TicketsSept. 13, 2006
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville scored just over five minutes into the match and rode that to a 4-1 win over Cincinnati in the BIG EAST opener for both women's soccer teams on Wednesday night at Cardinal Park.
Playing in front of a national audience on Fox Soccer Channel, the Cardinals (5-0-1, 1-0-0 BIG EAST) outshot the Bearcats (3-3-1, 0-0-1) 19-4. Andrea Kaminski made eight saves in net for UC, while sophomore Lindsey Noteboom scored her first career goal.
"We needed to come out firing," said head coach Meridy Glenn, "and instead we were tentative and they took advantage and got an early goal."
"We just can't give away the ball like we did tonight," Glenn added. "They have a very organized front and when we turned it over they countered. We did not adjust to that mentality. We need more leadership from the people on the field."
The Cardinals were the aggressors at the outset, earning a number of scoring chances. Just a minute and a half into the match Jen Avila hit the crossbar and Shannon Smyth hit the post.
U of L capitalized on the pressure at 5:27 as Jamie Craft took an errant UC pass and led Avila in alone who beat Kaminski for her second goal of the year.
After that, play leveled out as the rest of the half took place mostly in the midfield. U of L owned a 9-2 advantage in shots in the first half and Kaminski made four saves. The Bearcats did not manage a shot on goal.
It did not take long into the second half for the Cardinals to extend the lead. It was Avila scoring again just 1:54 in after passes from Monique Gjini and Laura Walker put her alone in front.
The lead moved to 3-0 at 54:30 when Lindsey Fox drove in from the midfield and drew three defenders before sliding a pass across to Craft who put the ball in the open net.
The Bearcats got their first shot on goal at the 62:49 mark and it was the goal by Noteboom. From 30 yards out she surprised Cardinal goalkeeper Joanna Haig with a shot that snuck in just under the crossbar.
U of L responded with another marker by Craft at 74:40 as she dribbled in from midfield and beat Kaminski for the 4-1 lead.
The Bearcats return home to host Cleveland State on Sunday, Sept. 17 at 12:30 p.m. That match is the first half of a double-header with the men's team, who face Notre Dame at approximately 3:30 p.m.