Making its first trip to California this season, Racing Louisville FC travels to the City of Angels to take on an in-form Angel City FC at 9 p.m. ET Sunday night at BMO Stadium.
The Hollywood visit kicks off a condensed stretch for Racing of three games in seven days, with a trip to the Kansas City Current set for Wednesday night, followed by an Aug. 1 meeting versus Chicago Stars FC at Lynn Family Stadium.
Louisville (2-10-2, 8 points) will look to build off an encouraging 1-1 draw last week with the Houston Dash. Racing went ahead inside 20 minutes, but a late volley from the visitors deep into stoppage time confirmed the match ended all square. It was Louisville’s first point since a May 8 home win over Portland Thorns FC.
Head coach Bev Yanez shook things up formation-wise against Houston — a change that left her feeling she’d seen “that spark” in the players coming off a five-match losing run.
Even without the upper hand in possession, Racing, in a new-look structure, finished with the edge in multiple important attacking statistics, including shots (15-10) and final third entires (67-51).
History is on the side of Louisville leading into Sunday night. Racing has won three straight against ACFC, with last season’s trip to L.A. ending in a back-and-forth 3-2 win. Louisville has twice won on road soil in this matchup and notably holds a 4-2-2 record all-time.
That trend comes against an Angel City (7-6-1, 22 points) team that has experienced an up-and-down campaign in its quest to return to the NWSL playoffs. The West Coast outfit won the season’s opening three games before dropping four straight, including three at home.
However, ACFC has found that early-season form once again, with three wins from three since play resumed after the summer break. That allows the club to head into the weekend in seventh position, a playoff place.
The recent run of success for Angel City has all come under the leadership of interim head coach Leif Gunnar Smerud, who took over the team on June 17 after the club parted ways with Alexander Straus. With the Norwegian at the helm, ACFC has remarkably not leaked a single goal, outscoring opponents 6-0 across 270 minutes of play. The team had recorded just two clean sheets in the 11 matches prior.
Follow Along
- The match will be nationally broadcast on ESPN. In addition, fans can also listen to the match on Sports Talk 790AM or 790louisville.com.
- 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.
Story Lines …
Out here Fisching: Racing attacker Kayla Fischer broke the club’s goal drought that dated back to May 23 last Saturday, converting the opener versus Houston in a way that can only be described as scrappy. Fischer took full advantage of a goalkeeping mishap, where the ball slid free a mere feet from the goal line. The finish from close range was Fischer’s third tally of the campaign, which already draws her even with the single-season career-high goal mark she set just last year.
Tactically adaptable: Over the course of the last few seasons, club original Lauren Milliet has found herself filling a role along the right side of a defensive line. Saturday, within Racing’s new-look formation, Milliet took up a midfield position higher up the pitch — something she isn’t that unfamiliar with. The Colorado native was previously used in the middle of the park, particularly during the beginning of her time in Louisville. Back in the midfield versus Houston, Milliet went on to lead the team in shots (3) and tackles won (2).
Absence in L.A.: Yellow card accumulation will keep Racing’s Taylor Flint out of Sunday’s encounter in Los Angeles. Flint received her fifth yellow card of the campaign late on versus Houston, which triggered the one-game ban. She will return for Wednesday’s visit to face the Kansas City Current. Flint, who flexed into the center of the club’s back line last time out, is the current league leader in duels won (102) and interceptions (44).
Late game struggles: Louisville came within minutes of registering all three points over the weekend. It was Houston’s star rookie forward Kat Rader, in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, who denied the hosts their third home triumph of the year. The tally notably marked the seventh time Racing has conceded a goal in the final 15 minutes of a game, which is tied for the league lead. Interestingly, Angel City is one of the two teams even with Louisville in this category. The other is Seattle Reign FC.
A Hollywood reunion: At the center of Angel City’s midfield resides a familiar face to Racing — Brazilian Ary Borges. Borges spent three seasons in Louisville, making over 50 league appearances to go along with three goals before making the move to ACFC on a three-year deal back in January. She is one of nine players in Racing history to make 50 or more appearances for the club. Similar to her time at Racing, Borges has already made an impressive impact at ACFC. Not only does she have two goals to date since moving out West, including a crucial one against fellow California outfit San Diego Wave FC, but Borges also ranks in the team’s top three in recoveries (74), passes completed (375) and tackles won (21).
As in-form as it gets: In an Angel City roster filled with an abundance of young talent, Maiara Niehues, 21, has arguably been the most prominent standout performer, particularly recently. Niehues, a Brazilian who was acquired by L.A. in March 2025, has already tripled her goal total from last year, from two to six. Significantly, five of those goals have come in the last five matches — three of which were wins — with three of the five opening the scoring. Her six goals are most importantly good for the team lead, just ahead of the club’s leading chance creator and Icelandic international Sveindís Jónsdóttir.
