Racing Louisville FC has gained momentum at the right time.
The club — amid its busiest stretch of the season — will play five games in 15 days, starting with Sunday’s 5 p.m. away kickoff against NJ/NY Gotham FC at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.
Racing enters off last weekend’s 3-1 win over fellow NWSL expansion side Kansas City as its offense clicked. Ebony Salmon put her team-leading fourth goal in the back of the net, while forwards Nadia Nadim and Cheyna Matthews scored their first goals in lavender.
Gotham, which had a strong first half to its regular season, sits third on the NWSL table and will test that Louisville attack. The club has conceded the second-fewest goals of any team in the league behind table-topping Portland Thorns FC.
The former Sky Blue FC features a trio of U.S. internationals in Carli Lloyd, Margaret Purce and Allie Long. Purce, however, missed a recent loss to the NC Courage with a quad injury, and Lloyd’s status for Sunday is unknown coming off a recent bronze medal run at the Tokyo Olympics.
Racing and Gotham have yet to meet during the regular season. During the preseason Challenge Cup tournament, the sides played to a scoreless draw back on May 2.
Following Sunday’s game, Racing plays on Wednesday and Saturday of next week as part of The Women’s Cup, welcoming European powers FC Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain to Louisville. Games at Kansas City (Aug. 25) and the Houston Dash (Aug. 29) come quickly after that.
Here’s more of what to watch for Sunday…
Coach Christy Holly says…
“There are a lot of games. There is a lot of fantastic competition. The NWSL doesn’t let you breathe for a second. Then you bring in PSG and Bayern Munich [for The Women’s Cup]. It is all a big privilege for us. We will be rotating players and managing players’ minutes. We must be sensible and respectful. At the same time, we must make sure that we are still moving forward. There are players moving forward who may be on limited minutes and will try to have a big impact within the game. We have a little bit of progress here. Let’s keep adding to it and not take two steps back.”
“Gotham FC is a very good team. They are very organized and balanced front to back. They have plenty of experience and a lot of consistency. They are moving forward, chipping away and picking up points. If we want to get anything out of this game, we have to perform and be very disciplined in everything that we do within the game.”
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 on Paramount+ with play by play from Corey Cohen and color commentary by Anna Witte. Internationally, fans can also stream the match on Twitch.
Notes to know
The playoff race: With all NWSL clubs to the midpoint of a 24-game regular season, the standings remain tight, with the difference between second and eighth on the table only four points. Racing follows in ninth, five points from the all-important sixth place, the playoff cutline. Louisville holds at least one game in hand on every team but Gotham entering this bit of schedule congestion.
Savannah’s service: Savannah McCaskill, a forward who has found herself in more of a midfield role with Racing, has seen plenty of time on the ball and converted it to the stat sheet Sunday, assisting on goals in either half of the win over Kansas City. It marked the first time as a pro she’s numbered two assist in a game and raised her total on the year to three, tied for the NWSL lead in that category.
Making a splash: Salmon finished an impressive 42nd-minute team sequence for Sunday’s opening goal, completing a buildup that started with Racing goalkeeper Michelle Betos. Her four goals are most on the team, even as the impressive young English international joined mid-season, and have her tied for fifth in the league alongside players such as Alex Morgan and former NWSL No. 1 pick Sophia Smith.
Nadim nets one: The international star forward opened her Racing account Sunday when heading in McCaskill’s 55th-minute cross from the right side. It was a goal well on its way as Nadim, who has now made two starts and three appearances overall, was quick to get involved in the attack. The No. 10 joined the team in July fresh off winning a French title at PSG.
Soccer mom: Fewer than eight months after giving birth to her second child, forward Cheyna Matthews walked in an 86th-minute exclamation point of a goal Sunday against Kansas City. Matthews won possession on an opposing throw in, pulled the goalkeeper off her line and waltzed the ball over the line for her first goal since scoring against the Orlando Pride in July of 2019, then with the Washington Spirit.
Brick wall Betos: There haven’t been many players in the NWSL as frequently tested, and yet consistently brilliant, as Racing’s goalkeeper. Michelle Betos grew her league lead in saves against Kansas City, registering eight of them. It marked the third-most saves in a single game for her this season following 10 in a May 21 win over Washington and nine in a June 5 defeat at Portland.
A return to the pitch: Having last appeared in Racing’s May 15 season opener against Kansas City, midfielder Taylor Otto subbed on for the first time since then Sunday against the same opponent. In the meantime, she underwent knee surgery and rehabbed, making a relatively quick comeback. Racing selected Otto 11th overall in the 2021 NWSL Draft out of the University of North Carolina.
Holly’s history: Before named Racing’s first head coach, Christ Holly spent five years with Gotham FC when it was then known as Sky Blue FC, serving for three seasons as an assistant before assuming the head coaching gig. Between his Sky Blue and Racing jobs, Holly worked as an opposition analyst for U.S. Soccer.
Gotham ties: They don’t end with Holly. Defender Kaleigh Riehl, selected by Racing in the 2020 expansion draft, played there previously, as did McCaskill, who started her pro career in New Jersey as an NWSL Rookie of the Year finalist in 2018. Defender Erin Simon signed for Sky Blue in 2016 under Holly’s direction, while Nadim also called the club home from 2014-2015.
Trophy on the line: When Racing returns home on a quick turnaround, it’ll play for some hardware. It’s run at The Women’s Cup opens Wednesday against the Chicago Red Stars in a league game that, should it end in a draw, will be decided on penalties for the purpose of the tournament. Bayern and PSG open a doubleheader, with the final and third-place game the following Saturday at Lynn Family Stadium.
Injury report
- Addisyn Merrick – Out
- Gemma Bonner – Questionable
- Katie McClure – Questionable
Milestone watch
Michelle Betos is one shutout away from her 15th NWSL regular season clean sheet and would be one of seven players to earn that stat.
Nadia Nadim is one goal from her 30th NWSL regular season goal.
Savannah McCaskill is one appearance from her 55th in NWSL regular season play,
