Abby Erceg tied the game in the 60th minute and Thembi Kgatlana scored four minutes later to deliver Racing Louisville’s biggest regular-season win in club history on Saturday night, a 2-1 victory over the league-leading Portland Thorns at Lynn Family Stadium.
It was the first time in the club’s three-year history – and six games – that Racing beat Portland, and the first time the Louisvillians have scored multiple goals against the Thorns, the reigning NWSL champions and historically the league’s most successful team.
That Racing did so without several key players out because of injuries or suspension just added to the emotional evening in the Derby City.
“Everyone is desperate for points – the table is so close – so for the girls to show up the way they did today was unbelievable,” said Erceg, who wore the captain’s arm band in place of the injured Jaelin Howell. “It was at the right time, a huge performance. I haven’t seen us play with that much grit and heart. You can tell that the girls really want it. I said to them before we went out, ‘Our season is on the line. How many games do you want to play? It’s up to us.’ They came out and they showed up.”
With the win, Racing (5-4-9, 24 points) moved into sixth place, the last spot in the NWSL playoff picture, ahead of Sunday’s matches elsewhere in the league. The team improved to 4-1-4 in home games this year, the third-best home record in the NWSL, and tied the club record for its longest unbeaten streak, extending it to five matches.
“It shows the potential that we can beat all the teams in the league,” Racing coach Kim Björkegren said. “We have talked about it since the start of this year, and now we did it. That shows that we are getting closer to the best teams, and on a good day like this we can beat them.”
The goals came from relentless pressure throughout the match, starting from the opening whistle. Racing peppered Portland with 26 shots, including nine on target, taking 53 touches in the Thorns’ defensive area and creating a number of excellent scoring chances.
Erceg thumped in the tying goal right on the hour mark, heading in a Wang Shuang corner from eight yards out for her second goal in a Racing kit. It’s the first time in five years that the decorated center back has scored twice in a season.
On another corner in the 64th minute, Rebecca Holloway headed Wang Shuang’s corner back to Kgatlana, who cut to her right on the edge of the box and curled a right-footed shot through traffic and in from 17 yards out. The highlight-reel effort proved to be the game-winner.
“I was thinking, ‘Can I get a shot? Can I get a shot?’” Kgatlana said. “I knew the minute she was wrong-footed that I needed to strike without hesitation, so I took the shot.”
For a while, Racing might’ve wondered if there would be a breakthrough. Racing forward Kirsten Davis smacked the post in the third minute, and forward Paige Monaghan clattered the crossbar two minutes. Ary Borges had an on-target attempt saved on the goal line, and the rebound was batted away by Portland.
The Thorns took the lead against the run of play through Morgan Weaver, who pounced on a back pass to Racing goalkeeper Katie Lund, blocked Lund’s attempted clearance and slotted home a finish past two Louisville defenders.
Nevertheless Louisville persisted, and the flurry of chances finally got the result Racing needed on a historic night at Lynn Family Stadium.
Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC vs. Portland Thorns FC
Date: Sept. 2, 2023
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: 85 degrees, partly cloudy
Scoring
Racing Louisville (0, 2, 2)
Portland Thorns (1, 0, 1)
Goals
Racing Louisville FC:
60’ Abby Erceg (Wang Shuang)
64’ Thembi Kgatlana (Rebecca Holloway)
Portland Thorns FC:
6’ Morgan Weaver
Lineups
Racing Louisville FC (4-3-3): 1 – Katie Lund; 2 – Lauren Milliet, 15 – Julia Lester, 20 – Abby Erceg (c), 25 – Rebecca Holloway; 4 – Elli Pikkujämsä, 8 – Ary Borges, 77 – Wang Shuang (74’ – 9 Kayla Fischer); 11 – Thembi Kgatlana (90’+ – 21 Parker Goins), 22 – Kirsten Davis (63’ – 29 Uchenna Kanu), 5 – Paige Monaghan (63’ – 17 Maddie Pokorny)
Subs not used: 18 – Hillary Beall, 99 – Olivia Sekany; 3 – Zaneta Wyne, 13 – Emina Ekic,, 26 – Taylor Aylmer
Head Coach: Kim Björkegren
Portland Thorns FC (4-3-3): 1 – Bella Bixby; 25 – Meghan Klingenberg (71’ – 2 Reyna Reyes), 5 – Emily Menges, 20 – Kelli Hubly, 14 – Natalia Kuikka; 11 – Rocky Rodriguez (61’ – 46 Taylor Porter), 17 – Sam Coffey (c), 13 – Olivia Moultrie; 8 – Hina Sugita (61’ – 19 Crystal Dunn), 33 – Hannah Betfort (90’ – 24 Izzy D’Aquila), 22 – Morgan Weaver (71’ – 12 Christine Sinclair)
Subs not used:18 – Shelby Hogan,, 4 – Becky Sauerbrunn,,, 39 – Meaghan Nally, 44 – Gabby Provenanzo,
Head Coach: Matt Norris
Stats Summary: Racing Louisville / Portland Thorns
Shots: 26 / 15
Shots on Goal: 10 / 4
Expected goals: 1.94 / 1.14
Possession: 46% / 54%
Fouls: 4 / 6
Offside: 1 / 3
Corner Kicks: 10 / 3
Discipline Summary
Racing Louisville:
12’ Julia Lester (yellow)
38’ Thembi Kgatlana (yellow)
Portland Thorns:
77’ Olivia Moultrie (yellow)
Referee: Karen Callado
VAR: Shawn Tehini
