That was some way to kick off Racing’s inaugural season, huh? This match HAD EVERYTHING: rain, rainbows, smoke, goals, Marta’s wizardry and lipstick, and a stoppage-time winner. Christy Holly’s charges absolutely delivered on the entertainment scale, and outperformed expectations.
The NWSL charts say Racing came out in a 4-4-2, but it could probably be better described as a 4-2-2-2. I was a bit surprised to see Savannah McCaskill deployed in a deeper role alongside Freya Olofsson but she was an absolute workhorse in the match and deserved WOTM honors. Former non-rostered invitee Nealy Martin got her first-ever professional start in defense alongside Brooke Hendrix, while rookie Emina Ekic played kind of a tucked-in winger role opposite Lauren Milliet. Cece Kizer played striker with Yuki Nagasato sitting a bit behind her on the left.
The match opened up with a fabulous tribute to Breonna Taylor and several Louisville champions for women and women’s rights in the Estopinal End. Not long after the opening whistle, Yuki got free for a couple of chances before the ten minute mark that she may have been surprised to see, missing both. However, just past 10′, Emily Fox slipped Kizer through the Pride center backs on a fabulous pass that the former Dash forward tapped to her right foot and deftly slid past Ashlyn Harris for the first ever goal in Racing history.
I honestly went into this match not having much in expectations for Racing to be much on the front foot, so CeCe’s opener was really a welcome surprise. It did not help Orlando at all that their defense was a mess for much of the match, to such an extent that Christy Holly expressed frustration afterwards that his team didn’t take more advantage of it.
The rest of the first half was played at a frenetic pace, with neither club able to keep the ball for long stretches. Marta looked dangerous for Orlando a couple of times, taking advantage at least twice of finding Nealy Martin so high up the field, but Erin Simon did a great job snuffing out those marauding runs before they hurt Racing too badly. However, just before the halftime whistle, Orlando’s Marisa Viggiano did well to steal the ball from Emily Fox in the right corner, then found Dougherty Howard at the corner of the box. Howard sent in a great cross, and Taylor Kornieck powered the header off the right post and in for the equalizer. Kornieck is like 6’2″ and there aren’t many defenders in the NWSL that can match her for height; Racing was no exception on a play like that.
The second half was a bit more of a settled period, Orlando having a bit more possession and trying to generate offense through Kornieck. Holly subbed on Jorian Baucom for CeCe Kizer and Katie McClure for Ekic, and both did a good job of improving Racing’s energy at that point in the match. Baucom probably could have gotten sent off for a poor challenge in the 82′, but only saw yellow.
A few minutes later, substitute Abi Kim got on the end of a Howard pass that split Racing’s defense. Martin wasn’t quick enough to close Kim down, and the former Fiorentina winger hit a fabulous first-time shot over Michelle Betos and juuuust under the bar to put Orlando ahead. Betos, who otherwise played really well all night, probably wished she was just a couple inches taller and she would have gotten the save.
It wasn’t all over yet, though, as Racing earned a free kick in the 93′ after a bad foul by USWNTer Ali Krieger. McCaskill hit a long ball to the top left corner of the Pride’s six yard box, which was knocked down into the lap of a waiting Brooke Hendrix. Her first-time effort somehow made it untouched through a sea of legs into the back right corner of Ashlyn Harris’s net, and pandemonium in Lynn Family Stadium ensued.
Orlando got one look via a long free kick before the final whistle blew, and the match ended 2-2.
I’d say it was a fair result. Both teams put in a lot of effort. Orlando’s back line was a bit of a mess, but Racing wasn’t often able to take advantage of it as much as they might have liked. Racing couldn’t quite put together much in terms of consistent offense, relying more on transition moments to generate chances, which was somewhat the product of their inability to really control the midfield. That might be due to Orlando’s physical and technical prowess in that area of the field, or just a function of the roster at this point.
Emily Fox had some ups and downs, but put in a very good shift. Brooke Hendrix did a great job in central defense, and Erin Simon is a real force to deal with on the outside. Offense for this club is apparently going to have to come from the outside on balls in to the forwards, and hopefully we can see more of the Fox/Ekic/Kizer connection on the right side.
The Pride out-shot Louisville 11-8, but struggled to get shots on target (2), while Racing had four. Possession was a perfect 50/50 split, and Louisville was slightly better in passing accuracy (71%-69%).
Defensively, the Pride dominated the stat sheet and held more duels won (57-41), tackles (22-8), and clearances (19-11). If you want to look at something to work on, that might be it. Racing basically playing without a true defensive midfielder may play into those numbers. Then again, I must say I liked what Freya brought to the game.
I really was pleased with how Racing played. It was all-out effort and commitment by all of the players. I’ve been a bit critical of Nealy Martin so far, but I think she has a lot of potential as the season goes on. It certainly was no picnic to be thrust into a starting role in an NWSL game straight out of college against Sydney Leroux and a dangerous Pride attack.
Great game all around, and congratulations to Racing for their first-ever result in NWSL!
