Racing Topple Pride in PK Shootout After 1-1 Draw to Close Summer Cup
Racing won the penalty kickoff 4-3 thanks to two big saves from goalkeeper Jordyn Bloomer, but won't advance to the semifinals.
Racing came back to earn a 1-1 draw against the Pride in Orlando on Thursday night in the final group stage match of the National Women’s Soccer League / Liga MX Summer Cup. At the end of regulation time, the match went into a penalty kickoff, but unlike last week against the North Carolina Courage, this time Racing came out on top thanks to two big saves from goalkeeper Jordyn Bloomer.
To advance into the semifinals, Racing would have needed to not just win this match, but also score two goals to beat North Carolina on goal difference. A slow start kept them from getting much momentum. Orlando’s Evelina Duljan opened the scoring in the 38th minute, but Racing came out hot after half-time. Forward Reilyn Turner came close to scoring only minutes into the half and then finally found the back of the net off an assist from fellow rookie Emma Sears in the 67th minute. Bloomer’s saves ended the match on a high note and earned an extra point for Racing, but it wasn’t enough to win the group.
“This game, we knew what we needed to do going into it,” Turner said. “Our energy in the second half really picked up, and we were able to create more chances and get that goal. It was obviously a great ball by Emma. We needed one more goal, but I feel like our momentum really picked up. Now it’s just that final piece and finishing what we know we can finish.”
This was an interesting game for a few reasons. First, there was a lot of rotation—and if you read guest writer Brendan Devine’s recent piece on Racing’s use of subs this season, you’ll understand how novel that is. Second, the players Racing was missing were very keenly felt. And, finally, as much as they’ll never admit it, did Racing really care that much about missing the Summer Cup semis with the Women’s Cup looming?
By the Numbers
In terms of attack, this game was relatively even with the taking a slight edge in the quality of chances. (ORL: 1.39 xG, 16 shots, 4 on target; LOU: 1.69 xG, 14 shots, 3 on target). Racing’s slow start is clear statistically with a full 1.17 of their xG and all their shots on target coming in the second half.
Racing’s maintained possession across both halves with 57.5% overall. This isn’t atypical for the Pride who cede possession and then look to score on the counter. With both Marta and Barbra Banda missing they’re just less immediately lethal than they normally are, although they were still formidable.
Unsurprisingly for a game with good possession, Racing also had a good passing accuracy of 85.5%. It’s been a good sign to see both these numbers tick up lately especially last week against North Carolina.
I wish I could say more about what actually happened on the field with Racing’s possession against the Pride but the producers dedicated so much time to Julie Doyle close-ups that it was hard to see exactly how the ball was moving on the pitch for large portions of the game. I wish I was kidding. One moment the game would be about to be restarted by Bloomer at Racing’s end of the field and then we’d be treated to an extended look at Doyle’s face despite the fact she was not involved in any plays on the field nor included in conversation by the commentators. By the time the camera would actually return to the game, we’d find Milliet taking a throw-in on the opposite side of the pitch. This is no disrespect to Doyle. I’d be just as annoyed if the camera was as focused on Taylor Flint. I just wish NWSL production values were cleaner.
Speaking of Flint, she had a solid game, winning 13 of her 17 duels. She also won nine out of nine tackles—that’s twice as many tackles as any other player on either team and the only player to win 100% of them.
Jordyn Bloomer made her first two penalty kickoff saves in lavender. Bloomer also made three in-game saves and two clearances.
Key Takeaways
Rotations
This wasn’t the prettiest game. The conditions were hot, humid, and soupy. The match had been delayed due to a heavy storm and the waterlogged pitch made ball movement unpredictable throughout the first half.
Also making the match unpredictable was the fact that there was a significant amount of rotation to open the match. Some of this was due to necessity with both Savannah DeMelo and Caron Pickett out, but some of it was just to test Racing’s depth. The biggest changes on the pitch were Parker Goins starting as the No. 9, Jordan Baggett starting in the double pivot, Ary Borges as the No. 10, Ellie Jean as CB, and Jordyn Bloomer in goal. Jean as CB pushed Arin Wright into left back.
Of the rotated players, Ellie Jean and, of course, Bloomer made the biggest impact. Jean had one particularly rough moment where she whiffed on a pass right in front of goal that Orlando pounced on. However, she more than made up for it with the excellently weighted forward pass to Sears that turned into Turner’s goal. The Orlando goal wasn’t her fault either—that was Wright’s area of coverage and Wright’s still adjusting to the left-back position so that’s forgivable for now. Jean’s also extremely vocal on the pitch, which is a nice chance for a somewhat notoriously quiet team.
Bloomer, too, is an extremely vocal keeper compared to Lund which I see as a strong positive. Keepers have a unique perspective of the pitch and they need to tell the players in front of them what they see. If the field players don’t need to hear it, they can tune it out. Beyond just being vocal, Bloomer showed she’s an excellent shot-stopper and has one heck of a powerful foot as well. I don’t think Lund is currently at risk of immediately losing her starting spot, but it’s only good for her development to have tough competition keeping her from being complacent. And it’s hardly a bad thing to have another solid keeper to rotate through on occasion.
Beyond these two players, however, I don’t think anyone made much of a case for getting in regular rotation beyond Borges. She still needs to be worked back into full health and obviously does better with DeMelo on the field, so it was hard to gauge her performance in this game.
Once the more traditional starters came on the field in the second half, it was almost like a light switch went off. Reilyn Turner started in the match, but you almost didn’t realize it until Kayla Fischer and Emma Sears came on, because she became a totally different player. Suddenly everything clicked across the pitch and the energy kicked in.
Considering the initial rough conditions, starting the game heavily rotated ended up being a smart move. It gave time for the game to settle and the swampiness of the field to abate a bit and seemed to have worked in Racing’s favor so that ended up being good gamesmanship from head coach Bev Yanez and company. After all, Orlando also brought out some key, fast players like Ally Watt at the end that a gassed Racing would not necessarily have been able to deal with but that a fresh Sears could manage handily.
Missing Pieces
What Racing has been surprisingly poor at to a truly inexplicable degree is set pieces. When it comes to serving set pieces, Racing has Pickett, DeMelo, and Borges. When it comes to receiving service, they have some of the best targets in the league in Abby Erceg, Howell, Flint, and Wright.
How is Racing not better at set pieces yet? Have they just assumed they’d be better at them and not worked on them enough? Conversely, are they working on them too much and overthinking them? Because something just isn’t working. In DeMelo the club has one of the best direct set piece takers in the league and they’ve repeatedly declined to go direct. It’s kind of baffling.
In Thursday’s match, it was apparent just how badly Racing was missing Pickett and DeMelo because no set pieces were convincing. There were a few options from extremely dangerous areas but nothing ever seemed like it was going to be much of a threat and with the pieces Racing has, that seems like an incredible amount of wasted potential.
So Long Summer Cup
The Summer Cup is all done for Racing Louisville. And while I have zero doubt they wanted to win this game, I would be willing to bet money that they’re just as happy they don’t have to potentially travel to Kansas City for a semifinal match on Tuesday, August 6th.
Unlike most teams in the NWSL, Racing has Women’s Cup matches on August 9th and 13th. That would have been a lot of games in one week. The Women’s Cup is at home, it’s a trophy they’ve already won, they have a good shot at winning it again, and it comes with prize money. I know they would never, ever say they wouldn’t want to win the Summer Cup, but like I said, I don’t think anyone is heartbroken about missing the trip to Kansas City.
Ultimately, I thought the Summer Cup was fun. I liked seeing Liga MX teams. It wasn’t totally fair considering they were in preseason, but they did well against NWSL competition across the league. Seeing Monterrey lay in Louisville and seeing all Rayadas fans in Lynn Family Stadium was fun, too.
Racing had gone into this break in awful form. This break didn’t transform the team, but it did shake off some of whatever it was that was plaguing them. They’re playing lighter and easier and the chemistry is back across most lines. It’s the finishing that’s still the problem, but for the most part, the ship is righted. Is it sailing ahead at full steam? That has yet to be seen, but at least it’s back on the right course. And who knows? Maybe a good showing at the Women’s Cup can give the team the fuel they need to really get those turbines churning.