Fall sports start seasons with success

By Noah Allison–

With the first month of classes coming to a close, so does the first month of fall sports. There isn’t much that Louisville can complain about with their competing Cardinals, whether it’s on the pitch, on the court or in Papa John’s Stadium; the different teams have proven they have all come to play.

U of L has a combined winning record of 22-6 in this first month of competition with football, volleyball and men and women’s soccer all having winning records.

The women’s soccer team, led by 12th year head coach Karen Feguson-Dayes, is 5-2 on the season and just started conference play against Notre Dame.  On the field, junior midfielder Angelika Uremovich is leading the team with seven goals already this season. The sensational Canadian looks to keep up the energy as the Cardinals head into conference play, with six home games remaining, the regular season still has its fair share of tough competition ahead.

Sharing the field is the 3-3 men’s soccer team. Recently suffering a crushing loss at home to rivals UK, head coach Ken Lolla doesn’t have his team focusing on the past though. Constantly working to improve is the only approach to take with a tough remaining schedule. With seven more home games, the Cardinals are hoping to repeat the great post-season success that they’ve had the past few years, making it to the elite eight last year and the National Championship the year before last.

The volleyball team takes the court with authority, only suffering one loss contrasting with their 11 victories. Head coach Anne Kordes has her 12th ranked Lady Cardinals a force to be reckoned with for any opponent. Led by the ferocious and high scoring senior outside hitter Lola Arslanbekova, they have a proven ability to blow out their opponents or come from behind to grind out a victory. The Lady Cardinals are really rolling with level headedness and good coaching. There is no saying the limits to their success this year.

The only undefeated fall sport team is the football team at 3-0. Led by head coach Charlie Strong and sophomore quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, the Cardinals have battled week in and week out to bring victory to U of L. Grinding out a win against UNC and blowing out rival UK, the Cardinals have a balanced offensive attack and a swarming defense. Big East play is coming up, and as the air gets colder, the competition gets tougher. The Cardinals have high expectations for this season, but a one-game-at-a-time mentality is the only approach for the U of L football program.

The fall sport athletes have been giving it their all in this first month of competition, and their seasons aren’t close to coming to an end. They all represent U of L well in the field of play and will work to represent U of L in the post season.