Cardinals Report to Campus, Open Preseason Slate Saturday
August 12, 2016 | Men's Soccer
Louisville will play a pair of exhibition road matches before hosting Butler for regular season opener on Aug. 26 at 7:30 p.m., ET
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's soccer team officially reported to campus to commence its 2016 preseason preparations on Tuesday. Following three days of intense training, the Cardinals kickoff their preseason schedule with a road match at Memphis on Saturday at 8 p.m., ET.
Directed by head coach Ken Lolla, who is in his 11th season at the helm, Louisville began its preseason with morning meetings on Tuesday, while the afternoon activities included the team's multimedia car wash, where they created video and photo content for the 2016 season. Tuesday's schedule concluded with a team meal hosted by Lolla and his family.
The Cardinals opened their training schedule with morning and evening sessions on both Wednesday and Thursday. The team will also conduct a Friday morning training session before departing in the afternoon for Memphis, where they will host a morning training before facing the Tigers that evening on the campus of Christian Brothers University.
"There was genuine excitement for the team in getting together for the first time and starting a new journey this week," Lolla said. "The first couple of days of training have been encouraging, but we know we have a lot of growth ahead of us. The focus is on consistent effort."
Louisville returns eight players with 13 or more starts from last year's team, including the top three goal scorers in sophomore Tate Schmitt (seven goals), senior Daniel Johnson (five goals) and junior Tim Kubel (five goals). Schmitt was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team, while Kubel (First Team) and Johnson (Second Team) were tabbed All-ACC selections last season.
That trio is also joined by experienced seniors in Michael DeGraffenreidt, Romilio Hernandez and Jerry Ramirez, who have combined for 140 career starts for the Cardinals. DeGraffenreidt leads the team with 58 collegiate starts along Louisville's backline. Hernandez has 47 total starts and 55 appearances in the midfield for the Cardinals, while Ramirez has 35 starts and 45 appearances during his tenure.
Following Saturday's preseason match at Memphis, the Cardinals will return home to host the fourth annual Kickoff Banquet on Sunday at 5 p.m., at the PNC Club at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Louisville will conclude its exhibition slate on Aug. 20 at UAB before opening the 2016 regular season schedule at home against Butler on Friday, Aug. 26 at 7:30 p.m., at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium.
2016 LOUISVILLE SOCCER SEASON TICKET AND FAN EXPERIENCE INFORMATION
Season tickets and Fan Experience packages for Louisville's third season at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium are now available. To purchase your tickets for the 2016 soccer season, please call the Louisville Cardinals Ticket Office at (502) GoCARDS or visit gocards.com/soccer-fep for more information. Ticket prices for the 2016 season will remain the same as the inaugural season and start as low as $2 per person per game. Season tickets for 2016 include every regular season home match for both the men's and women's soccer programs.
FOLLOWING LOUISVILLE MEN'S SOCCER ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville men's soccer on Twitter (@UofLmenssoccer) at http://twitter.com/uoflmenssoccer and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/UofLmenssoccer.
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