Racing Louisville FC’s players reported back to town this week in preparation for their 2024 NWSL campaign. Preseason training opens Wednesday, with these story lines to follow leading up to a new 26-game season kicking off March 16.
New coach, big ambitions: The biggest acquisition this offseason came with the appointment of 35-year-old head coach Bev Yanez, the former NWSL MVP finalist who quickly became one of the top young assistant coaches in the NWSL in her three years on the touch line. A popular figure in the locker room, Yanez served as an assistant coach in Louisville last year, winning over players with her attention to detail, enthusiasm and knowledge of the game. The California native and former Seattle Reign star is one of two former NWSL players currently coaching in the league, alongside Utah Royals FC coach Amy Rodriguez.
Familiar faces: Racing reconfigured its attacking corps with a variety of offseason moves, but the club retained 16 players from the 2023 campaign, accounting for 73.5% of the team’s minutes played and 65% of the team’s scoring. The returning group is led by NWSL Best XI selection Savannah DeMelo and captain Jaelin Howell, Racing’s 2022 NWSL Draft first-round picks who’ve established themselves as two of the top midfielders in the league alongside Brazilian star Ary Borges. Returners also include Racing’s three iron women who played every minute last season: goalkeeper Katie Lund and defenders Abby Erceg and Lauren Milliet.
Exciting additions: Beyond the excitement of Yanez’s hire, Racing also put together a strong offseason in shaping the first-year coach’s debut roster. Midfielder Marisa (Viggiano) DiGrande became the first free agent signing in club history, and Louisville traded for bona fide NWSL veterans in Taylor (Kornieck) Flint, Ellie Jean and Arin Wright. Racing once again dipped into the international market, too, signing midfielder Yuuka Kurosaki (Japan) and forwards Elexa Bahr (Colombia), Milly Clegg (New Zealand) and Linda Motlhalo (South Africa). The club used its first-round NWSL Draft pick on UCLA and U.S. Youth National Team star forward Reilyn Turner.
Expanded experience: Including the aforementioned DiGrande, Flint, Jean and Wright, 14 Racing players have two or more years of experience in the NWSL. Wright (nine years), Abby Erceg (10 years) and Carson Pickett (eight years) are the most experienced veterans on the squad. The last two players remaining from Racing’s original roster – Lund and Milliet – are stacking up experience, too, with Lund now at four years and Milliet at five.
Olympic year: This is an important year on the international soccer calendar, with the 2024 Summer Olympics set for Paris. Of the national teams represented by Racing players, Brazil, Colombia and the United States have already qualified for the summer tournament. Several other nations are still alive in the qualification process, including New Zealand, Nigeria and South Africa. The NWSL will stop league play during the Olympics, ensuring its clubs have their best rosters for regular season matches.
Lundbelievable encore: Once again, Racing goalkeeper Katie Lund put together a fantastic season, posting the best statistical year of any shot stopper in the NWSL in 2023. American Soccer Analysis’s goals added (G+) metric said Lund faced more difficult shots this season than other NWSL goalkeeper and still led the league in shot stopping and claiming. Field of Vision analytics found Lund posted the NWSL’s best goals minus xG stat. She tallied six clean sheets and made 88 saves while playing every minute for Louisville over 22 matches.
Aerial prowess: Commanding center back Abby Erceg has some company in the air with the additions of Taylor Flint and Arin Wright. Erceg and Flint finished first and second, respectively, in the NWSL’s aerial duels win percentage category last season. In 2022, Wright was second, Erceg fourth and Flint fifth. And in 2021, Flint finished first, with Erceg second and Wright 16th. That’s good news for Carson Pickett, one of the league’s top crossers, and Savannah DeMelo, Racing’s standout set piece taker.
Reinforcements coming: Racing added eight new contracted players to its 2024 roster and selected four collegiate stars in the NWSL Draft, providing depth and talent across every position. Midfielder Yuuka Kurosaki and forwards Milly Clegg and Linda Motlhalo will join Racing’s preseason camp in the coming weeks. NWSL Draft picks Reilyn Turner (No. 6 overall, UCLA), Emma Sears (No. 28, Ohio State), Sam Cary (No. 48, Iowa) and Madison White (No. 54, Texas Tech) are already in Louisville and with the team.
Tough preseason: Racing was a leader in making history with The Women’s Cup, bringing the international club tournament to Cali, Colombia, where Louisville and NWSL champion NJ/NY Gotham FC will play in a preseason friendly event with Colombian powers América de Cali and Deportivo Cali. It will be the first time NWSL teams play in South America. Louisville also has two friendlies scheduled against fellow NWSL teams in addition to several in-house scrimmages.
World Cup weapons: After a breakout 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in which Racing accounted for enough goals to rank fifth among all clubs globally, Louisville added World Cup veterans to its roster this offseason. New signings Elexa Bahr (Colombia), Milly Clegg (New Zealand) and Linda Motlhalo (South Africa) all competed on the world’s biggest stage last summer. Motlhalo scored in helping South Africa qualify for the knockout stage for the first time in the nation’s history, while Clegg played in the U-17, U-20 and senior World Cups in less than a calendar year. Bahr’s Colombia made a spectacular run to the tournament quarterfinals, the deepest the team has advanced in the World Cup.
