A goal from Deja Davis just after halftime served as the match winner, as Racing Louisville FC dropped a 2-1 result Friday night against expansion side Boston Legacy FC at Gillette Stadium.
Boston started strong, with Amanda Gutierrez scoring inside the first 10 minutes. Kayla Fischer soon equalized, but six minutes into the second half, Davis headed home the decider for Boston, which lifted the club to a win in its final home match of 2026.
It was Racing’s ninth one-goal road loss of the campaign and 12th overall.
The result — the Legacy’s first home win since July 25 — meant the teams split the season series. Louisville took the reverse fixture on Aug. 15, 4-1, at Lynn Family Stadium.
While it wasn’t the result the group had hoped for, Racing head coach Bev Yanez felt her side improved from one half to the next, stating the second half “felt more like us.”
The contest was also delayed for over an hour due to weather, creating challenges that, according to forward Sarah Weber, did not dampen the team’s mindset.
“I don’t think it (the delay) really affected us,” said Weber. “It was kind of more us not sticking to the game plan at the beginning. … We’re not new to it (delays), so I don’t think that played an impact.”
Ultimately, the final box score favored the visitors in several metric categories. Racing led in expected goals (1.96-1.48) and total big chances (5-3), manufacturing three of those five chances post-halftime.
“I didn’t think we were good enough [in the] first half,” said Yanez. “… Started off a little slow at the start of the second half and then felt the second half was much better.
“… It was really hard to get into the game [in the first half] because we were not very organized. Overall, tough position to be in. A tough position that we continue to talk about. The want to fight these last three games, now going into two games. What we want to look like, how we want to end — and I just feel we needed more to start the game.”
Despite the delay, Boston wasted little time in the opening stages of its final home match this year. Gutierres opened the scoring for the Legacy in the ninth minute, knocking home a Bianca St-Georges cross.
Racing, however, provided an answer a mere 13 minutes later. It was Fischer who took advantage of a defensive mishap by the Legacy playing out of the back to level the match with her eighth tally of the season. Fischer is one of three players to date with three or more goals versus Boston this year, as she netted a brace in Louisville’s August win over the Legacy.
Similar to the team’s last road match at Bay FC, a goal shortly into the final period was damaging. Davis redirected a looping ball into the box by Sarah Schupansky into the back of the net in the 51st minute to put the hosts back ahead by a goal for good. The header was Davis’ first goal of her NWSL career.
Louisville then pressed for another equalizer and recorded seven of the game’s last eight shots, but none ultimately found the back of the net.
“Not being tuned on from the jump really hurt us this game,” captain Arin Wright said. “And then second half, you see we make the changes [and] we do exactly what we’ve trained all week — completely different game.
“So it’s how do we make sure that we step out on the field and execute what we’ve been training all week from the jump.”
Racing will travel to its second straight new state — Colorado — next Saturday for its first visit to play the NWSL’s other expansion side Denver Summit FC, at Centennial Stadium in Centennial, Colo. Kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m. MT (6:30 p.m. ET). The match is Louisville’s final on the road this year before it returns home to cap off the season on Nov. 1 against the Kansas City Current.
Game Summary: Boston Legacy FC vs. Racing Louisville FC
Date: October 16, 2026
Venue: Gillette Stadium — Foxborough, Mass.
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET (weather delay until 9:05 p.m. ET)
Weather: 66 degrees, rainy
Scoring
Boston Legacy FC (1, 1, 2)
Racing Louisville FC (1, 0, 0)
Goals:
Boston Legacy FC:
9′ Amanda Gutierres (Bianca St-Georges)
51′ Deja Davis (Sarah Schupansky)
Racing Louisville FC
22′ Kayla Fischer
Lineups
Boston Legacy FC: 18 – Laurel Ivory; 2 – Lilly Reale, 29 – Deja Davis, 24 – Laís Araújo, 53 – Bianca St-Georges (c), 6 – Annie Karich (79′ 5 – Josefine Hasbo), 15 – Aleigh Gambone (60′ 10 – Ella Stevens), 26 – Alba Caño, 23 – Sarah Schupansky (90’+3 21 – Barbara Olivieri), 9 – Amanda Gutierres (80′ 12 – Nichelle Prince), 8 – Sammy Smith (60′ 14 – Aïssata Traoré)
Subs not used: 87 – Hannah Stambaugh; 3 – Kaká, 4 – Emerson Elgin, 7 – Amanda Allen
Head coach: Filipa Patão
Racing Louisville FC: 24 – Jordyn Bloomer; 4 – Makenna Morris, 8 – Courtney Petersen, 3 – Arin Wright (c), 15 – Mirann Gacioch, 23 – Macy Philippus (74′ 12 – Quincy McMahon), 10 – Macey Hodge, 2 – Lauren Milliet (84′ 7 – Savannah DeMelo), 88 – Audrey McKeen (67′ 20 – Katie O’Kane), 42 – Sarah Weber (67′ 13 – Emma Sears), 9 – Kayla Fischer (74′ 11 – Taylor White)
Subs not used: 1 – Maddie Prohaska; 5 – Ellie Jean, 16 – Maja Lardner, 21 – Rachel Hill
Head coach: Bev Yanez
Stats Summary: Boston Legacy FC / Racing Louisville FC
Shots: 19 / 14
Shots on Goal: 6 / 5
Expected goals: 1.48 / 1.96
Possession: 62.6% / 37.4%
Fouls: 12 / 9
Offside: 1 / 1
Corners: 5 / 1
Discipline Summary
Boston Legacy FC:
90′ Lilly Reale (yellow)
Match referee: John C. Griggs
