By Dalton Ray
After a 5-4 overtime victory against Cincinnati on the last game of the regular season
coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes’ Women’s Soccer team wraps up the year with a 12-4 record
and an 8-1 in conference record. Winning eight out of their last nine, Louisville will host a
quarterfinal round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Nov. 3.
A large part of the Cardinals’ success this year is due to the play of senior forward Charlyn
Corral. She led the conference in shots, points, and goals with 13, Corral also had 11 assists
on the season. This is no surprise as she was named 2012 Big East Midfielder of the Year
and a first team all conference player.
Christine Exeter was second in the conference making four game winning goals and nine
total goals. Exeter also led the team with 11 assists. The team was second in assists and
goals, and led the conference with 2.56 goals per game thanks to an explosive and always
dangerous offensive attack.
The Cards’ three losses this year came by a total of five goals in close match ups against
Illinois, Kentucky, Marquette, and UCF. Outscoring their opponents by a total score of 43-
22 when they won, the offense proved to be the team’s strong suit as they scored four or
more goals in six separate games. The team was shut out just twice this year.
Some of the biggest wins of the year were against conference foes UConn, Rutgers, and
Memphis. The Lady Cards were able to beat UConn and Memphis by one goal each and
handled the Knights by three goals. Another key to success this year for U of L came from
the fans. Louisville averaged the most fans in attendance with 1,113 per game, the only
school in the conference to average more than 800 fans at home.
The Cardinals were relying on UCF to fall at SMU in order to win the AAC regular season
title but with a 1-0 victory in Dallas the UCF Knights hold sole possession of the regular
season title. The Knights proving to be the thorn in the Cardinals’ AAC side in more than
one sport.
