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NWSL Racing Louisville FC

Racing Louisville, North Carolina Courage Set for Challenge Cup Final

September 8, 2023 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Racing Louisville FC News Release


Racing Louisville FC celebrates
Racing Louisville FC celebrates
(Racing Louisville FC, Credit: David Mucker)

Racing Louisville FC has a chance to win the club's first NWSL trophy when it plays the North Carolina Courage in the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup final at 12:30 p.m. ET Saturday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.

The final will be nationally broadcast on CBS.

The appearance in the Challenge Cup final will cap a historic seven days for Racing, which is in its third year in the National Women's Soccer League. Louisville topped the first-place Portland Thorns this past Saturday in NWSL regular-season play to set a new club-best point total (24) with four matches left in the season. Then, coach Kim Björkegren's squad followed that with its first NWSL knockout stage appearance and win in the Challenge Cup semifinal on Wednesday in Seattle.

The wins over Portland and OL Reign were the first for Racing against either team, and the Louisvillians will be aiming to beat North Carolina for the first time in club history on Saturday. The Courage swept the home-and-home regular-season series this season and is 8-0 all-time against Racing across all competitions.

The Challenge Cup, an NWSL tournament separate from the regular season, featured all 12 of the league's teams and a $1 million pot to be shared among participants. The finalists and winner of the tournament stand to earn the largest shares of the pot.

North Carolina is the reigning Challenge Cup champion after claiming the 2022 trophy last spring.

Racing won The Women's Cup exhibition tournament in 2021, but the Challenge Cup final represents the first NWSL-sponsored hardware the Louisville club has played for. Racing used seven different lineups over its seven Challenge Cup games before the final, with eight different goal scorers.

To get to the final, Racing registered a gritty 1-0 win over OL Reign, with Kirsten Davis's 28th-minute goal standing as the game-winner. Goalkeeper Katie Lund made two saves to preserve her fourth shutout in seven Challenge Cup games this year.

North Carolina edged Kansas City, 1-0, in the other semifinal, getting a stoppage-time winner from Brianna Pinto. Goalkeeper Casey Murphy tallied three saves in notching the clean sheet.

Follow along ...

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

- The game will be nationally broadcast on CBS (WLKY-32 locally in Louisville) and streamed on Paramount+. International viewers can watch the game for free at NWSLSoccer.com.

Story lines ...

Racing-heavy All-Tournament Team: Four different Louisville players earned Challenge Cup All-Tournament Team honors after standout group-stage performances. Goalkeeper Katie Lund, defender Abby Erceg and midfielders Savannah DeMelo and Jaelin Howell each made the 11-player squad. The quartet played a key role in helping Racing tie a Challenge Cup record in winning four consecutive matches to start the competition and secure its spot in the knockout stage.

KD's GWG: In her second year with Racing, 24-year-old forward Kirsten Davis is having a breakout season, with four goals and two assists across all competitions, both career-highs. Her 28th-minute game-winning goal on Wednesday helped secure Racing's spot in the Challenge Cup final. It was her second goal in four matches, and the first scored by an OL Reign opponent in seven Challenge Cup games this year.

In safe hands: Racing Louisville goalkeeper Katie Lund registered her tournament-best fourth shutout in Challenge Cup play this year, making two saves in the semifinal against OL Reign. In her second year as the No. 1 for Racing, Lund is once again putting up eye-catching numbers, with 10 clean sheets across all competitions. The 26-year-old Texan has played every minute of Racing's 25 games this year between the Challenge Cup and regular season.

Foiling foes: Before Saturday's win over Portland and Wednesday's win over OL Reign, Racing hadn't beaten either team. Louisville was 0-5 all-time against Portland and 0-1-5 all-time against OL Reign in NWSL-sponsored competitions. Racing also lost the 2022 final of The Women's Cup to OL Reign to add to the club's struggles against the team from Seattle. Saturday's Challenge Cup final presents a new hurdle: North Carolina is 8-0 all-time against Racing, including a pair of regular-season wins this year.

The previous two meetings: North Carolina topped Racing, 2-1, on May 27 at Lynn Family Stadium, the only game Racing has lost at home this year in 11 outings. Kerolin and Rikke Madsen scored for the visitors, while Racing's Jordan Baggett pulled a goal back late for the home team. A month later, the Courage edged Racing, 1-0, in the tightly-contested return game, with Tyler Lussi's 73rd-minute goal standing as the game-winner.

Familiar faces: Saturday's Challenge Cup final will feature a number of players facing their former teams. Racing defenders Abby Erceg, Lauren Milliet and Carson Pickett and forward Jess McDonald all played for North Carolina in years past, with Erceg and McDonald winning two NWSL championships there, Milliet winning one and Erceg and Pickett claiming last year's Challenge Cup. North Carolina defender Emily Fox was the No. 1 overall pick by Racing in the 2021 NWSL Draft and spent her first two years as a pro in Louisville.

Global Racing: Racing Louisville is the first club in NWSL history to feature players from six different continents on its roster, and four different confederations were represented by goal involvements in last Saturday's 2-1 regular-season win over Portland. The signings of Nigeria's Uchenna Kanu and South Africa's Thembi Kgatlana as well as Brazilian midfielder Ary Borges pushed Racing's roster from four continents on the roster to six this past offseason.

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Images from this story

Racing Louisville FC celebrates
Racing Louisville FC celebrates
(David Mucker)		   



National Women's Soccer League Stories from September 8, 2023


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