Racing Louisville Shutout the Houston Dash, Earn Second Consecutive Win
With two straight wins and two straight shutouts, is Racing Louisville on the rise?
“Play like Racing”
“You could just feel it — that's not how we want to play. That's not what we want to do,” said midfielder Savannah DeMelo about Racing’s Louisville’s sluggish first half against the Houston Dash on Friday night. “And I think in the second half, we all stuck together and knew that if we played like Racing, we were going to get goals, and that's what we did.”
DeMelo played a key role in Louisville’s 2-0 victory over their Houston rivals at Lynn Family Stadium — Racing’s second shutout victory in a row. In the 62nd minute, a shot by forward Uchenna Kanu was deflected, but DeMelo was there to collect the rebound and send it into the back of the net. In the 85th minute, her cross was headed in by substitute Parker Goins to give Racing a second.
Head coach Bev Yanez said the second goal, in particular, was a sign of Racing’s growth and their ability to seize on the momentum of the match.
“It’s just completely draining the other team of every inch of hope that they have in those moments,” Yanez said. “So it was massively important for us to do it in that fashion. And obviously here at home to have the lights flickering, with the energy, it was fantastic timing for us.’
Yanez conceded the first half could have been better, but called the reaction, “fantastic and that’s all you can ask for.”
“Football is football. Sometimes you have momentum, sometimes you don't have momentum. But the mentality itself is fantastic from the group and [the win is] so well-deserved today.”
By the Numbers
Racing hasn’t beaten the Dash in the regular season since June 20, 2021 — the first time teams ever met. Since then they’ve had three losses and four draws. This match also ends Racing’s four-game scoring drought against the Dash dating back to their 1-1 draw on May 14, 2022.
Despite Racing’s secure win on the scoresheet, both teams had nearly identical xG (LOU: 1.38; HOU: 1.35). The real story, however, is in the differences between the two halves. In the first half, Racing only generated 0.16 xG with three shots and zero on target. The Dash was only a bit better with five shots and one on target with 0.52 xG. In the second half, Racing surged adding 1.22 xG off of seven shots and four on target. Racing also went from having 45.5% possession in the first half to a hair over 50% in the second.
DeMelo has now surpassed Uchenna Kanu as Racing Louisville’s top goalscorer of the year with five on the season. She is also the first player in club history to score in three consecutive home games.
Carson Pickett reached 150 appearances in the National Women’s Soccer League on Friday night. It might not be numbers, per see, but it’s also worth noting that the National Women’s Soccer League named Savannah DeMelo and Carson Pickett to the May Best XI of the Month, presented by Amazon Prime.
Key Takeaways
Gamechangers
From the moment the players returned from the half-time break, Racing’s energy changed. The crowd felt it too and became more active and vocal after spending the first half largely silent. As DeMelo implied, the win was a whole team effort, but there’s no question that the substitutions pushed Racing’s game to a new level.
Kanu coming in for Elexa Bahr at half-time was a game-changer. She provided an instant jolt of energy on the left side, disrupting Houston’s passes and creating chances. It was her shot that was rebounded for DeMelo’s goal. Kanu also sent the pass to DeMelo that sent up the assist for Goin’s goal and led Racing in shots (3) and shots on target (2) despite only playing one half. Parker Goins also made an obvious impact, scoring a precision header less than a minute after entering the game.
It’s this depth that is making all the difference for Racing this year, according to DeMelo. The ability to rotate players not only fills in gaps during injury, it also makes Racing unpredictable to opponents.
“That's what has really been helping us,” said the midfielder who praised Kanu by name for her contribution. “Our lineup has been changing sometimes, and I think just everyone that comes in does an amazing job and I think we do things differently. No one knows really how to scout us because we just play soccer a different way.”
On the Rise?
Coupled with last week’s win against the Chicago Red Stars, Racing feels like a team on the rise. Beyond the victory itself, it’s how Racing won. They struggled in the first half and corrected their mistakes. They got the insurance goal to truly put the game away and then held onto that lead. These are all signs of a maturing team. Yanez and her crew have been promising a team that will peak at the right time and, if Racing can string together a few more results like this, they might just do that.
The one thing that might be holding Louisville back from truly taking off to the top of the standings is the existence of a bona fide goal scorer on the attacking line. If you look at the top teams in the league, they have multiple players scoring multiple goals. The Washinton Spirit has Trinity Rodman, Croix Bethune, and Ouleymata Sarr performing for them this year. The Orlando Pride might be leaning hard on Barbra Banda, but they also have Marta. Kansas City takes this to a whole new level with a league-record 15 goal scorers in 2024.
Right now, Racing has DeMelo who is in excellent form with five goals. After her, there is an abundance of maybes or not quite yets. There’s no one who gets the ball and immediately the crowd thinks a goal is almost certainly coming. Rookie winger Emma Sears might be the closest with her back-to-back goals of the week and continued strong performance. Kanu is also close with her four goals this year, but then she stopped getting minutes for reasons unknown until her triumphant return against Houston. She also tends to be highly effective for one half and then burns out in the next which limits her a bit. Rookie Reilyn Turner has looked red hot in some games and then been isolated up top in others and will need more time to adjust to the league but could easily still be the future for Racing. Fans still haven’t seen New Zealand phenom Milly Clegg who scored her first international goal against Japan last weekend or forward Kirsten Wright who is still returning from injury. Brazilian star Ary Borges is also still recovering from minor surgery.
In short, Racing needs to develop or find another reliable goalscorer or two to really hit the next level. They’re so close with some of the players they have but not quite there yet. The constant shuffling of the front line hasn’t helped either even if it’s been necessary due to injuries. While the new depth has been critically important, it’s also been an adjustment for the players. One of the biggest issues in the first half against Houston was that plays would die at the front line. Balls would be sent into empty space, runs wouldn’t be made. Bahr getting pushed to the left and Turner coming in as the central attacker caused some confusion and both ended up very isolated with only 21 touches — the fewest of any starter on either team.
This is hardly all doom and gloom, however. Compared to past years with Racing this is almost a champagne problem. The midfield is doing amazingly despite some major injuries thanks to new additions Taylor Flint and Marisa DiGrande stepping up big time. The defense is the fourth-best in the league with only Gotham, the San Diego Wave, and Orlando giving up fewer goals. They’re even tied for the fifth most goals in the league despite playing one less game than many teams, so the offense is doing quite well, too. It’s just that with the top teams pulling away from the middle and bottom teams in accumulated points, Racing will need to continue to find ways to score more goals to guarantee they can hold onto a coveted playoff berth.
Looking Ahead
Thanks to this win, Racing now has a 3-2-6 record (15 points) and they will end the week one spot up in seventh place. Racing has never won more than six matches in a season, so it’s hopeful that they’re halfway there before half of the season is over.
Next week, Racing has a tough string of games ahead of them. First, they will make their ESPN debut when they take on Gotham FC at noon on Saturday at Lynn Family Stadium. Although Racing managed to draw the reigning league champs when they met up in New Jersey last month, Gotham has since gone on a six-game unbeaten streak with three straight wins. Even if star striker Lynn Williams remains out, Gotham is finding goals enough via Ella Stevens, Esther Gonzalez, Rose Lavelle, and Crystal Dunn. Racing’s defense will have to be as strong as it has ever been and the whole team will have to prove they’re truly learning to hold possession better to keep from getting burned. Racing has never won three consecutive regular-season games and this will be a tough ask, but they did beat Gotham the last time they visited Lynn Family Stadium so anything is possible.
After Gotham, Racing will turn around and fly to Los Angeles for a midweek match against Angel City. In the exact reversal of Gotham, Angel City has earned a draw and three losses in their last four matches. They’ve been struggling with slow starts and a backline hobbled with injuries that have left them vulnerable. With Angel City currently sitting 12th in the standings, this is a must-win game for Louisville. They need to beat every team significantly below them in the standings if they can stay in playoff position. Angel City has a dangerous offense, but it’s nothing Racing shouldn’t be able to handle.
Such a fun game!
Great analysis. It seems Elexa Bahr is struggling a little bit, even though she had a good start to the season. Could it be she is not getting good chances from the middle