Charging into the season’s final 10 matches, a confident Racing Louisville FC heads back on the road for a Sunday matinee against Chicago Stars FC at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium in Evanston, Ill.
Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ET, with CBS Sports Network carrying the national broadcast.
It will be the second meeting this month between Louisville and Chicago. The two teams squared off on Aug. 1 at Lynn Family Stadium, with Racing taking a 2-1 win to close out a brutal run of three games in seven days.
Racing’s (7-11-2, 23 points) climb up the table continued Wednesday night. Louisville brought its club record winning streak up to four with a 2-1 triumph over Seattle Reign FC — a side Racing had never beaten in the regular season prior.
Zooming out, the result was Louisville’s fifth win from its last six games. The production up front has been a massive reason why. Racing has netted 11 goals across the last four contests, equating to nearly a three-goal-per-game average.
The “belief” Louisville has shown in this stretch of results has become a common theme echoed by many, particularly head coach Bev Yanez. In the last four weeks alone, Racing has jumped four places, from 16th to 12th.
“As a whole, we never stopped believing,” said Yanez following the win over the Reign.
Though in a league like the NWSL, challenges will continue to present themselves. After Sunday’s visit to play the Stars, two of Louisville’s next three games are against teams in the top five of the current standings.
Sitting at the bottom of the table, Chicago (4-15-1, 13 points) is back at home Sunday following a two-match road stretch. The Stars dropped both contests away from home to Seattle and the Houston Dash, losing by a 6-0 aggregate score.
Its trip to Houston Wednesday saw the Dash’s attack run riot with five goals — the most Chicago has conceded in a game this season. In total, the Stars have collected one point in three games since the Aug. 1 visit to Louisville, with the lone point coming from a 0-0 home draw versus Bay FC. Chicago is still seeking its first win Sunday afternoon since July 5, when it rallied to top the now-third-place Utah Royals FC, 3-2.
Follow Along
- The game will air nationally on CBS Sports Network. 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 …
Can’t stop, won’t stop: At the center of Racing’s rampant attack recently is the club’s all-time leading goal scorer Emma Sears. Sears is causing nightmares for defenses, having contributed to six goals in her last four games. The U.S. Women’s National Team winger netted her second brace in three games versus Seattle Wednesday to become the first player in club history to score in three successive contests. The run of form has vaulted Sears’ goal involvement total to 12 — a number only eight other players have hit this season.
Braces, braces and more braces: If you need a brace, who are you going to call? Well, Racing Louisville, of course. Sears’ brace Wednesday was the club’s seventh of the season, moving it within one of tying the league record of eight set by the Reign in 2014 and 2021. The variety of the braces is what makes this 2026 Racing team stand out. Six different players have scored braces this year for Louisville, with Sears being the only one to repeat the feat.
Putting it on a tee: Before this season, Racing had only two games in which a player recorded multiple assists. Lauren Milliet has achieved that feat twice already this year, with 10 games remaining. Milliet, a club original, set Sears up for both goals Wednesday evening to bring her club record assist total into double figures: 11. She is among seven players this season with at least one goal and five assists. Her teammate, Sears, is also on the list. With one more assist, Milliet will break a tie with former Louisville captain Janine Sonis and take sole possession of the club’s single-season assist record.
Newcomer on the sidelines: Just 11 days after falling to Louisville on the road earlier this month, Chicago announced a slew of changes to its coaching staff. The Stars parted ways with Swedish head coach Martin Sjögren and assistant Anders Jacobson after 18 games at the helm on Aug. 12, promoting Karina Báez to the interim head coach role for the remainder of the campaign. Báez, a former scout for the Mexican Women’s National Team, is in her third season with Chicago, having been hired as an assistant in June 2024. To support Báez, the Stars also hired Nicole Lukic, the former head coach of the now-defunct USL Super League team Spokane Zephyr FC, as a full-time assistant.
Struggling to keep ’em out: In 20 games this season, Chicago has conceded 39 goals — two more than any other NWSL side. The Stars have conceded three or more in five games, which is three short of its total from all of last year. The club’s defensive troubles, in fact, span multiple seasons. Dating back to the beginning of 2024, Chicago has allowed 131 goals in league play — 17 more than the next closest outfit.
