Racing Louisville FC has matched up with all but one club thus far in its inaugural National Women’s Soccer League season. That will change Saturday with a late-night kickoff against OL Reign in Tacoma, Wash.
Start time is 10 p.m. ET as Racing seeks to bounce back from a defeat last weekend against the Washington Spirit. In the loss, however, star forward Nadia Nadim subbed on to make her first appearance and figures to push for more minutes moving forward.
OL Reign, which plays at Cheney Stadium, is adjusting after the resignation of head coach Farid Bensitti earlier this month. Caretaker manager Sam Laity — also Reign’s former assistant — has earned a 2-2 record including a 2-0 victory over the Orlando Pride last week.
OL Reign will be without up to five players Saturday who continue international duty at the Tokyo Olympics, including U.S. Women’s National Team standouts Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle.
With the Reign two points ahead of Louisville on the NWSL table, a win would push Louisville as high as eighth as it pursues a top-six finish in hopes of becoming the first NWSL expansion side to make the playoffs.
OL Reign-Racing will stream exclusively on the NWSL’s Twitch channel.
Here’s what to watch for on Saturday night …
Coach Christy Holly says…
“They are a dangerous team. If we let them dictate the terms of the games to us then we will find ourselves in a very difficult position. We will go there as we have with other teams and we will try to dictate to them how this game needs to be played. We have to be on our game. We know it will be a difficult trip but it is something we are excited about.”
“We know where we are at. We know what we are trying to do. We have some fantastic athletes. Now, we are trying to blend these athletes together. We are trying to impose our identity on them and the NWSL. The players have bought into that. From my perspective, I couldn’t be in a much more privileged position. I couldn’t be luckier having the personalities we have matching the abilities. I feel like we are in a good place and we are going to keep chipping away at what we are doing. We know that in the long term that will be something sustainable for the future.”
Follow along
For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @RacingLouFC on Twitter and Racing Louisville FC on Facebook. Also find us at @racinglouisvillefc on Instagram.
Watch the match exclusively on the NWSL Twitch channel with play by play from Matt Pedersen and color commentary by Marion Cole.
Notes to know
NWSL after dark: Barring schedule changes, Saturday’s kickoff time will be the second-latest of the season following a 10:30 p.m. ET start when Racing traveled to play Portland Thorns FC on June 3. This marks the final trip for Louisville to the Pacific Time Zone in 2021.
By the numbers: Through Racing’s first 10 regular season matches, the club is 3-0-1 in games when it scores and 0-5-1 in those it doesn’t. Additionally, the club’s three victories this year have all come in shutout performances.
Nadim’s debut: The Danish international made her presence felt in Sunday’s Washington game, coming on in the 55th minute to log four shots, matching the most by a Racing player over the full 90 minutes. Announced in June, Nadim most recently helped Paris Saint-Germain to a league title.
Bet on Betos: Racing goalkeeper Michelle Betos, who leads the NWSL with 54 saves, is on record pace. The league’s regular season record is held by two players, Aubrey Bledsoe and Kaelin Sheridan, at 108 saves apiece back in 2018.
Kizer’s calling: Forward Cece Kizer’s Player of the Match performance Sunday resulted in a season-high four shots, three on frame. She also took part in 15 duels, twice as many as any teammate on the field. The former expansion draft selection has totaled a trio of goals and assists across all NWSL competitions this year.
OL Reign connections: Two players on Racing’s roster previously represented the Seattle-area side. Betos played there from 2018-2020 before going to Racing in the expansion draft. Defender Julia was traded to Reign in early 2020 but never appeared for the club due to injury; she also came to Louisville via the expansion draft.
City of Lights: Nadim will likely run into a former teammate on the pitch Saturday as OL Reign recently added U.S. international defender Alana Cook. The two appeared together 16 times for PSG during the 2020/2021 Division 1 Feminine season.
Milestone watch
Michelle Betos is one shutout away from her 15th NWSL regular season shutout and would be one of seven players to earn that stat.
Savannah McCaskill is one start away from her 40th NWSL regular season start.
Nadia Nadim is two goals from her 30th NWSL regular season goal.
