Saturday’s 8 p.m. ET match at Kansas City means a lot to Racing Louisville.
When the teams square off in the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup group stage finale at Children’s Mercy Park, they’ll play for first place in the Central Division. Racing can also clinch a home game at Lynn Family Stadium in the Sept. 6 Challenge Cup semifinals or, with help from results elsewhere, Racing can win home-field advantage throughout the Cup’s knockout stage.
The match will be streamed on Paramount+.
Racing (4-1-0, 12 points) started the Challenge Cup hot, winning its first four matches and tying a competition record in doing so. Those 12 points, paired with Gotham and Portland’s losses last weekend, ensured Racing’s place in the Cup semifinals, the first time in the club’s young history that it will play in an NWSL knockout tournament.
A Racing loss this past Saturday at Houston brought the Central Division standings closer, with the KC Current (3-1-1, 10 points) gaining a point on Racing with a draw against Chicago. There are several scenarios in which the Current can qualify for the Challenge Cup semifinals, and a win would pip the group title from Louisville on the last day of the round robin.
Racing is unbeaten against KC this season, beating the Current twice in the regular season and topping them in the first meeting of the group stage home-and-home series. Louisville won, 3-2, in the Challenge Cup on May 17, with two goals from Savannah DeMelo and one from Ary Borges.
The Challenge Cup runs concurrently with the NWSL regular season and features the league’s 12 teams, with a $1 million pot to be shared among participants.
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 streamed live on Paramount+, and international viewers may watch for free on NWSLSoccer.com.
Story lines …
We’re in! For the first time in Racing’s young club history, the Louisvillians will play in an NWSL knockout stage after clinching a spot in the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup semifinals set for Sept. 6. Racing now has the chance to host the semifinal and potentially the final if this weekend’s results go the right way. A win at KC would at least clinch home-field advantage in the semifinal, while a win at KC and an OL Reign draw or loss vs. Portland on Sunday would cement Racing as the top seed.
July Team of the Month honorees: For the second consecutive month, Racing landed two players on the NWSL Best XI, presented by Mastercard. Abby Erceg was a repeat nomination, winning back-to-back monthly honors as she continues to shine in leading Racing’s much-improved defensive line. Paige Monaghan was named to the team after a standout July in which she scored three goals across all competitions. Monaghan has set two career-highs this year in her first season with Racing, tallying four goals and two assists.
Racing on the world stage: No NWSL club came close to Racing’s impact on the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup group stage, with four Louisville players accounting for eight goals. Louisville had already set the NWSL mark with the most nations represented at the world’s biggest competition, with six players from six different countries competing at the World Cup. But in addition to the eight goals, Racing players totaled 15 appearances, 11 starts and three assists, with four of them – Alex Chidiac (Australia), Savannah DeMelo (USA), Uchenna Kanu (Nigeria) and Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa) – advancing with their teams to the knockout stage. Brazilian Ary Borges scored the tournament’s first hat trick.
Pass like Pickett: Racing left back Carson Pickett has been fantastic in the Challenge Cup, leading the competition in shot-creating actions (22), key passes (15), crosses (43), crosses into the penalty area (5), passes into the final third (29) and expected assists (2.2). The 29-year-old is a key fixture along Racing’s back line, too, helping Louisville post three shutouts in five group-stage games.
Global Racing: Racing Louisville is the first club in NWSL history to feature players from six different continents on its roster. The Louisvillians already had an international flavor last year, with four continents represented. But the additions of Brazilian midfielder Ary Borges as well as Nigerian forward Uchenna Kanu and South African forward Thembi Kgatlana nudged Racing to six continents. Abby Erceg, who made 146 appearances for New Zealand’s national team, reinforced Australian midfielder Alex Chidiac as a second representative from Oceania.
