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Stars 3 Racing 2 Player Ratings
Racing's defensive frailty raises its head again. It will have to be back to the drawing board against San Diego.
Bloomer-6: Had a pretty good match and some important saves. None of the goals were her fault.
Hase-6: Managed a few good attacking moments.
Gacioch-6: The best of a poor defensive line.
Wright-4: Looked off all day and has to take some blame for the disorganized effort.
Jean-5: An unlucky touch from her led to Swanson's goal, but she needed to get closer on the initial movement.
McMahon-5: Out of position on the first goal.
Flint-8: The only bright spot defensively, and scored a good header.
McKeen-7: The sharpest player in the match in possession, but only had 20 touches.
Milliet-7: Great assist to Flint.
Fischer-7: Tested Atkinson a couple of times.
Sears-6: Not involved nearly enough.
Morris-8: Great confident finish for Racing’s second.
Stars v Racing -1
Racing looks to win 5 in a row on Sunday in Chicago.
The two teams matched up at the start of Racing’s four-match winning streak and Racing mostly controlled that match until a Bloomer error made things tight at the end. No matter how good a team is, five-match winning streaks are somewhat rare. I asked Bev if she ever recalled her longest winning streak as a pro. She didn’t recall, but I assume that it was the seven-match run at the start of the Seattle Reign's 2014 season. That team went 16 unbeaten on the way to winning the shield and losing in the playoff final.
The feat of winning five in a row is even tougher now, but there still have been three five-match win streaks so far this year: San Diego, Utah, and Washington. Bev cautioned not to overlook the Stars despite their 5-0 defeat to Houston. They did get off 12 shots and a few quality ones.
This away trip will be a keen test of Racing’s focus. It is the type of match that you would expext a good team to control from start to finish, but control through possession isn't Racing’s style. They'll probably look to press Chicago into danger early and try to put them on the back foot.
"Now the time has come"
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Match Haiku
Sears scores. Lo assists.
An unprecedented run.
Dare we dream of five?
“Now the time has come”
“Shoot You Down” - The Stone Roses 1989
Racing has won four matches in a row. Let that sink in. It’s a run that should put a team in the mix for a playoff spot, but due to Racing’s poor, poor, start to the season, it only has them within striking distance. However, based on form, only Gotham can claim to be as hot at the moment. It isn’t lost on me (nor should it be you) that this run has come against teams that are not among the league’s elite this season. That probably helps account for the poor start to the season, when it seemed to be one tough opponent after another. Racing’s final ten matches see them facing Top 5 competition five times.
For now, Racing seems to be playing good enough football to hang with the top of the league. They were definitely good enough to finally beat Seattle in a league contest. This was also the most difficult win in this four-match winning streak. What stuck with me is the calm nature by which the team seemed to regroup after conceding the opening goal. The first 20 minutes of the match were pretty brutal from a Racing perspective, with the Reign seemingly finding space to attack at will. Even before the goal went in for the Reign, they were clearly bossing the match. Racing sat back at the beginning of the match. Neither Sears nor Fischer pressed very high. This was by design, as Racing was looking to prevent long balls from Seattle. The Reign still tried them and were also pretty successful at going from back to front in a matter of seconds. After about 20-25 minutes, Racing adjusted to this and there was a small tactical attacking adjustment around the 30th minute that led to the first goal.
Kayla Fischer’s ball into Milliet for the opening goal was the key pass that unlocked the Reign defense. Like all good Racing moves, it started in transition and the ball moved quickly. By dropping Fischer into the midfield during the buildup, it allowed the two most connected players at the moment, Sears and Milliet, to read each other’s movements and create a goal. The second goal was also built on this connection. Milliet dribbled wide with time to lift her head and check Sears’ run. She placed the pass perfectly and the comeback to get all three points was complete. This goal came from one of the few pressing opportunities that Racing undertook in the match and was another goal that occurred shortly after halftime. Racing has scored five goals in the last six matches in the first 15 minutes after halftime.
Racing defended well in the last 40 minutes after taking the lead. They sure didn’t have much of the ball. This is something that Racing will need to improve upon in the upcoming matches against better opposition. The Reign had 72% of the possession after halftime. Some of that was due to circumstances, but I think you would like to see Racing get their possession number up to at least 35% when they have a lead like that. Their typical possession sits at 40%.
Post Match Moment of the Match
There seems to be the right amount of exuberance, and not overexuberance, around the team. Everyone is enjoying the four-match winning streak, but nobody seems too bombastic about it. There is still much work to do. Lo was up first and said that the team started a bit “slow” but that the huddle that the players had after the Reign goal helped settle things down and allowed them to adjust to the Reign’s tactics. Racing had to defend 12 corners in this match, so I asked Flint how important it was to be locked in on those. She said that “Seattle is really good on set pieces, so that was huge for us.” Bev was pleased with the players’ adjustments and the tactical battle that unfolded during the match. I am sure she was also very, very pleased to beat Laura Harvey, finally, even if she didn’t dwell on that when Kaitlyn asked.
Thing I bought at ear X-tacy back in the day
Artist: Saint Etienne
Album: Too Young to Die
Year: 1995
Format: CD
Store Location: 1534 Bardstown Road
Imagine if there was a German pop duo who called themselves the Cleveland Browns. That is essentially what Englishmen Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs did when they formed Saint Etienne in 1990. They named it after the French football club AS Saint-Étienne. Because I like the band, I also have a soft spot for that team (it also helps that Arsenal star William Saliba was a product of the Saint-Étienne youth academy and Arsenal secured his transfer for a £27 million fee.) Other bands have gone this route. The Kaiser Chiefs are named after a South African club. There is a French band called “Aston Villa”. It’s not quite the same, but Simply Red are named for Manchester United.
Anyway, my memory is hazy on what drew me to be introduced to this singles collection, but it was probably a glowing magazine review. I was hooked from the first listen. Bob and Pete dabbled with the idea of having different singers, but after Sarah Cracknell won them over, she became part of the band officially. She really became the face of the band, and the music wouldn’t be the same without her voice.
“Avenue” is probably my favorite song. My favorite lyric is definitely from “Like a Motorway”:
”She said her life, was like a motorway. Dull, grey, and long, ‘til he came along.”
This band is worth a listen if you are uninitiated.
The Taylor Flint Honorary Yellow Card of the Match
Not only has Racing been playing well; they have also been behaving themselves well too. This is the second straight match without a yellow card. Maybe the heat drains the players willingness to misbehave. With the Reign having almost two-thirds of the possession, you have to commend Racing for defending well and legally. Racing had 8 fouls in the match, which was below their season average of 10.5. Seattle had 12 fouls, which was above their season average of 10.5.
Flint is back healthy and Hodge was available on the bench, so I don’t expect that we’ll get a third match in a row without a yellow card.
The 2026 UFL Champion Louisville (Draft?) Kings Sports Betting Corner
It might be a good time to throw out some moneylines for making the playoffs. Let’s assume that the Top 5 are locks.
North Carolina (-500): They are in 6th with a game in hand. It isn’t outside the realm of possibility that they miss out, but they look safe.
Kansas City (-1000): Even though the Courage has a game in hand and lead in goal differential, it’s just too hard to fathom KC missing the playoffs.
Seattle (-150): They also have a game in hand, and they look too steady to go on a long losing streak.
Houston (+150): They have a slightly tougher run-in, but the head-to-head matchup with the Reign on August 30th will go a long way towards making things clearer.
Angel City (+130): Only higher than Houston due to having 2 games in hand, but their form hasn’t been good of late.
Denver (+140): They have a game in hand and a superior goal difference. Don’t sleep on them.
Louisville (+200): Probably just a case of “too little, too late”, but still within striking distance.
Orlando (+250): Could turn it around, but they look like toast.
Boston (+400): No real shot based on anything I have seen.
Bay (+500): They look to have given up on 2026.
Chicago (+10,000): No shot.
“And when this thing is done”
Racing is not going to win out the remainder of the season. At some point, this run is going to come to an end. It will be fun while it lasts, and I think beating Chicago on the road on Sunday would be a suiting conclusion to the run. They have a definite shot in San Diego, but while we can dream big, we shouldn’t get greedy as fans. In addition, a good run of form isn’t an excuse to ignore the overall health of the club. Emma Sears still wants out, presumably. Things had to get bad for that to come out, so let’s not forget that. The team has beaten 10th, 16th, 13th, 14th, and 8th in this run of five wins out of six. That is impressive when you start off in 16th, but there was a reason they were in 16th at the start of this run. The formation change looks to be here to stay. That’s a good thing. The fact that it took a formation change to change this team’s fortunes isn’t. Maybe one could look back and say that an early season injury to Gacioch stifled the plans to change the formation, but I really don’t think this is a roster that was put together with a three center back formation in mind. Be glad that this team has a gifted coach that could adjust. Parts of the fanbase made some very silly assertions about Coach Yanez’s ability before this winning run started. That has completely disappeared (or at least I’ve blocked it out).
This has been the best stretch of football in Racing’s history, and it isn’t even close. That should be celebrated. Even last season, when the results were more consistent, the football wasn’t as good. This team likes to put on the posture of a team that grinds things out. In reality, it is a team that succeeds when it has flashes of brilliance (and can keep the flashes of self-destruction to a minimum). Naggingly, one of my early season assertions holds true in that Racing almost certainly needs at least two goals per match to secure a result. The defense is better, but having to defend 60% of the time is not a great recipe for extended success.
San Diego will (hopefully) be the first real test in some time. They’ve cooled a bit after a hot start, but you can fully expect them to pin Racing back in the upcoming match. However, let’s not skip past Chicago quite yet. This is a must win match. There is no reason to lose to that team. They got throttled by Houston on Wednesday, so they could be looking to take it out on Racing, but with what? They have scored one goal in the last 5 matches and that was the gift that Bloomer handed them a few weeks ago. This match will be a good test for Racing’s focus and drive. If Racing plays a relatively mistake-free match, a win should be a piece of cake. Racing should be confident, but not overconfident.
Racing 2 Reign 1 Player Ratings
We are definitely in unprecedented territory. Kaitlyn Whiteside reminded me that she predicted this so kudos to her.
Bloomer-6: Really solid performance.
McMahon-7: Seems to have left wing back locked down.
Gacioch-7: Continued her good rookie campaign.
Wright-7: Kept things calm aftet Racing went down early.
Jean-7: Had several good clearances.
Morris-7: Surely subbed off early to save her legs for Sunday.
Flint-8: Assured performance back in the starting eleven.
O'Kane-7: Won all five ground duels.
Milliet-9: Both assists were first class.
Fischer-7: Slightly off her recent high standard but still good.
Sears-9: Excellent and back to top form.
Racing v Reign -1
The Reign provides the next barrier in Racing’s march up from the bottom of the table. The media talked to Ellie Jean and Arin Wright on Tuesday afternoon. They spoke about said rise from the netherworlds of 16th place. The best part was this bit from Arin on what she told the team when they were at that nadir:
“We’re in last place…but you know what? F$%# it…and f$#@ you. So, that was our motto. When we were going into those games, you’re bottom of the table, but there’s nothing to lose, so F$%# it…and then we’re gonna go right back at you. That stuck with the group. They understood it and were like ‘you know what? Yeah.’”
She went on to add that Louisville’s inherent environmental challenges were part of the deal, but that it was something that just had to be accepted and dealt with.
While that was the most soundbite worthy piece, Arin and Ellie also spoke about not having a bad attitude or a defeatist attitude get them down during the tougher periods of the season.
They both spoke highly of rookie, Mirann Gacioch and her contributions during these last few matches. I asked about how much warning Bev gave them to know that the team was going to start using a three center back look and Arin did say that Bev kind of just sprang it on them, but because the players have so much flexibility there wasn’t any real concern about being able to adapt quickly.
I asked Bev about the particular challenge that Seattle presents. Racing has a terrible record against Seattle, with their only win coming in the semifinals of the Challenge Cup in 2023. She said that Seattle is so good at making in-game tactical adjustments that they always pose a challenge.
I didn’t ask Bev about sticking with a three center back system for this match, but if there is a match where they might revert to a different system, it could be this match. If she wants to rotate the back line to some degree, we could see Petersen and Jean paired together to give Wright and Gacioch a night off. This would likely move things around up front as well, and one could imagine more of a 4-3-3 with Kayla as the 9 in this formation. As ever, Bev keeps things close, so we will have to see.
Winning four in a row would be a huge accomplishment, but neither the players nor Bev were ready to say anything about being in the playoff hunt. According to Wright, the focus was to get as many of the 33 points still available, regardless of the opponent.
“How could it ever come to pass?”
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Match Haiku
The wins on the spin.
Could Racing make a late push?
Fischer again shines.
“How could it ever come to pass?”
“She Bangs the Drums” - The Stone Roses 1989
Let’s get the obvious out of the way. Racing had never won three league matches in a row. They have now. They have never had a run as good as 12 points from 15. They have now. They become the first NWSL team ever (trusting Brendan Devine’s research here) to have six different players score a brace in a single season. Those are all great things.
I think the most important thing is that the level of play has been so much better than it was even one month ago. Racing played two dreadful matches on July 5th and July 10th. Since then, the level of play has been excellent, if you exclude the obvious write-off match in KC, which hopefully you have by this point. The first 20 minutes of the second half by Racing were excellent on Saturday evening. The quality of play and finishing was top-level. I think that it is very encouraging to see a team be able to summon that level of quality in short bursts because no team can sustain it over an entire match.
The first half started slowly, and the heat surely contributed to that. I thought that Sears and Fischer had a few chances to connect in the first half but just weren’t on the same page. As the match wore on, that connection improved and Racing played the middle 30 minutes of the match at peak form.
I think all of the outfield players had moments of excellence. Racing may have found the hybrid approach for the rest of the season: give more minutes to the new players but keep them surrounded with the right veterans. There are players in the squad now that know they have to fight for every minute. I think every starter is probably being pushed in practice to the appropriate level.
This is what I wanted to see at the beginning of the season. However, the roster construction likely dictated that Racing was always going to have to take a step backwards before they could take a leap forward. The club will likely have to do this again next season, to a degree, unless ownership wants to bite the bullet and spend (not holding my breath there).
Again, I preach caution. Racing has been beating bottom-half teams. When you’re a bottom half team yourself, that is encouraging. A continued run of confidence may see Racing able to battle more resolutely against the top of the league. That chance is coming, but there are two more chances in short succesion against teams that are not in the upper echelon of the league, so they need to take hold of those opportunities.
On the day, we saw an excellent performance, and that should be cherished and remembered.
Post Match Moment of the Match
It was a crowded media gathering after the match. Winning, and winning consistently, does that. It was a bit of a shame that local TV wasn’t on hand, but as we creep closer to college football season, that may just be the reality. In the pre-match media, Makenna Morris predicted (when prompted by Brendan) who she thought the next brace might come from. She predicted Kayla, and then Kayla and Katie O’Kane spoke after the match. Katie thought the team came out with energy and Kayla said that she thought the performance was good from front to back. On Makenna predicting the brace, Kayla said, “she put the pressure on” but then “she helped,” in that she provided a nice assist for the first goal.
Bev was proud of the group and called them “clicked in” since the formation change. Bev made it a point to say she didn’t think anyone could question their identity now. I guess I agree with that assessment with one caveat. I likely called this team stubborn at some point, but I think they have adapted to become more flexible in their play if not their philosophy. Bev made an interesting comment that she thought this match had more in match adjustments than any recent match. Whatever adjustments Boston was trying to make, they obviously didn’t work.
Thing I bought at ear X-tacy back in the day
Artist: Oasis
Album: Definitely Maybe
Year: 1994
Format: CD
Store Location: 1534 Bardstown Road
Before Oasis became the most annoyingly overrated band of the 90s, they made some really good music. Most of it is here on this album. Most people will point to the follow up, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? as the classic. They are wrong. At the time, their second album broke Oasis to some degree in America and turned them into heroes in England. In retrospect, it sucks. “Wonderwall” is sung all over the place. It’s garbage. The other singles range from utter garbage to “decent if you don’t overplay it.”
If Man City are ever held accountable for the 115 charges they face from the Premier league, I hope one of the punishments is that they take Liam Gallagher (a very vocal fan) and launch him into the center of the sun. He is an absolute wanker.
But holy crap, was their first album great. If Morning Glory had been their debut, it might have been great too. Everything they tried on this album worked and was a better version of what came on the next one. The songs have infinite swagger, but not too much arrogance. It is still listenable today.
I guess my point it to not get too full of yourself, too complacent, and let people tell you how great you are when you’re actually pretty crap. There was a quote from Liam Gallagher saying that Teenage Fanclub (who I have highlighted here) were “the second best band in the world.” That was true at the time. He was just too stupid to realize that the number one spot had been taken over by Radiohead and not Oasis. Self-awareness is always key.
Racing may be ready to make a playoff push…definitely…maybe.
The Taylor Flint Honorary Yellow Card of the Match
Since there were amazingly no yellow cards in this match despite Boston leading the league in this category let’s talk about a couple other things.
First, I get why there were seven minutes of stoppage time in the second half, and that probably was the right number, but come on…I have seen plenty of blowouts with one or two minutes added. There had to be three for the hydration break, but do you think either coach or the fans would have complained about three minutes of stoppage instead of seven? Of course, this meant that hilariously, Racing gave up a stoppage time goal and still don’t have a clean sheet this season.
Second, Boston was pretty poor. They completed 395 passes for 86% accuracy and had the ball 61% of the time. They did absolutely nothing with those numbers. They definitely looked like an expansion team on this evening.
The 2026 UFL Champion Louisville (Draft?) Kings Sports Betting Corner
NWSL Labs has Racing’s probability to make the playoff at 0.1%. That probably gives you a moneyline of something like +99,000. If you can find someone willing to take that bet, do it. However, you likely won’t so a more logical moneyline is probably closer to something like +3000 or +4000. I don’t know if I would take that moneyline, but it might be fun to drop a tenner on it.
Gotham looks like a solid bet for the Shield.
Chicago looks like an ever more solid bet for 16th.
“Have you seen her? Have you heard?”
Racing’s push for attendance yielded 7,000 fans on a night that was miserably hot. It will be interesting to see what Wednesday brings. For all of the talk about Louisville being a sports town, people in this city will look for any excuse not to go to things. A weeknight game on a school night is probably at the top of most parents list. That’s why I always find it baffling that the league is marketed so heavily to families. Racing needs more adults without school-aged children at these matches. That is their demographic especially for weeknight matches.
The upcoming match against Seattle is probably the most important one of the season now. If Racing can pull to within 4 points of them, then there are enough matches remaining to dream bigger. Racing did a good job of clawing back to a respectable goal difference in these last few matches. That might be important, but what is actually important is points.
In Boston’s match preview there was a note that stated that “Racing Louisville lost each of the last four times it faced an NWSL newcomer, with each match ending in 1-0 defeats.” What that meant is that Racing lost twice in 2024 to Bay, the away match against Utah in 2024, and the first match against Denver. I remember all four of those performances, and Racing has to avoid any performance like those for the rest of the season. They will likely lose a few matches, but they have to keep the energy up. I hope the city does its best to contribute to the home energy along the way.
Racing 4 Legacy 1 Player Ratings
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Still can't keep a clean sheet, but Racing Swan-boat-raced Boston in the second half to cruise to victory. The performance was excellent until a dodgy last few minutes.
Bloomer-6: Had some good saves, but seems to have a least one head-scratching moment per match.
Morris-8: She predicted a Fischer brace as the next one, so maybe hit her up for stock tips. On the pitch, she had an assist and was excellent again.
Gacioch-8: A very assured performance from the young defender.
Wright-7: Headed a late chance off the line, but maybe could have done more on the goal.
Jean-8: Calm and confident.
McMahon-7: Looked assured defensively.
O'Kane-9: Had a goal on a well-taken penalty and you won't see a better assist all year.
McKeen-7: Ran hard and had a decent shot that was off target.
Milliet-8: A true box-to-box performance from her.
Fischer-9: Scored an excellent brace. It could have been even more if Sears had been on the same page as her more often in the first half.
Sears-9: A goal and an assist to continue her good run of form.
Racing v Legacy -1
Boston is one of my favorite cities. However, this team’s name is dumb.
The few times I have seen Boston play this year they have looked vastly overmatched at times AND also surprisingly competent in bursts, often within a single five-minute span. It is a team capable of scoring 3 goals in a match just as easily as they could concede 3 goals in a match. It is a team that has its fair share of possession and creates lots of chances (if not big ones). They complete about 120 more passes per match than Racing, so I think we call all imagine the type of match we are going to get.
Racing might have the advantage on set pieces as Racing has scored six this season compared to Boston’s two. Boston also concedes quite a bit from set pieces, so that was probably a focus for Racing this week. Boston leads the league in tackles per match. In addition, Boston has conceded a league-leading 6 penalties this season (tied with Houston). They also lead the league in fouls, yellow cards, and red cards. This match will be physical so be prepared.
This would be a perfect match for Kayla Fischer to get under the skin of the Boston defenders. St-Georges seems particularly susceptible with 2 reds and two yellows already this season. Speaking of Kayla, she was Makenna Morris’s nominee for the next Racing player to get on the brace train. Lo suggested that she would be a fan of another defender stepping up, maybe Gilly. Bev was wisely too diplomatic to give a response.
She did talk about Racing’s scouting methodology a bit, which I always find interesting. She said that the staff uses the opponent’s last three matches to scout tendencies (and I imagine any previous head-to-head matchups during the season which obviously doesn’t apply here). When I asked about what was working offensively in the new formation (which they could still switch at some point, especially for a match during a packed stretch) she pointed to having players available in transition and having the right principles.
One bit of news that I believed slipped by everyone when Emma Sears broke Sav DeMelo’s team scoring record, is that in the same match Lo Milliet broke Sav’s assist record. I hope we get to see Sav at some point come back and try to reclaim those records.
“Isn’t it funny how you shine?”
Courtesy of the NWSL
Match Haiku
Orlando lacks pride,
Capitulates to Racing,
Emma: the clear star.
“Isn’t it funny how you shine?”
“Don’t Stop” - The Stone Roses, 1989
You never apologize for the schedule.
Some teams were going to catch Orlando in the stretch where Barbara Banda was at AFCON. Racing just happened to be one of them. Unfortunately for the Pride, they were missing other key players too. You don’t apologize for that either. You go out and do a job.
Racing did that on Friday evening. They had their own stuff to deal with, missing Flint and having travel issues (more in the section below). The level of performances from Racing recently has been good enough to beat lower to mid-table teams rather decisively. Racing has a stretch of three more of those before they will be tested by the league’s best again.
On the night, Racing looked more assured in their transition moments and got the right player on the ball in those moments. It’s always nice to score from a set piece and the O’Kane to McKeen connection on the first half goal was really well executed by both players. Of course, it still is Racing so they are never allowed a clean sheet, but they tightened up in the last minutes of stoppage time to make sure the end wasn’t too nervy.
I think we’re seeing the younger players start to gain the confidence that they will need to see out the rest of the season. Racing still has several teams to jump if they want to get into playoff position, but it is nice to see that there is still fight left in the team.
Post Match Moment of the Match
Audrey and Emma talked about their special goals. McKeen became the youngest goal scorer for Racing and Emma became the all-time leading goal scorer. Those are records that the most cynical of us would say have a really good chance of standing forever. Emma handled a question about her professionalism professionally. More on her later.
According to Bev, the team had a nightmare travel day that included circling the Orlando Airport for 90 minutes and then having to refuel in Jacksonville before returning to Orlando. They arrived so late that their meal on Thursday happened after 11PM. Hear her recount it fully here. It reminded me of some of the Racing Year One travel nightmares. Take it away Yuki…
So…maybe the trip to Orlando wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
I asked Bev about how much time the team had to get prepared for Flint’s absence, and she said that it was something that the team started to plan for early in the week. This meant that the formation was adjusted to drop Milliet a little deeper and slot McKeen into more of a number 10 role. Racing started the second half really going after from a pressing perspective. I asked Bev what she saw, which was the quick restarts from Moorhouse (which I noticed too) but it never occurred to me to use that to force the press (which is why Bev is a good coach, and I just write about soccer),
The Taylor Flint Honorary Yellow Card of the Match
Katie O’Kane had the only yellow card of the match.
45th Minute + 1: Katie O’Kane - Foul - Tactical Foul
It was your classic hold of a player breaking away for a potential advantage. Katie kept grabbing until the center referee finally blew his whistle.
In my never-ending quest to harp on inconsistency, there was a much more egregious time-wasting kicking away of the ball by a Pride player in this match than the instance that Lardner got carded for in the Angel City match. No card here. In addition, Lianne (Sanderson) lamented that the penalty that VAR helped overturn in this match was eerily similar to one that was upheld in a match she called just a few days ago. Rules and interpretations are so selectively enforced in this league that sometimes you just have to shake your head.
Madchester Song to Celebrate with
It’s a bit more jangly than you associate with Baggy, but it’s a nice little number.
FREE EMMA SEARS?
Emma was so close to a hat trick last night. Her offside call was probably decided by mere inches (the views that NWSL referees get in these moments leaves much to be desired, but I still think Emma was just offside). It was the type of performance we had been hoping we would be getting from Emma all season. Might it have been an in-person audition for a desperate Orlando? Who knows.
I pushed one key bit of information to the back of my mind when I started this whole “FREE EMMA SEARS” thing. I knew I was already expecting more than I should when I thought the ownership group would do the smart thing. This week I was once again reminded that this ownership group doesn’t make football decisions. They make business decisions. One could argue that even the good “business decision” would be to sell Emma for maximum profit. The real downer is that I remembered that any money received from the transfer of Sears isn’t going to be reinvested in the footballing side, it would just be used to buy down the losses. With that being the case, I guess I kind of want Emma to stay the rest of the season…as long as Racing is winning. The real shocking thing to me now is that she hasn’t been transferred already. This group of penny pinchers seems like the type to cash in at any chance, so I guess I am giving them mild kudos for not doing that.
There has been much discussion about John Neace’s comments. He has his, if not quite staunch defenders, apologists for his comments. I get where those people are coming from. It is a difference of opinion on who holds the responsibility for making the team better. I believe that we all do, but it isn’t an equal burden. I know I have said it dozens of times, but it bears repeating this week: Sports Ownership comes with the expectation that you will lose vast amounts of money in the short term. The fact that Soccer Holdings wasn’t prepared for the vastness of these losses is on them, but it is also on the league. This league should have never set a buy-in price for a franchise as low as $1 million, but the league was a little desperate. That price attracted amateurs and, oh boy, is that showing its ugly head now. I am not going to write the things that those previous few sentences imply but I think we all know they are true.
“Don’t stop”
On that gloomy note, are you ready for some winning football? The good thing is that we have seen some lately and the matches have been fun again. I was really pleased that when forced to plug a Flint-sized hole in the starting lineup, Bev didn’t repeat a mistake from earlier in the season (putting Fischer back in the midfield). She slotted McKeen into the midfield and readjusted. Because of the penny-pinching ownership, Bev often has to put square pegs into round holes and disguise it by lauding players’ “flexibility”. A little bit of flexibility is a good thing, but the team is just worse when Kayla isn’t playing up front. You could debate Kayla’s effectiveness in the midfield (everyone has the right to their incorrect opinion) but she is simply a better player as a forward. The team is vastly better with her in the most attacking, highest-pressing role as possible.
Racing can do nothing but go for it now. It may be difficult to define exactly what “it” is, but they look like a team reenergized. They at least have the opportunity to put last place squarely behind them in these next few matches. I personally think it would be really interesting to see Racing go to a back four again in a match, when the opponent dictates, just to keep everyone on their toes. I think the three center back system is working well and should maybe be the default, but you have to remember that the roster wasn’t constructed with that in mind (or at least I don’t believe it was) and Racing has another stretch where rotation is going to be required. Playing your three starting center backs three times in nine days probably won’t work, but you could minimize some of that fatigue through formation change (possibly Seattle on Wednesday).
I was in Michigan this week and saw this sign.
It made me think of Pokémon and I pictured Bev as leveling up her coaching even more for these next few matches. She has been excellent these last few weeks (and I promise this is the last time I am going to mention it, but also in her decision for heavy rotation against KC under the circumstances) and has shown her best. It’s funny to me that a little doubt crept in on her. All of us are grossly unqualified to judge. She has things back on track now and if Racing does decide to overspend on anything in 2027, it should definitely be on her.
Pride 1 Racing 3 Player Ratings
Racing still can't keep a clean sheet, but they were in control most of the match. Nine points from twelve is good regardless of the competition.
Bloomer-8: Looked much better and had some key saves.
McMahon-7: Had a few nervy moments but came off with Racing still on a clean sheet.
Gacioch-6: Misplaced quite a few passes and might have gotten lucky to have the penalty decision rescinded.
Wright-7: Played well bar one really head scratching pass that put Racing under pressure while they were up only one.
Jean-8: Easily Racing’s best defender on the night.
Morris-7: Continues her good run of form.
O'Kane-8: Hit a great ball in on McKeen's goal and managed her first half yellow card well.
Milliet-8: Assisted nominally on both of Sears goals, but really those goals were all Emma.
McKeen-8: Became Racing’s youngest ever goal scorer on a fine header.
Sears-10: Didn't put a foot wrong and was a very tight offside call away from a hat trick.
Fischer-8: Pressed hard and effectively.
Pride v Racing -1
Orlando is Racing's next hurdle in their effort to climb up the table. In many ways this will be a litmus test to see how serious Racing can be towards moving up the table. The players have embraced the new formation and McMahon expressed that she was especially pleased by being able to play in the left wing role. It was the first chance for media to talk to Maja after she received the Player of the Week award from the NWSL. She gave lots of credit to her teammates.
You can tell Bev is already thinking about the 3 matches in 9 days stretch that is coming up after the Orlando march because she mentioned it multiple times when discussing the recent 3 macthes in 7 days stretch. She isn't looking past Orlando, but I think you can tell that the schedule this season for Racing has been a challenging one. The upcoming stretch is not as daunting, but one does wonder if the middle match of that stretch (Wednesday at home versus Seattle at 6:30) might be the one where Bev roles the dice on rotation.
As always Bev called Orlando “a respectable opponent” but they are not nearly as intimidating as they are with Banda. Orlando isn't typically a tremendously hostile atmosphere so Racing chances for points are decent. When asked about her favorite Disney attraction she said Splash Mountain. I am definitely in agreement on that.
The bigger “news” of the day was John Neace's comments from the Venture Connectors luncheon recently reported in Louisville Business First. Essentially he said that the ownership group “will be forced to do something” if the attendance numbers don't improve. It wasn't the best choice of words because many fans would say that ownership “doing something” was needed to prevent the current situation. Neace isn't wrong in that the attendance numbers need to improve. They 100% do. However, the ownership group is doing more to alienate current fans than to gain new ones.
I think Racing might have had a chance to succeed in Louisville if the ownership group loved soccer. When you fall in love with the beautiful game it can be all consuming and make you do irrational things like continue to be willing to lose millions of dollars per year. When you aren't in love, rational thought takes over and you get the kind of lame but accurate excuses that Neace provides. He became temporarily infatuated with soccer. He never fell in love like the rest of us. He isn't one of us. He never was.
Therefore he gets to do whatever he sees fit. This ownership group was never worthy of an NWSL franchise. The just found themselves in the perfect situation to get one on the cheap. It isn't their fault, but it became our problem.
"We all know her desire from the plans that she has made."
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Match Haiku
Stars pose little threat,
But folly opens the door.
Racing still triumphs.
“We all know her desire from the plans that she has made”
“This is the One” - The Stone Roses 1989
First things, first. Chicago Stars FC is ass.
Now that is out of the way, Racing put on performance just good enough to get all 3 points. It’s kind of a shame because the first 80 or so minutes was a really good performance. I know I can’t be the only one thinking about if the competition for goalkeeper is open at the moment. I am not a big advocate of switching keepers in the middle of a season, and Bloomer is signed through 2028. However, with no real competition as far as I can tell, her levels have dropped.
Everything else yesterday was pretty much exactly what you would want to see from a team overcoming a 5-1 road loss. My case for Bev knowing what she is doing:
Many fans were worried about the team being able to shake off a bad loss. I saw no ill effects from the blowout in Kansas City.
Resting players on Wednesday allowed her to put out what was her best eleven, in-form players against Chicago in my opinion.
Bev knows how to play probabilities. She knows whether to hit or stay in Blackjack depending on the dealer’s hand and doesn’t just go for 20 or 21 every time (as some in this fanbase seem to think is a good idea).
Even if Racing does not win another game this season, she still played this stretch masterfully and got six points from nine.
Now, the burning question is “How much can you win with Kayla Fischer as your most in-form player?’ I think that answer varies depending on the match, but hopefully the Kayla Fischer in midfield experiment is over. Lauren Milliet is much better in the midfield and with more wing options in the defense, Lo shouldn’t move back to defense any time soon. Kayla still frustrates as times, but so did DeMelo and this team always went the way she did when she was playing. I think this is Fischer’s team now, at least until the end of the season.
I also think Mirann Gacioch is the real deal. I am sure you could find me saying things like “I am not yet sold on her” because I definitely did. However, I was waiting around to be convinced because the club seemed to believe in her. It only took her 6 starts as a rookie to convince me, so I say that is pretty good. It will be interesting to see if she can play in a back 4, but in a back 3/5 I think she is really good. Racing should stick with a 3-center back look going forward.
Post Match Moment of the Match
Bev and her girls attended the post-match media press conference yesterday. While they ate snacks, I asked their mom about if the specific planning for the week helped them out by having a strong starting eleven for the day. She kind of said yes, but pointed more toward Petersen coming in for Jean as proof that getting players minutes all season makes them prepared to step in. I tried to pin her down to say if the current formation is “the formation” but she said that it would still be specific to each opponent, which is coach speak for “yes, probably”.
Arin Wright finally got to talk about a win and got to do it with a beer in hand.
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
She was excited to be involved in a center back to center back goal. She said that it was a set piece and look that the team specifically works on. Mirann praised Arin’s ball to her but said her favorite part was the celebration afterward. She also mentioned that her parents come to every game, but didn’t come today, which was a bummer. They were also asked about their form in the disco kits (which I believe is undefeated). Arin said that she likes playing in black because it, "looks hard, honestly.”
Thing I bought at ear X-tacy back in the day
Artist: Pulp
Album: His ‘N’ Hers
Year: 1994
Format: CD
Store Location: 1140 Bardstown Road
Pulp was probably the horniest band on Earth in the 90s. They were also kind of known for being “so bad they were good” until they actually became good. This was the album (not Different Class) when they became good. They were always very dramatic regardless. They included things in the liner notes like “Please do not read the lyrics whilst listening to the recordings” and were 100% serious about those instructions.
I bought this album used, I think. My memory isn’t quite clear on that one. I do remember it was an album that I took a chance on, so it probably didn’t cost much. I was rewarded with a very listenable album with several great tracks on it. It was a scrappy album by a scrappy band that went onto bigger and better things. It’s fun to root for the lovable losers and hope they come good sometimes.
The Taylor Flint Honorary Yellow Card of the Match
Racing played a card free match, so congratulations to them. This gives me a chance to say something negative about the NWSL which I will never turn down. The league doesn’t have a very transparent way to communicate yellow card suspension risk to fans. For example, Kayla Fischer has 4 yellow cards this season, but I can’t find anywhere the tells me that when it comes to suspension, she is actually only sitting on 3 out of 5, due to a good behavior reduction. The league communicates with teams regularly, but fans are left in the dark.
The 2026 UFL Champion Louisville (Draft?) Kings Sports Betting Corner
Here is something I wrote in May:
“It’s going to be some time before you can see Racing in action again, but if you’re looking for the other type of “action” here are some things you can wager on until the NWSL returns in early July.
I think the bottom spot in the league is turning into a 4-team race. Here is how I would set the moneylines for teams finishing in 16th Place:
Racing +110
Boston +110
Chicago +150
Bay +175”
This is now looking like a two-horse race and possibly a one-horse race. Chicago is ass.
Also, the Chicago Stars FC media release for each match includes “Brand Guidelines” that instruct the media to refer to their team in the first reference in a piece as Chicago Stars FC. Thus, my earlier reference. Other acceptable names are “Chicago”, “The Chicago Stars”, “The Stars”, and “Chicago Stars Football Club”. Under “DO NOT USE” the club instructs us not to call them “Stars FC”, “Ass FC”, “Chicago Red Stars”, “The Artist Formally Known as Chicago Red Stars”, “Overrated Pizza FC”, “The Red Stars”, “Lake Michigan Punching Bag FC” and “The Pushovers”. I made up some of those.
“This is the one she’s waited for”
I know I am never going to get any coach to cop to this, but this was the match of the three that Racing played this week that the team had to win. They almost Racing’d their way into a point by Bloomer letting a very savable ball go into her net and having an own goal prevented by a very tight offside call. I don’t think the broadcast showed the best angles for either of the offside calls, so either the midfield angle was the best they had, or VAR had a more definitive one. Regardless, the three points has been booked and now Racing can look up and see a few more clubs within touching distance. I don’t expect a playoff run from this team, but win a few more and that outlook could change.
I joke about Chicago, but honestly you can’t read too much into a result against them. There were utterly toothless until they started to play direct in the last 15 minutes. It’s even harder to see what the plan is in Chicago than it is here in Louisville.
FREE EMMA SEARS
The noise on this has died down to a dull buzz in the background. Emma seems content to be patient and play professionally within the system. She could have selfishly gone for goal yesterday but passed to Kayla. Emma has matured as a player this season, but Racing just isn’t going to reap much of the benefit from it. Her next team will. She will be gone in 2027. Racing has never not honored an offseason trade request as far as I know, so maybe she is content to let things run their course here. I think she still holds all the cards and the only thing that suffers now is Racing’s bottom line because ownership is too stubborn to let her go.
Racing 2 Stars 1 Player Ratings
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Racing were completely in charge for about 80 minutes, but a Bloomer error makes the last 20 mintute nervy. Six points from nine is not a bad haul for the week.
Bloomer-5: Has to cut out the mistakes.
McMahon-7: Did more defending work of the two wing backs.
Gacioch-9: Scored her first NWSL goal and was great defensely.
Wright-8: Got an assist on Mirann's goal.
Jean-7: Went off early in the second half.
Morris-7: Really active in attack in the first half.
Flint-7: Looked more comfortable in her normal role.
Milliet-8: All over the pitch and almost won a penalty on a very tight offside call.
O'Kane-8: Defended for her life in the last 20 minutes.
Fischer-9: Continues her excellent run of form.
Sears-8: Selflessly played in Kayla for her goal.
Racing v Stars -1
Racing ends its challenging week with a 4pm (hopefully) kickoff against Chicago on Saturday. The players and the staff are all too ready to toss the KC match into the dustbin of history. Chicago has had Racing squarely in focus with its last match being on July 24th, while Louisville had to play in LA and KC during that time period. Bev said that Racing handled that by doing most of its planning for Chicago prior to the road trip. The plane got back from Kansas City in the wee hours of Thursday morning, so Racing’s recent prep for the match today consisted of a training session today and not much else.
The positive thing about the quick turnaround is that we can all forget about Kansas City. O’Kane and Hill said that they are ready to put that performance behind them and move on to Chicago. I asked Bev if she would even look at the film from Kansas City. She said that everything from that match has pretty much been tossed in the garbage as they prepare for Chicago. Good riddance.
The pre-match story has to be Racing trying to rebound against a former player who might be extra motivated. (Check here for my breakdown of Bloomer vs. Atkinson.) Don’t expect any lapses in focus for either keeper in this match. In some ways it will be a referendum of both of them.
In other news, Jeff Kassouf thinks Racing stinks. Hard to argue with his assessment. Grading on a curve, I might be inclined to give the team a D minus, but that’s splitting hairs.
If Racing wants to pull its grade up for the rest of the season, it will start with this 5-match stretch where they play Chicago twice and play 3 out of 5 at home. The toughest match is probably Orlando away, but with Banda at AFCON, that one isn’t as formidable.
FREE EMMA SEARS
Speaking of Banda’s absence, this would have been a prime opportunity for Racing to price gouge the Pride and get them to overpay for Emma. I have no information on Orlando’s interest, but it would make sense. Maybe Racing is holding out until after they play in a week. Again, I have no inside information on this either. Emma continues to put in “professional” performances, but it would be interesting to see if a change in scenery might kick her into another gear.
Come clean and laugh
Courtesy of the NWSL
Match Haiku
It’s nearly all change
And Racing pays the full price.
Time to brush it off.
“Come clean and laugh”
“I Love You. What are You?” - Drawn to the Deep End, 1997
I think Bev got this 100% right.
Racing’s performance and result cannot and should not be evaluated in isolation. This was match against a very good team and even a full-strength Racing would have struggled. One site had the Current as a 66% favorite to win BEFORE Racing announced its lineup. This was a match Racing was always likely to lose.
From a strategy and planning perspective, I think if you play 3 matches in 7 days the right strategy is to sacrifice the middle one, even if you have an equal probability of winning each match. Given that Racing’s toughest opponent was the middle one, it made this an even easier choice. One of the reasons I would always pick the middle match to sacrifice is that a loss in that one is the easiest to recover from. You don’t ever want to sacrifice a match in which you have normal week to prepare, and a loss in the second one is easier to move past than a loss in the third one. You can have an intellectually dishonest conversation with yourself if you like and think that Racing had a legitimate chance to take 9 points from 3 matches, but any rational person (which includes Bev and her staff) would know that this scenario is utterly unlikely.
I am not Bev, but after watching her post match interview (one of the best she has ever given, likely due to my scheduled absence and her not having to answer my asinine questions) I made a few inferences. I think she was waiting to see how the lineup handled the first 20 minutes. If they had managed to avoid giving up a goal in the first 20, then you think about trying to get something from the match through your subs. Since Racing went down so early, it turned into a “run out the clock” type scenario and a hope to limit damage. There is no way that Bev thought this lineup was the one to go get Racing three points. She would have taken the three points for sure, but that was never the realistic goal for this match.
Now, I get that nobody likes to get beaten 5-1, but I definitely know that these players are made of tougher stuff than some of the fans are giving them credit for. I imagine that most of them were well on their way to getting over it before the team bus left the stadium. Most female athletes have to deal with an untold amount of nonsense from losers and misogynists, and some have had to deal with even worse things. Losing 5-1 in Kansas City on a random Wednesday night probably doesn’t make the Top 50 of the worst things that have happened to them as an athlete. It might not make the Top 1000. These players are resilient and will shake off this loss with no problem.
Post Match Moment of the Match
Many thanks to Brendan Devine for handling the load during the post-match press conference and I know he probably wished he didn’t have to carry the load by himself for this one. I was watching the match (to the best of my ability and desire) in the Lynn Family Stadium press box, which is a little challenging and since the match wrapped 35 minutes after the Lou City one, I needed to clear out and get home. As I mentioned above, I thought Bev did a great job of handling the questions. She reiterated that in her preparations for the match, she felt like she was doing the right things, so it isn’t fair to rely on hindsight too much to say she should have done things differently. She is never going to say that this was a sacrificial match, but as soon as the lineup came out, anybody with any sense knew it was a sacrificial match. You can like or not like that decision, but I doubt many of you have ever had to coach such a brutal stretch of matches.
Rachel Hill and Kayla Fischer were the players that drew the short straw. Both stated that they have to move on and look to the next match, which was always going to be the case and always is. As Rachel said, there is always another match to come to prove yourself again.
The Taylor Flint Honorary Yellow Card of the Match
Racing picked up two yellow cards in the match:
45th Minute + 5: Lauren Milliet - Foul - Reckless Offence
72nd Minute: Kayla Fischer - Foul - Professional Foul
Lo got her money’s worth on a late challenge on Lo’eau LaBonta…a little Lo on Lo’eau crime if you will. Kayla’s was a common offense for stopping a counter, so Lo’s was the better one. Racing Legend Katie Scott got a yellow for her foul on Sears that led to the penalty. It was almost 6 full minutes of real time between the foul and Taylor Flint taking the spot kick. VAR is awesome…
Madchester Song to Make You Feel Better
This song has aged much better than several “top” Madchester songs while still sounding of its time.
“Life goes on and so must you”
Reading the reactions online last night I was somewhat surprised at the, if not quite vitriol, then definitely enthusiastic disappointment directed squarely at Bev. I guess the fanbase is still under some kind of collective delusion about what this team is and what it is capable of. I think if you take time and step back and see this match as a last-place team getting soundly beaten by an almost certain playoff-level team, then the result should make sense. I think people may really be focusing on the way that Racing lost. I guess I kind of get that, but the manner in which they lost doesn’t particularly concern me, and I imagine that if Racing beats Chicago on Saturday, it won’t concern anyone else either. And of course, I know that some people are pretty brave until they have to look someone in the eyes instead of typing something and posting it.
As someone who does look Bev in the eyes, and asks her fair but tough questions when necessary, I can tell you that this is the best coach Racing has ever had and you are lucky to have her. It is because she is a good coach that I am not worried about a 5-1 loss. Past coaches, maybe a loss like this puts the team in a deep tailspin. Maybe this teams still goes into one with Bev at the helm, but I have a very hard time seeing anything close to the lion’s share of the issues being her fault. She takes her fair share of the blame. If you are a person who thinks Racing is going to get a better coach next year, then I will let you in on a secret. I am opening up a Fleur-de-lis FC store and will be selling sections of the new renovated I-65 for $10,000 per tenth of a mile. Email me if you’re interested.
However, if you are a person capable of level-headed, critical thinking (which I think the majority of my readers tend to be) I think you know that Racing’s squad isn’t built for a 3-match week and allowances and sacrifices had to be made.
FREE EMMA SEARS
Sometimes I think the lack of self-awareness is a trait that both Racing’s fans and ownership share. This is not a club that is going to consistently challenge for titles, and any playoff appearance should be cherished. This a a club that is going to have to develop talent to be competitive. Part of being a club like that is knowing when to let go. I know that Emma Sears signed a new deal through 2028 last season, but circumstances change. Right now, Racing is not going to benefit in any way if they hold onto her past September. Rational thinking has to win out, right?
Never mind, I forgot what country I was living in for a moment.
Current 5 Racing 1 Player Ratings
Racing didn’t take this match seriously. I guess I won’t either.
Bloomer-Aardvark: Not really able to do much on any of the goals. Probably wished she was on a lake somewhere cracking a few brews.
Hase-&: Is excited about the new season of Ted Lasso.
Petersen-Fire Extinguisher: I think I remember her doing something noteworthy at some point.
Flint-Minus 500 or 7: Forgot how to complete a basic pass during her suspension, but scored a rather pedestrian penalty.
Gacioch-Diet Mug Root Beer: Have you seen that famous clip of ABC advertising the Dana Carvey Show following Home Improvement? Google it.
Hill-VI: She's alright when she gets minutes.
Ciorbu-Jello Shot: Don't remember her doing anything.
Milliet-Parachute that Wile E. Coyote opens and a bunch of utensils fall out: Wish she had gotten the night off.
Weber-Danielle Chesky's malfunctioning microphone: Fotmob rated her as having a good match. Sure…why not.
Sears-Craftsman Tools: Won a penalty. Deserves better.
McKeen-Babycham: Maybe we get to see a long cameo on Saturday.
Current v Racing -1
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Being a short turnaround to the KC match and having no media availability to document gives me the opportunity to use the -1 post for anything that pops into my head. There are a couple of things to note first:
Maja Lardner won player of the week. Well done!
No update yet on Hodge’s availability but expect one today. Kansas City will be a tall order, so there isn’t much to say about that match without having a chance to talk to Bev or the players.
As of writing this, there hasn’t been an announcement for the NWSL Save of the Week. For me, Atkinson’s penalty save on Marta should win. That prompted me to write about something that has been bugging me for some time.
I don’t think the Racing fanbase ever appreciated Katie (Lund) Atkinson enough. I was probably one of her loudest critics, but it was always coming from a place of deep respect and the highest of high expectations. I thought she had the opportunity to be world class given the right scenario. She just never could overcome some of the mental errors that I think held her back. That being said, she is a demonstrably better keeper than Jordyn Bloomer.
When I make an assertion, I come prepared to back it up. Atkinson has been great this season. Alyssa Naeher exited a May 16th match for the Stars against the Courage. Since then, it looks like Katie has secured the starting keeper role. She kept two clean sheets for the Stars in April prior to that. I think she has likely proven herself enough to be the Stars #1 going forward. The numbers show that despite Naeher’s legendary career, Lund is the best choice. In 733 minutes played this season, Naeher has let in about 5 more goals than expected based on numbers from American Soccer Analysis. By comparison, Atkinson has played 845 and prevented about 6 more goals than expected. Katie was always an excellent shot stopper for Racing.
What Katie wasn’t for Racing was a vocal leader. It is a valid argument to say that Bloomer was exactly what Racing needed last season. I am sure I said it. The cold hard facts are that this season, Bloomer is letting Racing down between the sticks. While I appreciated what Bloomer did last season, I never felt that she needed to be handed Racing’s starting role over a healthy Atkinson. It can be debated that Katie was never healthy at any point last season, but this season she is. Based on the numbers, I would much rather have 2026 Atkinson than 2026 Bloomer.
Inside the numbers, Katie and Jordyn are about league average in claiming aerial crosses, fielding (the things that outfield players do other than passing), and sweeping. Neither is great at handling (the ability to cleanly catch and secure the ball). Bloomer is slightly better at passing. Where Katie is vastly superior is in shot stopping, or at least she has been this season. Only Jane Campell has better shot stopping stats than Atkinson this season. Jordyn is near the bottom of the league. It’s an inherently flawed stat for keepers, but the Goals Added stat from American Soccer Analysis is the best that I could find. According to that stat, Katie has “added” 5.38 goals to her team (mostly through stopping shots) and Jordyn has ”added” -1.13 goals to Racing, mostly by not as effectively stopping shots. Here’s the bottom line. Ten clubs have keepers performing better this season than Bloomer and only five teams have keepers performing worse.
None of this to say that Bloomer needs to be benched, but she also can’t be ignored as part of the issue this season. She needs to play better. I thought her late save against Angel City was a routine one, but the best part was that she punched it out of the way preventing a rebound. On the goal, she needed to do better.
I hope Katie receives a warm welcome on Saturday in Louisville. The only thing she did wrong for Racing was get injured. She had to hear the excitement from fans that Jordyn finally got her shot. The volume of enthusiasm and way it was expressed in some forums never sat right with me. I always thought Katie was the superior keeper. I think she might be extra motivated on Saturday to prove it.
“I’d love to do it and you know you’ve always had it coming”
Courtesy of the NWSL
Match Haiku
Angel’s nemesis
For a fourth time in a row:
Brace for a new star.
“I’d love to do it and you know you’ve always had it coming.”
“Shoot You Down” - The Stone Roses, 1989
Racing just seems to have Angel City’s number at the moment. It is a match where Angel City will look at the stats and will feel that they should have gotten a point and possibly all three. The most confounding stat for Racing’s opponent in this match will be Racing’s 60% passing accuracy. How do you lose a match like that? As Bev always says, goals change matches and the key to matches are in the moments. Racing came up bigger in more moments than Angel City did in this match and that was the main story.
One of the side stories was obviously a brace for Lardner, who I feel like just needs minutes to show off how good she can be. Given 60 minutes (pre-planned) she scored twice and in a different week might have been left out there to get a chance for a third. Bev and the coaching staff managed this match masterfully, especially considering that Weber had to come on for Hodge in the 7th minute. I thought that Weber would immediately go up front and that Fischer would drop into the midfield, but thankfully that didn’t happen. Weber got about the same number of touches as O’Kane in the midfield and filled in nicely.
Racing deployed a tactical back 5 again based on how they expected Angel City to set up. Prior to the match, as “My Close Personal Friend” Lianne Sanderson noted as well, Racing specifically targeted Sams as the matchup they wanted to exploit. Bev liked the speed matchup of what she thought was going to be Sears versus Sams, but an illness kept Emma to a 30-minute appearance. Lardner found a different way to exploit the Angel City back line by being in the right place at the right time. Don’t expect Maja to win many headers as a routine, because she shared after the match that she almost never scores that way.
The collective defensive performance was really good for about 80 minutes, but Racing just isn’t capable of keeping a clean sheet, so Angel City made the last 10 minutes nervy. Bloomer made a good save during the period that ended the match but also got beaten twice and was lucky that one just hit the crossbar. The good news is that the “chunks” of good play that Bev likes to talk about were larger in this match and netted Racing 2 goals. This wasn’t a “turning the corner” performance, but it was a continued step in the right direction.
Post Match Moment of the Match
Like I mentioned above, don’t get used to Larder scoring headers. She said that she doesn’t think she ever scored that way in college. I do think Racing will look to continue to exploit her pace versus using her as a target for crosses. Ellie Jean returned to the lineup and took up the role of the right center back in the back 3. She was pleased to get back into the lineup and thought the team’s defensive performance was good enough, despite not keeping a clean sheet.
I was mostly curious to ask Bev about the things I mentioned above:
Were the 60th minute subs preplanned and was she tempted to leave Lardner out there for a potential hat trick? “Yes” and “No” on those.
Why did she choose Weber as the early replacement for Hodge? The team has been working with her at the 10 role. She did add that she was disappointed that Hodge didn’t get to play more against her old team.
Was she pleased with the big moments in this match? Of course she was, pointing again to importance of taking your chances when they come.
The Taylor Flint Honorary Yellow Card of the Match
Racing picked up two yellow cards in the match:
45th Minute + 3: Maja Lardner - Time Wasting
90th Minute + 3: Rachel Hill - Foul - Reckless Offence
Maja’s card is why people hate officials and there is a special circle of hell for them. Time wasting cards are given so arbitrarily and with zero consistency match to match. I have seen several of Racing’s opponents kick the ball away in the exact manner that Maja did and it has never been consistently called. This type of offense was a point of emphasis in multiple leagues a couple of years ago then completely abandoned again. Shame on Laura Rodriguez for giving it. It was an awful judgement call. There will be ZERO accountability for it.
Hill, who always looks willing to mix it up, got her money’s worth at least, so hers is the pick of the match.
Madchester Song for Celebration
“This sensation, a celebration. I won.”
“When the day is done and it all works out”
It’s great to see Racing start to put things together again and show themselves capable of planning specifically for an opponent. This does however beg the question of “why not sooner"? The focus in the earlier part of the season seemed to be pushing on from last season and working on the finer details. When Racing’s technical staff has at least been more open about planning for specific things that an opponent presents, the performances have looked better. I am sure that the planning hasn’t changed all that much, but from the outside it looks like night and day. A new formation is always going to be a glaringly obvious way to signal change. I think it is understandable that it took the staff about a dozen matches to figure out how to pull the strings for this team due to the number of changes to the players and their availability (forced or unforced). I just think most of us wish that the team could have held on to more key pieces.
Everyone is auditioning at this point. Bev isn’t signed past this year. She has been more ruthless in her lineup selections recently, which I believe is a signal to everyone that you are going to have to fight for minutes. Bev is also showing tactical flexibility and good roster management in a tough situation, which I am sure many clubs (including Angel City) are noticing. I still believe this season is a write off at this point, but maybe a winning streak can convince ownership to wake up from their coma and pretend like they care about the long-term viability of this team.
FREE EMMA SEARS
Emma was listed as questionable for the match in Los Angeles, and I will say that I wondered if she came down with a case of the “transfer flu”. However, she came on for the final 30 minutes and played decently, if not great. In the short term, this team has shown that it can win matches without her (and amazingly Flint too), so I don’t really get keeping her around. She is eating minutes (probably not in this 3-match week, but in the long hual) that could be used for McKeen and Larnder. She has handled herself well.
I can guarantee you that there are individuals in the Soccer Holdings ownership group that are tired of owning a couple of soccer teams. The group collective definitely acts like it. These owners lumber around like dinosaurs begging for an asteroid to put them out of their misery. Their inaction has made them irrelevant and doomed for extinction. They entered one environment and made no real effort to adapt to the ever-evolving one. They are likely to be confronted with an even harsher reality when Lou City inevitably joins the USL Premier in 2028. It’s time to put up or shut up.
Angel City 1 - Racing 2 Player Ratings
Racing still can't keep a clean sheet, but the defensive performance is good enough in the end. Lardner is the hero, but there were good performances all around.
Bloomer-6: Needs to do better on the goal, but had an important late save.
McMahon-7: Fine effort from Q including some key clearances.
Gacioch-8: Looking better each match. Had a goal-preventing block in the first half.
Wright-7: Steady, but you can see that she can't quite match the pace of the league's best strikers anymore.
Jean-7: Solid return to the lineup from her.
Morris-7: Good to see her put in 60 minutes after walking around in a boot this weekend.
O'Kane-8: Ran things effectively in a deeper role.
Milliet-8: Never stopped running and almost scored, but for an excellent save from Anderson.
Weber-7: Acquitted herself well in the midfield as an early replacement for Hodge.
Lardner-9: It was a good brace for the rookie and hopefully it will lead to more goals now that she has scored her first.
Fischer-8: Racing’s best player at the moment.
Angel City v Racing -1
Hey! I actually remembered to take a picture for once!
Now, of course, I didn’t get a picture of them looking directly at me. That would be weird, right? I don’t know how many of you interview people on a consistent basis, but instead of concentrating on what they are saying, many times I am sitting there making sure to keep good eye contract and coming up with my next question as I am almost always woefully ill-prepared. Two weeks in a row, I have referred to Lou City’s opponent Pittsburgh as Houston while talking to Coach Simon Bird. When I used to have time to go to practice, I was better at getting pictures, but the arrangement for this year’s media availability has made that logistically challenging. Anyway, enjoy a slightly out of focus picture of Quincy McMahon and Mirann Gacioch not looking at me.
They were looking at me when I asked questions. Since I have slept twice since then I had to go back and watch the video to remember what we talked about. Oh yeah: taking positives from the Houston game. Mirann said that while they did take some positives, the team felt like they left two points on the table. Quincy added that the team felt like they were playing within their identity fairly well in the match, but just need to close things out better.
Quincy attributed the team’s lack of a clean sheet all season to some of the availability challenges that the team has suffered in defense. She did say that the flexibility shown by players was a positive and Mirann added that playing with different players has probably prepared them to build trust with more players than they would have with a consistent back line. Since Taylor Flint is suspended for the match against Angel City, it will once again be a different back line than the last match, regardless of whether or not they keep the same formation. The travel challenges of the week are definitely on everyone’s mind. Quincy said that playing in two good markets is exciting because the team can feed off the energy of the crowd and hopefully spin the energy into a positive. That is one of the main differences in this year compared to last year. Racing was a good road team in 2025. This season, they have yet to win a road point.
Bev talked about preparing for this specific trip since the schedule came out. She did mention that the team would be able to charter from LA to KC and then home. To some degree, this three-game stretch is just about surviving to the end of it and to not be out of gas at home against Chicago, which is certainly the best opportunity for 3 points. I asked Bev about the 3-5-2 system’s effectiveness now that she had time to study it. She said that she was pleased with how it worked against a specific opponent, but it wasn’t to be taken as a shift in philosophy as the principles remain the same regardless of the system. She added that she has been asking the team to give bigger “chunks” of good performance instead of 10 minutes here and 15 minutes there, and I think we saw that against Houston. Angel City is a team that Louisville has had some success against in the past, especially when you consider how Racing dominated portions of matches, even if the results didn’t always come.
FREE EMMA SEARS
The “Secondary Transfer Window” is open until September 7th. There are only 7 matches for Racing after the window closes. To hold on to Sears when those 7 matches are almost certain to be meaningless from a Racing perspective seem like idiocy at best and malice at worst. For a club with documented malice in its history, I guess idiocy is the lesser of two bad labels. I have to think that the closer that the September 7th date gets, the more Racing will be open to a transfer. However, Sears was overworked last season, and she hasn’t been available for every match this season. Therefore, injury is always a risk. Imagine having to shut her down after playing 3 matches in 7 days, not getting her back for the rest of the season (while paying her salary), and then getting less for her in the offseason. I know I wouldn’t run a club that way.
Look, I am throwing everything as the wall here to see what sticks, but because the decision to hold onto her seem so monumentally misguided that I can’t imagine running out of ammo. I will keep pointing this out every chance I get.