BRIDGEVIEW, Illinois – Emma Sears scored for the second consecutive game to help Racing Louisville top the hosting Chicago Red Stars, 1-0, on Saturday night at SeatGeek Stadium.
The comfortable win pushed Racing into eighth place – playoff position – in the NWSL standings. Racing attempted a season-high 21 shots, held possession for 55 percent, out-touched Chicago 41-16 in the opponent’s box and made 65 final-third entries to Chicago’s 35.
“I thought we were very good,” said Racing head coach Bev Yanez. “I thought we started off the game in a very good fashion. I thought we had some very good sequences. And I am very proud of the group for closing out the match and walking away with three points away from home. I think we’ve shown a lot. I know early on we were known to give up some late opportunities, and I think we’ve shown a lot in our growth. We competed until the final whistle blew, and I’m just very proud of the group to walk away with three points.”
With the win in Chicago, Racing Louisville (2-2-6, 12 points) completed a tough stretch of five straight games against opponents in playoff position, including four on the road. Yanez’s club took five road points from the slog and now returns to Louisville with three home games coming up in June. Next weekend will be off for the NWSL before Racing hosts Houston on June 7.
“We really needed these three points, but it’s also that we believe that we could have these three points,” said goalkeeper Katie Lund, who registered her third shutout of the season with five saves, including two in the final 10 minutes to seal the win. “We just needed to put together a full 90-minute performance, and going into the break, it gives us a good feeling. But this is only the beginning and hopefully we can keep this run going.”
For Sears, the highlight-reel goal came days after signing a new three-year contract with Racing just nine games into her professional career. The Ohio State grad has been sensational for Louisville, with three goals while standing as the only player in the NWSL to rank in the top six in goal-creating actions, shot-creating actions and shots on target per 90 minutes.
Sears wasted no time posing a threat down the right flank, creating a scoring chance for midfielder Savannah DeMelo in the second minute and getting involved in three more chances in the opening 11 minutes.
In the 26th minute, Racing fullback Carson Pickett played a left-footed cross into the Chicago penalty area. It was popped up with a header from Chicago midfielder Leilanni Nesbeth and landed in front of Sears, who settled the bouncing ball, took a touch to her right and blasted a 16-yard strike across the face of the goal and into the far-post side netting.
Yanez called it “a hell of a goal.” Lund labeled it “pretty sick.”
Sears joked that she wanted to leave no doubt this time. after last week’s goal at Kansas City – which prompted debates about whether she meant to shoot or cross from a narrow angle.
“I saw a window of opportunity and I took it and the ball fell in my favor,” Sears said, “so I was super pumped about that.”
Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC at Chicago Red Stars
Date: May 25, 2024
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview, Illinois
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: 72 degrees, partly cloudy
Player of the Match: Emma Sears
Scoring
Racing Louisville (1, 0, 1)
Chicago Red Stars (0, 0, 0)
Racing Louisville
26’ Emma Sears
Lineups
Racing Louisville FC (4-2-3-1): 1 – Katie Lund; 2 – Lauren Milliet, 3 – Arin Wright, 20 – Abby Erceg (c), 16 – Carson Pickett; 14 – Marisa DiGrande, 26 – Taylor Flint; 13 – Emma Sears (90’ 17 – Maddie Pokorny), 7 – Savannah DeMelo, 9 – Kayla Fischer (65’ 66 – Reilyn Turner); 23 – Elexa Bahr (79’ 21 – Parker Goins)
Subs not used: 24 – Jordyn Bloomer, 99 – Olivia Sekany; 5 – Ellie Jean, 10 – Linda Motlhalo, 18 – Milly Clegg, 29 – Uchenna Kanu
Head Coach: Bev Yanez
Chicago Red Stars (4-2-3-1): 19 – Mackenzie Wood; 28 – Maximiliane Rall (81’ 41 – Hannah Anderson), 12 – Natalia Kuikka, 3 – Sam Staab, 23 – Tatumn Milazzo; 4 – Cari Roccaro (81’ 20 – Elizabeth Franklin), 13 – Leilanni Nesbeth; 55 – Penelope Hocking (86’ 8 – Jameese Joseph), 34 – Ally Schlegel (65’ 10 – Shea Groom), 9 – Mallory Swanson (c); 24 – Jenna Bike (46′ 33 – Ally Cook)
Subs not used: 37 – Sydney Schneider; 5 – Julia Bianchi, 15 – Sarah Griffith, 32 – Taylor Malham
Head Coach: Lorne Donaldson
Stats Summary: Racing Louisville / Chicago Red Stars
Shots: 21 / 13
Shots on Goal: 4 / 5
Expected goals: 1.65 / 1.03
Possession: 55% / 45%
Fouls: 10 / 15
Offside: 2 / 0
Corners: 8 / 4
Discipline Summary
Racing Louisville
24’ Arin Wright (yellow)
58’ Kayla Fischer (yellow)
Chicago Red Stars
34’ Tatumn Milazzo (yellow)
39’ Leilanni Nesbeth (yellow)
49’ Penelope Hocking (yellow)
Match referee: Rebecca Pagan
Assistant referees: Seth Barton, Melissa Gonzalez
Fourth official: Jaclyn Metz
Video Assistant Referee: Robi Hullner
Assistant VAR: Kaili Terry
