#44 Louisville Women's Soccer 2013 Preview


Louisville Cardinals

Overall Rank: #44
Conference Rank: #4 American Athletic Conference
Louisville Women's Soccer 2013 Preview
Louisville Team Page

 

The Louisville Cardinals begin their lone season in the newly formed American Athletic Conference with plenty of experience returning from a 10-win season in 2012. The Cardinals will also be benefit from a talented six-member incoming freshmen class that will create a fierce amount of competition for playing time. The conference, with the departure of Notre Dame and Marquette, is less daunting and should allow Louisville to be able to make a huge push to get back to the NCAA Tournament in 2013.

2012 Record: 10-4-4, 5-3-2 Big East
2012 Postseason: None
Coach: Karen Ferguson-Dayes

Strengths:
The Cardinals return a strong combination in seniors Angelika Ureovich and Charlyn Corral up front at forward. These two players combined for 50 percent of the goals scored in 2012 for Louisville. Corral is the most well rounded striker as she was second on the team in goals with eight last season. The defense was strong all season long. Louisville conceded just 17 goals in 18 matches. This type of defense again in 2013 should have the Cardinals in virtually every match they play. The leader of the backline is senior defender Rachel Melhado, who just recently got her first international cap as a member of the Canadian National Team in a match against the powerhouse German Women’s National team.

Weaknesses:
The goalkeeping position is the first key question to resolve for Louisville in 2013. Halle Pyle will be the leading candidate to replace the graduated Chloe Kiefer. There will be competition as two highly touted incoming freshmen, Paige Brown and Taylor Smith, will be in the mix to compete for playing time right away at the goalkeeper spot. The other big point of emphasis to address for the Cardinals is to develop another scoring threat behind Uremovich and Corral. Louisville scored just 34 goals in 2012. If they can get that production up into the 45-50 goal range, they should be in position to be an NCAA Tournament team.

Final Projection:
This is a key season for the Cardinals as they prepare to move to the tough ACC Conference next season. Louisville will encounter a great test in September at the Wake Forest Invitational when they play two quality NCAA caliber ACC opponents in Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. Playing this type of opponent a year ahead of time will help coach Ferguson-Dayes get a gauge on where the Cardinals stand in relation to the ACC in women’s soccer. This will help the Cardinals in their recruiting as well by allowing them to focus on the specific skill types they would need to elevate their roster. Louisville has a solid foundation in place, and with the infrastructure of a new stadium on the way, the Cardinals will be should be able to complete early in the ACC next year.   

Projected Postseason: NCAA

Returning Leaders:
Goals: Angelika Uremovich, Senior, Midfield, 9
Assists: Charlyn Corral, Senior, Forward, 7
Shots: Charlyn Corral, Senior, Forward, 78
Saves: None

Madness 2013 Women’s Soccer Recruit Rankings:
#148 Rachele Armand

 

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