By: Bradley Jones
Another weekend has passed and the University of Louisville football team is still undefeated. The Cardinals (6-0) traveled to Pittsburgh (2-4) this past weekend to take on the Panthers in their Big East conference opener. Prior to Saturday’s game, Louisville was 1-6 in their conference opening games since joining the Big East, this coupled with a 11 a.m. kickoff had some fans nervous as the Cardinals looked to improve to 6-0 for the first time since 2006. The Cardinals defense started out sluggish giving up a touchdown to the Panthers on their opening series, however Louisville responded as running back Senorise Perry scored one of his four touchdowns to even the score at 7-7. In the second quarter, Pittsburgh was able to block a Louisville punt and return it 41 yards to take a 14-7 lead. The Cardinals, who relied on a heavy dose of the run all game, handed the ball to their other running back Jeremy Wright who took it in from 4 yards out to even the score once again. The second quarter ended with a Pittsburgh touchdown and a Louisville field goal for a halftime score of 21-17. After a sub par first half, Louisville looked to ignite a spark in the second half and did so with their first play from scrimmage. Teddy Bridgewater connected with wide receiver Devante Parker for a 75-yard touchdown pass to give the Cardinals a 24-21 lead. The third quarter was all Cardinals as Perry tacked on two more touchdowns to give Louisville a 38-21 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh attempted to make a comeback late but Perry crushed any chance of this as he scored his fourth and last touchdown of the game to give the Cardinals a 45-35 win. Perry had 101 yards rushing on 12 carries and four touchdowns, a career game for the junior out of Georgia. Bridgewater finished the game 17-26 for 304 yards and one touchdown and Parker had 4 receptions for 153 yards and one touchdown. The Cardinals return to action this Saturday (Oct.20th) as they host South Florida at 3:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ABC. Read the official press release here
University of Louisville basketball comes into this season with high expectations. Last season, the Cardinals made it to the Final Four and this season they return 12 players from that team and have also brought in a solid recruiting class anchored by Montrezl Harrell (24). This has earned the Cardinals a preseason #1 ranking in many polls and has excited the fan base. This past Saturday fans had a chance to catch their first glimpse at the 2012-2013 team in the first of three red-white scrimmages. The red team won 74-58 and Cardinals Sports Zone’s Justin Renck was in attendance and gives his thoughts here You can also read the official press release here The Cardinals will continue with scrimmages Oct.21st and 27th.
The 24th-ranked Louisville men’s soccer team advanced their record to 8-4-1 overall and stayed atop the Big East standings with a 1-0 victory over 10th-ranked St. Johns. Louisville’s Will Vitalis scored the only goal of the game in 17th minute to give the Cardinals their fourth Big East victory this season. The Cardinals played tough defensive the entire game and it was rewarded with Louisville’s defender Andrew Farrell being named Big East defender of the week, his second such honor this year. Read the official press release here The Cardinals next game is Wednesday, Oct.17th at South Florida.
The Louisville field hockey team (9-7) capped off the weekend with a victory over 22nd-ranked Wake Forest, 2-1. Before Sunday’s victory, Louisville lost at Rutgers 3-1 on Friday and looked to bounce back strong against the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest scored early with a goal four minutes into the game to take a 1-0 lead. However, Louisville responded quickly as senior Amber Thomas scored a goal in the 16th minute to even the score at 1-1. In the second half, both teams played quality defensive and it was not until eight minutes remaining in the game that Louisville was able to break through with a goal from Junior Michelle Amon. The Cardinals held on for a 2-1 victory over Wake Forest. Read the official press release here Louisville returns to action this weekend as they host Villanova this Saturday ( Oct.20th) at Trager Stadium at noon.
15th- ranked Louisville volleyball improved their record to 18-3 on the season with two conference road wins this past weekend. Friday night Louisville survived a close match against St. Johns. The Red Storm forced Louisville to play five sets before the Cardinals were able to win 3-2. Louisville concluded the weekend on Sunday with a match at Connecticut. Louisville won the match 3-1 behind Lola Arslanbekova 21 kills and 11 digs and Emily Juhl and Gwen Rucker’s 11 kills. Louisville continues their road trip this weekend with matches at Syracuse and Marquette. Read the press release here
Louisville women’s soccer (9-4-3) finished this weekends road trip 1-1 with a loss to Rutgers and win over Seton Hall. Friday night was a disappointing match as Louisville’s offense could not capitalize in 3-0 loss to Rutgers. However, the offense clicked in Sunday’s match at Seton Hall as Louisville earned a 3-0 victory. Junior Charlyn Corral lead the Cardinals with a pair of goals and sophomore Casey Whitfield added a goal of her own. Read the official press release here Louisville returns to action this Friday (Oct.19th) as they finish regular season play by hosting Cincinnati at Cardinal Park at 7 p.m.
In other news and notes: Louisville baseball concluded fall workouts as the Tingle Titanium won the annual Pizza Bowl series over Cheese’s Chosen on Saturday. Cross country finished 12th in the Pre-Nationals this past weekend at E.P. ‘Tom’ Sawyer State Park. Men’s and women’s swimming and diving defeated Xavier in their season opening meet this past Friday. Rowing earned three top-5 finishes in the Head of the Rock tournament.
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