Proximity tends to result in rivalries, and we’ll begin to find out this weekend whether Racing Louisville FC’s geographically closest opponent becomes more than just another date on the NWSL schedule.
Racing makes its first trip to play the Chicago Red Stars at 2 p.m. Saturday inside SeatGeek Stadium — a 300-mile trip — and the story lines are aplenty.
They date back to Oct. 26, 2020. That day, a trade announced between Racing and the Red Stars resulted in forwards Savannah McCaskill and Yuki Nagasato — two talisman players for the expansion side — going to Louisville. In exchange, Chicago protected the rest of its star-studded roster in that fall’s expansion draft.
In their other meeting this season, Louisville and Chicago will play with quite a bit more than three points at stake. An Aug. 18 game at Lynn Family Stadium will double as a semifinal in The Women’s Cup, an inaugural tournament that has world powers FC Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain on the other side of the bracket.
Entering what the NWSL has coined “Super Saturday” — all 10 of its teams will be in action — Racing is seventh on the table, one spot (and one point) behind the Red Stars. Chicago holds the all-important No. 6 position, the cutoff to make the playoffs at the end of a 24-game season.
Here’s what to watch for as two would-be rivals meet for the first time…
Coach Christy Holly says…
“With three games in (seven) days, going from three o’clock in the middle of the day to four o’clock in the middle of the day in Chicago, so there are challenges with that. There’s no easy game in this NWSL so it’s very important to us that we look at this week and try to manage it as economically as we possibly can. There’s no way that players can play 90 minutes in every single game at the highest level of their performance, so we wanted to make sure that we give everybody the opportunity to perform, while also protect them and ensure that they’re able to move forward and have a big impact in the game in Chicago this weekend.”
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.
Watch the match on Paramount+ with play by play from Mike Watts and color commentary by Anna Witte. Internationally, fans can also stream the match on the NWSL’s Twitch channels.
Notes to know
A congested schedule: Racing is heading into its third game in seven days following a brief international break in the NWSL calendar. To combat it, coach Christy Holly made six lineup changes in a midweek loss to NC Courage — that following a 1-0 victory Sunday that showed glimpses of what the club could be, seeing new English defender Gemma Bonner play a full 90 minutes at center back and forward Ebony Salmon sub on to score the game-winning goal.
Via Chicago: If there is to be a Louisville-Chicago rivalry, the roots were established with last fall’s trade. McCaskill, a former No. 2 overall draft picks, has gone on to become Racing’s vice captain, and the World Cup winner Nagasato is perhaps the biggest personality on the roster. Racing also received an extra draft pick and international slot for two seasons. In turn, the Red Stars were able to keep together the core of a roster that included five U.S. allocated players.
Red Star power: About that Chicago roster, to start it includes three players headed soon to Tokyo for the U.S. Women’s National Team’s quest for a gold medal. Chicago goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, defender Tierna Davison and midfielder Julie Ertz are all in the 18-player roster named this week, while Casey Krueger is among four alternates that could find their way into the team in the event of an injury.
Pride on the pitch: Racing on Wednesday hosted Pride Night, an evening at Lynn Family Stadium that benefitted local LGBTQ+ nonprofits. Bidding is ongoing at 32auctions.com/RLFCPride2021 for signed warmup tops and game-worn kits for a cause, with all proceeds to the Louisville Youth Group. Saturday, Racing will also play in Chicago’s Pride game that largely benefits Howard Brown Health, which provides specialized healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community.
Brick wall Betos: The NWSL’s saves leader added six to her season total, now 40, in the Courage loss. Second on the league list is NJ/NY Gotham FC’s Kailen Sheridan, evidencing just how much Racing has counted on its captain between the posts. Betos was additionally recognized as the current NWSL Player of the Week for her performance dating back to Sunday’s win, a seven-save clean sheet versus the Houston Dash.
Away day record: Racing is a respectable 2-2-2 across all competitions in its games thus far at Lynn Family Stadium. The expansion club, however, has had more trouble away from home. Louisville will be seeking its second-ever road points dating back to a scoreless draw on May 2 at Gotham FC, its final game in the preseason Challenge Cup tournament. It’s other three away results have been defeats.
Clean bill of health: In recent weeks, defender Addisyn Merrick went from thinking she wouldn’t play this season to seeing her first minutes. Having received positive opinions from doctors about a back injury, the center back, selected by Racing in the 2020 expansion draft, returned to the pitch Wednesday as an 81st-minute sub, opening the door for her to log more playing time from here.
Starting trio: Holly’s midweek lineup rotation made way for three rostered players to make their first starts in lavender and white. Forwards Cheyna Matthews and Jorian Baucom, along with defender Sinclaire Miramontez, filled a key void and evidenced some quick improvement from their side. Racing allowed a pair of first half goals but didn’t fold to the Courage, holding that score line after a 5-0 loss in the teams’ prior meeting back on May 28.
Injury report
- Noelle Higginson – Out
- Taylor Otto – Out
- Kaleigh Riehl – Questionable
- Freja Olofsson – Questionable
- Lauren Milliet – Questionable
- Cece Kizer – Questionable
- Ebony Salmon – Questionable
Milestone watch
- Savannah McCaskill is two appearances away from her 50th NWSL regular season appearance.
- Yuki Nagasato in three starts from her 50th NWSL regular season start.
- Cece Kizer is one appearance from her 40th professional appearance.
- Freja Olofsson is one appearance from her 80th professional appearance.
