexis Hamilton, as expected, led the team with 11 digs, though that number seems rather small. McHenry was forced into defensive action as well, with seven digs herself. The one that stands out as rather unfortunate is 11 total digs between Tori Dilfer and Shannon Shields. Defensive action by a setter is considered a loss on any possession. While it may not guarantee a loss of a point, it certainly puts you in a bad offensive position. Think trying to play an offensive possession in basketball but your point guard is off limits. 

In the setter battle, Dilfer appears to have a lead, as she started all three sets and saw the lion's share of the playing time. She finished with 19 of the Cards 29 assists on the night on 47 attempts. Shields finished with just 5 on 31 attempts, which is not quite as good. However, Shield was not likely playing with the 1s quite as often as Dilfer, giving her a bit of a pass in that particular category. I imagine that the setter battle will continue for at least a bit longer. If nothing else, Shields would be a more than serviceable backup to spell Dilfer for whatever reason. 

All in all, it was an unfortunate way to start the season, but we are talking about taking on a top-ten team in the country. It would have been nice to take a set, but it wasn't like Louisville was beaten by ten in each set of the sweep either. The Cards lost by an average of just over five points per set, which can easily be swung on any given day. Louisville will get a chance at redemption tonight when they take on Texas A&M at 7PM (or following the Florida/Dayton match, whichever comes later). Head on over to the Arena to root on the Cards.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Well, we're in it now. Four games this week have us ready to bring the heat on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. The summer slump is officially over, and it's time to get back into the groove. Tune in as the stars align to allow the A-Team to get back together in the studio this week. The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour begins at 11AM on WCHQ. Find WCHQ at 100.9FM on local radio, the WCHQ App, at wchqfm.com, or watch along on Facebook Live.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Volleyball Wins ACC Opener; Field Hockey Stumbles on Road -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Volleyball Takes Down NC State in Raleigh

Last season, the only match I managed to make it to for volleyball was when NC State came to town. It was a huge ACC matchup in Cardinal Arena late in the season. Last night's match against the Wolfpack was not quite as high profile as 2017's version, but it was still an important match, acting as both teams' ACC opener. It was made even more important for Louisville because of their less than stellar performance last weekend and their uninspiring performances on the road thus far this season. 

The Cards put both of those demons behind them for the time being as they beat NC State 3-1 in a fairly close match. Louisville won 25-19, 28-26, 20-25, and 25-18. Barring the slip-up in the third, Louisville very nearly took down the Pack in straight sets, which would have been an even bigger confidence boost. Unfortunately, you don't have to look very far to locate the source of the third set struggle, as the Cards hit only .087 in the third. Overall, it was a much better match than last week, as Louisville finished with a .227 over four sets. It's not a world beating hitting percentage, but it was serviceable, and will win you matches if your opponent hits only .160.

A big improvement over last weekend came for Melanie McHenry, who was very much not herself against the Cats and Mocs. Kentucky had her locked down while she was just missing spots badly against Chattanooga. McHenry finished with 8 errors, still, but also killed 17 points and contributed to 4 total blocks. McHenry has shown that she can be the offensive leader of the team and Coach Dani Busboom Kelly has shown that she wants McHenry to do so. Now we just need to see a bit more consistency from the sophomore for her to become a feared hitter across the land. 

McHenry was joined in double digit kills by Amanda Green (13), Jasmine Bennett (12), and Megan Sloan (10). Wilma Rivera was very much in system, assisting on 53 of 60 kills and being forced into only 8 digs. Molly Sauer was stalwart on defense, picking up 26 digs and adding 4 assists. Nobody on the team was particularly useful on the serve, as the Cards finished with 11 service errors and only 3 aces. Serving has been a strength of this team early in the season, so we'll consider last night an exception rather than the rule. 

After a big win to begin the conference season, Louisville will stay in the Tarheel State for their next match, taking on North Carolina tomorrow at 1PM. The Cards started off the ACC last season with a huge winning streak. Let's see if they can duplicate such success this season. They're off to the right kind of start.

Corners Doom Field Hockey at Wake Forest

The Cards dropped their second ACC game of the season yesterday in Winston Salem as a 7-2 penalty corner disadvantage led to a 4-2 loss at the hands Wake Forest. It was Wake's (1-1) first ACC win of the season and the Demon Deacons were unranked going into the game. Louisville is sure to fall from their number 7 position after the loss but there is a long season remaining. The Cards will look to get back on track tomorrow against Appalachian State before returning to ACC play against Virginia next Saturday.

To open the scoring, it was Bethany Russ capitalizing on a penalty corner rebound. It was the first of two Louisville scores and the first of two times they would take the lead. The second came in the second half when Whena Munn broke the 1-1 tie off of a goal during the run of play. Louisville played well in the open field, and defended the run of play solidly. Unfortunately, Wake earned corner after corner, finishing with 7 corners that led to 15 shots (9 on goal). Ayeisha McFerran picked up 5 saves but all four goals for the Deacs came as a result of a penalty corner conversion. Louisville finished the game with only 4 shots, both on goal shots finding the back of the cage.

Penalty corner conversion, both offensive and defensive, is often an indicator of game results. Louisville completed 50% of their chances. Wake completed only 57%. However, the difference also comes in volume. 1/2 is usually going to fall to 4/7. Without having watched the game, I can't speak to exactly what was happening for the Cards to be hit so hard and give up so many corners, but I know that if you're giving up so many attempts on goal, you're usually going to have a bad time, even with the best goalie in the world. 

There isn't much else to say on this one. Coach Sowry will surely have the team poring over film on the off-day as they seek to determine what went wrong. The Cards have had some good wins, but again, their inability to create consistent offense (still no more than 2 goals in a single game) has come back to bite them. I don't know what the answer is, but I'm sure that everyone related to the team is trying their best to figure it out as well.

Wrap-Up Thoughts on WSoc vs Notre Dame

After nearly turning my iPhone into a brick while attempting to update yesterday, I was waiting patiently for my computer to update so I could finish fixing everything. While not being able to do anything, I decided to check in on Cardinal Couple and saw someone request my thoughts on Thursday's game in the comments. I had a nice big comment written up when my computer decided that it didn't need to ask me if I wanted to restart to finish the updates; it just went for it. Anyway, let's get into what I saw Thursday night against the Irish.

Straight out of the gate, Louisville did not look fully prepared to play. The Cards were sluggish and almost refused to run to the ball. Numerous times, players were jogging while within striking distance of a Notre Dame pass. There was simply no urgency from Louisville. In addition to the lackadaisical ball hunting, the Cardinals were also getting out-physicaled left and right by the Irish. I could probably count on one hand the number of fifty-fifty balls Louisville came away with in the first half. If not for some spectacular defensive play by the back line and a save by Gabby Kouzelos, Louisville could have been in major trouble in the first half. For most of that time, I considered it only a matter of time before the Irish broke through. They looked like the better team for much of the night.

During the second half, Notre Dame's pressure intensified. They put five shots on goal in the second half, forcing Kouzelos into four second half saves. The potential first goal of the game was saved off of the line by a Louisville defender after bouncing dangerously past Kouzelos. Still, Louisville lacked hustle and creativity. Every ball won by the defense was slammed forward with no intent. The area talent scouts seated behind me had the same thoughts saying, "They've got no ideas." It was true. I was busy mentally lamenting Louisville's passing rate (it was extremely low) when the sequence that led to the first goal began. Louisville was able to make crisp passes into space, avoid defenders, and get forward dangerously before Brooklynn Rivers headed home what was ultimately the winner. It was a similar sequence later in the game when Maisie Whitsett regained the team points lead with her goal. 

Louisville is a better team when they pass well. They have some straight line speed, but they were not physical enough against Notre Dame to commit to the long ball style of play. I would much prefer to see them continue to create thoughtful attacking chances rather than just hitting the ball upfield and hoping for the best. Additionally, the time for slowly growing into a game has passed. Poor starts like the one Thursday night will haunt against better finishing teams or on a night that the defense is not up to their very best as they were Thursday. I'm not sure what was going on, but let's hope it was isolated. 

I won't be able to make it to Sunday's game against the Orange, but this season's results show that Syracuse is not the threat that Notre Dame was. That said, Louisville cannot come out slow and play down to their opponent. I'll depend on Paulie and Jared to relay the "perkiness" of the team and how they look compared to Thursday night. Louisville finished last season with only 11 points in the conference standings, and they've already got 6 through their first two games. A win against Syracuse would be huge for this team's standing in the conference and the nation and for their confidence, as well. Let's see what they figured out in film review and training between the two games.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Jared and I are both MIA from the studio this morning, but that doesn't mean you won't be treated to
a (nearly) full house with a great show. Daryl Foust sits in with Paulie and Jeff, and she's got more than enough talent to replace the two of us. The Crew will talk the three major fall sports that were in action of the last couple of days and do what they do best in bringing the Joy and Excitement of Louisville Women's Sports. Tune into WCHQ FM at 11 AM for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour via 100.9FM, wchqfm.com, the WCHQ app, and on Facebook Live. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

A Look Ahead at Field Hockey -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

A Brief Preview of Field Hockey

If the title looks familiar to you, let me say thank you for frequenting Cardinal Couple. Last week, I wrote a short piece about the upcoming women's soccer season. I called it a preview, but it ultimately became just some opinions about how the team might perform with the changes that have been made to the roster. With a lot of news about field hockey on and off the site this week, I figured it would be a good time to do the same thing for the field hockey team that I did last week for women's soccer. Admittedly, I know quite a bit less about field hockey than I do about soccer, but I have followed the team with interest since coming on as a writer at Cardinal Couple.

First, a quick look at some more honors that came in for UofL field hockey players. Four players on the team have been tabbed as potential future USA players, as Taylor Stone, Katie Walsh, Carter Ayers, and Meghan Schneider have been invited to Olympic Development camps. They'll join Ayeisha McFerran as players hoping to represent their country (McFerran is already on the World Cup roster for Ireland). I mentioned it last week, but these opportunities to train with the best players in your age group in the entire nation are incredibly helpful in the development of skills and understanding of the game. UofL Coach Justine Sowry is an incredible coach and teaches her players all kinds of things, but she would likely be the first to tell you that having additional training from other sources is nothing but helpful in situations such as these. Congratulations and good luck to these players.

Last year's season ended with a first round knockout in the NCAA tournament. After an overall 12-6 regular season record and a deep conference tournament run, it would not be unfair to say that a first round exit was a bit disappointing. However, the loss came at the hands of a good Northwestern team, and Louisville showed fight, losing only in overtime. Louisville's performance in conference last season (4-2 and a run to the semifinal game) is a much better indicator of their future success this season, as the ACC is widely considered the best field hockey conference by far. Louisville will hope to build on the experiences and success that they had last season going into a new year, in which much of last year's team returns.

Let's first look at the schedule. Outside of the conference matchups, which we already know will be rematches, Louisville plays seven games against non-conference opponents that they played last regular season. This includes rematches with Ohio State, Michigan, and Northwestern, who accounted for 4 of the 8 Louisville losses last season, and a game that counts against Miami (OH), with whom the Cards played only an exhibition last season. Following the alumnae game on August 18th, Louisville will dive straight into the meat of their schedule starting the very next day. They'll open the season with Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio State (all rematches), a breather game against UMass Lowell (which will need to be taken as seriously as any other game), and then a rematch against a Delaware team on the road that won the national championship two years ago (Card won last season 3-1 at home). If the Cards aren't awake to start this season, they could find themselves in an early hole. If they're chomping at the bit, ready to improve on their last year, though, they could open the season 5-0 with some impressive wins already under their belts.

Louisville will play a total of 19 regular season games, including the standard 6 against conference opponents. This schedule appears to be every bit as beefy as last season, if not more. Coach Sowry will need to get her team ready from the very beginning, as there is no time to ease into the schedule. Fortunately, she has a team of very experienced players that should be ready to answer the call. Of 16 players on the current roster (which does not include incoming freshman), 9 are juniors and seniors. These include the previously mentioned McFerran, Stone, Ayars, and Walsh, and adds in the influential Whena Munn and backup goalie (who was huge early last season) Hollyn Barr. The Cards did see four major losses last year with Abby Grimes, Marigrace Ragsdale, and Nicole Woods graduating and Minout Mink returning home after deciding the international life was not for her. Though the players filling these gaps have plenty of their own experience, we won't truly know the impact of these losses until the season is underway in earnest. All four players played in 22 of 22 games last season with Grimes, Ragsdale, and Woods all starting at least 21. The four players were all in the top 6 in team goals, and Mink was the team's leading goal scorer. These players will be missed to be sure, but only time will tell exactly how much.

Fortunately, the team stands to weather the departures. Every returning player on the roster saw at least 100 minutes last season, so the experience and knowledge of Coach Sowry's system is there. For better or worse, that majority of the schedule comes against teams that these players have faced before, so there is familiarity in the opponent as well. While the opponents know just as much about the Cards, there is benefit to newer players being comfortable with an opponent while trying to cement their roles. Louisville could have some bumps this season, but I would be shocked to see less than a .500 conference season and a .600 season overall. Those numbers may not be enough to get into the NCAA tournament, but those are only floor numbers for me. I believe that with the experience that this team returns, the ceiling is much higher. It all starts at the alumnae game on August 18th. We'll find out then.

The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Once again, Jared has chosen his job over his hobby and will abandon us at the station for his job at the bank. What a jerk, amirite? In all honesty, we look forward to Jared's return to the studio for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. Until then, we'll press on without him. Paulie, Jeff, and I will return to the studio on Mellwood and may or may not be joined by a special guest (Paulie really doesn't keep me as in the loop as you might think). Tune in to WCHQ FM at 11 AM for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour on any platform that you listen to radio. WCHQ is available at 100.9 FM when in the signal range, but can be listened to anywhere on the WCHQ app or wchqfm.com and you can watch the show on Facebook Live on the WCHQ FM Facebook page.

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

Cards Split Sunday -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Field Hockey Notches Big Win

PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON

The defending national champions, Delaware, came to town this weekend to get a look at the site for this year's tournament. While they were here, they figured they'd play a couple of games, and Louisville made them wish they hadn't. Even without starting goalie, Ayeisha McFerran, Louisville was able to hold the Blue Hens, the team that knocked them (and multiple other ACC teams) out of last year's tournament, to only one goal. The Cards scored three of their own and took down the number three team in the country, setting themselves up for quite a rise in the rankings.

Much like their game against the Hoosiers, this game came down to penalty corners, with all 4 goals in the game coming by way of the set piece. Whena Munn got the scoring started for the Cards, scoring on a corner sixteen minutes in. This one was assisted by Marisa Martin Pellegrina, who once again proved how big of a contributor she can be for this team. Delaware drew level on a penalty corner of their own ten minutes later. The Cards were sharp on the attack today but Coach Sowry did point out in her post game comments that there were still a few glaring errors that they needed to work on and they would review the contest video to correct these.

Refusing to go into the half without the lead, Louisville forced another corner, and Minnie Mink scored her first goal of the season, assisted by Marigrace Ragsdale, with less than a minute and a half left in the first. The two later hooked up again to provide the final goal of the game and make the scoreline 3-1. Once again, Louisville's corner efficiency was the difference. Louisville converted on 75% (3-4) of their penalty corners and held Delaware to a mere 1-7 effort. The teams tied on shots on goal, and Hollyn Barr was up to the task, collecting 7 saves. Yes, she's feeling the lofty expectations of Jared Anderson...but was very excited to meet her game quota today. 

This was a huge win for the Cards, and one that makes a statement this early in the season. Delaware returned a lot of their team from last season's championship squad. Even if it turns out that their win last year was a fluke, they were still good enough to be in a position to win and writers felt they were good enough for their top 5 ranking this season. Don't forget, also, that they mangled IU on Saturday, with a final score of 7-0. Louisville's opening weekend showed a lot of promise. There is still the buzzsaw of the ACC which they'll eventually have to face, and the inevitable rematches come tournament time, but this team is starting to prove that they'll be a force to be reckoned with. They return to play on Friday when they travel to Ohio State.


PAULIE DISCUSSES DELAWARE WIN WITH COACH SOWRY


PAULIE AND MINNIE MINK ON THE WIN OVER BLUE HENS


GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Soccer Drops Rough Game Against Marquette

Louisville's unbeaten start to the season came to an end yesterday at the hands of the team picked to finish 3rd in the Big East. However, we all know that preseason rankings mean nothing, since Louisville defeated the team ranked second (DePaul) earlier this season. For the first time this season, Louisville was held scoreless, with Marquette netting the only two goals of the game in the second half. 

The game was very physical and inconsistently called, much to the ire of the Cardinal faithful. At one point, while Louisville fans expressed their anger after a Cardinal was pulled down in the box during a free kick, a Marquette fan yelled "Welcome to the Big East, Ferguson!" While I understand the sentiment to mean they play physically in the Big East, that doesn't make me want Louisville to play in that league. (By the way, I'd like to extend a huge credit to the traveling contingent of Marquette fans. It sounded like they took a bus down for the game and they were very passionate about their team. They were mostly respectful toward Louisville and cheered loudly for their team rather than against their opponent.) Marquette didn't just play physically, they fouled. A lot. And they got away with it. A lot. That's not to say Louisville didn't as well, but I'll come right out and say that there's no reason Louisville should have finished yesterday's game having been whistled more often than Marquette.

From my vantage point, it became clear that Louisville should have taken advantage of Marquette's aggression. The Golden Eagles liked to tackle on the ground, and they were good at it. However, they telegraphed their slides, and I think the Cards should have been more willing to pull the ball back and take a slide to the feet in order to get the call. Too often, the ball was given away when slowing down could have resulted in a free kick and potentially even a card. Louisville allowed Marquette to play as aggressively as they wanted, and didn't force discipline which might have changed their approach.

After a physical first half in which there were chances on both sides, the teams headed to the locker room scoreless. Louisville had a few real opportunities, but only tested the keeper once that I remember, on a ball to the near post. In hindsight, and I'm sure this was noticed by the shooter as well, a shot at the back post would have been an easy goal, with the keeper already leaning, but it wasn't meant to be. Something that I noticed during the first half was that Marquette appeared to be the better team from my vantage point. They swarmed on defense, which I found strange, but it worked for them. Despite their fouling, some of which was called and some not, they made good tackles. They cut into passing lanes. On offense they were more technical with the ball at their feet and put Louisville on their heels with passes in the offensive third. Louisville still had a chance, don't get me wrong. They weren't completely outmatched, but the little things add up.

Marquette opened the scoring 5 minutes into the second half on a penalty. The Marquette winger had carried Inger Katrine Bjerke down the bench side of the field and attempted to send a cross into the center. The ball struck KB and the side judge immediately began waving his flag. Hand ball in the box: penalty. The event was pretty far away from me and there was no replay, so I didn't get a great look. However, it looked to me as though the ball played the hand (meaning it was a natural position for KB and the ball struck her) which should not have been whistled. In fact, yesterday's referee had waved off multiple similar calls in the game. Nonetheless, Marquette's Ryley Bugay stepped to the spot and Gabby Kouzelos tipped her hand far too early. Bugay had a slow run to the ball and when Kouzelos took her first jump step to her right (probably encroaching), Bugay slotted it easily to Kouzelos' left. Marquette led 1-0. 

Louisville continued their aggressive pressure trying to level the game, and the over aggression led to the second goal. It is easy to imagine the scenario where a ball gets away from the offense and it leads to an easy counter attack. However, what happened yesterday was far more frustrating. Louisville was pushed up on the attack, with the back line probably 15 yards from the midfield stripe in their own half. A ball was sent through the defense which Kouzelos came to send away. I have been frustrated by some of her choices to come out for the ball before, and yesterday helped validate those frustrations. The defense could have probably retreated for this ball, but Kouzelos went herself to send the ball forward. Rather than give it a safe clearance, perhaps due to the aggressive nature of trying to equalize, she attempted to send the ball back up to the offense immediately. It was mishit, and fell straight to the feet of Marquette's Eli Beard. Beard sent the ball towards the net from about 40 yards out and it was a clear goal from the time it left her foot. Kouzelos, who had been about 10-15 yards outside of the box when she hit the ball, was retreating as quickly as she could, but the ball sailed over her head and into the net. Louisville tried valiantly to get one back as the game wore on but were unable to find the net.

While a frustrating loss, Louisville did show promise. They seemed a bit sluggish at times in the first half but were reinvigorated at half time and never gave up when they trailed. They will face stiff competition in the ACC but they showed resilience in this game that I believe will serve them well throughout the season. The Cards are back in action Friday night in the unfriendly confines in Lexington. The game is at 7:30PM and does not currently list any viewing options. There's a lot of season left, and there is plenty of time for Karen Ferguson-Dayes to clean up some of the issues the Cards have had so far.

PAULIE iNTERVIEWS COACH KFD AFTER MARQUETTE WITH A CAMEO TRAIN APPEARANCE

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Five first years fueling Field Hockey -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

GITTENS, MINK MAKING IMPACT ON FIELD HOCKEY

Graduates leave a program and new players enter...it's an inevitable fact in college athletics. The hope is that you can somewhat fill the talent gap that is departing and that the recent arrivals will help keep the team on the improve incline...or at the very least...the status quo. 

Louisville Field Hockey (4-0) had eight new players come into the program and five have had an immediate effect on the squad. Four freshmen and a graduate student. A global coverage in the hometown's for these five...ranging from New Zealand and Australia to the Netherlands, England and Delaware.  



Lizzie Gittens  GS  Southhampton, England. This talented mid-fielder/back came to Louisville to participate as a graduate student after being on England's U 21 squad. Out of The Toynbee School, Lizzie has started all four games for Louisville and tallied two goals. Her experience on the international level has helped the Cards in all factors of the game. Just as Trey Lewis and Damian Lee benefited Louisville MBB as GS's...and Taylor Johnson hopes to do the same for Louisville WBB...Gittens has been a very nice "acquire" for the Cards.






Minout Mink  FR   Haaksbergen, Netherlands.  She's the leading scorer for the Cards with five goals and has started three out of the four games for UofL. A hard-charging forward that seems to glide by defenders with ease and accuracy, she can also create interceptions with her defensive intensity. A member of the Dutch U 18 squad that won the European Championships...Mink has scored in all four Louisville games. The Cards have 19 goals on the season, so she's responsible for over 25% of the scoring. Louisville appears to "be in the pink" with Mink !!!

Whena Munn   FR   Wellington, New Zealand.  Having two starts in four games...but 11th. in minutes played for UofL, Munn comes to Louisville after a stellar career in NZ high school Field Hockey and she also competed in Dragon Boat competitve racing. Imagine being in a boat with 20-22 other people, including a drummer and a sweep! Munn has a goal and an assist on the season. Another fast and penetrating forward on the UofL roster, she is one of the "Magnificent Seven" doing the attacking for the Stick Cards. Whether she's talked former Cardinal great and now graduate assistant Vic Stratton (also from New Zealand) into "Dragoning the Ohio" yet or not is unknown...



Bethany Russ  FR   Melbourne, Australia.  With three starts and two assists, she's been a steady performer at mid-field for Justine Sowry's flock this season. Teaming up with Lotta Kahlert, Erin McCrudden, Nicole Woods and several others at the "middie" spot...she's an integral part of Sowry's rapid-fire substitution sequence and has worked in well with the returners. She looks to run her own business after her college days. So far, she's been part of a strong partnership at the center spot for the #12 in the nation Cards. 
Is it too early to borrow a men's basketball phrase and start calling her "Russ" diculous? 

Carter Ayers  FR   Wilmington, Delaware.  Carter is one of the defensive back that stand in front of sophomore goalkeeper Ayeshia McFerran and as a group they've done quite well in allowing just three goals in four games. Losing Stratton and Elisa Garcia to graduation meant that the backs would need the services of a few newcomers right off the bat and Ayers has been one that has stepped forward. The lone American out of the five we've mentioned here...she does have international experience...travelling to South Africa, staying on a reserve and taking wildlife photos. Let's hope all the pictures of her this season have her turning away opponent's scores. 

We should not fail to mention that Sowry had a pretty strong nucleus returning...with McFerran, Kahlert, McCrudden, Hailey Netherton, Shannon Sloss, Stephanie Byrne, Nicole Woods, Gianna Perrone, Taylor Stone and Abby Grimes. The key is mixing the old in with the new for that perfect balance. It would appear, early on...that Sowry and staff have the correct blend. The challenge ahead, as it has been the last several seasons, is the ACC Conference...the best in Field Hockey and currently with five of the top eight in the nation ranked...#1 UNC, #2 Syracuse, #4 Duke, #7 Wake Forest and #8 Boston College.  

If the Cards can take care of business at home (and three of these top eight will visit Trager) it should be another season where the Cards finish well over .500 and contend for the NCAA Championships. Some say the ACC Championships are tougher. Either way, lots of excellent pitch action awaits...the Cards are out to protect Trager and so far...it's a very safe place for the team and fans. 

paulie
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