For the second time in a month, Racing Louisville FC is headed to California, as it meets Bay FC at 7 p.m. ET Sunday at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif.
It is Racing’s lone away trip of September, with just two more road trips to go: at Boston Legacy FC on Oct. 16 and at Denver Summit FC on Oct. 24.
Back on the road, Louisville (7-15-2, 23 points) looks to get back in the win column after dropping its fourth straight match last Friday versus the league leader, Gotham FC, 2-1. An early goal seconds into the final period was the difference in the game after the teams exchanged goals in the first half.
It was the first time Racing had lost consecutive home matches since the end of May.
Despite the results not being there, goals have come in bunches away from home for Louisville recently. Racing has found the net seven times over its last three road games — a trend Louisville hopes to keep alive Sunday as it chases all three points.
Racing last met Bay on July 10 at home, just after the league’s summer break. Louisville fell 2-0, as BFC’s stout defense limited the hosts to just one shot on target.
Bay (6-13-5, 23 points) and Racing are tied on points in 14th and 15th place, respectively, as BFC leads only due to goal difference.
Bay will be entering Sunday on short rest, having played Wednesday at altitude against playoff hopeful Denver Summit FC. Down two goals after 57 minutes, BFC fought back to earn a draw, scoring two goals in the final 20 minutes plus stoppage time. The point snapped the club’s three-game losing skid, dating back to Aug. 30.
Putting the multi-goal display aside, Bay’s attack has struggled, in general, this year to find consistency. It ranks second from bottom in goals scored this season (24), ahead of Chicago Stars FC. The club’s two goals at Denver matched its entire offensive output from the previous four games combined. Additionally, Bay has been held scoreless in five of its last 10 games; however, four of those instances took place away from PayPal Park.
Zooming out even more, Bay is one of two teams with fewer than 55 goals scored since the beginning of last year.
Follow Along
- The Sunday contest will be exclusively streamed on the Roku Sports Channel. Fans can also listen to the match on Sports Talk 790AM or 790louisville.com.
- For the starting lineup and in-game updates, follow @RacingLouFC on Twitter and Racing Louisville FC on Facebook. You can also find us at @racinglouisvillefc on Instagram.
Story Lines …
Continuation of breakout: Racing’s Kayla Fischer netted her seventh goal of the season in last Friday’s defeat versus Gotham, adding another tally to her career year in attack. Fischer scored on a set piece that saw Courtney Petersen strike the opposite post before ricocheting in the direction of Louisville’s No. 9. The Ohio State University product is one of 15 players in the NWSL with at least 11 goal involvements (seven goals, four assists) this year, with her teammate Emma Sears being another. Fischer also leads Racing in shots (48) and is the only forward on the team with over 70 recoveries, showing how impactful she has been off the ball.
Nearly at goal milestone: With a goal at Bay Sunday night, Racing will break its single-season goals scored record set at 35 last year, through 26 matches. Louisville is one of only six teams to record 70 or more goals since the beginning of the 2025 campaign. Its 35 goals scored to date this year are more than three of the NWSL’s current top four.
All shutout victories: In the short series history (five games) played between Racing and Bay, the winner has always held the opponent scoreless. Bay has outscored Louisville 3-0 in the previous two matchups at PayPal Park. Racing is 1-4-0 versus Bay all-time, with its lone win being the 1-0 playoff-clinching victory to conclude the 2025 regular season.
Unbalanced production: Bay has scored more in the first half of games than the second. Overall, Bay has netted 24 goals, 16 of which have been scored in the opening half, equating to roughly 67% of its goal total. No team has scored a higher percentage of its goals in the first half than Bay — a fact that was also true last season. The club ranks last in the NWSL in second-half goals scored with eight, despite converting two recently at Denver Summit FC Wednesday night.
Standing tall in net: After a 2025 season in which it conceded the third-most goals in the league (41), Bay has taken a step forward defensively. A major reason for that is the play of goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz, who is piecing together an NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year-worthy season. Of the shot-stoppers with at least 20 games played, she holds the second-highest save percentage (76%), behind Gotham FC’s Ann-Katrin Berger. Silkowitz is the league leader in saves with 98 through 23 appearances.
