Racing Louisville and the San Diego Wave each had their fair share of chances on Friday night at Lynn Family Stadium, but a well-defended game from both teams ended in a 0-0 draw.
It was Katie Lund’s fourth shutout of the year, making four saves behind a steady performance from Racing’s defensive back line against the first-place Wave.
“The game was more or less exactly how I was thinking it would be when we prepared for it,” Racing coach Kim Björkegren said. “(San Diego) is really organized – good defense, difficult to create chances against them. But I think, for us, we did a good job on defense. There weren’t so many goal chances for us, but not for them, either, so it’s a fair result.”
Racing (2-3-6, 12 points) moved within three points of a playoff spot with the draw, and San Diego moved into first place. Both teams have played their 11th game ahead of the rest of the league.
“I want to give credit to our team,” Lund said. “They worked their tails off. We ran a lot tonight. We blocked shots and we made it hard for them as well. We learn from this and keep moving forward.”
In a game contained well in the midfield, Racing did have a few chances to test star San Diego goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, who like Lund made four saves.
Racing defender Abby Erceg’s free header in the 32nd minute had power behind it, but it was right at Sheridan. In the second half, good Racing buildup opened a shooting angle for midfielder Ary Borges, whose effort from 20 yards out required a diving save from Sheridan.
The Wave, playing without star forward Alex Morgan, had a number of opportunities, too.
Just before halftime, Makenzy Doniak’s one-timer on a break needed Lund’s strong hands to push it over the crossbar. Early in the second half, teenage star Jaedyn Shaw tried Lund from 30 yards out in transition in the 49th minute and forcing a leaping stop from the Racing goalkeeper.
“I thought the game went well,” said Erceg, who led the defensive line with three aerial duels won, three clearances and two interceptions. “Anytime you get a point against these top two or three teams, you’re going to be happy. Defensively we had a really, really strong game.”
Racing is right back at it at 8 p.m. Wednesday, right back at Lynn Family Stadium, hosting the Houston Dash in a UKG NWSL Challenge Cup match.
Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC vs. San Diego Wave FC
Date: June 9, 2023
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
Weather: 76 degrees, hazy
Player of the Match: Jaelin Howell
Attendance: 6,753
Scoring
Racing Louisville (0, 0, 0)
San Diego Wave (0, 0, 0)
Lineups
Racing Louisville FC (4-3-3): 1 – Katie Lund; 16 – Carson Pickett, 20 – Abby Erceg, 15 – Julia Lester, 2 – Lauren Milliet; 6 – Jaelin Howell (c), 7 – Savannah DeMelo, 8 – Ary Borges; 11 – Thembi Kgatlana (77’ 5 – Paige Monaghan), 22 – Kirsten Davis (64’ 29 – Uchenna Kanu), 77 – Wang Shuang (77’ 27 – Alex Chidiac)
Subs not used: 99 – Olivia Sekany; 3 – Zaneta Wyne, 9 – Kayla Fischer, 19 – Jordan Baggett, 21 – Parker Goins, 25 – Rebecca Holloway
Head Coach: Kim Björkegren
San Diego Wave (4-2-3-1): 1 – Kailen Sheridan (c); 14 – Kristen McNabb, 4 – Naomi Girma, 18 – Kaleigh Riehl, 20 – Christen Westphal; 8 – Sierra Enge, 24 – Danny Colaprico; 10 – Sofia Jakobsson (77’ 7 – Amirah Ali), 28 – Meggie Dougherty Howard (46’ 22 – Taylor Kornieck), 15 – Makenzy Doniak (64’ 16 – Madison Pogarch); 11 – Jaedyn Shaw
Subs not used: 30 – Shae Yanez; 6 – Kelsey Turnbow, 12 – Giovanna DeMarco, 23 – Belle Briede, 25 – Melanie Barcenas, 26 – Mia Gyau
Head Coach: Casey Stoney
Stats Summary: Racing Louisville / San Diego
Shots: 10 / 15
Shots on Goal: 4 / 4
Expected goals: 0.55 / 1.11
Possession: 54.6% / 45.4%
Fouls: 9 / 11
Offside: 1 / 2
Corner Kicks: 2 / 4
Discipline Summary
Racing Louisville:
66’ Lauren Milliet (yellow)
San Diego:
43’ Karlie McNabb (yellow)
44’ Jaedyn Shaw (yellow)
71’ Madison Pogarch (yellow)
Referee: Adorae Monroy
VAR: Storin Stocia
