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Racing Louisville FC

Racing Louisville Sees Growth in Physical Draw with San Diego

April 13, 2024 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Racing Louisville FC News Release


San Diego Wave FC's Sofia Jakobsson and Racing Louisville FC's Reilyn Turner on the field
San Diego Wave FC's Sofia Jakobsson and Racing Louisville FC's Reilyn Turner on the field
(Racing Louisville FC)

Racing Louisville poured on the attacking pressure in the second half and nearly edged the reigning NWSL regular-season champion on Saturday night at Lynn Family Stadium, but the home-standing Louisvillians finished in a 0-0 deadlock with the San Diego Wave.

It's only the fourth time in NWSL history that a club has drawn four consecutive games, but Racing left the stadium fired up by its performance and hopeful it was a sign of a winning breakthrough to come.

"I think the positive part and the exciting part is you can see the growth," said Racing captain Jaelin Howell. "San Diego is a very good team. That's a team that made it very far in the playoffs (last year), and I thought we did very well, especially the second half. I thought we dominated the game in the second half. Honestly, I thought we had more chances. That's where I think it's just going to take one (goal), one of those games to win and let the goals fall and finish out a game. And then I think from there on, we're just going to be flying."

Racing Louisville (0-0-4, 4 points) moved into seventh place in the NWSL standings, just inside the playoff line in the 14-team league. Bev Yanez's team is one of three teams yet to suffer a defeat this year. It was the third time in five meetings between Racing and San Diego that the teams drew 0-0 in a slugfest of a game.

Yanez was particularly pleased with her team's second 45 minutes. Racing had what it thought was the go-ahead goal waved off in the 72nd minute when Taylor Flint's header was ruled no goal because of offside on the play. The video assistant referee (VAR) checked the interaction on the goal and agreed with the on-field ruling that Racing forward Kayla Fischer was offside on the play.

Still, Racing pushed for the winner, with Emma Sears fizzing the far post after a quick give-and-go with Lauren Milliet on the right edge of the box. Ary Borges, who returned to action after missing the first three matches because of an ankle sprain, had a well-won header saved on the goal line by a diving Kailen Sheridan, San Diego's standout goalkeeper.

"Obviously I'm incredibly proud of the group," Yanez said. "I thought we had a fantastic response coming out second half, and I'm incredibly proud. I know a lot of people will look at the score line and say, 'Another tie.' We're still undefeated in this league, and we're showing the progress of our group. And I'm incredibly proud of it."

San Diego (1-1-1) had the better chances in the opening half, with Swedish forward Sofia Jakobsson twice firing on goal from close range but Racing goalkeeper Katie Lund made two good early saves to keep Jakobsson at bay. Forward Alex Morgan's shot in the 15th minute from 19 yards out was right at Lund.

The second half saw ratcheted-up intensity, with a number of clashes across the midfield between two of the more physical teams in the NWSL.

Flint won 12 duels, all six of her aerial duels and a team-leading six interceptions. That commanding performance earned her player of the match honors.

"This second half in particular has been the best for us," Flint said. "The first couple games, we kept kind of sitting right on our box a little bit and letting them have it, and I thought we had a will to win and it showed in the second half. I'm really proud of them for that."

Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC vs. San Diego Wave

Date: April 13, 2024

Venue: Lynn Family Stadium, Louisville, Ky.

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET

Weather: 68 degress, sunny

Attendance: 6,818

Player of the Match: Taylor Flint

Scoring

Racing Louisville (0, 0, 0)

San Diego Wave (0, 0, 0)

Lineups

Racing Louisville FC (4-2-3-1): 1 - Katie Lund; 2 - Lauren Milliet, 3 - Arin Wright, 20 - Abby Erceg, 16 - Carson Pickett; 6 - Jaelin Howell (c), 26 - Taylor Flint; 29 - Uchenna Kanu (62' 9 - Kayla Fischer), 7 - Savannah DeMelo, 23 - Elexa Bahr (79' 8 - Ary Borges); 66 - Reilyn Turner (46' 13 - Emma Sears)

Subs not used: 24 - Jordyn Bloomer; 5 - Ellie Jean, 14 - Marisa DiGrande, 17 - Maddie Pokorny, 19 - Jordan Baggett, 21 - Parker Goins

Head Coach: Bev Yanez

San Diego (4-3-3): 1 - Kailen Sheridan; 20 - Christen Westphal (59' 6 - Hanna Lundkvist), 2 - Abby Dahlkemper, 12 - Kennedy Wesley, 14 - Kristen McNabb; 5 - Emily Van Egmond, 21 - Savannah McCaskill, 24 - Danny Colaprico (76' 17 - Kimmi Ascanio); 11 - Jaedyn Shaw (59' 19 - Kyra Carusa), 13 - Alex Morgan (c) (66' 15 - Makenzy Doniak), 10 - Sofia Jakobsson (76' 23 - Elyse Bennett)

Subs not used: 22 - Hillary Beall; 8 - Sierra Enge, 16 - Kaitlyn Torpey, 18 - Mya Jones

Head Coach: Casey Stoney

Stats Summary: Racing Louisville / San Diego Wave

Shots: 12 / 14

Shots on Goal: 4 / 2

Expected goals: 1.19 / 0.9

Possession: 43.6% / 56.4%

Fouls: 16 / 11

Offside: 2 / 0

Corner Kicks: 1 / 3

Discipline Summary

Racing Louisville

35' Lauren Milliet (yellow)

80' Jaelin Howell (yellow)

San Diego Wave

84' Hanna Lundkvist (yellow)

Match referee: Rebecca Pagan

Assistant referees: Zach McWhorter, Chris Schurfranz

Fourth official: Noah Matos

Video Assistant Referee: Laura Rodriguez

Assistant VAR: Tom Felice

Check out the Racing Louisville FC Statistics




Images from this story

San Diego Wave FC's Sofia Jakobsson and Racing Louisville FC's Reilyn Turner on the field
San Diego Wave FC's Sofia Jakobsson and Racing Louisville FC's Reilyn Turner on the field
   

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