What to Watch for with Racing at North Carolina
September 9, 2022 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – Racing Louisville FC News Release
Following the international break, Racing Louisville FC travels to Cary, N.C., to face the North Carolina Courage at WakeMed Soccer Park at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Racing (2-7-8, 14 points) enters the match 10th in the NWSL standings, five points behind the ninth-place Courage. Louisville lost its most recent match before the international break, dropping a 4-0 decision to the Chicago Red Stars at Lynn Family Stadium and extending its winless streak to 12 games. Six of those games have been draws, adding to Racing’s eight for the season, the second-most ties in the league this year.
North Carolina (5-7-4, 19 points) is still very much in the thick of the playoff hunt after a slow start, winning four of its past five matches and sitting seven points off the last playoff spot, held by Chicago. The Courage has a game in hand on the Red Stars.
The Courage possess a number of talented attacking players, including Brazil national team stars Debinha and Kerolin as well as rookie forward Diana Ordoñez, who is second in the league in scoring with 11 goals.
Racing has had a particularly difficult time against the Courage since joining the NWSL last year. North Carolina has won all five meetings between the teams, including a 3-0 victory at Louisville on June 4.
Follow along…
– For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @RacingLouFC on Twitter and Racing Louisville FC on Facebook. Also find us at @racinglouisvillefc on Instagram.
– The game will stream live on Twitch.
Storylines…
Playoff picture: Depending on results in other matches, any dropped points could result in Racing being officially eliminated from playoff contention. Louisville is 12 points behind sixth-place Chicago with only five games left to play. The Red Stars played at OL Reign in Seattle on Friday night.
Milliet to stay: Ahead of facing her former club, midfielder Lauren Milliet inked a new three-year contract with Racing. A versatile player, Milliet has featured in every Racing match dating back to its inaugural Challenge Cup match in April 2021, lining up as a fullback, central midfielder and winger over the past two years. She leads the club in all-time minutes (2,960) and recently became the first Racing player to make 50 NWSL appearances for the club.
McDonald faces former club: Jess McDonald will make her first visit to WakeMed Soccer Park since being traded to Racing from the Courage in the offseason. The veteran forward spent five years in the Courage organization, including the team’s last season in Western New York before it relocated to the Raleigh area. McDonald won three NWSL Championships with the club, including an NWSL Championship MVP performance in 2018.
Wang earns first NWSL start: Chinese international Wang Shuang made her first NWSL start against the Red Stars on August 27. Prior to that, she made two starts for Racing during The Women’s Cup, scoring in the semifinal. Wang debuted off the bench in the 0-0 draw at Houston on August 12.
Racing on international duty: Following stints with their national teams, four players returned from international duty. Emily Fox (USA) logged her first international assist on Sept. 3 against Nigeria. Savannah DeMelo (USA) earned her first senior team call-up but did not appear in either exhibition. Alex Chidiac (Australia) made an appearance off the bench for the Matildas in their 2-1 loss to Canada. Rebecca Holloway made two sub appearances, helping Northern Ireland defeat Luxembourg and Latvia.
Olofsson to Real Madrid: On Wednesday, Racing announced the transfer of the Swedish midfielder to Real Madrid for a fee. With Racing, Olofsson made 46 appearances over two years, including 37 starts. She provided the match-tying assist in Racing’s inaugural Challenge Cup game against the Orlando Pride.
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