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SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

*******SPECIAL REPORT*******

Louisville defeats Providence 2-1  in Field Hockey. Erin Schneidtmiller scores the difference maker at the 49:12 mark. Goalie Erin Conrad with six saves. Cards are in the BIG EAST Tournament with the win as a #3 seed!

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- Soccer begins BIG EAST Tournament play

- Football wins soggy 34-31 thriller in overtime

Cards begin BIG EAST Tournament quest in Tampa vs Bulls

The University of Louisville women's soccer team faces the South Florida Bulls Sunday at 1 p.m. on their march to take the BIG EAST Tournament. Louisville finished 3rd in the National Division with a 10-4-3 record and 5-3-3 in the BIG EAST. The Cards won their final two regular season games against Seton Hall (3-0) and Cincinnati (2-1)

South Florida is the #2 seed in the American Division and finished with a 10-5-2 record and 6-2-2 in the BIG EAST. They lost their final regular season game to Marquette 4-0.

Louisville is lead by junior Charlyn Corral, who has 23 points on the season (8 goals, 7 assists). Next is Angelika Uremovich with 20 points (9 goals, 2 assists). Goalkeeper Chloe Kiefer has been steady in her duties this season, allowing .95  goals in 17 games.

The winner advances to the semifinals and would play the winner of the Georgetown vs. DePaul game. The semifinals and finals will take place at the Joseph J. Morrone Stadium in Storrs, CT.

Good luck to our women's soccer team! Kick 'em where they ain't!

Football goes to 8-0 and retains the Keg of Nails

I don't believe I've been as wet at a football game since the Florida St. game a decade ago. Still, we made it through the entire contest and Louisville won on a overtime field goal by John Wallace after Terell Floyd intercepted a Munchie Legaux pass intended for the end zone.

Cardinal offense. Wow
Cardinal defense. Ow
Cards 8-0 now

Go CARDS Go!!

It is good to be in dry clothes....

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Soccer, Volleyball post Friday Wins

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SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Soccer nips Cincy in double overtime

- Volleyball sweeps in Syracuse

Whitfield's goal leads Cards to 2-1 win

It took 106 minutes, but Louisville avoided a tie with the Cincinnati Bearcats and clinched the #3 seed in the upcoming BIG EAST Tournament with a hard-fought win last night in Cardinal Park. 

"Rivalry games always bring out the best in teams and tonight was no different. You have to credit Cincy for the way they competed tonight. Our team continued to fight and persevere throughout the game and it paid off in the end."  - Louisville head soccer coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes.

The Bearcats opened the scoring in the 16th minute of the first half, Liz Miller getting her first goal of the season, off a header which floated past Louisville goalie Chloe Kiefer. That lead held as the teams went to intermission and deep into the second half. 

In the 70th minute of play, Charlyn Corral sent a free kick following a UC penalty over the Cincinnati defenders and safely into the net to record her eighth score of the season. 

Neither team could produce in the first O.T., but with just four minutes remaining in the final overtime, Casey Whitfield followed up on a missed shot attempt by Corral and scored her fourth goal of the year...tapping it in to end the contest. 

Chloe Kiefer had seven saves for Louisville (10-4-3, 5-3-3) and the Cards attempted a record 37 shots in the contest.

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Lola and Gwen spark Volleyball win

We've typed the name Lola Arslanbekova, it seems a thousand times here at CARDINAL COUPLE and she gets the kudos again today for her 18 kill effort against the Orange yesterday in Syracuse. Gwen Rucker also stepped up big for UofL with six kills and five blocks in the 25-23, 25-12, 25-18 three-set win for the Cards.

Ex-Cards coach now head man
at Syracuse

Louisville (19-3, 8-1) jumped out to an early 12-6 advantage in game one but a strong rally by the Leonid Yelin coached Syracuse team tied the game at 21-21. The Cards rolled off the next three points, though...getting a service ace from Katie George in the process...to get to set point and held on to get the two-point win.

The Cards roared out to another early lead in the second game and were never seriously challenged by Syracuse...up 17-8 and finishing the game on a 8-4 run.

Syracuse tried to rally after the break and did managed to take the Cards to a 15-15 tie. After a Anne Kordes timeout, the Cards regrouped and grabbed 10 of the final 13 points to produce the victory.

The Cards continue the road trip Sunday with a crucial match against the Marquette Golden Eagles. MU is 17-3 on the year and sits atop the BIG EAST standings with a perfect 7-0 record...heading into this weekend's action.

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Sean and Sam with Charlie

Finally, congratulations to Sean Thompson and his lovely bride Samantha Schaefer for tying the knot last night at St. Joseph Catholic Church!

I've watched the (then) little guy grow up and become a great young man who is now married to a sweet and caring girl in Samantha. The reception was at the Mellwood Arts Center and a total blast...which is why the ol' CARDINAL COUPLE is a little late this morning...celebrate good times, c'mon! Woo-hoo!
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Monday Cardinal Couple -- Volleyball sweeps against Big East foes

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MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Volleyball vs Seton Hall and Rutgers, Texas on deck

- Field Hockey upsets #11 Iowa

- Soccer battles to tie with #11 Georgetown

**BREAKING NEWS**BREAKING NEWS**BREAKING NEWS**

2013 Cardinal WBB prospect Brianna Ruiz announced this afternoon that she's committed to University of Washington and head coach Kevin McGuff. Oh, well...go get the next one Jeff...


VOLLEYBALL ROLLING OVER BIG EAST FOES

Let's talk about Seton Hall and Rutgers now, so we can focus on a big match against Texas on Monday night.

Seton Hall at Cardinal Arena

Floyd Street, on campus, was a busy place Saturday as the Cardinal Volleyball team returned to their old digs in Cardinal Arena for a noon first-serve match, while Softball and Field Hockey were having contests of their own in the same block.

Katie George got things off on the right foot with 2 service aces to start the match, but then things started to get a little rough...fortunately for us, Seton Hall hit the same rough patch.  Our Cards only hit a .104 hitting percentage in the first set...definitely not a number to be proud of...but Seton Hall only managed .047.  Fortunately, the second set looked better...of course the Pirates also seemed to pick it up a bit as well, keeping the game close.  The third set was not nearly as close as the score would suggest. The Cards got out to and early lead and Coach Anne Kordes took the opportunity to get spread some playing time around.

In the 3rd set, we saw Courtney Robison come back and showed no ill effects from her time off with the cast on her hitting hand.  Davionna Holmes came in and showed athleticism, but maybe is still struggling to come up to the playing speed of college ball.  She has a lot of very real potential in the middle and I suspect will be a lot of fun to watch once she gets adjusted to the level of play.

Caitlin Welch...I'm running out of interesting ways to say it...is amazing on defense.  She seems to have developed a sixth sense to know where to be on the court to get digs.

Kaitlynn James continues to play well and really seemed to lift the level of the play of the whole team when she was on the court.

Carly Sahagian did have a higher hitting percentage than James...albeit on fewer attempts...but just doesn't seem to bring as much of the spark with her off the bench.  Good play is very appreciated, to be sure, but it sure is nice when it comes with so much of a lift to the rest of the team.

Rutgers at the KFC

Lola Arslanbekova became the all-time kill leader at the University of Louisville on Sunday, leading the Cards with 20 kills and 14 digs in a straight set sinking of the Scarlet Knights 25-20, 25-13, 25-18.

The Cards used a 7-2 run in the first set to take a 12-7 lead in the first game. Although Rutgers rallied to get within two at 16-14, Louisville allowed them to climb no closer and took the game 25-20.

Louisville continued the hot-hitting and, using a 9-1 run, broke open the contest to go up 19-12. The Cards extended that run to 15-2 in defeating the the Scarlet Knights by eleven in the second game.

The Cards closed out the match by keeping Rutgers at bay and scoring the final four points of the game to win by seven.

Tonight, #9 Texas visits the KFC YUM! Center at 7 p.m.

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FIELD HOCKEY DEFEATS #11 Iowa 2-1

Victoria Stratton picked a great opportunity to score her first career goal, breaking a 1-1 tie in the 56th minute to give the Cards a 2-1 win over the Hawkeyes.

The teams were tied at the half...Louisville getting their score when Elisa Garcia scored on a penalty corner assisted by Paige Monson and Mallory Mason.

The Hawkeyes out-shot Louisville 15-11 in the contest, but strong goal play by Erin Conrad and the Cards defensive backs in the final 14 minutes preserved the win for UofL.

Field Hockey (8-6) travels to Rutgers Friday for a BIG EAST match and finished the weekend in Winston-Salem, NC with an out-of-conference match against Wake Forest.

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SOCCER TIES GEORGETOWN 1-1

Gutsy effort out of the women's soccer Cards yesterday in Cardinal Park, rallying from a 1-0 deficit in the second half to tie #11 Georgetown and keeping them scoreless through two overtimes to get the draw.

Charlyn Corral got an unassisted goal 16 minutes into the second half to knot the contest up and the Louisville defensive unit did an excellent job of containing the Hoyas the rest of the way to preserve the tie. It was the fifth goal of the season and second of the weekend.

Louisville outshot the Hoyas 20-10 in the contest...Chloe Kiefer had four saves for the Cards to help preserve their third place standing in the BIG EAST National Division. The Cards are now 3-2-3 in BIG EAST play and 8-3-3 overall.

Louisville heads to New Jersey for two BIG EAST contests next week, with stops at Rutgers (Friday, 5:30 p.m.) and Seton Hall (Sunday, 1 p.m.)
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Soccer wins over Wildcats -- Field Hockey and Volleyball today

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SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Charlyn "Corrals" Villanova 1-0

-Volleyball hosts Pirates in Cardinal Arena

-Field Hockey takes on #3 UConn today

-Next up in the contest: Katie Keller vs. Rebecca Shine

Second half goal good enough for Louisville women's soccer.

If high scoring matches are your thing, you might have been disappointed in last night's Louisville vs. Villanova women's soccer game at Cardinal Park, but there was no disappointment on the scoreboard at the end of ninety minutes...Louisville 1- Villanova 0

Charlyn Corral worked through Villanova defenders in the 74th minute of action and booted a 22 yd. rocket over the head of 'Nova goalie Jami Kranich for the game's only score. 

Stout defense by the Cardinals kept the Wildcats at bay for the entire contest, allowing only six shots on Louisville goalkeeper Chloe Kiefer...who picked up her 16th career shutout. 

Louisville moved to third place with the win in the BIG EAST National Division and returns to action  Sunday at Cardinal Park for a 1 p.m. match against #11 Georgetown.

"Villanova is a good team and this is a great win for us. We will refocus and get ready for a very good Georgetown team on Sunday" -- Louisville head coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes.

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Seton Hall first of three matches for VolleyCards

Anne Kordes' VolleyCards take to the court for Saturday, Sunday and Monday matches. Seton Hall is the first opponent for UofL...this one in cozy Cardinal Arena today at noon.

The Pirates (15-2, 3-1) are having their best season since 1994 with losses only to Villanova and #19 Ohio
State. Fans who attend the match will notice the Manthorpe twins for Seton Hall. They have a combined 315 kills between them this season and will pose a tough challenge to the Cardinals' blocking game...along with outside hitter Molly Grammer.

We'll have a recap of this one for you tomorrow...and then it's Rutgers (15-4, 1-3) Sunday at noon in the KFC YUM! Center and Texas (11-3) Monday night at 7 p.m. also in the YUM!  

A busy three days for Louisville Volleyball, get out and cheer them on!

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Field Hockey faces tough weekend tests

If the Cardinal Volleyball schedule seems tough over the next couple of days, they'll not get a sympathetic ear from Justine Sowry's stick swingers. #3 UConn and Louisville will do battle today at noon and #11 Iowa squares off against the Cards Sunday at 1 p.m.

Both matches are at Trager Stadium.

A pregame Kids Clinic will be held this morning from 10-11 a.m. on the field. Poster making, face painting, jumping and pizza will be available for the kiddos as well. Maybe they can invite the Huskies out, too, and get them filled up and sleepy....at 12-0, UConn is one of only two undefeated teams in Division I women's college field hockey...Syracuse being the other.

Goalkeeper Sarah Mansfield allows a scant 0.75 goals per game for the Huskies. Louisville goalkeeper Erin Conrad and the defense will have their work cut out for them trying to contain UConn's Chloe Hunnable who is atop the BIG EAST scoring charts with 25 points this year. If she fails, teammate Marie Elena Bolles is second with 24. 

The Cards come into the match at 7-5 and 1-1 in the BIG EAST. 

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Next up in the Cardinal women's sports favorite contest. 


We have a battle lined up between softball's Katie Keller and tennis star Rebecca Shine as the Sweet Sixteen Contest to pick your favorite Cardinal women's sports athlete continues. 

Keller, the hard slugging infielder for Sandy Pearsall's softball team will also be in action today at Ulmer Stadium in exhibition games against Bellarmine and Tennessee State. A junior from Livermore, CA...Keller batted .277 in 60 games last season.

Shine advanced to the semifinals of the ITA Tournament a few days ago and is the #1 singles player for Mark Beckham's women's tennis team. She and Julia Fellerhoff combine as the #1 doubles team for the Cards. She hails from Augusta, GA.

Congratulations to cross country's Michelle Molodynia, who advances to the "Great Eight" by out-distancing rowing's Erin Bennett.

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Friday Cardinal Couple -- Soccer faces crucial weekend

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FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Georgetown, Villanova visit this weekend

A key weekend of soccer matches face the University of Louisville Women's soccer team in Cardinal Park. With just three weeks remaining in the regular season, Louisville is fourth in the BIG EAST National Division and can improve upon their standing with wins over third-place Villanova Friday and league-leading Georgetown on Sunday.

The Friday night 7 p.m. match against the Wildcats is Louisville's "Pink Game" for Breast Cancer Awareness. Louisville will don special pink uniforms and all breast cancer survivors can gain free admission by calling (502) 852-8466 or e-mailing BMUSEL01@louisville.edu

Villanova is 5-6-2 on the season and 3-2-0 in BIG EAST play. They downed Pitt last time out 3-2 and tonight's match will be the eighth all-time meeting between the two schools...Nova holding a 4-3 advantage. The Cards took a 3-2 double overtime win last year on the road against the Wildcats.

Georgetown invades Sunday with a 11-1-1 record and a 5-0-0 BIG EAST record. They also beat Pitt last time out 8-0 last week. This is also the eighth time Louisville and the Hoyas have met, Louisville with a 4-3 edge in games. UofL downed Georgetown 2-1 in double overtime last year in Washington, D.C.

The Cards are 7-3-2 on the season and 2-2-2 in BIG EAST play. They are ranked 46th. in the latest NCAA RPI release. Wins this weekend would propel them into third place in the BIG EAST National Division behind the Hoyas and Notre Dame.

Best of luck to the University of Louisville women's soccer team in these two key matches!

Saturday Cardinal Couple -- Volleyball, Field Hockey capture wins

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Volleyball sweeps MTSU in three games

-Field Hockey gets double overtime win over CMU

-Soccer falls at Notre Dame

-Renew those tickets!

Louisville women's sports team went 2-1 on Friday. The VolleyCards rolling by Middle Tennessee in the KFC YUM! Center, field hockey earning a 3-2 double overtime win in East Lansing and soccer falling short in South Bend to the Irish 2-1. Here's the recaps...

Volleyball overpowers Blue Raiders

Louisville goes to 9-1 with a straight-set sweep over MTSU Friday night in the KFC YUM! Center. The 25-19, 25-11, 25-19 wins were a little closer than the scores would suggest...at least in two of the games.

MTSU broke away from a 5-5 tie in the first game and held leads over Louisville ranging from two to three points until a Cardinal rally tied the contest at 17-17. 

At 19-19, two straight kills from Brooke Mattingly put the Cards ahead to stay. Four straight MTSU attack errors against the stout Louisville defense gave the Cards the first game by six points. 

Louisville pulled away from a 5-5 tie in the second contest...getting four kills from Emily Juhl to lead 10-6. An attack error increased the Cardinal lead to 13-7 and two straight Brooke Mattingly kills made it 17-9 Louisville. Two consecutive Caitlin Welch aces gave the Cards a 21-10 advantage and UofL notched four out of the five next points to win 25-11. 

After the break, the teams were tied early at 3-3 before Lola Arslanbekova delivered two kills to give the Cards a 6-3 edge. That increased to 8-5 after a Kaitlynn James kill and 11-5 when Tanya Lukyanenko delivered a kill. Lola made it 13-6 with her fourth kill of the game but the Blue Raiders mounted a brief rally to cut it to 13-10. MTSU attack errors gave Louisville a 18-11 lead. Middle Tennessee would get within three again at 18-15 but three straight Cardinal point pushed the lead to six points. Lola's final kill of the night gave Louisville a 22-16 advantage, Tanya added another kill to get the Cards to a 24-18 lead and Katie George ended the contest and match with a kill to give  UofL another six point win. 

Gwen Rucker did not participate in the match because of an illness. No word whether she'll be available for today's games.

The VolleyCards return to action Saturday against UNLV and Miami (FL).

Field Hockey escapes in double overtime

Sophomore Alyssa Voelmle's goal a minute into the second overtime gave Louisville a 3-2 win over the Chippewas in East Lansing, Michigan. 

The Cards trailed 1-0 in the first half when Elisa Garcia took a pass from Becca Maddock at the 19 minute mark and tied it for Louisville. CMU went back ahead 2-1 less than a minute later but Louisville rallied to tie the contest on a Maddock goal at the 25 minute mark. 

The teams went into the half tied at 2-2 and played the second half in a scoreless effort to force overtime. 
Louisville held a 3-1 edge in shots in the first 15 minute extra session but could not score. With 1:01 expired in the second overtime, Voelmle took a pass from Garcia and drilled a shot past Central Michigan goalie Anastasia Netto for the sudden death victory.

Erin Conrad had five saves for Louisville in the win, which improved the Cards record to 5-2. 

Louisville faces the winner of the Michigan v. American game on Sunday. 

Late efforts by Cards fall short in soccer against Notre Dame. 

Louisville falls in their BIG EAST open to Notre Dame 2-1 in a match that was televised on ESPNU. The Cards had opportunities to score but couldn't manage it. An improbable one against four shot on goal by N.D. freshman Crystal Thomas gave the Irish a 1-0 lead late in the first half. 

The Cards fell behind 2-0 in the second half on a crucial defensive error by Louisville goalkeeper Chloe Kiefer which allowed Lauren Bohaboy to slide past her with the ball and sink a shot into the unguarded net.  

The Cards rallied for a goal in the last minute of play when Angelika Uremovich booted it a missed head shot by Charlyn Corral in front of the goal. 


A disappointing loss and a game Louisville certainly played well enough in to gain a win. Unforced errors and miracle shots can get ya, though...

Louisville drops to 5-2 overall and heads to DePaul next for a Sunday matchup with the Blue Demons. 

Win valuable prizes from UofL! 

Are you a UofL women's basketball season ticket holder? Have you renewed those tickets yet? If you haven't you may want to do it in the next couple of days. UofL is giving away 15 prizes to current season ticket holders who haven't renewed yet but do so by Monday! 

You can view the prizes and learn more about the promotion at the link below: 

Sign me up again, coach!
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Saturday Cardinal Couple -- Volleyball downs Purdue, Field Hockey & Soccer fall

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SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Volleyball sweeps Purdue in straight sets

-Field Hockey falls to IU in O.T.

-Soccer downed by UK

Volleyball beats Purdue 25-21, 25-17, 25-23.

Led by Lola Arslanbekova's 20 kills, Louisville Volleyball improved to 7-1 with a straight set sweep of #11 Purdue Friday in Cincinnati in the Fifth-Third Arena. 

The Cards benefited from strong serving by Hannah Kvitle in the first game to go up 9-3 early and had Purdue on the ropes late at 21-15 before seeing a late Purdue surge made it 21-19. The Cards took three of the last five points to win by four. 

Game two saw Louisville jump out again with an early lead at 9-4 and led at 20-13 before Purdue rallied late again in the second game with four straight points. Kills by Lola and Gwen Rucker put the Boilermakers at bay, though and the Cards took the second contest 25-17. 

After the break, Purdue made Louisville work for the third win....leading 14-13 and 19-17. The Cards battled back to tie it at 23-23 and two straight kills from Lola gave Louisville a narrow two point win. 

"I am proud of them as a team. They're playing gutsy and playing with the belief that they can win. That's what you coach them up to do and you want them to play with confidence in each other and the coaching staff. Purdue's a great team, with a phenomenal coaching staff. There are times, though, when Lola just picks us up and carries us on her back." -- Louisville head Volleyball coach Anne Kordes.


Field Hockey falls to IU in overtime. 

The Cards lose a heartbreaker to IU in overtime when Morgan Fleetwood scores early in the overtime period to give IU the 3-2 win. 

The teams were tied 1-1 at the half. IU scoring first but Becca Maddock tying the contest on a penalty corner assist from Victoria Stratton. 

Louisville took a 2-1 lead midway through the second half when Erin Schneidtmiller put a missed shot back into the goal. IU rallied a couple of minutes later to tie it, though...and force the extra session. 

Erin Conrad had seven saves in the loss. The Cards go to 3-2 and will play Ohio U. tomorrow at 2 p.m. in Bloomington. 

Soccer falls to UK before record crowd at Cardinal Park. 

Cardinal and Cat fans line the fences at Cardinal Park
Friday night to watch the rivalry match-up

One of the hardest thing to do as a writer and a fan is to report on losses that the team you root for and cover suffers. The excitement and anticipation of marquee matchups....like the UofL vs. UK women's soccer game last night can get you worked up into a frenzy and heightened state of excitement as the event draws near. The deflation after a close loss is a hard feeling to shake...but you carry on, knowing that your team tried the best that they could and there will be reasons to celebrate down the road. 

Louisville played UK to a scoreless first half but surrendered two late goals to the Cats in front of a soccer record crowd of 3,520 Friday night. 

At the 59:21 mark in the second half, Natalie Horner drove a kick past Chloe Kiefer to give the Cats a 1-0  lead. Louisville missed a golden opportunity to tie the game with 11 1/2 minutes left when the Cards were awarded a penalty kick but Charlyn Corral's kick was deflected by UK goalie Kayla King. 

The Wildcats tacked on an insurance goal less than a minute later when Kelli Hubly scored on a pass near the Cardinal goal. 

UK goalie Kayla Price being treated for
collision with Christine Exeter early in the game
(Photo by Jenny O'Bryan)

The Cards with plenty of offense and attacks tonight but just unable to get the ball in the net. 

A festive crowd on hand for the match. Some of the many notables in attendance were Candyce Bingham, Jeff Walz, Cardinal WBB recruits Brianna Ruiz and Imani Wright with their parents and Becky Burke...recently returned from Poland. Seemed like the entire UofL men's basketball team was there as well. Nothing more fun than watching Gorgui Dieng bend over to talk to a 5 yr. old. I wonder if he suffers from vertigo. 

Got to watch the second half with CARDINAL COUPLE columnist Jenny O'Bryan and her friends. Always good to sit with Jenny and discuss sports. 

The contest was delayed for several minutes early in the first half when a collision occurred between Christine Exeter and goalie Kayla Price. Both left the contest, Price suffering a lost tooth. She didn't return. Exeter returned later with her head wrapped in a bandage. 

Louisville falls to 4-1 with the loss. They'll face Toledo Sunday in Cardinal Park. 
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