Racing Louisville moved to the cusp of clinching a spot in the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup semifinals with a 2-0 win over the Chicago Red Stars on a balmy Friday night at Lynn Family Stadium.
Jordan Baggett and Paige Monaghan scored first-half goals and Racing outshot Chicago, 25-8, in a dominant performance that continued Racing’s perfect start to the Challenge Cup. The Louisvillians are the only team in the competition with wins in each of their games.
“Our team came out really strong, and we just kept building off the last couple of games,” said Racing forward Kirsten Davis, who assisted Baggett’s goal that ultimately stood as the game-winner. “We were able to create a lot of chances and defend really well. They didn’t really have that many dangerous chances, and we put ours away.”
With the win, Racing (4-0-0, 12 points) moved six points clear of second-place Kansas City, though the Current have yet to play this weekend. Louisville will finish the group stage of the competition with back-to-back road games at Houston (July 29) and at KC (Aug. 5).
The Challenge Cup is a league-wide tournament with a group stage that will finish in August while a number of NWSL players compete at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, culminating with semifinals and the final on Sept. 6 and 9. A $1 million pot will be shared among the Cup participants.
Coach Kim Björkegren’s squad has the best goal differential in the tournament so far, a gap that expanded with Racing’s third shutout in four Challenge Cup games. Louisville has scored 10 times and only conceded twice.
“Our focus the whole time has been to try and play in the semifinals and try to be in the final and win the whole tournament,” said Racing coach Kim Björkegren. “Right now we have put ourselves in a great position. We probably still need to win one more game, but of course I’m happy with 12 points out of 12.”
Racing started Friday like a team determined to erase any doubt about the result.
Baggett ran onto Davis’s cross into the area and passed her shot into the far corner, giving Louisville the lead in the 11th minute after a spell of early pressure. Davis combined with Lauren Milliet and Parker Goins, who made her first professional start, to open the right side for her cross.
Eight minutes later, Monaghan – who was a scoring threat all game – blasted in a deflected cross on a half-volley from 12 yards out. It was her third goal in as many games. She now has career-highs this season in both goals (four) and assists (two) across all competitions, and she became the first player in NWSL history to start 20 Challenge Cup games.
The 26-year-old Monaghan said Racing wanted to start fast against Chicago coming off last week’s mid-season break, and the Louisvillians executed that goal.
“(Captain Jaelin Howell) made the point of, ‘We’ve had time off – what are we going to do with it?’” Monaghan said. “The group reset but also just remembered what we want to do and what team we want to be.”
Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC vs. Chicago Red Stars
Date: July 21, 2023
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Weather: 80 degrees, partly cloudy
Player of the Match: Paige Monaghan
Attendance: 5,499
Scoring
Racing Louisville (2, 0, 2)
Chicago Red Stars (0, 0, 0)
Goals
Racing Louisville
11’ Jordan Baggett (Kirsten Davis)
19’ Paige Monaghan
Lineups
Racing Louisville FC (4-3-3): 1 – Katie Lund; 16 – Carson Pickett, 20 – Abby Erceg, 15 – Julia Lester, 2 – Lauren Milliet; 6 – Jaelin Howell (c), 9 – Kayla Fischer (69’ 4 – Elli Pikkujämsä), 19 – Jordan Baggett; 5 – Paige Monaghan, 22 – Kirsten Davis (69’ 10 – Nadia Nadim), 21 – Parker Goins (56’ 17 – Maddie Pokorny)
Subs not used: 99 – Olivia Sekany; 3 – Zaneta Wyne, 13 – Emina Ekic, 25 – Rebecca Holloway, 26 – Taylor Aylmer, 31 – Riley Parker
Head Coach: Kim Björkegren
Chicago Red Stars (3-4-3): 21 – Emily Boyd; 28 – Kayla Sharples, 12 – Tierna Davidson (c), 23 – Tatumn Milazzo (66’ 3 – Arin Wright); 6 – Casey Krueger, 4 – Cari Roccaro, 7 – Yuki Nagasato (46’ 55 – Penelope Hocking), 22 – Bianca St-Georges (55’ 24 – Jenna Bike); 25 – Ava Cook, 5 – Julia Bianchi (80’ 2 – Sam Fisher), 8 – Ella Stevens (66’ 15 – Sarah Griffith)
Subs not used: 19 – Mackenzie Wood; 13 – Addie McCain, 14 – Jill Aguilera, 32 – Taylor Malham
Head coach: Chris Petrucelli
Stats Summary: Racing Louisville / Chicago Red Stars
Shots: 25 / 8
Shots on Goal: 8 / 2
Expected goals: 2.8 / 0.73
Possession: 48% / 52%
Fouls: 9 / 11
Offside: 3 / 1
Corners: 8 / 3
Discipline Summary
15’ Jaelin Howell (yellow)
88’ Nadia Nadim (yellow)
Referee: Nabil Bensalah
VAR: Adorae Monroy
