Former WSOC Star Headed to LA -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Karsyn Cherry Signs with Angel City FC

The NWSL eliminated its traditional draft process as part of its most recent collective bargaining agreement, making the 2025 collegiate soccer season the second to not end with players hoping to hear their names called to play at the next level. Instead, players are free to sign anywhere that they have an opportunity to play, whether that is in the US or beyond. Louisville graduated a number of seniors with a lot of experience, so we'll be keeping an eye out for more announcements, but their multi-year captain was the first to find a spot in the NWSL.

Karsyn Cherry was among three rookies signed by Angel City FC, the NWSL team that calls Los Angeles home. Coincidentally, all three signees came from the ACC, as Cherry joins FSU midfielder Taylor Suarez and Duke midfielder Carina Legeyre. Cherry signed a three-year contract with the team, which she says she is "excited and grateful to be able to play for". Cherry heads to LA after an incredible career at Louisville, which included 5,610 minutes played over 69 career games with 68 starts. Cherry scored in her first career start as a freshman in 2022, which marked the first of her 12 career goals with the Cards. 

Cherry (r) with fellow SR defender Lizzie Sexton

Cherry was part of a 2025 defense that helped Louisville go undefeated at home and posted 12 clean sheets. She scored three goals as a senior, down on her previous two seasons, but still good for seventh on the team. One of those goals was a game winner, and she added four assists for good measure. Behind Erynn Floyd, Louisville is likely to miss Karsyn Cherry more than any other player on the field next season, so it's great to see her getting an opportunity to show her skills at the next level. 

Coincidentally, Cherry isn't the only player who spent last year in Louisville to be headed to LA. Ary Borges left Racing Louisville as a free agent at the end of the season and was announced as a signee by ACFC earlier this week as well. Angel City finished the 2025 season standings in 11th, out of 14 teams. They posted a -10 goal difference on a 7-13-6 record, and they were nine points out of a playoff position. What I'm getting at is that they definitely have room to improve, and there may be an opportunity for new players like Cherry to make an early impact. 

We're wishing a huge congratulations to Karsyn and hoping for success in her next chapter. As I said at the top, Louisville had a lot of key contributors graduate, so we'll keep you posted on any other advancements. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WBB handles the Hurricanes 77-68 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Hello readers and hello weekend.   

Campus is alive again.  Its been quite the week trying to get back into some sort of groove.  But I've definitely enjoyed being back on campus with a diverse population.

Basketball remains the topic of the week with Walz' squad heading south to the Sunshine state so lets recap the matchup. 

WBB

Louisville 77- Miami 68

WBB handed Miami its second loss at home in a row when they dominated the second half 44-33, specifically the third quarter outscoring Miami 27-12.  Despite the Canes going on a 7-0 run in the final 2 minutes of regulation.   

This one tipped off at 3PM and student athletes should be back in the classrooms tomorrow.  They'll be walking around campus with smiles on their faces after securing another ACC road victory to remain atop the conference standings.

Elif Istanbulluoglu scored 23 points, pulled down 7 rebounds and had 5 assists while Imari Berry went 4-6 from 3 point land for 16 points, 14 of them coming in the second half and 3 of them in the 4th quarter. 

Louisville went 11-19 in the third quarter after losing the lead in the final 5 seconds of the first half.  As a team, they had 22 assists on 30 made baskets. Ziegler led the rebounding efforts for the Cards with 9 as UofL was outrebounded 40-35.

UP NEXT 

Louisville vs Pittsburgh 

Sunday 1/11 2pm 

Available on the CW (sigh) 

FRED REPORT

Fred Durst

FREE THROWS -- Louisville went 9-12 at the line which is good for 75%.  Skylar Jones was a perfect 3-3.  Solid day at the charity stripe.  CAPITAL F

REBOUNDING -- The Cardinals were outrebounded 40-35 to the Canes.  Anaya Hardy played only 7 minutes grabbing 3 rebounds in that time.  After starting, she did not appear in the second half and only had 1 foul on her.   no letter 

EFFORT/EXECUTION --  UofL was secure with the victory when Miami could only get it as close as an 8 point margin with just under 7 minutes left in the game.   The Cardinals are looking like the team to beat in the ACC and its a blessing to see.  I am constantly impressed with Coach Walz ability to pull a team together. Im not saying they'll go undefeated in the ACC but I do think they can beat anyone on any given night. They are finding ways to win.  CAPITAL E

DEFENSE --  The Cards defense allowed the Hurricanes to shoot 41% from the field but also had 3 blocks and 6 steals.   Berry had two of them.  lower case d



FINAL FRED TALLY:   F_  _E_d

Check out these sweet new uniforms the Cards get to rock in an upcoming game (or two i hope).  These are the 'Spida' edition Louisville jerseys that were designed by the former Cardinal great, Donovan Mitchell.  I think these are soOoOOO aesthetically pleasing!  The athletics font with the 'Spida' webb is *chefs kiss*

(pics from UofL Facebook)

Top of the ACC News

The battle for first place 

Duke (10-6) wins over Cal 78-74 scoring 24-10 in the 4th quarter.  

UVA (13-3) escapes a Georgia Tech comeback 61-59.

NC State falls to Clemson 75-65 for the upset to put the pack one game back. 

As Always, 
Go Cards 

~Daryl 

CARDS WBB RANKED 10th OR 11th or 12TH...depending on the poll. -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 LOUISVILLE WBB TOP RANKED ACC SQUAD

So...the Louisville WBB squad (14-3) goes into their Jan 8th game at Miami either 10th, 11th r  12th...depending on the poll. The AP has the Cards at #10, the USA Coaches poll puts UofL at #11th. and the NCAA Net Rankins say "around" #12.

The Cards have started out 2026 with two wins...85-60 over Virginia Tech and a 91-58 romp over SMU. Let's look at five Cards who have been integral to UofL 2026 success. 

-In the two games of 2026: 

LAURA ZIEGLER: 26 pts. 14 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal.

IMARI BERRY: 24 Pts. 12 rebounds,  6 assists, 1 steal

TAJIANNA ROBERTS: 24 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals

ELIF ISTANBULLUOGLU: 20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals

MACKENLY RANDOLPH: 18 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals,

The Cards sits atop the ACC with a 4-0 record in conference, along with three other teams...Virginia, NC State and Duke. 

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

In other news, Cardinal Couple has not received an word yet on whether they can cover games live from Media Row yet.  Paulie did receive an e-mail, from a coach from another school who preferred to remain anonymous:

"Anytime you want to cover the WBB at --------, from our media section...just let me know."

We have petitioned four people associated with UofL women's sports to get my writers and photographer back in there under the Cardinal Couple name. None of the four have responded yet. A check up with my cardiologist yesterday indicated that he doesn't recommend me going without 02 support. My pulmonologist basically said the same thing last week. Upcoming for me, a trip to Cleveland Ciinic Feb 12th to see what they can do for those two things and my kidneys. 

I appreciate the support you readers have given me. I ask you not to be critical, abusive or defamatory with the decision maker that has me on this "black list". As Martin Luther King said: 

"With patient and firm determination until every valley of despair is exalted to new peaks of hope. , until every mountain of pride and irrationality is made low by the levelling process of  humility and compassion, until  the rough places of injustice are transformed into a smooth plane of equality of opportunity and until the crooked places of prejudicial treatment are transformed by the straightening process of bright-eyed wisdom" 

paulie

CARDS WBB STATS -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 WBB STATS AFTER 17 GAMES

Figured it might be time to take a look at a few UofL WBB stats...as the Cards are now atop of the ACC standings ...let's see what helped get them there.

First off...14-3 is impressive. The only losses...to UConn, UK and South Carolina...came to teams that are #1 (UConn), ,  #3 (South Carolina)  and #6 (UK) in the nation Those three teams have only two losses in their 47 games...so no major upsets ,or  unexpected losses there.  Of course, it's always disappointing to lose to your in-state rival....but .the Cards are outscoring their opponents 83.1 to 58.0 this season. 

 The Cards have only hit the 100 pt. mark once (against Bellarmine), 90's points five times, in the 80's four times, 70's four times ,and 60's three times

Overall the points scored is solidly in favor of the Cards...1412 to 992. 

On an individual basis, the Cards three leading scorers are Tajianna Roberts (13.2), Laura Ziegler (11.7) and  Imani Berry (10.1). Leading three-point shooters are Roberts (32), Ziegler (27) and Berry (21). Skylar Jones has 33 free throws made, Ziegler 32 and Berry 30. 

In minutes played...Roberts has 482, Ziegler 460 and Elif Istnbulluoglu 413.

Roberts. Ziegler, Istanbulluoglu and Mac Randolph have started in all 17 games.

Home states or countries?  There are three players from Kentucky on the roster, two from California and one each from New York, Tennessee, Texas, Michigan, Illinois....for the US contingent. Other countries are one each from Turkey, Ukraine, Australia ,and Denmark. .

By class... There are three seniors, two juniors, six sophomores, one redshirt freshman and two freshmen

(Photos from UofL and Jared Anderson) pulled rom internet...

 paulie

Cards Back in Top 10 -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville WBB on the Rise

After head coach Jeff Walz's 499th and 500th wins over the past week, Louisville has seen themselves move back into the top ten of the AP poll. The Cards moved up from 13th to 10th, taking advantage of their opportunities as other teams fell. LSU lost a pair of games to drop from 5th to 12th, and Iowa State and TCU each lost one game to drop them behind the Cards. Louisville is the highest ranked three-loss team in the poll, with Baylor (13-3) checking in at 16th after their win over then-#10 ISU. 

The USA Today Coaches Poll releases on Tuesdays, so we'll see how many spots the Cards gain there, but the NET ranking shows that the games played matter as much as the results. Louisville remains 12th in the NET, as home games against middling opponents added a Q2 and Q3 win each. Those don't get you a ton of credit, but they're better than losses, to be sure. LSU, after two Q1 losses, remains fifth in the NET. 

Louisville's four ACC wins keep them at the top of the pile in the league, but they still haven't distanced themselves in this early season. Virginia, NC State, and Duke also sit at 4-0. All three of those teams have won six straight games, one behind Louisville's current streak of seven. Notre Dame dropped back-to-back ACC games with an overtime loss to Georgia Tech in Atlanta and an 82-68 loss in Durham. The Irish have given up more than 60 points just five times and have lost four of those games (won 78-65 at James Madison). They've also failed to score 70 just four times and lost three of them (won 61-59 against USC). 

Louisville will put their rankings to the test in the coming weeks, starting with a road trip to Coral Gables to take on the Miami Hurricanes. Miami is 10-5 this season and 2-2 in the ACC. They find themselves ranked 45th in the NET, which isn't much to write home about, but four of their losses came in their four Q1 opportunities. They'll be looking to snag a big win when the Cards come to town on Thursday. After that, Louisville returns home for a classic trap game against Pittsburgh. The Panthers are 8-9 (1-3) this season and they are ranked 243rd in the NET. The following game week is huge for the Cards as they travel to Notre Dame and NC State on the 15th and 18th, making it a prime opportunity for Louisville to lose a bit of focus after their road game against Miami. 

Just like I said last week, there is a ton of basketball left to play. Teams left and right are showing how easy it is to slip up or underestimate an opponent. Louisville has had a few games this season where they have "gotten away with it," and we'll hope that the signs of consistency we've seen more recently are here to stay. This year's team has shown they can match up well with really good opponents, so we'll see what the rest of the season brings. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WBB pours it on VA Tech 85-60 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Good Monday morning readers, 

I am trying to remain positive as the Sunday scaries set in and I report back to work.  Attempting to get my last bits of zen in before the crazy creeps back in.   Wish me all the luck.  

And good luck to students as they begin the spring semester! 

Basketball is the thing that gets us through the dreadful winter months and the Cardinals were in action at the Yum! Center Sunday evening for an ACC battle with the Virginia Tech Hokies.    Cardinal Couple was not on the sidelines for this one.   

WBB

Louisville 85  -  Virginia Tech 60 

Louisville WBB moves to 14-3 on the season and is currently on a 7 game win streak.  

Laura Ziegler had 18 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists and Imari Berry had 13, 2 and 2 of her own on a night the Cardinals shot 58% from three point land.   The two went 100% in the first quarter with 9 of the teams 19 from beyond the arc.   On top of that, the UofL defense held the Hokies scoreless (0-16) from outside in the game.  

The Cards established ultimate control on VATech in the second quarter when they went 25-15.  UofL went on a 7-1 run in the final minute of the half.  It was 44-27 at the halftime break in UofL's favor.  

To open the third quarter,  Louisville's defense held the Hokies scoreless for more than 3 minutes when they had a block and 2 steals.  

UP NEXT 

Louisville at Miami

Thursday Jan 8th

at 3PM (for some reason)

The FRED Report

FREE THROWS -- Louisville went 6-7 at the line.  On a night they scored 85 total points, only 6 were at the line and went 85.7% when they got there.  It was a solid night on this front.  CAPITAL F

REBOUNDING -- UofL pulled down 41 rebounds for a seven-grab advantage.  Ziegler and Anaya Hardy had 9 and 8 respectively. Of the starters, Elif Istanbulluoglu had the least amount of rebounds with 3.  She's averaging 5.2 per game.   I would like to see this trend upward over the next few weeks. CAPITAl R 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- The Cards gave it all from start to finish making them undefeated in 2026. The depth of this squad is becoming apparent.  Grace Mbugua got 5 points and 2 rebounds in 7 minutes of play in the 4th quarter.  CAPITAL E

DEFENSE -- UofL held the Hokies scoreless from 3 point land.  VaTech's leading scorer, Carys Baker who averages 13.7 ppg had 16 but the bigger story is that the following leaders, Carleigh Wenzel (13.0) and Mel Daley (11.6) combined for only 9 points total in the game.  Wenzel was 1-10 from the field.   CAPITAL D




FINAL FRED TALLY: F-R-E-D

Looking forward to seeing some familiar faces on campus!   I know the Cardinal birds here on campus are super stoked for the lunch lady (me) to get back to work.  

As Always,
Go Cards

~Daryl 

Cards WBB hosts Va. Tech -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 #13 CARDS FACE HOKIES ON ACC NEWWORK

13-3 (3-0) Louisville women's basketball puts their unbeaten conference record on the line when a dangerous Va. Tech team comes to town for a 4 p.m. match up in the KFC YUM! Center and on the ACC Network. 

Louisville has completed a six pack (of wins) recently and faces an opponent that that never really been an easy pushover for the Red and Black. The overall series between these two is 24-21 in favor of the Cards...not many Cards fans will ever forget the powerhouse Liz Kitley. 

Kitley is no longer playing for the Hokies (thank goodness...) but is back on campus as an "Assistant to the head coach for External Operations" Yeah, sounds like one of those made up title to me as well...ok...kinda like a Director of Media Relations. I mean, seriously, I never knew the "media" ever needed any "direction" ..but I guess VT head coach Megan Duffy likes the company and Va. Tech has managed to survive the loss of Kenny Brooks to that school in Fayette County that wears blue and white. If Kitley comes to the game, she'll be easy to spot, of course...extremely beautiful and 6'5" 

Kitley got her degree in 2003 in human Nutrition, Food and Exercise. I wonder  what those finals were like....Eating the right foods while running?  

But let's get on to learning about the 2025-26 squad from Blacksburg. They re 11-4 coming into the Louisville game, unranked in the national polls and have wins over Towson, Gardiner-Webb, Loyola Marymount, Coastal Carolina, Abbott and Costello (just kidding on that one!!), Niagara, Florida, Presbyterian. Oregon St.  ETSU, FSU, and Radford  Losses have come to James Madison, BYU, Duke and ...most recently...Miami on New Years Day. 

Carys Baker

VT has three players in double figure scoring for the season....Carys Baker (13.7), Carleigh Wenzel (13.0) and Mel Daley (11.6)

It's National Spaghetti Day here in the states...so make sure and pay due diligence by carbing up.  I like mine with those tiny meatballs, garlic bread and maybe a small side salad with ranch dressing. I gotta watch my phosphorus and potassium levels...so light on the red sauce, please...for me. My old buddy Sonny Lentini was "a red sauce" man, his dad was a "white sauce" man...and his daughters are still...beautiful. Enough on that, Paulie. I still miss Lentini's food. 

We'll recap this ball game tomorrow...it is too crazy to "want a bowl" at 8:45 a.m.? 

We go into double figures...ten days..of the prejudicial banning of Cardinal Couple representatives from covering UofL sports from media seats. Maybe we'll hear something once classes start again. one thing is for sure, they can't censor our website. In better days, Sonya and I covered all the home games, attended both visiting and home coaches post-game pressers and had a photographer. Do you want Jared Anderson photos back on this site?  Let UofL know. Maybe let Amy Calabrese know...she is the deputy athletic director/senior women's administrator.

She might even be able to get you a free trip down Jeff's Walz's slide. 

paulie 

 

Welcome to the New (?) Year -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Happy Saturday, dear readers. We're in the interesting period of the calendar when nothing is actually happening due to the holiday scheduling. The Cards took care of business at home on Thursday and they'll look to do so again on Sunday. Other sports aren't quite into the swing of things in 2026, so it's a slow day in the world of Louisville women's athletics. 

It's not a very slow day in the rest of the news sphere, though, and it's somewhat difficult to find the joy and excitement sometimes these days. Is 2026 feeling very "new" yet to anyone out there? Alas, I'll endeavor to stay more positive here on these pages. 

The great Michael Clarke Duncan (1957-2012)
in The Green Mile (1999)

We're still awaiting resolution of Paulie's appeal to the powers that be at UofL about Cardinal Couple's status on media row, and we're hopeful for a late Christmas present soon. 

Wishing peace and prosperity to you and yours in the year to come. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WBB takes care of SMU 91-58 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL




A question Ive been asking myself often recently 'What day is it??' Only a few more days before staff reports back to campus for the 2026 year.

With a game finally on the schedule, lets get into the recap.     


WBB

The Cardinals got the new year off to a great start when they dominated SMU at the Yum Center for another ACC victory. That's now 3 ACC wins on the season and 3 dominating wins in a row. 

In the first quarter, UofL found the most production in the paint when Anaya Hardy and Elif Istanbulluoglu combined for 12 of the Cards 19 total points.  Laura Ziegler had 3 rebounds and 2 assists.   As a team, 4 turnovers were committed. 

Skylar Jones and Taj Roberts each had 8 points in the second quarter to propel the Louisville lead to double digits and a 19 point lead at halftime.  After a 3 pointer by SMU's leading scorer on the night to open the quarter, the Mustangs went scoreless for almost 4 minutes.

Coming back from the halftime break with a 46-27 lead, Ziegler scored 6 of her 8 total points on back to back three point attempt. Reagan Bender also put 2 through the hoop from beyond the arc.   Imari Berry had 5 rebounds while Yevheniia Putra pulled down 3 of her 4 total boards in the third frame.

The bench contributed 44 of the team's total points.  Skylar Jones had 5 steals and SMU committed 24 turnovers where the Cards were able to rack up 22 extra opportunity points.  

UP NEXT

Louisville vs Virginia Tech
Sunday 1/4  4 pm 
ACCN

FRED REPORT

FREE THROWS --  Louisville went 10-11 at the FT line which is good for 91% from the charity stripe.  This was not a night where either team spent much of their time but we will give kudos to the Cards for taking advantage. CAPITAL F

REBOUNDING --  UofL's offensive rebounding advantage gave them 21 more points than SMU.  The Cards outrebounded the Mustangs 15-3 in this category. CAPITAL R

EFFORT/EXECUTION --  The Cards showed no signs of rust after being off for 11 days.  Coach Walz has often talked about the recharge the Christmas break brings for his squads and how important it is to prevent burnout.  Louisville had fun against the Mustangs.   CAPITAL E

DEFENSE --  UofL let SMU shoot almost 44% in the game and allowed a player to go off for 20 points.  The game was won because of the Cards depth and their impressive rebounding margin.  They did force 4 Mustangs players to commit at least 4 turnovers.  They'll have to do more against a tougher opponent  lower case d 

  WALZ ON THE GAME

FINAL FRED TALLY:   F-R-E-d







As always
Go Cards!
~Daryl

HAPPY NEW YEAR -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

                                                           HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year! 

LINK: MERRY NEW YEAR !!

PAULIE & SONYA