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Racing Louisville FC

Racing Louisville Rekindles Regional Rivalry at Chicago

May 24, 2024 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Racing Louisville FC News Release


Racing Louisville is set to rekindle its regional rivalry with Chicago at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, taking on the fifth-place Red Stars at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois.

The game is the fourth and final road trip of a grueling five-week stretch that has seen Racing play four of the top five teams in the NWSL standings in addition to NY/NJ Gotham FC, the reigning league champions.

The match will be broadcast over the air on ION and streamed for free on ionnwsl.com. News Talk 1080 AM or online at talkradio1080.iheart.com, and the iHeart Radio app will carry the radio broadcast.

Racing Louisville (1-2-6, 9 points) sits in 10th place through nine games. After Saturday's matchup with Chicago, the Louisvillians will have played eight of their first 10 matches against teams currently holding playoff positions, including six against the top five squads in the NWSL. Only one other NWSL team - Seattle Reign - has played more teams in playoff position than Louisville to this point in the season.

Coach Bev Yanez's team returned to Louisville this past weekend on a high after Savannah DeMelo scored a dramatic late equalizer in an entertaining 3-3 draw at then-first-place Kansas City. Her goal in the 13th minute of second-half stoppage time was the second latest in NWSL history, and it gave Racing its fifth goal in the final 15 minutes of a game, a mark that ranks third in the league.

The Current had won its first four matches at the new CPKC Stadium, scoring 15 goals in the process. Defender Abby Erceg and standout rookie Emma Sears, who just signed a new three-year contract with Racing, scored the other two goals for Racing.

"It was an incredibly relentless effort," Yanez said. "The group, as I said in the postgame speech, did that and accomplished that together."

Now Racing turns its attention to Chicago, where Louisville is 1-2-0 in regular-season matchups and 2-2-1 across all competitions. Racing has the ninth-best road record in the league so far, with four points - all from draws - in five games.

The Red Stars, led by new coach Lorne Donaldson, are off to a strong start this year, thanks to a 3-1-1 road record. At SeatGeek, Chicago is 2-3-0, with seven goals and nine allowed.

Last time out, Chicago lost a nail-biter at Gotham, with former Chicago player Ella Stevens scoring in the 90th minute to claim a 2-1 win in New Jersey. The loss snapped a two-game win streak for Donaldson's team, which topped expansion sides Utah (3-1) and Bay (2-1).

Saturday's game will feature three of the league's top scorers, with Racing's DeMelo and Uchenna Kanu and Chicago's Ally Schlegel each with four goals this season.

Follow along ...

For the starting lineup 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 broadcast on ION - viewers can search for the channel number in their area by typing in their ZIP Code here - or streamed free at ionnwsl.com. You can listen to the match on News Talk 1080 AM or online at talkradio1080.iheart.com.

Racing Louisville's Pub Partners - participating bars, breweries and restaurants - will feature the club's away games on TVs (with sound!) throughout the season. For more information on where to watch, visit our Pub Partners page.

Storylines ...

DeMelo's dramatic moment: The 26-year-old DeMelo wrote a new chapter in her journey with Racing Louisville, scoring the second-latest goal in NWSL history with her equalizer in the 13th minute of stoppage time at Kansas City. The California native collected a lofted pass from Abby Erceg, split two defenders on the dribble before entering the penalty area, shifting to her right and curling in a low finish to the back post. She's tied for sixth in the league in goals despite missing two matches through injury. The club's all-time leading scorer now has 13 goals in lavender and is one away from her season-best in the third year of her professional career. DeMelo is the NWSL's leader in free-kick goals among current players and tied for third all-time.

Air Kiwi cleared for takeoff: Vice-captain Abby Erceg scored her 11th career goal and third for Racing Louisville in Saturday's draw at Kansas City - with all of those goals scored off set pieces. The veteran defender bumped in Carson Pickett's corner in the 68th minute to tie KC at 2-2. One of the league's most dominant players in the air through the course of her career, Erceg is second in the NWSL this year in aerial duel win percentage (85.7%). She also recorded an assist - the sixth of her career - on Savannah DeMelo's late equalizer at KC.

Searsiously proving herself: Rookie forward Emma Sears continued her sensational start to her professional career with a goal at Kansas City this past weekend, hitting a driven ball to the back post that soared past KC goalkeeper AD Franch and into the side netting. Sears has two goals in three starts and 455 minutes played. She is currently second in the NWSL in successful dribbles per 90 minutes, fourth in carries into the penalty area and fifth in progressive carries. The Ohio native ranks fourth in shot-creating actions per 90, fifth in goal-creating actions per 90 and sixth in shots on target per 90. She is the only player in the NWSL to rank in the top six of each of those categories.

Pick(ett) a pass: One of the NWSL's best passers over the past few seasons, Carson Pickett is once again showing off her range, leading the league in both key passes and chances created while ranking second in passes into the penalty area. The left back picked up her second regular-season assist since joining Racing on Abby Erceg's headed goal off a corner in the 68th minute at Kansas City. Pickett's came a month earlier on Reilyn Turner's goal against Utah on April 20. Pickett has three assists in 35 appearances across all competitions since joining Racing in 2023.

Swiftly ingraining herself: The addition of Taylor Flint has been a game-changer for Racing. The central midfielder was named to the NWSL Best XI for March and April after a dominant seven-match run to start her Racing career. Through a third of the season, Flint ranks first in the NWSL in interceptions; second in blocks and tackles won; third in aerial duels won; and sixth in possession recoveries among non-goalkeepers. The 25-year-old has created eight scoring chances and played every minute for Racing.

Rei of sunshine: Much like her fellow rookie in Sears, California native Reilyn Turner has made an immediate impact as a first-year player. The UCLA grad has two goals and two assists in her nine appearances and set a Racing club record with eight shots on target in the 0-0 draw vs. Houston on March 23. Her 71.4% shots on target rate ranks sixth in the NWSL, and she ranks third in shots on target per 90 minutes, 11th in goals plus assists and 12th in goal-creating actions.

Kanu believe this? Racing Louisville forward Uchenna Kanu is off to a hot start this season, with four goals in nine matches to rank sixth in the NWSL golden boot race. The Nigerian international added to her scoring haul with a towering back-post header to open Racing's account in the 5-1 win over Utah on April 20, slotting home her second headed goal of the season. She scored twice in the 2-2 draw at Portland and netted the second goal in a 2-2 draw vs. Orlando in the season opener on March 16.

Bahr none: How about that for an NWSL debut? For the first time in eight years, a player registered an assist and a goal in their NWSL debut, with Racing's Elexa Bahr matching Houston's Rachel Daly in 2016 with the feat. Bahr scored a magnificent opening goal in the season-opening draw vs. Orlando on March 16, chipping the goalkeeper from the edge of the box. She added an assist a few minutes later on Uchenna Kanu's well-taken goal in transition. Bahr, who grew up in Georgia and starred collegiately at South Carolina, joined Racing this winter after helping Colombia reach the FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinals for the first time in the nation's history.

Global Racing: Racing Louisville became the first club in NWSL history to feature players from six different continental confederations on its roster in 2023, and that hasn't changed despite roster turnover this offseason. Louisville's 26-player roster consists of two players from Oceania Football Confederation; one from Asian Football Confederation; two from Confederation of African Football; one player from Union of European Football Associations; two from CONMEBOL (South America); and the remaining 18 from the U.S. (Note: Forward Elexa Bahr was born and raised in the U.S. but competes for the Colombian national team.)

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