What to Watch for as Racing Hosts Chicago in Potential Playoff Clincher
NWSL Racing Louisville FC

What to Watch for as Racing Hosts Chicago in Potential Playoff Clincher

Published on October 9, 2025 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Racing Louisville FC News Release


Racing Louisville FC defender Courtney Petersen
Racing Louisville FC defender Courtney Petersen
(Racing Louisville FC, Credit: NWSL)

Racing Louisville FC has a chance to make history on multiple fronts Friday when Chicago Stars FC pays a visit to Lynn Family Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

With a win, Louisville (9-9-5, 32 points) would push its winning run to three games - a first for the club in regular-season play.

More notably, it could also secure its first playoff spot Friday, needing all three points, a North Carolina Courage loss to the Washington Spirit and either an Angel City FC win or draw against the Houston Dash over the weekend.

Racing has just three regular-season games remaining, two of which are on home soil.

The team is fresh off a monumental victory over the North Carolina Courage, as it picked up its first-ever win in Cary, North Carolina, by way of a 3-1 scoreline to move up to seventh place.

Star winger Emma Sears led Louisville's winning effort, converting two of the goals to become just the fourth player in the NWSL this season to reach the double-digit goal mark.

Recent history versus the Stars suggests Racing very well could keep these good vibes rolling. The club has won its last three games against Chicago, including an earlier game this year on March 30, in which Sears netted the decider. To add more context, Louisville holds a 3-1-3 record across all competitions in this series on its home field.

Chicago (2-11-10, 16 points) sits at the bottom of the table and out of playoff contention - a far cry for a club that's reached the postseason eight times, second-most in league history.

The Stars, guided by interim head coach Anders Jacobson through the rest of the campaign, have astoundingly drawn seven out of their last 10 games. That includes last week, where Chicago erased a two-goal deficit at home to draw Utah Royals FC, 2-2.

Only four sides in league history have tallied 10 or more draws in a season. This year's Stars team is one of them. If it amasses two more from its remaining three games, it will set a single-season NWSL record.

Follow along...

The match will be streamed on the free NWSL+ app or via plus.nwslsoccer.com. Fans can also listen to the match on Sports Talk 790AM or 790louisville.com.

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.

Story lines...

Star power staying put: Good news keeps on rolling in. Amid a stellar sophomore campaign, budding U.S. Women's National Team star Emma Sears locked in a new deal to stay in Louisville earlier this week. The contract will keep her at the club through the 2028 season. Sears, who netted two of Racing's three tallies in last week's win, has 10 goals in 23 starts. That's double the output the 24-year-old managed during her standout rookie campaign. She leads the club in multiple offensive categories: shots, shots on target and dribbles completed.

Buckeyes, stand up: It was a good day to be a Buckeye last Saturday. On the same day that its football team eased past Minnesota, two of its former women's soccer talents, Kayla Fischer and Emma Sears, starred in a big Racing triumph at North Carolina. Fischer and Sears played a part in all three of the club's goals. Fischer, in her return to the lineup, recorded a goal and an assist, setting up Sears to open the scoring in the 48th minute. It's the second time this season Fischer has created a goal and finished one off herself.

First in some time: Last Saturday's win also saw forward Bethany Balcer contribute an assist, marking her first goal involvement this season. Balcer, a veteran who was traded to Racing last August, cleverly redirected a Janine Sonis ball back into the mixer and into the path of Sears to put an exclamation point on the night. The 28-year-old could be looked upon again for a spark Friday, as she has four career regular-season goals against Chicago.

Join the club, Court: For the second straight week, a Louisville player hit the 100 regular-season appearance milestone: Taylor Flint against Angel City, followed by Courtney Petersen last week against the Courage. Petersen joined Racing via a trade last August and has since played in 30 regular season contests in multiple defensive positions. She leads the team in completed passes (620), all while recording three assists in just under 2,000 minutes.

Wrong side of history: It's been quite a struggle in many ways for Chicago in 2025. None is more glaring than what's happened defensively. The Stars have conceded 46 goals, nine more than any other side. That's 1.67 goals allowed per 90 minutes. The most it leaked in a single season was 50 back in 2023, when there were only 22 league games played. Chicago has earned just one clean sheet this year - a 0-0 draw at Gotham FC back on May 4.

Brazilian magician: A major positive for the Stars this season has been the play of Brazilian Ludmila, who joined Chicago from Atlético Madrid last July, through 2026. The 30-year-old Olympic silver medalist has 10 goals across 21 games played to lead the team. No other player on her side has more than two. While she hasn't found the net in her last four matches, Ludmila collected six throughout a four-game stretch from Aug. 18 to Sept. 7. In one of those matches, the forward recorded an NWSL's fastest-ever hat trick, taking all but 10 minutes to tally three goals in a 3-3 draw against the Courage.

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Racing Louisville FC defender Courtney Petersen
Racing Louisville FC defender Courtney Petersen
(NWSL)		   



National Women's Soccer League Stories from October 9, 2025


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