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Golly, Golly, Golly Racing LouWith four ties to start the season and a record-breaking crowd on hand for their Thunder Over Louisville tie-in, Racing Louisville knew that their Saturday night match against the Utah Royals was a must-win. After four frustrating draws, this team was stepping onto the biggest home stage they’d ever played on. They were set to play in front of thousands of new fans who had never seen Racing and who could easily walk away and attend the simultaneous Thunder air show instead if the game turned sour. They needed to rise to the occasion more than they ever had before and, boy, did they ever.

“We knew we’d have so many fans here, and we just really wanted this for the whole staff, for the community, and I think we just put on a show,” midfielder Savannah DeMelo said. “I’m so proud of the girls.”

Racing Louisville soared past the Utah Royals 5-1 in front of a record home crowd of more than 11,000 fans on Saturday night. The scoring started with Uchenna Kanu getting a first-half header off of a perfect cross from Lauren Milliet. Although the Royals pulled one back and equalized in first-half stoppage time, Racing came into the second half stronger than ever seeing Savannah DeMelo score her first career regular-season brace, and rookies Reilyn Turner and Emma Sears score their first professional goals.

“It feels amazing,” said head coach Bev Yanez after the match. “It feels amazing for this group. They work so hard every single day to be the best that they can be and to be able to have this breakthrough, obviously, it’s something we’ve really wanted and we’ve been yearning for. Having that here at home in front of a record-breaking crowd is the most special moment for all of us.”

Speaking of firsts, this was also Yanez’s first win ever as a head coach which meant she spoke to media drenched in water and Gatorade from her celebrating players. Her players said that as important as winning in front of the record crowd was, winning for their coach mattered, too.

“I think I can speak for all of us, we want to win for her. She’s such an amazing coach,” Sears said. “The feeling is one we’ll never forget as a team and she’ll never forget, and hopefully we can just keep riding the wave.”

In so many ways, this match is more than just a win for Racing Louisville. The scoreline, the setting, the crowd, how they won it — all these things individually would make the game a standout, but taken together, give it potential to make it one of the biggest moments in Racing’s short history.

Bev Yanez gets doused by her players to celebrate her first win as a head coach / Image courtesy Jordan Prather and the NWSLBy the NumbersTo start, Racing has never scored five goals in a match and never won by a four-goal margin of victory. It stands to reason then that Racing has never had four different goal scorers in a single match before either. They’ve also never started a season undefeated through five games. They also scored three goals in the final 15 minutes of the match which is more than any other National Women’s Soccer League team this season.

Racing utterly dominated xG with 4 to the Royals 0.67 overall. Unsurprisingly, Racing was significantly more accurate with 10 out of 18 shots on frame to Utah’s two out of 10. Louisville created a total of six big chances compared to zero for Utah. The home side also had 25 crosses compared to eighth for the Royals.

Possession was for all intents and purposes dead even with Racing ending with 50.1% overall. This is Louisville’s best possession all season. Their passing accuracy was a hair over 81% as well which is one of their best showings all season.

Defensively, Racing won 75% of the aerial duels with Taylor Flint and Reilyn Turner leading both teams with three each. Louisville players won possession in the final third 10 times with Emma Sears, Taylor Flint, and Uchenna Kanu all winning it there twice. Comparatively, Utah only won possession in the final third once all game. Racing players also one 15 tackles compared to the Royals 11 with Taylor Flint (5) and Jaelin Howell (4) taking top honors. Finally, Racing won 26 interceptions to Utah’s 11 with Lauren Milliet (8) and — stop me if you heard this before — Taylor Flint (6) leading both teams.

Uchenna Kanu remains neck-and-neck with Kansas City’s Tema Chawinga for the Golden Boot. Both have four goals on the season, but Chawinga currently leads with two assists.

Savannah DeMelo didn’t just earn her first regular season brace, she also surpassed Nadia Nadim as the club’s all-time leading goal scorer with 11 goals. She’s also only the second player in Racing history to reach double-digit goals.

Key TakeawaysMore Than a WinIn so many ways, this match is more than just a win for Racing Louisville. To start, just look at all those firsts: first goals, first braces, first five-goal game, and first win for Yanez. The fact Carson Pickett and Marisa DiGrande earned their first assists in lavender hasn’t even been mentioned yet.

The 5-1 scoreline in itself would be a headline for Racing as well, especially, after kicking off the season with four draws, but the fact they did it at home in front of a record crowd makes it even better. This was a stage and a setting that was only coming once for this team. Thunder Over Louisville, the official kickoff to the Kentucky Derby and one of the most popular annual events in the entire city made this game a showpiece. It meant thousands of new potential fans in attendance. And because Thunder is an all-day event and attendees had wristbands to come and go from the stadium at their leisure, it also meant a bad game could have seen an exodus from the stadium to go do some of the many other things happening along the Waterfront that day.

Instead, Racing kept fans glued to their seats with their performance. To not just earn a win, but such a statement win in front of this audience is a potential game-changer. If even a fraction of those first-time fans come back and see them again, it’ll be a significant boost for a team that’s struggled with attendance. Even if they just tell their friends and family what a great time they had, that’s increased exposure beyond what they’ve had before.

More important than any attendance records or firsts, however, is how Racing won this match. They made significant progress in areas that they’ve struggled in all season from possession to finishing chances to learning to close out a match. Yanez has said all season that building a team is a process and definitely and without question Louisville has shown they’ve made steps in that process. They showed resilience and grit and put together the most dominant team win in club history.

Emma Sears jumps on Reilyn Turner after Sears puts Racing up 5-1 / Image courtesy Chris HumphreysTeam GoalsA game with four different goal scorers including two first-time rookie goal scorers, a player who becomes the club’s all-time leading goal scorer with her first-earned career brace, and a Golden Boot contestant is pretty cool. But what really made these goals special is how they were scored.

Both Kanu’s and Turner’s goals were headers that came off of crosses after teammates found them at the back post. For any other team, this might not be a big deal, but for three straight previous seasons Racing has failed to send enough attackers in the box, and the far post was all too often left wide open. The team would work hard to get the ball forward only to send crosses into the box and find nobody home. This was particularly atrocious last season after acquiring Pickett and failing to utilize her pinpoint accuracy in sending balls into the box adequately. Milliet has shown she can also send in phenomenal crosses, so finally having players in position to take advantage of deliveries from both outer backs is a critical step forward.

Speaking of not sending enough attackers into the box, Racing also has a history of only having one or maybe two attackers making runs together and not timing them correctly. This often left single attackers against multiple defenders with no chance of rebounds possible. For DeMelo’s first goal, Elexa Bahr made a fantastic run into space and made a shot that was initially blocked by Utah’s keeper. DeMelo was coming in hot behind her, though, and collected the rebound before Royals defenders had a chance to even think and blasted it into the back of the net.

Finally, as commentator Mike Watt said during the broadcast, “Sears has everything.” Emma Sears didn’t just score, she earned the penalty that got DeMelo her brace. Sears’ goal, however, was about as brutal a final dagger as one can land. After receiving the ball from DiGrande just past midfield, she used her incredible speed to fly past Utah defenders and take it all the way herself to send it into the top netting. It was a fearless performance for a rookie and, just like Turner, shows that Sears may already be a big part of Racing’s future.

All in all, these goals are important because they’re mostly all different and they all showcase things Racing needed to do more of. These are all definitive steps in the process Yanez keeps talking about. They’ll need to keep them up against stronger teams, of course, but the fact they’re happening now shows that the team is learning and changing their behaviors and, best of all, being rewarded for it immediately.

Elexa Bahr jumps on Uchenna Kanu to celebrate Kanu’s goal / Image courtesy Jordan Prather-NWSLLooking AheadEven early in the season, it’s hard not to rate this as Racing Louisville’s most important win ever. It’s one of the first times the team was ever truly, unquestionably dominant and they did it in front of a record crowd with jets flying overhead. Of course, it’s fun now to think about F-16 Vipers doing maneuvers over the stadium while DeMelo scores, but if Racing hadn’t risen to the occasion this game could have been catastrophic for the club. This was a team that needed a win and needed it in front of this crowd in this stadium during this event and they more than rose to the occasion. Fans didn’t have to wait for the famous Thunder fireworks to start, Racing started them early in Lynn Family Stadium.

Racing will be looking to take their momentum to the northeast to take on reigning league champion NJ/NY Gotham FC next week. Gotham has had a somewhat rough start to the season and heads into Sunday in 11th place with a 1-2-1 record while Racing sits in 5th with a 1-0-4 record. Coming off of a frustrating 2-0 loss to the Washington Spirit, Gotham will be looking to get back on track at home against Racing and with the likes of Lynn Williams and Esther Gonzalez providing firepower, Racing will need to put on a complete defensive performance to shut them down.

It’s worth remembering that Gotham and Racing have met already this year during preseason in the Women’s Cup where Gotham clobbered them 3-1. Racing couldn’t hold any possession and get any momentum going in that match. Will they be able to show how much they’ve learned and how much progress they’ve made next week? Tune in on Sunday, April 28th on NWSL+ to find out!

The post More Than a Win: Racing Louisville Rises to the Occasion in 5-1 Statement Win Over Utah Royals appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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Showing ProgressSome draws feel like losses and some feel like wins. Despite drawing the first four games of the 2024 season, Racing Louisville has certainly the close brush of defeat in their matches against the Portland Thorns and Orlando Pride. In both cases, they went up by two early only to squander their leads and give up late heartbreaking equalizers.

While they have yet to earn a draw that feels like a real win in 2024, they arguably came the closest in Saturday’s 0-0 match against last year’s shield winners, the San Diego Wave. Racing broke their trend of having a good first half and not adjusting well in the second and instead did a solid job of controlling the game and keeping the Wave on their back foot through much of the final 45 minutes. They also created better chances and were the more dangerous team. For these reasons, head coach Bev Yanez said she sees progress in her side’s performance against the Wave.

“I know a lot of people will look at the scoreline and say, ‘Another tie’”, Yanez said. “We’re still undefeated in this league, and we’re showing the progress of our group. And I’m incredibly proud of it.”

Midfielder and captain Jaelin Howell said that draws are never the result the team sets out for, but she agrees with Yanez that progress is evident in Racing’s performance.

“You can see the growth. San Diego is a very good team. That’s a team that made it very far in the playoffs [last season], and I thought we did very well and especially the second half. I thought we dominated the game in the second half. Honestly, I thought we had more chances. That’s where I think it’s just going to take one (goal), one of those games to win and let the goals fall and finish out a game. And then I think from there on, we’re just going to be flying.”

By the NumbersHowell is right. Racing did have more chances in the second half — by a lot. In the first half, Louisville could only manage two shots with none on frame for a measly 0.07 xG. Comparatively, the Wave had seven shots and two on target with an xG of 0.52 in the first 45 minutes. In the second half, Racing upped their game dramatically by getting 10 shots with four on frame for an xG of 1.11 while the Wave wavered a bit with seven shots and none on target for an xG of 0.38. The match ended with Racing having 1.19 xG to San Diego’s 0.9.

Once again, Louisville struggled to keep possession and ended the match with 44% overall. The good news is they did improve as the game progressed. In the first half, they had a weak 41%. In the second half, they improved to 46%. While it’s still not ideal that a team that claims to want to be possession-based isn’t able to hold majority possession during a half, this is a reversal in the trend of them weakening towards the end of matches and weathering an offensive barrage from their opponents.

Louisville did, in fact, find the back of the net courtesy of a header from Taylor Flint, but Kayla Fischer was called offsides and the goal was called back. It was a frustrating call, but the correct one.

Racing Louisville’s pass matrix and average position against the San Diego Wave, April 14, 2024 (Image courtesy Stats Perform)In last week’s recap, one thing I harped on was how pressed back in their own half Racing remained against both Portland and Orlando. As seen in the image above, Louisville’s entire forward line plus Savannah DeMelo (7) managed to stay above the midfield line on average with midfielders Howell (6) and Taylor Flint (26) staying right on it. This is significantly better positioning. The biggest issue with the above graph is that Reilyn Turner (66) was left completely isolated up top and Elexa Bahr (23) was almost completely isolated except for limited connections with Howell. Carson Pickett (16) seems to have a good connection with Uchenna Kanu (29) above her and DeMelo. Lauren Milliet (2) and Bahr seem to need to work on their on-field connection.

Key TakeawaysAll Tied UpThe statistics show that Yanez and Howell are correct: Racing did have a better second half and that is a sign of progress. It’s also heartening that Racing was able to hold their own against last season’s shield winners and come out looking the better side (even if San Diego were missing key centerback Naomi Girma).

The bottom line is, the last time these teams met, Abby Erceg and Howell both said Racing was tactically outmatched and outplayed. That didn’t happen this time. For a team with a first-year coach and good deal of new players, that’s great for Louisville.

However, draws still aren’t good enough even with progress. Eventually, progress is going to need to yield three points or Racing is going to tie themselves out of a playoff chance. It’s still early, but there are only so many ‘good’ games’ a team can have and still drop points. Of course, no one knows this more than Racing’s players. The fact they came back from an extremely painful tie against Portland to play this well against the Wave shows their resilience. This match also shows they’re willing to fight and learn through a second half to earn a win. Now they just need to be better about finding their attackers and finishing their chances to put these games away.

Flint’s Instant ImpactAfter joining Racing in the off-season from the San Diego Wave, Flint has settled into the midfield in spectacular fashion. Heading into Saturday’s match, she was first in the league in duels won and in interceptions, second in tackles, and third in aerial duels won.

She didn’t slow down against her former club at all when she won 12 duels against the Wave marking her 24th match with 10 or more duels won. This is more than any other player in the National Women’s Soccer League since she joined the league in 2021.

24 – @RacingLouFC's Taylor Flint won 12 duels on Saturday, her 24th match with 10+ duels won, more than any other player since she joined #NWSL in 2021. Combatant. pic.twitter.com/difbLdkkaO

— OptaJack (@OptaJack) April 14, 2024

Flint’s contribution is even more impressive considering the turnover that has happened in midfield in just four short games. Howell was out for the opening match, DeMelo missed two games due to injury, and Ary Borges just finally made her debut as a substitute after twisting her ankle during the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition last month.

The relationship between Howell and Flint in particular is one to keep an eye on. The two have already developed a strong rapport and make Racing’s midfield a hard line to break through. With both DeMelo and Borges back, it’s possible Racing might finally be able to build the connections they’ve been hoping for across their attacking and defending midfielders. DeMelo had a bit of a slow start on her return to the pitch but warmed up as the game went on. Borges, on the other hand, came in red hot and created some of Racing’s best chances of the night. As this group begins to settle in together, they could end up being one of if not the best midfield line in the league.

Growing Numbers?Despite being only two home games into the season, there are reasons for Louisville to be positive about trends in attendance.

In the first two home games of 2024, they’ve had announced attendances of 6,123 and 6,819 for an average of 6,471. This is up from 2023 which started with 4,861 and 6,185 for an average of 5,523. This may be an extremely small sample size, but Racing is tracking ahead of their 6,048 season average in 2022 and their 5,999 average in 2023. They’re just a hair below the 6,610 average of 2021. With next week’s match against Utah tied into Kentucky Derby festivities and taking place during Thunder Over Louisville, there’s a strong possibility they might top that 2021 average in their first three home games.

Considering March and April are historically the months with the worst attendance, this is a positive trend for Racing. These might not be Los Angeles or San Diego numbers, but they’re evidence of growth for the first time since the first season. Whether or not Louisville can sustain these numbers, of course, needs to still be seen. San Diego always brings a crowd thanks to Alex Morgan and the Thunder tie-in is a special event that isn’t an ordinary draw. Until a few more standalone games take place, the real state of Racing’s attendance numbers might not be seen. Even so, with this foundation, it’s not hard to believe that a couple of solid wins could keep these numbers trending upwards.

Racing’s players certainly noticed the increased attendance with Howell calling the crowd fantastic after the Wave match.

“You talk about playing at home. You talk about us going for the game. You talk about that urgency with composure in these moments and you start to feel the crowd. We want the crowd’s energy in those moments. When you feel the screaming and the cheering. the excitement around the game, it makes you want to pick it up and go for it. It encourages our group massively. And so I was very, very, very impressed by the crowd tonight. And they were obviously very into the game. So, I’m very grateful for them.”

Looking AheadNext up, Racing will play the Utah Royals for the first time since their re-joining the league in 2024. The Royals, captained by former Racing fan favorite Paige Monaghan, have been something of a mixed bag. They beat the current number one team, the North Carolina Courage, in a shocking match last month, but haven’t won a game since.

While no matches are ever truly winnable in a league with as much parity as the NWSL, this is a match that should be winnable for Racing. So far in 2024, Racing is out-shooting (38 to 31) and outscoring (4 to 3) the Royals by a somewhat slim margin. Louisville should be looking to take advantage of Utah’s defensive weaknesses. Utah has conceded six goals to Racing’s four and not kept a clean sheet all season while Racing has earned two.

The post Another Racing Louisville draw, but coach and players see progress against San Diego Wave appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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Yet Another HeartbreakerAfter Racing Louisville’s 2-2 draw against the Portland Thorns on Saturday night, defender Abby Erceg didn’t mince words.

“We don’t know how to win. I think it’s becoming quite obvious at the moment. It’s frustrating for the girls, we’re not losing, but drawing all these games won’t win you anything.”

Although Racing is still without a loss in their first three matches, this game against Portland certainly felt like one. It started brightly enough with Uchenna Kanu getting on the board not once, but twice in the first six minutes. This feat not only notched Racing their first-ever goals in Providence Park, it earned Kanu the quickest brace from kickoff in National Women’s Soccer League history.

Louisville’s hot start quickly cooled, however. Although they smothered Portland successfully in the first half, they gave up a goal early in the 52nd minute of the second to bring the Thorns back into the game. Then after scrambling to hold the lead, a heartbreaker of an equalizer was given up in the ninth of 10 minutes of stoppage time. A serious injury to centerback Elli Pikkujämsä in the 72nd minute certainly didn’t help Racing, but it can hardly be blamed for the loss of the lead.

This heartbreak is all too familiar for Racing Louisville players and fans. Giving up two-goal leads happened again and again and again last season and has now happened twice in two out of three matches in 2024. Hence, Erceg’s comments on not knowing how to win. How is it that Racing can fail so consistently in holding onto leads? The offense is clearly clicking, so is it the defense? Is it the many missing players? Are bad habits and old mindsets just this hard to break? Here’s a breakdown of everything in the match against the Thorns.

By the NumbersRacing Louisville and Portland ultimately had fairly even xG with Racing earning 1.35 and Portland 1.55. The Thorns drastically outshot Racing with 27 shots to Racing’s nine, but Portland only managed seven out of those 27 on target while Racing had four out of nine on-frame.

For the third game in a row, Louisville found themselves on the wrong end of the possession battle. This was their worst showing with only 39%. This match also featured their worst passing accuracy with only 70.2%. Interestingly, Racing also won zero corners in the whole match to Portland’s seven.

In terms of individual performances, this was the Uchenna Kanu Show all the way. In addition to her two goals, she won 7 out of 10 duels and won possession a team-high 13 times. She also won both her tackles and notched three interceptions showing just how well she played on both sides of the ball. Taylor Flint also seems to be growing into her role in the midfield more and more now that she’s moved high up the pitch. She led the team in touches (66) and passes (41) and won 12 out of 14 duels. She also won three out of three aerial duels (second only to Jaelin Howell who won four out of four) and won possession back 11 times. Speaking of Howell, she also won seven duels, won possession five times, and had five clearances.

In less good news, Reilyn Turner only had 18 touches in 71 minutes. This is not completely on her at all because she was left very isolated as the center forward while the rest of the team was stuck back playing defensively out of possession. Still, compared to the Houston Dash match, this is a stark difference and not a good one.

Key TakeawaysPinned Back AgainIf there’s anything Racing should know by now it’s that you can’t win on the back foot. It’s impossible to chase the ball and defend for 70-plus minutes every time you go up early in a match. If you let the opponent take control of the game and pepper you relentlessly, they’re almost certainly going to break through eventually.

In both their matches this season that started as two-goal leads and turned into 2-2 draws, their average positions tell a pretty stark story, as seen in the image below.

Passing matrixes showing average positions for Racing Louisville vs. Orlando Pride (March 13, 2024) and Racing Louisville vs. Portland Thorns (March 30, 2024) / Image courtesy StatsPerformOn the left, is the passing matrix from the Orlando Pride match. On the right is the one from Portland. The key point to note in both these charts is that only a single player spent the majority of their time outside of Racing’s half. A quick look at the possession numbers shows what happened. Racing simply did not have control of the ball and spent far too much time pinned back in their own half desperately trying to cling to the lead.

Mindset ResetWhy does this keep happening? Erceg said the team doesn’t know how to win and that’s true. They definitely need to work on keeping possession and controlling games, but it’s more than that. This team doesn’t seem to believe that they can win from these positions. If they go up too early, they fall into bad habits and get bombarded. This leads to preventable mistakes and the loss of a lead.

The team is never going to win if they don’t truly believe it. They’re also not going to win if they try too hard to hold onto a lead instead of actually winning a game. If that sounds contradictory, it’s not. There’s a subtle difference between clinging desperately to something and taking charge. Racing defaults into clinging desperately when they need to learn to take charge. Until they learn how to do this, they’ll never stop drawing.

In many ways, it would probably be better for Racing to start losing games. That might give them the fire they need to make the changes they need to pull out wins. As it stands, it’s far too easy to say, ‘We’re so close!’ when they’re clearly quite a distance away from figuring it out. It’s too easy to look at this game and say, ‘We scored our first goals in Portland!’ or ‘We earned our first point in Portland!’ and be content with that. This isn’t the time for contentment or saying it’ll be fine with a few small changes. Players and coaches can acknowledge these small achievements and still say this isn’t good enough. Complacency is the enemy of progress and Racing can’t be complacent with these small gains.

Kanu celebrates her goal in Portland / Image courtesy the NWSLKanu in ControlThe good news for Racing is that mentalities can not only change, they can change dramatically.

Last year, Uchenna Kanu was hailed as a major signing for Racing. She was lauded as the answer to many of the team’s offensive issues after having a standout season with Tigres in Liga MX. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a great year in the NWSL and failed to score a single goal in the entirety of the regular season and only a single goal in the Challenge Cup. As a result, this player that Racing fans had pinned their hopes on found herself mostly on the bench.

It’s clear Kanu lost her confidence and that can be an extremely hard thing to come back from without changing teams or even leagues. And yet, in 2024, Kanu has been entirely in control and is living up to everything Racing fans hoped from her last season. Three games in, she already has three goals and as the stats above show, she’s also putting in excellent defensive shifts as well and looking like one of Racing’s best all-around players this season.

When asked how this turnaround happened, Kanu said that playing in her favorite position helps. “I’ve always played from the left wing position the majority of my career, and I think just doing that this year has really helped me a lot to regain my confidence. And of course, the tactics that [head coach Bev Yanez] and [assistant coach Carmelina Moscato] and the rest of the crew have introduced to us. It’s really fantastic. I like it. And I’m just playing and enjoying myself.”

Just playing and enjoying herself is probably the biggest key. Yes, tactics help, but the fact that Kanu now has the confidence to be herself and play the way she feels most comfortable is what is ultimately leading to her success. She’s not overthinking. She’s not in her head. She’s just playing and absolutely killing it. This is what Racing is failing to do collectively. They play freely and dynamically and then as soon as they get too far ahead they start constricting in on themselves. Even if they put in solid defensive shifts for forty or fifty minutes, it starts wearing on them and mistakes start happening and they start bending under the pressure from the opponent.

Racing needs to find that joy and hold onto it. They also need to do the work that it takes to shift their collective mindset into believing they can win these matches. Last year, NJ/NY Gotham went all the way to the championship after ending the previous season in last place. Defender Ali Krieger said that it was in large part because the team bought into the fact that they were going from worst to first and no one was going to take that from them. Racing has enough talent that if they can just achieve a similar buy-in, they can also achieve great things. They jus thave to believe they can.

The post Racing Louisville squanders another early lead in 2-2 draw to Portland Thorns appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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Racing Louisville came away empty-handed on Saturday night in a nil-nil draw with the Houston Dash. Despite being on the front foot for most of the match, Houston keeper Jane Campbell was able to weather Racing’s storm and keep them off the scoreboard.

Captain Jaelin Howell admitted the team was frustrated not to come away with a win after outplaying Houston for much of the match. They had more than enough opportunities to grab three points, but couldn’t find the back of the net.

“It’s a good thing that it’s frustrating for us,” said Howell, “just because we know that we played well. End of the day, you’ve got to put the ball in the back of the net and you’ve got to take the chances when you get them. It comes down to that. We know that.”Two games into 2024 and Racing has had two draws. Even so, this one feels very different than last week’s draw against the Orlando Pride even without any goals. It even looks substantially better than last year’s nil-nil draw over the Dash despite an identical scoreline. Last night’s Racing looked deadlier and played more cohesively. They also were aggressive at taking chances and going for goal. That doesn’t mean there weren’t some notable issues that still need to be addressed. Here’s a breakdown of everything we learned from Louisville’s match with the Houston Dash.Katie Lund / Image courtesy Jordan Prather-NWSLBy the NumbersRacing spent the entire night peppering Campbell with shots — particularly in the first half. In the first 45 minutes alone, they had 14 shots with eight on target. That nearly doubles the eight shots and four on target they had in the full match against Orlando. By the end of the night, they had 19 shots with 10 on target and Campbell was forced to make a career-high 9 saves. Racing also had an xG of just over 2.

The most prodigious producer was rookie Reilyn Turner who was unstoppable in the first half. She not only set a new club record for shots on goal in a single game (6) and matched Thembi Kgatlana’s club-high eight shot attempts, but she did it in only the first half of her second professional game ever. Kayla Fischer also had a strong 90 minutes with three shots and two on-goal — including one that was saved late off the line by a Houston defender’s backheel in the most unbelievable fashion.

If Racing sat back a bit too much against Orlando, they did not do so against Houston. Racing won 59% of their duels and 73% of their aerial duels. Fischer again stood out here by winning 14 of her 22 duels — more than any player on either team. She also won possession 10 times, more than any other Racing player. Taylor Flint also put in a good shift winning 12 of her 14 duels and all four of her aerial duels.

Where Racing stumbled a little bit was in possession. The match ended with them holding only 44% overall. They also only had 73% passing accuracy.

In other news, Louisville keeper Katie Lund reached 50 career starts against Houston and defender Abby Erceg moved to fourth on the list of all-time National Women’s Soccer League regular season minutes with 15,101.

Taking Your ChancesAs Howell said, the biggest issue Racing had was not finishing their chances. One goal would have changed the entire trajectory of the match and while it’s still early, dropping these early points against teams that should be beatable might come back to haunt Racing later. And xG of 2 is still good and should have signified a solid win, but there’s still an obvious need for more clinical finishing. In some cases the shots were right at Campbell, at other times they were just off, and at other times they were well-defended, so while the volume was high the quality wasn’t always perfect.

Still, the fact that Turner is already looking so deadly is a huge boon for Racing. As is the fact that fellow rookie Emma Sears came on late and had a solid blast at goal that was so quick it went off Campbell’s face before she had time to react. These rookies still need some time to adjust to the league and not shoot at the keeper as much. If they can get their placement down, they’ll be unstoppable. Turner in particular seems a hair’s breadth away from clicking and reaching her full potential. With Uchenna Kanu and Elexa Bahr continuing to look good as well, Racing has ample avenues to continue their offensive output. Considering taking shots period used to be a major issue for Racing, this volume of shots and shots on target is heartening. If they can keep up this volume but fine-tune the delivery, they’ll be able to put games like this one to sleep.

Kayla Fischer / Image courtesy Jordan Prather-NWSLWaiting in the WingsIt’s also notable that Racing could put on a dominant performance like this without the team at full strength. The team has been dealing with injuries since the beginning of the year that have unquestionably impacted it to some degree. In the Orlando match, Howell didn’t start which pushed Taylor Flint lower on the field to mixed results. In this match, star midfielder Savannah DeMelo was a late scratch. Furthermore, Ary Borges, Yuuka Kurosaki, and Kirsten Davis have not seen any minutes due to lingering leg injuries. Plus, new attacker Milly Clegg is still out and rehabbing from a hamstring injury.

This is a long list of players to be missing from the lineup — DeMelo, Borges, and Wright in particular with Clegg also having some strong potential. The fact Racing still had the depth to put out two strong if imperfect performances in their first two matches despite these hits to personnel is a very strong sign for the team’s future. Turner, in particular, has been a revelation and in only two games is already in contention for being the best No. 9 Racing has ever had. Even outside of Turner, the club can now safely rely on Fischer to sub in for DeMelo and Bahr to fill in Borges or Wright which gives the team opportunities they never had before. And with Bahr and Turner able to play across the whole front line, potential starting line options are almost endless.

To Sub or Not to Sub?With this new improved depth, it probably would have benefited Racing to sub in players earlier than they did. Racing pressed hard all match and it wore them out. Their production dropped substantially in the second half, but they held on until Houston started putting in fresh legs. By that point, players were unable to keep up and the Dash came close to stealing the game. It’s true that subs can disrupt an established rhythm but Fischer was practically limping to goal for her final shot. And with the worn-out attackers less able to get back and aid the defense, the likes of Carson Pickett and Erceg were getting beaten up more than anyone would like to see this early in the season.

If Racing doesn’t want to sub as early, they need to figure out how to hold possession more for cool-off periods. They took so many shots in the first half that they turned the ball over quickly and then expended more energy winning it back. They did a solid job of controlling movement out of possession as well, but that involved a lot of hard pressing that ultimately wore players out. If they can figure out how to slow the tempo down for periods to save their legs, maybe they won’t need subs as much, but on Saturday, at least, it was clear that Bahr, Kanu, and Fischer were close to done before changes were made.

One aspect of this could be early season fitness, but if they’re going to play this style they need to have the level of fitness required to sustain it over 90 minutes. Or they need to be aggressive with substitutions. This is a new team and a new style so working out these nuances will take time, but it needs to be figured out soon or their hard work will go to waste through late opponent equalizers or go-ahead goals.

Looking AheadRacing’s road trip continues with a journey further west to Portland. It goes without saying that the Thorns are going to be a tough matchup even if their defense has looked shaky. In their only match played by the time of writing, they lost 5-4 to Kansas City. This shows that they’re still absolutely menacing in the attack but are vulnerable to clinical strikes. This is exactly why Racing needs to make their chances count. They can still pull points back and even win if they can just get one goal in the net.

Hopefully, the wear and tear of the Houston game won’t cost Racing too much on this long trip. The amount Pickett was down at the end was worrying, as was the fact that defender Arin Wright went down only minutes after subbing in despite the fact she did finish the match. It’s hard to know if DeMelo will be ready to play by next week, but Louisville fans can hope that Racing will be able to shake off their knocks, get back to business, and pull off their first win against the Thorns in Portland next Saturday.

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History Repeating?We’ve been here before. A two-goal lead gets chipped away and ends in a 2-2 draw late in the game. Dropping these early leads seems to be something of a curse for Racing Louisville after last year, and many fans are probably wondering if they’re in for more of the same this year.

On the surface, yes, it’s frustrating to see Racing drop a lead in their opener against the Orlando Pride on Saturday afternoon. It’s even more frustrating that Racing dropped the lead on a set piece in the 86th minute despite having the numerical advantage after the Pride’s Kylie Strom received a second yellow card in the 62nd minute.

Still, there are enough bright spots that Louisville fans shouldn’t be worried — yet. Between the team’s energy, the goals scored, and who scored them, there’s a lot to be excited about. There’s also the fact that this is a team with a new coaching staff and a lot of new faces that will take time to mesh.

“Obviously, we wanted to walk away with three points,” head coach Bev Yanez said after the match, “but I want to acknowledge how hard the group worked, and I told them from the get-go it’s not going to be perfect on day one, but our effort is controllable and I thought we controlled that very much so today.”

By the numbersOverall, this was a fairly evenly matched game. Possession ended almost even with Racing slightly lower at 48% overall. The Pride were ultimately the slightly more dangerous team with an xG of 1.13 to Racing’s 0.71 and nine shots to Racing’s eight.

Racing had a passing average of 80%. This is solid considering Yanez is clearly directing the team to build up from the back and Orlando is a dangerous team in transition.

In less positive news, there were a lot of cards in this match for Racing’s midfield. Taylor Flint was forced to make a professional foul in the third minute to stop an onrushing Adriana. Savannah DeMelo also got one before the first half was done. Second-half subs Jaelin Howell and Kayla Fischer also earned cards later on. Orlando’s Luana also got a yellow in addition to Kylie Strom’s double yellows.

Uchenna Kanu after her goal / Image courtesy Jordan Prather-NWSLKey TakeawaysTaking their shotsHow about that offense? Fans were worried knowing Ary Borges and Kirsten Wright were out or questionable, but within just a few minutes those worries were put to sleep. Uchenna Kanu, Reilyn Turner, and Elexa Bahr weren’t just great, they were fantastic. There was a degree of confidence and sharpness in the attack that was lacking before. First, a beautiful ball from Turner to Bahr led to Bahr chipping the keeper in the 13th minute. Next, Kanu’s head’s up play kept her just onside to collect a ball from Bahr to send it in low beyond the reach of Orlando’s keeper to earn Racing’s second in the 19th minute.

Considering that Turner is a rookie, Bahr is making her National Women’s Soccer League debut, and Kanu is coming off a disappointing 2023, seeing these players not only connect this well this quickly but play with such confidence is something to be excited about. These weren’t fluke goals or opportunistic goals, they were smart plays and great reads of the situation at hand which bodes well for Racing’s attacking future.

Although she didn’t score, rookie Emma Sears came in late as a substitute for Turner and earned a team-high three shots. She injected a solid amount of energy into the attack upon arriving and looked like another solid weapon in Racing’s arsenal.

Mistakes…for nowOne of Racing’s issues on Saturday was that they were playing without a true No. 6 for much of it. Taylor Flint was in that role, but she’s not a natural No. 6 and it showed through no real fault of her own. Jaelin Howell was subbed in during the 66th minute and looked solid, so, hopefully, she can move back into a starting role and the midfield can settle. The intention has always been to have Flint and Howell play next to each other with Howell as the true defensive anchor and fans just haven’t really had the chance to see that in action yet.

As for the rest of the defense, they were fine but depending on how you look at it, two moments of bad luck or two mistakes led to both goals. The first goal was an own goal from Elli Pikkujämsä after she struck her leg out on a corner while facing the goal and deflected the ball into the net. The second was more baffling. Orlando earned a set piece in a somewhat dangerous area well outside the box in the 86th minute. The ball was sent in and flicked on and Summer Yates was just able to stay on sides and put it into the back of the net.

Both of these goals are hard to judge. Should Pikkujämsa have just let the cross fly and not tried to deflect it? She wasn’t directly in front of the goal, but it’s always dangerous to try and deflect a ball while facing the net. For the second goal, did Flint and defender Abby Erceg block keeper Katie Lund’s view of Yates so she couldn’t react in time? Did Racing underestimate the danger of such a distant set piece and get burned? Both cases can be chalked up to bad luck, but the team will have to be cleaner to keep these chances from happening in the first place. They gave Orlando far too many opportunities to score and eventually, those chances paid off.

Captain Abby Erceg speaks during the Racing Louisville huddle / Image courtesy Connor CunninghamFinding their styleUltimately, it’s clear that this is a team that’s still finding their style and finding their chemistry. When they took the two-goal lead, Racing sat back in more of a mid-block and let Orlando take a little too much control of the game. That led to the first goal. They ultimately corrected this, but by the end of the second half, they still gave the Pride — a team down to only 10 players — too much possession and they were able to draw a foul and earn the equalizer off of a set piece.

Racing wants to be a possession-based team but it’s clear they’re not there yet. It’s clear they want to be a team that builds out of the back and scores off the build, but that still needs some work. And that’s fine. They shouldn’t be in perfect form for the season opener with new players and a whole new coaching staff. What’s positive is that there are a lot of things that are working. The offense is clicking and players across all positions seem confident in their roles. It might not be perfectly executed and players got pulled out of position at times, but they didn’t fall out of formation as much as they have in the past.

So while this wasn’t a perfect match and the late equalizer was a blow, the sense of what Racing wants to be is there. There’s a purpose to the team that’s evident and looks like it could be very dangerous if it all comes together. More importantly, this isn’t a team that looked like it panicked and fell apart after taking the lead or was afraid to win. They weren’t left scrambling to hold onto a draw. That’s very different than games like the Angel City 2-2 draw or the OL Reign 2-2 draw last year. On Saturday, Racing looked like a team that just hasn’t fully gelled yet and it’s still early enough in the year that they’re allowed that grace.

Goal scorer and player of the match Bahr said the team knows they have work to do but she, for one, is fully confident in the direction of the team.

“We have so much to improve on, and even though we do have a lot of new players, a new coach, a new staff, I think everybody just has the confidence and the mentality that we’re going to be the underdogs if we need to be, but we’re going to show it and give it our all every single game.”

Looking AheadRacing has a tough road stint ahead of them with games in Houston and Portland before returning back to Louisville in April.

Racing will take on the Houston Dash next Saturday and Houston will definitely have something to prove after a punishing 5-1 loss to the North Carolina Courage this week on the road. There’s no question they’ll be looking to right the ship in their home opener against Louisville. This match will be broadcast on NWSL+.

Next, Racing will head to Portland the following Saturday to take on the Thorns. The Thorns also faced a tough opening match and lost 5-4 to the Kansas City Current so they look both vulnerable and dangerous which will certainly make for an exciting and wild ride. This match will be broadcast on Ion which is available on most cable packages, with a digital antenna, and via Tubi on Roku or Apple TV.

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“Happy with where we are”Racing Louisville has undergone some big changes this offseason from a new coaching staff to new players to a new playing style. Now, on Saturday, they’re set to have their first regular season test against the Orlando Pride.

“We feel very happy with where we are,” head coach Bev Yanez said on Tuesday. “We also know it’s a process, and this is the start of the journey.”

Fans got a small glimpse of this new Racing at the Women’s Cup tournament in Cali, Colombia earlier this month. Although Racing beat América de Cali to make it to the finals, they ultimately fell 3-1 in a frustrating loss to fellow National Women’s Soccer League side NJ/NY Gotham. All in all, this experience showed exactly what Yanez said: It’s a journey and while the team shows promise, this is still just the beginning.

Let’s take a look at what we can expect from Racing and Orlando on Saturday and all the ways you can tune in to all the action.

Racing Louisville: New expectationsDespite many returning players, this is likely going to be a pretty different-looking Racing Louisville that comes out on Saturday. Part of that is because of injuries. Jaelin Howell and Kirsten Davis were rested the entire Women’s Cup so it seems unlikely they start even if they’re fit enough to get minutes. Ary Borges also rolled her ankle while playing for Brazil in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, so she seems a probable scratch as well.

Even if these three were playing, we’d likely see some significant movement — but that should be the new expectation. There’s been a lot of depth added to this team and that means there’s going to be a lot more rotation compared to past years. And that’s a good thing. Case in point: Racing acquired Taylor Flint in the offseason and it’s fairly unlikely you get Flint if you don’t plan on starting her. But with Howell and Borges likely out or limited who do you play next to her? In past years, maybe Elli Pikkujämsä but then we’d be biting our nails over who to play as the right centerback.

This season, even with Borges and Howell out, Racing can play Marisa DiGrande and Jordan Baggett who both had solid Women’s Cup showings. They can even move Pikkujämsä up and play Arin Wright as a centerback and barely miss a beat. This luxury of depth not only gives Racing a great deal more options on the pitch, it creates a more competitive environment which will also benefit the team as players have to work to earn minutes. It also means more rest for starters and, hopefully, fewer late upsets and more longevity as the season goes on.

For her part, Yanez said she’s proud of how has come together. On Friday, She reiterated that it’s a process, but she thinks the team has put themselves in an excellent position this preseason.

“We’re aware that that takes time, but I won’t stop saying how special I believe this group is. I really believe success is what you’re accomplishing on the pitch, but it’s also who you are off the pitch. And so for us, we have high hopes for the season.”Image courtesy Racing Louisville FCOrlando Pride: Orlando de Janeiro journeyThis offseason, the Orlando Pride put together a pretty dangerous team by stockpiling Brazilian national team members like Adriana, Angelina, and Luana. This is in addition to Rafaelle and, of course, Marta who were already on the squad. Then, just before the season started, the Pride made a huge splash when they signed Zambian superstar Barbra Banda in a blockbuster deal that included a $700 million-plus buyout. All in all, Orlando is looking mighty deadly if everything comes together.

Racing may be lucky to get them in the first game of the season, however, because Banda isn’t with the team yet. Most of the Brazilians are also recovering from the Gold Cup which wrapped up last week. Rafaelle also, unfortunately, broke her foot, so she’ll be out for at least a few weeks, as well. This makes it a bit hard to guess what lineup Orlando might put out, but there’s no question it’ll still benefit Racing. Will the Brazilians be rested or put on limited minutes or will they be cleared to go out and hit the ground running? Hard to say.

Playing the “Right” WayTo come out on top, Racing will have to focus on playing football their way. If you listen to Yanez, there’s a lot of talk about wanting to not just win, but win the “right” way and to play football the “right” way. To midfielder and captain Howell, that means keeping possession and controlling the tempo. When Racing can do that, they’re unsurprisingly in great shape. journey

When they don’t, however, they have a propensity to rush and play individualistically instead of collectively. As a result, their attack loses all effectiveness. Players just make runs on their own and try to force passes instead of holding the ball and waiting for the rest of the team to get forward and convert back into an attacking formation. This results in constant turnovers and a lot more work with little benefit. Racing’s biggest test will be to not let their opponent dictate the course of the game if things stop going Racing’s way. That’s a level of maturity Racing never quite achieved — and still might struggle to achieve in this leg of the journey they’re still undergoing — but it’s the biggest thing they need to learn if they’re going to be contenders.

So many ways to watch (and listen)Everything about the NWSL is bigger this year. The league is bigger with Bay FC and the Utah Royals joining as the newest expansion teams.

The broadcasts are bigger as well. No longer will everything be watchable on Paramount+. Instead, get ready for NWSL+ the NWSL-specific streaming service that will show over 70 games this season. Games will also be broadcast nationally on Amazon Prime, Ion, CBS, ABC, and the CBS Sports Network. This means a lot more work for fans to find games, but hopefully, the payoff is more potential fans stumbling onto them.

This Racing/Pride match will be streamed on NWSL+, but if you live locally in Louisville you can also take advantage of Racing’s renewed broadcast deal with WAVE3. Not only will it be streaming on WAVE3.com, it’ll be on The 365 Wave 3.3 (with a digital antenna), Spectrum cable channel 193, and Dish Network’s 370.

You can also listen to play-by-play on the radio for the first time ever this year thanks to Racing’s partnership with iheartradio.com. The opener will be broadcast on SportsTalk 1080 AM, but future games may be broadcast on SportsTalk 790.

Match DetailsWho: Racing Louisville (0-0-0) hosts The Orlando Pride (0-0-0) journey

When: Saturday, March 16 at 4:00 PM ET

Where: Lynn Family Stadium, Louisville, KY

Watch Live: NWSL+ / WAVE3.com / The 365 – WAVE 3.3, Spectrum cable channel 193, Dish Network’s 370.

Play-by-Play Live: SportsTalk 1080 AM

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“Ready to Compete”Racing Louisville punched their ticket to the Women’s Cup South America final after beating home team América de Cali 2-0 on Tuesday night. This was the best possible outcome for a preseason match with a lot of anticipation surrounding it considering how much the team has been overhauled between seasons.

“I’m very proud of this group,” said Racing coach Bev Yanez after the match. “We talked about it coming into the game, being ready to compete and understand where we’re at in preseason, giving us an opportunity to play a very good opponent. What are we doing well? Where can we continue to improve? For us, it’s about starting on the right foot come the start of the season and how we continue to progress through the year. I’m proud of them controlling what they could control.”

The first goal came early with Jordan Baggett scoring a beautiful volley off a clearance in the fifth minute. This goal plus an overall solid performance in the center midfield earned Baggett Player of the Match accolades as well. Early in the second half, Racing put the game away when Savannah DeMelo earned a penalty and converted it expertly to put Racing up 2-0.

Although América de Cali did start the game with a great deal of energy and played a considerably physical game, they didn’t provide too much trouble for Racing and generated only a couple of real chances to test keeper Katie Lund.

This is Racing’s third trip to a Women’s Cup championship in three tries with Racing winning the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2021 and coming in second to OL Reign in 2o22.

Racing Louisville’s starting formation against América de Cali on February 28, 2024.Key TakeawaysA Fresh UpdateFans of Louisville have been restless waiting for this match because it would feature the debut of some big new additions to Racing Louisville’s roster as well as the first real glimpse at first-time head coach Yanez’s tactics and style of play.

In terms of style, there have been hints that Yanez would strive for more fluidity on the pitch and that’s definitely what was seen. In particular, Carson Pickett was free to move all the way up the sideline and cut in centrally at times as well. This is in contrast to last year where she was mostly confined to playing up and down the sideline and typically stopped around midfield. Considering one of Pickett’s greatest strengths is precise service into the box, this greater fluidity should benefit Racing as long as they’re able to shore up the wings when she’s out of position against more dangerous squads.

New addition and veteran defender Arin Wright also was free to move forward and roam a bit more as the right center back. Considering she’s speedier than Elli Pikkujämsä, it’ll be interesting to see if she’s allowed to roam as much against faster NWSL clubs like the Portland Thorns with forwards like Sophia Smith whose bread and butter is getting in behind.

The Kids Are AlrightSpeaking of new additions, the two top draft picks — Reilyn Turner and Emma Sears — got starts against Cali and left a positive impression on Racing fans. Turner and Sears both demonstrated good on-the-ball movement and created some exciting chances. They also worked especially well together and had a few moments of interchange that showed they could become a dynamic duo on the pitch.

Finishing, however, was an issue with both getting extremely solid chances only to shoot directly at the keeper. This is not surprising or overly worrying considering that it’s preseason and these were the first true competitive minutes the two draftees had ever seen. The fact that neither seemed intimidated or bowed by their opponents is a very positive sign. With some more development and some additional competitive minutes under their belts, they could very easily become the deadly attacking duo that Racing has been looking for all these years.

Defenders draftee Sam Cary and U18 non-rostered invitee Micayla Johnson also got some late minutes on the pitch, but without enough time to really gauge performance. Still, despite turning over the majority of starters — including the entire back line except for Abby Erceg and keeper Katie Lund for backup Oliva Sekany — they helped keep a clean sheet against an increasingly desperate Cali team. Johnson was also able to show off her speed and dynamism with a nice breakaway down the sideline late in the match.

Keeping CoolOne of the best performances of the night came from Kayla Fischer, a player who showed promise last year as a rookie but never had the chance to fully break out. If she keeps putting in stints like she did last night, this might be the year she does, in fact, break out.

Despite a rough start that saw an early yellow card, Fischer kept her cool and managed to last the full 90 minutes of the match without getting another card. This is especially impressive considering Cali players were doing everything they possibly could to goad her into another foul and were knocking her down relentlessly. Besides keeping focused, however, Fischer tried challenging progressive passes more than practically any other player. Sometimes they worked and sometimes they didn’t but the fact she tried showed a level of creativity that has sometimes been lacking in Racing’s attack.

Someone who maybe should have kept it a little cooler is Savannah DeMelo. One of DeMelo’s skills is drawing fouls in dangerous areas, but late in a game that’s already up 2-0, she was putting herself in dangerous positions against a frustrated opponent who was making hard, physical challenges. As admirable as it is that she’s willing to go all in during a preseason game, Racing would suffer greatly if she were to be injured, so here’s hoping she’s not quite as willing to put it all on the line in the final. Yes, it would be great to win the final, but it’d be even better to have a healthy DeMelo in the regular season.

Looking AheadWith fans so excited to finally see Racing on the pitch, it can be hard to remember that this is still preseason and that the purpose of this tournament is more about assessment than anything else. Of course, the team wants to win hardware, but they also want to test their depth and try different combinations.

Depth was an ongoing issue for Racing last year and tired legs led to a number of squandered leads and dropped points. It was therefore hopeful to see that substitutions like Marisa DiGrande coming in around the 65th minute once the tempo began to flag did, in fact, improve the tempo of the match and keep Racing in the game.

As for the team’s overall performance, Yanez said, “I think for the group with where we started on day one and where we’re at right now, we’re obviously happy with where we are, but we’re not satisfied. We have a lot of things to get done leading into the start of the season, but what I’ll say is everything that the group’s trying to process from a concept and the style of play perspective, they’re doing an incredible job. So I look forward to these next few weeks leading into the start of the season.”

Louisville will now fight fellow National Women’s Soccer Team side NJ/NY Gotham FC for the Women’s Cup trophy on Friday, March 1st at 8:30 PM Eastern. Viewers can pay to watch on the Women’s Cup streaming site or watch for free on BeIN Sports Xtra if they have Amazon Prime, Roku, YouTube TV, or other providers.

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At long last fans will get their first chance to see Racing Louisville take the pitch in 2024 as part of the Women’s Cup South America.

The four-team tournament in Cali, Colombia kicks off today, Tuesday, February 27 with Louisville’s fellow National Women’s Soccer League club NJ/NY Gotham FC playing Deportivo Cali Femenino at 5 PM ET. Racing versus América de Cali Femenino follows at 8 PM ET. Fans in the United States can either pay to stream the tournament on the Women’s Cup streaming site or via beIN Sport via YouTube TV, Sling TV, or Fubo TV (more information here).

The rules for this tournament are slightly different than in a regular season match. Namely, if the match is tied after 90 minutes of regulation time, it will go straight to a penalty shootout with no extra time. All teams also have unlimited substitutions in three substitution windows, plus the additional halftime substitution window.

Despite being a preseason tournament, this is the first real chance for Racing fans to take a look at the team after some big off-season changes. Here’s what fans should look for when checking out all the Women’s Cup action.

Learn and GrowTypically, NWSL teams spend their preseason playing scrimmages against college squads and other NWSL teams. This is an okay way to ease into competition, but Racing — and Gotham — are banking on the fact that playing full matches against other professional teams who are currently in season will give them a bigger edge. Going against a team from another league and experiencing a completely new style of play will be a challenge, but it’ll be what they need to test how ready they are ahead of their March 16 season opener against the Orlando Pride.

“I think it’s a good opportunity for us to learn and grow within our identity and assess kind of where we’re at,” said head coach Bev Yanez. “So for us, it’s just another really good opportunity to play good competition and understand specifically where we’re at.”

Considering Racing will be in preseason form playing against teams who are in season and, even more, teams that no one in Louisville has ever had much of an opportunity to watch before, it’s hard to guess just how they’ll perform. The Colombian women’s league is not easily viewable in the United States and so players are going in fairly blind as to what to expect. Goalkeeper Katie Lund admitted that will be a challenge, but also said that’ll be part of the fun and an excellent way to tell just how prepared they are to head into the new season. That doesn’t mean that they’re not aiming to win, however.

“We’re here to win and we’re here to compete,” said Lund to media on Monday, “so I think the mentality going into tomorrow is to play our hardest and do our best.”

Image courtesy Racing LouisvilleA Whole New RacingAnother reason it’s hard to gauge exactly how Racing will look on Tuesday is the fact that they made a lot of big changes this off-season. In addition to adding a bunch of new players, they also have a new head coach in Bev Yanez and two new assistants in Carmelina Moscato and Mitch Sowerby.

It’s these coaching changes as much as the player changes that have fans waiting with bated breath to get their eyes on Racing. Players and coaches have all said that this is going to be a different-looking team than we’ve seen before, but everyone’s been holding their cards close to their chest as to exactly how. The mystery is deepened by the fact that this is Yanez’s first head coaching job, so there are no previous videos of past games to review and get a sense of her tactical and stylistic preferences.

The addition of Moscato has added a whole new layer of intrigue as well. Moscato was widely rumored to be in the running for head coaching positions throughout the NWSL and has ample experience in the lead role having coached Tigres Femenil in Liga MX to a title in 2022. The fact Racing was able to hire her as an assistant is an absolute coup and her experience will hopefully go a long way in helping players adjust to different tactics and a new style of play.

Coaches weren’t the only new faces on the team. While much of Racing’s starting eleven has stayed intact, there are some very notable signings and Tuesday’s match will likely see the debut of some of the most anticipated additions. In particular, U.S. women’s midfielder Taylor Flint (née Kornieck), defender and Kentucky hall of famer Arin Wright, and overall sixth pick in the draft Reilyn Turner are likely to see significant minutes in Colombia. Fans should expect to see Flint placed next to Jaelin Howell in a double pivot while Wright should be placed next to Abby Erceg in central defense since Elli Pikkujämsä is out on international duty with Finland. Turner can play either the wing or the central attacker so it’s hard to guess how she’ll be utilized considering Racing needs support in both areas.

Other players who have a good chance of making their debuts for Racing include defender Ellie Jean who was acquired via a trade from Gotham and Marisa DeGrande (née Viggiano) who signed with Louisville from the Houston Dash as a free agent. Word is that draftee Emma Sears is also having an incredibly solid preseason so she is likely to take the field as well with so many forwards out on international duty. All three are solid players who have upped Racing’s depth significantly and a tournament such as this where the team is getting its first truly competitive minutes is the best possible time to test your depth.

A True Racing Representation?The Women’s Cup is taking place during an international break and that, of course, means that a significant number of players are missing. Besides Pikkujämsä, Uchenna Kanu and Ary Borges are out among the returning players. A couple of new signings will also have their debuts deferred until they return from international duty. They are Linda Motlhalo with South Africa and Elexa Bahr who is (ironically) with Colombia in the United States for the Gold Cup.

Despite these absences, Racing’s assumed starting lineup is very much intact. The back line, minus Pikkujämsä, is fully available and the lineup featuring Carson Pickett, Abby Erceg, Wright, and Lauren Milliet may in fact be the typical starting defense in the regular season as well. Additionally, Savannah DeMelo, Howell, and Flint remaining with Racing means that fans will also get to see the mostly intact midfield. The forward line is the most impacted by international duty and, therefore, the biggest question, but outside of this exception, the Racing fans see on Tuesday likely won’t be that far off from the one that debuts in the regular season.

This isn’t always guaranteed in a preseason match. Take, for comparison’s sake, Gotham who is missing seven of their presumed starters to the U.S. national team alone plus several others elsewhere. While Racing will certainly have significant rotation to assess depth, the chance to see players like Wright and Flint not just debut, but interact with teammates they’ll likely continue to start with and build relationships with is an exciting prospect.

Looking AheadThe winners of each of Tuesday’s matches will advance to the tournament final which will take place on Friday at 8:30 PM ET. Earlier on the same day, the third-place match will be held at 5:30 PM.

Keep an eye here on BGN.fm for game recaps for all Women’s Cup events!

The post Three Things to Know About Racing Louisville and the Women’s Cup appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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“Today cannot have gone any better for Racing Louisville,” said general manager Ryan Dell after Friday’s 2024 National Women’s Soccer League College Draft. “We started the day by adding Arin Wright, an experienced defender who will have a big presence in our locker room, then we finished strong with four great selections. We’re so excited to get this preseason started, and I can’t wait to see how [head coach] Bev [Yanez] shapes and builds our team.”

The draft-night selections began with Reilyn Turner, an explosive forward from the University of California Los Angeles and the United States U-23 squad. She was selected with Racing’s top overall pick of the night, number six overall. Racing traded their next selection — the 15th overall pick — and $125,000 to the Chicago Red Stars to acquire the veteran Wright, a Kentucky native who has spent the last eight years with Chicago where she twice earned first or second Best XI honors and was a 2016 Defender of the Year finalist. With the 28th overall pick, Louisville selected Emma Sears, a forward from Ohio State. University of Iowa defender of former Racing W League player Sam Cary was selected with the 48th overall pick and Texas Tech goalkeeper Maddie White with the 54th. Racing also completed a tidy bit of business when they earned some of the money spent on Wright back by selling the final pick of the third round — 42nd overall — for $40,000 to the San Diego Wave. Historically, this is a surprisingly high amount for such a low pick.

In addition to the five draft night additions, Racing had previously signed free agent midfielder Marisa Viggiano, traded for defender Ellie Jean in a three-team deal with Bay FC and NJ/NY Gotham, and signed Japanese midfielder and former University of Kentucky standout Yuuka Kurosaki. They also recently announced new contracts for Kirsten Wright (formerly Davis) and Parker Goins.

As a result of Friday’s moves, Racing’s 2024 roster has finally started to take shape. Although new signings are inevitable, let’s take a look at where Racing stands post-draft and where they are still likely to bring in additional talent.

Reilyn Turner / Image courtesy UCLA AthleticsForward MomentumThe most pressing issue Racing has faced all off-season is a lack of forwards. Louisville lost a significant portion of their attackers when Thembi Kgatlana was transferred to Tigres Femenil, Paige Monaghan was lost to the Utah Royals in the expansion draft, and Nadia Nadim, Jessica McDonald, and Wang Shuang were not offered new contracts or moved on to other teams. While locking down Davis and Goins was certainly a positive, Racing still went into the draft with only three forwards listed on the roster. Considering consistent goal-scoring was the biggest need last season, this is understandably of huge concern for many Louisville fans.

As a result, the biggest win of the night is unquestionably the drafting of Reilyn Turner. The UCLA standout finished her collegiate career with 42 goals and 15 assists across four years. In 2022 she earned Most Outstanding Offensive Player accolades at the College Cup after scoring the game-winner against the University of Alabama in the semifinals and the tying goal against the University of North Carolina in the final with only 16 seconds remaining on the clock. This goal ultimately paved the way for UCLA to secure the championship. And, as a United States U-23 player, she was also quick to point out to Louisville’s communications team that she also scored on Racing during an NWSL preseason tournament in Portland in 2023.

“I scored against you guys!” exclaimed the new draftee with a big laugh during post-draft media. As for what she’ll bring to Louisville, Turner said, “I feel like I know what I’m good at and I know what I bring to the table. I’m excited for that to combine with what the players at Louisville and coaches at Louisville have in store for me. And I’m excited to be able to hopefully contribute to such a great program.”

Turner seems to have what it takes to be a day-one starter the way Emily Fox, Jaelin Howell, and Savannah DeMelo were in Racing Louisville’s previous draft classes. In fact, Dell said she’s so talented might have even been the first pick in another draft class in another year. To get a sense of what she can do on the pitch, just look up any game highlights from Turner at UCLA, Racing fans, and start imagining what she might look like receiving service from Carson Pickett or Savannah DeMelo. As a bonus, she’s excellent both centrally and out wide so she provides flexibility and versatility along the front line. In terms of both quality and need, Turner is an A+ acquisition for Racing and goes a long way in shoring up the biggest gaps in Louisville’s roster.

Although not as splashy as Turner, Buckeye Emma Sears is also a solid pickup for Racing. Dell said Sears “very well could have been one of the fastest players in this class” and Racing have liked her enough to have scouted her closely for the past two years.

A fast wide forward is exactly what Racing needs, especially in light of the losses of Monaghan and Kgatlana, so Sears also helps shore up one of the biggest areas of need on Racing’s roster. In her five years as a Buckeye, she scored 25 goals and 15 assists and was named to the All-Big 10 First Team in 2023. In a fun bit of trivia, she was also roommates with Racing midfielder Kayla Fischer back in Columbus.

Arin Wright / Image courtesy UK AthleticsDefensive UpgradesAlthough forwards were the biggest area of need for Racing, the signing of defender Arin Wright is still big news for Louisville.

A native of Nicholasville, KY, Wright was a standout at the University of Kentucky where she was a four-time All-SEC selection, a two-time MAC Hermann Trophy finalist, and a two-time All-American. She was ultimately the first Kentucky player to ever be selected in a professional women’s soccer draft. After being drafted by the Red Stars in 2015, she spent eight full seasons in Chicago where she twice earned first or second Best XI honors and was a 2016 Defender of the Year finalist. She was part of seven Chicago playoff teams, making two trips to the NWSL Championship, including starting in the 2021 final at Lynn Family Stadium where she notched an assist.

“Having the opportunity to come home to the beautiful Bluegrass State and give back to the community that developed me and encouraged me to chase my dreams of being a professional athlete is something that all athletes dream of,” Wright said in remarks released by the club. “I am grateful for all Kentucky has given me in my youth, and now it’s my turn to return the favor. It might not be UK blue, but red and blue make purple … right?! I couldn’t be more thrilled to join Racing Louisville and be a part of building a dynasty here in my old Kentucky home.”

Racing’s defense was their most improved line after a major overhaul that saw the additions of NWSL veterans Abby Erceg and Carson Pickett. The club only allowed 24 goals all season — a vast improvement over 35 allowed in 2022 and 40 in 2021 — and also posted six shutouts. The fact the team has now added both Wright and defender Ellie Jean to the roster provides depth that can help guarantee this line stays in top shape throughout the season. After all, despite their starting strength in 2023, depth was a major issue. After Pickett was injured and missed several games, Rebecca Holloway replaced her but when Holloway was injured, midfielder Maddie Pokorny was forced into playing outer back for the first time which was obviously less than ideal for everyone. And when Jaelin Howell was also injured, center-back Elli Pikkujämsä was pushed up in the No. 6 as well making the back line even thinner.

The fact both Wright and Jean can play centrally and out wide will be a big asset to the club if injuries occur again. It’ll also help facilitate rotation which might prevent injuries from happening in the first place. And with Holloway, Zaneta Wyne, and Satara Murray all departed from Racing last season, there’s no question that additional defensive signings were needed. In terms of NWSL experience, both Jean and Wright look to be strong upgrades to help round out Racing’s defense.

The drafting of Sam Cary from Iowa is, of course, another possibility to join the defense as well. It’s definitely a positive for the club to be able to draft a player who has come through their academy via the W League as Cary was a player on the 2022 squad, but signing players who are drafted in the third round is hardly guaranteed. Cary does have a ton of potential, however, after earning All-Big Ten Second Team honors with the Hawkeyes and leaving the program as its all-time minutes leader. She also made history as the first player from Iowa to be selected in the NWSL draft.

Marisa Viggiano / Image courtesy the NWSLMidfielders, keepers, and everything elseWhile not filling as obvious of a need, the signings of midfielders Marisa Viggiano and Yuuka Kurosaki do hint at interesting possibilities as well. Ary Borges spent much of last season playing in a double pivot next to Jaelin Howell. While she did just fine in that role, Borges is a phenomenally gifted attacking talent and is arguably better utilized higher up the pitch. And on a team that’s clearly needing forwards, this is a great option to have.

Both Viggiano and Kurosaki in addition to already-rostered Baggett can play next to Howell and push Borges forward if Yanez still wants to utilize a double pivot. Viggiano, in particular, is an experienced NWSL starter and may have been signed to do just this. These players can also provide better coverage for Howell in case she’s out for any reason, as she was for an extended time at the end of last season which, again, provides some added depth that Racing had been lacking. So while they aren’t actual forward being signed, they do help provide a potential answer to the forward problem and the midfield depth problem at the same time.

The final draft pick of the evening for Racing was goalkeeper Maddie White who comes from Texas Tech. She was a first team All-American and Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Year. She earned All-Big 12 honors three different seasons and was Texas Tech’s all-time leader in shutouts (39) and goalkeeper wins (52). Even with the trade of Hillary Beall to the San Diego Wave, Racing still has three goalkeepers in Katie Lund, Jordyn Bloomer, and Olivia Sekany. White will have a tough battle to get on Racing’s roster, but competition is what pushes growth and she may be able to stage a coup and find her way onto the roster.

More on the wayAfter draft night, Racing is in a vastly improved position than they were ahead of it. The additions of Turner and Wright alone make it a win for Racing and if Sears, Cary, or White work out, too, all the better for the club. All in all, Dell and Yanez say they feel confident about the direction the club is heading in as preseason approaches. Forwards are still an area of need, to be sure, but both general manager and coach insist more announcements are coming very soon.

“We’ve done a lot of work to solidify our roster and to build it into the style play that Bev Yanez wants,” said Dell. “I’m so excited with what we’ve been able to accomplish. We have a few more pieces that we’re ready to announce, but at the end of the day, we’re in a really good spot. We think this team is ready to compete, as Bev likes to say, Monday through Friday, and win on Saturdays and Sundays. So we’re very excited by where we’re headed and ready to get started on January 22nd.”

As Dell said, more announcements are coming soon and this article will be updated as they are released.

The post Breaking down Racing Louisville’s off-season roster moves after draft night appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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Ahead of Friday’s National Women’s Soccer League College Draft, Racing Louisville head coach Yanez and general manager Ryan Dell spoke to the media to discuss some recent changes in the club’s roster and preview the upcoming season. Although the pair couldn’t always give too much detail, they did offer some tantalizing hints about upcoming signings, discuss some earlier off-season roster changes, and provide some deeper insight into how Yanez will manage her team as a first-time head coach.

Here’s a quick rundown of all the biggest takeaways from Yanez and Dell’s event.

New AdditionsPlayersRacing Louisville has been busy since Yanez last spoke to the press during her hiring announcement in November. In less positive news, Racing also lost forward Paige Monaghan to the Utah Royals in the expansion draft, goalkeeper Hillary Beall in a trade to the San Diego Wave, and Thembi Kgatlana to a transfer to Tigres in Liga MX for a club-record transfer fee. More positively, they’ve signed free agent midfielder Marisa Viggiano, traded for defender Ellie Jean, and signed Japanese midfielder and former University of Kentucky standout Yuuka Kurosaki.

In terms of these new additions, Dell said that they add much-needed depth that Racing was lacking in key areas last year. In particular, he pointed to how much depth was needed during the Challenge Cup final last season when they were plagued with injuries in a tight travel-packed week.

“We’re looking at about 26 on the roster and we feel it’s a really, really deep roster,” said Dell of the progress made so far. “When you look at what we’ve lost and what we brought in, we’re bringing back 80% of our minutes, 70% of our goals.”

According to both Dell and Yanez, fans can look forward to even more new signings arriving soon — probably as early as next week.

Although he didn’t identify any players outright, Dell did offer a few tantalizing hints. He said some of the players were national team players with “noticeable names” that the club was excited about. He also said that the players being added were “going to help score goals and that’s going to help us be propelled into the playoffs. So we feel really good about where we’re at. We know we lost players like Thembi and Paige, [who] are great individuals and we have had a great time with them here in Racing, what they’ve built here in Louisville, and we thank them for everything they did. But we’re excited for what we’re building in the future.”

Between the talk of scoring goals and the comparisons to Kgatlana and Monaghan, Racing fans should feel pretty confident they’re getting some forwards or at least some additional attacking players. With the recent re-signing of Parker Goins, Louisville currently has only three forwards on their roster so it’s safe to say this is an immediate need.

Dell also implied that there was another acquisition in the works as well — a trade that he hoped to have completed within the next 24 hours.

StaffPlayers aren’t the only new arrivals joining the club in 2024. The technical and support staff will also be rounded out significantly in the coming season.

The first addition already announced is Mario Sanchez who formerly led the club academy and served as interim head coach for Racing in 2021. Now he joins Yanez’s team as assistant coach and technical director. While working together at Racing last year, Yanez said she quickly learned that Sanchez was someone who saw the game similarly to herself. The fact he has years of experience with the Racing Academy — which stands out as the only ENCL academy owned by an NWSL team — will also prove beneficial as the league expands its U18 entry rules in 2024 and beyond.

“He’s an incredible person,” said Yanez of her new assistant. “Incredibly knowledgeable, but he also knows the Academy through and through for his time spent here at this club and in this organization. And so for us, it’s continuing to build what that pathway could look like and how we can continue to develop those pieces as a club and what the future of that space looks like with these rule changes.”

In addition to Sanchez, Dell said that a second assistant coach will be hired pending a completed background check. Racing will also be filling a player experience position that will “handle player needs off the field” according to Dell. He also indicated another unnamed staff position would be added as well, although he would not elaborate on what that position would be. All in all, that is three new staff positions added to Racing in 2024 which Dell said is an indication of the owners’ continued investment in the team.

College Draft StrategyLouisville currently heads into Friday’s college draft with the sixth and 15th picks as their top choices. Dell said they’re currently flexible in either using or trading any of their picks. And there has certainly been a great deal of interest in the number six pick with him saying that Racing has either called or fielded calls from every team in the league in the last 24 hours alone. Whether or not they keep or trade any of their draft picks comes down to what makes the most sense in the long term and the short term for Racing.

“I want to make sure we protect the integrity of our group for the future,” explained Dell. “But if there’s a player that Bev thinks can win a game or two we’re we’re not afraid to go move up and make that selection.”

In terms of scouting players and preparing for the draft itself, Yanez said that goalkeeper coach Sergio Gonzalez has taken the lead. As a former college coach, he has an eye for talent at this level and Yanez had nothing but praise for the work he’s done to prepare Racing for the draft.

The Bev EffectWhen it comes to bringing in new players, whether draftees or other acquisitions, both Dell and Yanez stress the importance of evolving the roster into one that fits Yanez’s preferred style of play. Although Yanez was tight-lipped about her tactical and stylistic preferences, Dell remarked that it “is a little different than Kim. I’m excited about that. I think it’s gonna be really beneficial in this league.”

Although she wouldn’t elaborate on tactics, Yanez did say her framework and the principles she’ll be looking to coach within it are simple by design with adaptability as a core principle. Simplicity can give players the freedom to play to their own best abilities without being bogged down by a more complicated system or overloaded with information. Said Yanez, “The environment has to be highly competitive, but it has to be highly clear in the sense of what their roles and expectations are.”

This clarity of roles is something Racing has struggled with in the past. At the end of last season, both captain Jaelin Howell and vice captain Abby Erceg expressed frustration with the team’s tactics. Howell in particular stressed that players weren’t always sure of what was expected of them on the pitch which created confusion or unnecessary exertion. The fact Yanez recognized this as a core issue with the club last year bodes well for the team’s development in the coming season.

Although Yanez’s tenure with Racing has only been a few short months in the off-season, Dell had nothing for praise for what he’s seen from his new head coach so far. He praises her energy and work ethic and joked that she’s so inspiring “people will run through walls” for her after hearing her speak. Dell also said three players are already in market training with Yanez which is a first for the club and speaks to the team’s growth.

All in all, Dell said he truly believes that Racing is on the cusp of something special and that Yanez is a big part of that. “Honestly,” he asked rhetorically, “how do you not want to play for her?”

Other tidbits: Preseason starts January 22 with two trips planned: Dell confirmed that players are due to return to market on January 22, which is six weeks before the start of the regular season. He confirmed that the team will have warm weather training in Arizona this year after previously training in Florida. He also broke the news that the team will be traveling abroad for an international tournament which is a first for an NWSL team. Where they’re going and when has yet to be revealed, however, so stay tuned for more. * Dell is not a fan of the expansion draft: “I’d like to see it abolished, candidly.” Says the deadline for expansion draft trades was 9 AM Eastern time and they were on the phone with Utah almost a dozen times in that hour despite not being able get a deal done to gain protection. “I don’t think it’s fair to the players to go into the expansion draft that way, especially at the timing around the holidays.“ * Racing held a Pro Day:* Although it was never officially announced, Racing held a Pro Day, similar to the NFL, to evaluate 20 potential draftees in person. Although other teams have invited select U18 and college players to practices and evaluations before, Dell thinks that Racing may have had the first-ever official Pro Day of this scale in the league.

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The 12th annual Stand Together Week has now completed in Portland, marking a week of volunteering opportunities for the Portland Thorns and Timbers alongside their community partners. On Friday, some Thorns FC players went to the Portland Children’s Book Bank to help the nonprofit sort, clean, and distribute community-donated books to families in need.

Beautiful Game Network sat down with a few of the players as they were hard at work cleaning books.

“[Reading] was something that I got into again like a year and a half ago,” said Thorns midfielder Taylor Porter, a player who also volunteered at the Children’s Book Bank during last year’s Stand Together Week. “It was my form of escape and self-care and it’s become my go-to instead of watching TV or always having such a stimulant like that. It’s something that I really love—living so many lives through books.”

September 8 2023; Portland, OR, USA; Stand Together Week – Children’s Book Bank Olivia Moultrie and Taylor Porter help restore books. Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer-Portland TimbersMidfielder Olivia Moultrie shared much of the same sentiment, “for me it’s something that is entertaining, but also it’s something that is relaxing at the same time.” It allows Moultrie to disconnect and find something that’s not looking at a screen, but also “something that I can do while resting and recovering before going back into the rigorous activity that is professional soccer every day.”

Not all of the players read as thoroughly as Porter, who finished over 100 books last year, is aiming for 150 books this year and currently on track at 115. Defender Reyna Reyes weighed in, commenting that she likes reading, “not as much as Taylor [Porter], but yes…I do like to read at night before I go to bed, just maybe like 10, 15 pages.”

The book bank provides children up to kindergarten with home libraries containing a collection of 14 books, the reason behind 14 being to give children a better chance of receiving a book that will spark a love of reading. For the more advanced books donated, those books are provided to elementary and K-8 underserved schools to host free school-wide book fairs each June in order to combat the “summer slide”, when children can lose gains made over the school year.

September 8 2023; Portland, OR, USA; Stand Together Week – Children’s Book Bank, Morgan Weaver. Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer-Portland TimbersQuite a few Thorns have spoken about their love of reading, so it was no surprise to find a few of them at the Book Bank.

Taylor Porter has found herself as the go to player for book recommendations from any genre. “Soph [Smith] is another big reader and so is Becky [Sauerbrunn] and I think eventually people just [wanted] to get back into it and they ask for suggestions and I’m like, ‘come to my office’ and I just give people recommendations and it just kind of spread a little bit. And I think everybody has really enjoyed the books, so a lot of people just started reading, which is really nice.”

A group of volunteers from the Portland front office, Thorns sponsor NW Natural, and Thorns FC spent a few hours cleaning and sorting books to be redistributed, or if they aren’t in recoverable state, to recycle them. Stand Together Week has a number of events so athletes are able to truly use their interests to drive community interest.

“[The team] always talks at the beginning of the year [about] how much we want to do even more within the community,” said Taylor Porter in regards to the importance of community impact. “We have one of the strongest bonds with our community here in Portland, so we always want to give back in any way we can. [The Thorns are] such a passionate team and we have very specific passions and we want kids or other people [who are] part of the Portland community to share those passions or develop some. We always get really excited for the Stand Together Week because it really allows us to really dedicate time to reconnect with our community and have so many different connections with people who we would otherwise not meet.”

September 8 2023; Portland, OR, USA; Stand Together Week – Children’s Book Bank. Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer-Portland TimbersReyes was very appreciative of the support that continuously comes from the community to the Thorns, and looks forward to opportunities to give back and show her thankfulness. “We love to give back [and do] anything that we can do because it’s such a supportive community for us.”

Although a lot of Thorns have jumped on the reading bandwagon, there has not yet been the creation of an official Thorns book club according to Porter, “there’s groupings of people [who] are reading certain books, so it’s just a little bit all over the place and very different timelines, but yeah, very unofficial.”

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Grit and FightHistory is being made left and right at Racing Louisville.

On the heels of a historic first win over the Portland Thorns last Saturday, Racing came on Wednesday to beat OL Reign for the first time and earn a place in the 2023 UKY Challenge Cup final. Not only was Wednesday’s 1-0 win over the Seattle side Louisville’s first-ever playoff victory, but it was also their first-ever playoff appearance (outside of the Women’s Cup which is only a friendly tournament and not sanctioned by any league.) Put another way, Racing had their biggest game in team history on Saturday against Portland and followed it up a few days later with their new biggest game in team history against Seattle. Talk about a great week for the young Louisville team — and a pretty abysmal one for the two powerhouses of the Pacific Northwest.

Louisville’s Elli Pikkujämsä summed up the win against OL Reign aptly when she said, “It was not the prettiest game, but it doesn’t matter.”

She’s right that the performance on the pitch could have been cleaner, but that hardly matters when the team got the three points it needed to advance. Ultimately, their single goal from Kirsten Davis was scored off a severe error by OL Reign defender Sam Hiatt who essentially passed the ball to Davis off of a free kick while Davis was standing at the top of Seattle’s box. Davis deftly knocked the ball out of the air, turned, and fired before the keeper or closest defender could react. Much of the rest of the match was spent defending furiously, but they were successful and kept their opponents off the board despite OL Reign subbing in major players like Megan Rapinoe, Jordyn Huitema, and Jess Fishlock.

“We stuck together and put our bodies on the line to block shots and keep things out of the way,” said keeper Katie Lund of Racing’s defensive performance. “I couldn’t be happier for us or the way that we played. We’ve been through a lot and this just shows that we have the grit and the fight and that we can win in this league.”

Thanks to this win, Racing now heads to North Carolina on extremely short rest to take on the Courage this Saturday at 12:30 PM. Just making the final will give every play on the team a substantial monetary bonus, but winning it would see each player pocketing $13,400. Considering the minimum National Women’s Soccer League salary hovers around $40,000, this is a comparatively substantial sum.

When asked how the team would take on the Courage — yet another top team that Racing has yet to beat — head coach Kim Björkegren deadpanned that he’d have to sleep on it before he can dive into tactics, but he did say that he thinks his team is in the best position possible to slay another league giant.

“We really believe in ourselves right now,” said the coach. “We are fighting really hard, so I think it’s a good time for us to take North Carolina as well.”

No doubt about it… @kirstendavis22 earns tonight's @UKGInc Rising to the Challenge Moment! pic.twitter.com/OII51SqAJ8

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 7, 2023

By the NumbersFor the majority of the match, this was a pretty even game. The first half ended with Racing up a goal with 0.37 xG and OL Reign with 0.34 xG according to Opta. Racing also had the slightest edge in possession with 53% although a good portion of their possession didn’t involve much forward momentum.

In the second half, OL Reign found their footing as they began to sub in regular starters while Louisville instead mostly bunkered down. As a result, OL Reign earned 0.71 xG to Racing’s 0.25. In the final half of the game, Katie Lund faced nine shots although only one was on target compared to Racing only getting off two shots with none on target. OL Reing clearly gained more momentum as they also held onto 58% of the possession in the second half.

Neither team had particularly effective passing accuracy with Racing having only 71% and OL Reign just about 70% at full-time.

All in all, this data exemplifies Pikkujämsä’s comments that this was not a particularly pretty game for Racing, but it was enough to get the job done.

The team was a bit more impressive defensively, with Abby Erceg standing out. With the most knockout match experience of any player on the team (not to mention three championships, three shields, and defensive player of the year accolades) she held Racing’s defense together with 10 clearances — double the next closest player — and four aerial duels with two won. She also had the second most touches in the game and the highest passing accuracy (84%) of any starter on Racing.

Elli Pikkujämsä also had a standout match, which is even more impressive considering she was playing as the holding midfielder in Jaelin Howell’s absence instead of her usual center-back position. Pikkujämsä was involved in a whopping 24 duels and won 10 of them — more than any of her teammates in both categories.

Kirsten Davis celebrates with Savannah DeMelo after Davis’ goal / Image courtesy Taylor VincentLooking aheadRacing has a unique chance to slay three of the biggest giants in NWSL history in a single week. They’ve already chopped down the Thorns and overcome the deadlock against OL Reign and now they have the chance to knock out perpetual playoff contender and regular league shield and championship winner the North Carolina Courage.

The fact that Racing seems to have a pretty solid shot at accomplishing this feat is a remarkable turnaround for a club that’s struggled to develop a winning culture. In this season alone, they’ve given up two-goal leads three times — including twice to OL Reign. They also lead the league in draws with nine. To then go beat two huge teams in a span of days is a massive confidence booster for the young team. As someone who has been with Racing since day one, Lund says this team’s belief in themselves is what propelled them to finally earn these big victories.

“We’ve been up, we’ve been down,” said Lund, “but I truly believe this is the best team we’ve ever had. The belief is there. The support that we have is incredible and we felt that tonight.”

Racing has never beaten North Carolina in any of their previous eight meetings. After suffering through 3-0, 5-0, and 5-1 drubbings in past years, Racing has only lost each game this year by a single goal.

Also in Racing’s favor is the fact that they’ve done exceptionally well in tight schedules. The first time they played three games in 10 days or less this year they got their first-ever three-game winning streak across all competitions. The next time, they got one draw and two wins across all competitions.

Three games in eight days is an especially tight turnaround, though, especially when they’ve had to fly from coast to coast to do it. Even so, they should go into Saturday feeling confident in their chances and buoyed by the success they’ve had. They’ve already had their two biggest games in history in one week. Why not have a third?

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Heart and GritThe Portland Thorns gave Racing Lousiville a fat lip early on Saturday after a defensive lapse gave up a goal in only the sixth minute. Although they lost their footing for a bit, Racing came back swinging and scored two goals in four minutes in the second half to seal the win. First, Abby Erceg headed in a cross off of a corner from Wang Shuang in the 60th minute. Next, Thembi Kgatlana sent in a blast through traffic in the 64th minute off of an assist from Rebecca Holloway.

On the importance of this win, defender and goal scorer Ereceg said it was huge. “Everyone is desperate for points – the table is so close – so for the girls to show up the way they did today was unbelievable. It was at the right time, a huge performance. I haven’t seen us play with that much grit and heart. You can tell that the girls really want it.”

It’s not hyperbolic to call this the biggest win in Racing Louisville’s history. Not only did they beat the current number one team in the league for the first time in two-and-a-half years, but they also scored multiple goals against them for the first time, essentially dominated them, and did it without four key players and a critical back-up player. While Portland was definitely missing Sophia Smith and Becky Sauerbrunn, the fact Racing was without Savannah DeMelo, Jaelin Howell, Carson Pickett, Nadia Nadim, and Jordan Baggett should have arguably weakened them even more. But, instead, Racing came out and played with an immense amount of heart and grit, as Erceg said. And as a result, they’re well in the playoff running as well.

“It shows the potential–that we can beat all the teams in the league,” said head coach Kim Björkegren. “I think this is the first time Racing actually won against Portland so it shows we’re getting closer to the best teams and on a good day like this we can beat them.”

Playoff WatchIf their playoff chances seemed to be slipping away last week, they’re back in the running better than ever after this match.

Going into this match, Racing was in ninth place after Angel City’s win against Kansas City on Friday pushed them further down the standings. Racing has been calling their games must-wins for the past three weeks but only pulled draws, so it was easy to see all the ways this match could go wrong with so many key players out.

According to Erceg, who wore the captain’s armband with Howell out injured, the players knew this and came out ready to fight. “I said to them before we went out, ‘Our season is on the line. How many games do you want to play? It’s up to us.’ They came out and they showed up.”

As a result of this win, Racing at least temporarily goes up to a playoff berth in sixth place — the first time they’ve ever achieved a playoff position this late in the season. Unfortunately, there are no situations in which they won’t fall to seventh on Sunday, though, with OL Reign playing the Orlando Pride. OL Reign goes into Sunday directly below Racing, equal to them in points with 24, with Racing only ahead via goal differential. Orlando is in ninth with 22 points. So no matter what happens, one team will go ahead. A draw or win will put OL Reign ahead and an OL Reign loss will put Orlando ahead.

With standings so close, the players aren’t sweating the fact their flirtation with playoffs will be brief this week. The fact that they proved they can get points off the top teams is what matters.

“Oh, that’s only temporary,” said Erceg of their current playoff position. “There are games tomorrow. It’s so close. You can’t think you’re in until the last game of the season. I think if you start counting your chickens too early it’s not gonna go your way. It’s way too close.”

.@wangshuang7 @abbyerceg pic.twitter.com/6LXNdPO0fu

— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) September 3, 2023

By the NumbersThis was arguably Racing’s most dominant performance all season and, once again, the fact they managed this without four major players is stunning.

By the end of the first half, Racing had a jaw-dropping 18 shots with four on target. Their xG in just the first 45 was 1.35 which is higher than they managed in their entire match against Angel City. Conversely, by the end of the first half, Portland only had seven shots with two on target — and yet Portland was the team with the goal.

By the end of full time, Racing had 1.94 in xG with 26 shots and 9 on goal. This isn’t their highest xG of the season, but it’s close. Portland, in comparison, had 15 shots and four on target with an xG of 1.14.

Portland had a bit of an edge on possession with 54%. Defensively, however, the teams were surprisingly even. Both teams won essentially 50% of the duels, each won eight tackles, and each had 10 interceptions. These are good numbers for Racing considering Jaelin Howell and Savannah DeMelo were out.

As far as player standouts, Ary Borges had herself a game with the most touches of any player on either team (70), the most passes (50) and the most accurate passes (38) for Racing. She had the most duels of any player on either team (11) and won the most (8), too. And she also had the most tackles (4) of anyone on Racing and the most interceptions (3) of any player.

Offensively, Thembi Kgatlana was also a standout. She had eight shots with three on target. She also had double the touches inside the opposition’s box (12) than any other player on either team. She also had the most dribbles of any player.

Racing Louisville has now won 9 points from losing positions, more than any other team.

In a final cool, point, Racing had players from different global federations score and assist in every goal. Wang Shuang from the Asian Football Federation assisted Abby Erceg from the Oceania Football Federation and Rebecca Holloway from UEFA assisted Thembi Kgatlana from the Confederation of African Football. A lot has been made of how global Racing Louisville is and this game absolutely demonstrated that.

Checks watch

It's Thembi time @Kgatlanathe1st x #RacingLou pic.twitter.com/d0Rx0AJmCa

— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) September 3, 2023

Key TakeawaysHistoric TerritoryHistorically, this is the most points Racing has ever had. This is also the fastest they’ve ever gotten to five wins. In fact, Racing has never won more than five games in a season so they’re in great shape moving forward. In 2021, they ended the season with 22 points in 24 games with a 5-12-7 record. In 2022, they ended the season with 23 points and a 5-9-8 record in 22 games. With four games left to play in 2023, Racing has 24 points and a 5-4-9 record across 18 games.

If San Diego wins today, they’ll move into first place but Racing will only be six points out of first place. If San Diego loses, the Thorns will remain in first and Racing will still only be six points out from first. That’s a remarkably good position to be in.

For the first two years, Racing’s poor performance in light of being an expansion team with extensive player and coaching turnover was more forgivable. In this third year, however, the time for those concessions has run out. So the fact that Racing is finally showing that they can be a dominant team that can beat the best in the league and they’re finally getting the points that show that, is exactly what fans need to see.

As bright as these changes are, however, there are still some issues that still can’t be ignored.

Can’t Quite Find the FinishIt’s hard to be critical in a game as huge as this one, but the fact of the matter is, this game could have easily been 5-1 in Racing’s favor. Especially in the early first half of the match, they had a plethora of chances that pinged off the crossbar or were just flat out missed. The forwards on Racing need to be more clinical if this team is going to continue to advance. A lack of finishing is the number one thing that has been holding this team back and even in this game it was a problem.

Luckily for Racing, their defense has been strong enough to earn them points even when the finishing isn’t there, but that’s not good enough. Those nine draws from earlier in the season are stinging a bit more as Racing remains on the cusp of playoffs without staying over the line. Just one win out of those nine draws — three of which Racing surrendered after going up by two goals — would have given them a strong chance to go into next week solidly in sixth. If they’d won all three of the draws where they surrendered their leads, they’d have ended Saturday in first place with 30 points. Yes, that’s right, first place.

Of course, giving up the leads isn’t totally an offensive problem but the bottom line is there have been plenty of games where Racing had more than enough chances to put games away and didn’t and that is continuing to haunt them. But if they’ve truly found their footing, maybe there’s still time to learn from their mistakes and continue to gain ground in the playoff race.

Looking AheadWhile most of the league goes into a two-week break, Racing is one of four teams to advance to the Challenge Cup semifinals. On Wednesday, they take on OL Reign in Seattle for a chance to fight for their first-ever league hardware. The fact Racing has made it to the semis is a big deal for a team that’s never made league knockout games before and OL Reign will be a tough opponent.

In their two regular season matchups this year, OL Reign and Racing have played to two 2-2 draws and, in both games, OL Reign scored late goals to equalize and kill Racing’s lead. If there is ever a time to prove that they’ve learned from past mistakes and can hold onto wins it’s this match. In some ways, this semifinal is a chance for Racing to put some of these early season demons to rest and prove, as Saturday’s Thorns game did, that they’re capable of taking on and winning against any team in the league.

In better news for Racing, they’re certain to have DeMelo back. It’s hopeful that Howell, Nadim, and Baggett will also be available as well. Pickett seems a bit more uncertain, but just having the midfield back to the typical starters will be a huge boon for the team.

If Racing wins in Seattle, they will quickly advance to play either Kansas City in Kansas City or the Courage in North Carolina on Saturday. The team has made it clear that this year just making playoffs isn’t enough — they’re here to win. If they can show the same heart, grit, and belief in themselves that they did on Saturday, they will have a very good chance at bringing home their first hardware by this time next week.

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Note: Apologies for being out of commission for the past few weeks. Due to vacation and general life complications, I

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Racing Louisville came back from behind to score two unanswered to win 2-1 against the Kansas City Current on Friday

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Racing Lousiville’s woes against OL Reign continued on Saturday night when they squandered a two-goal advantage in the final ten

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Racing Louisville fell 1-0 to the North Carolina Courage on Saturday night in a match heavy on defense and physicality.

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So Much Confidence Racing Louisville continued their excellent run of form on Sunday afternoon when they shut out NJ/NY Gotham

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Racing Louisville continued their Challenge Cup winning streak when they topped the Houston Dash 3-0 Wednesday. As a result of

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Racing Louisville and the San Diego Wave battled to a nil-nil stalemate on Friday. For Racing, at least, this game

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In one of their grittiest performances to date, Racing Louisville scrapped out a point in a 1-1 draw against the Washington Spirit on Saturday night.

After the match, head coach Kim Björkegren was emphatic with his praise saying, “It was amazing. I’m so happy to work with this group of people. The energy they have, they never give up. When we needed to change, play 4-4-1 in the end, they did it. They kept fighting. They worked hard together. One point away in Washington is not bad – I’m extremely proud of them.”

After going down a goal in only the third minute, Louisville was kept on the back foot through much of the first half. They were able to play their way into the match, however, after the 20th minute or so and kept things level going into the second half. Only minutes into the second half, Ary Borges was fouled in the box and Racing was awarded a penalty. Savannah DeMelo calmly converted it to find the equalizer.

Come for the goal.
Stay for the coronation. @Savannah_DeMelo x #RacingLou pic.twitter.com/YeKlYEFyfQ

— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) June 4, 2023

Everything stayed even until the 76th minute when newly subbed in center-back Elli Pikkujämsä took down Trinity Rodman just in front of the box and was given a straight red. Down to only 10 players, Racing defended with everything they had. A few defensive subs helped them bunker down further and a stoppage time goal line save by Carson Pickett ultimately earned Racing a hard-fought point on the road.

“We’ve obviously happy with the draw,” said defender Abby Erceg after the match. “One point against one of the top teams with 10 men for 20 minutes – we’ll take that.”

In particular, Erceg said she was “really, really proud” of the team’s ability to hold on to the draw for 20 minutes while down a man – especially coming at the end of the three-game week.

“It’s tough. It’s a really tough situation to be in and I think the girls handled it really well.”

Racing has only lost once in their last four games in the regular season. Across all competition, they’ve lost once in their last six games. While they’re still having trouble getting all three points from teams above them in the standings, the fact they were able to get a point off of the Spirit who are (as of Sunday morning) third in the standings and only a few points out of first place.

Still, Racing has not been able to make any progress up the table and remain in eighth place. If Angel City beats Chicago on Monday, they might even drop down to ninth. With the top teams continuing to pull away, making progress up the table will continue to be hard. The best Racing can do next week is move up one spot and that depends on getting a result against a top team – the San Diego Wave – and the North Carolina Courage losing to the struggling Chicago Red Stars.

Still, a hard-earned draw in a gutsy game is worth more than its points in terms of strengthening the team’s resolve and mentality. When asked if he was satisfied with the draw, Björkegren responded, “I am, I have to say…you need to win games to get into the playoffs but sometimes you need to take a step back and say, hey, this was a tough game…and one point in a game like this is not bad.”

Abby Erceg holds of the Spirit’s Ashley Sanchez late in the match / Image courtesy USA Today SportsBy the NumbersLouisville has scored in each of their last four games in regular season play, scoring seven goals in that run. This ties Racing’s longest scoring run from 12th June 2022 to 9th July 2022.

In five games when Racing has conceded first this season, they’ve lost three and drawn two. Interestingly, both draws are against the Washington Spirit. Also, interestingly, there was a red card in the last meeting between these teams as well this April when the Spirit’s Paige Metayer earned two yellows. This wasn’t a straight red, obviously, and also came in stoppage time so it was nearly as impactful as Pikkujämsä’s was for Racing on Saturday. Metayer was, however, the player who fouled Borges to earn the penalty, so she’s had some poor luck against Racing.

Although Racing held the majority of possession in the first half (54%) possession ended up mostly even with the Spirit slightly topping them overall (52%). This is in large part due to Racing’s bunkering down in the second half after going down to 10 players. Passing accuracy was also almost equal across both teams with Racing getting close to 78% and the Spirit close to 77%.

The Spirit did kill them in final third entries with 63 to Racing’s 36, but most of these from the Spirit came in the second half as the result, in part, of Racing going down a player and moving more into pure defense.

xG Race Plot for @WashSpirit v. @RacingLouFC! #SpiritRules #RacingLou #WASvLOU #NWSL pic.twitter.com/xFPU0Jf9HQ

— Arielle Dror (@arielle_dror) June 4, 2023

Unsurprisingly, Washington topped Racing in xG with the Spirit generating 2.59 and Racing generating 1.33. It’s worth noting that 0.788 of Racing’s xG was generated by the penalty converted by DeMelo so they only generated 0.542 in the run of play. After generating over 2 xG in their last several games, including last week’s loss against the North Carolina Courage.

The Spirit vastly outshot Racing with 21 to 11 shots, but neither team was particularly accurate with the Spirit only getting five shots on target with Racing getting three. Clearly, Racing’s finishing woes are not yet behind him. Luckily for them, the Spirit also had serious issues finishing this game as well and part of that had to do with the mental battle on the field as much as the physical one.

Key TakeawaysWinning the Mental BattleEven though both teams ended up splitting the points, it’s not a stretch to say that Racing won the mental battle in this match. While they might not have generated the goals they wanted, they played their way back into the game and then stayed calm and collected to eke out a draw.

Case in point, Erceg calmly kept both Sanchez back during late runs down the left flank and made some key clearances. Lauren Milliet put in a gutsy showing against Trinity Rodman and neutralized her through much of the second half. Late in stoppage time, keeper Katie Lund moved to collect a ball from the air and missed and the tie was preserved by a goal-line clearance from Carson Pickett. Pickett was able to clear because both she and Rebecca Holloway immediately moved to cover the goal after Lund stepped out and ultimately saved the game for Racing. And then Kgatlana earned a yellow for a professional foul to keep Ashely Hatch from breaking away and creating a dangerous opportunity.

Even after going down to 10 players and shifting to a defensive formation Racing kept trying to attack. They were careful not to put risky numbers forward, but still made attempts. Case in point, Thembi Kgatlana made a central run and drew a foul immediately to the right of the D of the penalty box. DeMelo took the set piece and tried to slip the ball through the wall instead of going over it and that didn’t ultimately work, but it’s still impressive they were able to create a very dangerous chance down a player and in late stoppage time.

Ultimately, this draw is a very good example of Racing showing that they’re learning how to preserve results against top teams. They got a point by playing intelligently and fighting as a collective. Racing was determined not to concede a goal and the Spirit ultimately couldn’t figure out how to break them down or keep them fully on their back foot because Racing ultimately was more cohesive, more determined to get a result, and the grittier team. And this is even more impressive when you remember Racing was at the tail end of a three-game week that involved two consecutive away games and the Spirit were fully rested.

“There was a lot of heart in what we were doing,” said Erceg. “People were just fighting left, right, and center for everything. You could see clearances off the line, people going into tackles, bloody noses. People are giving life and limb to defend. I think it’s new for this team, that mindset that, ‘We are not going to give up a goal. We are not going to lose a point here. We’re going to come away with a point even with 10. Really, really proud of the girls.”

Seeing RedDespite Racing’s gutsy performance, the number one thing that will probably be remembered from this match is the fact that Elli Pikkujämsä got a red card only one minute and 19 seconds after coming into the match. This has now set the record for the shortest time for receiving a red card and probably the shortest time a player has ever appeared in a match.

It’s always dangerous to substitute your center-backs, especially in a fast-paced match against some of the quickest, most dangerous attackers in the entire league. Ultimately, Björkegren said it was a tactical decision. Once they saw that the Spirit was relying more on long ball more frequently, they decided to sub in Pikkujämsä who is better in the air and better with long ball distribution herself. They had hoped she would be able to bypass much of the Spirit’s midfield and send balls in to Kgatlana and score on the Spirit similarly to how Rodman scored on them earlier.

Björkegren called the change a “bad decision on me,” but it’s really hard to truly see it as a bad decision. After all, as bad as getting a red card is, it almost certainly stopped Rodman from scoring and preserved the game. If Racing had dropped the tie, it obviously wouldn’t be seen as a positive, but Racing did keep the draw and earn a point and it probably wouldn’t have happened without Pikkujämsä ‘s sacrifice.

It’s also important to note that this was a red for the last defender denying a direct clear goal-scoring opportunity. Although both players went down it wasn’t a reckless or dangerous tackle and no one was injured. If that had been the case, there’s no question this red would be vastly less palatable.

Lauren Milliet on the ball / Image courtesy USA Today SportsSmall, but MightyWhile Savannah DeMelo deserved all the accolades being thrown her way and Ary Borges needs to be praised for drawing the penalty that ultimately equalized the game, it was really the whole team’s defense that was the star of this match. Even though they got beaten badly early in the match to let Rodman score, the way the team stayed organized defensively after switching into a 4-4-1 and didn’t let themselves get rolled or overwhelmed by the Spirit’s potent attack is by far the most impressive part of the game for Racing.

Carson Pickett, Abby Erceg, and Jaelin Howell all had very strong games, but it was Lauren Milliet who stood out for holding back one of the NWSL’s best attackers for the second straight regular season game. Last week it was Kerolin from North Carolina and this week it was Trinity Rodman from the Spirit. She has developed the ability to run players off the ball very effectively or cut off passing lanes to force them to pass back and/or retreat.

This match is just another example of how Milliet has grown as a defender after spending most of her career as a midfielder and learned how not to get beaten in transition the way she and other players were earlier in the season. All in all, she earned high praise from Erceg who had played with her years ago when they were both at North Carolina, and said she could see just how much Milliet has grown as a player in those intervening years.

“I thought she did really, really well,” said Erceg. “She doesn’t have the stature, but she makes up for it with her aggression and her attitude and her energy.”

Looking AheadNext up Racing returns home for another tough match against the San Diego Wave. As of Saturday night, the Wave sit in fourth place, but a win could be enough to propel them all the way up to number one.

Racing has had good results against the Wave overall. The Wave is the last team to never beat Racing in a match. In their previous two match-ups, Racing won the first game at home and then drew the Wave away 0-0 in San Diego.

Despite the fact it’ll be a hard match, Louisville players and staff remain confident about the club’s trajectory. Despite missing some big chances, Racing is still scoring regularly. They’re also finally earning wins and showing the grittiness they need against their toughest opponents. On the team’s new, confident mentality DeMelo said, “I think that’s the difference with this team now. We always are finding a way to get a point or three points. I think that’s how much you’ve seen us grow in the past year, the past couple of months and that’s what’s going to take us forward.”

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Picture PerfectRacing Louisville became the only team with a perfect record in the Challenge Cup on Wednesday when they topped the Red Stars 2-0 in Chicago.

“It’s really important for us,” said coach Kim Björkegren. “We really want to play in the semifinals [of the Challenge Cup]. We felt that two important games were the Kansas City home and the game away in Chicago, and now we are in a good situation. We have everything in our own hands.”

The game was won off a goal by Uchenna Kanu late in the first half for her first goal in the NWSL. After a couple of tough months marked by injury and adjustment to the new league, the goal was an immense relief to Kanu as well as her club who have been hoping she could bolster Racing’s goal-scoring abilities.

“I’m super excited and happy to have gotten my first goal,” Kanu said. “Good job from Jaelin [Howell] and Paige [Monaghan] for making the amazing run. The counterattack was really good. I was just in the right spot, got the pass from Paige and I was able to finish it. I was super excited, and I’m looking forward to more goals to come.”

An insurance goal was scored via a header from Parker Goins in the 71st minute off a set piece from Savannah DeMelo. This is the second time Goins has scored a late insurance goal against Chicago in a matter of a few weeks. The header was perfectly executed and arched high and into the corner outside the reach of Chicago’s keeper. It went so high, in fact, that Goins didn’t even think she scored initially.

“Honestly, I thought I hit it over (the bar), so I wasn’t paying attention and I turned around. I saw it went in, and I was just super excited.”

Racing has never won two matches in the Challenge Cup – never mind consecutive matches. As a result of this match, Racing now sit solidly on top of the Central Division standings and, with six points, are only one point behind OL Reign who have played one more game than Racing.

Uchenna Kanu pushes past Chicago defenders / Image courtesy USA TodayBy the NumbersIn this match, Racing did a good job of holding onto the majority of possession (56% ). If the Red Stars tried to move the ball through the midfield, chances were it got taken away. The midfield and forwards did a particularly good job of pressing this game to win the ball back for Racing. As seen in the passing chart in the embedded tweet below, Chicago barely even got out of their side in the first half.

Pass Networks for #ChiStars and #RacingLou! #NWSL #ChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/Ln0rHLlwBu

— Arielle Dror (@arielle_dror) June 1, 2023

Ary Borges won all three of her tackles and also intercepted the ball three times. Paige Monaghan won both of her two tackles as well. Despite only being in for a single half, Thembi Kgatlana faced 15 total duels and won seven of them and, as a result, was the leader for both teams in both those stats. Kgatlana also blew everyone else on both teams out of the water with six out of 11 successful dribbles.

There’s no question that Racing continues to generate chances at a rate they’ve never before achieved. In this match, they generated 2.06 xG compared to Chicago’s 0.31. This is the fourth game in five that they’ve generated over 2 xG after only doing it twice in all of 2022.

They had 17 shots to Chicago’s seven and created two big chances to the Red Star’s zero. They more than doubled the Red Stars’ final third entries as well with 62 for Louisville compared to Chicago’s 29.

The issue comes when you see that Racing only had seven of those 17 shots on goal. After all those final third entries, 16 crosses, and four corners, Racing only managed to get seven shots on frame. Once again, Racing just isn’t finishing their chances.

Key TakeawaysStill Not FinishingRacing has now won four out of their last five matches. They just shut out the Chicago Red Stars for the second time this year. They have positive goal differentials in both the Challenge Cup and the regular season. It feels nitpicky to rag on them when they’re producing good results, but the bottom line is they should be doing even better.

Although the results between this game and Racing’s previous match against the North Carolina Courage are very different, the same problem persists in both: Racing must be clinical in their finishing. Racing has become quite adept at moving the ball forward through traffic. Whether it’s up the left flank from Abby Erceg to Carson Pickett to Savannah DeMelo to Paige Monaghan or if it’s through the middle from Jaelin Howell to any of the attackers or whether it’s on the right with Lauren Milliet connecting with Wang Shuang or sending in a cross, Racing is creating chances. They’re doing the work to get into dangerous areas, but they’re unable to finish and score goals.

Chicago vs. Racing Louisville xG Recap

The offensive struggles continue for Chicago as they register another season low xG. Racing did well to create chances and struggled a little to find the target, but ended up with all 3 points.

(: @AnalysisEvolved / @NWSL) pic.twitter.com/VJ62KAkI5U

— Field Of Vision (@Field0fVision) June 1, 2023

This is a problem that’s well-known to the team. After Wednesday night’s game, head coach Kim Björkegren said, “I think we can score more goals from our chances…we should have scored the second goal a little bit earlier, but it’s no reason to complain when you take three points away against Chicago.”

It’s not easy to complain, maybe, but it’s not something that should be overlooked either. This was a dominant, positive win that Racing should be proud of, but Chicago is having a historically bad season. They can take this win, but they need to temper it with the North Carolina loss. Racing arguably outplayed the Courage but couldn’t put the game away due to a lack of finishing. That win could have pushed them all the way up next to playoff contention, but instead, they found themselves relying on Angel City and Orlando losing to not drop several spots down the standings.

Still, it’s a strong positive that Racing is generating these chances at all. In past seasons, Racing would be utterly dominated in shots and shots on goal. This season, they’ve been equal to or stronger than their opponents regularly enough to feel that that old problem has been put to bed. So Racing fans should trust the process, but without clinical finishing, it’s going to be hard for Racing to continue to climb the standings.

Growing ChemistryFor goals to start coming, players need to have good chemistry. They need to time their runs well and understand what their teammates are doing. This has been a huge problem for Racing in past seasons and a lesser, but still persistent one this season. Balls will be sent in but Kanu or Kirsten Davis won’t have their timing down.

Luckily, that seems to be changing. After some rough missed moments earlier in the first half, Howell connected with Monaghan who sent a ball into the path of Kanu who had perfectly timed her run. After that, the finish was relatively easy for Kanu. From this point, Kanu’s confidence only grew and she had another very good chance in the second half that was saved by Chicago’s Alyssa Naeher. Throughout the second half, she connected with substitute Thembi Kgatlana and Alex Chidiac so well that Chicago struggled to find a solution for the trio.

Speaking of Kgatlana, she was a force to be reckoned with all game. As soon as she came on in the second half, she ran rampant over Chicago and broke through their defense and midfield time and time again. Her many shots were just a hair off target. Kgatlana was hungry for a goal and her energy did not dip for even a moment she was on the pitch. If this is the type of performance Racing fans can start to look forward to from Kgatlana, Racing may get a huge boost in the attack once she’s fully healthy.

Abby Erceg versus Chicago / Image courtesy Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY SportsGetting LooksIn addition to strong performances from Kgatlana and Kanu, several of Racing’s players used this game to make an impression.

Most notably, Parker Goins with her second professional goal off that perfect header. Racing has had trouble finishing, but Goins has scored in two of four appearances. Goins didn’t have many chances for development last season, but she seems to have made a big jump forward in 2023. She’s definitely a great piece to bring off the bench, so maybe she should be considered for longer looks in the future – especially as Racing continues to struggle with their finishing.

Meanwhile, Jaelin Howell continues to be an absolute menace as the holding midfielder. She is often overshadowed by the flashier Savannah DeMelo who is also having an incredible season, but Howell’s ability to win balls and command the midfield has been vital to Racing’s success all year. When she was subbed out at half-time, Elli Pikküjämsa did a perfectly fine job when she moved into the No. 6 role. And yet it was still obvious how much more Chicago was able to control the game without Howell on the pitch. Their possession went up significantly and they got forward much more easily. So while she might be more quietly successful, Howell has absolutely been a game changer for Racing.

It’s also abundantly clear that Abby Erceg is the player Björkegren wants on the field at all times. Erceg’s ability to command the defense has arguably been the single most impactful change to Racing. Teams are not getting the same number of shots off against Racing that they used to because the defense has been so consistently organized. She’s also fast enough and reads the game well enough to not get beaten in transition in the way Racing was so often last season. But even in games when she’s not seeing much action, as in Wednesday’s game, she’s still playing a critical leadership role that’s helping to keep Racing’s positive goal differential alive.

As always, Lauren Milliet remains the other player Björkegren always wants on the field and Milliet has had two excellent games in a row. First, against North Carolina, she was able to run Kerolin off the ball consistently without a problem. Against Chicago, she was once again able to use her positioning to get between opponents and the ball to cut off runs, draw fouls, and stop attackers in their tracks. If she had issues last season and earlier this year about being too offensively minded and therefore exposing the right flank to attacks, she’s improved greatly as the season has progressed. She’s still getting forward and sending in crosses that lead to goals, as she did against the Courage, but she’s also been able to get back in time to stymie opponents during the transition which has saved Racing quite a few times.

Finally, Paige Monaghan had a stellar night. She’s been excellent in the build-up along the flank and her chemistry with Carson Pickett and Savannah DeMelo has been one of the brightest spots of Racing’s season. It was great to see that she was just as dynamic without Pickett and DeMelo starting. She’s been phenomenal in setting up plays all season and has only gotten better as time moves on – as seen through the assist she earned off Kanu’s goal. If she can fine-tune her finish, she has the potential to be one of the most important tools in Racing’s arsenal.

Paige Monaghan / Image courtesy Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY SportsLooking AheadNow that Racing has gotten a positive mid-week result to help wash the taste of the frustrating loss to the Courage out of their mouths, they next head east to take on the Washington Spirit for the final time this regular season.

Last time they met, the Spirit charged ahead by two goals in the first half only to have Racing equalize in the second thanks to goals from Abby Erceg and Ary Borges. This means that the Spirit and Racing are fairly evenly matched. Racing can win this game, but it will be a vastly tougher match than the one against Chicago. Racing can’t afford to let Ashley Hatch split their center-backs the way she did last time. And with the Spirit tied in points for second place – although they technically sit in fifth place – that’ll be a tough order.

Lucky for Racing, they’re healthier than the last time they played the Spirit. Both Julia Lester and Pikküjämsa are healthy so Racing will have their choice to pair with Erceg. Kgatlana is getting more and more minutes each game and will definitely give the Spirit’s backline a workout the whole time she’s on the pitch. And, hopefully, Kanu’s renewed confidence will carry over to this next match, as well. Additionally, critical players like DeMelo, Pickett, and Howell are mostly rested so they should be in good shape to go a full 90 minutes if necessary. Hopefully, this will be enough to bump them over Spirit who are in a bit of a cool period.

After the Chicago match, Goins said the win against the Red Stars was just the boost Racing needs going into this next match. “We’ve been doing really well and had the setback against North Carolina, but all the girls have been showing up…Washington’s going to be a good test and I think we’re up to it.”

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Despite creating significantly more chances and scoring opportunities, Racing Louisville fell 2-1 to the North Carolina Courage on Saturday night. This loss ended two important streaks for Racing. First, their at-home unbeaten which went back to the end of last season. It also ended their three-game consecutive win streak across all competition.

“We can’t hang our heads,” said captain Jaelin Howell. “Obviously we were on a high coming in on a three-game win streak. That was huge for us. That was huge for the club. But like I’ve said, even when we were winning, it’s still early in the season. It’s still early now. It’s important we bounce back. … I’m confident we’re going to do that.”

As a result of this match, Racing will stay in 8th place in the standings for another week with their overall 2-3-4 record and 10 points. Although the Orlando Pride share 10 points with Racing, Racing’s positive goal differential is keeping them ahead. If Angel City and the Orlando Pride had not also lost, Racing would have possibly dropped to 10th, so they’re lucky to stay as high as they are.

While Howell is correct, that it’s still fairly early in the season, Racing will have to start getting points if they’re going to stay in the running for a playoff berth. The top teams are starting to pull away from the lower half of the table and, as a result, the best Racing can do next week is move up one spot to seventh and that’s dependent on Racing winning and Houston either losing or drawing. If they don’t win, they could drop as far down as 10th place, so games are increasingly becoming must-wins.

All in all, this wasn’t a bad match from Racing, however. They came out slightly tepid and didn’t press well initially, but pulled it together and, defensively, shut out North Carolina in the first half. The first goal was deeply unlucky for Louisville because it was a header scored from an absurdly tight angle. The second was simply getting beat in transition which isn’t good, but is the risk that comes with the high-pressing style they play.

The fact Racing was able to pull back a late goal off a header by Jordan Baggett and create some decent threats to tie it was positive. This is the first loss this season that they didn’t get shut out. Still, North Carolina was the team directly above them in the standings. If they’re going to make the playoffs, they need to beat the teams that sit above them as well as just below them. Especially when, as in this match, they created more than enough chances to do so.

By the NumbersRacing has not had the best history against the North Carolina Courage, to put it lightly. In fact, Racing has never won or drawn them, they’ve only lost to the Courage and suffered through two games when the Courage scored five goals on them as well. As frustrating as it was to lose to them again, Racing statistically put together the best performance they’ve ever had against North Carolina on Saturday.

As illustrated in the chart below that shows goals scored and xG generated in every Louisville v. North Carolina match-up ever, Racing has never had a higher xG than the Courage until Saturday’s match. They’ve also never held the Courage to less than 1 xG until Saturday’s match, so this was a noticeable improvement.

Racing Louisville versus North Carolina goals and xG in every meeting / Image courtesy of the authorThroughout the entirety of the match, in fact, Racing created more chances. Racing had three big chances to the Courage’s zero. They had more shots (LOU: 17; NCC: 13) and shots on goal (LOU: 6; NCC: 5). They had significantly more final third entries (LOU: 64; NCC: 48) and won possession in the final third 12 times to North Carolina’s nine.

So statistically, Racing should have won this match. Even with the Courage holding more possession (LOU: 44%; NCC: 56%), Racing beat them in transition enough or won the ball in dangerous areas enough to have scored at least a goal. This really underscores Racing’s biggest problem: They’re missing too many chances.

Pass Networks for #RacingLou and #CourageCountry! #NWSL pic.twitter.com/p7PGURiuO0

— Arielle Dror (@arielle_dror) May 28, 2023

Key TakeawaysMissed ChancesHalfway through the first half of Saturday’s game, Paige Monaghan stood right at the corner of the six-yard box with an open goal in front of her and the ball at her feet. Instead of scoring, she rushed and mis-hit and sent it into the side netting. If Racing had scored here, there is no question the trajectory of the game would have changed. It might not have been a win, but if everything else stayed exactly the same, it would have been Racing’s first draw against the Courage. If it gave Racing enough momentum, it could have been their first win versus North Carolina.

This isn’t to pick on Monaghan at all. It’s just that in a game filled with missed chances, this was the most heartbreaking. Kirsten Davis and Wang Shuang also missed close shots from the top of the six-yard box in the first half and Ary Borges missed one from inside the goal area halfway through the second half. All these are to show that Racing had more than enough opportunities to win this game. They just couldn’t finish.

What Racing is missing − and has frankly missed for most of its history − is a truly clinical No. 9. When Nadia Nadim has been healthy, she’s served that role quite well, but the problem is that she hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Between Uchenna Kanu, Wang Shuang, Monaghan, and Davis, however, this should not be as big a problem as it is. All these players − and the whole team, really − are creating chances, but they have not been able to finish them regularly enough for Racing to be dominant. Defensively, they’re unquestionably better. The midfield is unquestionably better. Katie Lund remains as reliable as ever in goal. On the forward line, Racing is getting enough crosses out and they’re sending running into the box better than they ever have. They just cannot finish clinically.

Of course, the fact they’re finally getting shots off consistently is a great trend compared to last year and the year before. But Racing is getting far too many shots on frame and creating far too many chances not to be getting more goals. As mentioned before, the top teams are starting to break away from the bottom teams in the standings. If Racing doesn’t start scoring more goals, all the positive trends and growth in the world won’t outweigh the fact that Racing will be missing out on wins that they are doing enough work to deserve.

Savannah DeMelo versus the Courage’s Denise O’Sullivan / Image courtesy USA Today-EM Dash PhotosBetter AdjustmentsOne of the bigger positives of the night for Racing is the fact that they adjusted well to the game as it played out. In previous matches, one of Racing’s biggest issues is that they could not adjust to games when they went off-script. We saw this in both the Angel City and OL Reign matches where Racing went up two and ended up settling for draws.

In their recent three-game winning streak, Racing essentially dominated all the matches and the other team could barely get a foothold. Even in the Challenge Cup match against Kansas City, the 3-2 looks closer than the match actually was.

On Saturday, Howell said that Racing got a bit of a slow start because North Carolina came out tactically in a way they didn’t anticipate. Even though the Courage dominated possession in that half, Racing had far better chances and clearly figured out how to adjust to what North Carolina was throwing at them. Even in the second half, neither goal scored against them was really the fault of North Carolina outplaying Racing. The first goal was at an absurd angle and the second was in transition, which is the great risk of employing the high press. The high press is high risk and high reward. Kerolin’s goal was the risk, but as discussed above Racing had more than enough chances to be rewarded, but just couldn’t finish them.

Even so, seeing Racing figure out how to adjust on the fly to a historically strong team is a good sign. It shows that they are learning together and feeling more confident. Now how much they’ve learned will be put to the test when they head off on a two-game away stint in the coming week.

Lauren Milliet moves past the Courage’s Kerolin / Image courtesy USA Today-EM Dash PhotosReunionsThere was a lot of talk ahead of this match about what it would mean for Abby Erceg and Carson Pickett to face off against their former team and for Emily Fox to return to Louisville. Was a reinvigorated Fox going to actually score on Louisville? Or would Pickett who has been taking an increasing number of shots herself score on North Carolina? Would Erceg get a set-piece header past the defenders she once stood next to?

As exciting as these storylines may have been, they ultimately amounted to not much more than a fairly typical game for all three players. Pickett had a particularly good game with five interceptions and three clearances and Erceg had three interceptions herself. Fox only had one interception, but won two out of her three tackles. Fox and Pickett also took a shot each, but neither was particularly dangerous.

Part of the reason the game was less dramatic for Erceg and Pickett is that North Carolina controlled most of the possession and, as a result, smartly avoided going down Racing’s left flank which features Pickett and Erceg, and instead went down their own left flank (Racing’s right) which featured Kerolin and Emily Fox on their side. As a result, it was Lauren Milliet who really had a standout game. She stymied Kerolin constantly and won four of her six duels. She also earned an assist by sending in the cross on which Jordan Baggett scored. Although she was only there a short time, Milliet is also a former North Carolina product herself having been drafted there in 2019, so maybe there was a hint of revenge from a former player in an unexpected area after all.

Looking AheadRacing has another midweek Challenge Cup match coming up on Wednesday. This time, they take on the Chicago Red Stars in Chicago.

When these two teams met previously − a mere three weeks ago in their first regular season meet-up of the year − Racing earned their first win in a 3-0 thumping of the Red Stars. Since then, the Red Stars took a hard 4-0 loss against Portland where they gave up three goals in quick succession in the first half and the fourth in the early minutes of the second half. After that, they seemed to have figured defense out and held the Thorns off.

Most recently, they’ve ended their three-game losing streak to win 1-0 against Orlando. To understand how that match went, look at the below shot chart from NWSL Field of Vision on Twitter.

Chicago vs. Orlando xG Recap

This was the largest xG difference in a match this season. Chicago produced the 2nd lowest xG in a match this season and still came out on top with all 3 points largely due to Alyssa Naeher's 6 saves.

(: @AnalysisEvolved / @NWSL) pic.twitter.com/RYUisnkuxK

— Field Of Vision (@Field0fVision) May 28, 2023

Chicago had two shots, one on goal, and that was enough to win it for them. On the other side, they bunkered down and held off a barrage of shots from Orlando, in part, due to a stellar performance from Alyssa Naeher in goal, but also because Orlando wasn’t particularly accurate and only got six out of 19 shots on target. This should be a big warning flag to Racing that they need to get their shots on target and be clinical in their finishing if they’re going to get a win against Chicago and get a lead in the Challenge Cup.

After playing Chicago on Wednesday, Racing travels to take on the fifth-place Washington Spirit in Washington, D.C. This will not be an easy game by any means. The Spirit has four wins and only one loss on the season. Earlier, Racing was one of their four draws when they came back from being down 0-2 to tie the Spirit in the second half.

Thus far the Spirit has conceded only eight goals which is three less than Racing. Interestingly, they’ve scored 12 goals which is equal to the number Racing has scored. So, as simple as it sounds, Racing will have to be defensively solid to keep players like Ashley Hatch and Trinity Rodman from beating them in transition, because if Racing is struggling to finish clinically, the best thing they can do is, obviously, fight to shut the Spirit out.

The good news for Racing is they’ve historically done their best in a dense schedule. They went on a three-game winning streak last time they played three games in quick succession. Last May, Racing also had a three-game unbeaten streak when they earned their first-even consecutive wins (plus a draw) in the course of nine days. If Racing can keep showing that they’ve learned how to adjust on the fly and continue to maintain confidence in light of a frustrating loss, they may have the chance to take the lead in the central division in the Challenge Cup and also make some critically needed progress up the standings in the

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“We Know How Good This Team Can Be”It was a big night for Racing Louisville on Saturday when they earned a 2-0 victory on the road against Kansas City. Not only was this a historic third consecutive win for the young club across all competition, thanks to an odd schedule quirk, it was also the second straight victory over the Current in only four days. In the three games Racing has played in only eight days, they’ve scored eight goals, earned nine points, and moved from near the bottom of the table up to just out of playoff contention in seventh place.

In other words, purp is looking pretty darn big right about now.

“We’re thrilled,” said midfielder and captain Jaelin Howell of the team’s recent performance. “We’re going to continue to build and continue to look at the areas we can get better because we’re not done with this. We know it’s exciting, but we know how good this team can be. This is just the beginning. This was huge for our confidence.”

Racing got on the board early when Savannah DeMelo made a gutsy run to capitalize on a poor back pass to Kansas City keeper Cassie Miller. DeMelo got her body in front of Miller’s kick to send the ball ricocheting off her leg and into the back of the goal. Fifteen minutes later, a beautiful buildup from the back featuring picture-perfect passing from Wang Shuang to DeMelo to Kirsten Davis found the second goal of the night when Davis broke past Kansas City’s back line and beat Miller one-on-one.

That was the end of the goals from the night, but it wasn’t the end of the action. Kansas City continued their trend this season of coming out even harder in the second half and this game was no different. Three of Katie Lund’s six saves and two blocks were required in the final 15 minutes of the match. Lund once again showed off her immense skill when she not only blocked a quick shot from only about eight yards away but sent it out of danger instead of to the feet of one of the many attackers around her.

Racing has gone up by two goals in the first half twice this season only to settle for the draw in the second. The fact they were able to hold off a team that came at them harder in the second half and not just get the win, but also get a clean sheet is a major achievement for this team. It’s almost certainly a bigger, more important achievement than earning the winning streak in terms of the team’s mentality. Players have begged fans for patience and assured them they were close for a long time now. There’s only so long players and fans can believe that without the team actually getting results, so the fact they’re getting results and holding onto them is going to be critical in bolstering confidence moving forward.

All in all, this was a gutsy, strong performance from a Racing team that’s on a roll. If Racing coach Kim Björkegren and company bet that winning the early match-up would give them the momentum to come out and grab the second, they have certainly been proven to have been right. This is a team playing with confidence and assurance. It wasn’t their best performance, but it had enough confidence and determination that it not only carried them through, but it also kept a clean sheet as well.

“Overall, a great team performance and team spirit,” said coach Björkegren. It’s difficult to play three games in eight days, but they have worked so hard together and I’m so proud of the group.”

First three consecutive wins in club history for #RacingLou. pic.twitter.com/Kp2DFWTxuP

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 21, 2023

By the NumbersThis game was quite different from the match played against Kansas City earlier in the week. It’s interesting that Racing dominated Wednesday’s match statistically, but eked out a 3-2 win when Saturday’s game was much closer – with the Current on top in many key categories – and yet Racing won 2-0.

On Saturday, Racing produced slightly less xG than Kansas City (KC: 1.77 ; LOU:1.55 ), had fewer shots (KC: 18; LOU:15 ), and shots on goal, (KC: 6; LOU: 4 ). The Current also created three big chances to Racing’s one.

Racing did hold the tiniest edge in possession with just over 51%. And while Kansas City had a slightly better passing accuracy overall (75% to Racing’s 74%), Racing had better passing accuracy in the final third (67% to KC’s 58%).

Defensively, Kansas City had to make 22 clearances to Racing’s 18. Racing’s keeper Katie Lund had to make six saves to counterpart Cassie Miller’s two.

Kansas City came back hard in the second half, as they always seem to do, and 11 of their 18 shots in the final 45 minutes along with five of their six on target. They earned 1.24 of their xG – essentially two-thirds of their game total – in the second half as a result. The only way Racing was able to walk away with this result is because they put out a truly gritty performance both offensively, and, in particular, defensively as the entire team came together to play both sides of the ball and hold their lead.

Katie Lund makes a save / Image courtesy USA Today SportsKey Takeaways“Pure Grit and Effort”One thing Racing has done well this season is score pretty goals. Look at Ary Borges’ equalizer against the Spirit earlier in the year. DeMelo’s showstopper using the outside of her right foot last Wednesday is an even better example. The sheer audacity of that goal was enough to earn whole articles dedicated to singing its praise.

As lovely as these goals have been, what Racing hasn’t done enough of is earn rough and tumble “I’m getting this no matter what” shots. Too often attackers dance around the box or take too many touches waiting for the perfect opportunity instead of just going for it, come what may.

That changed last night with DeMelo’s first goal.

A Kansas City defender made a poor back pass and, after the match, DeMelo said she heard Jaelin Howell and Carson Pickett shouting at her to press hard and run for it, so she did. She ran hard at the keeper who failed to move forward fast enough to beat DeMelo and DeMelo earned a goal that absolutely deflated Kansas City. After all, it’s one thing to have another team score a banger that you had no chance of stopping and it’s another to have them capitalize directly off a mistake you made.

After the match, Howell called DeMelo’s goal “pure grit and effort” and she was right. They turned a fairly even matchup into a win by going hard at their opponents and it got them a result. This is exactly the energy they’ll need when they go against tougher opponents in the future. When all other things are even – and sometimes even when you’re outmatched – your mentality and energy can be the difference maker. If Racing has finally unlocked this lesson, it might give them the edge they need to actually climb up the standing and hold onto a playoff berth.

Racing’s two goal scorers / Image courtesy Denny Medley-USA TODAY SportsBrickwallsOf course, it wasn’t only the offense that played a gutsy game. As important as both goals were, it’s Racing’s defense that kept them in the game and earned the clean sheet.

As the statistics show, the Current was significantly more dangerous in the second half, but Racing was more than up for the challenge. The well-organized defense combined with Lund’s phenomenal saves kept Kansas City off the board and gave Racing a very valuable leg up in goal differential. Racing now has a positive two-goal differential which is the first tiebreaker after points in team rankings. So with so many teams sitting only a point or two apart in the standings, that goal differential might be the difference-maker in getting a top-six spot or not in the standings.

After the match, Björkegren had particular praise for center-back Abby Erceg and how well she directed the backline all game. He highlighted her ability to tell her fellow center-back Julia Lester when to move over to help cover right-back Lauren Milliet and when to pull back and cover the goal as a key bit of game management that kept the clean sheet. There’s no question Erceg has been a massive boost to Racing this season. Center-back isn’t the flashiest position, but it’s a deeply critical one and it’s been a point of weakness for Racing their entire existence. The way Erceg has been able to anchor the backline has arguably been the biggest improvement to Racing all season. As hard as it was for Louisville fans to lose Emily Fox, there’s no question Racing is better for having Erceg and fellow defender Carson Pickett as the result of the trade.

Of course, Lund also deserves praise for her performance in goal. After a couple of rough matches earlier in the season, Lund seems totally back to her dynamic self. Her late saves – particularly the close-range shot from Vanessa DiBernardo in stoppage time – were critical for Racing and earned high praise from coach Björkegren, a former professional keeper himself.

“The save in the end was totally crazy. But that shows her potential and why she’s going to be a national team goalkeeper in the future.”

Outside of individual players, it should be noted just how well the whole team came back and defended collectively. Racing snapped back into a tight defensive formation quickly and didn’t let themselves be stretched much which gave Kansas City little room to maneuver in the final third. All lines pressed well to force turnovers and allow interceptions when Kansas City had possession as well.

This is a huge step forward from Racing’s performance against Portland a few weeks ago when the Thorns were able to flood the box and leave Racing’s defenders outnumbered or scrambling back too late to try and stop goals. Racing is playing both sides of the ball well which highlights the most important evolution Racing has had this season: They’re actually learning.

Abby Erceg takes on Debinha / Image courtesy Denny Medley-USA TODAY SportsActually LearningWhen teams aren’t performing well, there’s a lot of lip service paid to the idea of losses or tough draws being learning experiences. In the past, fans would be assured that the team really was getting something out of their tough strings of matches, but little would change on the field to show that was true.

That’s what’s so exciting about Racing’s most recent performances: They’re actually learning.

“The silver lining with going up two goals against L.A. and Seattle and drawing is that you learn from those games and the exciting part is we did learn from those games and it shows in games like this,” said Howell after the match. “We’re up 2-0 going into the half and we come out and know how to work together defensively and I think the most exciting part is just seeing the growth of this team.”

Lessons learned by this team include much of what was already discussed above. The lesson of grittiness and drive. The lesson of defending together as a unit. For Lund, learning how to stay in a game late despite not being called on to do much early on. The lesson of pressing as an entire team and not just putting on spotty pressure. The lesson of having a truly organized defensive back line. All these are areas where Racing suffered noticeably this season but has demonstrably pulled it together in these past few games.

Taken all at once, these different points have led to the even bigger lesson of how to hold onto a lead. As Howell mentioned, the silver lining of giving up leads for draws only exists if you truly learn from it and Racing has done just that. Before, Howell said that the team has “almost been scared to lose” when they’ve gone ahead. Being in the lead was an unfamiliar place for them and they didn’t know what to do. Thanks to veteran leadership and gained experience, the team has learned to come out playing just as hard in the second half to hold onto that lead and that mentality change has been the biggest difference maker.

In her post-match press conference, Howell said that she still thinks teams underestimate Racing. That’s not going to be the case for long, though – if it’s even still true. The next lesson Racing will have to learn is how to keep this energy up against tougher competition and opponents who view you as more of a threat than they ever have before. The good news for Racing is that this season they’ve proven to be fast learners and seem poised and ready to take that next step.

There’s Something About SavannahOf course, it would be unfair to close this article without mentioning just how sublime Savannah DeMelo has been in these past few matches. She’s scored five goals in eight games across all competition and she’s given no sign of stopping. When DeMelo’s on the field, she is the player to watch no question. Previously, that player used to be Debinha, but as amazing as Debinha is, when DeMelo is on the field, she outshines her.

What makes DeMelo so unique is her incredible combination of ball handling, precision scoring, and indefatigable work rate. She simply reads the game better than almost any player on the field and works harder, too.

For Howell, this is just how DeMelo has always been. “I’ve played with Sav since I was 16 and she’s always been like that. People are just catching on.”

And catching on is exactly what people are doing. The cries for DeMelo to be added to the World Cup roster grow louder and louder every single day. Teammate Erceg has also added her voice to the choir as of last night on Twitter. And after playing in four Olympics, four World Cups, and captaining teams that have won three NWSL championships, three NWSL shields, and a Challenge Cup, it’s safe to say Erceg is probably a very good judge of talent.

As proud of DeMelo’s performance as he may be, Björkegren was a little droller with his take on DeMelo potentially making the World Cup roster, saying only, “I’m worried about it because she deserves it,” with a wry smile.

Looking AheadRacing will be put to a challenging test next Saturday when they return to Lynn Family Stadium to face the North Carolina Courage.

This will be a loaded game for a couple of reasons. First, Racing has never beaten the Courage and the Courage have also handed Racing their worst losses ever.

This North Carolina team is very different from the one Racing has faced in the past, however, but that’s actually the second reason this game will be higher stakes than normal. In Racing’s biggest trade of the off-season, they sent Fox to North Carolina in exchange for Pickett and Erceg. While both Pickett and Erceg have signed extensions with Racing and seem more than happy to be in Louisville, there’s no question they’ll be itching to beat their former team. And it’s not a stretch to assume Fox will want to return to Lynn Family Stadium and earn points off her old team as well.

The Courage is definitely still a good team, but there are some questions about the team’s consistency. They have one more win than Racing in eight games, but also one more loss. As a result, they sit just above Racing in the standings in sixth place with 11 points – only a single point more than Louisville.

If Racing is going to show they have truly turned the corner and are a winning team, they need to beat the Courage. To truly have a shot at playoffs, Racing needs to start winning against other midtable teams that sit above them in the standings. They can’t just settle for draws or for only beating weaker teams like Chicago and Kansas City. Racing has the momentum of a winning streak and home-field advantage behind them. The Courage, meanwhile, is coming off a frustrating draw against Angel City where they statistically should have won, but couldn’t find the back of the net.

This lack of scoring is the Courage’s greatest weakness. They’ve scored fewer goals than Racing (NCC: 8; LOU: 11) and have vastly fewer shots on target (NCC: 28; LOU: 45). Both teams have conceded nine goals. So, by those statistics, it’s easy to assume that they’re defensively pretty similar, but Racing should have the offensive edge. The only game where the Courage scored more than one goal was in a wild 3-3 draw against the Portland Thorns. Other than that, they’ve scored a single goal or been shut out. Racing has either scored zero goals or a minimum of two per game and they’re on a streak of three multi-goal games in a row.

If Racing can keep this trend of scoring a minimum of two goals going, they will have a very good shot of beating the Courage. Their defense will have to be as strong as it was against Kansas City on Saturday to fend off players Kerolin and Taylor Lussi, but Racing should be up to the task after shutting out the likes of Cece Kizer and Debinha.

“I think it’s about resetting, recovering, and kind of forgetting about the wins and just focusing on North Carolina and just knowing that we need another win,” said DeMelo on the team’s next steps. “We just want to keep pushing forward.”

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“A Great Job on the Details”Racing was up to the challenge on Wednesday night when they topped the Kansas City Current 3-2 in Louisville’s first Challenge Cup match of the year.

This is the second game Racing has won in a single week by scoring three goals. The previous Friday, they blanked the Chicago Red Stars 3-0 for their first win of the regular season and now on Wednesday, they earned their first Challenge Cup win as well.

In both games, Racing played well as an entire unit and managed to clean up many of the mistakes that caused them to give up results earlier in the season and play more consistently. Racing generated 16 chances overall compared to Kansas City’s six.

“We’ve just been doing a great job on the details – finishing our opportunities, getting numbers in the box,” said midfielder Savannah DeMelo who scored her first brace on Wednesday. “It’s just been a full team effort and a full 90 minutes in both (wins).”

Despite the close scoreline, this was a match almost entirely dominated by Racing. Louisville did get off to an initially shaky start and let in an early goal in the 17th minute. After a goal from Racing’s Uchenna Kanu was called back in the 24th minute, they got one back in the very next play when Jordan Baggett intercepted keeper A.D. Franch’s kick out and sent a perfect pass into Savannah DeMelo who was waiting at the top of the box. DeMelo sent in an unbelievable shot with the outside of her right foot into the upper left corner that froze Franch and put Racing on the board. Just four minutes later, DeMelo struck again as she collected a poorly cleared ball off a cross from Kanu to give Racing two.

@Savannah_DeMelo @RacingLouFC is back level in minutes! pic.twitter.com/l3EXM01kEm

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 18, 2023

In the second half, Racing stayed mostly on the front foot even when Kansas City subbed in major attacking powers like Debinha, Cece Kizer, and Lo LaBonta. Even so, in the 86th minute, Ary Borges added a third goal for Racing only a couple of minutes after subbing in thanks to a great run by fellow substitute Thembi Kgatlana. Racing got a little too eager for a fourth, however, because they decided to take a regular corner instead of a defensive one a couple of minutes later which allowed Debinha to break free and score after going virtually one-on-one against Racing’s keeper Katie Lund. When they earned another corner in stoppage time, they didn’t make the same mistake and saw out the win 3-2.

This was Racing’s first-ever home win in the Challenge Cup and only their second win in tournament history. They previously beat the Current in April 2022 when they beat them 3-0 in Kansas City.

In an odd schedule quirk, Racing will be playing the Current again on Saturday in a regular season match in Kansas City.

By the NumbersRacing’s dominant performance was very evident statistically. Racing took more shots than they’ve taken all season – and possibly ever – with 20 compared to Kansas City’s eight. Racing did have only four shots on goal, however, and Kansas City had two. Racing also generated their most xG all season with 2.33. Kansas City comparatively only had 0.75. Ten of 16 players for Racing that saw the field generated xG this match versus Kansas City who only saw six players out of 15 generate xG.

Racing also held the most possession in this match with 55%. So unlike the Chicago match where they let Chicago hold possession but controlled the game off the ball, they actually held onto the ball against Kansas City and forced turnovers constantly.

Racing has also maintained its very high passing accuracy this year with 80% compared to the Current’s 72%. For a team that regularly had passing accuracy in the sixties the last two seasons, this is a very welcome statistical trend for Louisville.

Racing celebrates a goal / Image courtesy Jordan Prather-NWSL LCCRacing also dominated Kansas City’s output in stats like final third entries (LOU: 58; KC: 43), passes in the opposition’s half (LOU: 243; KC: 167), corners won (LOU: 11; KC: 5), dribbles (LOU: 24; KC: 6), and possession won in the final third (LOU: 13; KC: 5). Taken all together, these stats tell the story of a team (Racing) that was able to keep their opponent (Kansas City) on the back foot for most of the night which was exactly the case.

Kansas City has never beaten Racing in Louisville. All games have either been draws or wins making Kansas City one of the teams Racing has played the best against historically.

In individual player stats and milestones, DeMelo recorded her very first brace which is also the second brace in club history. The only previous brace was Nadia Nadim’s against the Washington Spirit last year. Jordan Baggett recorded her first assist in her first start and Kgatlana earned her second assist in just two matches and approximately 45 minutes across all competition. This was yet another game where Jaelin Howell had the most interceptions of any player on either team (5) and Satara Murray came in second across both teams with four.

Interestingly, Lund only made one save all match while opposing keeper Franch had zero.

Jaelin Howell celebrates DeMelo’s first goal / Image courtesy Jordan Prather-NWSL LCCKey TakeawaysIn it to win itThere is no question that Racing went into this match prioritizing a win. All midweek matches require a balancing of rotation to keep players fresh – especially with another match coming just three days later – but Racing put out enough big starters to show they were in it to win it.

Even though they did rotate defenders Zaneta Wyne and Satara Murray and midfielders Jordan Baggett and Alex Chidiac in for their first starts of the season, big names like DeMelo, Howell, Carson Pickett, and Abby Erceg stayed in the lineup with Howell, Pickett, and Erceg playing all 90 minutes. Comparatively, Kansas City had more rotation, but still brought out most of their big guns in the attack like Debinha and Kizer to try and grab control of the game to no avail.

“It was really important (to win the first game),” said Racing coach Kim Björkegren. “We were talking about that before the game – it was necessary to win the home game against Kansas City today. We’re really happy with the win, and to build the culture that we can win was maybe even more important for us.”

Although Björkegren primarily frames wanting to win around getting a leg up in the Challenge Cup, it’s clear that winning at home was just as much about maintaining momentum in the regular season as well. After struggling to get a win through the first six matches of a season, there’s no question Racing needed to build off their first win on Saturday to carry them forward. Now they’ll be just as tired as Kansas City heading into Saturday’s game, but they’ll have the lift of two wins and six points in their sails to carry them forward. Even with potentially better-rested players and home-field advantage, Kansas City will still be pulling against the anchor of three consecutive losses across all competition.

“Three points always gives you a boost,” remarked Abby Erceg in a pre-match press conference on Tuesday. “You can be tired and winning and still feel totally fine. Everything seems a little bit harder when you don’t manage to get those three points or you don’t manage to get the points you think you deserve for the performances you put in.”

It was also important for Racing to get a second win at home. Attendance has been lagging compared to the past two seasons and winning is the surest way to bring it back up. Even good performances that earn draws aren’t enough to bring in casual fans, so prioritizing the win at home – even potentially at the risk of making a win harder on Saturday in Kansas City – is a reasonable gamble to make.

Even so, Wang Shuang and Julia Lester will be available fully rested. Defenders Elli Pikkujämsä and Lauren Milliet will be mostly rested against the strong starters for Kansas City that came in on Wednesday as subs, as will midfielder Ary Borges. Even though they didn’t get rested, it seems likely Racing will probably still play Erceg, Pickett, and Howell for most if not all of Saturday’s match. They’re three of the most important players on the pitch for Racing and they’re also some of the fittest which will hopefully give them the endurance needed to power through the dense week of games.

Goals for goalsThis is the second match in a row where Racing scored three goals. If Borges hadn’t scored that third insurance goal, this would have been another frustrating draw.

If Racing is going to play a high-pressing style, scoring at least three goals is likely going to have to become a habit. It’s a high-risk/high-reward system and they need to start capitalizing on the reward part if they’re going to stay ahead.

In 2023, Racing is doing okay in terms of scoring. They’re solidly in the middle of the pack with nine goals scored and nine conceded for the regular season. Their biggest issue remains finishing. They’re getting a huge number of shots on goal. In fact, they are second in the league in shots on goal in the regular season with 41. Portland leads with 55 shots on goal but has double the reward with 18 goals.

Goals and shots on goal through seven games in the NWSL regular seasonIn other words, Racing is doing more work than they should for the results they’re getting. If they can start finishing these shots more clinically, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with in no time.

Although it’s disappointing they’re not scoring, this is a major improvement over the past two seasons where Racing failed to even take shots. The fact they’re getting shots off that are on target is a first step, but they need to be scoring more.

Racing scores nothing but beautiesOne interesting thing about Racing’s goals this season is how unique they’ve been. Almost every goal has been a jaw-dropper. Just look at DeMelo’s goal on Wednesday using the outside of her right foot, or Ary Borges’ goal against the Spirit that was instantly branded a candidate for goal of the year, or Kirsten Davis’ strike against Angel City. Even Abby Erceg’s header to open Racing’s scoring in 2023 was thrilling thanks to the sheer height of her jump.

These are some beautiful, exciting goals to witness and there’s no complaining about that. Racing is a fun team to watch. They can pull bangers seemingly out of thin air.

Most excitingly, Racing fans still haven’t seen everything they might have in their back pocket. After suffering a head injury and then an ACL sprain earlier in the year, Kanu hasn’t yet scored. Her pressing has become increasingly effective, however, and she’s getting closer and closer to finally hitting the back of the net. The closest, of course, is the goal that was called off on Wednesday. Once she clicks and fully recovers and adjusts to the speed and style of play in the league, she could very well take off just as Racing is coming together.

Likewise, we haven’t yet even come close to seeing what Thembi Kgatlana might offer. She’s only made three appearances for Racing so far after recovering from an Achilles rupture last season. She barely had time to get a touch in her 10 or so minutes against Orlando, but in the next two games, she’s earned an assist in each despite only playing about 15 or 20 minutes in each game. Her speed and agility are something that opponents just can’t seem to handle. Even still coming back from injury, she’s the fastest player on Racing’s roster so it’s exciting to think of what she’ll look like wants she’s fully fit.

Racing players celebrate a goal / Image courtesy EM Dash-USA Today SportsLooking AheadWhat can really be said about Racing next match except it’ll be more of the same against Kansas City. Once again, we can look forward to some significant rotation among the teams. The Current will be even more eager to win it, so this will be a tough match against what is likely to be a big crowd in Kansas City.One of the most interesting things about the Current so far in 2023 is their inability to stick to a formation or style. There have been plenty of questions raised over the years about Racing’s adherence to an aggressive, high-pressing style no matter what but Kansas City’s regular shuffling hasn’t been particularly beneficial either.The most important thing for Racing to do in this match is to come out and play like themselves regardless of what the Current throw at them. DeMelo has been electric, Howell has been rock solid, Pickett and Erceg as reliable as they come. Whether it’s a three-back, a four-back, or a five-back, Racing needs to play with the confidence that’s buoyed them these past two games. They’re getting numbers in the box offensively, playing both sides of the ball, and connecting very well. If they can stay together as a unit and keep from devolving into individual play or getting pushed onto their back foot, they have a very good chance of getting a result against an equally tired team that can’t enjoy the momentum Racing has behind them.The post Racing Earns First Challenge Cup Win in 3-2 Victory Over the Current appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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“All I remember is running and jumping on Jae [Howell],” remarked a grinning Carson Pickett after Racing Louisville’s Friday night’s match. “Just being so excited we finally got three points. We’ve been there. We’ve been up, we’ve been down, tied a lot of games, and now we finally did it.”

Pickett had every reason to be thrilled as Racing Louisville finally broke through to earn their first win of the season in a 3-0 drubbing of the visiting Chicago Red Stars. This win ends a six-game winless streak that had seen Racing remain the last team in the league without a win.

This isn’t to say Racing has played that poorly, however. Their four points from four draws are the most points ever earned by a team in the NWSL through six winless games. So they’ve been knocking on the door consistently, they just didn’t figure out how to get in until Friday.

“Every player performed today,” said midfielder Savannah DeMelo of what made this game different from others. Starters, substitutes, everyone kept relentless pressure on Chicago which buoyed their confidence and allowed them the finally play a complete match. “Everyone contributed today and I think that’s the difference. That’s what we’re going to need moving forward.”

In the first half, Racing’s constant pressure yielded two penalty kicks for Racing. The first, taken by DeMelo in the 35th minute, hit the post and bounced off Chicago keeper Alyssa Naeher in what was ultimately billed as an own goal. In first-half stoppage time, Wang Shuang stepped up to take the second and converted it making her the first Chinese national to score in the NWSL.

In the second half, both teams came out strongly, but even though the Chicago Red Stars improved, Racing did even better. In the 89th minute, two substitutes connected for the third goal when Thembi Kgatlana charged forward and passed to Parker Goins who worked her way out of some poor tackles and scored her first NWSL goal to hammer home Racing’s win.

“We want to be a top-six team that can fight for the final in the end,” said head coach Kim Björkegren. “You have to start to win. We can’t just talk about good performances. A super important three points.”

Carson Pickett celebrates by jumping on Jaelin Howell / Image courtesy David MuckerBy the NumbersRacing dominated this match from beginning to end by almost every metric. They had 16 shots with 11 on target and an xG of 2.65. This is the highest number of shots on goal and the highest xG Racing has achieved all season. Comparatively, the Chicago Red Stars had 12 shots, four on goal, and an xG of 0.74. It is worth noting that 1.6 of Racing’s xG came from their two penalties leaving 1.05 generated during the run of play. The fact that Racing generated more xG in the run of play than Chicago is a sign of just how well everything worked over the course of the match.

Chicago did have more possession this match with 56.6%, but Racing managed to stymie much of Chicago’s forward momentum so even if they had more possession, Racing was still able to control the match.

Racing was able to sustain close to 80% passing accuracy across both halves. Captain Jaelin Howell had another sharp game with 94% passing accuracy and the third most touches of Racing’s players. Ary Borges likewise had excellent accuracy with just under 94% accuracy herself and had the fourth most touches.

Pass Networks for #RacingLou and #ChiStars! #NWSL pic.twitter.com/scvt0vypEZ

— Arielle Dror (@arielle_dror) May 13, 2023

The effectiveness of the press is demonstrated in the number of duels and duels won by Racing players – particularly the attackers. Wang Shuang had 12 duels and won seven of them, Uchenna Kanu and Savannah DeMelo each had 11 with Kanu winning six and DeMelo four. This is a nice turnaround from the Orlando game when Kanu and Wang failed to find their way into the game and make much of an impact. DeMelo, of course, was out with a red card.

Defensively, Howell continues to be in excellent form and had the most duels of both teams (14) and won half of them. She has won back possession 10 times – the most of anyone on Racing. Howell also had more interceptions than any player on either team with three.

After two rocky games, Katie Lund again looked like her cool, collected self in goal. She made four saves on the night to earn the shutout while her counterpart Alyssa Naeher was forced to make nine saves to keep Racing from doing more damage.

Despite playing hard teams early on like the Houston Dash, Washington Spirit, Portland Thorns, and OL Reign, Racing currently has a goal differential of zero. They have currently given up nine goals and scored nine goals. Considering they led the league in goals conceded in their first year and had one of the worst goal differentials in the league last year, this is a good sign and shows just how much they’ve been in their first handful of matches.

Goal differential has always been an unpleasant stat for Racing, so this is better. They haven’t had a positive goal differential yet, but they also haven’t had much of a sustained negative one. This isn’t too surprising considering Racing has earned so many draws this year and only lost twice by fairly tight margins, but goal differential is a key tie-breaker for teams with the same number of points. And considering six teams in the NWSL currently have negative goal differentials – including three teams currently above Racing in the standings – this might be an area Racing can actually have an advantage in.

Racing players celebrate Parker Goins first goal / Image courtesy David MuckerKey TakeawaysCome togetherOn Friday, everything truly came together for Racing because they truly played together like a unit for the first time. Everyone pressed together and then everyone sat back and defended as a unit as well. The pressure they were able to put on Chicago led directly to both penalties. Racing’s attackers actually got forward enough to flood the box and, in some cases, outnumber their defenders which is something they’ve struggled with for years. This game could have easily been 4-0 or 5-0 against a goalkeeper other than Naeher who bailed her team out on numerous occasions.

Racing also had the best-looking, compact defensive formation we’ve possibly ever seen from them. Think back to the match against Portland when the Thorns would often have two more attackers in the box than Racing had defenders. That gave defenders like Abby Erceg impossible choices on who to cover which left gaps that were easily exploited. Meanwhile against Chicago, Carson Pickett was often back next to Erceg by the time an attacker got near the box, and the rest of Racing’s midfielders and defenders – including midfielders like DeMelo and Ary Borges who’d failed to come back and defend during Portland – were close behind. As a result, Chicago got off a decent number of shots but only managed a few on target because Racing did such a good job of cutting off their options.

There’s no question Racing did extremely well this match, but it’s also clear Chicago is struggling defensively. They gave Racing way too much space to operate between their midfield and defensive lines and it’s clear their three-back defense isn’t doing them any favors. So while there’s no question Racing performed very well, they’ll need to prove that they can keep this level of performance up against tougher opponents who are faster and more organized defensively.

The good news is Racing has shown they have the potential. They managed to control the match against OL Reign quite well for the vast majority and even held their own against Portland for sustained periods of time. Racing has gotten draws out of the top two teams in the standings, the Washington Spirit and OL Reign. They are a team that can be dangerous and now that they’ve gotten over the hump and earned three points, they can take the feeling of what it takes to win and carry it over into their next matches.

Looking aheadWith this win, Racing has moved up from 11th place to ninth place in the standings. While the majority of the table remains very tight, Racing will need to start getting three points with some regularity if they’re going to work their way up to the midpoint or beyond. Because as wonderful as this match against Chicago was, it means nothing if Racing can’t keep it up.

Racing has another lower-half-of-the-table team to play next in Kansas City. The Current inherited Racing’s 11th-place spot and has six points in two wins and five losses. Based on Kansas City’s form, Racing should have a good shot at beating them. And they’ll have two chances with the Current coming to Louisville on Wednesday to play Racing’s first Challenge Cup match and then Racing traveling to Kansas City for a regular season match on Saturday.

This short turnaround will hopefully work in Racing’s favor. They’ve played their best at home and will have positive momentum on their side. Racing still has something of a depth problem, however, especially with injuries to players like Nadia Nadim and Emina Ekic. How Racing decides to navigate that issue and rotate players will be interesting because, on the one hand, they probably want to capitalize as much as possible on the home-field advantage to start a winning streak on Wednesday. On the other, the regular season game on Saturday is more important in the long run.

Kansas City isn’t a bad team either despite their number of losses. They have potent attackers like Debinha and Cece Kizer who can easily punish teams who aren’t on the ball defensively. Their defense, however, has been porous, so if Racing can continue their trend of scoring multiple goals a game, that will certainly be beneficial. It’s a particularly good sign that Racing was able to pull in the third goal against Chicago because it shows they didn’t need penalties to beat the Red Stars. They’ll need that same level of energy and consistency to get results in the coming week.

Racing has spent the first third of the season so close to breaking through. Now it’s up to them to show it wasn’t a fluke and that they’ve actually turned the corner into becoming a winning team.

The post Racing Louisville Earns First Win in 3-0 Romping of the Chicago Red Stars appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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The WorstTo say Racing Louisville dropped the ball on Saturday night against the Orlando Pride would be a misnomer because in order to drop the ball, you have to actually pick it up in the first place. Based on their sloppy and sluggish performance in their 0-1 loss to bottom-of-the-table Orlando, Racing never had the ball long enough to lose a grip on it.

This was a surprisingly poor performance from a team who drew the Washington Spirit, came close to beating OL Reign, and at least gave the Portland Thorns a run for their money. As of Saturday night, all three of these previous opponents are top three teams. By comparison, heading into Saturday night’s game, the Orlando Pride was the last-place team in the standings. After this loss, it’s now Racing that holds that dubious honor. The only thing that will save Louisville from staying in this unfavorable position going into next week is if Chicago loses tomorrow. It’s never good when teams aren’t in control of their own destiny, but it’s especially bad when you have to rely on other teams’ failures to keep you from last place.

“The first half was one of the worst we have had, at least this year,” said coach Kim Björkegren after the match. “Super disappointed over the energy. We want to be a team that works with a high press, a lot of energy, difficult to play against – and we showed the opposite today.”

All match long Racing played with low energy and at a slow pace. Louisville’s play was discombobulated and after winning the ball and working it into dangerous positions, bad passes or bad shooting decisions would almost immediately turn the ball back over to Orlando where the process would start over again. Defensive mistakes are what lost this game, as a poor clearance allowed Orlando to create the chance that led to their goal and poor goalkeeping by Katie Lund allowed the goal to get through. However, offensively, the team did very little to convince anyone that a win was possible with mostly weak or difficult low xG shots from outside the box making up most of Racing’s chances. Although substitutes Alex Chidiac and Kirsten Davis did help pick up the pace in the second half, Captain Jaelin Howell said the team’s inability to put out a consistent performance is what killed them.

“I think that’s the most frustrating part – in the first half, we came out really slow. They got an opportunity, and we dug ourselves a hole. Second half, we looked good for the most part, but it was already too late. It’s just the same thing – a 90-minute performance. It’s fairly early in the season, but we need to get results – period.”

May 6, 2023; Orlando, Florida, USA; at Exploria Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Russell Lansford-USA TODAY SportsBy the NumbersThe statistics of this match do not really tell the story of this game – or maybe they do, because the stats make this look like a relatively close match and ultimately it was with only a single goal separating the sides. Based on the eye test, however, Racing never did enough to make it look like they had a strong chance to win or equalize and pull back a point.

Surprisingly, Racing actually led in numerous categories in this match. Louisville held the most possession all game with nearly 53% in both halves. They also had more shots than Orlando (17 to the Pride’s 16) while both teams had seven shots on goal. The quality of those shots, however, is where the difference is found. With one fewer shot and the same number on target, the Pride generated 1.76 xG while Racing managed only 0.99. In other words, Orlando almost doubled Racing’s expected goals with nearly the same number of shots and an identical number of shots on goal.

Racing also had a very good passing accuracy. They had 80% to Orlando’s 76%, but this is probably inflated a bit by a lot of passing around the back and switching sides in the attack.

Statistically, it’s clear Racing had a better second half. After getting hammered by corners in the first half with Orlando earning eight to Racing’s two, Racing proved more dangerous in the second half and earned five to Orlando’s one. Racing also put in 21 crosses to Orlando’s 14 with the most notable part being that the Pride only managed a single cross in the second half while Racing managed 12. Despite this improved build-up, however, Racing only generated 0.39 xG in the second half. All their work to build up plays went virtually nowhere as chances were wasted on poor shots from distance and weak attempts – if a shot was even attempted at all. Needless to say, Racing should not be working this hard and getting nowhere. There’s a real attacking issue that the club needs to address because build-ups have been fizzling out far too often in the final third for Racing to remain dangerous.

It’s never an ideal sign when defender Carson Pickett ties attacking players as a leader in shots taken. Racing uses their outer backs offensively and as great as it is that Pickett is free to take chances at goals when they present themselves, she has a single goal in the NWSL in eight years. She should not be equalling Ary Borges and Wang Shuag in shots taken and beating Wang in shots on target. Even though Kirsten Davis only played a single half, Pickett should not be beating her in expected goals generated. The fact she felt the need to do it herself speaks to how disorganized and ineffective the offense was in this match. Carson also created the most chances of anyone on either team with five.

Despite earning an early yellow and looking frustrated enough to earn a second by the end of the first half, Jaelin Howell had a good game and kept her emotions in check enough to come out without a red card. She blew everyone else on both teams away in duels (18) and duels won (13). Both Messiah Bright and Marta of the Orlando Pride had 16 duels, but Bright only won eight and Marta five meaning Howell nearly doubled the wins of her next closest opponent. Howell also dominated both teams in tackles (10) and tackles won (6). The next highest was her former College Cup nemesis Mikayla Cluff (nee Colohan) who made five tackles and won three.

May 6, 2023; Orlando, Florida, USA; at Exploria Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Russell Lansford-USA TODAY SportsKey TakeawaysSo Close, So Far AwayRacing remains the only team in the league without a win and the season is now over 25% complete. While there’s still plenty of time to turn the tide, this is a very poor position for a mid-season push.

All season, the mantra has been ‘stick with us, we’re so close’ – and Racing has been close and showing progress. This game, however, was such a regression that they’re going to have to make up serious ground to still claim they’re as close as they say. This team looked mentally and physically miles away from the team that came out and dominated against OL Reign for the majority of last week’s match. A winning team can’t play hard against top teams and fold against weaker ones. By almost every metric, Racing should be a better team than Orlando but Racing, frankly, let the Pride beat them with such a toothless performance.

Racing did do better in the second half, but they didn’t do good enough. If they had been laid out flat in the first half, they maybe got to their feet in the second half but didn’t actually go anywhere. There was no ruthless, relentless drive to equalize or win. Thinking back to Racing’s first-ever match in Orlando back in 2021, Racing went ahead and at the end of the match, the Pride threw everything they had at Racing to equalize at the last second. Every player was flooded into Racing’s box and even goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris was at the midfield line to assist in the offense. There was none of that passion or drive in Racing last night which is the most frustrating thing of all. It’s one thing to make mistakes, but still play your heart out. Racing made a couple of mistakes but played with an unforgivable level of low energy.

While early draws against Houston and Washington initially seemed to point to a team that was scrappy and right on the edge, they now seem to be a potential sign of a team that is unable to win instead. Those blown leads against Angel City and OL Reign are starting to haunt Racing more than ever as they languish at the bottom of the table with only four points. With every passing game without three points, the weight of expectations gets heavier and heavier so Racing will have a lot to do to get their mentality back in order and keep the season from getting away from them.

Uchenna Kanu / Image courtesy USA Today SportsSingular SavannahWhen Savannah McCaskill was traded to Angel City and Savannah DeMelo was drafted onto Racing, there were plenty of jokes that the team can’t operate without at least one Savannah present. While that joke might be lightly amusing at the best of times, it was a lot less funny on Saturday when the extent of the Savannah-shaped hole in the midfield became quickly obvious.

DeMelo, who was out on a red card suspension, has been the engine of the team since her rookie year last season. The team plays the ball through her consistently and her absence on Saturday left a less effective midfield and an obviously weaker attack. The fact the team functioned so poorly with a key player missing is alarming. No player – even one as talented and dynamic as DeMelo – should create such a vacuum with their absence. Especially when the team has had a full week to prepare.

Howell admitted that the team did miss DeMelo and injured players like Elli Pikkujämsä, but said, “We gotta be able to handle adversity. It’s a long season. Players are going to be in and out. It’s not going to be a consistent starting IX, especially with the World Cup. We gotta figure it out. I don’t think for us that can be an excuse.”

Positioned to Succeed?This loss unquestionably puts pressure on Björkegren. Maybe he’s not in the hot seat yet, but he’s certainly getting close to it.

Racing is underperforming based on their talent. They have played brilliantly at times but utterly collapsed at others. On the whole, the team has failed to adjust to change. When Racing went down to 10 players last week after DeMelo received a red card, they did well enough but the whole gameplan on how to hold onto the win was blown apart and they didn’t adjust well enough to keep all three points. When Angel City turned on the pressure and put Racing on the back foot, they couldn’t figure out how to turn the tide back into their favor and again gave up three points.

You can call out individual player performances and give the players poor ratings, but after a certain point, you have to begin questioning whether or not the players are being put into a position to succeed. Is the coaching staff preparing them enough? Are they going out with the best game plan for this set of players? Is the club demanding a style of play that doesn’t fit this team and/or the league?

The players say they’re incredibly close and the locker room and club culture is excellent. That’s great, but it’s beyond time for Racing to figure out the soccer side of things. You can say this is a young team, but that’s been Racing’s excuse for nearly three years. Yes, Racing is a young team, but Orlando is just as young if not younger and they beat Racing. Young teams can be forgiven quite a few mistakes, but at some point, they have to grow up. It’s getting to be past the time for Racing to mature and the coaching staff and club leadership who are demanding stylistic orthodoxy need to give themselves a hard look in the mirror and ask themselves why their vision won’t come together no matter how much they shuffle players and recruit new ones.

A Bright SpotThe biggest bright spot of the night was Thembi Kgatlana’s return. The South African has been out with an Achilles injury and has taken almost a year to make her debut with Racing. She barely got 10 minutes to showcase herself – which is understandable after such a long absence – so it’ll be at least another week before her true impact can be felt. Still, it was good to see a player Racing has invested so much in finally making it onto the pitch again.

“It was amazing to come back and play,” said Kgatlana after the match. Although she admitted it was a tough result, she said she was pleased to have finally checked off this individual achievement.

Nearly 10 months after being sidelined with an ankle injury, @Kgatlanathe1st has made her #RacingLou debut.

So glad to have her back on the pitch! pic.twitter.com/AKbs9JsD6Z

— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) May 7, 2023

As for her biggest struggle with her injury, Kgatlana said it was the time it took to recover. Still, she praised Louisville extensively for their support for her throughout the process.

“I think the best thing that made me have patience to come back was how Louisville supported me even when I got injured. I signed with them on a Thursday and I got injured on a Sunday. I mean, they could have easily pulled out and said ‘Hey, we no longer want you.’ But the fact that they showed that they wanted me to be there, that’s something that also I put at the back of my mind that I want to come back and play for this club.”

Looking AheadRacing has a dense schedule ahead of them starting with a Friday night match against Chicago. Chicago has been something of an enigma this year. They’ve proven they can score goals, but they also let in quite a few. This is an absolutely must-win match for Louisville. As Howell said, “We need to get results, period.” The fact this match is at home will ideally provide something of an edge for Louisville who will hopefully come out more aggressively in front of their own fans.

The Chicago match will be followed up quickly by a midweek match against Kansas City to open Racing’s Challenge Cup play. The Current recently beat the Dash 0-2 in their first Challenge Cup match, so Racing will need to win to stay in the running. This match will also be a home game for Louisville and, if they get a good result against Chicago, maybe they can build on it here.

Racing will play the Current a mere three days later on Saturday night in Kansas City to end their densest period of games all season.

Both Chicago and Kansas City are beatable, but they’re also both more than able to beat Racing if Racing doesn’t come out with better energy and start playing tighter, cleaner soccer. If Racing is going to get points, they need to score at least two goals. To get a win, this season has shown they probably need to get three. That’s a tall order for a team whose offense has been riddled with injury and run hot and cold. The attackers need to find their rhythm and find it fast or it’s going to be a long, tough season for Racing.

The post A frustrated Racing Louisville folds in 0-1 loss to the Orlando Pride appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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Racing Louisville returned home Saturday night and played some of the best soccer they’ve ever played. They scored two beautiful goals in front of an energetic crowd of over 6,000 on a perfect 63-degree Spring evening. And they didn’t just outplay second-place OL Reign in the first 45 minutes of the match, they utterly dominated them and then continued to perform admirably into the second half. And yet, once again, individual mistakes kept them from earning the full three points and they had to, once again, settle for a 2-2 draw.

“I think it’s coming together. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Remembering that is super important,” remarked forward Paige Monaghan after the match. Monaghan earned her first start for Racing since joining the team in the off-season and scored the first goal of the match in the seventh minute after cleaning up a poor clearance in front of goal.

Ultimately, Monaghan is right. This match stings because Racing absolutely did enough to earn a win, but the fact they earned a draw doesn’t erase what was a pretty solid game. Louisville is clearly moving on from the inconsistency that plagued them earlier in the season. Even with Racing’s two goals coming in the first half and OL Reign’s in the second half, this was not really a tale of two halves. Just as in their last match against Portland, the team collectively played well across the majority of the game, it’s really individual mistakes that cost them.

Another good sign is that it’s not the same players making mistakes over and over again. Last week, Wang Shuang had an awful turnover but she looked fantastic this week against Seattle. Jaelin Howell also had a stellar night. Monaghan herself said she blamed herself for giving up the equalizer to Angel City two weeks ago, but she more than made up for any errors against OL Reign.

What’s most surprising is that it’s two of Racing’s most consistent, stalwart players who had problems. Katie Lund has been so reliable since she took over the starting spot last season that it’s shocking when she has a mediocre match. The fact she came out hard to challenge an opponent who was moving away from goal when Abby Erceg was also present was the most questionable play of the night and it gave up a penalty that OL Reign converted for their first goal. She also looked a bit flat-footed against the header that ultimately equalized the match, but that was a clinical header into the top corner so there probably wasn’t much she could do anyway. Prior to these moments, Lund was barely called into action. OL Reign only mustered three shots with one on goal in the first half, so will the young keeper have to learn how to stay in the zone when Racing dominates? Possibly and it’s better to learn this lesson now in the early part of the season than later.

The most costly error, however, was Savannah DeMelo’s kicking away the ball after the whistle had been blown which earned her a second yellow. While that’s about as soft a red as a player can earn, the referee had moments before carded Seattle’s Sofia Huerta. Therefore, it was needlessly reckless to take that risk and, ultimately, bring your team down to 10 players. This is a hard lesson to learn and there’s no question she’ll be harder on herself about it than anyone, but again, it’s better to learn it now than later. DeMelo has been transcendent on the field and scored one of the prettiest half-volley goals you’ll ever see to give Racing their second. But this is the second game where she let her emotions arguably get the best of her. She drew needless fouls and earned a yellow against Angel City as well, so hopefully having such strong consequences – even if they were questionably harsh – will keep anything similar from happening again.

Ultimately, these are two young, immensely talented players who for all intents and purposes are in the second year of their professional careers. Lund has been a professional longer, of course, but this is only her second year as a starter. These are hard lessons and a tough result for Racing, but it’s still early enough in the season that mistakes like this aren’t deadly. Even so, the team is understandably upset by only coming away with a point.

“We’re all gutted,” said team captain Howell after the match. “It was one of our best games for Racing in general as a club, especially against a quality opponent, one of the best teams in the league. We came out on fire. We did what we wanted to do. To let them creep back and, in the 90th minute, give away a goal – it’s heartbreaking, especially because we just did that in (Los Angeles).

“Silver lining: The overall performance was very good, and there wasn’t much difference in halves. … We just have to continue to grow, but obviously very disappointed that it was the quality of play we wanted and we didn’t get the three points.”

Paige Monaghan celebrates her goal / Image courtesy USA Today SportsBy the NumbersThis wasn’t really a game of two halves even if the stats somewhat point to it. Instead, the stats and the eye test together point more to Racing dominating OL Reign to an unprecedented degree and then playing a more or less typical match-up against them in the second.

In the first half, Racing generated 0.83 xG and held OL Reign to only 0.1. In the second half, Racing was limited to 0.17 while OL Reign had 1.34. But let’s remember that 0.788 of that xG for Seattle was Rapinoe’s penalty. Remove that and OL Reign only generated 0.55 in the run of play. Racing had 16 shots with eight on target across the whole match. Seven of those on-target shots came in the first half which is a single-half club record for Racing. Meanwhile, Seattle had 10 shots total with only four on target.

OL Reign did hold the majority of possession with about 60% overall. They definitely held the majority of possession in the second half by a large margin, but Racing still never seemed to be played out of the match as they were against Angel City. They needed to hold possession better, but the fact they lost DeMelo in the 72nd minute and kept OL Reign from doing much of anything until the 90th minute is pretty good regardless of how the stats look.

Against Angel City, Racing scored two goals in the first half at home for the first time. Previously, they’d scored two in the first half twice against Angel City, but never at home.

Abby Erceg celebrated her 150th appearance before the match and gave a performance befitting a top veteran defender. She made eight interceptions and four clearances which were the most of any player on either team. She also led the team in touches and accurate passes and had a 90% passing accuracy.

Abby Erceg celebrates her 150th cap / Image courtesy USA Today Sports PhotosKey TakeawaysThis is Not Angel City, Pt. 2By looking at only the score line and the timing of the goals, this match seems like it might be Angel City, Pt. 2. In both 2-2 draws, Racing scored early and picked up their second at the very end of the first half to go into halftime 2-0. They then gave up two goals with the first coming from a set piece and the equalizer coming very late in the second.

This was not the same match at all, however. While Racing did play excellently in the first half of the Angel City match, they utterly collapsed in the second. They couldn’t handle Angel City’s pressure and produced practically nothing of substance in the final 45 minutes. Angel City took over the game and Racing couldn’t keep up. Against Seattle, however, they not only played even better in the first half than they did against Angel City – letting in fewer crosses, next to no shots, etc. – they stayed in the game in the second half despite going down to 10 players.

As a result, Angel City was thrilled with their draw. They fought back and earned it. OL Reign definitely worked to get the draw. They didn’t roll over and die, but they got the penalty handed to them and should have probably produced more against 10 players with DeMelo, one of Racing’s most dynamic players, off the field. Watching the bench and the team after this match, OL Reign was not thrilled with this draw. They know they were outplayed and so it was cold comfort to them

So it’s a testament to Racing’s strength that they were able to hold off Seattle as much as they did.

The one thing that was similar to Angel City was the lack of substitutions. Head coach Kim Björkegren argues that bringing in subs can disrupt the flow of the game, but forcing tired players to defend deep benches like OL Reign’s also set players up for failure. Especially when DeMelo went out, waiting as long as Racing did to bring in defensive subs seems like a poor decision in retrospect.

Racing celebrates DeMelo’s goal / Timothy D. Easley-USA TODAY SportsSilver LiningsWatching this game, there is no question that Racing Louisville is a very good team. In fact, they are very close to being a great team.

Racing has four draws and one loss in five matches. It’s not ideal, but there hasn’t been a single game where they haven’t put together strong periods of play if not outright dominated their opponents at times. This isn’t the team of the past two years that played like a scrappy little sibling who would occasionally pull a result away from a bigger, tougher team by holding on by their fingernails. Louisville has been a challenge for every team they’ve played and they’ve started the season with some of the top teams in the entire league.

After last night’s match, OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey didn’t mince words. In her post-game interview, she said of Louisville, “They were a threat all night. I’ve said to a lot of people I think Louisville is a really good team. They’ll be making the playoffs this year, no doubt in my mind.”

It’s one thing for Racing’s players to say they believe in themselves and think they’ll make the playoffs. It’s another for the coach of last year’s shield winners and this year’s current second-place team to say not just politely say that Louisville played well or gave them a hard game, but that there’s no doubt they’re a playoff team. Harvey has seen a lot of NWSL soccer and has overseen a lot of winning squads. This is very high praise.

The fact Racing is doing so well is why results like this are so frustrating. Racing knows they’re better than this. Fans know they’re better than this. They’re not the underdog anymore. They’re playing against teams like OL Reign as equals and they should be getting three points.

So while the results do feel like a gut punch, there are plenty of silver linings. The team kept the pressure up throughout the whole first half and much of the second without playing frantically, as they did against Angel City. They still struggled with the high press in the second half to some extent but were never overwhelmed. Midfielders got back and defended better than they have in any previous match which helped smother OL Reign’s attack.

Individually, players also mostly did very well. Until her second yellow, DeMelo was fantastic. Jaelin Howell is playing like the holding midfielder everyone knew she could be. Fearless, physical, but smart with her tackles, and excellent at winning possession. Paige Monaghan was making runs in the box and putting herself in dangerous positions regularly. She may have earned a starting spot with her excellent performance. Defenders Carson Pickett and Abby Erceg continue to demonstrate their incredible value to the club in terms of skill and experience. Pickett even had two excellent shots in the first half! Wang had a bad game against Portland and came back on fire. Julia Lester also returned and earned her first minutes after a preseason injury and looked as sharp as ever.

And the thing that needs to be remembered is that there are still a number of players out or just returning and getting minutes. Elli Pikkujämsä, Thembi Kgatlana, Emina Ekic, and Nadia Nadim were all out for this match. Jess McDonald had an excused absence. Uchenna Kanu just got her first limited minutes against Seattle after missing the two previous matches. If Racing looks this good with an incomplete roster, it’s not unreasonable to assume they’ll look even better when they can get the starting lineup they’d always planned on onto the field.

Milestones and LandmarksThis game marked the 1,000th regular season match in league history. That’s a big occasion and it brought some extra attention to this match, including a visit from the commissioner, Jessica Berman.

During Berman’s visit, she told WHAS 11’s Tyler Greever that she’s only heard good things from Racing’s players about the team’s growth and progress. In particular, players praised the additions of general manager Ryan Dell to the front office and assistant coach Bev Yanez to the sporting staff. This will certainly come to the relief of any of Racing’s fans still concerned about team culture behind the scenes.

NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman feels like Racing Louisville FC has made necessary changes to be set up for success moving forward. She is visiting Louisville and has received rave reviews from players on their experiences. My story from a conversation with the commissioner: pic.twitter.com/lLeDqiV4ls

— Tyler Greever (@Tyler_Greever) April 28, 2023

After a rough home opener that included plummeting temperatures and 45-mile-per-hour wind gusts, it was also good to see the crowd return to more typical Racing attendance numbers. The opener brought in approximately 4,800, but Saturday’s match brought in just over 6,100 fans. It’s a good sign that weather may have been more of a deterrent for the opening match than fans lost due to fallout from the investigative reports that came out in the off-season.

There’s no question that Racing needs to win if they’re going to grow their fanbase further. The good news is that even without a win, this was a fun game that was worthy of a landmark 1,000th league match. Anyone watching should be able to see that Racing is a talented team that can play exciting soccer. If they can start tipping some of these draws into wins, they might be able to finally push fan support to the next level.

Looking AheadRacing’s home visit will be shortlived as they head to Florida this weekend to play the Orlando Pride. The Pride have had a very tough start to the season and lost every game until this week against San Diego. They didn’t just win, they handed the Wave a solid 3-1 loss.

Playing a reinvigorated Pride in Orlando is definitely not ideal – especially without DeMelo. But even with the intense parity in the NWSL, Racing has to believe they are the better team and play like it. How they respond to yet another draw will say a lot about the team’s mentality. After playing as well as they have against top teams in the league, Racing needs to get three points this coming weekend. They can’t come in and challenge teams like OL Reign and then fold to teams on the bottom half of the table.

It’s still early in the season, but five games are almost a quarter of the way through. The wins need to start coming now if Racing is going to actually make a solid run up the standings into the playoffs.

The post Silver Linings: Racing gives up another lead for a 2-2 draw, this time against OL Reign appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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Racing Louisville’s match against the Portland Thorns on Saturday night couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start. By the second minute, the Thorns were already on the board, and Racing’s center-back Elli Pikkujämsä simultaneously went down with a non-contact hamstring injury and had to exit the match. Despite the rough start, Racing was able to play themselves back into the match before giving up a last-second goal during first-half stoppage time. Although Louisville would come back and play a solid second half, the damage was done and the match ended 2-0 and gave Racing their first loss after three consecutive draws to start the season.

“When you start like that – they scored a goal after two minutes – it’s really difficult to play against maybe the best team in the league away,” said coach Kim Björkegren. “It’s disappointing – we gave away some pieces in the game way too easy. I think really we had a chance today. I had a really good feeling. We had good energy in the group.”

As tough of a result as this game might have been, it was hardly a major full-team collapse. As a whole, the team played consistently, held decent possession, and regularly forced Portland into turnovers or earned corner kicks. Instead, this match was doomed by individual mistakes. Both Pikkujämsä and Wang Shuang gave up balls in dangerous areas which led to Portland’s goals. Neither Carson Pickett nor Jaelin Howell was able to get back and either mark Morgan Weaver when she scored the second goal or defend the back post. And, no midfielders came back to help. This left defenders outnumbered far too often and unable to contain Portland’s potent attack.

“It’s a hard lesson,” said defender Abby Erceg after the match. “We’re still learning how to win. We’re still learning how to play against these top teams.”

Abby Erceg and Carson Pickett talk with Katie Lund / Image courtesy Taylor VincentBy the NumbersThe last time Racing played Portland in Portland in September of 2022, they lost 0-3. Although Saturday’s match only had one less goal, the course of the matches was very different.

In almost every metric Racing has improved significantly. In 2022, Racing only had an xG of 0.31 and Portland 2.96. On Saturday, Racing had an xG of 0.83 compared to Portland’s 1.44. That’s significantly better. Although Portland was able to get 20 shots on Saturday only six were on target. Again, that’s much better than the 29 they had in 2022 with 14 on target. Racing, comparatively, had only seven shots with a single shot on target in 2022 but managed 12 on Saturday with four on target. That’s obviously not good enough, but it is an improvement.

These improvements are apparent elsewhere as well. Last season, Racing had 68% passing accuracy and 43% possession. On Saturday, they had 78% accuracy and 51% possession. Even if you can argue that Portland sat back to a degree and yielded some possession due to holding a lead, that at least means they felt threatened enough by Racing to do so. Last year, the Thorns absolutely dominated possession in the second half, never took their foot off the pedal, and held over 60% of possession in the second half.

During last week’s match against Angel City, Racing panicked in the second half when Angel City started pressing aggressively. They couldn’t figure out how to counteract that and couldn’t ever hold possession enough to earn corner kicks or set pieces. Racing did a much better job under an even more relentless press in the second half against Portland. In the second half against Angel City, they only earned a single corner kick, got off four crosses, and only won possession in the final third once. In the second half against Portland, they earned three corners, got 11 crosses off, and won possession in the final third five times.

In short, this loss to Portland wasn’t a dire loss. Racing absolutely needs to improve their offensive output. The team ranks 11th out of 12 teams in shots for target with 24 or six per 90 minutes. Still, with Uchenna Kanu, Nadia Nadim, and Thembi Kgatlana out with injuries, there’s still room for improvement as they begin to return.

Key TakeawaysHigh Risk, Not Always High RewardRacing wants to play an aggressive high press. This is a very high-risk/high-reward strategy which has been illustrated in Racing’s progress so far. They’ve scored incredible goals as a result of the press and quick transition, like Davis’ goal against Angel City last week. But this week, they gave up both goals in transition.

Racing needs to figure out how to defend better in transition or transition faster to make sure attackers get marked. Time after time against Portland, major players like Christine Sinclair or Crystal Dunn were left standing completely unmarked at the top of the box. Noticeably, no midfielders except Howell got back to help defend against the first goal despite the fact Ary Borges had been in-step with goal-scorer Sinclair further up the field when the ball was turned over. Racing’s defenders were outnumbered regularly so the midfield needs to get back and help with defense more if they’re going to be successful.

Image courtesy Taylor VincentA Tough RoadRacing has had a particularly hard schedule where they play four top-six teams in their first five games. In fact, NWSL Field of Vision rates Racing’s schedule as the second toughest in the league. In addition to playing the number one Thorns who were last year’s champions, they opened away in Houston and play number two OL Reign next week. Although the Spirit did poorly last season, they were champions in 2021 and so far 2022 seems to have been more of a fluke than the rule and they currently sit in fifth place.

2023 Schedule Difficulty Scores – Week 4

Houston have had the toughest schedule so far facing Portland and Washington in their first 4 matches. Despite this difficult beginning, they are in the top 6. pic.twitter.com/rrgmwaMIaT

— Field Of Vision (@Field0fVision) April 24, 2023

Racing has also been almost entirely on the road with three of their four games away. This not only takes away the home-field advantage, but it’s also exhausting. They were gone for the better part of 10 days for the Los Angeles to Portland stint.

This, of course, isn’t a complete excuse. They need to be able to win both home and away regardless of conditions. Even so, there’s no question this has been a particularly rough opening schedule for Racing and it can, hopefully, help toughen them up a bit as the season moves on.

Looking AheadRacing’s schedule won’t get any easier despite the fact they’re home for Saturday’s match. As mentioned, they’ll be playing last year’s shield winners OL Reign who are always a tough team to beat. Most recently, they beat Orlando 5-2, so their offense will punish you if you’re not on top of your game. Racing will have to clean up their transition because if Portland presses hard, OL Reign presses even harder.

Racing has never beaten OL Reign in the regular season, but they did draw them twice in 2022 and beat them 2-0 in the preseason. There’s no question that OL Reign will want to correct that so Racing should expect a very hard game. Hopefully, the anger over losing to Portland will fuel the team to correct their costly mistakes and put together a full, consistent match.

The post Hard Lessons: Racing Falls 0-2 in Portland in First Loss of the Season appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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A little devastating“It’s a little devastating because I think we felt like we could have gotten that three points,” admitted Savannah DeMelo after Racing Louisville gave up a two-goal lead in Los Angeles to draw Angel City 2-2 on Saturday.

Racing went up in the first moments of the match when DeMelo drew and then converted a penalty in the third minute. Approximately 30 minutes later, Jaelin Howell won the ball back in midfield and passed to DeMelo who played a through ball into Kirsten Davis who sent a banger in from outside the box. In the second half, however, Racing came out okay but ultimately couldn’t keep up the aggressive high press they maintained in the first half. Angel City’s Katie Johnson scored off a set piece in the 68th minute and Savannah McCaskill found the equalizer in the 87th minute to pull back a point for the home side.

“I think that’s just the last step for this team is just winning games and not just being okay tying,” continued DeMelo. “We are a winning team and we want to be a winning team and have a winning culture. So I think we’re right there.”

This is Racing’s third draw in three games which leaves them with a still-undefeated record. But of all games played, despite the fact that all matches ended the same way with the same number of points, there’s no question this one felt the most like a loss.

In many ways, this game was an almost complete mirror image of Racing’s previous match against the Washington Spirit. In addition to both being 2-2 draws, Louisville scored a goal in the first minutes of their good half followed by an absolute banger from outside of the box for the second goal. The only difference is they charged back to score against Washington to earn the point while they gave up to goals and dropped points to Angel City instead.

“In the end, they put a lot of pressure on us,” Racing coach Kim Björkegren said. “They scored a goal from a free kick with almost no angle. It’s way too easy for us to give them that kind of energy. That’s not good enough from us. We need to do better there.”

Gets fouled.
Gets up.
Gets the goal. @Savannah_DeMelo's 2023 scoring account is open! pic.twitter.com/sCMapfW49j

— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) April 16, 2023

By the NumbersIf there was ever a game that could be called a tale of two halves for Racing this is the one.

The match ended with Racing having a total of 13 shots and Angel City having 25. Eleven of Racing’s 13 shots came in the first half alone meaning they only managed two in the entirety of the final 45 minutes. Angel City, on the other hand, had 10 in the first half and added an additional 15 in the second.

It is worth noting, however, that Racing’s quality of shots was better according to StatPerform which had them listed as generating a full 2.15 xG compared to Angel City’s 1.97. This isn’t overly surprising, however, considering that Racing had a penalty kick that yielded 0.788 xG on its own while Angel City’s set piece goal was from a tight angle and only generated 0.176. Even if you remove the penalty, however, Racing still has an xG of 1.36 which is only about 0.30 less than Angel City’s full game total in 12 fewer shots.

For a team that likes possession, Racing didn’t do particularly well this match even in the first half. In the first 45, they had 44.3% but in the second half, this dropped to an abysmal 35.7%.

Initially, passing accuracy seemed to be a bit above average for Racing at 72.7%. In the second half, however, this dropped precipitously to 61.2%.

In more positive news, this match marked defender Abby Erceg’s 150th regular season match in the NWSL. She’s only the third international player to reach this milestone. On the opposite side of on-pitch experience, rookie Kayla Fischer made her regular season debut and earned the start in her first cap. She performed solidly and generated the third-highest xG of any Racing player coming in behind only the night’s two goal scorers DeMelo and Davis. She also won all three of her tackles.

Speaking of Davis, she really made a strong argument for more minutes by taking more shots (4) than any other Racing player and generally remaining a nuisance for Angel City all night. She continues to take a few too many touches in the box when she could just shoot, but she came exceedingly close to scoring in every one of her four shots even if only the one scored was on frame.

Other standout players included Carson Pickett who tied DeMelo for the most chances with three, led Racing in touches (67), total passes (43), final third entries (10), tied Howell in number of tackles (5), and won three of them. Lauren Milliet beat all players on both teams in possession won with 14 which nearly doubles the number of her next closest teammates, DeMelo, who had eight. She also won seven of her 10 duels. Jaelin Howell also roared back onto the starting lineup and won eight of 11 duels.

Come for the @jaehowell18 tackle.

Stay for the @kirstendavis22 finish. pic.twitter.com/E23FCU9F3N

— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) April 17, 2023

Second half stumbleEven with some bright individual performances, there’s no question Racing stumbled hard in the second half. So why did Racing finish the game out so flat?

For one, the match truly changed momentum around the 70th minute after Angel City subbed in Alyssa Thompson and Ali Riley – two regular starters who were rested after the international break. Riley is the team captain and a veteran leader who was able to better organize her side and keep them tighter and more effective. Although only a teenager, Thompson is one of the fastest and most effective forwards in the league. Her speed was too much for an already tired Racing and a foul on her from just outside the box was the set piece that led to Angel City’s first goal.

Racing didn’t have the same game changers available on the bench because they were dealing with roster issues relating to the international break, injury, and illness, said Racing’s head coach Kim Björkegren. Striker Uchenna Kanu was removed from play only an hour or so before the match began due to injury and Wang Shuang was still in China on an excused absence. Elli Pikkujämsä and Ary Borges were on limited minutes due to illness and fatigue, so while Pikkujämsä did start, she was only able to play for so long before being taken out. Borges was subbed in later in the match but was unable to help Racing shift momentum back into the team’s favor.

Every one of these players has been pivotal for Racing in their first two matches so figuring out to not just deal with substitutions, but also configure the formation was an issue. For example, Howell returned to the starting lineup after a hamstring injury by playing in the No. 8 spot for the first time in her professional career. This was deliberate so Pikkujämsä could play as the No. 6 which requires less running and allowed her to stay on the field longer. In the past, DeMelo or Borges would have taken the No. 8 spot so Pikkujämsä could shift to center back and Howell could play as the No. 6. But without Wang or Nadia Nadim, DeMelo was needed in the No. 10 spot, and without Borges starting, Pikkujämsä was the next best holding midfield option. There are questions about whether subbing Paige Monaghan or Parker Goins in earlier could have at least provided Racing some of the speed they needed to maintain possession and control the match a bit more, but that’s purely speculative.

Players celebrate DeMelo’s penalty / Image courtesy NWSLThe good news is that despite the slightly off roster, Racing still performed excellently in the first half. In fact, it might have been their best 45 minutes ever on the pitch. They kept Angel City stretched and pressed them relentlessly to force turnovers and ultimately kept control of the game. Angel City did show signs of danger, however, and got more crosses off than they should have in the first half. And even if Angel City’s early shots were rushed and ultimately weak – in part due to Racing’s excellent pressure – they still had some decent chances and were able to figure out how to course correct in the second half. Racing seemingly came into the second half too content with their lead, didn’t seem to know how to handle Angel City’s adjustments, and became fragmented as a result. And with a depleted bench they couldn’t keep the effective press through both halves and got burned badly as tired legs faced dynamic Angel City subs.

“Our mentality was good – it’s just, in the end, we didn’t play well in the second half,” said Howell. “A team like LA, with as many chances as they got, they’re going to finish them. It’s early in the season, though, and (defender Abby Erceg) and I were talking: It’s just about how to pick each other up when we’ve lost momentum in a game like that. Honestly, this team doesn’t have a lot of experience being up that many goals going into the second half, so I think it’s a learning experience for us.”

Howell is right. The team does lack experience in being up that early. In fact, Racing has never been up by two in the first half in club history. And no player has ever scored a goal and an assist in the first half for Racing until DeMelo on Saturday. Even with the less-than-ideal result, these are positive steps for Racing. Teams need to actually get up by multiple goals in the first half to learn how to defend the lead, after all. That doesn’t mean the players are any less disappointed, though.

“That’s why we’re all so disappointed, just because we know how good we are and we know we’re right there,” Racing captain Jaelin Howell said. “It’s just fine-tuning these little things, especially in a game like this it’s hard because it was right there. We wanted those first three points. We talked about it. We want to change the culture of this team into a winning culture and we need to get in the habit of winning, and we wanted that to be tonight. But obviously it’s a learning opportunity. We haven’t been up two goals like that. Next time, we’ll be better, and we’ll know how to defend.

“Being disappointed is a good thing because we know we have that much more to show and give, and we’re right there.”

A tale of two SavsAs much as the game was a tale of two halves, it was also a tale of two Savs with Savannah DeMelo and Savannah McCaskill fully driving much of the momentum of their respective clubs. Both Savannahs were the most consistently dangerous playmakers and both were involved with both other their team’s goals with each earning both a goal and an assist.

It’s also interesting that both Savannahs played very emotionally and that also seemingly impacted their match. In the first half, DeMelo was calm, cool, and collected despite being fouled quite heavily. She was one of the most dynamic players on the pitch for Racing as she made excellent runs in the box or strung together key passes that created chances. McCaskill, on the other hand, was clearly frustrated throughout the first half and over-dribbled or rushed shots instead of taking the time she had to line them up better.

Switch to the second half and it was evident it was DeMelo that began to get upset and her play suffered as a result. While she was still dynamic on the pitch, she got much rougher and began committing some unnecessary fouls that ultimately earned her a deserved yellow card (amusingly, for a foul against McCaskill). McCaskill instead settled down and cleaned up her timing and scored a banger of a goal as a result.

This mirroring of the Savannahs doesn’t necessarily mean much beyond the fact that they are both still very much at the top of players to watch on their respective teams. But for better or for worse, it was possible to see how each team was performing at nearly any given time just from watching either McCaskill or DeMelo.

Looking aheadRacing will stay on the west coast for the next week so they can take on the Thorns in Portland this Saturday. In bad news, this is a very long trip away from home. In good news, this will drastically cut down on travel fatigue and recovery plus it’ll keep them acclimated to the time zone.

The extended trip also means they won’t have a Challenge Cup game this Wednesday like most teams in the league. For some NWSL players, the midweek Challenge Cup match means three games in nine days. For a team that was already exhausted in Los Angeles, this could be deadly for Racing, but hopefully, they’ll be able to rest and rehab and get critical players like Pikkujämsä, Kanu, and Borges back into tip-top shape.

They’ll need to be on their best as well because the Thorns are by far the most dominant team in the league so far this season. They rolled the Orlando Pride 4-0 in their first match and then followed that up with a 4-1 drubbing of Kansas City. Most recently, however, they only drew Houston Dash 1-1. Considering Racing both drew the Houston Dash and nearly drew the Thorns in the preseason, they might have a reasonable chance of pulling a point back from Portland. To do so, they’ll have to be healthy and find a level of consistency across all 90 minutes that they’ve been missing in these last two games. Racing can also hope that Portland will be the tired team this time with a midweek Challenge Cup game in San Diego happening this Wednesday. Even without their starters, however, Portland is dangerous and it’ll take a ton of hard work from Racing to get a result.

The post Mirror, Mirror: Racing Louisville Settles for a Draw Against Angel City appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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Blowin’ in the windWith high winds ravaging the pitch, it looked as if Racing Louisville would get blown away by the Washington Spirit in their home opener. By the half-time whistle, the Spirit’s Ashley Hatch had scored a brace while Racing had nothing to show for their efforts.

That changed immediately in the second half when Louisville earned a corner in less than a minute. The ball in by Wang Shuang was headed home by Abby Erceg on a massive leap that brought her head and shoulders above the competition. Just twenty minutes later, Ary Borges tied it up with a half-volley golazo off of a bad clearance. Lauren Milliet had made a run up the right and her cross was deflected out. Savannah pressed the defender with possession well enough that the attempted clearance left the ball bouncing in the box long enough for Borges to step to it and send a banger into the top right corner from 17 yards out.

In the final 30 or so minutes there were a couple of good chances for both teams to take the lead – including another potential header from Erceg – but the score stayed level until the final whistle.

There’s zero question the wind impacted the game significantly. It was blowing at a steady 25 to 30 miles per hour all match with intermittent gusts up to 45 miles per hour, strong enough to blow the ball out of position during set pieces. While less than ideal, that’s just part of the game, said Erceg.

“You go on with tactics and you work all week and then the wind just kind of takes it away so you have to adapt on the fly,” she explained. “Obviously, in the first half, we didn’t do a very good job of that and then in the second half, we just needed to make sure that we got an early goal so that we could get back in the game. Which we did.”

Abby Erceg heads the ball in for the first goal – Image courtesy Chris HumphreyErceg’s goal marks the first for Louisville in the regular season and is also her first wearing lavender. As for Borges’ goal, coach Kim Björkegren was understandably very impressed, but not surprised. “She is that kind of player that you’ll probably see that one or two more times, for sure.”

Rewriting historyThis level of fight from Racing to come back from a 0-2 deficit to earn a point is a rarity for the team. In fact, the only time they’ve ever done it was last season. And that was, interestingly enough, also against the Washington Spirit. Even so, this Spirit squad is coming off of a win against last year’s shield winners OL Reign. They were energized from their great opener last week, but Racing was still up to the task to stop them. As a result, Racing has earned two draws to start the season. While they certainly want that still elusive win, two draws against teams that are currently ranked third and fourth in the league is a nice start.

It’s clear that there’s a new mentality to Racing. In the past two seasons, there were questions about how much this team actually believed they could win matches. They fought hard every game, but it didn’t always seem like the belief was there. At least in the beginning of 2023, that seems to have changed.

“We talked at halftime that we were still thinking we could win the game,” said Björkegren. “We had an amazing second half, scoring two goals and coming close to a third one. It showed good team spirit. I’m overall happy with the performance, even if we were trying to win the game.”

Erceg said that earning a draw against Houston and following it up with a come-from-behind draw against the Spirit shows they’re not a team that will give up points easily.

Ary Borges celebrates with Paige Monaghan and Carson Pickett – Image courtesy Chris Humphrey“Getting into the next game, that’s huge for us and I think last year this team might have just given up and just been like we’re two down. It’s gonna end up four-nil, and that’s just how it goes. But we said right from the very start that we wanna rewrite the history a little bit of this club and we wanna make this stadium really hard to play at and I think the girls did a really, really good job of that today.”

By the numbersAs with last week’s match against Houston, Racing played a very even match where equal to their opponent in nearly every metric. This isn’t too surprising considering both matches were draws, but, as with last week, the fact that Racing is consistently getting shots and shots on goal that equal their opponents is a positive trend that the team has not seen during the past two years. This week, both teams had 11 shots with Racing putting four on frame compared to Washington’s five. Once again, they were beaten in xG (Louisville’s 0.82 to Washington’s 1.56) so Racing does still need to work on generating strong chances, more consistent chances and, of course, putting them away.

In goal, Katie Lund made a couple of fantastic saves, but, thankfully, she was called on far less than she has in previous matches. Against Washington, she only made three saves compared to the seven that were required against Houston.

Racing continues to show improved passing accuracy from past years with 71% this match compared to Washington’s 68%. Racing also edged the Spirit out on possession 53% to 47%.

Beyond just her goal, Erceg has been very effective for Louisville in the team’s first two matches of the year – especially in the air. Not only did she score Racing’s first goal of 2023 off a header, but she’s also won every one of her aerial duels so far this season (1/1 against the Spirit and 2/2 against Houston).

Player highlight: Elli Pikkujämsä For the second game in a row, Elli Pikkujämsä has been a standout player on the pitch. She’s a rock-solid ball winner and, against Washington, won back possession more times than any player on either team (12 times). This is even more impressive considering she’s been playing out of position. The Finnish national team member has been slotted into the No. 6 position for both regular season games despite being signed to play center. But with Jaelin Howell injured, Pikkujämsä has proven she’s more than up to the task and wowed viewers on Saturday with her ability to retain possession while fighting through a press of at least four Spirit players.

Elli Pikkujämsä fights the Spirit’s Andi Sullivan off the ball – Image courtesy James TinellErceg said she knows from experience just how hard that adjustment can be considering she played as a holding midfielder before with the Western New York Flash.

“It’s tough if you’re going from a position where there’s people only in front of you to having people literally everywhere around you. Your time’s a lot less and your technique has to be sharper, so kudos to her for doing it. It’s a tough role to play and I think she’s doing a really good job.”

Pikkujämsä was much more reserved in her assessment of her own game saying, “I’m not gonna be too positive. I still have a lot to do and I feel like it’s getting better and better.”

With Howell seemingly back from injury and getting subbed in late in the match, it’s likely Pikkujämsä will soon be slotting back next to Erceg. The two had a good rapport during the preseason tournament in Portland and after such a strong performance as a last-minute No. 6, there’s little question Pikkujämsä has earned her place as a starter.

Looking aheadWith an international break this week, Racing won’t be back until April 15th when they head out west to play Angel City FC in Los Angeles. Look for a preview of that match along with a review of how Racing’s many international players performed during their national team stints next week.

The post Show stopping goals power Racing Louisville back to draw the Washington Spirit 2-2 appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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Confident and CollectedAfter a solid string of preseason performances, all eyes were on Racing Louisville to see if they could keep the momentum going in the regular season. By earning a nil-nil draw in Houston on Sunday in their season opener, it now seems apparent that they can.

A scoreless draw might seem underwhelming at a glance, but this was a fun back-and-forth game where both teams dished out some solid chances and made key saves. It could have easily been 2-0 in either direction or 2-2 with just a few more adjustments. For the Dash, this isn’t surprising because they retained their entire starting XI that made the playoffs in 2022. For Racing, this is much more surprising considering they had five new players start the match, including three who were completely new to the NWSL.

Players had been saying all through preseason that they’d been integrating well as a team and that was on full display as every single one of the newcomers made an impact on the match.

On the backline, Carson Pickett and Abby Erceg (who wore the captain’s armband with Jaelin Howell out with a hamstring injury) lived up to all their promise with Pickett creating excellent chances with her crosses and Erceg keeping the defense ordered against Houston’s potent attack. For his part, head coach Kim Björkegren was so impressed by Erceg’s leadership and cool demeanor that he called her “our best player on the pitch.”

As a whole, the defense – which also included Rebecca Holloway at right center and Lauren Milliet as right back – did a solid job and seemed to be on the same page throughout the match. This is a particularly positive development because backline cohesiveness is something Racing has struggled mightily with in the past. Holloway looked fitter and sharper than she’d ever been and Milliet put her body on the line multiple times to keep the score level. Overall, the defensive performance impressed keeper Katie Lund who said, “I just feel so comfortable with those four that it makes my job easier. They worked their tails off.”

She also had praise for Erceg and Pickett and, in particular, their ability to integrate into the back line so seamlessly.

“Carson and Abby come in with such great experience that it’s easy to work with them,” said Lund. “They’re just so good and what they do and they know how to play the game that it basically just comes naturally.”

Abby Erceg and Katie Lund have a chat – Image courtesy the Houston DashIn the midfield, Brazilian national team player Ary Borges and Finnish national team player Elli Pikkujämsä made their debuts and also looked solid. Pikkujämsä is assumed to be the starting center back next to Erceg but moved up to the No. 6 spot due to Howell’s injury. Her ability to switch positions and still perform solidly drew praise from Pickett who joked, “For like five minutes I played forward tonight and I just was about to die.”

More seriously Pickett praised Pikkujämsä ‘s skills and remarked, “I think she did great. I think she’s a ball winner, she’s really, really good with the ball, she’s technical.”

Borges, who played as the No. 8, was extremely effective in the attack. In the 12th minute, a cross from Pickett worked its way to Borges who deftly turned and cued the ball up for Savannah DeMelo who was making a run into the box. DeMelo’s shot was deflected out to earn a corner that ultimately came to nothing, but the connections between Pickett, Borges, and DeMelo are already very promising. Borges had her own excellent chance just after the 31st minute when another solid cross from Pickett found her feet in front of goal, but her shot, unfortunately, went wide.

Up top, Uchenna Kanu also made her debut for Racing with her best chance coming in the 14th minute off a cross from DeMelo. The ball bounced up and Kanu got a bit too much under it and sent it over the crossbar. Off that ball, Kanu was just as impressive, however. She didn’t stop pressing and was relentless in her work to win the ball back or at least slow the Dash’s progress. This is exactly the type of energy Björkegren has been looking for from his strikers and he said it’s obvious that it’s only a matter of time before she’s finding the back of the net.

“We can see that she’s difficult for opponents to play against and she already today created a lot of chances,” he said. “She’s going to start scoring goals in the next game or in the next after that for sure.”

All in all, this was a solid performance from the whole team against a tough opponent in a tough, very hot environment. It’s unquestionable that this squad has more confidence and control over games than they have ever had previously. It wasn’t a perfect match, but all the pieces for success are there. And even better, it’s not just the eye test that demonstrates Racing’s success. Statistically, there are also very positive signs for the team.

Savannah DeMelo high fives Ary Borges – Image courtesy the Houston DashBy the NumbersIn the past, it was not uncommon to see massively lopsided statistics between Racing and their opponents. Take their last match against Houston which was interestingly enough also a nil-nil draw. In this previous match, Houston had 15 shots with 10 on goal while Racing had three shots and zero on goal. In other words, Racing held on for dear life and somehow managed to scratch out a point.

In Sunday’s match, however, they actually met Houston on even footing and even surpassed them in a couple of areas. Here, Racing had 17 shots to Houston’s 15 and won nine corners to Houston’s five. Houston did have more shots on frame with seven to Racing’s five, but that’s still massively better than the 10 shots on goal to Racing’s zero last time.

I know that many will say shots or shots on goal don’t matter because they don’t demonstrate the quality of the chance and that’s fine. But in a case like Racing’s where the statistics have been so consistently lopsided, I do believe it’s worth mentioning and also indicates a broad, general positive trend in attacking.

In terms of xG which better demonstrates the quality of the chances created, Houston edged out Racing 1.34 to 1.19. Once again, these are incredibly close numbers which demonstrate just how evenly matched these teams were.

xG Race Plot for @HoustonDash v. @RacingLouFC!#DTFO #RacingLou #HOUvLOU #NWSL pic.twitter.com/8gHroyeiIl

— Arielle Dror (@arielle_dror) March 27, 2023

Evenly matched or not Katie Lund came up big for Racing in goal as she always does. She made seven saves on the night including a double save early in the second half that blocked two shots that seemed like inevitable goals. She made seven saves overall which is probably more than Racing or she wanted, but, hopefully, this number will trend down as the back line continues to acclimate.

As a club, Racing made NWSL history when they featured a starting lineup with players from all six habitable continents. In fact, they’re the only NWSL team in history to have players from six different continents.

The best number of the night, however, was 13,000 which is the number of minutes Abby Erceg matched at the 59th-minute mark. She’s only the ninth player in NWSL history to reach this milestone and she should be proud of it.

Looking Ahead: The Washington SpiritRacing now looks forward to their own home opener this Saturday afternoon against the Washington Spirit.

The Spirit is a bit of a mystery. They have a new coach in Mark Parsons and a very new squad after a ton of turnover. They also still have Trinity Rodman, Ashley Sanchez, and Ashley Hatch, however, and that makes them very dangerous.

Just as the Spirit has had an up-and-down road going from league champions in 2021 to 11th out of 12 in 2022, Racing has had very uneven showings against them. In 2021, Racing beat the soon-to-be champions 2-0 and then lost to them 0-2 later that year. In 2022, they drew them twice.

In 2023, we’ve only seen the Spirit against OL Reign in a match Washington won 1-0. This scoreline doesn’t really tell the story of the match, however, because OL Reign dominated much of the match only to squander some wide-open chances. The Spirit was able to break through and win off a goal from – who else – Trinity Rodman, but that’s all it takes against the Spirit; one small lapse and you’re through.

There’s no question Racing has a chance to beat the Spirit. Racing contained Houston well despite weathering the much-lauded twin threats of Ebony Salmon and Diana Ordóñez. If they can buckle down as they did in Houston and keep Rodman contained, they can absolutely get at least one point.

Racing will need to do better than they – or the Reign – did on Sunday, however, to pull in all three. They have to finish the chances that are given to them and they should try and avoid any absurd situations like Milliet needing to grasp the ball in her legs, laying down until Lund could dive on her to save a goal. Racing played a very clean game overall against Houston, but the faster they can work blips like this out of their system, the better. Offensively, they just need a bit more time to knock the rust off as well. We’ve seen the sparks of connection between DeMelo and Kanu and Borges and Pickett so we know that big chances are possible, now they just need to put them away.

Racing will have the home crowd advantage, however, and they’ll be in the more hospitable climate of Louisville instead of the heat of Houston (“Even when it’s not hot, it’s hot,” said Pickett). Hopefully, this will be enough to get Racing their first win of the season and set them on a solid path into the rest of the season.

The biggest mark in Racing’s favor, however, is their mindset. There’s a newfound confidence in this team that fans haven’t seen yet in Louisville. This is a team that’s proud and fired up and ready to show what they can do.

“Honestly, it’s amazing to be part of a team who just will do anything to win,” said Pickett. “That’s how it feels with this group. I always talk about chemistry as well as culture. This team is honestly incredible. I love them like family and I think that in the long run is going to help us win games because you just want to fight for each other.”

On their performance in Houston, she said that it gave her “a lot of hope going forward” because they are such a new group that’s still learning each other but still played so well as a unit. As for what the future holds, Pickett has no doubts either.

“I think it’ll only get better and better.”

The post A Lot of Hope Going Forward: Racing Louisville at Houston Dash appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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It’s been a long, long offseason, but Racing Louisville is finally ready to start the 2023 regular season. Houston Dash

After a tough midseason slog that featured a 13-game winless streak, Racing turned a corner and ended the 2022 season on a high note winning three out of their final four matches. To put that in perspective, Racing only had five wins all season, so they clocked in over 50% of their total wins in the final four games of the season. Not great.

Since then, there’ve added some important new faces to the roster, the coaching staff, and (soon enough) the front office. There have also been some key extensions signed that have provided the most solid foundation the club has ever had.

Will these developments add up to a winning season for Racing? And how are they likely to fair in their first major test against the Houston Dash this Sunday night? Let’s take a look at the impact these key personnel changes might make, what Racing’s preseason performances say about the club’s development, and what they might face when they come up against Houston this weekend. Houston Dash

Good bones, added muscleDespite their 9th place showing last season, it was obvious that Racing had good bones. They were competitive in all but a few matches. They had some standout personal performances. They just couldn’t get it all working together at once. So, they had good bones, they just needed some help in fleshing them out. And through trades and savvy international signings during the off-season, Racing has found creative ways to add some muscle.

The biggest issue Racing had in 2022 was in defense and in the attack. They scored too few and gave up too many even with keeper Katie Lund making a heroic and record-breaking 112 saves. This may seem like a simple problem, but it doesn’t always have an easy solution. Luckily, in the past couple of months, they’ve made significant progress in shoring up both of these areas.

Most notably, Carson Pickett and Abby Erceg were traded to Racing from the North Carolina Courage in exchange for Emily Fox. Both are storied veterans who regularly rank among the best defenders in the league so while losing Fox is painful, getting two solid defenders – including a left back of at least equal stature – in return was an amazing piece of negotiating by Racing. It’s safe to assume that with these players added to the roster and a more experienced Katie Lund in goal, there is a high likelihood that Racing concedes fewer goals this season.

Carson Pickett – Image courtesy Racing LousivilleRacing also acquired Paige Monaghan from NJ/NY Gotham in a draft day trade that also gave Racing the $150,000 and international slot they needed to sign Nigerian striker Uchenna Kanu from Liga MX’s Tigres. Monaghan is a versatile player who can play anywhere on the wing, so, by herself, she helps shore up the defense while adding some potential offensive firepower as well. Kanu, meanwhile, averaged a goal every other game in Liga MX. Even if she only scores half of those goals in the NWSL she’ll likely break Racing’s scoring records and have a massive offensive impact. Houston Dash

Additionally, Racing added Brazilian midfielder Ary Borges, Finnish defender Elli Pikkujämsä, and signed two of their four draftees – midfielder Kayla Fischer from Ohio State and forward Riley Parker from Alabama. Parker, however, was quickly loaned out to Tigres as part of the trade to acquire Kanu. And although she was signed in the previous season, South African superstar Thembi Kgatlana has also finally joined the club now that she’s mostly through her rehab from a ruptured Achilles. All of these players help strengthen Racing across their lines and, better yet, all have made a strong impact during the preseason – but more on that later.

All this added muscle will only help strengthen the good bones the team had last year in Katie Lund, Lauren Milliet, Savannah DeMelo, and newly announced captain Jaelin Howell. All of these young players have signed through 2025 – as have Monaghan and Pickett – so Racing has a solid foundation to build off of for years to come. Add in powerhouses Jessica McDonald, Wang Shuang, Emina Ekic, Kirsten Davis, and others who will be with Racing for at least another year and you have a very fun squad of players for 2023. Houston Dash

On the technical staff side, Racing has also added former Gotham assistant coach Bev Yanez to the coaching staff. She’s already received rave reviews from players who praise the technical focus she’s brought to their training. As a former player for OL Reign as recently as 2020, Yanez also brings a level of NWSL experience to the staff that the club has never had before which is invaluable.

Finally, Racing is due to announce the signing of their first general manager as soon as next week. The position has been filled, the club is just awaiting final league approval before it can be announced.

Savannah DeMelo makes a sliding cross versus the U.S. U-23s – Image courtesy Taylor VincentA good, strong heartSo it’s established that Racing now has the good bones and the necessary muscle they’d been lacking in previous seasons. But what about the heart and the mind? After all, you can have the best, fittest body in the world, but if you’re lacking the heart to compete or the smarts to put it all together, you’re not going to get very far.

To answer that, let’s look to a recent interview on ESPN Louisville 980’s Soccer City Radio where Bev Yanez said she is “110 percent” sure this team has what it takes to make the playoffs because of its heart. Houston Dash

“You talk a lot about tactics, you talk a lot about expectations, you talk a lot about positional profiles and expectations, but you don’t always talk and dive a lot into heart and heart 90 percent of the time wins and loses games,” said Yanez. “And so this group is amazing about how they feel about one another, how they feel about what’s being asked of them. They are a very blue-collar team in regards to wanting to put the work in because they genuinely care about what they’re doing and they genuinely care about what’s being asked of them. So not a lot of people talk about that, but it’s probably the one glaring thing for me in the role that I’m in and being new to this environment that has really, really stood out to me and it’s been really, really special to be a part of.”

The players themselves echo everything Yanez has said. According to Savannah DeMelo, “I think just us being so close makes us want to work for each other. We all want to win for each other, and for our coach. So I think it just adds that level of family to it and makes it a little bit more special and more meaningful. And it’s not really about one specific player. We all want to do well just for the club and the team.” Houston Dash

And it is this welcoming, group-oriented mindset that has been instrumental in helping new players integrate and also helping improve the results on the pitch. After a preseason match against Portland last week, Pickett said she was actually surprised by how comfortable she felt with the team despite playing against the reigning league champs in front of vocal Thorns fans.

“Since I’ve gotten [to Louisville], I’ve felt at home, I’ve felt comfortable, and I’ve gotten to know the girls relatively quickly,” said Pickett. “So I think that’s something that’s showing on the field. I feel like I already know how people play, where they want the ball, where they’re gonna be, what their movements are, so it’s definitely feeling really, really comfortable early on. And I’ve definitely been to a lot of teams and they’re not all like that.”

In retrospect, the massive turnover last year was probably critical in establishing this culture where players who are bought into the club want to be in Louisville. This isn’t to criticize any players who left, of course. Players should be able to be where they want to be and clubs shouldn’t hold onto anyone that isn’t fully bought into their vision.

So the fact Racing now has a group that is bought into the team is a big difference maker according to Katie Lund. At a recent player town hall with season ticket holders, she told attendees, “I think right now you’ll see hopefully everyone wants to be here from a players standpoint, and I can’t say that that’s been the case every year, so I think we’re in a really good place.”

Katie Lund versus OL Reign in a preseason match – Image courtesy Taylor VincentThe brains to put it togetherWith muscle added and a good heart firmly in place, it’s now time to look at the biggest question facing Louisville in 2023: Does Racing have the ability to put it all together into a playoff-caliber team? Houston Dash

The answer is, of course, that it’s impossible to know ahead of the regular season. The best we can do is look at their preseason performances to gauge whether or not they look better from last year.

But before we dive into performance, it’s worth noting that Racing switched up their regular preseason routine by actively seeking out NWSL opponents. In the past Racing has only played against collegiate squads. Björkegren changed this after last year’s rookies told him they didn’t feel prepared enough for the speed of play or physicality of the professional league after only playing college teams. So even without looking at the results, it’s fair to say that the many newcomers to the league on Racing’s roster are at least more acclimated than they would have been previously.

As for the actual preseason results, they’ve been very positive based on what little we know about them. During their trip to Florida in February, Racing played the Washington Spirit to a 0-0 draw. After returning home, they met the Chicago Red Stars in Indianapolis where they fell behind 0-2 but fought back to win 3-2. But since both of these matches were behind closed doors, it’s hard to gauge exactly how Racing performed.

However, last week, Racing traveled to Portland to play in a preseason tournament hosted by the Thorns that also featured OL Reign and the U.S. U-23s. Unlike previous preseason matches, these were open to the public so viewers were able to get their first glimpse of what Racing looked like in action.

It’s a big ask for last year’s 9th-place team to take on the reigning league champs (Portland) and last year’s shield winner (OL Reign) and expect strong results – especially because Racing has never beaten either team in any of their previous matchups. And yet Racing performed incredibly well and won two out of three games.

“We had a really good tournament and I think it surprised us as a group,” admitted Abby Erceg who said the team was progressing.

First, Racing took on the Thorns and managed to hold a nil-nil draw until the 86th minute when Portland capitalized off a set piece. Erceg said that despite the loss, the team was very positive about the experience because they played solidly and gave up no easy goals. This is especially positive because Portland did start league MVP Sophia Smith and starters like Rocky Rodriguez, Sam Coffey, and Meghan Klingenberg. Portland did have some rotation, of course, but so did Racing and the score still stayed level for the vast majority of the game. Houston Dash

“Overall, it was really good,” said Björkegren about his team’s performance. “Of course, it’s not so fun to lose the game from a set piece with just three minutes left. But if you compare this game with the game we played here five months ago – that was a game we were almost happy we lost only 3-0, but today we are super disappointed because we felt like we could win the game. It was a close game. We had our chances. We need to be a little bit better inside the box. But we’re doing a great job and there are so many positive things to take with us.”

Next, Racing took on OL Reign and won 2-0. This was a particularly interesting match because although OL Reign started with a heavily rotated squad, Racing didn’t score until the second half after a couple of Racing starters had been subbed off. In fact, it was rookie Kayla Fischer who scored the first goal and ultimate game-winner only five minutes after being subbed in at the half. This was actually her second goal of the preseason as she had also scored the first goal against Chicago earlier in the month.

Kayla Fischer celebrates her goal against OL Reign with Parker Goins – Image courtesy Taylor VincentAfter Fischer scored, OL Reign began subbing in big guns like Emily Sonnett, Rose Lavelle, and Tziarra King. But Racing only scored again thanks to Jessica McDonald’s perfect read of a bad back pass where she beat the keeper to the ball and nudged in Racing’s second on the night.

This goal only accelerated OL Reign’s addition of starters like Sofia Huerta, Alanna Cook, and Lauren Barnes. Meanwhile, Racing continued to sub out their starters, taking out Erceg, Pickett, and Ary Borges. And yet OL Reign could never capitalize and the game ended 2-0.

Just a few days later, Racing would beat the U.S. U-23s 3-1 and the most notable point about this game was that all three goals were scored by newcomers. Pikkujämsä, Kanu, and Borges all got on the board for Racing with Borges and Kanu taking a bit of a beating as they went in hard against the U.S. keeper.

All in all, these results are impressive for Racing even if preseason matches aren’t ever quite equal to regular season matches. There’s unquestionable progress displayed during these games in terms of shoring up the defense and offense. If they can keep Portland and OL Reign out while scoring five goals in three games, that’s a marked improvement from last year.

Outside of the results, it was particularly heartening to see just how well the whole squad worked together. In particular, Pickett, Erceg, and Pikkujämsä blended together almost seamlessly. In these three preseason matches, they consistently looked more cohesive than Racing’s backline did through most of 2022. Borges, Monaghan, and Kanu also snapped into the squad quickly and read the other players’ moves well to create some dangerous chances. For NWSL newcomers Borges and Kanu, at least, fans shouldn’t worry too much about a learning curve for either of them.

So when everything is looked at in totality, Racing is going into the regular season full-bodied with no glaring weaknesses. All currently rostered players got ample minutes on the pitch and many were able to try out different positions and display their versatility. The team is integrating well so it seems like the mind and body of the team are in very good working order.

That’s all well and good, but it still has yet to be seen how this positive preseason will translate into the regular season. So let’s look at what Racing will be facing on Sunday against the Houston Dash and see what we might expect from this matchup.

Jaelin Howell versus the Dash in 2022 -Image courtesy Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY SportsThe 2023 Houston DashThere’s no question Houston is going to be a hard team to beat. They mostly retained the team that last season got them into the playoffs for the first time in club history and, furthermore, they’ve added a key offensive piece as well in Diana Ordóñez. Last season, Ordóñez made a strong run in the golden boot race and scored 11 goals for North Carolina despite only being a rookie. Now she’s moved to Houston where she’ll be adding to their already potent attack.

There are still a couple of big questions around Houston: First, how will head coach Sam Laity fare? Laity comes from over a decade with OL Reign and even had a temporary stint as head coach in the gap between Farid Benstiti and Laura Harvey. At that time, he did well, but it was with a team he knew backward and forward. Will he be able to be as effective with a completely new squad of players?

The fact that Houston did retain most of their long-time players bodes well for the team. They already weathered one coaching disruption last year after James Clarkson was suspended and still managed to make it all the way to the playoffs. An experienced coach like Laity and an experienced squad like the Dash should have a high likelihood of coming together rather quickly, so this probably won’t be much of a problem.

There’s also some question about how Houston’s attack will be arranged. The addition of Ordóñez is unquestionably positive, but she’s a central strike and Houston already has a very young, star central striker in Ebony Salmon. Will Laity play a top two? Will he rotate them? Will he ask one to play out wide? It’s hard to say, but it’s far from the worst problem to have as a coach.

When facing the Dash, Racing should expect a very physical game with a highly potent attack. For a team that plays a very high line, keeping both Ordóñez and Salmon out will be tough. And Salmon will unquestionably be playing with a chip on her shoulder against her former team, so there’s that extra layer to contend with as well. Racing was able to keep Sophia Smith and Rose Lavelle out during preseason, but the stakes are much higher now that the regular season is underway.

It also doesn’t help that Jaelin Howell is most likely to be out with a hamstring injury sustained in the match against OL Reign. And even if she does play, it’s very unlikely to be for a full match. In that case, Pikkujämsä will likely move forward as the holding midfield leaving a question mark as to who will play next to Erceg. Rebecca Holloway played there at least once in Portland, but it’s also possible we’ll see Satara Murray who started many of Racing’s final matches in 2022.

Racing’s most glaring issue is the right side of their back line. If Pickett and Erceg have stepped in as unquestionable starters on the left side, there’s really no solid answer as to who will be starting on the right side. Both Paige Monaghan and Lauren Milliet have played as right back and, as mentioned above, without Pikkujämsä there’s no seemingly guaranteed right central defender either. Normally both these spots could be filled by Julia Lester, but up until recently she was in a boot and didn’t travel for the Portland tournament. This makes it seem unlikely she’ll be available by Sunday. Houston Dash

The good news is that Erceg is an experienced and vocal leader on the pitch. She captained the North Carolina Courage through numerous championships and shields and will be wearing the captain’s armband if Howell is out of the match. If there’s anyone who can at least help keep a shaky backline in position and working as a unit, it’s Erceg.

Offensively, it’s also a bit of a mystery who Björkegren might play. There should be no question that Borges, Wang, and DeMelo will be adding attacking power from the midfield. Up top, however, it’ll be interesting to see if Björkegren thinks Kanu is ready to be thrown into the challenge despite only being with the team for a little over a week. I’m guessing he will use her, but if not there’s always Jess McDonald and Kirsten Davis. Houston Dash

No matter how you slice it, however, this match will be a test for Racing. It should definitely boost their confidence that they performed above expectations in their most recent preseason tests, so if they can hold it to a tight game in either direction it can still be considered a win. The most important thing Racing can demonstrate in this match is that they can stay calm, focused, and work as a unit. Houston will throw a ton of problems at it, now Racing has to show they can solve them collectively.

Stay smilin' pic.twitter.com/k2WHEGzquH

— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) March 23, 2023

Final thoughtsI’m always extremely hesitant to go all in on how a club will do in the regular season because it’s impossible to tell. Look at the Spirit’s dive from first to worst over the course of the last season. Or the opposite trajectory of the Kansas City Current.

So I’m not going to assign Racing a made-up ranking in the standings they may or may not achieve. I feel that they will almost unquestionably do better than they did last year just based on preseason performances, but outside of stats and tactics and all that quantitative stuff, the thing that has impressed me the most is the heart that Yanez described. There’s something special with this group that we haven’t seen yet in Louisville. These players are bought in, ready to fight for the city, and wear the crest and they’re also ready to fight for each other. They genuinely care about each other and enjoy each other’s company in a way that is infectious.

But don’t just take my word for it. Everyone I know who has seen Racing for the first time this year has mentioned it to me unprompted. First, a friend who saw Racing practice in Portland texted me just to say there was a ‘palpable joy’ around the team that they’d not seen elsewhere. Another friend who saw the practice in Portland wrote in a piece for the Rose City Review that said “their training sessions are filled with laughter, fun, and joyful vibes. They enjoy being around each other so much, and most of them want to be around each other all the time.”

So, I’m telling you, there’s something special about this team and, apparently, everyone can see it. Savannah DeMelo was a revelation last year and now we have the chance to see Ary Borges, Uchenna Kanu, and more become revelations in their own right. We also get to see stars like Erceg and Pickett wear Racing’s crest and returning standouts like Katie Lund and Jaelin Howell in Racing’s colors. Houston Dash

This is a season where Racing can finally turn the corner from the scandal and pain that has defined much of their first two years. There are new kits, new players, new extensions with core players, and, generally, a whole new hopeful vibe around the team. Maybe this heart and hopefulness will translate onto the pitch, maybe it won’t. It’s hard to tell. But either way, there’s no question it’s going to be a fun ride. You won’t want to miss it.

Houston DashHouston DashHouston DashHouston Dash

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In a preseason match that never feels like it’s only preseason; it was a tale of two halves Saturday night in Portland, with OL dominating the first half, and the Thorns launching a significantly more cohesive attack in the second half. The Reign still walked away with a 1-0 win thanks to the 18th minute goal by Jess Fishlock.

BoldTogether 18' Jess Fishlock goal + celebration. Reign ended the half up 1-0 against the Thorns pic.twitter.com/g7zATXbWEB

— Taylor Vincent (@tayvincent6) March 19, 2023

Portland Thorns TakeawaysThe first half of the match, the Reign was very much on the offensive. The Reign outshot the Thorns 7 to 3 in the first half. Portland was not taking the time to build up the attack and instead sending through balls behind the backline like Sophia Smith was on the pitch, she was not (out sick). Of the three shots, two were on frame, but right at Reign goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who handled them easily.

The first half defensively was not bad for the Thorns. Natalia Kuikka did a phenomenal job of containing Elyse Bennett on the Thorns right flank, and Sam Coffey held the center of the midfield down, limiting the influence of Rose Lavelle and forcing the Reign out wide for a majority of the match.

The second half, the Thorns made some great adjustments, head coach Mike Norris said after the match that it was less of a structural change and more the fact that the players started trusting each other on the ball and believing in one another.

Rocky RodriguezWhen Rocky Rodriguez and Crystal Dunn were subbed in midway through the second half, there was a noticeable pickup in the attack and Rodriguez had a few shots that were just wide of the goal. Portland finished the match with 10 shots, but was unable to find the netting to get the equalizer.

Of the match Norris said, “Disappointed with the results. Really, really happy with the second half, totally different performance. That’s probably what we want to be this year, and that’s what I told the group at the end… That is a second half that we’re proud of and that we’ll be looking to reproduce on a more consistent basis.”

Michele Vasconcelos and Rose LavelleOne big thing from the preseason tournament has been the emergence of Michele Vasconcelos up top for the Thorns. Vasconcelos signed with the Thorns in July 2022 as a national team replacement player and only played 14 minutes for the Thorns last year. After re-signing during the offseason, it appears Vasconcelos is going to play a big part in the Thorns attack. Norris spoke of Vasconcelos’s impact this preseason, “She’s looked more comfortable and settled… she’s had an impact, particularly in the tight [spaces], [she’s] a different type of wide forward.” It will be interesting to see how Vasconcelos’s role continues to evolve in the regular season.

The Thorns open the regular season on Sunday, March 26th against the Orlando Pride at Providence Park. With Seb Hines at the helm, the Pride have had quite an impressive preseason and it will be a good test for the Thorns.

OL Reign TakeawaysThe Reign came out on the attack in the first half, once again implementing their impressive high press led by Jordyn Huitema and Bethany Balcer. The persistence of the pressure caused some problems for the Portland defense, but OL was just unable to capitalize.

Jordyn HuitemaIn the second half, the Thorns definitely held more possession than in the first half, but to their credit, the Reign defense held up against the attacks and was able to close out the match with a clean sheet.

Emily Sonnett once again played the defensive midfielder for the Reign. When asked whether to expect Sonnett to be seen more in that position head coach Laura Harvey said, “[expect] multiple spots on the field for Sonnett… I think she adds something really different to our team. In fairness, I think everyone who’s competing with her in those spots has stepped up too, which is great. It just adds a different dimension to us.”

Shae HolmesAlthough they weren’t seen in the Portland game, the two draftees, Shae Holmes and Natalie Viggiano did see time during the tournament. On what she’s seen from them Harvey said, “I’ve worked with Shae a lot, and the best thing about her was after the game she was so devastated with the goals because she blamed herself for them. Immediately Alana and Lu and Pinoe and Jess, they’re all like, ‘no, you’ll learn from it. You wont do it again.’ Natalie as a fourth round draft pick just comes in… The growth she’s had throughout the preseason is exactly what you would hope for a rookie. Obviously in a World Cup year, having people like that around are gonna be really important for us in the summer, so we’ve got to develop them, [and] make them better. This tournament was a really good eye-opener from them of what it’s actually like to play in the league.”

Emily Sonnett and Crystal DunnThe Reign will head east next weekend to open up the regular season against the Washington Spirit at Audi field, Sunday, March 26th. With the amount of changeover for the Spirit roster, and the lack of depth in the Spirit backline, the Reign should have a good opportunity to bring home a win. It will also mark the return of Emily Sonnett to Audi Field for the first time since being traded to the Reign in January.

LineupsPOR: GK Bixby, D Kuikka, D Hubly, D Sauerbrunn (Menges, 46), D Klingenberg (Reyes, 83), M Coffey, M Moultrie (Rodríguez, 74), M Sinclair ©, F Sugita, F D’Aquila (Dunn, 62), F Weaver (Vasconcelos, 46)

OLR: GK Tullis-Joyce, D Huerta, D Cook, D Hiatt, D Barnes ©, M Sonnett, M Lavelle, M Fishlock (Stanton, 90+), F Balcer (Van der Jagt, 64), F Huitema (Latsko, 87), F Bennett (King, 46)

GalleryMore tournament coveragePortland Thorns vs. U23s recap

Portland Thorns vs. Racing Louisville recap

Racing Louisville vs. U23s recap

OL Reign vs. U23s recap

OL Reign vs. Racing Louisville recap

US Soccer release

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In episode #345 of the Mixxed Zone women’s soccer podcast, Jen “The Keeper” Cooper chats about the dawn of NWSL’s second decade as well as the continuing struggles of the Canadian WNT for equal treatment by their federation.

In the first segment, Jen talks with Equalizer Soccer founder and editor Jeff Kassouf about a variety of NWSL topics as the pro league is about to enter its second decade of play.

Then Jen talks with TSN producer Meaghen Johnson to get an overview of everything’s that happened this year with the Canadian team and Canada Soccer, including the recent hearings, and an idea of what’s going to happen next.

In this week’s Jensplaining segment, Jen reviews the February FIFA Women’s World Cup playoffs and where the three playoff winners end up in this summer’s group stage.

Shipping soon — the 2022 Keeper Notes Almanac, the 400-page comprehensive guide to the first 10 seasons of NWSL. The latest edition is due to ship by March 20, 2023. The almanac features a complete player registry, stat leaders by season, color photos

Got a question or comment for the Jensplainer? Email your question or general Mixxed Zone feedback to keeper@keepernotes.com.

Check out the sponsors of The Mixxed Zone podcast:

• The Beautiful Game Network
• Phoenix on Westheimer in Houston

ABOUT KEEPER NOTESFounded by Jen Cooper, Keeper Notes has been spreading the love for the beautiful game since 2002 in Houston and beyond. The Mixxed Zone women’s soccer podcast has been covering women’s soccer (primarily NWSL, USWNT and Concacaf) since 2014. Check out more of the Keeper’s great content as well as the invaluable “WoSopedia” page at KeeperNotes.com. You can also follow Keeper Notes on Twitter and Instagram.

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Racing Louisville finished up the postseason tournament in Portland by taking on the United States U23s on Saturday night.

Racing got on the board first with a goal from Elli Pikkujämsä in the 14th minute. After a set piece clearance was collected, Milliet sent the ball back in and Pikkujämsä’s well-timed run allowed her to get a head on it and send it past Neeku Purcell, the U23 keeper. In the 24th minute, the U23s managed to find an equalizer in courtesy of UCLA’s Reilyn Turner. Racing found the game-winner in the 35th minute, however, after Savannah DeMelo’s sliding cross found Uchenna Kanu in front of goal. Kanu found the back of the net despite a hard challenge from Purcell that kept Kanu down for a brief moment. In the final minutes of the first half, Wang Shuang sent in a cross to find the head of Ary Borges who managed to knock in the goal despite getting hit hard in the face by Purcell. This second infraction earned Purcell a yellow.

Racing rotated heavily in the second half but managed to keep the score level despite the U23s bringing some serious challenges. Keeper Jordyn Bloomer, who subbed in during the half to replace Kelsey Daugherty, made some big saves including a huge kick save to keep the game level in the 71st minute. The match ended 3-1 with Racing securing their second win of the tournament.

Savannah DeMelo’s sliding cross led to Uchenna Kanu’s goal – Image courtesy Taylor VincentRacing’s TakeawaysThis is Racing’s final preseason match before the start of the regular season and they should, once again, be happy with their performance.

The fact that they got three goals with each coming from a new acquisition definitely bodes well for Louisville. This was Kanu’s first start after only joining the team on Tuesday. She is likely going to be the centerpiece of Racing’s attack in the new season, so to have her already on the board – even in preseason – is a particularly good sign.

It’s also worth noting that Racing came very close to scoring at least a couple more goals. The scoreline could have easily been 4-1 or 5-1. Wang Shuang missed wide by inches in the first half and also hit the crossbar. Abby Erceg – who wore the captain’s band through the first half before handing it off to Lauren Milliet after being subbed off – also had a good chance, but her header off a corner kick went just over the bar.

Racing has, like all NWSL teams in the tournament, used this series to test depth. This includes rotating players to new positions. For instance, Borges and Pikkujämsä both played in the No. 6 role after Jaelin Howell’s injury against OL Reign on Wednesday. Rebecca Holloway also played in central defense and Satara Murray as an outside back which reverses the positions Racing fans have typically seen them in before. While the U23s were much more dangerous in the second half after heavy rotation, it’s a positive development for Racing to keep their opponents off the scoreboard in the second half for the second match in a row.

First #RacingLou finishes. pic.twitter.com/wXxwnjI1N0

— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) March 19, 2023

Bloomer also had an excellent game in goal. She played aggressively, coming off her line confidentially to challenge opponents several times, and made numerous crucial saves to keep Racing up by two. With regular starting keeper Katie Lund completely out of this game, it was good to see some rotation in goal. Racing fans have only seen Bloomer once during the 2022 Challenge Cup in a match against Houston. Bloomer just returned to the team after an offseason stint in Australia’s A-League and she definitely seems to have come back sharp. This was Racing’s first time to see Daugherty in goal and she did well, making several good saves during the first half. It’s worth noting that Racing’s fourth keeper, Hillary Beall, is currently captaining the A-League’s Western United squad who are at the top of the table, and is a favorite to win the Grand Finals. The general consensus is also that Beall might very well win player of the year for the league, so competition is certainly tight amongst Racing’s goalkeeping corps.

Goal scorer Reilyn Turner takes a shot against Racing Louisville – Image courtesy Taylor VincentU23’s Takeaways PreseasonREOnce again, the U23s had a decent showing against NWSL competition. And this is particularly noteworthy because no NWSL players that might normally make a U23 squad were ineligible to take part which limited the squad to exclusively college players.

In particular, Eva Gaetino stood out with an especially strong defensive performance. She single-handedly shut down numerous Racing attacks and regularly used her height to her advantage in set pieces. Ayo Oke also stood out during her stint in the first half and Simone Jackson added a huge dose of energy and kept Racing on their toes after she was subbed. She was able to break through and challenge Bloomer at least twice one-on-one and it was only Bloomer’s quick reactions that kept the U23s off the board. Finally, Avery Patterson applied pressure well throughout the match and dispossessed Racing players several times in dangerous areas.

All in all, it was a solid showing for the young team and demonstrates that there will be no shortage of talent in the coming few years.

LineupsRacing Louisville (4-3-3): 31 – Kelsey Daugherty (46’ 24 – Jordyn Bloomer); 16 – Carson Pickett (76’ 23 – Trinity Watson), 20 – Abby Erceg (c) (66’ 44 – Satara Murray), 25 – Rebecca Holloway, 2 – Lauren Milliet; 4 – Elli Pikkujämsä (46’ 5 – Paige Monaghan), 7 – Savannah DeMelo (66’ 9 – Kayla Fischer), 8 – Ary Borges (46’ 3 – Zaneta Wyne); 14 – Jess McDonald (66’ 21 – Parker Goins), 29 – Uchenna Kanu (46’ 22 – Kirsten Davis), 77 – Wang Shuang (82’ 27 – Alex Chidiac)

U.S. WNT U23s (4-3-3): 12 – Neeku Purcell; 7 – Ellie Wheeler, 8 – Lauren Flynn, 19 – Eva Gaetino, 10 – Ayo Oke (c); 16 – Lexi Missimo, 17 – Sarah Weber, 22 – Annie Karich; 2 – Avery Patterson, 3 – Reilyn Turner, 15 – Payton Linnehan

GalleryPrevious recaps:

OL Reign versus U23s – Saturday March 12

Racing versus Portland – Saturday, March 12

Racing versus OL Reign – Wednesday, March 22

Portland versus U23s – Wednesday, March 22

GalleryAll photos courtesy of Taylor Vincent

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The United States U-23 squad fell 4-1 to the Portland Thorns on Wednesday evening.

In a surprising turn of events, the U-23s got on the board first in the 13th minute off a goal by Sarah Weber of Nebraska. They held that lead through the first half, but Portland began to sub in an increasing number of starters in the second half. Finally, in the 74th minute, Thorns’ draftee Izzy D’Aquila found an equalizer.

After that, it was the Thorns in the driver’s seat as they scored three more goals in just eight minutes. The ultimate game-winner came in the 84th minute via forward Sophia Smith, followed by another in the 90th by forward Morgan Weaver, and in the first minute of stoppage time, the final goal from Japan international Hina Sugita.

Izzy D’Aquila goal celebration – Image courtesy Taylor VincentPortland’s TakeawaysIt was obvious Portland wasn’t going to accept a loss to the U23s, so it’s not surprising they started bringing out the big guns around the 70th minute with Sophia Smith, Crystal Dunn, and Morgan Weaver clocking. Even so, it was rookie Izzy D’Aquila that ultimately broke through and put the Thorns on the board. The fact that D’Aquila had signed with Portland through 2025 with an option for 2026 had been announced only a few hours prior to the start of the match, so it’s definitely a good feeling for Thorns fans to know one of their newest players is already producing results.

Speaking of D’Aquila, she was subbed on in only the 20th minute due to a very worrisome injury to Canadian national team member Janine Beckie. In the 18th minute or so she attempted to toe-poke the ball away from a U-23 player but got her leg tangled. She was eventually stretchered off the pitch and was on crutches at the end of the match. This is an awful development for both the Thorns and the Canadian national team – especially in a World Cup year – but, hopefully, it’s not as serious as it immediately seems.

All in all, the Thorns are using this tournament to demonstrate that they’re the same championship-winning club as last year. Despite yet another off-season coaching change, they seem like they’re going to continue to be one of the more formidable teams in the league. The first goal was given up with almost no starters on the pitch. Their performance against Racing previously was also strong and if they failed to score earlier, that’s probably as much due to Racing’s improvement in the off-season as anything. The bottom line is that Portland was still able to pull out both these wins when they had to and that’s the sign of a team that’s going to continue to win throughout the regular season.

Sarah Weber – Image courtesy Taylor VincentU.S. U23’s Takeaways PreseasonREUltimately, the scoreline of this match makes the game seem rougher for the U23s than it was. They were able to score first on last year’s league champions (even if they were heavily rotated) and hold them off through three-quarters of the entire match. That’s a great accomplishment.

In addition to Weber who scored the goal, goalkeeper Ryan Campbell also had a very strong performance in goal and made some critical saves to keep her squad ahead as long as it was.

After losing to OL Reign 3-0 and now Portland 4-1, it’ll be interesting to see if they’re able to rally and make additional progress against Racing Louisville. Even if they don’t win against Racing, scoring more than one goal and/or holding a lead for a substantial period of time would be a sign of success. Unlike the NWSL teams, the U23s don’t play together consistently at all, so even the heavily rotated NWSL squads have more time to build chemistry together than the U23s. It’s also worth noting that none of the players who might regularly be called into the U23 squad from NWSL teams were eligible for this tournament. So there was no Emily Madril or Tarryn Torres to round them out. Therefore, the fact they were able to put together strong games at all is a positive sign for their future success.

LineupsUSA U-23: 1-Ryan Campbell; 9-Quincy McMahon (10-Ayo Oke, 68), 19-Eva Gaetino (8-Lauren Flynn, 46), 20-Talia Staude (Capt.), 6-Kate Wiesner (15-Peyton Linnehan 74); 17-Sarah Weber (11-Jillian Shimkin, 57), 22-Annie Karich (21-Sunshine Fontes 46), 18-Felicia Knox (16-Lexi Missimo 68); 24-Brittany Raphino (3-Reilyn Turner,46), 13-Taylor Huff (7-Ellie Wheeler, 46), 2-Avery Patterson (14-Simone Jackson, 68)

Subs not used: 12-Neeku Purcell

Head Coach: Margueritte Aosaza

Portland Thorns: 18-Shelby Hogan; 45-Natalie Beckman (14-Natalia Kuikka, 62), 44-Gabby Provenzano, 5-Emily Menges, 39-Meaghan Nally (2-Reyna Reyes, 72); 46-Taylor Porter (9-Sophia Smith, 72), 11-Rocky Rodriguez (17-Sam Coffey, 62), 12-Christine Sinclair (Capt.) (19-Crystal Dunn, 71); 16-Janine Beckie (24-Izzy D’Aquila, 20), 33-Hannah Betfort (22-Morgan Weaver, 72), 15-Michele Vasconcelos (8-Hina Sugita, 46)

Subs not used: 1-Bella Bixby, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 13-Olivia Moultrie, 20-Kelli Hubly, 25-Meghan Klingenberg

Head Coach: Mike Norris

Next MatchesBoth teams are back on Saturday, March 18th when Racing will take on the U.S. U-23s at 8 PM ET /5 pm PT while OL Reign will play the Portland Thorns at 10:30 PM ET /7:30 pm PT. Preseason

Tournament Schedule

GalleryAll photos courtesy of Taylor Vincent

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Racing Louisville and OL Reign met in Portland’s Providence Park as the preseason tournament hosted by the Portland Thorns continued on Wednesday evening.

After facing a tough, late-game 1-0 loss to the Thorns over the weekend, Racing Louisville surprised OL Reign by coming out on top 2-0. First, Louisville draftee Kayla Fischer came in hot after getting subbed in at half-time and scored the first goal in the 50th minute. Fifteen minutes later, Jess McDonald capitalized off a poor back pass and got a toe in to knock the ball past keeper Laurel Ivory and tapping the ball into a wide-open goal.

Both teams played heavily rotated squads although Racing opened the game with more starters than OL Reign. Interestingly, as the game went on, Racing continuously removed starters like Savannah DeMelo, Abby Erceg, and Carson Pickett while OL Reign added them by subbing in the likes of Emily Sonnett, Rose Lavelle, Jordyn Huitema, and Tziarra King. And yet Racing was still able to hold them off to earn a clean sheet. Preseason

Racing had 11 shots overall (6 in the first half and 5 in the second) while OL Reign had 10 total shots (2 in the first half and 8 in the second). This shows that Seattle did improve offensively in the second half as their typical starters subbed on, but Racing remained fairly steady.

This game marks the first time Racing has ever beaten OL Reign. Last season, they drew each other in both their regular season games but lost out to OL Reign in the championship match of the Women’s Cup friendly tournament in August.

Jessica McDonald celebrates her goal with Kayla Fischer who scored earlier – Image courtesy Taylor Vincent PreseasonRacing’s TakeawaysThis is another solid preseason performance from Racing versus a team they’ve historically struggled against. The Thorns are the reigning league champions and OL Reign are the shield holders, so to lose one match in the final minutes by a single goal and win the other by two goals are very positive developments for Louisville. Although this is preseason and both teams had rotated rosters, a win like this is exceptionally important to building confidence in a team that’s integrating a bunch of new team members.

In positive news for Racing, big off-season acquisitions Abby Erceg and Carson Pickett seem to be integrating into the team seamlessly. They already look like they have good chemistry with their teammates, including fellow newcomers midfielder Ary Borges and defender Elli Pikkujämsä.

Pikkujämsä is a member of the Finland national team and has started both preseason matches in Portland next to Erceg. She’s looked sharp in both of them and made a number of key clearances and blocks in each match that have kept attackers from breaking through to take keeper Katie Lund on one-on-one. She also got to demonstrate that she’s a fully capable holding midfielder after slotting in the six after Jaelin Howell went down in the first half with a hamstring injury. Preseason

The injury to Howell is certainly a blow to Racing. After going down clutching her hamstring, she was able to walk off the field without assistance. Coach Kim told reporters that she assured him she was fine, but that it would still be a few days before they knew the extent of the injury. Even a hamstring strain could keep her out of matches for four to six weeks, so it’s certainly a relief for Racing to have an able backup in Pikkujämsä.

The other big news of the match is the fact Uchenna Kanu was able to make her debut for Racing after finally joining the team on Tuesday. As a relatively late sub in the match, she didn’t have a large number of touches but she was able to get her head on the ball for an important clearance and she helped put together some attacks that forced clearances from OL Reign. Mostly, however, she was able to demonstrate the speed and agility she’ll bring to Racing’s front line as she integrates into the team.

OL Reigh’s Emily Sonnett blocks Uchenna Kanu from advancing – Image courtesy Taylor VincentOL Reign’s Takeaways PreseasonREDespite probably being greatly frustrated by this loss, OL Reign doesn’t have any real negative takeaways from this match.

It’s clear that, at least early on, the whole purpose of this match was to test their depth. OL Reign will have a high number of important players gone for swaths of the season for international duty so seeing how these players fare against another NWSL team is critical.

Overall, the players that started the match did fine and held Racing to a 0-0 draw in the first half. Although they only got off two shots and one corner kick compared to Racing’s six shots and four corner kicks, they still kept a clean sheet and put in a generally solid performance. Preseason

Almost immediately after Racing’s first goal, however, OL Reign began subbing in starters. The fact that they weren’t able to do more than create a few half-chance opportunities to test keeper Katie Lund is likely frustrating, but not enough to raise alarm bells. Figuring out these issues is the entire purpose of participating in a tournament like this one.

In interesting formation notes, Emily Sonnett came in at the 62′ and played in central defense after playing as a defensive midfielder last weekend against the U.S. U-23s. Most surprisingly, however, was the fact that Alana Cook was subbed on in the 84′ to play offense. Whether this was a true attempt to try her in a new position or just a way to get her minutes while testing another backline is unknown, but it is moments like this that make preseason matches so interesting.

LineupsRacing Louisville (4-3-3): 1 – Katie Lund; 16 – Carson Pickett (59’ 44 – Satara Murray), 20 – Abby Erceg (78’ 23 – Trinity Watson), 4 – Elli Pikkujämsä, 3 – Zaneta Wyne (59’ 5 – Paige Monaghan); 6 – Jaelin Howell (c) (39’ 25 – Rebecca Holloway), 7 – Savannah DeMelo (46’ 9 – Kayla Fischer), 8 – Ary Borges (59’ 2 – Lauren Milliet); 14 – Jess McDonald (78’ 29 – Uchenna Kanu), 21 – Parker Goins (59’ 22 – Kirsten Davis), 27 – Alex Chidiac (78’ 77 – Wang Shuang)

OL Reign (4-3-3): 18 – Laurel Ivory; 22 – Ryanne Brown (46’ 14 – Jimena Lopez), 17 – Sam Hiatt (62’ 2 – Emily Sonnett), 25 – Shae Holmes (84’ 3 – Lauren Barnes), 20 – Alyssa Malonson (71’ Sofia Huerta); 7 – Nikki Stanton (84’ 4 – Alana Cook), 33 – Olivia Van Der Jagt (62’ 13 – Marley Canales), 12 – Olivia Athens (62’ 16 – Rose Lavelle); 24 – Veronica Latsko (71’ Natalie Viggiano), 8 – Bethany Balcer (c) (46’ 9 – Jordyn Huitema), 34 – Elyse Bennett (62’ 23 – Tziarra King)

Next MatchesBoth teams are back on Saturday, March 18th when Racing will take on the U.S. U-23s at 8 PM ET /5 pm PT while OL Reign will play the Portland Thorns at 10:30 PM ET /7:30 pm PT. Preseason

Tournament Schedule

GalleryAll photos courtesy of Taylor Vincent

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It was 47 degrees and rainy in a quintessential Oregon winter day. OL Reign dominated the USWNT U23s through 90, ending with a 3-nil win. Bethany Balcer ended the match with a brace, Alana Cook and Sofia Huerta assisting in the 16th and 32nd minutes respectively. The Reign’s third goal came in the second half with an unfortunate own goal by the U23s in the 57th minute.

Bethany Balcer had a brace Sunday evening against the U23sReign TakeawaysLast year, the Reign attack was synonymous with a high press and as head coach Laura Harvey said before a late regular season match against Orlando, “I hope they let us press. Not sure if they will. I always prepare for both if we can or not… I think it’s becoming renowned that we’re good at pressing, so I want to try and keep that a little bit of a secret, if we could, that would be great.”

The secret is definitely out by now, but considering the tight turnaround for the U23’s coming together as a team and playing in this tournament, it’s no surprise that they slightly struggled to handle the press in the first half. During halftime the U23s made some good adjustments to better absorb the pressure, and other than the devastating own goal, held their own against the Reign attack. Overall, the high press was able to keep the U23s pinned back in their own half for the majority of the match.

Emily SonnettA surprise in the Reign’s starting XI was Emily Sonnett playing the six. The even bigger surprise was how natural she looked in the position. As a defender whose versatility has her usually playing centerback in league-play and outside-back with the USWNT, the move to the six isn’t that big of a leap. One other interesting thing that happened was that when one of the outside backs pushed super high, Sonnett cycled back to cover.

There were a few moments of miscommunication between Reign members whether that be two defenders, two people on the attack, or between defender and goalkeeper, but those are normal for preseason and ideally by the end of the tournament, those are minimal. The Reign will have a bigger test in their final two matches of the preseason tournament when they take on Racing Louisville and the Portland Thorns.

U23’s TakeawaysAlthough the Reign contained most of the U23’s attacks with the high press, allowing just 2 shots, there was some success from the U23s using their speed along the wings to get in behind the Reign backline. The strength of the Reign backline and the ability of the defenders to work as a team kept the U23s from being a bigger threat. There were definitely a few moments where extra touches were taken, or a second too long on the ball led to the Reign being able to react and recover. Ayo Oke was pivotal along the U23s right side and made some nice def

Reilyn Turner still manages to get a shot off with Reign defensive pressureThe other big thing it looked like surprised the U23s was just how physical the match was going to be, part of this might be just because that was how the referee called the match, or it could be in part due to the level difference between college and professional.

Neeku PurcellFormer Reign Academy player, Neeku Purcell had 5 saves on the night and some impressive punches to get the U23s out of trouble.

LineupsOL Reign:30-Claudia Dickey; 11-Sofia Huerta (22-Ryanne Brown, 82), 4-Alana Cook, 21-Phoebe McClernon (17-Sam Hiatt, 46), 3-Lauren Barnes (Capt.) (14-Jimena López, 74); 2-Emily Sonnett (13-Marley Canales, 74), 16-Rose Lavelle 24-Veronica Latsko, 60), 10-Jess Fishlock (12-Olivia Athens, 59) ; 8-Bethany Balcer (33-Olivia Van Der Jagt, 46), 9-Jordyn Huitema (31-Natalie Viggiano, 82), 23-Tziarra King (34-Elyse Bennett, 59)

USWNT U23s – 12-Neeku Purcell; 7-Ellie Wheeler (6-Kate Wiesner, 46), 8-Lauren Flynn, 10-Ayo Oke (9-Quincy McMahon, 66), 19-Eva Gaetino (20-Talia Staude, 46); 5-Talia DellaPeruta (Capt.) (22-Annie Karich, 66), 11-Jillian Shimkin (21-Sunshine Fontes, 46), 17-Sarah Weber (18-Felicia Knox, 58); 3-Reilyn Turner (24-Brittany Raphino, 66), 13-Taylor Huff (16-Lexi Missimo 77), 14-Simone Jackson (2-Avery Patterson, 33)

Looking ForwardThe Reign will take on Racing Louisville on Wednesday March 15th at 5pm PT, while the U23s will be playing the Portland Thorns at 7:30pm that evening.

Full Schedule

Recap from Thorns v Racing

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It was a blustery Sunday night in Portland as the Thorns and Racing faced off in a hard fought preseason match. A headed ball by Portland’s Meaghan Nally in the 87th minute was the decider in this close 1-nil matchup.

There were lots of new faces on the Racing side compared to their starting lineup the last time they played Portland in 2022 including: Carson Pickett, Abby Erceg, Elli Pikkujämsä, Ary Borges, Paige Monaghan, and Wang Shuang. The Portland starting 11 included all returning players from last year’s squad.

Racing’s TakeawaysPortland came out aggressive in the first half, with six shots to Racing’s one, but were unable to make the solid connection to find the netting, mostly due to the apt defense by centerback due Abby Erceg and Elli Pikkujämsä. Of the duo, Racing head coach Kim Björkegren said, “Abby, she’s a leader that we need there, Elli is still young and [this] is the first year for her in this league. It goes a bit quicker with all the transition here. She missed it once when Smith was alone with the goalkeeper, but overall she did good as well.”

Abby Erceg heads away a pass trying to find Sophia Smith. Taylor VincentRacing had more corners than Portland in the first half and likely more crosses, but were unable to get that final touch in the box to redirect on frame. “Both Carson [Pickett] and Lauren Milliet, they’re doing a fantastic game, top quality outside the box by both of them,” said Björkegren after the match. “We had many crosses inside of the box, again, we need to be a little bit more hungry inside it. We need to take the opportunity that is there inside the box. We maybe had five, six half chances and you need to take one of those to have a point or have a chance to win.”

Katie Lund coming up with the block, she would go on to kick clear the ball from this position on the ground. Taylor VincentLouisville goalkeeper Katie Lund had quite a few saves to keep them in the match including a one-on-one in the first half, a kick clearance while half on the ground, and a diving save in the final ten minutes. Björkegren called Lund’s diving save as “World Class.” “She’s great, and the funny thing with her, she still has a much higher potential because there are more things to learn … In three, four, years, I don’t know how good she will be because in my opinion she’s already now one of the best goalkeepers in the league.

Portland’s TakeawaysWith a team largely similar to last year’s championship roster, Portland had fewer questions heading into the preseason in terms of team cohesion, shape, and player’s positional responsibilities compared to Racing.

Michele Vasconcelos dribbles toward the box. Taylor VincentThe biggest surprise for Portland fans was Michele Vasconcelos in the starting lineup as a forward. Vasconcelos was a free agent during the offseason and re-signed with Portland on January 27th but a he only saw 14 regular season minutes last season with the Thorns. She had some good moments of pressure in the first half and definitely dropped back at times to help defensively.

Penalty kick to Portland is overturned with VAR. Taylor VincentNWSL VAR made it’s Providence Park debut in the first half, when a called penalty kick off a foul on Sophia Smith in the box was called back after video review. From the video replay in the stadium it looked like there was definite contact coming from more than one Racing player, but the replay must’ve shown the referee something else to overturn the call on the field. Compared to the Angel City use of VAR which was quick and painless, there was a lot of waiting around, and then just when you thought that the referee was going to say take it, then he went to the video board and started watching replays. Hopefully, the quickness is something that is addressed sooner rather than later.

Portland head coach Mike Norris spoke to press after the match on his overall thoughts of the performance, “[I’m] a bit frustrated. To be honest, we struggled defensively just to deal with their midfield movement. Probably took longer than ideally to fix that… Much happier with [the] second half. We just never got close to them defensively how we wanted to, but we felt that we did much better.”

Izzy D’Aquila makes her preseason debut for the Thorns. Taylor VincentIn the 62nd minute, Izzy D’Aquila entered the match, and made her preseason debut for the Thorns. The forward was the 12th overall draft pick in the 2023 NWSL draft, and was quite impactful the entire time she was on the pitch. Norris spoke of her performance, “Izzy’s a threat, she’s a fighter, she’s a fighter, she puts everything out there. She’s got great habits in the box.”

Meaghan Nally’s 87th minute game-winning header. Taylor VincentThe 87th minute goal came from a set piece for the Thorns. The corner kick went long aiming for the head of Kelli Hubly who was waiting just past the goal. Hubly headed the ball back into the chaos in front of goal, where Meaghan Nally got her head on it and sent it right between the goalkeeper and the defender marking that near post.

LineupsRacing Louisville (4-3-3): 1 – Katie Lund; 16 – Carson Pickett, 20 – Abby Erceg, 4 – Elli Pikkujämsä (56’ 25 – Rebecca Holloway), 2 – Lauren Milliet; 6 – Jaelin Howell (c), 7 – Savannah DeMelo, 8 – Ary Borges (64’ 9 – Kayla Fischer); 5 – Paige Monaghan (64’ 14 – Jess McDonald), 22 – Kirsten Davis (85’ 21 – Parker Goins), 77 – Wang Shuang (64’ 27 – Alex Chidiac)

Portland Thorns (4-3-3): Bella Bixby (c); 25 – Meghan Klingenburg (72’ 45 – Natalie Beckman), 5 – Emily Menges (46’ 44 – Gabby Provenzano), 20 – Kelly Hubly, 14 – Natalie Kuikka (62’ 39 – Meaghan Nally); 17 – Sam Coffey (72’ 46 – Taylor Porter) 11 – Rocky Rodriguez (62’ 12 – Christine Sinclair), 13 – Olivia Moultrie; 8 – Hina Sugita (72’ 33 – Hannah Betfort), 9 – Sophia Smith (62’ Izzy D’Aquila), 15 – Michele Vasconcelos (62’ 16 – Janine Beckie)

Next MatchesRacing will take on the OL Reign Wednesday March 15th at 5pm PT while Portland plays the USWNT U23’s at 7:30pm PT.

Tournament Schedule

GalleryPortland Thorns pre-tournament look

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Stopped by the Portland Thorns practice on Friday as the team preps for their preseason tournament which kicks-off on Sunday, March 12th and quickly talked to head coach Mike Norris.

The Thorns had a closed-door scrimmage against Washington State March 5th, of which head coach Mike Norris said, “Spent quite a bit of time in the attacking moment of the game. Probably would’ve been good to spend a bit more defending time, but it was a good run out. We got some people, some good minutes, got everybody on the field. Happy with the technicality.”

As far as injuries for the Thorns, Sophia Smith was practicing fully today. Reyna Reyes is in her return to play, and is touch and go for playing at the backend of the tournament. Lauren DeBeau picked up an injury on Tuesday, which shouldn’t keep her out too long. Tegan McGrady will miss the tournament and likely the season opener (the Thorns are hosting the Orlando Pride, March 26th).

The big goal for the Thorns over the tournament is to build through gaining minutes for players. The snowstorm that hit Portland a few weeks ago did cause the team to have to cancel a closed-door exhibition.

2023 Thorns Preseason Tournament ScheduleSunday, March 12OL Reign vs. U.S. U-23 WNT at 2:30 pm PT
Thorns FC vs. Louisville at 5 pm PT

Wednesday, March 15Louisville vs. OL Reign at 5 pm PT
Thorns FC vs. U.S. U-23 WNT at 7:30 pm PT

Saturday, March 18U.S. U-23 WNT vs. Louisville at 5 pm PT
Thorns FC vs. OL Reign at 7:30 pm PT

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With a little over 15,000 fans in BMO stadium Wednesday night, Angel City was able to celebrate International Women’s Day in style in a dominating 3-0 win over Club America Femenil. Alyssa Thompson, the 2023 #1 overall draft pick, made her debut with the team and immediately put her mark on the match with a 5th minute goal.

Angel City’s New Threat Up TopAs forwards Christen Press and Sydney Leroux remain on the injured list with no concrete timelines on their return, Angel City is in need of speed in the front line to keep opposing teams on their toes. It looks like the answer is Alyssa Thompson and once Angel City has everyone fully back, it’s going to be a scary team to try to contain on the attack.

5' #AngelCityFC #1 draft pick Alyssa Thompson with the opening score of the night and her professional career pic.twitter.com/sbSQBUk1Vu

— Taylor Vincent (@tayvincent6) March 9, 2023

After the match, Thompson admitted, “I was really nervous. Once I stepped on the field, I felt better and I felt comfortable with my teammates and prepared for what the game was like, what was gonna happen.” You would’ve never known that Thompson was playing her first match for a professional team based on her performance. She attacked the Club America defense time and time again with her speed. It likely didn’t help that Club America had a Liga MX match Monday night and a long travel day on Tuesday.

Last week, captain Ali Riley spoke of Thompson, “I don’t think players we play against will necessarily know how to defend her.”

33' #AngelCityFC Alyssa Thompson shot saved. She's looking very dangerous along the left hand side right now pic.twitter.com/qThBqWPIzY

— Taylor Vincent (@tayvincent6) March 9, 2023

After the match, Angel City head coach Freya Coombe had nothing but good things to say about Thompson.

“Her goal, she took so coolly and like she had played in a hundred games in this stadium. I think the occasion didn’t put her off. She made the correct decision in the way that she finished and slotted at home. And then I think that she looked threatening all night.“

“Defensively she gets herself in really good positions. She tactically knows when to go. She’s able to to work well within the team off the ball, [and] on the ball. She offers really great movement for us to be able to break into spaces she’s able to face up… Her ability to finish has been really impressive.”

One of the other exciting things about Alyssa Thompson is her pairing up top with Claire Emslie. Although this Emslie goal was called back due to offsides (with the new NWSL VAR making its debut), it is clear that the two already have great chemistry that should make Angel City fans excited about the season.

46' #AngelCityFC gonna be breaking out the VAR on this one and it's coming back. Nice connection between Alyssa Thompson and Claire Emslie. Lovely chip by Emslie regardless

The VAR was quick and rather painless pic.twitter.com/xsQFhJswBk

— Taylor Vincent (@tayvincent6) March 9, 2023

Defense Wins ChampionshipsFor the most part, the Angel City defense kept Club America from being threatening. Defender Sarah Gorden made her club debut after an ACL injury last year in preseason kept her off the pitch and looked absolutely amazing Wednesday night.

Ali Riley had hinted that Gorden was back stronger than ever last week, but it was different to see it, “I don’t see how any player is going to be able to get by her. So I just think that gives us a confidence.”

Coombe was also impressed with Gorden’s return to the pitch, “Sarah was tremendous tonight. She’s shown herself in all of our preseason games so far as she’s been increasing minutes. She’s been very consistent. She’s been winning the ball. Her distribution has been good. She defends the space so well and behind the backline, and just adds that air of experience and seniority to our backline. Which has gone a long way for just holding our shape and giving our backline confidence. So she’ll continue to get more minutes and as we get close to the season, but [I’m] incredibly pleased with her and for her with her return to the field.”

With Gorden’s return, Angel City now has what it was missing all last season, a very strong, healthy backline that will be the backbone of their long push to make playoffs this season.

DiDi Haracic spent the first 66 minutes of the match in goal for Angel City, had a few saves and kept her clean sheet. When Brittany Isenhour came in to replace her, it was clear to see the fatigue had set in for Club America and the backline shut down potential attacks before they had a chance to be dangerous.

38' #AngelCityFC DiDi Haracic with a nice save on a curling shot pic.twitter.com/B83NhT1kel

— Taylor Vincent (@tayvincent6) March 9, 2023

Madison Hammond, MidfielderOne thing that Angel City fans probably wouldn’t have predicted before the lineups came out Wednesday night was Madison Hammond showing up in the midfield. Hammond, who is on her fourth season in the NWSL, has traditionally always been a defender.

Angel City starting lineup against Club America Femenil March 8th, 2023Wednesday night, however, she played a six in a double pivot (the graphic was wrong, switch Hammond and McCaskill in your mind). The characteristics of a good six often overlap a lot with the good characteristics of a good defender so it’s not completely unsurprising that Freya Coombe moved her up a line.

Although it was Hammond’s first game in front of the rowdy Angel City crowd in the new position, Coombe said that the team had experimented with it in some of the previous preseason games. “She offers us an option in there to look solid defensively, but also her distribution and her ability to open the game up a little bit with some longer passes,” are just some of the advantages of Hammond moving up according to Coombe. “She’s able to defend the space in front of the back line and be able to read moments to step in.”

Whether the double pivot becomes a more permanent formation for ACFC, Freya Coombe admitted that it is still preseason and the team is still experimenting with formations and rotations.

Angel City’s Midfield QuestionAt the end of last season, Angel City knew that they needed to make adjustments in the midfield. The team struggled to efficiently move the ball between lines, which more often than not, ended up with the forwards dropping back to help. Whether that problem has been properly addressed in the offseason still has set to be seen.

Of Angel City’s three goals in the friendly, two were created out of quick counter-attacks that skipped the midfield having possession, and the other was a set piece.

The second of the counter attacks highlighted the pairing of forwards Katie Johnson and Simone Charley. Last season Charley had 31 shots in the regular season for Angel City, and 11 of those were on goal and led to two goals. Katie Johnson was acquired as a free agent during the offseason and played last season with Angel City’s southern California rivals, San Diego.

85' #AngelCityFC #ACFCvCAF Katie Johnson leads the ACFC breakaway and perfectly weights that pass to Simone Charley making her break behind the backline. Nice job by Charley to get the GK to commit and finishing with that angle pic.twitter.com/riXmMMuI6z

— Taylor Vincent (@tayvincent6) March 9, 2023

The set piece goal was exciting because that was one area that Angel City struggled with in their inaugural season, likely due in part to the large number of injuries the team was working around. ACFC finished the 2022 regular season 7th out of the 12 teams on successful corners. On the free kick, the ball into the box narrowly missed the foot of Paige Nielsen, however, after a hel header by Megan Reid, Nielsen was able to put the ball in the net and double the Angel City lead.

56' #AngelCityFC Paige Nielsen gets the second goal of the night off the head of Megan Reid. Only fitting considering she was the original target of the set play. 2-0 ACFC pic.twitter.com/JDSuSCUGwW

— Taylor Vincent (@tayvincent6) March 9, 2023

Looking Forward to Angel City’s Regular SeasonAngel City is just two and a half weeks away from the regular season opener on March 26th against NJNY Gotham FC.

Thus far in the preseason, the team had been sharing minutes in their closed-door matches. After the match Coombe commented on the team’s progress thus far:

“We’re making good progress. We’re happy with the layers that we’re able to add in. Tonight was a great example of us being able to give slightly more minutes to some players. Just keep expanding their capability physically.”

“The exposure that they’re having now of working together and that experience, it’s coming together nicely. But obviously, pre-season friendly is not the NWSL, it’s not the the long season that we’ve gotta go into. So we are not gonna get carried away or too excited. Club America have come off a game two days ago, so, I think the big test now is going into the NWSL season where all the teams are hungry. All the teams have parity, they’re all going out to win a championship and now we have to compete and dig deep.”

Angel City’s next open preseason match is March 18th against the San Diego Wave at Snapdragon Stadium

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Friday Angel City FC announced signing their starting goalkeeper DiDi Haracic to a contract extension through the 2024 season with a mutual option to extend through 2025. Haracic finished the regular season second overall in the league for saves with 70, four clean sheets, and fifth overall in save percentage, 73.68 percent.

On her extension Haracic said, “I’m grateful to be extending my career here in LA. Angel City has become a place I can truly call home. We have the best fanbase in the NWSL and I am so excited to share new memories with them as we head into our second season.”

Haracic played in every minute of every regular season match until the final game of the season for ACFC and truly grew into her role after a rocky start in the 2022 Challenge Cup. The contract extension is fairly important for Angel City, as Haracic’s contract was due to expire at the end of this year, especially because she had surpassed the minimum of five years required to become a free agent years ago. She would’ve been a free agent in what is sure to be a chaotic offseason with the introduction of restricted free agents, a reduction in the number of years for free agency, and two expansion teams coming into the league.

Angel City goalkeeper coach Daniel Ball was thrilled to secure Haracic for the future, “Her performances were integral to our results on the field last year, and she has rightfully established herself as one of our team’s leaders.”

“She has been so strong and resilient and she is definitely one of the players that I look up to in terms of analyzing her game and how can she get better… It’s honestly been a privledge to be able to play with her,” stated captain Ali Riley after the final game of season last year.

All in all, this is a good move for Angel City looking toward their future and continuing to build towards a team that can compete for the championship.

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Angel City has six non-rostered invitees joining them for the 2023 NWSL preseason. With only 21 roster spots currently signed for the 2023 season, there is a chance some of the players below could earn themselves a spot on ACFC’s final roster.

Currently there are seven defenders on the roster to start the season, not including Allyson Swaby and Vanessa Gilles who are on loan until June, Angel City is likely looking for one to two defenders to potentially add some depth, and potentially become national team replacement players during the World Cup while Swaby, Gilles, and Ali Riley are away. The midfield will be where the most opportunity is for the NRI’s with only five rostered midfielders currently with the team.

Rachel Diodati – Defender – Michigan State UniversityDiodati played her graduate year at Michigan State after 4 years at Colgate, in 2021 was a First Team All-Patriot League selection her senior year Colgate. In 2022, at Michigan State, she received the Big Ten Defender of the Year award. Diodati not only started all 23 matches for Michigan State, but she also had 7 assists on the year. On paper Diodati appears to be the front-runner in the competition for a straight defender spot, she’s a solid defender, took corner kicks while at Colgate, and you’ve got to appreciate a defender who nails penalty kicks.

GOOOOAAAALL MSU

Ruby Diodati finds the back of the net for the lead!

MSU 1, Dartmouth 0#GoGreen pic.twitter.com/zzZfd994ZX

— Michigan State Soccer (@MSU_wsoccer) September 1, 2022

Kelsey Hill – Defender – Pepperdine UniversityHill played the six matches for the Wave in 2022 before getting a hip injury and missing the remainder of the season. In 2021, she started in 22 matches for Pepperdine, tallied 4 goals, and a Defensive Player of the Week award. Coming back from injury, Hill has an uphill battle in the company of these other defenders to make the roster.

Kelsey Hill's jump is sooo good and the header just a BEAUT! #WavesUp pic.twitter.com/1NXnYx1rv3

— Pepperdine Soccer (@WavesSoccer) October 31, 2021

Mackenzie Pluck – Midfielder/Defender – Duke UniversityIn her graduate year at Duke in 2022, Pluck played in all 23 matches for the Blue Devils and started 21. In the 2022 season she had 3 goals and 8 assists with the team, second on the team in assists only to #2 overall draft pick Michelle Cooper. Her career totals for her 5 years were 21 goals and 29 assists. Pluck’s ability to play both defense and in the midfield will add some versatility to Angel City in that she can be used to both control the pace of play or create chances for the team.

High-quality goal from Mackenzie Pluck ( @Mac_Pluck ) pic.twitter.com/MCyPhIIR7d

— Antonio Garcia (@Iruk_WomenSport) August 30, 2021

Taylor Aylmer – Midfielder – Washington SpiritAylmer was picked up by NJ/NY Gotham as a replacement team player in 2021 and was with the team during the Challenge Cup. She was then picked up by the Washington Spirit first as a national team replacement player and later that turned into a contract. For the Spirit in 2021 she played in 10 matches with 2 starts, had 1 goal and 1 assist. She was subbed into the 2021 NWSL Championship game, which after an overtime goal, the Spirit won. In the 2022 Challenge Cup, Aylmer played in 7 matches and had 5 starts, and in the regular season she earned another 8 starts and 15 caps. Aylmer would bring a good amount of NWSL game experience into the Angel City midfield.

https://www.bgn.fm/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Taylor_Alymer.mp4Domi Richardson – Midfielder – NJ/NY Gotham FCRichardson has been playing in the NWSL since 2014, most recently for Gotham FC. In 2022 between the Challenge Cup and the regular season, Richardson only had 4 games and 1 start with Gotham while in 2021 she had 10 caps and 1 goal. Richardson has spent 10 years in the league but has never quite found a team where she got consistent minutes, could Angel City be that club for her?

What a great strike by @Domi_Richardson!

3-2 | #NCvNJ pic.twitter.com/pUTVg4GzlC

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) October 13, 2019

Molly McLaughlin – Midfielder – Xavier UniversityMcLaughlin started in all 23 of Xavier’s games in 2022, and notched 7 goals, and 4 assists while doing so. Her graduate year, she was named Big East Midfielder of the year, and also earned a spot on the Big East first team. On top of leading her team in goals, she additionally brought home Big East defensive player of the week back in September. This past summer she played in the USL-W league, a women’s pre-professional league, for the Indy Eleven. While the midfield class that Angel City has here is strong, it would be a lot of fun to see McLaughlin make bangers like below at BMO in front of it’s record-setting home crowds.

Molly McLaughlin makes it a two-goal Xavier lead!

Tune in now on ESPN+ https://t.co/YVXI0zftp5#LetsGoX pic.twitter.com/mbVHUzLZNV

— Xavier Women's Soccer (@XavierWSOC) November 12, 2022

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In episode #344 of the Mixxed Zone women’s soccer podcast, Jen “The Keeper” Cooper covers the the January NWSL Draft, the recent USWNT friendlies in New Zealand and the state of women’s soccer (football) in the U.K. since the 2021 EURO tournament.

In the first chat, Jen and NWSL broadcaster/former player Jordan Angeli take a look back at the 2023 NWSL Draft, held in Philadelphia in early January. Angeli discusses how she researches potential draft picks and how the growth of the league has changed the overall draft pool. Jen and Jordan also talk about the two USWNT friendlies in January.

Then Jen catches up with U.K.-based reporter Rich Laverty about what has changed (and what hasn’t changed yet) for women’s football in England since the Lionesses won the EURO at home last summer. J

In this week’s Jensplaining segment, Jen reviews what means to be drafted in NWSL — and what your options are when you’re not.

Now available for pre-order — the 2022 Keeper Notes Almanac, the 400-page comprehensive guide to the first 10 seasons of NWSL. The latest edition is due to ship by March 20, 2023. The almanac features a complete player registry, stat leaders by season, color photos

Got a question or comment for the Jensplainer? Email your question or general Mixxed Zone feedback to keeper@keepernotes.com.

Check out the sponsors of The Mixxed Zone podcast:

• The Beautiful Game Network
• Phoenix on Westheimer in Houston

ABOUT KEEPER NOTESFounded by Jen Cooper, Keeper Notes has been spreading the love for the beautiful game since 2002 in Houston and beyond. The Mixxed Zone women’s soccer podcast has been covering women’s soccer (primarily NWSL, USWNT and Concacaf) since 2014. Check out more of the Keeper’s great content as well as the invaluable “WoSopedia” page at KeeperNotes.com. You can also follow Keeper Notes on Twitter and Instagram.

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It has been a long, hard off-season for Racing Louisville fans, but the new season is just around the corner. The preseason roster is set with 30 players reporting over the next couple of weeks. So far 21 reported for the first practice team practice on Wednesday with the rest reporting in the coming weeks as off-season loans come to an end.

At practice, head coach Kim Björkegren said it was great to be back with the club. Despite some upheaval in the offseason related to the release of two reports on systemic abuse in U.S. women’s soccer, Björkegren said he feels the club is now on the right track.

“The club is doing a great job and the squad and the staff as well. We have good energy in the group and I really feel that we’re moving in the right direction. All I can promise is that when I look at this club and this group, the future is bright both on the pitch, but maybe even more off the pitch.”

In some ways, Racing is the most stable it’s ever been in terms of coaching continuity and roster stability. In other ways, the team’s been radically changed due to departures and club restructuring. Let’s take a look at everything that’s happened in the off-season — the staff, the draftees, the trades, and more — and what all of this might mean for Racing heading into the new season.

The staffStarting off, let’s look at the club’s staff.

Björkegren’s return means Racing has the same head coach for a second consecutive year for the first time in its short history. Sergio Gonzalez also returns as the goalkeeper coach becoming the only member of the technical staff to remain from the first season. Julie Twaddle returns for a second year as the Head of High Performance.

In the offseason, Racing hired Bev Yanez as an assistant coach. Yanez previously spent two seasons as an assistant with NJ/NY Gotham FC. Prior to that, she was a professional player for over ten years and ended her career with OL Reign. As a result, she brings NWSL experience that Racing’s technical staff has lacked previously which will surely benefit the team in several ways.

She has @NWSL experience on the field and along the touchline.

We’re excited to welcome @beverlyjyanez as #RacingLou’s assistant coach!

— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) November 23, 2022

Racing has also announced that they are hiring a general manager to oversee all of the team’s day-to-day operations. As part of their recently released corrective actions, the NWSL has determined that this new GM will report directly to team ownership instead of club president James O’Connor. Although this position was originally announced back in October, it has yet to be filled which left all offseason player management up to Björkegren, Yanez, and Gonzalez. While the coaching staff is more than capable of taking on these duties, Racing needs to get this position established so the club can function as intended. The longer it takes, the faster the new hire will have to integrate and hit the ground running.

All in all, the moves Racing has made in their staff in the offseason are positive. Expanding the staff spreads the weight of some of these major team responsibilities around to more people and will hopefully help the team function better. For example, it’s been said Yanez will focus on player development. This will allow Björkegren to focus more on game preparation and tactics. The GM will take on the brunt of player movement, recruitment, and management which will allow the coaching staff to focus on what they’re supposed to be focusing on: coaching. While there’s no guarantee these changes will immediately turn Racing into a playoff-bound team, they certainly don’t hurt and will likely only benefit the team in the long run.

The drafteesLeading up to the 2023 college draft, it was clear Racing was focused on selecting Florida State center-back Emily Madril. Not only was Madril a two-time NCAA College Cup champion, but she also spent her summer playing for Racing Louisville’s W League squad. After the end of the W League season, she stayed in town for a couple of months to practice with a first team. After Gemma Bonner’s departure at the end of this past season, a highly skilled center-back who already had chemistry with the team was almost too good to be true.

And it did, unfortunately, end up being too good to be true. Racing learned the Orlando Pride were absolutely taking Madril with the third overall pick, so Racing decided to trade the fourth overall pick to Gotham in exchange for Paige Monaghan, $150,000 in allocation money, and an international spot for 2023. Selling a high first-round pick was somewhat controversial, but post-draft Björkegren made it clear that they were going Madril or bust for the first round.

“In our preparation leading up to today, there was only one center back we wanted, but on draft day, it became clear we weren’t going to have that chance at No. 4,” said Björkegren. “We sought the best value for our pick, and we moved for a player in Paige Monaghan who has league experience, a great personality, and positional versatility. She will be a great addition to our team.”

Paige Monaghan / Image courtesy EM Dash PhotosWith the rest of their four picks — two in the second round, and one each in the third and fourth rounds — Racing made the following selections: Kayla Fischer, a forward out of Ohio State, Brianna Martinez, a defender with U.S. youth national team experience out of Notre Dame, Jadyn Edwards, a forward out of the University of New Mexico, and Riley Parker, a forward out of the University of Alabama.

Going into the draft, Racing most desperately needed help in center-back, followed by outer back, followed by wingers, followed by attackers. Martinez and Monaghan can play as outer backs, Monaghan can also play as a winger, as can Fischer. Edwards and Parker both fill the need for center forward depth with Racing’s Nadia Nadim, Emina Ekic, and Thembi Kgatlana currently out with injuries. The fact they filled in many of these holes is good for Racing, but the failure to take a center-back or more than one defender caused many to criticize the team’s draft strategy.

In some ways, Björkegren’s refusal to accept a center-back draftee other than Madril makes sense. Racing didn’t just need a center-back, they needed a pro-ready starter with the smallest learning curve possible. And although there were some strong candidates available, none of them had the draw of Madril. So deciding to sell off their top pick to receive money plus an experienced NWSL veteran in Monaghan did allow the team to fill a need — a winger who can play defense and offense — and gave them some extra funds to use towards buying more established players.

But with the critical need for a center-back still lingering, Racing would need to take drastic measures. And that’s exactly what they did.

Jadyn Edwards / Image courtesy EM Dash PhotosThe tradeLast week, Racing made headlines when they traded star defender and U.S. national team member Emily Fox to the North Carolina Courage for defenders Abby Erceg and Carson Pickett.

This trade was initially shocking because Fox was Racing’s most prominent player and definitely one of the most talented. On North Carolina’s side, Pickett and particularly Erceg were mainstays on the squad and core to the Courage’s identity. Once the dust settled, however, it became clear that this was solid and, frankly, necessary trade from Racing’s perspective.

First, Erceg is one of the most experienced and accomplished center-backs in the league as both a three-time league champion and three-time shield winner with the Western New York Flash/North Carolina Courage. She’s also the former captain of the New Zealand national team and was the first Kiwi player to ever reach 100 caps. Erceg is a tall, agile central defender with almost 20 years of professional experience including eight seasons in the NWSL. Her joining Racing more than fills the gaping need for a center-back and also provides the team with additional much-needed NWSL experience and veteran guidance along the backline.

An experienced defender at the club and international level.

Get to know @abbyerceg.

— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) January 24, 2023

Second, if you’re going to lose Emily Fox, Carson Pickett is about as excellent a left back as you could possibly replace her with. Pickett is known for her excellent precision and Björkegren called her one of the best attacking outer backs he’s ever seen. Last year, she was the league’s assist leader and has made the NWSL’s best XI two seasons in a row in 2021 and 2022. She’s also recently come to the attention of the U.S. national team and has earned two caps in the past year. Like Erceg, Pickett also brings much-needed NWSL experience after spending six years in the league.

The biggest criticism about this trade from Racing fans is that Fox was a player to build on for the future. At only 25 years old, she’s already one of the best defenders in the league. There’s no question that she’ll only continue to improve. While Erceg and Pickett are extremely talented, they’re also older and less likely to be foundational long-term fixes for the team.

However, the fact of the matter is that without signing a contract extension, Emily Fox was going to become a qualified free agent in 2024. During Wednesday’s practice, Björkegren revealed that Fox had told him that she was looking to move on to “a new challenge” and wasn’t planning an extension. This means she could have started fielding offers from interested teams as early as August of this year. And if she accepted an offer and didn’t sign an extension, Racing would get nothing for her.

With this context, this trade makes perfect sense and actually becomes a huge win for Racing. They turned one immensely talented player into two immensely talented players in desperately needed positions. And Fox was never going to be a player to build off of considering she wasn’t planning on staying. Also, Racing, frankly, has a huge amount of young talent to build off already. Katie Lund, Jaelin Howell, Savannah DeMelo, and Lauren Milliet are all mainstays who are 26 or younger. All of them have also recently signed extensions through 2025. So Racing has enough young talent. What they needed more than anything outside of key positions was league experience and they’ve got buckets of it with Pickett and Erceg.

.@Cars_Pickett16's passing = precise.

Get to know our new left back.

— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) January 25, 2023

Even better, Pickett and Erceg clearly already have chemistry after playing together for two seasons. Pickett also has experience playing with Julia Lester from their days in Cyprus when both were with the Apollon Ladies who were coached by Björkegren. This means going into 2023, Racing will have three defenders with some form of chemistry already established and at least two with chemistry already with their coach. Considering one of Racing’s biggest weaknesses last season was an unstable, constantly rotating backline, this is a major improvement.

As good as this trade is for Racing, it’s still extremely sad to see Emily Fox go. The impact she had on this team is immeasurable and immediately evident by the outpouring of grief that initially came with the trade announcement. Fox was the first player we ever saw on the pitch with Racing Louisville next to her name when she played for the U.S. national team in February of 2021 shortly after being drafted. Seeing her excel and move into an unquestionable starting spot for the U.S. has been a huge source of joy for many supporters. And in an extremely tough couple of years filled with painful and traumatic revelations about abuse and misconduct by former coach Christy Holly, in many ways, watching Fox succeed has been the clearest and most untarnished throughline.

All reports indicate she’s a stand-up person as well. Although less willing to put herself in the spotlight, Fox is one of the more thoughtful and introspective players I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to in interviews. Over the years, numerous sources have also shared that she’s been an important leader behind the scenes and a key member of the locker room. So as great as Erceg and Pickett are and as much as it can be argued that Racing won this trade, it’s still hard to see Foxy go. And even though players moving on is part of the sport, it’ll be hard to see her in a non-Racing kit for the first time in her professional career. Even if it stings, though, there’s no question Louisville fans still love her and most will follow the rest of her career closely wherever it may take her.

Other new additions and extensionsPickett, Erceg, and Monaghan aren’t the only new additions to Racing this season. Racing has also added Brazilian midfielder Ary Borges and Finnish defender Elli Pikkujämsä. Both are very young players who are new to the NWSL, but both come with a lot of potential. Earlier in the offseason, it was a little more worrying that Racing was once again acquiring players who’ve never been tested by the NWSL, but the additions of Monaghan, Picket, and Erceg basically void any concerns in this area.

Although she’s been signed since last summer, South African superstar Thembi Kgatlana has finally arrived in Louisville. Last year, she ruptured her Achilles in the African Cup of Nations during World Cup qualifying. Thankfully she’s ahead of schedule in her recovery and might be available as soon as April. As a versatile attacker who describes herself as unpredictable, Kgatlana has the potential to be a real spark in Racing’s attack.

𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙨.

Hear more from @Kgatlanathe1st as she updates on her ankle rehabilitation and what #RacingLou fans can expect when she makes her debut later this year. https://t.co/LpFaVTtC8P pic.twitter.com/5XPAQWyyTN

— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) January 27, 2023

Racing also made moves in locking down established players for years to come. Lauren Milliet and Savannah DeMelo both announced extensions at the tail end of last season. This January, extensions for Katie Lund and Jaelin Howell were also announced. All four players are now signed with the club through 2025 and will form a strong backbone of young talent that can be built off for the next several years. So, again, while losing Fox will sting for a long time, Racing is far from lacking in young talent.

Offseason grade and 2023 forecastFor the first time in its history, Racing is not undergoing a rebuild. Important changes have been made, but not to the extent that they happened last season. Of course, much of Racing’s turnover happened midseason last year with the high-profile departures of Ebony Salmon, Cece Kizer, Addisyn Merrick, and Freja Olofsson, to name a few. While more turnover is guaranteed to happen at the end of preseason in order to whittle the roster down to 26, there should be far less of a concern that there will be the same midseason disruption this year. After all, this isn’t a new coach coming in and learning how his team works as he goes. This is the same coach working with players he selected or who stayed consistent with him through 2022. That should keep Racing more stable than they have been previously.

With a stable roster, young talents like DeMelo, Howell, and Lund with a year of professional starts under their belts, and the additions of two extremely talented veterans, Racing is in pretty good shape heading into the new season. If talents like Borges, Kgatlana, and Wang Shuang (who played a few games last year before missing the final three matches of the year) live up to their potential, the team might make significant progress this season.

After all, Racing both struggled to score goals and stop goals and ended with a goal differential of -12 last season. This was still an improvement over 2021 when Racing had the worst differential in the league with -19, but it’s still not great. Adding Pickett and Erceg to the backline should guarantee that Racing gets scored on less. As far as scoring goals, Pickett may help with that, too, considering she has one of the most precise kicks in the league. Hopefully, Kgatlana and Borges can score some more goals and if draftees Parker and Edwards pan out, those are four new additions that can add some firepower. And in returning players, Savannah DeMelo has shown no sign of slowing down and Kirsten Davis was in good form as she gained more minutes at the end of the season. Finally, Jessica McDonald and Emina Ekic are coming off excellent off-season stints in Australia’s A-League and have the potential to add some more goals, too.

In short, Racing should score more goals and give up fewer this season. That should help them climb the standings. Are they playoff contenders? It’s hard to say, but they’re certainly more in a position to be contenders than they were going into the off-season. If Racing had managed to sign Fox and keep her, that would have been excellent in many ways, but it would have also left Racing without a center-back. Sure, they could have found one elsewhere, but it’s hard to imagine one that was feasible who is a better fit than Erceg. And with Pickett coming, too, it’s hard to not feel that Racing is an improved squad in spite of losing Fox.

As far as a final offseason grade for Racing, I would give them a solid B to a B+. Immediately after the draft, they were definitely in more dire straits and C would be generous. It’s not that any of their draft picks were bad or that Borges or Pikkujämsä don’t have tons of potential, it’s that they had such a glaring need in finding defenders. By getting Pickett and Carson, they easily bumped their grade up significantly.

Of course, we still don’t know how long Pickett, Erceg, and Monaghan will sign for. If it’s just a year then Racing definitely takes the lower B grade. If they sign for several years, however, then this grade might bump all the way up to an A. After all, an A doesn’t mean they’ll absolutely make the playoffs or unquestionably dominate the league. It just means that they filled all their gaps more than satisfactorily and it’s clear that they have in the most glaring areas.

What the new season will bring is hard to guess, but, at least for now, it’s looking pretty good.

Update – 2/3/2023And now it’s looking even better!

On Wednesday, Equalizer’s Jeff Kassouf (full disclosure: I also write for Equalizer) broke the news that Racing was going to pay a record $150,000 transfer fee to Tigres UANL of Liga MX in exchange for star forward Uchenna Kanu. In addition to the transfer fee, Racing would also be sending newly signed draftee Riley Parker to Tigres until June or the close of the second half of Liga MX’s season. On Thursday, the move was officially announced along with the news that Kanu would be signing a two-year contract with Louisville.

Kanu is a 25-year-old Nigerian national team member who scored a whopping 23 goals in 38 appearances for Tigres. At the international level, she’s scored 10 goals in 12 caps — including the goal that broke the United States shut-out streak this past September.

With Kgatlana, Nadim, and Ekic all still recovering from injury, Kanu is unquestionably going to be a centerpiece of Racing’s attack right off the bat. And because she can play out wide or centrally with equal skill, she can simply move around to accommodate returning players.

As we’ve seen, adjusting to the NWSL can be a challenge for some players new to the league and everyone should be given time to acclimate. Still, Kanu is as close to a sure bet as one can get. After all, she doesn’t need to score a dozen goals to be impactful. She can score seven and still break the current single-season goal record for the club. Of course, she could also very easily score a dozen. She’s shown that she has that potential in her which is what makes her so exciting. (And if she does, Racing will owe Tigres another $30,000 in incentives — a fee they will surely pay with immense pleasure.)

Reflecting on the most recent movements that happened with Racing, it’s really interesting to see that Emily Fox was basically turned into Carson Pickett, Abby Erceg, and Uchenna Kanu. The trade where Racing gives Fox to the Courage in exchange for Pickett and Erceg is clear. But the $150,000 that was received as part of the Paige Monaghan trade with Gotham unquestionably would have gone to Fox’s extension should she have stayed. That’s not implying Racing had no additional money that they could have used to chase Kanu. They could have a ton for all I know. But they certainly had way more freedom to spend a league-recording-breaking amount to acquire her because they weren’t paying Fox’s salary.

As a result of this trade, Racing is unquestionably stronger than they were. Are they a playoff lock? That’s impossible to say, but they’re looking better than they ever have. A starting lineup that will include some combination of Jaelin Howell, Savannah DeMelo, Katie Lund, Uchenna Kanu, Carson Pickett, Abby Erceg, Wang Shuang, Jess McDonald, and eventually Thembi Kgatlana and Nadia Nadim is looking mighty solid across all lines. And that’s not even mentioning Paige Monaghan, Emina Ekic, Lauren Milliet, Alex Chidiac, Kirsten Davis, Julia Lester, and others.

As I said above, for the first time Racing is not rebuilding. Sure, there are some significant changes, but they’re building on top of what’s already been established instead of razing the whole thing and building from scratch. And depending on how long they’re able to sign Monaghan, Pickett, and Erceg, they might have this foundation in place for several years to come. What an enticing prospect that is.

Quick side note – Check out Michael Shaw’s preseason roster breakdown along with his predictions for who might get cut or transferred at the end of the preseason on his blog Fleur de Lis FC. Micheal is also keeping a live roster tracker on his site if you want to see contract lengths and signing info.

The post Updated – Racing Louisville’s preseason roster is set, how will they fare in 2023? appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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Quotes in this interview may be edited slightly for clarity

After four seasons with NJ/NY Gotham FC, winger Paige Monaghan realized it was time for a change.

“I really just had a hard look at what I wanted out of myself in my career and asked for the trade,” she told The Beautiful Game Network. “Then, from there, it kind of was like a leap of faith of where I would end up.”

She insists “nothing bad” prompted her desire to move on. Instead, it was a decision based on what would be the next best step for her personally.

Monaghan is a New Jersey native who was drafted in 2019 by Sky Blue FC. She’s been with the team through many changes, including its rebranding to become Gotham in 2021. And after playing her entire professional career in the same franchise in her home state, she realized she needed to get out of her comfort zone and go somewhere new to continue to grow as a player.

“I think I just want to be the best player I can possibly be and that meant I needed a change.”

The right choiceA draft day trade between Gotham and Racing Louisville has now brought Monaghan to Kentucky. Racing gave Gotham the No. 4 overall pick of the college draft and Gotham gave Racing Monaghan plus $150,000, and an extra international slot for 2023.

She said she understands that the trade was a surprise to many people, but she’s determined to make her mark with Racing.

“I really just want to make the town, the city, and the club proud. I know I was a little bit of a wild card, but I’m going to prove why it was the right choice.”

Monaghan isn’t completely unfamiliar with the city of Louisville. She attended college at Butler University which is in nearby Indianapolis and has friends from Louisville. In college, she would play Spring games against the University of Louisville and remembers taking bus trips with her team down to the city. As a result, she “actually was really excited” to come back to this part of the country again. She’s also excited about the growing potential Racing has as a club.

“I think there’s a lot of talent on the team,” she explained. “I think there’s a lot of positive change happening there and to be a part of that is just really special and exciting for me.“

In particular, Monaghan said she’s looking forward to working with assistant coach Bev Yanez again. Yanez spent two years as the assistant coach at Gotham before coming to Racing in the off-season, something Monaghan considers a big positive for Louisville.

“She is an amazing human, was an amazing player and is an amazing coach,” said Monaghan of Yanez, “so I think that says a lot about the direction of the team.”

A new roleRacing won’t just bring about a new environment for Monaghan. It’s likely to bring about different roles on and off the pitch as well. Louisville’s head coach Kim Björkegren has hinted that he’s going to use her as an outer back despite the fact she’s typically played as a winger. In fact, Racing’s own website currently lists her with the defenders and not the forwards.

For her part, Monaghan said she’s open to being pushed in new directions. She’s also very aware that after a career of playing with legendary veterans of women’s soccer like Carli Lloyd and Ali Krieger, she’s moving to a team where she’s going to be one of the most veteran players around. With more than 50 regular season appearances in the NWSL, Monaghan outpaces everyone on Racing except for Jessica McDonald and Nadia Nadim. But this new role is exactly why Monaghan finds her new team so enticing.

“I’ve had the opportunity to play with some legendary players. And I got to learn from them and be mentored by them and just learn so much. But I think coming to Louisville, it’s more of a two-way street where I think I’m going to help them and they’re going to help me as well so I’m really excited for that. I think I’m going to grow in more ways that I don’t even know. To take on that responsibility is super important for me and why I think this is going to be such a great fit.”

Hitting homeAs positive as she feels about the upcoming move to Louisville, Monaghan admitted that this has been a particularly tiring offseason after a particularly rocky few years for the NWSL.

After being drafted in 2019, she then went through all the uncertainty caused by the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020. This was followed by 2o21, a year of painful revelations regarding systemic abuse in the league and work towards establishing a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the NWSL and the player’s association. The 2022 season was then filled with investigations into widespread abuse in the NWSL and U.S. soccer which brought to light even more incidences of misconduct.

“This offseason, for me, a lot of it kind of hit home mentally and physically where it’s just been exhausting ” explained Monaghan. “I think in the moment you’re just trying your best to do what you can and be a good teammate and be a good person and just bring the best out of each other. But there were some really difficult and dark times and a lot of uncertain times throughout my career.”

Monaghan said she was recently reflecting on how much things have changed during the four years of her professional career. Early in 2020, players spoke openly with each other about how the pandemic might just kill the NWSL completely. Now, despite how hard things have been, she feels like there’s been a transformation.

“Now we have the CBA and we have legal backing and we’ve had investigations and reports and sanctions come from that. It’s now operating as a business and not a charity or something that’s just good to do where we’re not going to be taken seriously. We’re going to be treated professionally and we’re going to demand professionalism across the board which, for the future of women’s sports, is crucial. I want it to be a safe and thriving environment and be taken seriously. And I do think that there are positive steps and actions happening.”

Take it and run with itWith preseason for 2023 starting in just a few days, Monaghan will soon be on her way to her new club and city. For the first time in her professional career, Monaghan will no longer be based out of her home state of New Jersey or playing in front of nearby friends and family. While that prospect could be daunting for many, Monaghan is excited about the challenge.

“It’s so easy to be fearful,” she said, but she also has faith that everything she’s been working so hard for these past four years is ready to flourish. She’s looking forward to meeting her new teammates and seeing what they can do as a team in 2023.

“We have the opportunity as individuals to come together and just be the best team we can and also compete for big things like the Women’s Cup or the NWSL championship or just the regular season games, whatever it may be. At the beginning of the year, every team has an opportunity and Racing Louisville has the opportunity to take it into our own hands and leave it better.

So that’s really the biggest challenge. Just what are we going to do with this opportunity? I know I’m going to take it and run with it.”

The post A bit of a wildcard: Paige Monaghan takes a leap of faith with Racing Louisville appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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2023 NWSL Draft Discussion – Portland ThornsAfter the massive trade that saw Yazmeen Ryan traded in a four-team deal, Portland acquired the #5 overall pick from Angel City.

Newly appointed Head Coach Mike Norris and second-year General Manager Karina Leblanc head into today’s draft with 5 selections: 5,12, 24, 36, 48.

With the Portland Thorns being one of the teams most effected by the Women’s World Cup, they are in need of depth.

Each NWSL team has made big trades and signings to overtake the reigning champions. Leblanc will need a strong draft to replenish their talent.

This NWSL draft has over 250 registered players available for selection, and is the deepest draft in the league’s history. There will be players who are drafted late, or go undrafted that will be absolute steals for teams.

In this draft, but particularly the first round, the Portland Thorns need immediate contributors as they are in their championship window.

5 Players to consider with Portland’s #5 pick (in no particular order) Jenna Nighswonger, MF, FSU*
The 2022 MAC Hermann Trophy Finalist led Florida State to the championship in 2021, and a final four appearance this year. Nighswonger is a magician with the ball and a world class creator. She constantly picks out passes that find her teammates for goals, and is dangerous as a finisher too. She is projected to be picked in the top 5.

Finito.

Just two players from the last update made the final Big Board Top 60:

1. Jenna Nighswonger
2. Erin Healy

— Chris Henderson (@chris_awk) January 11, 2023

• Penelope Hocking, FW, Penn State
  Before heading to Penn State, she broke the record for most goals at USC, which stood for 21 years. She led the Nittany Lions to a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA tournament. Hocking’s collegiate dominance is unheard of which consisted of 61 goals and 33 assists.
  She is able to play across the frontline. Her consistency makes her a perfect fit for any team and there aren’t more players who command the attention that she does. There aren’t any glaring weaknesses to her game. Hocking is a top player on each team’s draft board. “2022-2023 @NWSL Draft-Midfield Assist & xA”

Penelope Hocking (11 A, 8 xA, 23 MP)
Michelle Cooper (11 A, 5.4 xA, 22 MP)
*Riley Tanner (8 A, 10 xA, 27 MP)

Final Registrants “https://t.co/a6F5j74E9I…”
Horizontal view is best on phone.

More info #nwsldraft2023 pic.twitter.com/hpvw7ablqW

— Devin Zvosec (He/Him/His) (@CoachZvosec) January 11, 2023

• Emily Madril, DF, NWSL/BK Häcken FF
  Madril opted to forgo her remaining year of eligibility to sign with the NWSL and play a year with BK Häcken FF in Sweden. Her ability to anchor a defense is second to none. She led a FSU defense near the top in least goals allowed. Madril’s ability to dribble, attack, and read the game makes her the top CB on every team’s draft board. She will go in the top 5 of the draft with her floor being #4 to Racing Louisville. Here is Emily Madril subbing in and scoring on her first touch of the game, resulting in her first professional goal! Super excited and happy for you, ⁦@emilymadril⁩! #damallsvenskan #bkhäcken pic.twitter.com/QCFC80RxXg

— LO Monaghan (@LO_Monaghan) October 31, 2022

• Reyna Reyes, LB, Alabama
  The Mexico Women’s National Team has found their left back for the next decade in Reyes. In today’s modern game, she can do it all: superb defender, passer, and attacker. This season for the Alabama Crimson Tide, she scored 8 goals with an assist, and led her team to the NCAA Final Four. Reyes is dangerous on set pieces and in front of goal. Could be the best LB available in the NWSL draft ever. Reyna Reyes could go as high #3 to Orlando. ATX's Jimena Lopez and Garland's Reyna Reyes start for Mexico vs USWNT! #ElTriEng #TexasYouthSoccer

Yes, that's right Texas. This is your teamhttps://t.co/Pa9iLj4dh5 https://t.co/RzgjHKQWYZ

— Theo Lloyd-Hughes (@theolloydhughes) July 5, 2021

• Izzy D’Aquila, FW, Santa ClaraD’Aquila is one of the best pure goal scorers available in this draft. She came up huge for the Santa Clara Broncos on countless occasions. Her ability to come up clutch makes her one of the best players in the draft. She scored 50 goals and recorded 16 assists in 78 career games; with 19 goals and 5 assists this past season representing her career highs, respectively. There aren’t many that can score in the variety of ways, she can. In any other year, she would be a lock for the top 3, but in this deep class, her draft range will be top 3-12.

BRONCOS ARE CHAMPIONS ONCE AGAIN!@SCUWomensSoccer Izzy D'Aquila nails her PK defeating @FSUSoccer for the National Championship Title!#CollegeCup pic.twitter.com/RnYRdT3kyG

— NCAA Soccer (@NCAASoccer) May 18, 2021

Best Fit: Reyna Reyes

Likely Pick: Jenna Nighswonger

Highest Ceiling/Potential: Izzy D’Aquila

Could one of them drop to Portland’s first round pick at #12? Yes, but not likely.

Final Important Notes:– This Draft will truly begin when the Orlando Pride is on the clock at #3 overall. They could go several directions that will have ripple effects the rest of the first round.

BREAKING: Sources have confirmed to @equalizersoccer that Racing Louisville has traded the 4th overall pick to Gotham FC in exchange for Paige Monaghan, $150k, and a 2023 international slot. #NWSL #nwsldraft

— Bekki Morgan (@bekki_morgan) January 12, 2023

– Racing Louisville traded the #4 pick to Gotham for Paige Monaghan and $150k in allocation money. RL has been a lock to take Madril at that pick if they thought she would be available. It looks like she’ll be going top 3. The post 5 Players for Portland Thorns: 2023 Draft Discussion appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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It’s a new year and with a new season just around the corner, but Racing Louisville fans are still waiting to see how the club responds to the fallout from two recent reports that exposed deep systemic abuse in United States women’s soccer.

Specific to Racing, both reports — from former U.S. General Attorney Sally Q. Yates on behalf of U.S. Soccer in October and the NWSL/NWSL-PA in December — highlighted just how terrible Racing’s environment was under inaugural coach Christy Holly. In both reports and subsequent reporting by Tyler Greever of Louisville’s WHAS-11, former and current players have described a myriad of misconduct by Holly and his coaching staff including abusive language, sexual abuse, withholding treatment, retaliation, and more.

In the months since the Yates report was released, team leaders have made some apologies, some promises, and even some progress. However, they’ve failed to respond to everything reported and are still not fulfilling some of their major promises. As preseason looms, fans are justifiably questioning if the club will be ready for the upcoming season or capable of making the changes needed for the club’s culture to be as safe or healthy as it needs to be.

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s been promised, what’s been completed, and what’s still pending for Racing Louisville.

Some Progress…Since the reports came out, Racing has released statements saying they would be hiring a general manager to take over control of the team’s day-to-day operations, hiring a new assistant coach to help with player development, starting an internal committee of club employees to interface with players and discuss concerns, and holding open forum meetings with community members.

A statement from Racing Louisville FC in response to the NWSL/NWSLPA joint investigative report:

— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) December 15, 2022

Racing has made some progress in these areas. For example, they hired Bev Yanez, a veteran of the NWSL as both a player and coach, as the new assistant coach. She will provide the club with desperately needed NWSL-specific experience that has been lacking in the club for the past two years. She will also be Racing’s first full-time female coach for the senior team. As someone who understands what it’s like to not just be a female soccer player, but a player in the NWSL, she has the chance to serve as a critical bridge between players and other club staff.

The club has also stated that they’ve improved their internal communications and made progress in creating the internal committee they pledged to create. Considering the NWSL/NWSL-PA joint report detailed that players were often unsure of communication channels and weren’t even widely aware that Racing had a dedicated human resources staff member, this improvement is also a definite positive.

…Some SetbacksDespite this progress, it’s increasingly concerning that they haven’t made visible progress in hiring a general manager or announcing upcoming community forums. The club originally announced these plans in October. It’s now early January with no public comment on either area.

The general manager is a critical position because this person will theoretically take control of Racing’s operations away from club president James O’Connor who was described by players as not taking their ongoing complaints about Holly seriously and even providing opportunities for them to be retaliated against by exposing the names of who complained Holly himself.

Since the release of the Yates report in October, there have been loud, widespread cries for O’Connor to leave the organization completely and not just step aside from Racing. Although Racing’s season was done by the time the Yates report was released, fans took their protests to the team’s brother squad Louisville City’s games where they unfurled banners that read “Arrest Holly” and “JOC Out” with JOC being an acronym for James O’Connor. These protests continued throughout the entirety of Louisville City’s championship run in 2022 and are likely to continue into 2023.

It’s worth noting that all former players that spoke to Greever believe O’Connor should no longer be part of Racing Louisville. No current player has publicly shared their opinion on this matter, but back in October when the Yates report was released they gave a statement that called the abuse “an unimaginable horror” and said they were waiting for the joint investigative report to uncover “the remaining truths we deserve and demand.” As of publication, no new player statement has been released.

Without a general manager, there are serious questions about who is actually handling Racing’s operations. The draft is next week and a new trade window just opened, so these are very pressing questions. Both these events will have serious repercussions for Racing’s upcoming season and there are no clear indications of who is actually at the helm of the club.

Additionally, the club has yet to announce any open forums with the community. It’s possible the club is waiting for the general manager to be hired to meet with fans, but these meetings were announced in October. It’s been the better part of three months — a quarter of a year — and there’s no hint of one coming soon. True, it’s been the off-season and the holidays, but it’s fair to say fans expect to see something materialize soon.

“Accountability Begins With Transparency”In all their statements, the club has talked a great deal about transparency. In the one released after the NWSL/NWSL-PA report, for example, the club states that “accountability begins with transparency.”

This is absolutely a true statement. Accountability does require transparency. The problem is, Racing hasn’t been fully transparent or accountable. Not only have they not released any updates or progress reports to fans or season ticket holders, they also failed to acknowledge all accounts of mistreatment that were listed in the reports.

The NWSL/NWSL-PA joint report elaborated specifically on misconduct against Black players that wasn’t included in the Yates report. These include staff mixing up photos of Jorian Baucom and another Black player and the club’s 24-hour delay in apologizing for the error and what players describe as the club putting “the substantial burden of engaging in race and other culture-related activities on them” (NWSL pg. 65).

In none of their statements has Racing even acknowledged these incidents or pledged to work to prevent similar incidents from happening again. The closest the club comes to mentioning it is saying they are updating company-wide anti-discrimination policies and practices, but only in the context of addressing “specific issues facing our Industry.”

This isn’t accountability. The club was criticized directly for failing to apologize for misidentifying a Black player and has since failed to apologize yet again. How will the club embrace change as promised if they don’t directly acknowledge some of the misconduct that took place or provide any evidence that they’re working to prevent future issues? How can the club claim to be dedicated to creating a safe environment for all players when they fail to address this harm to Black players?

Quite simply, they can’t.

Can Racing move forward?In light of everything that’s happened, the question remains: Where can Racing go from here? They’ve made promises and kept some, but these issues — both addressed and unaddressed — will remain a stain on the club for a long time to come. Racing allowed a toxic culture to become so pervasive for so long that it will be hard to shake off quickly and it’ll likely have ongoing repercussions for some time. Some players and staff will choose not to come to Louisville and it’s not hard to imagine that some current players and staff might want to leave it now after all that’s happened.

Still, as grim as this is, it’s not all dire for the club. In Greever’s reporting, former players who continued on in 2022 say it was an improved environment even if it wasn’t perfect. Both Lauren Milliet — an original player from the inaugural season of the club — and 2022 breakout star Savannah DeMelo signed long-term extensions at the end of last season showing they are committed to the future of the club. Sources say additional extensions will be announced soon, also. And nearly everyone interviewed has praised the city and wider community as being fully supportive of the team and women’s soccer as a whole.

The fact that the club hired someone as respected and accomplished as Bev Yanez while all these reports were being released is also a sign that the club can still attract talented individuals who believe in the club’s potential. And as low a bar as this is, it’s also a definite positive that no complaints about misconduct were issued about current coach Kim Björkegren in any report. Considering more than 10 coaches have resigned or been fired for misconduct in the past few years, this is a bigger accomplishment than might be immediately apparent. There’s been so much movement that after only one year in the NWSL, he’s now the fourth longest-tenured coach in the league.

Louisville has had @beverlyjyanez’s heart since 2007.

Now she calls it home. pic.twitter.com/TxjmjVd2c9

— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) November 23, 2022

For Racing to move forward, however, they need to fully embrace the transparency and accountability they promise in their statements. This means owning up to mistakes quickly instead of becoming self-protective. It means being forthcoming about the changes they’re implementing and the progress that is being made. And it means acknowledging absolutely everything that has happened and explaining how they’ll prevent it from happening again in the future. Right now, many supporters are ashamed to support the club. What are they going to do about this? How are they going to reach out and mend some of these bridges?

After everything that’s happened, they can’t just expect fans to trust them at their word that work is being done and things will get better. They need to be aggressive in demonstrating that action is being taken.

And, possibly most importantly, they should absolutely not put it on the players to win back fan support. The players have been the victims in absolutely everything. While many are probably very worried about losing support from the fans, it’s not their job to win back the community’s trust. That’s the club’s problem.

In spite of everything that’s happened, Racing still has the potential to become a positive, healthy environment, but it’ll take work and a lot of time. It’ll take actually putting transparency and accountability into action and not just leaning on them as buzzwords. They’ve already started making positive changes and now they need to demonstrate that they’re committed to making continuous improvements as they move into the future.

Racing has world-class facilities and provisions for players, a core of young committed talent, and a foundation of good community support. They already have so many pieces in place to make them a strong club in the NWSL. It’s now up to club leadership to make sure it happens.

The post Accountability and Transparency: With a new season looming, is Racing Louisville able to move on from scandal? appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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In episode #343 of the Mixxed Zone, Jen “The Keeper” Cooper offers up super-sized episode after a long hiatus, Looking back and looking forward at the state of American woso, she chats with former USWNT captain Julie Foudy and EqualizerSoccer.com reporter Dan Lauletta.

In the first chat, Jen and Dan focus on the “year that was” for the NWSL, discussing both highlights and lowlights. They also look ahead to what’s on the horizon for the league in 2023.

Then Jen chats with USWNT veteran and ESPN broadcaster Julie Foudy about the latest book about the US women’s national team. “Pride of Nation” was written by Gwendolyn Oxenham and features comprehensive stats for all decades of the team as well as many great photos. Jen & Julie also talk about the challenge ahead for the team — defending their Women’s World Cup title next summer.

In this week’s Jensplaining segment, Jen covers the format of the upcoming playoff tournament in New Zealand to determine the final three teams for next summer’s Women’s World Cup. The one-week event in late February will see 10 teams compete for those three spots.

Got a question or comment for the Jensplainer? Email your question or general Mixxed Zone feedback to keeper@keepernotes.com.

Check out the sponsors of The Mixxed Zone podcast:

• The Beautiful Game Network
• Phoenix on Westheimer in Houston

ABOUT KEEPER NOTESFounded by Jen Cooper, Keeper Notes has been spreading the love for the beautiful game since 2002 in Houston and beyond. The Mixxed Zone women’s soccer podcast has been covering women’s soccer (primarily NWSL, USWNT and Concacaf) since 2014. Check out more of the Keeper’s great content as well as the invaluable “WoSopedia” page at KeeperNotes.com. You can also follow Keeper Notes on Twitter and Instagram.

And be sure to check out the latest edition of the Keeper Notes NWSL Almanac! The 400-page comprehensive guide includes the first nine seasons of NWSL (2013-2021) and the Challenge Cup . You can’t get this info all in one place anywhere else! The almanac is available in both PDF and print format. The next edition is Keeper Notes has also published an almanac of all the NWSL championship finals.

The post Looking Back, Looking Forward appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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2022 NWSL Championship In the 2022 NWSL Championship, Portland Thorns and Kansas City Current face off in this winner takes

The post 2022 NWSL Championship Preview: Portland Thorns vs Kansas City Current appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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Portland Thorns – A True Team Sports has the ability to heal and bring people together. It can make you

The post The Rose City Loves Their Portland Thorns appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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Portland Thorns Hold First Press Conference Since Sally Yates Report If you’ve seen the Portland Thorns in the headlines the

The post NWSL Semi-Finals: Portland Thorns vs San Diego Wave appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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No Quit In their final match of the season, Racing Louisville beat the Kansas City Current 1-0 with a late

The post Racing Louisville Ends a Tough Season With a Perfect Stoppage-Time Game Winner appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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“We Can Only Go Up” After beating the Orlando Pride last Friday, Racing Louisville headed west for their final road

The post Racing Louisville Makes Significant Progress During Final 2022 Road Trip appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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A Full Performance Well, that certainly feels better. Racing Louisville beat the Orlando Pride 2-0 Friday night. This was Racing’s

The post Racing Louisville Tops the Orlando Pride in a 2-0 Shutout appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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Harsh Lessons Racing Louisville was routed for the second game in a row on Saturday night. After falling 4-0 to

The post Racing Louisville Gets Wiped 5-1 by the North Carolina Courage appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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Not Because We Lost, But the Way We Lost As if the scoreline wasn’t enough of an indicator that it

The post Racing Louisville Get Flattened 4-0 In Loss Against the Chicago Red Stars appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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Grinding It Out Another day, another draw for Racing Louisville. On Friday night they tied their third straight game when

The post Louisville Earn a Gutsy 0-0 Draw Against the Houston Dash appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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The Story of the Season On Friday night, Racing Louisville earned yet another draw in their match against the Washington

The post Racing Louisville Earn Yet Another Draw Against the Washington Spirit appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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A Fighting Spirit There can be no question that Racing Louisville left it all on the field to earn their

The post Racing Louisville Battles OL Reign to a Bloody, Hard-Fought 1-1 Draw appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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“An Unfortunate Result” Racing Louisville’s winless streak extended to seven when they were edged out 2-1 by the Portland Thorns

The post Racing Louisville Gets Edged Out the Portland Thorns appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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Control and Consistency Despite energetic end-to-end play by both teams, Racing Louisville’s Friday night match against the San Diego Wave

The post Racing Louisville Tie the San Diego Wave in Energetic Scoreless Draw appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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Despite putting on an offensive blitz for much of the match, the same old recurring mistakes cost Racing Louisville three

The post An Offensive Blitz Can’t Keep Racing Louisville From Dropping Three Points to NJ/NY Gotham appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.

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Disappointment In Daytona After going up by two goals, Racing Louisville ultimately settled for a 2-2 draw against the Orlando

The post Racing Louisville Settles for 2-2 Draw in Daytona appeared first on Beautiful Game Network.