Louisville Thrilled for First Championship Appearance

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- The University of Louisville will make its first appearance in the NCAA College Cup this Sunday afternoon in Santa Barbara after downing the No. 4 seed North Carolina Tarheels in the semifinals on Friday night.

The Cardinals improved to 21-0-3 with the victory, and will face the No. 3 seed University of Akron for the 2010 championship.

"It is exciting to be playing for the national championship," Louisville coach Ken Lolla said after the semifinal win. "For this group and this team, it's a goal we set at the beginning of the season. We polished each step every step of the way. I am very proud of this team because they faced a lot of adversity. This is the product of sowing seeds and we've reached the harvest of those seeds. We're very blessed to reach the harvest of everything we've worked hard to do."

The Cardinals took the lead in the 58th minute thanks to a headed goal from Austin Berry. UNC fought back with a notch of their own in the 62nd from Stephen McCarthy, but Cardinals substitute striker Aaron Horton bagged an 89th minute stunner to send Louisville through to the final.

"Everyone's very excited, but we expected to be in the championship," Cardinals senior midfielder Charlie Campbell told Fanhouse after the game. "We weren't satisfied just going to the Final Four. Obviously, with the last minute goal, everyone is really jacked up, but nobody's in shock – we're excited to go out and have the opportunity to win the national championship."

Campbell and junior forward Colin Rolfe provided a one-two attacking punch for Louisville that was dangerous all evening. The two -- who are roommates at school -- seemed to have an almost preternatural understanding of each other as they hammered the Tarheels' area.
"We talk all the time," Campbell said of the relationship. "We just have a connection. I can get the ball, put my head down, and know where he's going to be. The timing of the runs he makes, the type of player he is, how he holds people up in the center of the park; I have a sixth sense about where Colin's going to be at all times."

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@FanHouseSoccer | @JefferKing Rolfe, a finalist for the 2010 NCAA Hermann Trophy, proved particularly difficult for the UNC defenders to handle. At 6-foot-0, 175, he cuts an imposing figure.

"I prefer a physical game," he admitted to Fanhouse after the match. "I grew up playing hockey, so I have got some skills from that."

Although Louisville enters the College Cup championship as the undefeated No. 1 seed, many will see the Cardinals as underdogs against a loaded Akron side in Sunday's game. The Zips were NCAA Runners-Up in the 2009 tournament and will have as many as four players selected in the 2011 MLS Super Draft.

"It would mean we have to beat Akron," Lolla said. "Caleb Porter has done a great job since taking over at Akron, but it doesn't make any difference who we face."

The Cardinals will take the rest of Friday evening to rest and celebrate before preparing for Akron on Saturday's day off. It will be lofty test indeed, but one that could bring about Louisville's first-ever NCAA Championship in Men's Soccer.

"It feels great, something coming into college you always dream of, to take home the trophy," Louisville defender Austin Berry said. "We need to stay humble and hungry."