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A highly rotated Racing Louisville FC lineup and highly motivated Lynn Williams didn’t make for a favorable combination Wednesday night at Lynn Family Stadium.

The North Carolina Courage striker Williams scored both goals in a 2-0 victory for the visitors just hours after she was named as an alternate rather than full roster member of the U.S. Women’s National Team’s Tokyo Olympics squad.

Meanwhile, Racing changed most of its starting lineup amid a congested stretch of three games over seven days. The run began with Sunday’s victory over the Houston Dash and finishes Saturday with a trip to play the Chicago Red Stars.

“There’s growing pains as we go through all this, but quite honestly, with all the rotation and changes, I’m quite proud of the team,” said head coach Christy Holly. “…There’s no easy game in this NWLS. It’s vitally important to us that we look at this week and try to manage it as economically as we can. 

“There’s no way that players can play 90 minutes in every single game at the highest level of their performance, so we wanted to make sure we give everybody the opportunity to perform while also protecting them and ensuring that they’re able to move forward and have a big impact in the game in Chicago this weekend.”

A defeat only slightly damped a larger celebration surrounding Wednesday evening in the Butchertown neighborhood. With 6,334 in attendance Racing hosted its pride night, aligning with the LGBTQ+ community with a number of charitable kickbacks toward local nonprofits.

Given the lineup rotation, Racing was up against it from the beginning in a game the Courage ultimate out-shot the hosts 13-4 and held 62% of possession. Williams also made her mark twice in the first half despite another Player of the Game performance in goal from Michelle Betos, who numbered six saves.

In the 27th minute, star North Carolina midfielder Sam Mewis turned Racing over in its own half and dished to Wililams, who cut inside and delivered a strong strike into the upper-right corner of the net. Six minutes later, a short corner pass from Carson Pickett landed right on Williams for a headed goal to double the lead.

But, unlike the last time these sides met, the final score didn’t spiral out of control from there. NC Courage handed Racing a 5-0 defeat back on May 28.

“North Carolina is a very very good team, so I think the pressure we were able to put on them in the second half, the chances we were able to create, those are really exciting,” said midfielder Lauren Milliet. “There’s definitely stuff that we can do that is avoidable, so I look at that as positive. It’s what we give them. I’m really happy with the performance. I think we put in a really good shift, and I’m excited for what’s to come.”

Racing’s 11 marked the first club starts for forwards Cheyna Matthews and Jorian Baucom, along with defender Sinclaire Miramontez. Overall, just five members of Sunday’s lineup opened Wednesday’s game in lavender and white.

Regular starters such as Emily Fox and Yuki Nagasato subbed on for the final 30 minutes, while defender Addisyn Merrick — on the return from a back injury — made her first appearance of the year having played the final nine minutes plus stoppage time.

“I was really excited,” Merrick said. “I keep telling myself — I tend to get overexcited and rush things — to just stay calm and find the first pass and work myself into the game. Before the game Gemma (Bonner) actually gave me two pieces of advice: Just do what you’re good at and defend before you do offense to build yourself into the game. Early on I had a good little tackle in the corner, and that helped me get comfortable, so I’m excited to keep playing.”

Now 2-3-1 on the season, Racing continues its inaugural NWSL campaign with a 2 p.m. kickoff Saturday against Chicago at SeatGeek Stadium. The game will stream exclusively on Paramount+.

Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC vs. North Carolina Courage

Venue: Lynn Family Stadium

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.

Weather: 82 degrees, mostly sunny

Player of the Match: Michelle Betos

Attendance: 6,334

Scoring

Racing Louisville FC (0, 0, 0)

North Carolina Courage (2, 0, 0)

Goals

North Carolina Courage:

27’ Lynn Williams (assisted by Sam Mewis)

33’ Lynn Williams (assisted by Carson Pickett)

Stats Summary: Racing Louisville FC / North Carolina Courage

Shots: 4 / 19

Shots on Goal: 2 / 8

Fouls: 3 / 4

Offside: 0 / 2

Corner Kicks: 2 / 7

Saves: 6 / 2

Lineups

Racing Louisville FC: 1 – Michelle Betos, 14 – Nealy Martin (70’ 16 – Julia Ashley), 15 – Brooke Hendrix, 18 – Kaleigh Riehl, 12 – Sinclaire Miramontez, 20 – Cheyna Matthews (59’ 9 – Ebony Salmon), 3 – Erin Simon (59’ 11 – Emily Fox), 2 – Lauren Milliet, 22 – Katie McClure (81’ 26 – Addisyn Merrick), 33 – Jorian Baucom, 7 – Savannah McCaskill (59’ 17 – Yuki Nagasato)

Subs not used: 8 – Freja Olofsson, 4 – Gemma Bonner, 23 – Katie Lund, 13 – Emina Ekic

North Carolina Courage: 99 – Katelyn Rowland, 13 – Ryan Williams, 6 – Abby Erceg, 7 – Diane Caldwell, 4 – Carson Pickett, 10 – Debinha (77’ 21 – Cari Roccaro), 5 – Samantha Mewis (67’ 16 – Hailie Mace), 8 – Denise O’Sullivan, 34 – Angharad James (67’ 19 – Havana Solaun), 9 – Lynn Williams (78’ 25 – Meredith Speck), 27 – Brittany Ratcliffe (59’ 23 – Kristen Hamilton)

Subs not used: 2 – Taylor Smith, 3 – Kaleigh Kurtz, 1 – Casey Murphy, 29 – Rylee Baisden

Discipline Summary

Racing Louisville FC: Yuki Nagasato (yellow) 65’

Referee: Alyssa Nichols

Assistant Referees: Kali Smith, Mike Nickerson

Fourth Official: Michael Samour

Racing Louisville FC will continue its inaugural season Wednesday at a place the new club has played its best: Lynn Family Stadium.

Racing hosts league power North Carolina Courage at 7:30 p.m., looking to extend a three-game home unbeaten streak matched across the league only by the table-topping Orlando Pride and Chicago Red Stars.

Prior to Wednesday, at Lynn Family Stadium the club opened its inaugural season with a May 15 draw against Kansas City, defeated the Washington Spirit on May 21 and Sunday registered a victory over the Houston Dash.

Racing has out-scored opponents 3-0 in all at home.

Opened last year in the Butchertown neighborhood close to downtown, Lynn Family Stadium is also home to the USL Championship’s Louisville City FC. So far, Racing has averaged attendance of 6,201 in its regular season home games at a venue that features safe-standing supporter zones and seating in close proximity to the pitch.

The only club to have defeated Racing at its house? Coincidentally, that’s the Courage, who came away with a 3-2 victory April 26 in the preseason Challenge Cup tournament.

Here’s what to watch for as North Carolina returns…

Coach Christy Holly says…

“Three games in (seven) days and starting off on probably the hottest days of the year, it’s a lot, right? We keep things in perspective. One with the club of where we’re at, and two what this week is and the types of teams we’re playing — North Carolina followed by Chicago. So, there’s massive challenges, but we spoke during the game: We may have won 1-0 (on Sunday), but did we get better? Did we apply different lessons throughout previous weeks to our performance? If the answer is yes, then yes, we’re moving forward. If the answer is no, we sit down, we hash it out and we go again. We ask for the more experienced players to kind of lead these conversations, make sure it’s more of a two-way conversation — one in terms of how we recover, replenish ourselves — and two, how do we look at the game, take the lessons and out them into our next performance.”

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 Mike Watts and color commentary by Anna Witte. Internationally, fans can watch the match on the NWSL’s Twitch channel. 

Notes to know

Recent rematch: Racing will be seeking a much better result than the last time it saw the Courage, as the 2018 and 2019 NWSL champs posted a 5-0 victory back on May 28. That night, North Carolina welcomed back star midfielder Sam Mewis, who can soon expect a call up for the Tokyo Olympics. The roster features U.S. international forward Lynn Williams and prolific Brazilian midfielder Debinha as well.

Salmon’s heroics: If you watch SportsCenter, you’ve witnessed it. Sunday’s No. 1 play saw English forward Ebony Salmon sub on Sunday in the 71st minute against Houston and only seconds later use some fancy footwork to slip behind the defense and net a game winner in her NWSL debut. Salmon, 20, arrived to Louisville earlier this month after The Athletic named her the FA Women’s Super League’s young Player of the Year for 2020-2021, then with Bristol City.

Brick wall Betos: Racing has called upon its team captain for plenty of help, and goalkeeper Michelle Betos has almost always obliged. Her 34 saves lead the NWSL and are 13 more than second on the list, NJ/NY Gotham FC’s Kailen Sheridan. The New York native Betos — the NWSL’s 2015 Goalkeeper of the Year— made seven saves to preserve a shutout in the Houston win.

Defensive dynamo: Having arrived recently on transfer from England’s Manchester City, Gemma Bonner made her debut Sunday at center back to much success. Along a defensive line that held a clean sheet, she led Racing with eight clearances and stayed involved with 56 passes, also most on her team, complementing a solid four-tackle performance by left back Emily Fox.

More reinforcements: Salmon and Bonner aren’t the only newly available players for Racing. Defender Julia Ashley, who has dealt with a hamstring pull, subbed on Sunday in the 85th minute for her first regular season appearance. Defender Addie Merrick (back) and forward Cheyna Matthews (hip) have also returned to full training as of late, eligible to begin picking up more minutes soon.

Finding her role: Forward Savannah McCaskill, seen often in a winger’s role last year for the Chicago Red Stars, has played in behind Racing’s top line in the club’s debut season. On Sunday, she continued to show growth in distribution, leading her side with 26 passes in the opponent’s half of the field, including a run and give to Salmon that led to an assist. McCaskill also tried five crosses and made four key passes, also team highs.

Managerial matchup: Racing coach Christy Holly has faced off against Courage head coach Paul Riley six times. During those meetings, Holly posted a 1-3 record against Riley while leading Sky Blue FC, now known as Gotham FC. Two of the defeats came prior to the Courage relocating from Buffalo, N.Y., as the Western New York Flash to their current base in Cary, N.C.

Carolina connections: Five of Racing’s 22 rostered players have links to North Carolina. Both Merrick and midfielder Lauren Milliet played for the Courage before they were selected by Racing in the 2020 NWSL Expansion Draft. Midfielder Sinclaire Miramontez was also originally drafted by the Courage. Additionally Ashley, Fox and midfielder Taylor Otto all played collegiately at nearby UNC.

Injury Report

• Taylor Otto – Out
• Noelle Higginson – Out
• Addisyn Merrick – Questionable
• Brooke Hendrix – Questionable
• Cece Kizer – Questionable
• Ebony Salmon – Questionable

Milestone watch

• Savannah McCaskill is two goals away from her 10th across all NWSL competitions.
• Michelle Betos is one appearance away from her 100th professional appearance.

Thomas Costello covers the NWSL for Beyond Women’s Sports, which offers stories throughout the world of women’s professional and collegiate athletics. Follow Thomas on Twitter @1ThomasCostello.

Racing Louisville FC came back from the international break Sunday and put prior results in the rearview mirror. At Lynn Family Stadium, against an always dangerous Houston Dash side, the NWSL expansion club extended its unbeaten streak at home with a 1-0 victory. The showing proved that when Racing is healthy and new faces get a chance to acclimate, this team’s ceiling can push higher.

Here are a few lessons learned from Louisville’s second-ever victory.

Fresh faces shine

Louisville and NWSL supporters will talk about Ebony Salmon’s game-winning goal for a long time. In the 71st minute, seconds after subbing on, the 20-year-old English striker made an incredible individual effort to move around two Houston defenders and bury the first shot of her NWSL career. Head coach Christy Holly shared in the excitement.

“She’s going to push the standard,” he said. “She’s just going to make us better, which is fantastic, both in the games and the training environment.”

The social media chatter around the goal was warranted, and there will likely be some Salmon jerseys in the stands soon. But she wasn’t the only significant new addition to Racing’s rotation on Sunday.

Veteran defender Gemma Bonner, who recently plied her trade with Manchester City in the FA Women’s Super League, played a full 90 minutes at center back to mark her first minutes since December due to a combination of injury and COVID-19 diagnosis.

After an initial 15 minutes in which Bonner made some passing mistakes, picking up a yellow card as the emotions of the day took their toll, she calmed and her performance upped. Bonner positioned herself well against a left side of the field for Houston that includes U.S. international Kristie Mewis. Bonner cleared chances off the line and completed the most passes for Louisville on the day, 56.

“First half we were disappointed with how we were,” said Bonner. “We were giving away easy chances, but I think in the second half, we really tightened up and when you got the likes of Ebony coming from the bench, with her first touch and doing what she did, it was thoroughly deserved today.”

Taking their shots

Prior to Sunday’s victory, Louisville came into the match with five shots on goal registered in four regular season matches. Against Houston, the club doubled its total.

Racing still required goalkeeper Michelle Betos to make key saves, seven total and the biggest in the 87th minute off a Veronica Latsko shot. But getting more shots of their own on frame shows progress.

All five on target came from different players, too. Aside from Salmon’s magnificent goal, Emina Ekic, Lauren Milliet, Cece Kizer and Freja Olofsson all made Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell work. A big reason for the improved offensive attack goes to vice captain Savannah McCaskill.

McCaskill took advantage of the midfield all day. Her effort on defense turned into chances down the pitch. Before the Estopinal End went crazy in the backdrop of Salmon’s goal, it was McCaskill who charged through, fought off a Houston defender and set up the chance, earning an assist. It was one of four chances she created on the afternoon.

Racing’s dynamic offensive midfielder is showing the league what she can do now that’s she’s on a side that allows her to play her style of the game.

Schedule congestion next

Post-match, Holly and Bonner both spoke about the busy week ahead. On Wednesday, Racing welcomes NC Courage back to Louisville, where they have the chance to avenge a 5-0 loss from May 28. Saturday, the club travels to meet the Chicago Red Stars for the first time in franchise history.

Those opponents promise a dynamic style of play different from Houston’s counter attacking soccer.

“I think in training if we can keep it competitive and healthy then every single player here is supporting whoever’s on the pitch no matter if they’re on the bench or in the stands,” said Bonner. “I think that’s a real great quality that we’ve got. We’re always pushing each other and you know that when you step out on the pitch you have everyone’s support behind you.”

Louisville is showing the league that it can adapt. Racing made adjustments Sunday after a Houston first half that looked like past performances in the regular season: a lot of shots allowed and having to make do with what possession it earned.

But for almost 30 minutes of the second half, Louisville adapted and become the aggressor. They take those lessons with them into Wednesday.

“We may have won 1-0, but did we get better?” asked Holly. “Did we apply different lessons from previous weeks to our performance today? If the answers yes, then yes, we’re moving forward. If the answer is no, we sit down tomorrow, we hash it out and we go again.”

All of 20 years old, Ebony Salmon recently arrived to Louisville with plenty of promise. It took her less than 60 seconds to start living up to it.

The new Racing Louisville FC forward came on as a 71st-minute substitution Sunday and scored nearly instantly thanks to a nifty bit of footwork, sparking her new side to a 1-0 victory over the Houston Dash at Lynn Family Stadium.

Salmon, named England’s FA Women’s Super League Young Player of the Year by the Athletic exiting the 2020-2021 season with Bristol City, was announced as a new Racing signing in May. She then joined training in June toward Sunday’s debut NWSL appearance.

“Watching from the bench I knew that I could come on and create something, but definitely I was surprised that I came on and scored so quick,” Salmon said. “I think it’s been a really good two weeks of training with the girls, and I’ve just wanted to get myself going and get into a game, and I think that getting in 20, 25 minutes in the bank and getting a goal is a really good start for me.”

En route to her strike, Salmon controlled a well-played ball through from teammate Savannah McCaskill, initially finding her back to the goal. With a couple of flicks, she dribbled in behind and finished smoothly to the goalkeeper’s left, scoring the same minute in which she entered the game.

Salmon went on to number two more shots after her goal and numbered 15 total touches in limited time on the pitch to mark the start of what she could do for Racing.

“I think the big thing for us was to be able to attract Ebony,” said Racing’s head coach, Christy Holly. “I don’t know how many people in America truly knew what Ebony could do and maybe what she’ll go on to do. We’re very excited about it.

“We know she’s a project. We know she’s got a lot of growth ahead of her, but to be able to turn to the bench and have that type of player come off the bench and really introduce herself to the NWSL with a soccer player’s finish is something we’re very excited about.”

The victory — a second across all competitions for the expansion club — moved Racing to 2-1-2 with Salmon not the only newcomer available to Holly exiting a recent international break.

Manchester City transfer Gemma Bonner went the full 90 minutes Sunday at center back, Julia Ashley subbed on at outside back for her regular season debut, and defender Addie Merrick was available for the first time as a substitute on the return from a back injury.

One constant remained: Racing needed a big performance from its team captain to stay in the game. Goalkeeper Michelle Betos tallied seven saves and punched away another Houston chance on an afternoon when the attempts came in bunches.

Betos turned away shots in the 31s and 33rd minutes, the latter leading to a Dash header into the back of the net disallowed for offside. Later, an 87th-minute sequence in goal held a lead when Betos made her final save and a pair of defensive blocks followed.

“Everyone’s young, everyone’s coming hungry, and we just want to get better as a team and grow, and I think hopefully today was another good step in the right direction,” Bonner said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of things we can be better at, especially from the first half but I think the way that we managed the game a bit better in the heat, we can definitely take those positives forward into the next part of the season.”

Racing, which dropped a pair of lopsided away results before the international break, is 2-0-1 at home early in its inaugural regular season — all of them clean sheets. That record will be tested when perennial NWSL power NC Courage visits for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Lynn Family Stadium.

Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC vs. Houston Dash

Venue: Lynn Family Stadium

Kickoff: 3 p.m.

Weather: 90 degrees, partly cloudy

Player of the Match: Ebony Salmon

Attendance: 5,971

Scoring

Racing Louisville FC (0, 1, 1)

Houston Dash (0, 0, 0)

Goals

Racing Louisville FC:

71’ Ebony Salmon (assisted by McCaskill)

Stats Summary: Racing Louisville FC / Houston Dash

Shots: 11 / 23

Shots on Goal: 5 / 8

Fouls: 6 / 7

Offside: 5 / 4

Corner Kicks: 4 / 6

Saves: 7 / 4

Lineups

Racing Louisville FC: 1 – Michelle Betos, 14 – Nealy Martin, 4 – Gemma Bonner, 3 – Erin Simon (85’ 16 – Julia Ashley), 5 – Cece Kizer (71’ 9 – Ebony Salmon), 2 – Lauren Milliet (85’ 12 – Sinclaire Miramontez), 8 – Freja Olofsson, 11 – Emily Fox, 13 – Emina Ekic (56’ 22 – Katie McClure), 17 – Yuki Nagasato (90 + 6’ 20 – Cheyna Matthews), 7 – Savannah McCaskill (90 + 6’ 18 – Kaleigh Riehl)

Subs not used: 23 – Katie Lund, 26 – Addisyn Merrick, 33 – Jorian Baucom

Houston Dash: 1 – Jane Campbell, 2 – Allysha Chapman, 25 – Katie Naughton, 11 – Megan Oyster (81’ 23 – Ally Prisock), 9 – Haley Hanson, 13 – Sophie Schmidt (86’ 14 – Brianna Visalli), 19 – Kristie Mewis, 6 – Shea Groom (68’ 5 – Gabby Seiler), 7 – Maria Sanchez (68’ 22 – Jasmyne Spencer), 8 – Nichelle Prince (86’ 33 – Makamae Gomera-Stevens), 12 – Veronica Latsko

Subs not used: 24 – Jamia Fields, 20 – Lindsey Harris

Discipline Summary

Racing Louisville FC: Bonner (yellow) 10’

Houston Dash: Latsko (yellow) 7’

Referee: Laura Rodriguez

Assistant Referees: Meghan Mullen, Maggie Short

Fourth Official: Chris Schurfranz