One of the most competitive matchups in the short histories of Racing Louisville and the San Diego Wave has returned, with the Wave traveling to the Derby City this weekend for a 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday meeting.
This will mark the fifth tussle between the teams and third at Lynn Family Stadium. The previous four games have been slugfests, with two scoreless draws and a win for each team. Racing topped San Diego, 1-0, thanks to a world-class free-kick goal from Savannah DeMelo in 2022, while the Wave beat Louisville, 2-0, in the 2023 regular-season finale this past October in California.
The match will be broadcast over the air on ION and streamed for free on ionnwsl.com. News Talk 1080 AM or online at talkradio1080.iheart.com, and the iHeart Radio app will carry the radio broadcast.
Racing Louisville (0-0-3, 3 points) started the 2024 campaign with three consecutive draws, with 2-2 ties against Orlando (March 16 at home) and Portland (March 30 on the road) and a 0-0 stalemate at Houston on March 23. The goals and the point at Portland were both firsts for Louisville, which had lost its three previous matches in Oregon by a combined score of 8-0.
A win Saturday would give Racing its most points (six) through four regular-season games in the club’s four-year history. To get there, coach Bev Yanez’s team will need to break loose its scoring challenges against San Diego, which has shut out Louisville three times. (Racing has shut out San Diego three times, too.)
Uchenna Kanu will lead the way for Louisville. The 26-year-old made history in Racing’s dramatic match at Portland, scoring the fastest brace – two goals in a single game – in NWSL history, netting a pair of scores in the opening five minutes and 40 seconds. The Nigerian international is now the NWSL leader in the golden boot race, with three goals in three matches.
San Diego (1-1-0, 3 points) is level on points with Racing in the standings as part of a seven-team pile-up in the middle of the NWSL table. The Wave won the 2024 NWSL Challenge Cup on March 15 instead of playing a regular-season match, topping NJ/NY Gotham FC, 1-0, in the exhibition, with the rest of the league starting the 2024 campaign a day later.
The Wave lost a first-half 1-0 lead against Kansas City in its regular-season home opener on March 23, with the Current rallying for a 2-1 win. San Diego righted the ship a week later with a late game-winner over Seattle Reign in a 1-0 victory.
The trip to Louisville represents San Diego’s first regular-season game away from home this year, the start of a two-match road swing that will bring the Wave to Orlando on April 19.
Led by coach Casey Stoney, San Diego is the reigning NWSL Shield holder having topped the table over the 2023 regular season. The Wave became the first expansion team in NWSL history make the playoffs in its first year of existence.
This year’s team looks a tad different than the previous two iterations, with standout midfielder Taylor (Kornieck) Flint now playing for Racing and suiting up against her old team this weekend. The Wave feature star forwards Alex Morgan and Jaedyn Shaw as well as NWSL Defender of the Year Naomi Girma. Both Girma and Shaw were 2023 NWSL Best XI first-team selections, with Morgan and goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan making the second team.
Follow along …
- For the starting lineup and in-game updates, follow @RacingLouFC on Twitter and Racing Louisville FC on Facebook. You can also find us at @racinglouisvillefc on Instagram.
- The game will be broadcast on ION – viewers can search for the channel number in their area by typing in their ZIP Code here – or streamed free at ionnwsl.com. You can listen to the match on News Talk 1080 AM or online at talkradio1080.iheart.com.
Storylines …
Brace yourself: Uchenna Kanu made NWSL history with the fastest pair of goals to start a game, scoring twice inside the first five minutes and 40 seconds in Portland. The Nigerian international is now the league leader for the golden boot through the very early stages of the season, with three goals in three matches. In the 2-2 draw at Portland, Kanu also set career-highs in touches, passes attempted and passes completed.
Enchanted to meet you: Taylor Flint wasted no time making an impact with Racing Louisville after arriving via trade from San Diego this offseason. The standout 25-year-old has been a force in the midfield, ranking fifth in the NWSL in average match rating, per FotMob. She’s first in the NWSL in duels won and interceptions, second in tackles and third in aerial duels won. The Nevada native is the only NWSL player to rank in the top five in each of those categories.
Turning heads right away: Rookie forward Reilyn Turner is off to a fantastic start with Racing, currently tied for the league lead with two assists. The former UCLA star delivered the perfect cross to Uchenna Kanu for Kanu’s second goal in Racing’s 2-2 draw at Portland on March 30. Two weeks earlier, in the season opener, Turner made an outstanding pass to Elexa Bahr for the Colombian international’s go-ahead goal. With a hockey assist on another Kanu goal, Turner has been involved with three goals this season, tying her for fourth in the league in goal-creating actions. She also set a new club record at Houston with five shots on target.
Bahr none: How about that for an NWSL debut? For the first time in eight years, a player registered an assist and a goal in their NWSL debut, with Racing’s Elexa Bahr matching Houston’s Rachel Daly in 2016 with the feat. Bahr scored a magnificent opening goal in the March 16 draw vs. Orlando, chipping the goalkeeper from the edge of the box. She added an assist a few minutes later on Uchenna Kanu’s well-taken goal in transition. Bahr, who grew up in Georgia and starred collegiately at South Carolina, joined Racing this winter after helping Colombia reach the FIFA Women’s World Cup quarterfinals for the first time in the nation’s history.
Familiar faces back in lavender: Racing retained 16 players from the 2023 campaign who accounted 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, who is the club’s all-time appearances and minutes leader.
DeMelo’s record book chase: Racing Louisville’s history is obviously short, with just three years of NWSL play. That means we’re witnessing history as it’s made, from Lauren Milliet’s pace-setting in appearances and minutes to Katie Lund’s 50 consecutive starts. This could be the year that Savannah DeMelo puts a significant stamp on the Racing record books, too. The third-year midfielder is a goal away from matching Nadia Nadim’s 10 scores in a Racing uniform, and her four assists put her in a tie as the club’s assists leader.
Key NWSL experience added: Louisville has grown into an experienced squad over the past two years, and that process continued in the offseason with the additions of Taylor (Kornieck) Flint, Marisa (Viggiano) DiGrande, Ellie Jean and University of Kentucky legend Arin Wright. The four accomplished NWSL veterans bring league shields and championships, Best XI selections and multiple playoff appearances between them.
Global Racing: Racing Louisville became the first club in NWSL history to feature players from six different continental confederations on its roster in 2023, and that hasn’t changed despite roster turnover this offseason. Louisville’s 26-player roster consists of two players from Oceania Football Confederation; one from Asian Football Confederation; two from Confederation of African Football; one player from Union of European Football Associations; two from CONMEBOL (South America); and the remaining 18 from the U.S. (Note: Forward Elexa Bahr was born and raised in the U.S. but competes for the Colombian national team.)
More Racing NWSL Draft success: Racing once again found quality in the NWSL Draft, selecting UCLA star Reilyn Turner and Ohio State standout Emma Sears in the first two rounds of the event. Turner, the No. 6 overall pick, signed a three-year contract with Racing amid a standout preseason. She enters the professional ranks after an immense collegiate career that saw her win a national title and be named the most outstanding player of that NCAA Tournament while also collecting All-American, All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 Forward of the Year honors over the course of her four years with the Bruins. Sears, 28th overall, inked a new deal with Louisville after starting both of The Women’s Cup Colombia matches. The Ohio native was an All-Big Ten forward with her home state Buckeyes, guiding them to multiple NCAA Tournaments.
