The official attendance was announced as 5,197 for the second round of the NCAA soccer tournament in Louisville, the largest crowd to ever see a college soccer match in Kentucky.
But that doesn’t even include the non-paying spectators, hundreds of them on the grassy slope below the traffic whizzing by on I-65. If they’re included, the count goes up to between 6,500 and 7,000 fans. Easy.
The throng would see the University of Louisville defeat College of Charleston 3-1 in a boisterous standing-room only environment in which soccer was king for another day.
Charleston wasn’t about to roll over, still very much a threat with the score tied 1-1 going into the 83rd minute of the 90-minute match. Until then, the visitors were spending too much time on Louisville’s end of the field. Andre Boudreaux would have seven saves.
At the 83:02 mark, however, Nick DeLeon would finally find Colin Rolfe scooting toward the net, Rolfe doing what comes naturally, rifling the ball into the net from 20 feet out to put Louisville on top.
Charlie Campbell would remove all doubt with a shot through the keeper’s legs with less than two minutes remaining.
DeLeon scored UofL’s first goal in the first half.
Louisville will next host Ohio State on Sunday at Cardinal Park, two teams that battled to a 0-0 in two overtimes earlier this season. The Buckeyes defeated a strong Providence team 2-1 today. Link to NCAA results and pairings.
Way to go soccer Cards! Really fun to watch. These guys are having a good time. Keep it going.