Racing Louisville FC seeks revenge against the Chicago Red Stars at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Lynn Family Stadium after dropping its season opener in the Windy City four months ago.
The rematch will play out on a fun stage: Saturday is Racing’s “Fill the Fam” game, with the club aiming to set a new attendance record (surpassing 8,488) and planning pregame festivities and postgame fireworks.
Racing Louisville (2-6-8, 14 points) enters the game in ninth place in the NWSL standings. Louisville drew four of its last five regular-season matches, including a scoreless tie at Houston while playing down a player most of the way. Racing stepped outside of NWSL play to compete last week in The Women’s Cup, finishing as the runner-up to OL Reign.
Chicago (6-5-5, 23 points) sits in the coveted sixth spot in the standings, one point ahead of Angel City FC on the playoff cut line. The Red Stars have recently struggled, losing four of their last five games, including a 4-0 home loss on Saturday to the North Carolina Courage.
This will mark the fourth meeting this year between the squads. In addition to the regular-season opener, they tied twice in the preseason NWSL Challenge Cup.
Saturday is also the final match before the league breaks for an international break. At least three Racing players will represent their countries during the upcoming window: Alex Chidiac (Australia), Emily Fox (United States) and Rebecca Holloway (Northern Ireland).
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.
• The game will stream live on Paramount+ in the United States and on Twitch internationally.
Player availability report
- Satara Murray (out, red card suspension)
Story lines...
Playoff picture: Racing needs to get hot and needs some help from rivals if it wants to remain in the race for one of the NWSL’s six playoff spots. Louisville is nine points behind sixth-place Chicago with six games left.
Wang Shuang debuts: The Women’s Cup was the first extended glimpse of Chinese star midfielder Wang Shuang in a Racing kit after the recent signing first came on as a substitute in the Aug. 12 league match in Houston. She started both TWC matches, scoring Racing’s second goal in the semifinal win against AC Milan.
KD for three: Rookie forward Kirsten Davis scored in The Women’s Cup final against OL Reign, becoming the only player for Racing to register goals in each of the Challenge Cup, regular season and TWC. Her 34th-minute goal put Racing ahead in the final, but OL Reign scored twice early in the second half to claim the trophy.
Nadim’s scoring run: Returning from a knee injury suffered last September, Nadia Nadim has scored five goals in her past nine games, including a goal against AC Milan in The Women’s Cup semifinal. After rehabbing for eight months, the forward returned in May and made her first start of the season on July 29 against the Portland Thorns.
Lund on lock: The last regular-season matchup against Houston marked Katie Lund’s fourth clean sheet of the season. Lund has a league-leading 76 saves, 18 more than second-place Erin McLeod, Orlando’s goalkeeper.
First to 50: Racing’s last regular-season match marked Lauren Milliet’s 50th NWSL appearance for the club, making her the first player to reach that milestone. Milliet has been with Louisville since the team started when selected in the 2020 expansion draft. Since joining the club, Milliet has featured in a variety of roles, including central midfielder, attacking winger and most recently outside back. During Racing’s inaugural season, the Colorado native was the only player to feature in every Racing match.
Murray suspended: After receiving two yellow cards in Racing’s last match, defender Satara Murray will be suspended for Saturday’s match. Murray had started four straight matches for Louisville since returning from the Concacaf W Championship at the end of July,
