Racing Louisville started fast and furious on Saturday night in Los Angeles, scoring two first-half goals, but Angel City rallied in the second half to a 2-2 draw at BMO Stadium.
Savannah DeMelo and Kirsten Davis scored for Racing, yet the Louisvillians left the pitch frustrated that the first two-goal halftime lead in Racing’s short club history ended in a tie.
“That’s why we’re all so disappointed, just because we know how good we are and we know we’re right there,” Racing captain Jaelin Howell said. “It’s just fine-tuning these little things, especially in a game like this it’s hard because it was right there. We wanted those first three points. We talked about it. We want to change the culture of this team into a winning culture and we need to get in the habit of winning, and we wanted that to be tonight. But obviously it’s a learning opportunity. We haven’t been up two goals like that. Next time, we’ll be better, and we’ll know how to defend.
“Being disappointed is a good thing because we know we have that much more to show and give, and we’re right there.”
Racing (0-0-3, 3 points) extended its unbeaten run to five matches, linking back to the final two games of last season and establishing a new record for the young club.
The Louisvillians did so thanks to an especially strong opening 45 minutes in LA, scoring the game’s first goal two minutes and 42 seconds into the match.
DeMelo won the penalty that she then converted, scoring her first goal of the season and fifth since Racing selected her No. 4 overall in the 2022 NWSL Draft. Playing in her hometown, DeMelo blasted her shot into the roof of the net.
The 25-year-old later played a part in Davis’s 32nd-minute goal, too, registering the assist after Jaelin Howell’s sliding challenge won the ball back for Racing in the attacking half. DeMelo passed to her right to Davis, who cut back onto her left foot and drilled a curling shot into the top left corner from 20 yards out.
It was Davis’s first goal of the year and her fourth in a Racing shirt.
“We were emphasizing wanting to start strong, and I think we did a great job of that,” said DeMelo, who became the first Racing player in club history to tally a goal and an assist in a half. “We had two great goals. We just need to keep pushing. Obviously it’s not good enough. We need to come out of this game with a win.”
Angel City changed the momentum of the game after about an hour, first scoring off a deflected free kick. The goal was ultimately credited to Angel City’s Katie Johnson.
“In the end, they put a lot of pressure on us,” Racing coach Kim Björkegren said. “They scored a goal from a free kick with almost no angle. It’s way too easy for us to give them that kind of energy. That’s not good enough from us. We need to do better there.”
Former Racing midfielder Savannah McCaskill equalized in the 87th minute.
“Our mentality was good – it’s just, in the end, we didn’t play well in the second half,” Howell said. “A team like LA, with as many chances as they got, they’re going to finish them. It’s early in the season, though, and (veteran defender Abby Erceg) and I were talking: It’s just about how to pick each other up when we’ve lost momentum in a game like that. Honestly, this team doesn’t have a lot of experience being up that many goals going into the second half, so I think it’s a learning experience for us.”
Tap-in: Erceg, acquired this offseason in a blockbuster trade with North Carolina, hit a milestone only two other international players have by playing her 150th NWSL match on Saturday night. She recently surpassed 13,000 minutes played in the league, too.
Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC at Angel City FC
Date: April 15, 2023
Venue: BMO Stadium
Kickoff: 10 p.m. ET
Weather: 62 degrees, sunny
Player of the Match: Savannah DeMelo
Scoring
Racing Louisville (2, 0, 2)
Angel City (0, 2, 2)
Goals
Racing Louisville FC:
3’ Savannah DeMelo (penalty)
32’ Kirsten Davis (DeMelo)
Angel City FC:
68’ Katie Johnson (Savannah McCaskill)
87’ Savannah McCaskill
Lineups
Racing Louisville FC (4-3-3): 1 – Katie Lund; 16 – Carson Pickett, 20 – Abby Erceg, 25 – Rebecca Holloway, 2 – Lauren Milliet; 4 – Elli Pikkujämsä (74’ 8 – Ary Borges), 6 – Jaelin Howell (c), 7 – Savannah DeMelo; 14 – Jess McDonald (79’ 5 – Paige Monaghan), 22 – Kirsten Davis (86’ 21 – Parker Goins), 9 – Kayla Fischer (79’ 27 – Alex Chidiac)
Subs not used: 99 – Olivia Sekany; 3 – Zaneta Wyne, 15 – Julia Lester, 29 – Uchenna Kanu, 44 – Satara Murray
Head Coach: Kim Björkegren
Angel City FC (4-3-3): 13 – Didi Haračić; 14 – Paige Nielsen, 6 – Megan Reid, 11 – Sarah Gorden, 16 – M.A. Vignola (57’ 5 – Ali Riley); 17 – Dani Weatherholt (c), 9 – Savannah McCaskill, 18 – Jun Endo; 29 – Clarisse Le Bihan (57’ 99 – Madison Hammond), 33 – Katie Johnson, 10 – Claire Emslie (57’ 21 – Alyssa Thompson)
Subs not used: 1 – Brittany Isenhour (GK), 19 – Angelina Anderson (GK); 3 – Jasmyne Spencer, 15 – Scarlett Camberos, 24 – Mackenzie Pluck, 28 – Lily Nabet
Head Coach: Freya Coombe
Stats Summary: Racing Louisville / Angel City
Shots: 13 / 25
Shots on Goal: 2 / 7
Expected goals: 2.15 / 1.97
Possession: 40.1% / 59.9%
Fouls: 17 / 9
Offside: 2 / 1
Corner Kicks: 4 / 7
Discipline Summary
Racing Louisville:
70’ Elli Pikkujämsä (yellow)
77’ Savannah DeMelo (yellow)
Referee: Brad Jensen
VAR: Robi Hullner
