Alex Morgan and Jaedyn Shaw scored to push San Diego past Racing Louisville, 2-0, in the regular season finale on Sunday afternoon at Snapdragon Stadium.
The result eliminated Racing from the race for the NWSL Playoffs, with Louisville finishing ninth in the league standings.
“This season is a tale of two different teams,” said captain Jaelin Howell, who returned to action after missing the past seven games through injury. “When we came out and played like we knew how to play and we were tactically prepared and understood what needed to be done and came out the right mentality, we were able to beat any team in this league. But we’d show up as a different team sometimes, and that hurt us.”
Racing (6-7-9, 27 points) set new club marks in total points, wins, goals scored and fewest goals conceded, but Howell said the high number of draws through the season hobbled Louisville’s playoff chances. The team needed a win Sunday and help from results elsewhere to qualify for its first postseason appearance in the club’s three-year history, ultimately missing the playoff cutline by four points.
On Sunday, Louisville struggled to generate attacking opportunities after an early barrage from San Diego. The Wave broke through in the 26th minute when Jaedyn Shaw dribbled through two defenders and scored off a deflected shot.
Just after halftime, Morgan added an insurance goal with a left-footed effort from the edge of the box.
They were the first two goals San Diego has scored against Racing since joining the league as an expansion team last year. The series is now tied 1-1-2 after four meetings.
“It’s tough right now,” said Racing coach Kim Björkegren. “We had two goals this season: To make the playoffs in the Challenge Cup and the league. We did it in the Challenge Cup, but we missed the chance (for the league playoffs). Maybe it’s wrong to say we missed the chance today, because we played a good team. But overall we missed our goal, so we are disappointed over that.”
Racing’s best chance came from Savannah DeMelo, whose well-struck free kick from 22 yards banged off the crossbar and down, just narrowly staying out of San Diego’s goal.
Now begins the offseason process for Racing Louisville, with an expansion draft, free agency and NWSL Draft upcoming.
Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC at San Diego Wave FC
Date: Oct. 15, 2023
Venue: Snapdragon Stadium
Kickoff: 5 p.m. ET
Weather: 78 degrees, sunny
Scoring
Racing Louisville (0, 0, 0)
San Diego Wave (1, 1, 2)
Goals
San Diego Wave
26’ Jaedyn Shaw (Alex Morgan)
47’ Alex Morgan (Madison Pogarch)
Lineups
Racing Louisville FC (4-3-3): 1 – Katie Lund; 2 – Lauren Milliet, 15 – Julia Lester (70’ 77 – Wang Shuang), 20 – Abby Erceg (c), 16 – Carson Pickett; 4 – Elli Pikkujämsä, 7 – Savannah DeMelo, 8 – Ary Borges (52’ 6 – Jaelin Howell); 5 – Paige Monaghan (52’ 17 – Maddie Pokorny), 10 – Nadia Nadim (52’ 22 – Kirsten Davis), 11 – Thembi Kgatlana
Subs not used: 18 – Hillary Beall; 9 – Kayla Fischer, 13 – Emina Ekic, 26 – Taylor Aylmer, 29 – Uchenna Kanu
Head Coach: Kim Björkegren
San Diego Wave (4-3-3): 1 – Kailen Sheridan; 20 – Christen Westphal, 4 – Naomi Girma, 2 – Abby Dahlkemper, 16 – Madison Pogarch; 5 – Emily Van Egmond, 15 – Makenzy Doniak (72’ 3 – Rachel Hill), 22 – Taylor Kornieck (46’ 24 – Danny Colaprico); 11 – Jaedyn Shaw (64’ 25 – Melanie Barcenas), 13 – Alex Morgan (c), 19 – Kyla Carusa (46’ 10 – Sofia Jakobsson)
Subs not used: 30 – Shae Yanez; 7 – Amirah Ali, 8 – Sierra Enge, 18 – Kaleigh Riehl, 28 – Meggie Dougherty-Howard
Head Coach: Casey Stoney
Stats Summary: Racing Louisville / San Diego
Shots: 9 / 24
Shots on Goal: 3 / 10
Expected goals: 0.42 / 2.31
Possession: 48.5% / 51.5%
Fouls: 12 / 14
Offside: 2 / 0
Corner Kicks: 2 / 4
Discipline Summary
Racing Louisville:
66’ Lauren Milliet (yellow)
San Diego:
43’ Abby Dahlkemper (yellow)
80’ Melanie Barcenas (yellow)
Referee: Jeremy Scheer
VAR: Carol Anne Chenard
