Jordan Baggett is set to make her first regular-season start in a Racing Louisville uniform this afternoon in Seattle, with the midfielder representing one of three changes coach Kim Björkegren’s lineup for the game against OL Reign.
Kayla Fischer and Paige Monaghan also re-enter Racing’s team sheet, while Riley Parker, back from loan in Mexico, made the substitutes bench for the first time since Racing selected her in the fourth round of the NWSL Draft.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET at Lumen Field. The match will be broadcast in the Louisville area on Circle — available over the air on WAVE 3.3, Spectrum cable channel 193 and Dish Network’s 370 – and streamed on Paramount+.
Racing acquired Baggett, 26, from Washington via trade in April, and the Colorado native has started two of Racing’s three UKG NWSL Challenge Cup games. She has come off the bench eight times in regular-season games and has one goal and one assist in 264 total minutes across all competitions. She moved into the starting 11 with the departure of Ary Borges, who is now with the Brazilian national team for pre-World Cup camp before the tournament kicks off later this month.
Baggett and Fischer will join captain Jaelin Howell in Racing’s midfield trio. Fischer replaces Savannah DeMelo, who, like Borges, is now with her national team (the United States) for the World Cup. The Ohio State grad is making her fourth start across all competitions a week and a half after scoring her first professional goal against Houston.
Monaghan steps into the lineup for Thembi Kgatlana, who left this past weekend to be with South Africa’s World Cup squad. This will be the 10th start across all competitions for the 26-year-old Monaghan, who has also made seven appearances off the bench, with one goal and two assists. She’ll start in the front three alongside Kirsten Davis and Wang Shuang, who is set for her 13th start in 13 games with Racing this year.
Saturday marks start No. 40 for goalkeeper Katie Lund, a nice round number for the 26-year-old who has played every minute this season and last. She’s on the hunt for her sixth regular-season shutout.
In front of Lund, Louisville will stick with its usual back four over recent games: Carson Pickett, Abby Erceg, Elli Pikkujämsä and Lauren Milliet.
Jordyn Bloomer, Jess McDonald and Nadia Nadim were all previously listed as out on the player availability report. Borges, DeMelo, Kgatlana and Alex Chidiac are all listed as out because of international duty.
Racing Team Sheet at OL Reign
1 – Katie Lund
16 – Carson Pickett
20 – Abby Erceg
4 – Elli Pikkujämsä
2 – Lauren Milliet
6 – Jaelin Howell (c)
9 – Kayla Fischer
19 – Jordan Baggett
5 – Paige Monaghan
22 – Kirsten Davis
77 – Wang Shuang
Substitutes: 99 – Olivia Sekany; 3 – Zaneta Wyne, 13 – Emina Ekic, 15 – Julia Lester, 21 – Parker Goins, 25 – Rebecca Holloway, 29 – Uchenna Kanu, 31 – Riley Parker
