.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
University of Louisville
XAVIER
Cards Blank the Musketeers 5-0 Sunday
September 10, 2006 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 10, 2006
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville women's soccer team picked up a pair of first half goals and never looked back in a 5-0 blanking of Xavier Sunday afternoon at Cardinal Park.
The game will be televised on a tape-delayed basis on September 12 at 8:00 p.m. on WYCS and September 13 at 2:35 a.m. on WHAS-TV in Louisville.
"It is nice to start seeing everything you work on in practice come together," Head Coach Karen Ferguson noted.
"It was a great team effort and I am proud of our focus, execution and attitude. We got a great game from everybody that stepped on the field."
Shannon Smyth put the Cardinals on the board in the 14th minute with her first goal of the season. Junior Monique Gjini sent a ball across the box from the left side and found a sliding Smyth who tucked into the top right corner for what turned out to be the game winner.
In the 32nd minute, Jen Avila chipped a shot over Xavier keeper Kelly Farrell that ricocheted off the crossbar. Jamie Craft came up with the loose ball and dribbled in on the right side, drawing three defenders and the keeper, before sliding a pass in front of the goal mouth where Avila finished for her first of the season and a 2-0 Cardinal lead they would take into intermission.
Shots were even a five apiece in the first half, and Xavier outcornered the Cards 3-0. Sophomore Deana Waintraub turned away the only two shots on goal in the first 45 minutes.
At the 76:32 mark, Gjini found herself with room outside the 18 on the left side and tucked a shot inside the far post over a leaping Farrell for a 3-0 advantage.
In the 83rd minute, freshman Lindsey Fox redirected Katie Owen's corner kick behind Farrell to make it 4-0 Cards on a spectacular goal, and Fox lost a defender out top and sent a shot that glanced off the crossbar into the net for her second of the match to close the scoring.
"We played a solid 90 minutes today," observed goalkeeper Joanna Haig, who made her Cardinal debut by stopping the only shot she faced while playing the entire second half.
Haig had been in Russia with the USA U20 National Team at the FIFA World Championships during the opening weeks of the season.
"I was a little apprehensive during the preseason initially, but we have all clicked together really well," Haig added.
The shutout is the third of the season for U of L as they extend their record to 4-0-1, the top mark in school history through five matches.
Xavier is now 0-4 on the road and 2-4-0 overall.
In a dominant second half the Cardinals outshot Xavier 9-4 and had five corners to XU's one. Fox's five shots paced the Cardinal attack.
Louisville will now open the BIG EAST slate, hosting rival Cincinnati Wednesday night at 8:00 in Cardinal Park. The game will be broadcast live nationally on Fox Soccer.
