VIDEO: Ken Lolla & Karen Ferguson-Dayes Discuss New Soccer Stadium

Mark BlankenbakerMay 12, 2014

Highlighted by the opening of Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium and the inaugural season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the University of Louisville men’s soccer program released its 2014 schedule on Monday afternoon.

Following the program’s seventh straight NCAA Championship appearance last season, the Cardinals will face a challenging slate in 2014, including home matches against NCAA runner-up Maryland and NCAA qualifiers Indiana and Clemson. The road slate for Louisville, which has won four conference titles in the last five seasons, is a daunting one with visits to reigning NCAA champion Notre Dame, NCAA Tournament participant Wake Forest and rival Kentucky.

“The schedule this fall holds many new and exciting experiences for Louisville soccer. Hosting opponents in Lynn Stadium will provide our players and fans the best possible environment for playing and viewing a college soccer game,” said Louisville head coach Ken Lolla, who enters his ninth season at the helm. “Likewise, our move into the ACC will offer new opponents and allow us to develop new rivalries. The ACC schedule also makes this our most competitive schedule, which will help in our preparation for post-season play.”

The Cardinals’ 17-game regular season schedule will begin on Friday, Aug. 29 with the official opening of Lynn Stadium as 2013 NCAA finalist Maryland visits for an 8 p.m., ET matchup. That game will be the second match of a doubleheader as the Louisville women’s team will host Ole Miss at 6 p.m.

A week later, Louisville will host Cornell on Sept. 5 at 8 p.m., in the second game of another soccer doubleheader with the women’s team, which will host Kentucky at 6 p.m., in the opener. The Cardinals’ first road game is set for Sept. 9 at Saint Louis.

The Louisville soccer program’s inaugural season in the ACC will begin on Saturday, Sept. 13 at home against Duke, the alma mater of Lolla. That will be followed by a conference road match at Boston College on Sept. 19 and road game at rival Kentucky on Sept. 23. The Cardinals will conclude the month of September with an ACC home game against Pittsburgh on Sept. 26 and a non-conference home match with Ohio State on Sept. 30.

The October slate for Louisville will begin on the 3rd with an ACC road match at NC State before returning home to host Indiana on Oct. 7 at Lynn Stadium. The Cardinals will then travel to South Bend, Ind., for a showdown with 2014 NCAA champion Notre Dame on Oct. 11.

A five-game home stretch will conclude the Cardinals’ regular season slate at Lynn Stadium starting with a non-conference tilt with Florida Gulf Coast on Oct. 14. ACC foe Syracuse will visit Louisville on Oct. 17 and that will be followed by a non-league match with Evansville on Oct. 21. Louisville’s final ACC home game of 2014 is set for Oct. 24 against Clemson, while SIU Edwardsville returns to Louisville for the second straight season in the home finale on Oct. 28. The regular season will conclude for the Cardinals with a Halloween night match at Wake Forest on Oct. 31.

The 2014 ACC Championship is set to begin with first round action at campus site on Nov. 6 and will continue on campus with the quarterfinals on Nov. 9. The semifinals and final are scheduled for Nov. 14-16 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. The 2014 NCAA Championship is scheduled to commence with first round action on Nov. 20 while the College Cup is set for Dec. 12-14 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

The Louisville women’s soccer team announced its 2014 schedule, highlighted by 10 participants in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, including three College Cup participants. The Cardinals will host two of the College Cup participants in Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium for the 2014 season.
Coming off its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance, the Cardinals will face its most challenging schedule in school history with the inaugural season in the ACC. Louisville’s home slate features games against NCAA participants Ole Miss, Kentucky, Duke, Boston College, including College Cup participants Virginia and Virginia Tech.
“We’re thrilled and excited that the stadium opening is only 110 days away, said head coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes. “We have an amazing opponent in Ole Miss for the first game of the doubleheader on opening night that will make for an unforgettable experience for both of our teams and fans. The combination of opening the stadium as well as playing in the ACC will surely add to the buzz around soccer in our community and fan base. The timing of the stadium opening and our debut in the ACC will certainly make for one of the most amazing years in Louisville soccer history.”
Following two exhibition games at Tennessee on Aug. 13 and at Indiana on Aug. 16, the Cardinals will open the 2014 season on Friday Aug. 22, at Wright State and then will head to Illinois on Sunday, Aug. 24.
Louisville will open up the home slate with the opening of the Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium on Friday, Aug. 29 against Ole Miss at 6:00 p.m. The game is the first of two double headers with the men’s team.
The Cardinals will then play another double header on Sept. 5 as they host instate rival Kentucky at 6:00 p.m. Then on Sunday, Sept. 7 they will host Miami (OH) at 1:00 p.m. The Cardinals will travel to Morehead State on Friday, Sept. 12. Louisville will wrap up nonconference play on Sunday, Sept. 14 as they host Kent State at 1:00 p.m.
Louisville will begin play in the ACC, arguably the toughest conference in the nation, on Friday Sept. 19 as they host Syracuse at 7:30 p.m. The Cardinals will then travel to NCAA Runner-up Florida State on Thursday, Sept. 25 and then to Miami on Sept. 28.
The Cardinals will continue the three game road stint at Duke on Oct. 4. A three game home stand will begin with the Cardinals hosting NC State on Thursday, Oct. 9. They will then host Elite Eight participant Boston College on Oct. 12. Wrapping up the home stand, Louisville will host College Cup participant Virginia on Oct. 19 at 1:00 p.m.
Louisville will then travel to Pittsburgh on Oct. 23 and then to Notre Dame on Oct. 26. Louisville will wrap up the regular season at home against College Cup participant Virginia Tech on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 6:00 p.m.
The top four teams will advance to the ACC Championship

About Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium

Located across from Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium just south of Cardinal Park on Floyd Street, Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium is an $18.5 million, state-of the-art stadium featuring seating for more than 5,300 and a 15,500-square-foot training center. The Cardinals’ move into the highly competitive ACC in 2014 will be aided by arguably the nation’s best soccer facility.

2014 Louisville Soccer Season Ticket Information

Season tickets for the University of Louisville’s inaugural season at Lynn Stadium and in the Atlantic Coast Conference are currently went on sale to the general public at Saturday night’s match. The 2014 Louisville soccer season tickets will provide admission to both men’s and women’s regular season matches. Learn more about 2014 Louisville soccer season tickets at http://www.gocards.com/tickets/lou-tickets-soccer.html or visit http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/lou/sports/m-soccer/auto_pdf/2013-14/misc_non_event/2014SOCSeasonTicketsBrochure.pdf to see the 2014 Louisville soccer season tickets brochure.