Racing Louisville FC suffered a 3-1 defeat in its USL W League opener to reigning champions Indy Eleven despite a late push for a comeback on Tuesday night at Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center.
Ellie Coffield scored a late goal for Racing its first 2024 match in the premier pre-professional women’s soccer league in the U.S.
“It was a good stepping stone for us,” said Callie McKinney, Racing’s W League team head coach. “We got the Racing Academy players on the field, and they got great experience. It’s a big learning moment. (Indy Eleven) is the winner from last season. Being able to measure ourselves up against them was a great opportunity for us coming out of tonight.”
The starting lineup for Racing Louisville (0-1-0, 0 points) featured six players who currently play for, or have graduated from, the Racing Academy. Six more academy players featured off the bench.
“It is a great measuring mark,” McKinney said. “You can see how far along the academy has come, along with the players within the academy. It just sets us up and shows us how well the coaches within the academy are working with those players and developing them. Just the system and the process we all put together has shown we’re headed in the right direction.”
After going down early from Indy Eleven forward Amelia White’s seventh-minute goal, Racing held control for most of the first half but couldn’t capitalize on its scoring opportunities.
Indy Eleven (1-0-0, 3 points) netted its second goal through Zoe Cuneio in the 48th minute off an uncleared corner kick, then added a third 12 minutes later with Norah Jacomen’s long-range effort.
Racing continued to push, with Betsy Huckaby and Sophia Boman both having chances. Louisville finally got its breakthrough in the 89th minute, when Sarah Schupansky found Coffield — her University of Pittsburgh teammate — to run onto the cross for a goal. That’s where the comeback effort stalled.
Racing will face Indy Eleven two more times this season, first on June 7 at the Grand Park Events Center and the second time back in Louisville on June 30.
With a roster comprised of college standouts and Racing Academy talents, the club is currently in fourth place in the Valley Division. The first-place finisher from each division will advance to the USL W League playoffs in July.
Next up, Louisville will host Kings Hammer FC on 6 p.m. ET Wednesday, May 22, at the Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center. Home matches are free to attend and open to the public.
Visit RacingLouFC.com/WLeague for more information on the 2024 campaign.
