Racing Louisville can clinch a spot in the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup semifinals when it takes on the Houston Dash at Shell Energy Stadium at 8:30 p.m. ET Saturday.
Racing (4-0-0, 12 points) continued its perfect run of form in this year’s edition of the Challenge Cup last Friday, topping Chicago, 2-0, and notching a third clean sheet in the competition. Louisville is in first place in the Central Division ahead of the final two group stage matches of the league-wide tournament and could cement a berth in the semifinals with a win, draw or even loss with help from other results around the competition.
The match will be streamed on Paramount+.
Saturday’s game serves as the away leg of a home-and-home series with Houston. Racing emerged from Lynn Family Stadium as a 3-0 winner on June 14 with goals scored by Kayla Fischer, Savannah DeMelo and Parker Goins. That victory kicked off Racing’s best period of form this season, notching a 4-1-1 record across all competitions since then.
Houston (1-3-0, 3 points) still has a chance at advancing to the Challenge Cup semifinals, but with three of the four semifinal spots reserved for group winners, the Dash needs to win out and get help from several teams in order to move on.
The Challenge Cup runs concurrently with the NWSL regular season and features the league’s 12 teams, with a $1 million pot to be shared among participants. The second half of the six-match group stage will play out through the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup while more than 60 NWSL players compete for their national teams in Australia and New Zealand.
Both Racing and Houston will have multiple absentees from Saturday’s match while they play at the World Cup.
Racing accounts for six players representing their countries on the game’s biggest stage: Savannah DeMelo (USA), Uchenna Kanu (Nigeria), Ary Borges (Brazil), Alex Chidiac (Australia), Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa) and Wang Shuang (China).
Houston also sent six representatives, including Andressa Alves (Brazil), Allysha Chapman (Canada), Nichelle Prince (Canada), Sophie Schmidt (Canada), Havana Solaun (Jamaica) and Michelle Alozie (Nigeria).
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 streamed live on Paramount+, and international viewers may watch for free on NWSLSoccer.com.
Story lines …
Jaelin’s up for the Challenge: The Racing Louisville captain has shown out in the Challenge Cup, ranking among the competition’s best in interceptions (10th) and aerial duels won (12th), with even more success in duels won (2nd) and recoveries (4th). Howell’s efforts contribute to a stout Racing defense that has three clean sheets and only conceded twice in UKG NWSL Challenge Cup play.
Lund leads: Last year’s NWSL saves leader is playing with the same energy in 2023, leading the league in saves and sitting second in save percentage across all competitions. Lund is very comfortable between the sticks in the Challenge Cup, leading the league’s stoppers with three clean sheets while only facing six shots on target.
Monaghan milestones: Racing newcomer Paige Monaghan continues to set new personal bests in Louisville. Her fourth goal across all competitions this season came on Friday against Chicago, establishing a new career-high for the Butler University product. She also set a new career mark with two assists across all competitions. The New Jersey native is the first NWSL player to start 20 Challenge Cup games in league history. With three goals in the previous three matches, Monaghan arrives in Houston in top form.
Chasing a trophy: Racing is in the midst of a competition-leading run as the only team in the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup with 100% points from its games, and the case for hosting a Cup semifinal on Sept. 6 grew even stronger after Friday’s win over Chicago. The $1 million pot for the 2023 Challenge Cup will be shared among all participants, with incentives for the semifinalists, finalists and winners.
The World Cup is here: This is a big year for women’s soccer, with the 2023 FIFA World Cup in full swing in Australia and New Zealand and running through the August 20 final. Racing is well-represented at the planet’s biggest competition, with six players suiting up their national teams, the largest number of countries represented by a single NWSL team. Ary Borges (Brazil) scored the competition’s first hat trick with three goals and an assist in her World Cup debut against Panama, while Savannah DeMelo became the first American to start in a World Cup match within her first two appearances for the U.S. Women’s National Team.
Global Racing: Racing Louisville is the first club in NWSL history to feature players from six different continents on its roster. The Louisvillians already had an international flavor last year, with four continents represented. But the additions of Brazilian midfielder Ary Borges as well as Nigerian forward Uchenna Kanu and South African forward Thembi Kgatlana nudged Racing to six continents. Abby Erceg, who made 146 appearances for New Zealand’s national team, reinforced Australian midfielder Alex Chidiac as a second representative from Oceania.
