Racing Louisville twice took the lead at Lynn Family Stadium on a chaotic Saturday night, but Seattle Reign’s two-goal surge late in the second half secured a 3-2 win over the home side.
The frustrating result keeps Racing (4-7-7, 19 points) where it was entering play Saturday evening — two points below the playoff cutline. While currently outside the playoff spots, Louisville stands out among its fellow postseason hopefuls as the only club within the group maintaining a non-negative goal differential. Racing plays at eighth-place Bay FC next weekend in a critical match with serious playoff implications.
“It’s super disappointing,” said defender Lauren Milliet. “I did think we had some really good moments. I thought we controlled tempo. I thought, for the majority of the game, we were controlling the game. … With all of the extra stuff going on, like the lightning delay and all that stuff — I thought we came out well and had an overall good performance.”
Following a 90-minute lightning delay and news that head coach Bev Yanez would have to sit out the match because of an illness, the game kicked off with immediate action. Ary Borges gave Racing an early lead in the sixth minute with a header off a corner from Savannah DeMelo, but Sofia Huerta equalized from the penalty spot just nine minutes later.
As halftime approached, Taylor Flint restored the Louisvillians’ deserved advantage with a header in the 45th minute — her second goal in lavender. Racing doubled Seattle in expected goals and outshot the Reign, 8-3, in the first half.
The drama continued in the second half when Ji So-yun scored on a free kick in the 75th minute to level the score. Despite Louisville’s control throughout the match, Seattle scored a third against the run of play, with Huerta’s corner taking a deflection off Racing defender Arin Wright and finding the goal.
The run of play told a different story than the final score: Racing doubled Seattle’s expected goals, which would’ve been just 0.2 without Huerta’s penalty, and outshot the Reign, 17-5, while creating the majority of scoring chances. Louisville controlled possession and generated eight corners.
But, DeMelo said, losing in those circumstances is “just soccer sometimes.”
“When you look at progress, we feel we’re making it,” Moscato said. “The result tonight felt difficult, felt like a tough one on the chin almost. I think a point might have been fair. A win is what I’m going to say I feel we earned. That’s how I feel at the minute. It’s a little bit disappointing after the performance the women put in tonight.”
Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC vs. Seattle Reign FC
Date: August 31, 2024
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium, Louisville, Ky.
Kickoff: 9 p.m. ET
Weather: 81 degrees, light rain (after inclement weather delay)
Attendance: 5,011
Scoring
Racing Louisville (2, 0, 2)
Seattle Reign FC (1, 2, 3)
Goals
Racing Louisville
6’ Ary Borges (Savannah DeMelo)
45’ Taylor Flint (Abby Erceg)
Seattle Reign
15’ Sofia Huerta (penalty)
75’ Ji So-yun
82’ Own goal
Lineups
Racing Louisville FC (4-2-3-1): 1 – Katie Lund; 2 – Lauren Milliet, 5 – Ellie Jean, 20 – Abby Erceg (c), 3 – Arin Wright; 8 – Ary Borges, 26 – Taylor Flint; 7 – Savannah DeMelo, 14 – Marisa DiGrande (62’ 16 – Janine Beckie), 29 – Uchenna Kanu (46’ 13 – Emma Sears); 88 – Bethany Balcer (72’ 9 – Kayla Fischer)
Subs not used: 99 – Olivia Sekany (GK); 15 – Ángela Barón, 17 – Maddie Pokorny, 19 – Jordan Baggett, 21 – Parker Goins, 23 – Elexa Bahr
Acting Head Coach: Carmelina Moscato
Seattle Reign FC (4-3-3): 1 – Claudia Dickey; 21 – Phoebe McClernon (71’ 3 – Lauren Barnes), 11 – Sofia Huerta, 13 – Julia Lester, 25 – Shae Holmes; 5 – Quinn (71’ 30 – Nérilia Mondésir), 10 – Jess Fishlock (C), 16 – Jaelin Howell; 9 – Jordyn Huitema, 23 – Tziarra King (54’ 91 – Ji So-yun), 34 – Ana-Maria Crnogorčević (90’ 24 – Veronica Latsko)
Subs not used: 18 – Laurel Ivory (GK), 17 – Lily Woodham, 12 – Olivia Athens, 46 – Ainsley McCammon, 6 – Angharad James-Turner
Acting Head Coach: Scott Parkinson
Stats Summary: Racing Louisville / Seattle Reign FC
Shots: 17 / 5
Shots on Goal: 6 / 3
Expected goals: 2.03 / 0.93
Possession: 55.7% / 44.3%
Fouls: 11 / 15
Offside: 2 / 1
Corners: 8 / 3
Discipline Summary
Racing Louisville
62’ Savannah DeMelo (yellow)
Seattle Reign FC
62’ Jaelin Howell (yellow)
90’+6 Sofia Huerta (yellow)
Match referee: Laura Rodriguez
Assistant referees: Matthew Schwartz and Kendall McCardell
Fourth official: Alex Adkins
Video Assistant Referee: Alyssa Nichols
Assistant VAR: Tom Felice
