Off its first defeat of the year, Racing Louisville FC faces quick turnaround with a trip to take on the Chicago Red Stars at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday inside SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Ill.
Racing is looking to bounce back from a 3-2 loss on Friday to the Houston Dash after going up 2-0 in the first half. Houston scored three goals in nine minutes in the second half for the comeback win. The Red Stars lost in similar fashion on Friday against the KC Current, dropping points in a 2-1 defeat after scoring first.
Runner-up in the 2021 NWSL Championship, Chicago still boasts a roster packed with U.S. Women’s National Team talent including goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, midfielder Morgan Gautrat and forward Mallory Pugh.
Chris Petrucelli, the former Southern Methodist University head coach, is newly in charge. He has also coached the under-21 and under-19 U.S. national teams.
Racing went 1-0-1 against the Red Stars during its inaugural season, with a 3-0 victory on June 26 the club’s first win away from home.
This year, Racing sits in fourth place through two games on the NWSL Challenge Cup’s Central Division table. Each division winner — decided after six group-stage games — will advance to the semifinal round, along with the top second-place finisher across the East, Central and West groups.
Follow along…
• For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @RacingLouFC on Twitter and Racing Louisville FC on Facebook. Also find us at @racinglouisvillefc on Instagram.
• The game will stream live on Paramount+.
Player availability report
• Parker Goins (out, illness)
• Nadia Nadim (out, right leg)
Story lines…
Know the foe: The Red Stars have opened the 2022 Challenge Cup with a 1-1 record, defeating the Houston Dash before a late KC Current goal downed Chicago on Friday night. Three different players have scored with Pugh remaining the one to watch having netted a pair in Game 1.
Hello, Yuki: Racing will face one of its former fan favorites Wednesday in forward Yuki Nagasato, who featured in the club’s inaugural team. Louisville traded Chicago for Nagasato, then sent her back this past offseason after the Japan international became engaged to her partner who lives in the Windy City. Nagasato started both of the Red Stars’ prior Challenge Cup games.
First half flurry: While a 10-minute meltdown led to a 3-2 Racing defeat last out on Friday to the Dash, the club had just put together arguably its best-ever first half. Goals by Kirsten Davis and Jess McDonald gave the club its first ever multi-goal opening 45 minutes and a 2-0 lead at the break.
Davis delivers: Having started Racing’s Challenge Cup opener, the Texas Tech product did one better in her encore. Davis won a 50-50 ball in the Houston Dash box and put away the game’s opening goal with her next touch. She went on to tally a team-high 4 shots, playing a second attempt on target when requiring a 54th-minute save on a try from the top of the box.
J Mac’s attack: McDonald — the NWSL assist leader in each of the regular season (27), playoffs (4) and Challenge Cup (4) — is truly in Louisville to score. She did just that when capturing a 40th-minute Dash half clearance, converting a high degree of difficulty goal on the ensuing volley. It marked the first goal in Lavender for a player with 51 in career NWSL regular-season play.
Milestone Milliet: After earning the start on Friday, midfielder Lauren Milliet became the first Racing player to reach 30 NWSL appearances in lavender. The Durango, Colo., native is the only player who has made an appearance in every NWSL match in the Racing’s short history.
Settling in: Racing’s top choice in the 2022 NWSL Draft, No. 2 pick Jaelin Howell, commanded the central midfield against Houston. Howell led Racing with 75 touches, 5 tackles won, 4 interceptions and 2 chances created. The No. 6 arrived to Louisville highly decorated as a two-time national champion at Florida State and twice the NCAA Division I player of the year as the MAC Hermann Trophy winner.
Fox forced out: Racing’s fortunes changed defensively against the Dash only after one of the club’s stars had to exit. Left back Emily Fox left as a concussion sub in the 29th minute after absorbing a Houston foul but, fortunately, doesn’t appear on the player availability report against the Red Stars on a short turnaround. Fox had already tallied a pair of interceptions and entered the Dash’s final third twice with her mobility before coming off.
Club bows: Fox’s substitution paved the way for defender Julia Lester — signed only days earlier — to make her first appearance in lavender. The University of Florida product, the former captain of coach Kim Björkegren’s Apollon Ladies FC squad in Cyprus, went the rest of the way. In the second half, fellow recent signing Sh’Nia Gordon also came on in the 80th minute. Gordon, a forward who attended West Virginia, moved to Racing from Russia’s CSKA Moscow.
DeMelo debuts: Savannah DeMelo, selected No. 4 overall in the 2022 NWSL Draft, logged her first pro minutes against the Dash as an 80th-minute sub. The midfielder out of Southern California completed both her passes and made an aggressive introduction, tallying a pair of fouls in a debut she figures to build upon the rest of the year.
