What to Watch for as Racing Welcomes the Orlando Pride

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NWSL Racing Louisville FC

What to Watch for as Racing Welcomes the Orlando Pride

June 19, 2025 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Racing Louisville FC News Release


With one match remaining before an extended break, Racing Louisville might be channeling The Beatles to "come together, right now" as the club closes out the first half of its 2025 NWSL season against another top level opponent: the Orlando Pride.

Back in front of its home fans, Racing will take on the reigning league champions at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Lynn Family Stadium.

Last time out, Racing (5-5-2, 17 points) dropped a 4-2 decision to the Kansas City Current at CPKC Stadium, snapping unbeaten run of four matches on the road. Despite conceding three goals in the opening 19 minutes, Louisville pieced together a final period to be proud of. Racing managed to narrow the deficit to one goal while outperforming the league leaders in several categories during the second half, including shots on target and entries into the final third.

Janine Sonis, one of the club's two goal scorers for the night, left Saturday feeling confident: "We know we can compete with and beat any team in this league. We've shown that to ourselves, and to everyone else."

Louisville intends to use its encouraging second half performance in last week's defeat at Kansas City to down an Orlando team that is unbeaten in its previous three away contests.

The Pride (8-3-1, 25 points) head into this visit to Kentucky on a three-game winning streak, thanks to their latest victory - a gritty 1-0 win on the road against Bay FC.

Similar to last year, Orlando's defense has been its calling card. Since a 1-0 defeat to the KC Current on May 16, the Pride have allowed just one goal across 270 minutes. Orlando's eight conceded are the fewest in the NWSL - just 0.67 goals allowed per 90 minutes, somehow better than the club's 2024 mark of 0.73.

Fueled largely by that disciplined defensive unit, Seb Hines, the 2024 NWSL Coach of the Year, has the Pride sitting in second position through 12 games - five points behind the Current and two ahead of San Diego Wave FC.

The game is the final regular season contest for both clubs before a month-long international break, as the NWSL makes way for major international tournaments in July. Racing won't play another regular season game until August 1.

It's Ali Night at Lynn Family Stadium, a tribute to "The Greatest," Muhammad Ali, while also recognizing the Juneteenth holiday. For tickets and more information, visit RacingLoufc.com/Ali.

Follow along...

The game 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...

Crushing it, eh?: It was only a matter of time before Canadian Janine Sonis registered her first goal of 2025. Sonis turned a cross home to open the scoring for Racing midway through the final 45 minutes of Saturday's loss, and she didn't stop there. The 30-year-old tallied her team-leading third assist of the campaign just 26 minutes later. The winger also created three chances at KC, bringing her team-high season total to 20. It's her third NWSL season with at least 20 chances created.

Momentum shifters: A key factor allowing Louisville to get back into the game at KC was the impact of its second period reinforcements. Ella Hase, Ary Borges and Uchenna Kanu all come on and shifted the tide in favor of the visitors in the second half, with Kanu converting a header for her first goal of 2025. Head coach Bev Yanez highlighted their impact: "I just think their sheer energy that they brought to the match ... really, really supported the team."

Ironwoman influence: In her 91st consecutive game in Louisville's starting lineup, Lauren Milliet moved within two assists of tying Savannah DeMelo for the club record. The Racing original set up Sonis in the 62nd minute to cut the Current's advantage to two at the time. Milliet manufactured two chances - the second most on the team - and led the visitors in interceptions with three.

Neck and neck: Since Racing came into the NWSL in 2021, it has been a dead heat between these two teams. Each has an identical 3-3-4 record across 10 contests against one another, including games in the NWSL Challenge Cup. In 2024, Orlando came from two goals down at Lynn Family Stadium to salvage a draw, before edging Louisville by a goal in Florida weeks later. Racing's last home win over the Pride occurred in October 2023 - a 3-2 triumph in the highest scoring affair of the series.

Road menace: There have been no signs of slowing down for Orlando's Zambian star, Barbra Banda, in her second NWSL campaign. Banda, 25, has eight goals this season. That puts her squarely in the Golden Boot race, just one behind Gotham FC's Esther González. Half of Banda's finishes have come away from home, including four goals in her last two road games. That includes a hat trick at Utah Royals FC on May 23.

Hey, we know you: Saturday will also see Racing link back up with Carson Pickett, a defender who made 36 appearances for Louisville in a little over a year and a half. Pickett was dealt back to her home state of Florida last August by Racing in exchange for $75,000 in allocation funds. The 31-year-old has collected two assists in nine outings this season. One of the assists came last weekend, as she set up the game winning goal with a quickly taken free kick.

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National Women's Soccer League Stories from June 19, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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