An Improved if Imperfect Performance Against the Courage Keeps Racing on Top in the Summer Cup
Despite dominating the Courage for most of 90 minutes, a late equalizer sent the game to penalty kicks that North Carolina won 5-4.
Racing Louisville played the North Carolina Courage to a 1-1 draw in their second match of the Summer Cup on Friday night. Per tournament rules, draws turn to an instant penalty kickoff which Racing lost 5-4.
Louisville controlled most of the match and played a dominant first half despite struggling to get on the board. Carson Pickett eventually gave Racing the lead in the 66th minute before Riley Jackson equalized for North Carolina in early stoppage time.
“I think a much-improved performance since we just played them a few games ago,” said head coach Bev Yanez referencing Louisville’s 3-1 loss to the Courage earlier this month. In reality, it’s an improved performance compared to any time Racing has played North Carolina. In 10 meetings across all competitions, Racing has never gotten a point off the Courage until Friday night. It’s a small breakthrough, but a needed one.
Yanez continued, “[We’re] not pleased with the result as a group. We wanted to walk away with the three points. For us, it’s just continuing to find ways that we can continue to grab momentum back when momentum shifts.”
The draw and penalty kick-off loss earned Racing a point in the Summer Cup. This ties them with the Courage at four points across the first two matches of the tournament. Racing’s win last week against Monterrey keeps them ahead of North Carolina in the Group E Summer Cup standings based on goal difference.
By the Numbers
Racing had 1.76 xG over to North Carolina’s 0.91 xG. In the first half, Racing limited North Carolina to only two shots with zero on target (0.14 xG) while taking 11 shots themselves with two on target (0.97 xG). In the second half, North Carolina was much more effective with 10 shots and four on target (0.76 xG) but Racing was no slouch with seven shots with two on target (0.79 xG).
Interestingly, every player but Katie Lund, Lauren Milliet, and substitutes Ellie Jean and Parker Goins got at least one shot off this match. That’s 12 different field players getting shots off this match. However, only Marisa DiGrande, Kayla Fischer, Reilyn Turner, and goal-scorer Carson Pickett got shots on target.
This is the first time Racing has even beaten North Carolina in total xG and xG across both halves. It’s also likely the first time Racing has ever out-shot the Courage. Racing’s issue is the fact they couldn’t put their shots away. Fourteen out of their 18 shots were inside the box but only four were on target, only two saves were made by Courage’s keeper, and only one goal was scored. Not putting their chances away is why they couldn't keep all three points.
Racing held the majority possession in the first half with 52%. They conceded it drastically to the Courage in the second half, however, to only hold 39% for a total of 45% overall.
Their passing accuracy was 83% compared to the Courage’s 85%.
Jaelin Howell won a game-high 10/13 duels and four out of four aerial duels. Her performance was much improved over the last match against the Courage.
Key Takeaways
This Was Good. Really.
In so many frustrating ways, this feels like classic Louisville. A good, hopeful performance followed by a late equalizer has been the story of the season.
Disappoint aside, this was a very solid performance. As discussed, it was the best result ever against North Carolina. While North Carolina was missing a few key players including Denise O’Sullivan to illness and goalkeeper Casey Murphy to the Olympics, this is essentially the same team that routed Racing 3-1 just a few weeks ago. Ashley Sanchez sliced up Racing’s midfield in the second half of the last match but she was rendered almost invisible on Friday. The Courage are the most possession-oriented team in the league and Racing didn’t let them out of their own half in the first five or so minutes. In fact, Racing was so dominant in the first half that after Courage captain Kayleigh Kurtz spoke on the broadcast at half-time and was wished good luck by the commentators, she responded, “Thank you, we need it,” with complete seriousness.
The stats show Racing lost some control in the second half. They conceded possession, but they weren’t ineffective. They got their goal well into the half. They still generated more xG. By the end of the match, major players like Arin Wright, Taylor Flint, and Savannah DeMelo had been subbed off and Racing still held their own.
Remember, North Carolina isn’t a slouch team. They’re one of the best in the league not to mention Racing’s personal boogeyman. This wasn’t just a good performance against the Courage, this was one of Racing’s better performances all season, even with the less-than-ideal scoreline.
“I think it was one of our closest to full 90-minute-plus performance, so it's tough to not walk away with three points,” said midfielder Marisa DiGrande. “At the same time, I'm proud of the effort and the performance that we put out there. Now it's just taking back that step and finishing the game so that it doesn't come down to something like that. And I think that's just the next step that we have to go in.”
Of course, as the stats show, failure to finish their chances kept Racing from walking away with three points. They pressed well, they passed well, they had good passing structures. Racing won possession in the final third 12 times to the Courage’s two times. They had enough xG for two goals. They had over a dozen shots, but they could only manage one fairly awkward goal that came off of a deflection. If just one or two additional shots had been on target, this would have potentially been an entirely different game.
“Obviously going in at halftime with the performance that we had, but the scoreline still being zeroes, I think we would have liked to put the game in a different scenario at that time at halftime,” said Coach Yanez. “To come out still in zeroes, but to have the performance that we had, there was fantastic opportunities. We created great opportunities. The group really excelled in what was asked of them tactically in this game and I'm very, very, very pleased with that and I don't want that to get shadowed over this result. They are growing immensely. You saw the relationships today. You saw the tight football that we're looking for. You saw wide opportunities. You saw zone entries. We continue to speak about runs in the box at halftime. Can they be just a little bit assertive so that the server on the ball knows exactly where they're looking to place it? But I don't want this all to be overshadowed by the fact that there was good football today.”
We Need to Talk about Fischer Again.
Last week Kayla Fischer was subbed in as the No. 9 and scored almost immediately. My friend who has season tickets behind me immediately commented, “Has our elusive No. 9 been wearing the No. 9 kit this whole time?”
This week, Kayla Fischer was again started as the No. 9 and ran roughshod over the Courage for the first 45 minutes of the match. She won possession in the final third, made interceptions, and made herself an incessant nuisance for the visiting Carolinians. Fischer didn’t score against North Carolina, but her immediate success does beg the question as to whether my friend was right.
Fischer’s biggest strength and weakness is her physicality. On the wing or deeper on the pitch in the midfield, this has been a liability. When she’s trying to strip the ball off an opponent, she’ll take them out, too, and as a result, is on track to get the most yellow cards in a single season in NWSL history. As the No. 9, her job is to receive the ball so she’s less likely to be getting in these same physical altercations. Sure, she’ll be intercepting balls or winning possession at times, as she did well against the Courage, but she’ll be more likely working to collect it from wingers and midfielders. This removes her more from conflict. Even better, it allows her to use her physicality for good! When she’s on the ball as an attacker, she’ll use her bravery to physically run at defenders and dare them to take her down or fight through them as she did so well on Friday. This puts the greater risk for cards on her opponent and not her.
With Racing struggling to find a workable No. 9, it seems like the best-case scenario right now is the rotate Turner and Fischer. Leave Bahr on either wing where she’s proven more effective. Thankfully, DeMelo seems back on the left with Emma Sears on the right wing. Ellie Jean came in for Wright and made a phenomenal stop late in the match that might have saved the game from being a loss. Borges rotated out for Flint this time instead of Howell which shows some fluidity there as well. Pickett is consistently getting very high which plays to her strengths and it’s not impacted the defense negatively.
All of these rotations and movements are good signs. The goal should obviously always be getting the best out of the players and with some of these pieces falling into place, it seems like that’s happening.
Looking Ahead
Racing has another very tough challenge ahead of them this Thursday when they travel to Orlando to take on the Pride. This will end the group stage of the Summer Cup.
Considering North Carolina only has Monterrey left, this game is essentially a must-win for Racing to advance in the Summer Cup. If it goes to penalties, they have to win them.
(Side note: I don’t want to spend any time talking about the penalties from Friday because they’re so random and Racing had most of the players you’d assume would be their go-to penalty-takers off the pitch. They didn’t win and that stinks but they got a draw against North Carolina and THAT is the main takeaway that I think we should focus on.)
Orlando is playing a day later so they will have one less day of rest, but they aren’t traveling so that’s essentially a wash on how they’ll be impacted. The Pride will, however, be missing seven major players to the Olympics including forward Barbra Banda, defender Emily Sams, and Brazilians Marta, Angelina, and Adriana. The number one team in the NWSL will still pose quite a threat, but Racing should have a decent chance at pulling points away from them and ending the group stage of the Summer Cup on a high note.