This article was updated to reflect a correction to the Challenge Cup scenarios generated by the league.
Racing Louisville enters Saturday’s 8:30 p.m. ET match at Houston in great position to qualify for the knockout stage of the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup.
Not only can the Louisvillians clinch a spot in the tournament’s semifinals, they can also win their Central Division group and even secure the top seed and home-field advantage for the semifinal (and potential final) at Lynn Family Stadium. The Challenge Cup semifinals will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 6, with the final set for Saturday, Sept. 9, and teams playing for a $1 million pot.
After Saturday’s game at Houston, Racing (4-0-0, 12 points) still has one more group stage match before the knockout rounds, an Aug. 5 contest at Kansas City. Louisville has already matched an NWSL record for consecutive wins in the Challenge Cup, with four.
Here are the all the Challenge Cup qualification scenarios Racing fans need to know ahead of the weekend:
| CLINCHING SCENARIOS |
| If Racing wins at Houston … |
| Racing clinches a Challenge Cup semifinal berth |
| Racing can win group and clinch semifinal berth IF Kansas City draws or loses at Chicago |
| Racing can win group and clinch semifinal home game IF KC draws or loses AND either OL Reign or Gotham draw or lose |
| Racing can win group and clinch home-field advantage throughout knockout stage IF KC, OL Reign and Gotham all either lose or draw |
| If Racing draws at Houston … |
| Racing can win group and clinch semifinal berth IF Kansas City loses at Chicago |
| Racing can clinch semifinal berth IF North Carolina draws or loses vs. Orlando |
| If Racing loses at Houston … |
| Racing can still clinch semifinal berth IF one of Gotham/North Carolina draws or loses and Portland draws or loses |
