A night that got off to a flying start ended tinged with frustration.
Racing Louisville netted two first-half goals from Paige Monaghan and Savannah DeMelo, dominating OL Reign for 45 minutes, but OL Reign rallied in the second half to draw Racing, 2-2, at Lynn Family Stadium, tying the game against 10-player Louisville in the 90th minute.
Despite the almost-identical script from the 2-2 draw at Angel City two weeks ago, this time Racing’s players spoke of fighting spirit and improved play. The next step for their emergent team, team captain Jaelin Howell said, is putting the finishing touches on strong performances.
“We’re all gutted,” Howell said. “It was one of our best games for Racing in general as a club, especially against a quality opponent, one of the best teams in the league. We came out on fire. We did what we wanted to do. To let them creep back and, in the 90th minute, give away a goal – it’s heartbreaking, especially because we just did that in (Los Angeles).
“Silver lining: The overall performance was very good, and there wasn’t much difference in halves. … We just have to continue to grow, but obviously very disappointed that it was the quality of play we wanted and we didn’t get the three points.”
Racing (0-1-4, 4 points) swarmed OL Reign out of the gates, breaking through early with a seventh-minute goal from Paige Monaghan, who scored her first goal in her first start with Louisville.
A blocked Ary Borges shot fell to Monaghan, who slotted home a right-footed low shot to the far post.
“I knew to bring it down and put it low and hard back post,” Monaghan said. “It felt really good to score my first Racing goal.”
Savannah DeMelo added the second goal just before halftime, chasing down a cleared corner and, all in one motion, turning as she shot with her back to goal to rifle in a 20-yard screamer that beat OL Reign goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce. DeMelo has now scored four goals from outside the box in her career, according to Opta stats, more than any other player in regular-season play since her debut in 2022.
Racing outshot OL Reign, 12-3, in the first half, with 18 touches in OL Reign’s defensive area and 42 final-third entries.
Saturday’s match was not like the Angel City draw two weeks ago in the sense that Racing played well for much of the second half. But a Megan Rapinoe penalty in the 69th minute halved Racing’s lead, and DeMelo’s second yellow card four minutes later meant Racing had to mostly defend for much of the final 20 minutes.
Jordyn Huitema headed in the equalizer in the 90th minute.
“We had a really good chance to win the game because we had good control,” Racing coach Kim Björkegren said. “With the red card, it affects us negatively. We had a plan how to defend if we were up one goal, but we couldn’t really do it with one less player. … I’m feeling for the team because they played so, so well.”
Tap-ins: Racing Louisville has now avoided defeat in its last six matches when scoring the opening goal. Saturday’s draw also extended Racing’s home unbeaten run to four matches.
Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC vs. OL Reign
Date: April 29, 2023
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: 64 degrees, partly cloudy
Player of the Match: Paige Monaghan
Attendance: 6,185
Scoring
Racing Louisville (2, 0, 2)
OL Reign (0, 2, 2)
Goals
Racing Louisville
7’ Paige Monaghan
45’ Savannah DeMelo
OL Reign
68’ Megan Rapinoe (penalty)
90’ Jordyn Huitema (Alana Cook)
Lineups
Racing Louisville FC (4-3-3): 1 – Katie Lund; 16 – Carson Pickett, 20 – Abby Erceg, 15 – Julia Lester, 2 – Lauren Milliet; 6 – Jaelin Howell (c), 7 – Savannah DeMelo, 8 – Ary Borges; 5 – Paige Monaghan (84’ 25 – Rebecca Holloway), 22 – Kirsten Davis (76’ 29 – Uchenna Kanu), 77 – Wang Shuang (90’+1 19 – Jordan Baggett)
Subs not used: 99 – Olivia Sekany; 3 – Zaneta Wyne, 9 – Kayla Fischer, 21 – Parker Goins, 27 – Alex Chidiac, 44 – Satara Murray
Head Coach: Kim Björkegren
OL Reign (4-2-3-1): 91 – Phallon Tullis-Joyce; 11 – Sofia Huerta, 4 – Alana Cook, 17 – Sam Hiatt, 3 – Lauren Barnes (c); 2 – Emily Sonnett (81’ 12 – Olivia Athens), 10 – Jess Fishlock; 8 – Bethany Balcer, 34 – Elyse Bennett (46’ 7 – Nikki Stanton), 15 – Megan Rapinoe (70’ 23 – Tziarra King); 9 – Jordyn Huitema
Subs not used: 18 – Laurel Ivory; 13 – Marley Canales, 19 – Luany, 20 – Alyssa Malonson, 22 – Ryanne Brown, 25 – Shae Holmes
Head Coach: Laura Harvey
Stats Summary: Racing Louisville / OL Reign
Shots: 16 / 10
Shots on Goal: 8 / 4
Expected goals: 1 / 1.44
Possession: 40.5% / 59.5%
Fouls: 10 / 14
Offside: 1 / 1
Corner Kicks: 7 / 2
Discipline Summary
Racing Louisville:
35’ Savannah DeMelo (yellow)
46’ Lauren Milliet (yellow)
73’ Savannah DeMelo (second yellow/red)
OL Reign:
71’ Sofia Huerta (yellow)
87’ Nikki Stanton (yellow)
Referee: Eric Tattersall
VAR: Carol Anne Chenard
