Welcome back to This Week in Cardinal Athletics! With (almost) all fall sports in full swing, let’s not waste any time, and jump right into things!
Men’s Soccer (3-2)
The Cards first game saw them go against bitter rival #17 UK in the soccer edition of the Battle of the Bluegrass. Unfortunately, the Cards came up on the loosing end against the Wildcats, falling by a score of 1-3. The Cards only goal on the night was made by Aboubacar Camara in the 4th minute.
The Cards then welcomed in the 25th ranked team in the country, the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest, in Louisville’s first conference matchup of the season. The Cards came away with a 3-0 shutout to bounce back from their last game loss, with goals scored by Camara in the 17th minute, Josh Jones in the 27th minute, and Pedro Fonseca in the 54th minute.
Starting off ACC play 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙮𝙡𝙚.#GoCards pic.twitter.com/segsdJKeRn
— Louisville Men's Soccer (@LouisvilleMSOC) September 11, 2021
This Week: Friday, September 17th At Syracuse (7 PM)
Women’s Soccer (4-1-1)
The Cards only game this week looked to be a tough one on paper, as they welcomed in the #16 ranked Wolverines of Michigan. However, due to a dominant performance by GK Gabby Kouzelos, and a goal by Nina Nicosia in the 20th minute, the Cards came away with the hard fought 1-1 tie after 2 overtimes. An outstanding effort that also included Kouzelos keeping the Wolverines scoreless for the final 90 minutes of the game.
Who else but Gabby Kouzelos?! 🔥#GoCards pic.twitter.com/j2DDnY6KvR
— Louisville Women's Soccer (@LouisvilleWSOC) September 11, 2021
This Week: Friday, September 17th At Miami (FL) (7 PM)
Men’s Golf
The Cardinals saw their first action of the season, competing in the Maui Jim Intercollegiate. The Cards managed to come in 5th place in the tournament, with a combined 26-under-par. In fact, all 6 Cards who competed in the tournament shot even par or better, with the Cards being led by a 12th place (individual) performance by both Walker Franklin and Jiri Zuska (with Zuska having a great final round with a 6-under-par).
This Week: IDLE
Women’s Golf
This Week: The Cards begin their season in the Wolverine Invitational hosted by the University of Michigan (September 13th-14th).
Men’s Tennis
The Cardinals start off their fall season Friday September 17th through Sunday September 19th, as they will be traveling to Middle Tennessee State to compete in the MTSU Invitational.
#6 Field Hockey (6-0)
The Cardinals first game last week saw them host Indiana in the Battle of the Border. The Cards defense bolstered them on this night, as they won 1-0 off of a goal from Filippa Niebuhr. This was also head coach Justine Sowry’s 200th career victory, so major congratulations go out to her!
Tonight's highlights 🆚 Indiana
Check out the recap 👉 https://t.co/tTx6Wa6xLh#GoCards pic.twitter.com/PDZ5HeanGz
— Louisville Field Hockey (@LouisvilleFH) September 11, 2021
https://twitter.com/ULFieldHockey/status/1436480766553337858
The Cards then welcomed in the #11 Flames of Liberty. The Cards offense looked much more locked in during this matchup, as they came away with the 3-1 win on the back of goals from Mattie Tabor, Mackenzie Karl, and Aimee Plumb.
This Week: Friday, September 17th Vs #10 Virginia (3 PM)
Sunday, September 19th Vs #2 Iowa (2 PM) (Giveaway of NCAA semifinalist lapel pins)
#10 Volleyball (8-0)
The Cards continued their undefeated start to the 2021 season, going 2-0 in their games the past week. In the first game, the Cardinals swept the #6 ranked Boilermakers of Purdue on a neutral court, winning 25-19, 25-16, 25-21. The Cards were led by Anna DeBeer and Anna Stevenson with 12 and 11 kills respectively, Amaya Tillman with 8 blocks, and setter Tori Dilfer with 34 assists.
Handled business 😤#GoCards pic.twitter.com/cQBFPMnj33
— Louisville Volleyball (@LouisvilleVB) September 12, 2021
In the 2nd game, the Cards returned to the same floor, competing against the hosting Musketeers of Xavier. The Cardinals continued their recent string of 3-0 victories, winning 25-16, 25-12, 25-10. Louisville was led by 17 kills from Claire Chaussee, 6 blocks from Aiko Jones, and again Dilfer with a game high 32 assists.
Another day, another sweep 😏
Louisville keeps things rolling with a win over Xavier.
🗒️: https://t.co/lJhra259RE pic.twitter.com/SD0FDsF2Qe
— Louisville Volleyball (@LouisvilleVB) September 12, 2021
This Week: Wednesday, September 15th Vs #8 Kentucky in the Battle of the Bluegrass (7 PM)
Saturday, September 18th At #3 Nebraska (8 PM)
Football (1-1)
In an extremely rare 2 game week, fans saw the Cardinals split their first 2 games of the season. First up, the Cardinals headed to Atlanta to take on the Rebels of Mississippi in a Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game. The Cards defense struggled throughout, and although the 2nd half saw an improved offensive effort led by QB Malik Cunningham, the Cards lost their first game of the season against the Rebels and dark horse Heisman candidate QB Matt Corral 43-24. The Cards were led in both passing (191 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT) and rushing (79 yards and 2 TD’s) by Cunningham.
In game 2 five days later, the Cardinals had their home opener, hosting instate opponent the EKU Colonels. Although there still seemed to be some struggles on both sides of the ball (the defensive side did look slightly improved however), Louisville came away with their first win of the young 2021 season, winning 30-3. The Cards were once again led in the air by Cunningham (1 TD passing, 2 TDs rushing), but were led in rushing this game by Jalen Mitchell (90 yards).
Highlights and recap from tonight's 30-3 win over EKU.
📰: https://t.co/m0GrhPQ7Xx#GoCards pic.twitter.com/S63GbtCsGw
— Louisville Football (@LouisvilleFB) September 12, 2021
This Week: Friday, September 17th Vs Central Florida (7:30 PM, ESPN)
Well that does it for another week folks. Make sure to stay tuned to Cardinal Sports Zone for all of your UofL news and updates, and the best coverage leading up to the UCF game on Friday! As always, Go Cards!!
