An early goal and a player advantage for most of the second half helped the Kansas City Current snap a four-game losing streak against Racing Louisville and win, 3-0, in the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup group stage finale on Saturday night at Children’s Mercy Park.
Racing (4-2-0, 12 points) had already qualified for the Challenge Cup semifinals set for Sept. 6, but Kansas City’s victory helped the Current claim first place in the competition’s Central Division after trailing Louisville through the first five games in the group stage.
The Louisvillians will now await the result of Sunday’s OL Reign-Portland match (and possibly Wednesday’s NY/NJ Gotham-Orlando game) to learn their opponent and match location for the semifinals next month. This will be the first time Racing plays in an NWSL knockout stage of any kind in its third year of existence as a club.
“It’s just a testament to the growth of the program and where we’re headed,” said defender Lauren Milliet. “Obviously we’re pretty excited about it. In all honesty there’s no ceiling for us, and there’s real belief in the team now. That will continue to carry us through. Regardless of the results, we still have that belief, and that’s paramount in games like this, that we all lean on each other and have each other’s backs regardless of results and performances.”
With no games next weekend, Milliet, defender Abby Erceg and assistant coach Bev Yanez said Racing would use training this week to refocus and shake off the frustration of Saturday’s defeat, the first against Kansas City since May 30, 2022. Louisville’s second loss in a row, paired with last week’s 1-0 stumble at Houston, marked the team’s first losing streak this season.
Racing dealt with a variety of challenges before Saturday’s game, including a late lineup scratch for captain and star midfielder Jaelin Howell and the absence of head coach Kim Björkegren, who stayed in Louisville because of an illness. Yanez stepped in as acting coach on short notice.
But Erceg minced no words in critiquing her team’s performance in a match that had first place in the Challenge Cup group stage on the line. The Current scored through Kristen Hamilton in the third minute, and though Racing produced several scoring chances over the rest of the first half, an early second-half red card for Louisville’s Taylor Aylmer put Racing in a difficult position. KC added two late goals to cushion its lead on 10-player Racing.
“Losing 3-0 is pretty tough, especially when you’ve been doing so well in the group, and the last two games we’ve just kind of capitulated,” Erceg said. “We dealt with a couple of injuries, and that stopped our flow a little bit, but at the end of the day, we’re not playing good enough. It’s slow. We lack creativity going forward. Defensively we haven’t been sharp enough. Really disappointing – we’re better than that.”
Racing twice thought it had equalized in the first half, initially with Erceg in the 22nd minute and again with Kirsten Davis in first-half stoppage time, but both goals were ruled out because of offside calls.
“We go back to the drawing board and sort out where we can be better,” Yanez said. “We had our opportunities tonight, and given the circumstances, going down a player in the 49th minute, I’m proud of how the group responded. But there are areas we need to be better in. … We need to get this game past us as quickly as possible.”
Racing is back in action on Aug. 19 when it hosts Angel City in NWSL regular-season action at Lynn Family Stadium.
Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC at KC Current
Date: August 5, 2023
Venue: Children’s Mercy Park, Kansas City
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
Weather: 85 degrees, partly cloudy
Scoring
Racing Louisville (0, 0, 0)
KC Current (1, 2, 3)
Goals
KC Current
3’ Kristen Hamilton (Cece Kizer)
81’ Kristen Hamilton (Hailie Mace)
90’+1 Hailie Mace (Rylan Childers)
Lineups
Racing Louisville FC (4-3-3): 1 – Katie Lund; 16 – Carson Pickett, 20 – Abby Erceg (c), 4 – Elli Pikkujämsä, 2 – Lauren Milliet; (c); 26 – Taylor Aylmer, 9 – Kayla Fischer (72’ 13 – Emina Ekic), 19 – Jordan Baggett; 5 – Paige Monaghan, 22 – Kirsten Davis (46’ 10 – Nadia Nadim), 21 – Parker Goins (54’ 17 – Maddie Pokorny)
Subs not used: 99 – Olivia Sekany; 3 – Zaneta Wyne, 6 – Jaelin Howell, 12 – Ella Shamburger, 25 – Rebecca Holloway, 31 – Riley Parker
Acting Head Coach: Beverly Yanez
Kansas City Current (4-3-3): 21 – AD Franch;, 18 – Izzy Rodriguez, 7 – Elizabeth Ball, 24 – Gabrielle Robinson, 8 – Kate Del Fava; 22 – Alex Loera (68’ 19 – Jenna Winebrenner), 77 – Alexa Spaanstra (46’ 4 – Hailie Mace), 10 – Lo’eau LaBonta (79’ 14 – Chardonnay Curran); 17 – Michelle Cooper (79’ 9 – Mimmi Larson), 25 – Kristen Hamilton, 5 – Cece Kizer (86’ 6 – Rylan Childers)
Subs not used: 38 – Cassie Miller; 23 – Croix Soto, 26 – Addisyn Merrick
Interim Head coach: Caroline Sjöblom
Stats Summary: Racing Louisville / KC Current
Shots: 10 / 12
Shots on Goal: 2 / 4
Expected goals: 0.55 / 1.18
Possession: 41.7% / 58.3%
Fouls: 11 / 10
Offside: 3 / 2
Corners: 4 / 4
Discipline Summary
Racing Louisville:
25’ Lauren Milliet (yellow)
31’ Kayla Fischer (yellow)
45’ Taylor Aylmer (yellow)
49’ Taylor Aylmer (second yellow/red)
61’ Nadia Nadim (yellow)
KC Current:
76’ Jenna Winebrenner (yellow)
Referee: Jon Freemon
VAR: Kevin Broadley
