Top-Seeded Cardinals Host Opening Weekend of AAC Championship
November 08, 2013 | Men's Soccer
Nov. 8, 2013
2013 Louisville Game Notes (AAC Quarterfinal) 
| Video: Lolla Previews the Opening Weekend of the AAC Championship
2013 American Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Championship Bracket
| No. 7 Louisville vs. RU/UC | Saturday - 7 p.m., ET | CardsTV Video | Gametracker |
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 7 Louisville men's soccer team will kick off the opening weekend of the 2013 American Athletic Conference Championship by hosting a first round match on Friday afternoon between Rutgers and Cincinnati before playing the winner in a quarterfinal game on Saturday night at Cardinal Park.
The tournament will open on Friday at 2 p.m., ET at Cardinal Park between the No.8-seeded Scarlet Knights and No. 9-seeded Bearcats. The top-seeded Cardinals will matchup against the winner of that game on Saturday at 7 p.m., ET at Cardinal Park.
Tickets will be available for purchase at Cardinal Park prior to the match or in advance through the UofL Ticket Office by calling (502) 852-0120 or emailing tickets@gocards.com. Live video of Saturday's quarterfinal match will be available to subscribers of CardsTV at GoCards.com, while live scoring will be provided through the Gametracker feature on the men's soccer schedule page at GoCards.com.
Louisville closed the regular season at 11-3-3 overall and 5-1-2 in conference action following a scoreless draw against USF last Sunday. That result clinched outright possession of the American Athletic Conference regular season championship for the Cardinals. Rutgers enters the weekend as the No. 8 seed in the conference tournament with a 2-5-1 league mark and a 5-10-2 record overall. Cincinnati is the No. 9 seed with a 1-7-0 conference record and a 6-11-1 mark overall.
Series History Louisville holds a 5-2-2 record overall all-time against Rutgers, including a 3-1 win over the Scarlet Knights earlier this season on Oct. 12 at Cardinal Park. Louisville trails the all-time series with Cincinnati 22-16-1, including a 2-0 road loss to the Bearcats this season.
National Rankings Louisville enters this week's games ranked No. 7 in the NSCAA coaches poll and at No. 8 in the Soccer America Top 25, while both Rutgers and Cincinnati are unranked in both major national polls.
Cardinals Earn Top Seed in American Athletic Conference Tournament Winning its third conference championship in five seasons, Louisville earned the opportunity to host the only first round game of the 2013 American Athletic Conference Championship on Friday between Rutgers and Cincinnati. A day later, the top-seeded Cardinals will play the winner of the first rounder in a quarterfinal game on Saturday night. Other quarterfinal matches in the tournament include No. 7 SMU at No. 2 Connecticut, No. 6 Memphis at No. 3 UCF and No. 5 USF at No. 4 Temple.
Louisville Leaders Ricardo Velazco leads the Cardinals with seven goals, nine assists and 23 points in his first season at Louisville. Andrew Brody is second on the team with eight assists this season to go with three goals, while Jimmy Ockford has four goals, including three game-winners. Zack Foxhoven, Marlon Hairston and Daniel Keller have three goals each for Louisville. Goalkeeper Joachim Ball, with 16 starts, has seven shutouts along with a 0.71 goals against average.
NCAA Statistics Entering the postseason, Louisville is ranked 20th as a team in points with 88, 22nd in goals with 30, 21st in assists with 28, 27th in scoring offense at 1.76 goals per game and 21st in goals against average at 0.73. Individually, Ricardo Velazco ranks sixth in assists with nine and 19th in points with 23, Andrew Brody is 12th in assists with eight and Joachim Ball is 23rd in goals against average at 0.71.
Lolla Looking for 100th Win at Louisville The winningest coach in the history of the Louisville men's soccer program, head coach Ken Lolla will earn his 100th victory at the helm of the Cardinals with their next win. Having led Louisville to three conference championships in the last five seasons and seven straight seasons with at least 11 wins, Lolla has also guided the Cardinals to six consecutive NCAA Championship appearances. Louisville has earned three straight NCAA Elite Eight appearances, including a national runner-up finish in 2010 when the Cardinals won a school record 20 games before falling to Akron in the title game of the College Cup in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Following the Cardinals on Social Media Fans can follow Louisville men's soccer on Twitter at http://twitter.com/uoflmenssoccer and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/UofLmenssoccer.
