Racing Louisville FC hits the road this week for a two-match West Coast swing, starting with a 10 p.m. ET Saturday kickoff against Angel City FC at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
The match will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.
Racing (0-0-2, 2 points) opened the 2023 campaign with back-to-back draws, playing to a 0-0 tie in Houston before rallying from two goals down to finish 2-2 with Washington in Louisville’s home opener on April 1.
Two offseason additions, Abby Erceg and Ary Borges, scored for Racing vs. Washington, highlighting the contributions from seven newcomers who joined the Louisville club over the winter. Defenders Carson Pickett and Elli Pikkujämsä, midfielder Kayla Fischer and forwards Paige Monaghan and Uchenna Kanu each have started or made appearances in the first two matches and figure to be featured again on Saturday in California.
Racing returns to Los Angeles a little more than six months after defeating then-first-year club Angel City, 3-1, in Louisville’s road finale. Alex Chidiac, Kirsten Davis and Emina Ekic scored in the win. While Ekic is still rehabilitating an ankle fracture suffered while on loan this winter in Australia, Chidiac and Davis will be with Racing for the rematch in Los Angeles.
Angel City (1-1-0, 3 points) claimed its first win of the young season on April 1, edging Orlando, 2-1, with the latest game-winning goal in regulation in NWSL history, a Katie Johnson score in the 10th minute of added time. The win evened Angel City’s record after a 2-1 home loss to NJ/NY Gotham over opening weekend. Johnson, Claire Emslie and Alyssa Thompson, the top pick in this year’s NWSL Draft, have scored the goals this year for Angel City.
Follow along…
• For Starting XI, team news and in-game updates, follow @RacingLouFC on Twitter and Racing Louisville FC on Facebook. Also, find us at @racinglouisvillefc on Instagram.
• The game will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network and the CBS Sports app and for free on NWSLSoccer.com internationally.
Story lines …
Ary-ou kidding me? Brazilian midfielder Ary Borges made a stunning impression on Racing fans in her first home game in Louisville, scoring a highlight-reel equalizer in the second half of the 2-2 draw with Washington. It was the 23-year-old’s first goal in the National Women’s Soccer League, helping her pick up a nomination for NWSL Player of the Week. Already a mainstay in the Brazil national team’s starting lineup, Borges has started both games so far for Racing, logging 162 minutes and creating four scoring chances.
Air Erceg: As she zeroes in on 150 career NWSL appearances, Racing defender Abby Erceg scored a goal for a seventh straight NWSL season, nodding in Louisville’s first goal of the season with a towering header in the 46th minute of the Washington draw. Erceg now has nine NWSL regular-season goals in her career. The 33-year-old New Zealander wore the captain’s arm band in both of Louisville’s matches to open the season with club captain Jaelin Howell not in the starting lineup, playing the full 180 minutes. Erceg is seventh in the league in tackles (7) and tied for fifth in interceptions (4).
Right where they left: Two of the league’s leading chance creators last season, Savannah DeMelo and Carson Pickett are right back at it this year, already ranking among the top 10 in the league in scoring chance creation. Pickett (6) ranks fifth, while DeMelo (4) is tied with teammates Borges and Wang Shuang for 10th. DeMelo has won two fouls in the attacking third and ranks fifth in duels won with 17.
Racing rallies: The two-goal comeback on April 1 marked the second time in two seasons that Racing rallied from 2-0 deficit to earn a tie with the Spirit. Louisville trailed 2-0 at halftime in last year’s regular-season match in Washington, but Nadia Nadim scored in the 66th and 88th minutes to salvage a point for Racing on the road.
Unbeaten run continues: Louisville matched its club-record four-game unbeaten streak against Washington. Racing went four matches without a loss last May, drawing OL Reign and Houston before beating San Diego and Gotham. The recent stretch, including the two season-opening draws, carries over from last fall, when Racing beat Angel City on Sept. 25 and Kansas City on Oct. 1.
Racing goes global: Racing Louisville is the first club in NWSL history to feature players from six continents on its roster. Louisville 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, New Zealand’s all-time caps leader, reinforced Australian midfielder Alex Chidiac as a second representative from Oceania.
World Cup year: This is a big year for women’s soccer, with the 2023 FIFA World Cup set for Australia and New Zealand from July 20-Aug. 20. Racing should be well represented at the planet’s biggest competition. There are nine current internationals on the roster, and as many as seven of their countries have qualified for the World Cup. The NWSL will only play one regular-season game in the World Cup window, scheduling half of its NWSL UKG Challenge Cup matches for that period.
