University of Louisville
RIO GRANDE (EX)
Louisville Opens Preseason with 3-0 Win Over Rio Grande
August 15, 2014 | Men's Soccer
Will Vitalis (10) and Ricardo Velazco (9) celebrate the Cardinals' first goal in Friday's preseason win over Rio Grande.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 14th-ranked Louisville men's soccer team opened its preseason slate on Friday night at Cardinal Park with a 3-0 victory over NAIA foe Rio Grande.
In the first of their three exhibition matches, the Cardinals wasted little time in taking command as senior Will Vitalis (Louisville, Ky.) scored the first of Louisville's two first half goals in the first five minutes of action. Junior Ricardo Velazco (Casa Grande, Ariz.) added the second goal for the Cardinals just before the halftime break, while Jon Zabasajja (Phoenix, Ariz.) added the final goal of the night in the second half as Louisville prepared for its debut season the ACC.
"It was a very positive evening for us with a lot of things to build on," said Louisville head coach Ken Lolla, who begins his ninth season with the program. "We were able to get a lot of guys a lot of minutes, which was really good for us. Tomorrow, we'll show them a lot of video from tonight's match and continue to move forward."
Vitalis started the scoring in the fifth minute when he took a pass from sophomore Andrew Brody (Orlando, Fla.) and scored inside the left post from 17 yards out for the 1-0 lead. It was the first of two assists on the night for Brody, who had eight assists last season.
Velazco, the Cardinals' leading goal scorer last season with seven, pushed the lead to 2-0 in the 43rd minute when he scored inside the far right post from 16 yards away. Brody and newcomer Shane Campbell (York, Pa.) were credited with assists for Louisville.
Louisville's final goal of the match came in the 73rd minute when Zabasajja, another first-year member of the Cardinals, capitalized on a run down the right side of the pitch with a goal inside the far left post. Freshman Jack Gayton (Peachtree City, Ga.) was credited with the assist.
Defensively, senior goalkeeper Joachim Ball (Villingen-Schwenninge, Germany) turned away three shots in a scoreless first half, while freshman Nick Jeffs (Ottawa, Ont.) added a save in the second half to preserve the shutout. Overall, the Cardinals finished with a 10-7 advantage in shots and an 8-5 edge in corner kicks.
Louisville will continue its preparations for the 2014 season with the second of three preseason matches on Monday at 7 p.m., ET at Cardinal Park against Memphis.
Fans can follow Louisville men's soccer on Twitter (@UofLmenssoccer) at http://twitter.com/uoflmenssoccer and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/UofLmenssoccer.
Single Game, Season Tickets on Sale
Single game tickets for Louisville's highly anticipated debut season at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium and in the Atlantic Coast Conference are available for purchase through the UofL Ticket Office. Tickets for each of the Cardinals' first two matches on Friday, Aug. 29 against No. 2 Maryland (8 p.m., ET) and on Friday, Sept. 5 (8 p.m.) against Cornell can be purchased online here through My Cardinal Account. Ticket prices are $12 for reserved chairback seats (preferred seating) and $9 for general admission berm and bleacher seats. On both Aug. 29 and Sept. 5, the men's games will be preceded by women's games and tickets will provide admission to both matches each day.
Single game tickets for each of the Cardinals' 11 regular season matches at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium this fall are currently on sale and can be purchased in person through the UofL Ticket Office at Gate 2 of Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. More information on Louisville men's soccer single game tickets is available online here or by calling (502) GO-CARDS.
Season tickets, which will provide admission to both men's and women's regular season matches, remain on sale through the UofL Ticket Office for $70 each. Visit GoCards.com to learn more about 2014 Louisville soccer season tickets. Group tickets for all Louisville matches can be requested by completing the group ticket application online here or by calling (502) 852-0120. Groups consist of 10 or more and tickets start at $4.
