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Racing Louisville FC is looking to build on the momentum of its first-ever win amid what is a decidedly difficult run of games. It begins with a trip to play the North Carolina Courage at 7 p.m. Friday.

Off a 2-0 victory last Friday over the Washington Spirit, Racing will see the Courage — NWSL champions in 2018 and 2019 — both this weekend and again on June 23 at Lynn Family Stadium. In between those matchups is a game against 2021 Challenge Cup winner Portland Thorns (June 5) and 2020 Challenge Cup champs Houston Dash (June 20).

Whereas Racing is preparing to face Portland and Houston for the first time, the Courage are a more familiar foe. The two first met during the Challenge Cup in a back-and-forth, 3-2 North Carolina victory at Lynn Family Stadium that featured a screamer of a goal by tournament MVP Debinha.

Since that game, Racing has assembled three straight clean sheets, coming into its own as an expansion side. However, the Courage have reason to improve as well given the recent return from Manchester City of midfielder Sam Mewis, who an ESPN panel earlier this year ranked the world’s No. 1 player.

Friday’s game will take place with limited fans in attendance at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, also the home to USL League 1 club North Carolina FC. It will live stream exclusively on the NWSL’s Twitch channel.

Here’s what to what for … 

Coach Christy Holly says…

“One of the things that we pride ourselves on is making sure that we are in the game throughout. Some games will go our way. Some games won’t go our way. It is about making sure that we are trying to put ourselves in situations where we can compete to the very end. There are various moments of transition in the game that I think can be telling. I think a lot of that comes down to their mentality and fitness. I think a lot of it is the mentality of the players and a reward for the hard work that they put in.”

“North Carolina has probably been the best women’s club team in the world in the last couple of years. You don’t turn into that team overnight and then you add Sam Mewis. They are going to be extremely challenging. It is going to be a very difficult game. If we want to get something from that game, we need to put in our best performance. It is exciting. It is a challenge. It is on the road. It is different. Nothing has changed from what we have been doing. We are still focused on getting better.”

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 Twitch with play by play from Joe Malfa and color commentary by Lori Lindsey.

Notes to know

Top of the table: Just as we all guessed, right? Week 2’s results, bumping Racing’s total to four points,via a season-opening draw against Kansas City and victory over Washington, moved the ladies in lavender atop their nine rivals — and more established NWSL teams. The Orlando Pride, OL Reign and Gotham FC have also tallied four points apiece, with Louisville’s +2 goal differential breaking the tie.

Hometown heroics: En route to Racing’s first victory, forward Emina Ekic scored made her first pro goal a memorable one. The 61st-minute sub cut back and fired a looping shot to put Racing up 1-0 on Washington, then minutes later connected with Cece Kizer for an insurance goal. Ekic became the second player in NWSL history to register a club’s first regular season goal and assist, joining Steph Catley with the Orlando Pride.

Kizer stays hot: Kizer scored her third goal in lavender when she calmly placed a slipped pass from Ekic past Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe. It marked Kizer’s third goal in four games across all competitions at Lynn Family Stadium, as the forward also scored openers April 10 against the Orlando Pride and April 26 versus the Courage. Kizer’s pair of Challenge Cup goals were one off tournament MVP Debinha’s total.

Shutout streak: Racing has gone 275 minutes without conceding a goal, the longest active streak in the league, after goalkeeper and team captain Michelle Betos made 10 saves to preserve a shutout against Washington. Throughout the run of clean sheets, Racing has played with a back four of Erin Simon, Brooke Hendrix, Kaleigh Riehl and Emily Fox.

Leading the line: The No. 1 overall NWSL Draft pick Fox did some of her best work Friday as U.S. Women’s National Team coach Vlatko Andonovski scouted at Lynn Family Stadium. The University of North Carolina product put her only shot on target in the 38th minute, plus worked up and down the left side, nearly producing a first half chance for winger Yuki Nagasato on a ball into the box with just a bit too much pace.

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

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

Called up: Forward Cheyna Matthews, training toward her Racing debut after the birth of her second child in December, has been named to the Jamaican Women’s National Team’s preliminary roster for next month’s Summer Series of games, which includes a matchup against a USWNT preparing for the Olympics. The Reggae Girlz first play Nigeria at 5:30 p.m. on June 10 before meeting the USWNT at 10 p.m. June 13. Both games are at Houston’s BBVA Stadium and will air on FS1.

New addition: Before Racing’s victory against the Spirit, the club signed defender Sinclaire Miramontez out of a successful trial. Miramontez, a native of Lenexa, Kan., attended the University of Nebraska until she was selected by the North Carolina Courage in the 2020 NWSL College Draft. With the Courage, Miramontez made one appearance in the 2020 Fall Series. She’s viewed as a replacement for midfielder Taylor Otto, who will miss time with a knee injury.

Reinforcements coming: Racing is awaiting arrivals of two highly anticipated additions with English defender Gemma Bonner (Manchester City) and forward Ebony Salmon (Bristol City) on their way pending approval of their work visas. Salmon, the more recent signing, was recently named The Athletic’s FA Women’s Super League Young Player of the Season for the 2020-2021 campaign that ended earlier this month.

Injury report

• Julia Ashley (out)
• Addisyn Merrick (out)
• Noelle Higginson (out)
• Taylor Otto (out)
• Cheyna Matthews (questionable)
• Savannah McCaskill (questionable)
• Lauren Milliet (questionable)

Milestone watch

• Savannah McCaskill is two goals away from her 10th across all NWSL competitions.
• Yuki Nagasato is two goals away from her 15th across all NWSL competitions.
• Cece Kizer is two appearances from her 20th NWSL regular-season appearance. 
• Erin Simon is one start from her 35th across NWSL competitions.

Racing Louisville FC forward Cheyna Matthews has been named to the Jamaican Women’s National Team’s preliminary roster for next month’s Summer Series of games, which includes a matchup against a U.S. Women’s National Team preparing for the Olympics.

The Reggae Girlz first play Nigeria at 5:30 p.m. on June 10 before meeting the USWNT at 10 p.m. June 13. Both games are at Houston’s BBVA Stadium and will air on FS1.

A native of Lynn., Mass., Matthews previously represented Jamaica — her mother’s home country — in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. That year, FIFA.com coined her “Jamaica’s Super Mom” after returning from the birth of her first child to play in four months.

This go around, Matthews is back to training with the NWSL expansion side Racing following baby No. 2’s arrival in December.

“I’m psyched for camp and working my way back into that fold,” Matthews said. “Obviously, playing against the world’s best is no easy feat. It should be fun and interesting as we start prepping for World Cup qualifiers.”

The Summer Series marks Jamaica’s first competition since Concacaf Olympic qualifiers in February of 2020. Pending Racing’s upcoming lineup sheets, it could also mean Matthews’ first competitive minutes since 2019.

Matthews, who started her collegiate career at Vanderbilt, transferred to Florida State, where she won a national title in 2015. The NWSL’s Washington Spirit drafted her in 2016, and from there she went on to tally 11 goals in 55 appearances.

Formerly known as Cheyna Williams, she’s married to the NFL free agent wide receiver Jordan Matthews. The forward opted not to play in 2020 to spend more time with family before Racing acquired her playing rights on the NWSL’s re-entry wire.

“I’ve had a little bit of a muscle strain to work through, but as far as fitness goes, I’m doing more in practice each day, and I was available last weekend, so that was a positive sign,” Matthews said. “I’ve been getting positive feedback from coaches and my teammates. They haven’t seen it physically that I’ve just had a baby. I want to be looked at as a player who brings up the team’s competitiveness and adds to the scoring.”

Matthews is one of six current NWSL players named on Jamaica’s preliminary roster for the friendlies joining Chinyelu Asher (Washington Spirit), Deneisha Blackwood (Houston Dash), Konya Plummer (Orlando Pride), Sydney Schneider (Washington Spirit) and Havana Solaun (NC Courage).

Racing Louisville FC, on a run of multiple clean sheets that has the expansion club atop the NWSL table after two weeks, has leaned on different pieces of its defense for the shutouts.

However, says coach Christy Holly, “We know that Michelle is the one we can always rely on.”

That’s is in reference to goalkeeper Michelle Betos, also the club’s captain who weathered a storm of 29 total Washington Spirit shots last Friday. The veteran between the posts tallied 10 saves to keep Washington off the board — and bide some time for her club’s equally young offense to establish itself.

“I think anytime you’re playing a team like that you know they’re going to be dangerous on the attack,” Betos said. “They have so many forces, and we know we have to weather their storm. As the defensive line and as a goalkeeper, all we’re thinking about is, ‘Can we keep this game winnable? Can we keep them in the game? Can we trust our forwards?’”

Betos had numbered 6 saves by the 76th minute, when rookie Emina Ekic cut in toward the box and curled in a game-winning shot against the Spirit. Five minutes later, Cece Kizer handled a cross from Ekic with aplomb and finished what was Racing’s second goal in a 2-0 victory, the franchise’s first win.

“We know we have good goal scorers, so how long can we keep them out so that they can get one chance, they can get two chances?” Betos asked. “And that’s what happens. It’s moment by moment and thinking about how we can keep this winnable.”

Just after the goals poured in, Betos’ name flashed up on the Lynn Family Stadium video board. She had been voted player of the game, then went on to turn away 4 more Spirit shots in the game’s waning minutes.

A 33-year-old from Queens, N.Y., is the most senior member of Racing’s inaugural roster, selected by Holly with purpose out of the 2020 NWSL Expansion Draft from OL Reign. Betos has played in multiple professional leagues having seen women’s soccer explode in recent years, including a 2015 season in which she was named the NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year.

“We are very excited for her to get the recognition that she deserves,” Holly said after Friday’s game. “… It is also her presence on the field that is very important, her leadership and her understanding of the journey we’re on.”

Three clean sheets for Racing, dating back to the preseason Challenge Cup tournament, followed the club’s first three games in which it conceded a goal after the 80th minute. Betos credited the arrival of goalkeepers coach Sergio Gonzalez late in preseason — “he does a lot on the defensive side tactically” — and a team mentality to defend front to back, including forwards.

Betos’ top performance came Friday with another well-known coach watching. Vlatko Andonovski, now the U.S. Women’s National Team boss, worked with her in 2018 and 2019 at OL Reign.

“He is one of my favorite coaches I have ever played for,” Betos said, “and the first thing he said was, ‘Wow, I really like watching your team play. You can tell they’re going to work. They’re committed to what you guys are doing. They’re not going to stop fighting.’

“That’s what I want him to say. I think we have a lot of work to do. We want to be better than we were (Friday). We have a trajectory, but at the end of the day if we’re working, fighting and defending together then that’s something to be proud of.”

Racing Louisville FC has signed multifaceted defender Sinclaire Miramontez — the 27th pick in the 2020 NWSL Draft — out of a successful trial.

Having trained with the club since before the preseason NWSL Challenge Cup tournament, Miramontez put pen to paper Friday in the hours leading up to Racing’s second regular season game, a 2-0 victory over the Washington Spirit, on a contract running through the 2022.

Miramontez was immediately needed as a reserve after team doctors diagnosed rookie midfielder Taylor Otto with a knee injury that will require time off.

“We had known we wanted to get her under contract,” Racing coach Christy Holly said of Miramontez. “Then things moved forward a lot quicker because of the unfortunate news regarding Taylor, who we hope to see back on the pitch later this season.

“There’s an alignment between what we’re trying to do as a club and where Sinclaire wants to be as a player. She’s young and trying to show she belongs in the NWSL.”

A 23-year-old native of Lenexa, Kan., Miramontez has featured mostly in central defense, including a four-year University of Nebraska career highlighted by multiple All-Big Ten Conference honors and a spot on the 2019 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.

“Once I got to the pro level it was brought to my attention that I could develop into a defensive midfielder,” Miramontez said. “I’m starting to transition more into the midfield but still have the ability to play as a center back. Right now I’m splitting time at both and ready for wherever they need me.”

Perennial NWSL power NC Courage drafted Miramontez, and she appeared for the club during last year’s Fall Series, a set of games scheduled in lieu of a traditional full season due to COVID-19. Once the Courage waived Miramontez in March, she went on to spend a week with Kansas City’s NWSL expansion side, which features her older sister Sydney, also a defender.

Another of Racing’s center backs, Addisyn Merrick, grew up with Miramontez playing club soccer in Kansas and also went professional with the NC Courage in 2020. That connection opened the door for Miramontez to trial in Louisville.

“It’s a nice little story to end up back together with each other,” Miramontez said.

An accounting major, Miramontez was also a 2019 Senior CLASS Award Candidate — a recognition for the total student-athlete active in her community — and made the Academic All-Big Ten list each year from 2017 through 2019.

Along the way, she attended training camps for the United States’ U-19, U-20 and U-23 squads before making her professional debut in a season highly interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There wasn’t a ton of opportunity for game minutes considering the shortened season,” Miramontez said. “Coming here with a new club and culture, having a full regular season, I definitely consider it a clean slate in that it’s a way to have more consistency to find my foothold in this league.

“The facilities and everything here are second to none in this country. Even when I walk around the community, we see Racing Louisville everywhere and hear from people who are so excited for the team to be here. It’s so unbelievably awesome, and I’m thankful to be part of it.”

Racing, at 1-0-1 to open its 24-game season, travels this week for a 7 p.m. Friday meeting with the Courage at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. Coverage will live stream exclusively on the NWSL’s Twitch channel.

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.

On Friday night, Racing Louisville FC put its first win in the club record books, beating the Washington Spirit by a 2-0 score after losing to the same side on a late goal in the NWSL Challenge Cup. Against a team touting names like Ashley Hatch, Ashley Sanchez and Trinity Rodman, Louisville continued showing supporters — and the league — that it can not only compete but win as a 2021 expansion team.

Fox shines at the right time

A big name in Lynn Family Stadium wasn’t a player or coach from either team. Rather, United States Women’s National Team head coach Vlatko Andonovski was in attendance for the Racing victory.

One player he knows well is fullback Emily Fox. While Fox didn’t make the SheBelieves Cup or April European friendly roster for the World Cup champions, her first half may have Andonovski thinking about including her for future competitions.

The 2021 NWSL Draft’s No. 1 overall pick shined for Racing. Fox not only took care of her role defending the left sideline, but she wreaked havoc on the Washington midfield. Washington stayed pinned into its defensive final third for much of the first half. When the Spirit did attempt a pass into the left side of the midfield, Fox was there more often than not.

One example came midway through the first half. Off of an interception, Fox slotted a pass into the box but just past forward Yuki Nagasato. In the 38th minute, she added a shot on goal from distance, causing Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe dive to stop it.

Fox is making her mark in matches, and it’s only a matter of time before she’s not only scoring and assisting on more goals, but swapping out her lavender for red, white and blue.

Defending under pressure

As the Challenge Cup gets smaller in the rearview mirror, so are Louisville’s late defensive lapses. Washington got into areas where they could get chances, taking 29 shots overall, but the Racing defense and goalkeeper Michelle Betos made nothing easy.

Team defense was on full display, with any player in the area jumping in front of shots, making sure Washington didn’t capitalize. In those 29 chances, 23 were on target but Louisville players got in front of 13 to block. Betos saved the other 10.

“The team’s working,” said Betos. “We pride ourselves from front to back on defensive effort.”

In the first half, Racing did well in shifting its defensive shape to match the Washington offense, but in the second half, the Spirit had much of the momentum in moving forward. Of their blocks, nine came in the final 45 minutes. Racing didn’t break. After their first three matches of 2021, in which they gave up six goals, they’ve kept all opponents out of the net.

Patience is how they’re getting shots stopped. On Spirit attacks, Louisville players aren’t making the mistake of rushing out of position to try to stop a run. Instead, they’re keeping defensive shape and going to the ground to stop shots. It’s a sign of a team growing in confidence.

The source of that confidence is strong support behind the backline. Racing had it in droves on Friday night with Betos’ double-digit save performance. To head coach Christy Holly, her performance all goes back to the team as a whole.

“Quite frankly, every clean sheet is a team clean sheet, top to bottom,” said Holly. “Sometimes it is different players that we are relying upon. We know that Michelle is the one we can always rely on.”

A hometown highlight reel

Forward and Louisville native Emina Ekic started all four Challenge Cup matches. Even though she’s a rookie, she showed why she deserved those starts. It didn’t result in goals or assists, but Ekic’s movement, vision and finding spots to shoot made it clear that she wasn’t selected fifth overall in the NWSL Draft just because she’s a hometown kid.

Since the regular season started, Ekic has moved to the bench in favor of fellow forward Katie McClure. She came in against Kansas City NWSL and played well as a sub, but on Friday Ekic shifted from promise to performance. In the 76th minute, she did what Holly and teammates knew she’s capable of: scoring big goals.

“We have seen that week in and week out from Emina,” said Holly.  “It is not terribly surprising once we saw her in that position. We see her continually creating that and we are very proud of what she has done.”

Ekic cut through the Washington defense and, after a slightly strong touch, she took a shot on the run, burying it past Washington’s Bledsoe. Taking shots is what Holly has stressed for weeks, and this is why. For Ekic, her first career goal brought up a lot.

“I was relieved and excited and hyped and borderline in tears,” said Ekic. “It was a rush of so many emotions, but it was an amazing feeling.”

She was only getting started, too. Just five minutes later, Ekic took advantage of a Spirit team that was loading their offensive half with a three-on-one Louisville break. The goal scorer became the distributor with a pass to forward Cece Kizer, who settled with an excellent first touch, scored on her second and put the match out of reach.

While Ekic will work to make performances like that commonplace, she’s still only 22 and poised to grow stronger. Having gone toe to toe against Orlando Pride’s Marta in her debut, then getting past a U.S. international like Emily Sonnett in Racing’s first victory is only the beginning.

Before getting to work Friday night at Lynn Family Stadium, where he was on hand to scout Racing Louisville FC’s game against the Washington Spirit, U.S. Women’s National Team coach Vlatko Andonovski had a bit of fun.

“I’m excited to see this, obviously, as the national team coach,” Andonovski said during a tour of Racing’s new Champions Park training facility.

Located just a couple minutes from the stadium, the sprawling grounds — to be split with USL Championship side Louisville City FC — include multiple grass and turf pitches, plus a 30,000 square foot building. The teams and back office staff are expected to move in next month.

Andonovski visited with club president Brad Estes, executive vice president James O’Connor and Racing coach Christy Holly. The new training grounds, a $15 million privately financed project, happened thanks to continued investment during the COVID-19 pandemic from an ownership group led by chairman and CEO John Neace.

“The way they talk about not just the facility but how they feel about the team and how they feel about the environment and their culture, I’m not surprised they’re going this,” Andonovski said. “They’re all in.

“What I like the most is, they don’t talk about, ‘Oh, this is what we’re going to do with the men’s team and this is what we’re going to do with the women’s team.’ It’s all the same. It’s one team — one club — and it makes me excited that the women’s team is treated equal if not better in some instances.”

Before taking over the USWNT, Andonovski was part of the NWSL’s launch with the former FC Kansas City from 2013-2017, then coached Reign FC in 2018 and 2019.

“For someone who’s been in this league since day one, to see something like this is very fulfilling,” he said. “… For the players that are here playing for Louisville, and even for the players on teams coming and training here a day before a game or two days before a game, it’s a good example of what it should look like. It just makes me smile when I’m walking around this facility.”

Andonovski suggested that the level of facilities and support for players at Racing Louisville will eventually benefit the USWNT, which in the near term heads to the Summer Olympics later this year. Longer term, Racing has some likely prospects for his player pool, with the coach naming forwards Savannah McCaskill and Cece Kizer along with defender Emily Fox.

“Racing has an incredible group of players,” Andonovski said. “They’ve showed in the games so far. I’m very familiar with their qualities. You wouldn’t be surprised if I say Savannah has done an incredible job. Emily, who has been in some of the recent camps, she is doing very well. Cece Kizer, who I’m familiar with from Kansas City, has done a good job. So there’s definitely some young talent there that we’re excited to see.”

Later Friday, 22-year-old Louisville native Emina Ekic scored a curling game winner to defeat the Washington Spirit, and Kizer doubled the lead late in a 2-0 victory, the club’s first-ever win with one of American soccer’s most important figures watching.

Emina Ekic walked into Lynn Family Stadium on Friday night donning a shirt decorated with her hometown’s greatest athlete, Muhammad Ali. And then hours later, Ekic wrote herself into some Louisville sports lore of her own.

The rookie — born and raised here — curled in a game winner before assisting on Racing’s second goal in a historic, 2-0 victory over the Washington Spirit. The result marked the NWSL expansion side’s first win and came in front of 6,011 fans at Lynn Family Stadium.

“It was a big moment,” said coach Christy Holly. “It was a big release for the players. We talk about going into games with proactive confidence. Because we are so young, you can feel tentative about feeling good and believing what you can do. You sometimes wait for sometimes good to happen in order to appreciate what they can do.

“It definitely brought a belief to us. Hopefully that is something that we can grow on. That is something that we talked to girls about afterwards. We can get excited about the win but let’s be sure to make sure that we trust the process that we are on. We don’t get to skip a step just because we won. We need to get better. That is the bottom line.”

A University of Louisville graduate, Ekic was named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year last fall before declaring for the 2021 NWSL Draft. As timing would have it, Racing selected her No. 5 overall.

Ekic said there were pros and cons to that.

“Being here, there were probably some more distractions and more of, ’This is my city and I have something to prove’ — just carrying that weight sometimes can get you,” she said. “Obviously, I didn’t have to move. I didn’t have to adjust to a new environment. I have the support of the city, my family and friends. It is just awesome to play in front of them. Having them here in the stadium is incredible.

“This is where I wanted to be, and I am so glad I ended up here.”

Ekic, who started multiple games during the preseason Challenge Cup tournament, played the role of super sub on Friday, coming on for fellow forward Katie McClure in the 61st minute. It certainly didn’t take her long to make an impact.

In the 75th minute, Savannah McCaskill played Ekic in behind down the right side. Ekic, always quick off the dribble, cut back in toward the goal and placed a looping shot just wide of a defender. It hit the back of the net, and the celebration was on at Lynn Family Stadium.

“It was so loud but quiet at the same time,” Ekic said. “…I could not hear anything. I was just in the moment. It was awesome. Our fans were incredible.”

Racing doubled its lead in the 81st minute, again with some help from Ekic. Lodging a counter, Ekic delivered a ball to the feet of Cece Kizer, who slotted her shot to Washington keeper Aubrey Bledsoe’s left.

After Ekic’s heroics, Racing salted away the closing minutes, improving to 1-0-1 overall and for the time moved atop the NWSL table two games into its inaugural regular season.

Kizer made the goal her third in four home Racing games across all competitions, while goalkeeper and team captain Michelle Betos preserved her side’s third clean sheet, making 10 saves en route to Woman of the Match honors.

“I think we’ve been so close so many times,” Betos said. “It’s early on in the season, but to get a win against Washington and a win at home…there are no words. I was excited, but again, it’s moment to moment. It’s (about), how do we stay in this game and how do we keep them in this game, because we knew Washington was so dangerous.”

Ekic’s goal came against the run of play, as Washington added U.S. Women’s National Teamers such as defenders Kelley O’Hara and Emily Sonnett since the club’s last met in the Challenge Cup — then a 1-0 Spirit victory on a stoppage-time goal.

Washington out-shot host Racing 29-18 and held 61% of the game’s possession. With USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski on hand to scout — and who knows how bright her future might be — Ekic managed to turn the tables for her hometown club.

Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC vs. Washington Spirit

Venue: Lynn Family Stadium

Kickoff: 7:37 p.m.

Weather: 84 degrees, mostly sunny

Woman of the Match: Michelle Betos

Attendance: 6,011

Scoring

Racing Louisville FC (0, 2, 2)

Washington Spirit (0, 0, 0)

Goals

Racing Louisville FC:

76’, Emina Ekic

81’, Cece Kizer (assisted by Ekic)

Stats Summary: Racing Louisville FC / Washington Spirit

Shots: 7 / 29

Shots on Goal: 3 / 10

Fouls: 7 / 13

Offside: 5 / 2

Corner Kicks: 3 / 13

Saves: 10 / 1

Lineups

Racing Louisville FC: 1 – Michelle Betos, 11- Emily Fox, 18 – Kaleigh Riehl, 15 – Brooke Hendrix, 5 – Cece Kizer, 2 – Lauren Milliet (74’ 33 – Jorian Baucom), 8 – Freja Olofsson, 3 – Erin Simon(64’ 14 – Nealy Martin), 22 – Katie McClure (61’ 13 – Emina Ekic), 17 – Yuki Nagasato, 7 – Savannah McCaskill

Subs not used: 21 – Shelby Money, 23 – Katie Lund, 20 – Cheyna Matthews, 27 – Vanessa Kara, 12 – Sinclaire Miramontez

Washington Spirit: 1 – Aubrey Bledsoe, 9 – Tegan McGrady, 6 – Emily Sonnett, 3 – Sam Staab, 5 – Kelley O’Hara (64’ 23 – Tori Huster), 16 – Julia Roddar (64’ 19 – Dorian Bailey, 71’ 4 – Natalie Jacobs), 12 – Andi Sullivan, 10 – Ashley Sanchez, 7 – Saori Takarada (45’ 33 – Ashley Hatch), 2 – Trinity Rodman, 17 – Kumi Yokoyama (64’ 21 – Anna Heilferty)

Subs not used: 11 – Jordan Dibiasi, 18 – Devon Kerr, 20 – Mariana Speckmaier, 30 – Camryn Biegalski

Discipline Summary

Team Name:

Rodman (yellow) 46’

Bailey (yellow) 70’

Baucom (yellow) 90+1’

Martin (yellow) 90+2’

Referee: Katja Koroleva

Assistant Referees: Melissa Beck & Maggie Short

Fourth Official: Michael Samour