Racing Louisville Edges Out the Chicago Red Stars to Earn Second Win of the Season
Racing heads into the international break in a playoff spot thanks to a goal from rookie Emma Sears.
Holding On
Racing Louisville notched their second win of the season on Saturday when they defeated the Chicago Red Stars 0-1 off a goal by rookie forward Emma Sears. As a result of this win, Racing have pulled themselves up into eighth-place and into a National Women’s Soccer League playoff berth.
Head coach Bev Yanez called the team’s performance “very good” and said she was happy with how the team closed out the match to earn a win away from home.
“I think we've shown a lot in our growth and we competed until the final whistle blew,” Yanez said post-match. “I'm just very proud of the group to walk away with three points.”
For goalkeeper Katie Lund, who registered her third shutout of the season and made five saves, this victory was a critical one for Louisville. “We really needed these three points, but it’s also that we believe that we could have these three points. We just needed to put together a full 90-minute performance, and going into the break, it gives us a good feeling. But this is only the beginning and, hopefully, we can keep this run going.”
By the Numbers
Racing notched a season-high 21 shots although only four were on target earning a total 1.65 xG. Comparatively, the Red Stars had 13 shots with five on target for 1.03 xG. Most of Racing’s production came early with 13 of their shots and two on target — including Sears goal in the 26th minute — coming within the first half. Chicago, on the other hand, surged late with 10 of their shots and all of their shots on target coming in the second half.
Overall, Racing held the majority of possession throughout the match with 55.4%. However, most of that came in the first half where they held 62.9%. In the second half, Chicago edged them out with 51.9% — not completely surprisingly as Louisville was ultimately sitting back more and defending their lead while Chicago was fighting to hold the ball and equalize.
Racing averaged 80% passing accuracy to the Red Stars 73%.
Taylor Flint led Louisville in touches (74) and passes (52). She also led both teams in duels won (13) and aerial duels won (7). Savannah DeMelo led both teams in dribbles (6) and had the second most duels won of any player on any team (8) after Flint.
Key Takeaways
Breaking the Cycle
In many ways, this was a very typical Racing Louisville match for 2024. They came out extremely dominant in the first half and then faded as the second half went on until their opponent successfully played themselves into the match.
The difference here, of course, is that Racing was able to hold onto the win. The importance of that can’t be overstated in terms of what it means for the mentality of the team going forward. The team’s six draws up to this point have shown that they are a hard to beat, but the lack of wins drain confidence — especially when three of them have been dropped leads. This many ties also made the playoffs virtually unachievable. So in some ways, the fact that they were able to go through their old rhythms and face late pressure and overcome it is almost better than just flat out crushing their opponent, as they did in their 5-1 win over the Utah Royals. It broke the cycle and showed that they could win without staying unquestionably dominant through all 90-plus minutes.
Yanez in particular praised her players’ ability to manage the end of the match successfully despite the fact they were under pressure. They didn’t just sit back on top of their defense and get stymied, as they did earlier in the season against the Orlando Pride and Portland Thorns. Instead, they started moving the ball to the corner, they continued to compete for first and second balls, and Lund, of course, made some incredible saves. In short, they finally did it the right way and, as a result, earned a win as their reward.
“I definitely believe closing out this game gave us a good boost in several areas,” Yanez said. “So I’m just very proud of the group.”
A Searing Start
Last week against Kansas City, Emma Sears scored a goal from such a tight angle that many said that it was just a cross that was lucky to find the back of the net. This week, Sears scored yet another from a far away at a tight angle and even juggled the ball a bit to settle it for good measure before blasting it into the side netting.
“After last week, there were a lot of questions about the goal that I scored, so I definitely didn't want to leave any doubt today,” said the rookie forward with a sly grin. “I saw a window of opportunity and I took it and the ball fell in my favor, so yeah I was super pumped about that.”
If Sears was pumped, so were her coach and teammates. Yanez called it “a hell of a goal” while Lund labeled it “pretty sick.”
To emphasize just how unlikely and difficult Sears’ must recent two goals are, Opta reports that her goal against Kansas City last week and her goal against Chicago have an xG value of 0.05 combined. For those who don’t know, xG or expected goals represents the likelihood that a shot or action will lead to a goal. The higher the xG value, the higher the likelihood of a goal being scored. A penalty kick, for example, tends to sit around 0.78 or a 78% chance. For Sears to have an xG value of 0.05 or 5% likelihood of a goal being scored for her last two goals combined only goes to show just how difficult these shots were and how talented she is at shooting from virtually impossible angles from far out of frame. Racing is incredibly lucky to have her and they’re even luckier to have just locked her down for three years in a new contract just this week, as well.
Looking Ahead
Racing is off next week for the international break, but will return to Louisville on June 7 to host the Houston Dash.
So far this season, the Dash have not been particularly convincing. They have a 3-5-3 record heading into the break and currently sit in 10th place with a negative seven goal difference. Earlier this season, Racing played them to a scoreless draw in Houston that was kept scoreless in large part thanks to a top-notch performance in goal by Dash keeper Jane Campbell.
Strangely, Houston has proven to be a bit more dangerous on the road this year as two of their wins have been away from home. They’ve also made some personnel changes and had some key players like Sophie Schmidt return from injury which has made them look more dangerous. In her first match with the Dash last week, their new Brazilian defender Tarciane looked particularly effective and helped Houston rout the North Carolina Courage 3-0.
If Racing is going to win, they’ll have to be clinical in their finishing to beat Campbell. They’ll also need to take momentum early and hold onto it to keep the Dash from running away with the game like they did against the Courage. It’ll be a tough match as every game in the NWSL is, but the momentum of this win against Chicago has every chance to help carry Louisville into another much-needed victory at home. And with over a third of the season past, Racing needs to start getting three points if they’re going to keep their playoff dreams alive.
Alexa Bahr had the fewest touches at 39. Not unusual for a lone striker but she often seems alone on an island. Perhaps she is creating space. She's not a hold up striker so I wish she would be more of a false 9 and come back to facilitate overlaps for Sears and Fischer.
New to Substack. Glad to be here