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The NWSL and Players Association on Wednesday released this joint statement regarding the league Championship moving to Racing Louisville FC’s Lynn Family Stadium:

The NWSL and the NWSL Players Association have made progress over the past week on issues concerning player safety, transparency, and moving the League forward in a new direction.

At the request of the players, the NWSL has moved the NWSL Championship from Portland to Louisville. We realize the impact this has on the fans who have bought tickets and made travel arrangements. We hope that our fans will understand that this move is made with the support of the NWSL, the Players Association, the Portland Thorns, and Racing Louisville. Portland understood the importance of listening to the players, and Louisville stepped up to host. Players embraced the opportunity to kickoff at noon local time in another fantastic venue. We sincerely hope that fans will consider making this move east with us, or that you watch this historic game on CBS. 

We are all dedicated to rebuilding a league that protects and promotes the best athletes in the world and that is focused on the players, their health, and their safety. 

The Players Association and the NWSL have also worked to come to an agreement on several of the demands set forth by the PA last week. Both parties have agreed to a good faith 5-day extension on the remaining items to finalize details and logistics and keep this progress moving forward.

The NWSL and the Players Association will release future statements as a resolution is reached.

Racing Louisville FC’s Emily Fox will make her return to the United States Women’s National Team as part of a 21-player roster named Wednesday by coach Vlatko Andonovski.

Fox will depart for training camp following Saturday’s Racing game against the Orlando Pride at Lynn Family Stadium and be eligible for a pair of games against Korea Republic on Oct. 21 in Kansas City (8 p.m. ET, ESPN2) and Oct. 26 in St. Paul, Minn. (7:30 p.m., FS1).

A versatile defender who has played both outside back and in the Racing midfield, Fox makes this her first call up since February, when she trained with the U.S. Women’s National Team ahead of the SheBelieves Cup. The University of North Carolina product — drafted No. 1 overall by Racing out of college — has so far numbered four caps in the red, white and blue.

“First and foremost, I am excited,” Fox said. “I think getting called in at any point is very exciting and always an opportunity. I know at this camp we are playing two games and it is a short trip. I am just hoping I can absorb everything, learn a lot and try to prove myself as much as I can.”

The USWNT roster features 17 players from the bronze medal-winning 2020 Tokyo Olympics Team, plus four additions in forwards Mallory Pugh and Sophia Smith, midfielder Andi Sullivan and Fox.

In conjunction with the upcoming friendlies, the USWNT will honor two-time World Cup winner Carli Lloyd, who has announced her impending retirement.

“Everything Carli has accomplished is amazing,” Fox said. “I am hoping this camp I can gain wisdom from this experience, see how they enjoy it and see if I can emulate that joy.”

USWNT roster by position (club; caps/goals)

Goalkeepers (2): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash; 6), Adrianna Franch (Kansas City NWSL; 9)

Defenders (7): Abby Dahlkemper (Houston Dash; 76/0), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars; 41/1), Emily Fox (Racing Louisville; 4/0), Casey Krueger (Chicago Red Stars; 36/0), Kelley O’Hara (Washington Spirit; 147/2), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC; 195/0), Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit; 60/0)

Midfielders (5): Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 104/23), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign; 64/16), Catarina Macario (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 10/3), Kristie Mewis (Houston Dash; 30/4), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 19/2)

Forwards  (7): Tobin Heath (Arsenal, ENG; 179/36), Carli Lloyd (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 314/134), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 188/114), Mallory Pugh (Chicago Red Stars; 65/18), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign; 185/61), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC; 8/1), Lynn Williams (North Carolina Courage; 42/13)

Racing Louisville FC’s hopes of being the first NWSL expansion team in club history to make the postseason ended Saturday night with a 3-0 loss to a streaking Washington Spirit side.

The hosts, aside from two forfeits related to off-the-field matters in September, are unbeaten now in six games and continued to look the part at Audi Field, capitalizing on Racing’s defensive miscues.

Ashley Hatch scored on a tremendous ball through from Trinity Rodman in the eight minute, secured her brace in the 80th minute and saw her side add to the lead with an early, 52nd-minute And Sullivan penalty kick.

With this result, the ladies in lavender were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. But there is still much at stake Sitting on 17 points, Racing is three shy of setting the record for most points by an NWSL expansion club currently held by Orlando Pride, which tallied 19 points in 2016.

Coincidentally, the Pride are next up for Racing in a 7:30 p.m. matchup Oct. 16 at Lynn Family Stadium.

“We gifted some goals away and from a result, obviously, just a difficult result with some of the mistakes we made,” said interim head coach Mario Sanchez. “But taking the positives, we actually created and played more chances we have a long time. I thought Cheyna (Matthews) came on did really really well. Emina (Ekic) came in and did really really well, I thought from a character side it was great to see the team continue to push.

“Again, I thought we created a lot of really good looks, so like I told the team afterwards it’s a process. We’re going to continue to learn and develop and get better and better every day, and that’s never gonna end. So we regroup, take a couple days off — long trip, a lot of emotions this last week — and then we get back at it on training on Tuesday.”

Going into the Washington game, Racing’s lineup featured four changes, including midfielder Taylor Otto in for her first NWSL start.

While the visitors didn’t break through for a goal, they did see two close chances on goal, both in the second half with Lauren Milliet’s free kick in the 66th minute and an Emina Ekic strike in the 88th. Both shots were stopped by acrobatic saves from Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe.

Also of note, a 39th-minute yellow card for forward Savannah McCaskill — her fifth of the season — will see her serve a one-game suspension for accumulation. McCaskill has thus far played in every Racing game.

After the match, Racing players were in solidarity with their counterparts across the league in only answering questions regarding the fight for change in the NWSL.

“At the end of the day, we won’t be silenced,” said midfielder Lauren Milliet, “and I think part of that is taking our voice back and making sure that we are heard and our demands are met. So, I think at the end of the day we’re going to continue this pursuit of systemic change and all of these cultural changes, and we won’t stop until those demands are met.”

On Friday, Racing’s players issued a statement in conjunction with the NWSL Players Association saying they stand with the club in its handling of former coach Christy Holly’s dismissal on Aug. 31.

“Definitely in the wake of it everyone wants transparency from the league and from clubs and everything like that,” said defender Sinclaire Miramontez. “That is something that has come up quite a bit, and so we felt that we wanted to maintain the privacy of those involved, and so I feel that putting out that statement allowed people to know that our club is trying to protect the players and putting the players first, and they have been putting the players first from day one.

“So I think it was important to put that statement out so people know that we stand behind our club and their decisions. Moving forward we have faith in our front office doing the right thing and putting player safety first.”

Following the Orlando matchup next weekend, Racing will close the book on its inaugural season Oct. 28 versus NJ/NY Gotham FC and then Oct. 31 at Gotham FC.

Game Summary: Washington Spirit vs. Racing Louisville FC

Venue: Audi Field

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.

Player of the Match: Emily Fox

Scoring

Washington Spirit (1, 2, 3)

Racing Louisville FC (0, 0, 0)

Goals

Washington Spirit:

8’, Ashley Hatch (Trinity Rodman)

52’ Andi Sullivan

80’ Ashley Hatch (Trinity Rodman)

Stats Summary: Washington Spirit / Racing Louisville FC

Shots: 20 / 11

Shots on Goal: 5 / 3

Fouls: 8 / 7

Offside: 1 / 2

Corner Kicks: 5 / 1

Saves: 3 / 2

Lineups

Washington Spirit: 1 – Aubrey Bledsoe, 27 – Tara McKeown (69’ 21 – Anna Heilferty), 5 – Kelley O’Hara (69’ 14 – Paige Nielsen), 3 – Sam Staab, 6 – Emily Sonnett, 10 – Ashley Sanchez (81’ 7 – Saori Takarada), 16 – Julia Roddar (62’ 9 – Tegan McGrady), 2 – Trinity Rodman, 19 – Dorian Bailey, 12 – Andi Sullivan (62’ 23 – Tori Huster), 33 – Ashley Hatch

Subs not used: 18 – Devon Kerr, 17 – Kumi Yokoyama, 26 – Taylor Aylmer, 30 – Camryn Biegalski

Racing Louisville FC: 1 – Michelle Betos, 16 – Julia Ashley, 18 – Kaleigh Riehl, 3 – Erin Simon (45’ 14 – Nealy Martin), 12 – Sinclaire Miramontez (83’ 33 – Jorian Baucom), 7 – Savannah McCaskill (60’ 17 – Yuki Nagasato), 9 – Ebony Salmon (59’ 20 – Cheyna Matthews), 11 – Emily Fox, 19 – Taylor Otto, 5 – CeCe Kizer, 2 – Lauren Milliet (72’ 13 – Emina Ekic)

Subs not used: 22 – Katie McClure, 8 – Freja Olofsson, 23 – Katie Lund, 15 – Brooke Hendrix

Discipline Summary

Racing Louisville FC: Savannah McCaskill (yellow)

Referee: Laura Rodriguez

Racing Louisville FC finishes a two-game road trip Saturday at the Washington Spirit in a battle between squads on short rest.

The ladies in lavender enter off a 3-1 defeat Wednesday against the North Carolina Courage. The sides combined for four goals in 15 minutes of a frantic first half. From there, Racing has remained away to head to Washington’s Audi Field.

The Spirit, meanwhile, played NJ/NY Gotham FC to a scoreless draw Wednesday. While Racing must win out and receive some help from teams above it to qualify for the NWSL postseason, Washington is very much in the playoff hunt, sitting one point out of sixth place, the cutoff line.

Earlier this year, Racing registered its first-ever victory against Washington on May 21. The Spirit returned the favor on July 25, with this the third and final game between the squads in 2021.

The Spirit boast a talented roster including United States Women’s National Team regulars Kelly O’Hara and Emily Sonnett along with rising stars Andi Sullivan, Ashley Hatch and Trinity Rodman.

Saturday’s game will stream live on Paramount+.

Here’s what to watch for…

Interim Coach Mario Sanchez says…

“I’m really proud of the team. Obviously, North Carolina’s a tremendous team — tremendous talents. I thought we made it interesting for them. I thought we caused them some trouble. I can’t say enough how happy I am for Katie Lund — her first professional start. I thought she had a really, really good game, so I’m tremendously happy for her.”

“… It came down to the amount of work she has put in. She has earned her opportunity through her work ethic and development. This is more about rewarding her. She shows up every single day and got better. She has done everything that our goalkeeper coach Sergio [Gonzalez} has asked. It is just an opportunity to reward her with that. We have to give Michelle [Betos] a lot of credit as well. Michelle has been a great leader for the team and with Katie. She was a great professional and a great leader this past week. It is good for the club and great for Katie but most importantly, she earned it through her work ethic.”

Follow along

For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @RacingLouFC on Twitter and Racing Louisville FC on Facebook. Also find us at @racinglouisvillefc on Instagram.

Watch the match on Paramount+ with play by play from Josh Tolle and color commentary by Jen Cooper. Internationally, fans can also stream the match on Twitch. 

Notes to know

Winless Streak: Since defeating FC Bayern Munich and hoisting The Women’s Cup on Aug. 21, Racing has struggled to get results, going on a six-game winless streak in NWSL play. Louisville earned its lone point over that span in interim head coach Mario Sanchez’s first game, a 1-1 draw Sept. 4 with OL Reign.

Second Half Turnaround: After struggling defensively in the first half, conceding three goals to North Carolina, Racing’s defense locked down and held the opposition scoreless. There were seven blocked shots over that span.

Lund’s league debut: Having bided her time behind star goalkeeper Michelle Betos, Katie Lund earned the starting job Wednesday and had plenty of work to do, registering five saves. It marked her NWL minutes and first pro start after coming on as a sub in The Women’s Cup final, when Lund stopped four penalty kicks and scored one of her own to seal a win.

Captain McCaskill: For the first time this season, vice-captain Savannah McCaskill wore the armband to start a match Wednesday and delivered in a bit way for her squad. In addition to a rocketed 24th-minute goal on her only shot, McCaskill led Racing in touches (57) and passes in the Courage’s half (22).

Fox in the Midfield: Defender Emily Fox found herself in a new role on Wednesday. Having already rotated between left and right back with Sanchez in charge, this time the U.S. international tried her hand at midfield, a first in 24 pro appearances. Fox attempted (37) and completed (27) team-highs in passes.

Sixth-Minute Moment: Players from both Racing and the Courage came together at the center circle and stood in solidarity Wednesday. The gesture symbolized six years it took allegations to come to light about Paul Riley, who has since been fired from his post as the Courage’s head coach. After the match, players declined to discuss soccer, insisting on keeping the focus on larger-scale issues around the league.

Spirit connections: Four of Racing’s 22 rostered players previously represented Washington. Playing rights to the goalkeeper Lund and forward Katie McClure were both selected by Racing during the 2020 NWSL Expansion Draft. Additionally, Racing acquired defender Brooke Hendrix and forward Cheyna Matthews on waivers.

Milestone watch

Savannah McCaskill is one start from her 50th NWSL regular season start. 

Cheyna Matthews is one appearance from her 70th NWSL regular season appearance. 

Michelle Betos is one shutout away from her 15th NWSL regular season shutout and would be one of seven players to earn that stat. 

Yuki Nagasato is one goal away from her 15th NWSL regular season goal.