What to Watch for as Racing Louisville Visits the Washington Spirit
NWSL Racing Louisville FC

What to Watch for as Racing Louisville Visits the Washington Spirit

Published on November 7, 2025 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Racing Louisville FC News Release


Racing Louisville FC celebration
Racing Louisville FC celebration
(Racing Louisville FC, Credit: Connor Cunningham)

Welcome to the postseason, Racing Louisville FC.

In its fifth season of trying, Racing has earned its way to the NWSL Playoffs, presented by Google Pixel, for the first time in club history, thanks to a 1-0 win over Bay FC in the regular season's final week.

It is an accomplishment worth celebrating - "They enjoyed the hell out of that moment," head coach Bev Yanez said of her players - but Racing is not satisfied with just getting an invitation to the postseason party; they hope to stay awhile.

"We're taking this as a three-game series with full intentions of going all the way," Racing co-captain Janine Sonis said.

The first of that three-game series comes Saturday at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., where the No. 2 seed Washington Spirit will host the No. 7 seed Louisville in an NWSL Playoff quarterfinal. Kickoff will take place at noon ET.

In August, Racing nearly pulled off a victory there. It took a Rosemonde Kouassi equalizer, ten minutes into second-half stoppage time, for the Spirit to deny Louisville what would have been a landmark victory in a 2-2 draw.

"We left that game with quite a bitter taste in our mouth, knowing that we had done plenty to win the game," Sonis said.

That performance gives Racing confidence heading into a hostile "Rowdy Audi" environment - Washington averaged over 15,000 fans per game this season - but so does the team's recent form. Racing finished the regular season unbeaten over its final five games - the longest run without a loss this season, and second-longest in club history.

"Our glass is always half full. Our glass is never half empty," Yanez said. "And I think that perspective, and always seeing opportunity in everything that we're doing, I think's really important."

With Racing on the road for Saturday's historic occasion, the club is hosting a watch party at Ten20 Brewery in Butchertown. The event will feature food and drink specials and a halftime raffle. For more information, visit RacingLouFC.com/playoffs.

Follow along...

The game will air nationally on CBS, with local radio coverage on SportsTalk 790 AM.

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...

Coach of the month: Racing Louisville FC head coach Bev Yanez was named the NWSL Coach of the Month this week, after she led the club to an unbeaten 2-0-2 record over the final month of the campaign. She's the first Racing Louisville coach to bring home a league honor.

Best XI: Emma Sears and Janine Sonis earned places on the NWSL Best XI for the final month of the season. Sears scored two goals and registered one assist, while Sonis totaled one goal and one assist.

Shots, everybody: Racing Louisville led the NWSL in total shots this season with 379. Washington led the NWSL in shots on target with 126.

An ace up their sleeve: If the game should go all the way to a penalty kick shootout, Racing Louisville's goalkeeper will be confident. First-year starter Jordyn Bloomer has saved three of the four penalty kicks she faced in the NWSL regular season. In August, she became the first player in league history to save two penalty kicks in the same game. She also made two saves in The Women's Cup Final in July.

Washington killer: As a player, Bev Yanez scored the only playoff goal of her career against Washington. It was the winner in the 2015 semifinal. She scored in the 71st minute, barely a minute after coming into the game as a substitute.

Will Rodman play?: Washington Spirit superstar Trinity Rodman has not played since Oct. 15, when she suffered a reported Grade 1 MCL sprain in her right knee during a 4-0 victory over Monterrey in the Concacaf W Champions Cup. The 23-year-old has had an injury-plagued season, including a lengthy back injury. She has scored five goals in 15 games this season.

Check out the Racing Louisville FC Statistics

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Images from this story

Racing Louisville FC celebration
Racing Louisville FC celebration
(Connor Cunningham)		   



National Women's Soccer League Stories from November 7, 2025


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