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Racing Louisville FC entered its weekend matchup against Portland Thorns FC having won two of its last three games, enough to put the NWSL expansion club in a playoff position at the quarter mark of the season.

But while carrying momentum into a bout against one of the league’s premier teams, Racing fell 2-0 to Portland on Saturday in a game where coach Christy Holly’s side had opportunities but couldn’t capitalize.

Amid the peaks and valleys that come from an inaugural season ‒ such as winning 3-0 on the road over the Chicago Red Stars, then winding up on the wrong end of a 2-0 score line —  Holly wants Racing to stay concentrated on itself.

“We’re not fooled by looking at results,” he said. “We’re more focused on how we performed at the end of games, and I don’t think we put in a good performance. We feel if we continue to grow and we continue to add pieces to our game on a weekly basis, the results will take care of themselves.”

Racing put shots on target in the opening minute of both halves against the Thorns, showing fight against the Thorns, the 2021 Challenge Cup trophy winners. Especially in the first half, Holly termed his side’s play as “bright” and “energetic.”

“There were good movements — good connections,” he said. “We got into the dangerous areas. That’s something to be happy about.”

That started just seconds into the game when Ebony Salmon had a point-blank shot in the box, seeking what would have been her third goal in four appearances for Racing. The try was turned away by Thorns goalkeeper Bella Bixby.

Over the ensuing 28 minutes, Portland pressed Louisville goalkeeper Michelle Betos into making six saves. The sequence finished with a penalty earned and game-winning goal by the visitors.

Racing — which had two more decent scoring chances in the second half — will continue to look forward. The club was without its new center back, Gemma Bonner, with the Manchester City transfer resting for precautionary reasons, Holly said. Fellow defenders Julie Ashley and Addisyn Merrick continue to integrate coming off injuries of their own, both subbing on against the Thorns.

Of course, on the horizon is perhaps Racing’s biggest addition yet, the former Paris Saint-Germain forward Nadia Nadim, who’s awaiting her work visa to make her way to Louisville this season.

“It encourages more competition around training and it’s only through competition that we get better,” Holly said of such additions, “so it’s something to be excited about and we’ll use that to our advantage.”

Racing will move on in the immediate future to see the second-place Orlando Pride on Friday night at Exploria Stadium. The Pride are led by Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux, both with four goals this season, though the former will be out this weekend on international duty.

“There’s no weekend where you can take your foot off the gas,” Holly said. “We have to show up. We have to perform.”

Racing Louisville FC discovered Saturday that a Portland Thorns FC down five Olympians remains one of the top threats in the NWSL.

The Thorns — short their regular arsenal of stars on international duty — scored a goal on either side of the halftime whistle to walk away with a 2-0 victory at Lynn Family Stadium.

The result squelched some fast-built momentum for the host side. Only seven games into its inaugural regular season, Racing entered with victories in two of its last three games and stood to rise to third on the league table with another win.

Instead, a frustrating 90 minutes saw Racing concede a first half penalty kick and a second half goal off a Portland Thorns set piece. Louisville landed four shots on target but couldn’t manage to get one past Portland’s goalkeeper, Bella Bixby.

“I don’t think we really ever got our stride,” said Racing coach Christy Holly, “but we started the game well, created a couple opportunities, then we kind of got a little bit lost within of the game. Portland, they started to gain a little bit of control in defining moments within the game, and so we have to look at ourselves and find out what we can do better.”

It was by no means a dominant performance by the winning side, with Racing starting on the front foot. A Lauren Milliet cross the Thorns failed to clear in the first minute landed to Racing forward Ebony Salmon, who had her shot turned away by Bixby.

Likewise out of the halftime locker room, Milliet got a cross into forward Yuki Nagasato. Her point-blank shot didn’t get the desired contact, and Bixby stopped that try, too.

“I think we had some good chances in the first half — early in the second half as well,” Milliet said. “It’s a little disappointing that we couldn’t capitalize on those. I do think there were some good moments that we can take from this, but it’s about growth and how we can move forward to the next game.”

Portland then made more of its chances, starting in the 29th minute when Nagasato’s stray leg cut down Thorns forward Rocky Rodriguez in the box. Rodriguez — the 2016 NWSL Rookie of the Year, coincidentally drafted by Holly when he was then at the former Sky Blue FC — converted her ensuing penalty try.

The lead doubled in the 52nd minute off a short Portland corner. Emily Menges found herself with possession on the left wing and crossed to teammate Simone Charley for a headed goal that created an advantage too large for Racing to overcome.

The ladies in lavender continued pushing, however, particularly in the 75th minute when a Savannah McCaskill shot from distance hammered off the near post.

“I do think the bigger picture is important, but each game is critical and each game matters,” said defender Emily Fox. “Getting in the habit of, ‘If we lose just one game,’ that creates bad mindsets. I think all of us feel that way. All of us want to win, want to be improving and want to get results.”

Before the game went final, Portland also made a bit of history when 15-year-old Olivia Moultrie — signed by the club earlier this week — came on as an 84th-minute substitution, becoming the youngest player in league history to appear in a game.

At 3-4-1 overall, Racing turns around to play at first-place Orlando Pride at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a game that will stream exclusively on the NWSL’s Twitch channel.

Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC vs. Portland Thorns FC

Venue: Lynn Family Stadium

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.

Weather: 78 degrees, mostly sunny

Player of the Match: Emily Fox

Attendance: 6,822

Scoring

Racing Louisville FC (0, 0, 0)

Portland Thorns FC (1, 1, 2)

Goals

Portland Thorns FC:

30’ Rodriguez (penalty)

52’ Charley (assisted by Menges)

Stats Summary: Racing Louisville FC / Portland Thorns FC

Shots: 9 / 17

Shots on Goal: 4 / 7

Fouls: 6 / 5

Offside: 0 / 1

Corner Kicks: 6 / 8

Saves: 5 / 4

Lineups

Racing Louisville FC: 1 – Michelle Betos, 14 – Nealy Martin, 18 – Kaleigh Riehl (59’ 26 – Addisyn Merrick), 11 – Emily Fox, 8 – Freja Olofsson (74’ 20 – Cheyna Matthews), 9 – Ebony Salmon, 3 – Erin Simon (59’ 16 – Julia Ashley), 2 – Lauren Milliet (74’ 13 – Emina Ekic), 5 – Cece Kizer, 17 – Yuki Nagasato, 7 – Savanah McCaskill

Subs not used: 23 – Katie Lund, 22 – Katie McClure, 15 – Brooke Hendrix, 33 – Jorian Baucom, 12 – Sinclaire Miramontez

Portland Thorns FC: 31 – Bella Bixby, 25 – Meghan Klingenberg (84’ 15 – Madison Pogarch), 14 – Natalia Kuikka (71’ 18 – Christen Westphal), 20 – Kelli Hubly, 5 – Emily Menges, 11 – Rocky Rodriguez, 40 – Marissa Everett (55’ 23 – Yazmeen Ryan), 36 – Angela Salem (84’ 42 – Olivia Moultrie), 22 – Morgan Weaver, 7 – Simone Charley (71’ 9 – Sophia Smith), 30 – Celeste Boureille

Subs not used: 39 – Meaghan Nally, 43 – Shelby Hogan, 44 – Raisa Strom-Okimoto

Discipline Summary

Racing Louisville: McCaskill (yellow) 29’

Racing Louisville: Riehl (yellow) 34’

Racing Louisville: Holly (yellow) 77’

Referee: Karen Callado

Assistant Referees: Brooke Mayo & Chris Schurfranz

Fourth Official: Emma Richards

Just as most Racing Louisville FC reinforcements arrive, the rest of the NWSL is poised to lose some key pieces of rosters in the run up to the Tokyo Olympics.

No club might be hurt more by those departures than this weekend’s opponent, Portland Thorns FC, which will be missing upwards of five regular starters to international duty.

Racing hosts the Thorns at 7:30 p.m. Saturday inside Lynn Family Stadium, marking a rematch of a 3-0 Racing defeat back on June 5 remembered for Louisville’s travel and injury woes.

Of course, the ladies in lavender won’t risk flight delays this go around. Since the first meeting, they’ve also welcomed now-healthy defenders Addisyn Merrick and Julia Ashley to the rotation while integrating new signings Gemma Bonner and Ebony Salmon.

Amid a congested schedule following an international window, Racing tallied six points in three games to move to sixth on the NWSL table — a playoff position at the quarter mark of the expansion side’s 24-game inaugural season.

As for Portland, the Thorns will be missing goalkeeper Adrianna Franch and defender Becky Sauerbrunn plus midfielders Lindsey Horan and Crystal Dunn, all on the U.S. Women’s National Team. Forward Christine Sinclair also represents Canada.

It’s an opportunity for Racing to continue its climb up the table. Here’s what to watch for Saturday…

Coach Christy Holly says…

“If we move our focus to the end of the season, we’re going to bypass a lot of progress in the middle and with young players like Ebony and [Emily] Fox that have come in and developed, and they’re growing in the season…If we veer toward, ‘We won a game and we’re doing great,’ then we lose sight of what we’re trying to do, which is getting better on a daily basis. If we take care of our development and allow players such as Ebony, such as Fox, such as Freja [Olofsson], such as Savannah [McCaskill] to continue to grow, the playoffs will take care of themselves.”

“First and foremost, it’s fantastic to have players like Gemma players like Ebony. To be able to attract them to our club and our city, that’s a huge statement for us. The impact they bring is they galvanize the team, and they add to the group chemistry. They’re fun people, they’re serious people, they know when to work hard and when to enjoy themselves. They add goals, they add clean sheets. They’re having a tremendous impact on this team and we’re delighted that they’re here.”

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 Lisa Roman. Internationally, fans can also stream the match on Twitch. 

Notes to know

No. 1s meet: A key matchup of interest Saturday will see Racing defender Emily Fox (selected first in the 2021 NWSL Draft) face Thorns striker Sophia Smith (the top pick in 2020). The left back Fox has excelled as a pro so far, being named to the NWSL’s Team of the Month for May. Smith missed Portland’s prior matchup with Louisville due to injury, but her 11 shots on goal still rank second in the league.

Rose City connections: Racing goalkeeper Michelle Betos played for the Portland Thorns from 2014 to 2016. During that time, Betos made 32 appearances for the Thorns, became the first goalkeeper to score in the NWSL, won Goalkeeper of the Year in 2015 and lifted the 2016 NWSL Shield. 

Bet on Betos: The veteran between the posts hasn’t lost a step from those days, and Racing has leaned on her plenty. Betos leads the NWSL with 43 saves — second on the list has made 27 — with her efforts recently recognized by both a spot on June’s NWSL Team of the Month and the league’s most recent Save of the Week.

On frame: Betos, however, faced a season-low three shots on target as Racing’s improving defense made seven blocks — three were from Bonner, who registered a game-high 10 clearances — and the attack kicked in. For the first time this season, Racing tallied more shots on goal than an opponent, numbering five.

Salmon strikes again: Salmon, who arrived from England’s Bristol City, is averaging 1.45 goals every 90 minutes of action, the most of any player who has played at least 90 minutes in the league. Her second strike in three appearances represented the game winner for Racing in Chicago as she converted amid a first half downpour. That followed a debut game-winning goal a minute after subbing on June 20 versus the Houston Dash.

Homecoming queens: Returning to their former club — the Red Stars traded them before last year’s expansion draft — both Yuki Nagasato and Savannah McCaskill found the back of the net in Chicago. Nagasato first cleaned up a loose ball in the box in the 56th minute before McCaskill one-touched a deflected 62nd-minute cross. Both goals were their first in lavender. 

Cece’s shift: Dating back to the Challenge Cup, forward Cece Kizer has been integral to Racing’s attack with three goals and two assists across all competitions. With Salmon’s arrival, though, she has taken on a new role, moving from center forward to a right wing against Chicago. She added that second assist by finding Salmon, continuing to produce on a consistent basis.

Away woes no mo’: Saturday’s victory against the Red Stars marked the first time Racing scored and won outside of Lynn Family Stadium in its young history. Previously, the club had been shut out in other road games, though it did earn a point to close the preseason Challenge Cup tournament with a scoreless draw May 2 at NJ/NY Gotham FC. 

Waiting game: While Salmon and Bonner have fully integrated into training, the club is still waiting for its other star international signing’s arrival. Forward Nadia Nadim, previously of Paris Saint Germain, is awaiting her visa. The Danish international has previously played in the NWSL with the Thorns and the former Sky Blue FC.

New training facility: This week, Racing Louisville FC began the process of moving into its $15 million training facility, which includes a new locker room, dining hall, weight room and media/film room. The building — fewer than two miles from Lynn Family Stadium — also houses the USL Championship club Louisville City FC, the youth academy and back office staff.

Injury report

• Noelle Higginson – Out
• Taylor Otto – Questionable
• Cece Kizer – Questionable

Milestone watch

• Savannah McCaskill is one appearance away from her 50th NWSL regular season appearance. 
   
• Yuki Nagasato in two starts from her 50th NWSL regular season start. 
   
• Erin Simon is one start from her 40th NWSL start. 
   
• Michelle Betos is one shutout away from her 15th NWSL regular season shutout.

Racing Louisville FC captain and goalkeeper Michelle Betos was on Thursday among 11 players named to June’s National Women’s Soccer League Team of the Month as voted on by the NWSL Media Association, a collection of writers that cover the league on a consistent basis.

A native of Queens, N.Y., Betos was selected in the 2020 NWSL Expansion Draft by Louisville from OL Reign. Wearing the armband for her new club, Betos has logged a league-high 43 saves and four shutouts through seven games. In June alone, she helped lead Racing to a 2-2 record and earned herself an NWSL Player of the Week nod. 

“We are absolutely delighted for Michelle,” head coach Christy Holly said about Betos. “We are not surprised one bit when you see her on a daily basis and the work that she puts in. She is a leader on the field and a rock-solid goalkeeper.”

Betos’ appearance is the second on the Team of the Month for Racing, which also had rookie defender Emily Fox selected as the season opened in May.

Louisville continues its season at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, hosting Portland Thorns FC with tickets available at www.racingloufc.com/racingloufc/tickets.

Here’s more on the latest Team of the Month…

GK – Michelle Betos (LOU): Appearing in all four of Louisville’s contests in June, Betos notched 25 saves across the month. The goalkeeper also pitched two shutouts and was named the Budweiser Player of the Week in week five and won Verizon Save of the Week in week six for her performance in net. 

D – Caprice Dydasco (NJNY): Dydasco’s solid play on both sides of the pitch helped Gotham FC stay unbeaten throughout the month, appearing in nearly every minute of play and scoring her first career goal in a 1-1 draw against Orlando. 

D – Abby Erceg (NCC): Erceg remained a reliable mainstay on the North Carolina back line throughout the month of June, stretching her pass distribution clip to nearly 90 percent and helping the Courage to a 3-1-0 record through the last four games. 

D – Courtney Petersen (ORL): In another strong month of play on the Orlando defense, Petersen played almost every minute of June and provided late heroics with her first career goal in the Pride’s 1-1 draw against Gotham FC to give Orlando its best start in league history. 

D – Becky Sauerbrunn (POR): Sauerbrunn was solid once again for the Portland Thorns, winning over 80 percent of aerial duels and completing 85 percent of passes out of the back half. 

M – Tori Huster (WAS): Huster set up Trinity Rodman’s game-winning goal in the Spirit’s 2-1 victory to notch her second point of the season and completed over 80 percent of her tackles in the midfield.  

M – Kristie Mewis (HOU): Kristie Mewis generated several offensive scoring chances throughout June, firing seven shots in the final third and recording an assist in the Dash’s 1-0 win over Kansas City.  

M – Sam Mewis (NCC): Sam Mewis expertly patrolled the Courage midfield and notched both the game-winning goal in North Carolina’s 2-1 win over OL Reign and an assist in the team’s 2-0 result against Louisville in her first full month back in the NWSL. 

F – Marta (ORL): On a four-game offensive tear, Marta tallied a point in each of Orlando’s contests this month, including three assists and a highlight-reel goal from over 35 yards out to seal a 3-1 win over Kansas City on the road. 

F – Trinity Rodman (WAS): Rodman notched her first career goal in a 1-1 draw against Chicago before scoring in stoppage time to lift the Spirit to a 2-1 win over Kansas City last weekend. Rodman also tallied an assist in the victory to earn three points in June. 

F – Lynn Williams (NCC): Thanks to Williams’ explosive offensive play in June which culminated in a league-best four goals and one assist, the Player of the Month now leads all league players in scoring with five goals and seven points through six matches. 

Michelle Betos has represented 12 clubs during more than a decade playing professional soccer around the globe. Never, the goalkeeper said, has she called a locker room home that’s as nice as the one in Racing Louisville FC’s new training facility.

Betos and teammates this week moved into their $15 million digs also complete with a weight room, dining hall, media/film room and several fields. Located at 801 Edith Road, the complex consolidates day-to-day club operations at a Champions Park site fewer than two miles from Lynn Family Stadium.

“I’m still wrapping my head around it being ours. I hope the league can see the standard now, because this changes it,” said Betos, also captain for the NWSL expansion side. “All I could think about when I walked in there was, the first year I had a folding chair, put my clothes under it and took it home every day. Now I’m sitting on a purple cushion chair with my picture above it.

“It makes you so proud to represent this club. This is just another example of where women’s soccer is going and should be.”

Ground was broken for this project on Aug. 4, 2020. Minor construction will continue in the coming weeks, putting finishing touches on the building before a proper ribbon cutting.

“It’s a world-class facility and statement of intent for where we want to go,” said Racing’s head coach, Christy Holly. “We feel very strongly that players deserve the best — whether it’s their nutrition, strength and conditioning, the locker room or medical care, it’s all taken care of here.

“This facility is something that will allow us to recruit the best players in the world to Louisville.”

Built by AML Construction and operated by ASM Global, the facility also houses the USL Championship side Louisville City FC, youth academies and back office staff. Locker room spaces, offices and training rooms are symmetrical for the women’s and men’s clubs, which will share other areas such as the weight room and cafeteria.

“The opportunity to have a home where you can house a women’s team and a men’s team that are treated equally is really important to us as an organization,” said James O’Connor, executive vice president of development. “Then we align them with the academy. It’s rare for clubs to be able to house their whole technical side in the same place.

“The teams can train at the same time if they want using the same facilities with the same standards. That sets us us apart from most organizations in the country.”

Already, the complex’s fields have hosted a number of community events, from college soccer games to youth sports camps. Visit www.racingloufc.com/racingloufc/rentals for more information on event bookings.

Having collected six points across three games last week, Racing Louisville FC received its first taste of the confidence that comes with winning tough games, especially on the road.

The ladies in lavender — now sixth on the NWSL table — are 3-1-3 overall exiting Saturday’s 3-0 away win over the Chicago Red Stars, the club’s first victory outside of Lynn Family Stadium. In the days prior, Racing had defeated the Houston Dash before rotating its lineup for a midweek defeat to the NC Courage.

“Anytime that you’re having to play three games in [seven] days, I mean that’s hard for anyone to do, so being able to manage certain players and making sure that they could go 90 and give their best is huge,” said forward Savannah McCaskill.

“All of the players on our roster, we need every single one of them, from people who didn’t even make the bench to people that were starting to people who were coming in games. So it was a total team effort this past week. It’s definitely huge to get six points out of a three-game week. It’s awesome. We just have to keep building from this.”

Racing gets a full week to recharge before hosting Portland Thorns FC at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

“It’s nice,” head coach Christy Holly said of the break. “I mean we definitely need it.”

Racing opened its run of games with that 1-0 victory over the 2020 Challenge Cup winners Houston, with forward Ebony Salmon scoring a minute into her first club appearance. Three days later, Holly’s side held the North Carolina Courage to two first-half goals as the coach made six changes from his previous starting 11.

“It’s interesting for us, because after the Houston game we didn’t get to actually enjoy the win. And I don’t mean go out on the town and celebrate. I just mean to feel the aura of a team that’s having a bit of success,” Holly said. “It was very quickly into the North Carolina game. So I want them to be able to actually enjoy their hard work and show up to practice and have that good vibe, that we’re a team that’s working hard, we’re a team that’s feeling some success in certain areas of the field.

“It’s fantastic to have that break, but during that break I want them to not get comfortable, but feel the results of their hard work.”

Racing will return to the training pitch Wednesday with an edge over most of its league rivals in the coming weeks. The club’s exceptionally young roster will stay together while others lose players during the Tokyo Olympics.

No team may be without more than the Thorns, 3-0 winners over Racing when the two met in Portland on June 5. The Thorns will be down as many as five starters including goalkeeper Adrianna Franch, defender Becky Sauerbrunn plus midfielders Lindsey Horan and Crystal Dunn, all on the U.S. Women’s National Team. Forward Christine Sinclair also represents Canada.

Meanwhile, Racing is poised to continue building, already bringing in Salmon and fellow English star Gemma Bonner, a defender. Recent signing Nadia Nadim – fresh off a Division 1 Feminine title with Paris Saint-Germain in France – will also arrive in Louisville upon receipt of her work visa.

Salmon demonstrated just how impactful she is in the Louisville attack during Saturday’s win, opening the scoring with a low ball slipped past veteran Chicago keeper Alyssa Naeher in the 38th minute.

“I think we’ve shown that we want to combine and be creative going forward, find pockets, do little give-and-gos and be creative and have that little bit of flair so I think [Ebony] fits in perfectly,” McCaskill said. “When we need to go in behind and we need to press and turn backlines, she’s willing to do that as well, so I think she’s come in and she’s really fit in with our players and it’s definitely something special.”

The former Red Stars McCaskill and Yuki Nagasato, acquired in a trade prior to last year’s expansion draft, also netted a goal apiece in the win at Chicago.

“We knew from the start that this was gonna be a tough week with the three games, but I think Christy’s obviously managed us well, and I think he’s managed minutes, managed players how he needs to and how he thinks is best for the team and I think coming out of this week with six points and two wins is really good for us,” Salmon said following her first start in lavender on Saturday.

“I think we’re really building something special in Louisville. I think this group of players really has something to prove, and I think we’re showing that week in and week out, so it’s just really exciting to be a part of this organization and represent this city.”