Cece Kizer finished what Emina Ekic started Friday at Lynn Family Stadium, slotting in the second goal of a 2-0 victory over the Washington Spirit.
Kizer has been at her best in Racing’s home games, with that her third goal across four competitions played in Louisville. As opposed to her prior two tallies — which opened scoring — this one all but decided the outcome, an 81st-minute exclamation point.
More notes and quotes from game two of 24 for Racing…
• Coach Christy Holly went with the same starting lineup as in last Saturday’s scoreless draw with Kansas City.
• Ekic, subbing for Katie McClure for the second straight week, scored the club’s first regular season goal and added an assist.
• Defender Nealy Martin subbed on to make her NWSL regular season debut.
• Racing has gone 270-plus minutes — three games — since allowing a goal, last conceding in an April 26 Challenge Cup game against the NC Courage.
• Goalkeeper and team captain Michelle Betos made 10 saves to keep Washington scoreless.
• Before Friday, Racing had only played to draws or one-goal games.
What Holly said…
“The more we focus on the win, the more we become distracted from the process that we are in. In terms of on the ball, I don’t think it was our best performance. I think it was one of our weaker performances. I think there were some letdowns in terms of our buildup and some connections were not right in the final third. I guess from a public standpoint, it was nice to get the win. Everybody enjoys the wins. But for me as a coach – maybe I am too needy – I need to make sure that we are getting better day in and day out because we want to be in the conversation every day of the week.”
What Ekic said…
“My parents were here. My brother was here — my cousin. I have family watching in Australia online. I had some college friends here. Obviously, I know quite a few people just from being here. I don’t know how to explain the emotions. It was incredible. I was relieved and excited and hyped and borderline in tears. It was a rush of so many emotions, but it was an amazing feeling.”
What Betos said…
“I think anytime you’re playing a team like that you know they’re going to be dangerous on the attack. They have so many forces, and we know we have to weather their storm. As the defensive line and as a goalkeeper, all we’re thinking about is, can we keep this game winnable? Can we keep them in the game? Can we trust our forwards? We know we have good goal scorers, so how long can we keep them out so that they can get one chance, they can get two chances, and that’s what happens. It’s moment by moment and thinking about how we can keep this winnable.”
