LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville women’s soccer coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes is preparing to enter her 25th season with the Cardinals. UofL welcomes the Knights of Bellarmine to Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 15 at 7:30 p.m.

What You Need To Know

  • Louisville women's soccer begins the 2024 season on Aug. 15 against Bellarmine

  • UofL head coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes begins her 25th season with the Cards

  • Bellarmine's new coach, Callie McKinney, played for UofL 

  • The game offers free admission on Aug. 15 and will be streamed on the ACC Network Extra

The match Thursday will be the first time since 1994 the Cardinals and Knights have played during the regular season. UofL is 6-0-0 all-time over Bellarmine.

The Knights have a new coach this season, but Cardinal fans might recognize former Cardinal midfielder Callie McKinney. She was named head coach in March. McKinney was with the Cardinals from 2016 to 2019. She played in 72 career games and made it to the NCAA tournament in each of her final two seasons.

This year’s Cardinals feature a mix of returners and fresh faces. Fourteen players are back from the 2023 and hope to continue what they started.

For the first time in program history, UofL beat No. 25 Duke in the season finale. The team also recorded its first point in program history over Virginia in the 1-1 draw over the No. 20 Cavaliers. Last year’s Cardinals also set a program record with five draws.

Offense is tops on the list for this year’s team. Molly Cochran and Emersen Jennings are the leading goal scorers returning. Each had two goals last season. The Cards welcome back a pair of players who were sidelined with injuries. Brooke Dardano has four career assists and Amber Jackson has eight goals and eight assists in her career. Defender Karsyn Cherry is back and has scored in the past. She had three goals in her freshman season in 2022. Goalkeeper Erynn Floyd is back and ready to start. She started 32 of the last 34 games in the past two seasons. Floyd set a career high with 62 saves last season.

Five college transfers join Ferguson-Dayes’ team. They include Jolie St. Louis (UAB/Seattle), Gianna Angelillo (Miami), Ella Kane (Kentucky), Berkley Patterson (Texas Tech) and Kailey Kimball (Purdue). The team’s eight freshmen come from five different states, including Kentucky, Ohio, Washington, Maryland and Georgia.

After the match with Bellarmine, the Cardinals will begin a three-game home stand to start the season. They will host UAB on Aug. 18. Thursday’s game with Bellarmine will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.

All home women’s soccer matches have free admission for the 2024 season.

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