By Justin Stephenson
Coming off a loss to Virginia and a rally at Richmond, the Cardiac
Cards looked like confident Cards after a 4-1 thrashing of visiting opponent
William and Mary. Among the three hundred plus attendees at the game, the
largest home game turnout in nearly a decade, was soft-spoken basketball
superstar Russ Smith. When asked what brought him to the game, he so
eloquently responded, “they were playing and I wasn’t busy so I just wanted
to come out and support the team.”
He was among friends, as a myriad of student athletes, from rowers
to soccer players. They all came in full force in the heat to support their
fellow student athletes, even as their cheeks began to resemble the rosy red
of our namesake mascot. Although the crowd was feeling the heat, the team
played it cool. After playing to a 1-1 draw for most of the first half, thanks
to a phenomenal corner shot from junior Alyssa Voelmle and a spot on assist
from junior Paige Monsen, the floodgates bore open when freshman forward
and overseas sensation Jennifer Pels scored at the 23 minute mark sending U
of L into halftime with a 2-1 lead.
From the second half onward, the Cards were scorching, literally and
figuratively. But the intense heat couldn’t match the intensity of the Cards, as
Pels transitioned from scorer to distributor in the second half, connecting
with freshman-phenom Shannon Sloss on two consecutive goals. As a team,
the Cards had five assists on four goals, whereas the visiting Tribe went
snake eyes in both categories.
“They were supporting each other out there today,” head coach Justine
Sowry said. While the cards performed outstandingly on offense, the defense
left something to be desired.
“Our lesson from today is defense, from our forward line all the way to
the backfield. Also pressing and transition when the ball is turned over
multiple times; we have to be much quicker in our thought process.”
Echoing the same sentiments, junior Alyssa Voelmle retorted. “There
are just little things we can work on to get better, you can always get better as
a team. It’s a great start, a great start from last year but we can definitely
improve.”
