Cardinals Take Down #23 Memphis, 3-2

Thursday, September 1

Harrisonburg, Va.

7:00 PM

University of Louisville

3-1-0, 0-0-0

#23 Memphis

3-2-0, 0-0-0

Memphis

Louisville

September 01, 2022 | Women's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Cards defeat a ranked team for the first time this season

By: Matt Paras

HARRISONBURG, Va. — The University of Louisville women's soccer team (3-1-0) went toe-to-toe with one of the better teams in college soccer and it was the Cardinals with the final blow as they defeated #23 Memphis (3-2-0), 3-2, Thursday night at Sentara Park. A trio of goals from Emersen Jennings, Karsyn Cherry and Anouk Denton pushed the Cardinals to their first win over a ranked foe this season.

Just as they have done all season long, Louisville scored first and got the game's first goal in the opening 10 minutes.

Graduate student Maisie Whitsett had been involved in every goal scored so far this season and she was in the mix again in the sixth minute when she served Jennings into her first collegiate goal. Jennings is the second freshman to score this season for the Cardinals and Whitsett notched her team-high third assist of the season to put the Cards up 1-0.

Memphis found the equalizer in the 22nd minute when Eef Kerkhof scored off the assist from Momo Nakao. Neither team broke through again in the first half and it went 1-1 going into halftime. Louisville held the shot advantage (7-3) and shots on goal advantage (5-3) over the first 45 minutes.

In the second half, the Tigers took their first lead of the night as they scored off a corner kick in the 57th minute. Nakao scored for the Tigers off the assist from Saorla Miller and Memphis held a 2-1 lead with more than 30 minutes left to play.

The lead did not last long, as it was the Cardinals with the equalizer, just over a minute after Memphis jumped in front. A freshmen connection pulled the Cardinals level as Cherry scored off of a corner kick from fellow freshman Addie Chester. It was Cherry's team-leading third goal of the season and Chester's first career assist as it tied the score at 2-2.

Less than 10 minutes later, the Cardinals were in the lead once again. Denton got on the scoresheet with a strike to the top right corner to put the Cardinals ahead 3-2 in the 65th minute. It was Denton's first goal of the season and she is the fifth different Cardinal to score this season.

Following the go-ahead goal, the Cardinals clamped down on defense and did not allow the Tigers to score the equalizer. Over the final 25 minutes of play, Louisville did not allow a single shot as the Cardinals picked up their third win of the season.

The three goals are the most the Cardinals have scored against a ranked foe since September 25, 2016, when they scored three in a 3-2 win over #17 Boston College. Jennings' goal in the sixth minute was the fastest goal for the Cards since October 10, 2019, when Callie McKinney scored in the third minute in the 1-0 win over #9 Clemson.

The Cardinals will close out their three-game swing away from home on Sunday, September 4, as they take on James Madison. Sunday's game is set for a 1 p.m. ET start and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.