Louisville soccer stadium coming together for doubleheader debut
A little more than a year ago there was a groundbreaking, and on Monday, Karen Ferguson-Dayes came to the interview table again to discuss progress on the University of Louisville’s new soccer stadium.
“Obviously, this is an exciting day because every time we do these press conferences, it means we’re getting closer and closer to Aug. 29,” said Ferguson-Dayes, the U of L women’s coach whose team will play Ole Miss in the first game at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium.
To follow is the men’s team’s season opener against Maryland, capping a 6 p.m./8 p.m. doubleheader that day that most everyone expects to sell out at the new 5,300-seat stadium.
Both coaches consider it the best college soccer facility in the country. Starting this season, the Cardinals will also be playing in arguably the best league — the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“We’re so excited for both of those reasons,” said men’s coach Ken Lolla. “It will be a landmark season, and one we also encourage people to come out and be a part of … not just that first game, but the season.”
For now the field, which sits off Floyd Street near Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, is just a mess of dirt and gravel shaded by a massive white canopy. The 2,300-seat main grandstand has a mixture of red seats, plus black ones that spell out “Louisville.”
Bleachers on each side are still in the works. And inside the Cardinals’ on-site training facility and office space are mostly stone walls, unfinished floors and a few light fixtures.
Already, though, Ferguson-Dayes said the facility and league upgrades have made a difference in the type of recruit the Cardinals can host on campus.
The women’s team finished 12-6-1 and lost just one American Athletic Conference match last season on its way to an NCAA Tournament appearance. Their first ACC home slate includes matches against Syracuse, North Carolina State, Boston College, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
The men, meanwhile, went 11-5-4 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Their 2014 schedule announced Monday includes matches against NCAA runner-up Maryland, plus regional rivals Kentucky and Indiana.
“For me, initially, my heart rate goes up every time I get close to the stadium and see it,” Lolla said. “There’s a genuine excitement for it.”
Jonathan Lintner can be reached at (502) 582-4199; follow him on Twitter @JonathanLintner.