Kirsten Davis, Rebecca Holloway and Julia Lester are all set to start this evening as Racing Louisville made three changes to its starting lineup ahead of a critical match at NJ/NY Gotham at Red Bull Arena.
Racing (4-4-8, 20 points) is in search of three pivotal points as the race for one of the six NWSL playoff spots enters its final stage. The first of six final regular season games for both teams, this is a rematch in the home-and-home series after Racing topped Gotham, 2-0, on June 18 in Louisville.
Injuries and knocks forced coach Kim Björkegren to switch up his starting lineup for the game in New Jersey. Captain Jaelin Howell (hip) and forward Nadia Nadim (thigh) were listed as questionable ahead of the match but were ultimately ruled out of contention for selection. Left back Carson Pickett is out with a lower leg injury.
Davis scored the equalizer in Racing’s last match, a 1-1 draw against Angel City last Saturday in front of a club-record 10,214 fans at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville. The second-year pro has three goals this season and is making her 12th start of the season.
Davis will be joined up front by Wang Shuang and former Gotham standout Paige Monaghan, who will play her old team in her native New Jersey for the first time since her offseason trade to Louisville. Monaghan has career-highs this season with goals (four) and assists (two) across all competitions.
With Holloway in place of Pickett, Lester replaces Elli Pikkujämsä at center back to allow Pikkujämsä to slide into Howell’s defensive midfielder role.
Holloway opened the 2023 campaign starting at center back and has come on as a substitute in that role as well, but she replaced Pickett at halftime of the Angel City match last week and was originally signed as a left back. She’ll partner with Abby Erceg, who will wear the captain’s arm band in Howell’s absence, along with Lester and right back Lauren Milliet.
Pikkujämsä anchors a midfield with stars Ary Borges and Savannah DeMelo ahead of her. This is the second consecutive match Borges and DeMelo have started together and the third time this year Pikkujämsä will start alongside the creative duo.
Goalkeeper Katie Lund once again starts for Racing. The 26-year-old has played every single minute of Louisville’s campaign this year across both the regular season and UKG NWSL Challenge Cup. This is her 45th consecutive start for Racing across all competitions and 54th for the club.
Pickett, Jordan Baggett, Jess McDonald and Jordyn Bloomer were all previously listed as out.
Racing Louisville Team Sheet at Gotham
1 – Katie Lund
2 – Lauren Milliet
15 – Julia Lester
20 – Abby Erceg (c)
25 – Rebecca Holloway
4 – Elli Pikkujämsä
7 – Savannah DeMelo
8 – Ary Borges
77 – Wang Shuang
5 – Paige Monaghan
22 – Kirsten Davis
Substitutes: 99 – Olivia Sekany; 3 – Zaneta Wyne, 9 – Kayla Fischer, 11 – Thembi Kgatlana 13 – Emina Ekic, 17 – Maddie Pokorny, 21 – Parker Goins, 26 – Taylor Aylmer, 29 – Uchenna Kanu
