HOUSTON – Racing Louisville spent most of Saturday night on the front foot at Shell Energy Stadium, barraging the Houston Dash with shots, but the Louisvillians left frustrated by a 0-0 draw.
Houston Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell made nine saves, including a sprawling dive to her right in the first half that prevented Racing’s best chance of the game, a Reilyn Turner header at the back post.
In all, Racing totaled 19 shots – 10 on target – with 50 final-third entries and four big chances. Opta stats expected Racing to score twice in the match.
“You talk about what it takes to create those types of opportunities, the moments of brilliance, the ideas in the moment, and they’re putting themselves in incredibly good spots,” said Racing coach Bev Yanez. “I also thought (Campbell) had a few good saves tonight. For us, it’s just continuing to test teams. It’s (being) ruthless in the final third and putting games away early. I commend the group and I’m very proud of the group for the opportunities that they created. But obviously, I think if we can continue to create opportunities and put opportunities away, we can look to grab three points on the road.”
Racing (0-0-2, 2 points) posted its first shutout of the young 2024 season, with goalkeeper Katie Lund – in her 50th NWSL appearance – registering her 13th regular-season clean sheet in her career.
Rookie forward Reilyn Turner set a new Racing Louisville record with five shots on goal in the match, and her eight total attempts tied former forward Thembi Kgatlana for another club mark.
Louisville nearly scored 30 seconds into the game when Elexa Bahr won a header on the back post from Carson Pickett’s cross but whistled over the crossbar.
Turner had a fourth-minute goal ruled out for offside, and her sixth-minute chance was perhaps the best of the game, with the UCLA grad clear on goal in a one-on-one moment with Campbell but her shot rolled wide of the far post.
The save of the game was Campbell’s diving effort on Turner’s header midway through the first half. In one of the other top chances of the night, midfielder Kayla Fischer had a toe-poke cleared off the line in the 92nd minute of added time.
“The opportunities were there,” said captain Jaelin Howell. “A lot of the game, we actually outplayed them. That’s the frustrating part. And now it’s just converting those (chances), putting it in the back of the net. But obviously it’s a good thing (that) it’s frustrating for us, just because we know that we played well.”
Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC at Houston Dash
Date: March 23, 2024
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium
Kickoff: 8:30 p.m. ET
Weather: 75 degrees, partly cloudy
Player of the Match: Reilyn Turner
Scoring
Racing Louisville (0, 0, 0)
Houston Dash (0, 0, 0)
Lineups
Racing Louisville FC (4-2-3-1): 1 – Katie Lund; 2 – Lauren Milliet (90’ 3 – Arin Wright), 4 – Elli Pikkujämsä, 20 – Abby Erceg, 16 – Carson Pickett; 6 – Jaelin Howell (c), 26 – Taylor Flint; 29 – Uchenna Kanu (72’ 21 – Parker Goins), 9 – Kayla Fischer, 23 – Elexa Bahr (90’ 17 – Maddie Pokorny); 66 – Reilyn Turner (72’ 13 – Emma Sears)
Subs not used: 24 – Jordyn Bloomer; 7 – Savannah DeMelo, 10 – Linda Motlhalo, 14 – Marisa DiGrande, 19 – Jordan Baggett
Head Coach: Bev Yanez
Houston Dash (3-4-3): 1 – Jane Campbell; 8 – Courtney Petersen, 6 – Havana Solaun (62’ 19 – Belle Briede), 17 – Sarah Puntigam; 30 – Avery Patterson (46’ 16 – Amanda West), 15 – Barbara Olivieri, 13 – Sophie Schmidt, 7 – Maria Sanchez (78’ 12 – Kiki Van Zanten); 14 – Yuki Nagasato (62’ 31 – Elin Rubensson), 5 – Cece Kizer (46’ 10 – Andressa Alves), 9 – Diana Ordoñez
Subs not used: 0 – Emily Alvarado; 20 – Sophie Hirst, 22 – Croix Soto, 33 – Jyllissa Harris
Head Coach: Fran Alonso
Stats Summary: Racing Louisville / Houston Dash
Shots: 19 / 12
Shots on Goal: 10 / 4
Expected goals: 2 / 0.87
Possession: 43.7% / 56.3%
Fouls: 12 / 16
Offside: 3 / 0
Corner Kicks: 7 / 4
Discipline Summary
Houston Dash
43’ Havana Solaun (yellow)
49’ Sarah Puntigam (yellow)
86’ Kiki Van Zanten (yellow)
Match referee: Brandon Stevis
Assistant referee: Jennifer Garner
Assistant referee: Ricardo Ocampo
Fourth official: Melvin Rivas
Video Assistant Referee: Kevin Broadley
Assistant VAR: Maggie Short