[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 164 (Monday, December 13, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8847-S8848]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RECOGNIZING UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE MEN'S SOCCER TEAM

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I rise today to honor the remarkable 
accomplishments of the University of Louisville men's soccer team. Led 
by their coach, Ken Lolla, these young student athletes made it to the 
championship game of the NCAA Division I tournament. In a close 
competition against the University of Akron they suffered their first 
defeat by one goal as the score was one to zero. This team spent most 
of the season ranked number one over the rest of their opponents. 
Becoming NCAA men's soccer runners-up is an accomplishment that has 
brought a lot of positive energy to the university as well as the 
entire city of Louisville. The team has made their university, city, 
Commonwealth and this Senator very proud. The Louisville Courier-
Journal recently published an article describing the team's 
accomplishments. I ask unanimous consent that the full article be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record as follows:

[[Page S8848]]

         Near-Miss a Big Hit for University of Louisville, City

                            (Eric Crawford)

       The game had ended in a flurry of breathtaking near-misses 
     for the University of Louisville men's soccer team. Akron's 
     players now were filling the TV screens at Molly Malone's in 
     St. Matthews, celebrating their national title. Then the 
     applause started. Fans at other locations reported something 
     similar. The mood hardly matched the disappointment of the U 
     of L players as they flashed onto the screen following their 
     1-0 loss to Akron.
       ``What a great season,'' said Silas Boyle, a former 
     Louisville Thunder player and the goalie for the 1975 
     Kentucky Country Day state championship team. ``What a great 
     job they did. There's no way not to be proud.'' No, there 
     isn't. Not with Louisville sports bars turning their 
     attention to another kind of football on an NFL Sunday.
       Snow fell outside the bar for most of No.1-ranked and 
     previously unbeaten U of L's loss, just as it did in the 
     final home game. As the game clock wound down, you could see 
     out the windows the wet reflection of traffic and 
     streetlights in the middle of a busy holiday scene.
       It was a nice reminder that while the experience of a 
     national championship game is something that coaches and 
     players earn, for fans and program and city, it is a gift. 
     It's a gift U of L teams have given twice in the past three 
     seasons.
       And as with the run to the national title game in women's 
     basketball in 2009, this soccer run was designed by a coach 
     who's hard not to respect, one who manages to coach the team 
     without becoming its focal point.
       David Horne, player and general manager for the Louisville 
     Lightning professional team, said U of L coach Ken Lolla's 
     reach extends far beyond his program, that he has quietly 
     become a mentor for local coaches--``I read every book he 
     mentions,'' Horne said--and a resource for players and clubs.
       ``To me, he could become a [John] Wooden-like influence,'' 
     Horne said. ``I know that's a big name, but that's how he 
     carries himself and how he coaches. He's going to keep 
     winning, and he does it the right way.''
       Akron, after controlling possession in the first half, 
     exerted itself still more in the second. By the time the Zips 
     scored in the 79th minute, U of L keeper Andre Bordeaux 
     already had put together a highlight reel of saves.
       Still, the Cardinals had some golden opportunities in the 
     end, the last when two-time last-minute hero Aaron Horton's 
     strike into a goal whose keeper had strayed was deflected on 
     the ground by a defender's leg.
       Another foot or two higher, and the score would've been 
     tied. But after Horton's last-minute game-winners in back-to-
     back NCAA games, how much magic does one player's foot 
     possess?
       Instead, U of L comes home with a runner-up trophy and a 
     new profile in college soccer. If you know athletic director 
     Tom Jurich, you can go ahead and put a soccer facility 
     expansion or enhancement on the stopwatch.
       For soccer in Louisville, there's added energy--and perhaps 
     some momentum in building the kind of much-needed soccer 
     complex that a city this size already should have, one that 
     would keep local clubs from having to travel to Bowling Green 
     and other places for big tournaments.
       For U of L, it's another NCAA championship chance in a 
     sport that not long ago wasn't anywhere on the national 
     landscape. ``You just have to believe it's only the beginning 
     for that program,'' Horne said as fans headed home Sunday 
     night. ``It's a really exciting thing for the sport in this 
     city.''
       It's pretty rare around here for another kind of round ball 
     to grab any part of the spotlight in December. For the local 
     sports scene, it was a holiday gift. For Lolla and the 
     Cardinals, the goal is to make it a holiday tradition.

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