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RLFC V Gotham -1
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Racing will look to build on the momentum from a 4-point road trip at home against (Strictly New Jersey) Gotham on Friday. The big talk around Racing this week has been rightfully focused on Jordyn Bloomer.
Bloomer is a great interview. I found myself coming up with more things to ask her as the media spoke with her on Wednesday. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties only about 2 minutes of it got recorded on Racing’s media site. One of the things she talked about was the closeness of the goalkeeping unit.
Let's get into that unit. Lund is going to be out for the foreseeable future (players can return from the Season Ending Injury list in the same season, so the “SEI list” isn't really an accurate description) so this leaves only Anderson and Bloomer on the roster and in Louisville at the moment. White is due to return in June. The good thing about Bloomer is that people suspected that she would be ready if Lund ever went down injured. Now that it has happened, we don't have any such confidence in the rest of the unit (you might, but it wouldn't be based on much).
Now the situation is that we have a starter between the posts that absolutely has to stay healthy. What is the major drawback to Bloomer (in my opinion)? She doesn't have a great track record of being available for selection for extended periods of time. You might not think that is a fair assessment, so let me present my evidence. Since she has joined the club in 2022 she has been unavailable for sqaud selection for multiple matches in every season, including a couple of extended absences. She is going to be keeper #1 for a while, as long as she can stay fit. If she can't, Racing would have to go with an almost complete unknown.
That is more than I ever wanted to talk about goalkeeping so let's move on. Other than the absolute ball-hoggers of San Diego, Gotham have the most possession oriented style in the league. This will be a great test for Racing’s press. However, if it doesn't work, expect LONG sections of the match with Racing defending in Gotham’s attacking half. Last season's first-half display in Lynn by Gotham was a thing of beauty if you are a fan of controlled possession football. If they do that to Racing again, it could be worse than the 0-2 defeat that Racing endured last year. Flint had a “great” statistical effort in that match and it didn't mean squat. I imagine that she will be given the chance to pad the stat sheet again with interceptions, duels won and recoveries, but what Racing needs from her in this match is to swing possession, not just interrupt attacks. I will keep a close eye on her performance.
We fight on that lie
Courtesy NWSL LLC
Stolen The Wire Epigraph
For those of you who haven’t seen The Wire, it is an animated series featuring Bunny Colvin and his misadventures in Hamsterdam.
There is no denying that Racing as a team is playing better. I think most of this is down to the individual efforts from the key players. I still don't think the way that Racing won in Houston is the way forward, but it doesn't matter what I think.
The match in Houston was chaotic for several reasons, but one of those reasons is that Racing wanted to play that way. At times their press looked relentless and almost unbreakable. I always say that I want Racing to be a nightmare to play against and at times in Houston, they were. It was an excellent performance.
It was also greatly assisted by some things that are not going to happen very often. Racing will very rarely get a 30—minute break to watch film and right the ship in the middle of a match like they did on Friday (more on this later). Houston doesn’t consistently get very big crowds, but last night’s match was like playing a closed-door scrimmage to some degree. Jane Campbell, to me at least, had a very off night.
However, there are 4 self-deceptions that Racing should be telling themselves.
We’ve turned a corner and can dictate matches with our press
There is no drop off between Lund and Bloomer
We can sustain a press for long periods of time against possession-oriented teams
We finally have round pegs in round holes
I don’t think any of those things are 100% true, but some are closer to being there than others. None of that matters if Racing truly decides to fight on those lies.
Post (and mid) Match Moment of the Match
After the match, Bev talked about what the team did on its summer vacation (or weather delay if you like). Bev said that she and the staff used one of the weather delays to watch game film of previous Houston matches to adjust to what Houston had shown them. I am positive that they do this in their preparations too, but it makes a difference when you can do it either after you have seen a team in warm-ups or on the pitch. Coaches evolve as much as, or maybe even more than players. I believe in sticking with Bev for the long haul for reasons that I have mentioned before, but it is nice to see that some of the things she is preaching appear to be taking hold, at least in this match.
I got the information above by asking Bev if they played Uno again like in the last weather delay. It was very late in the day (early in the morning) so who knows why that question solicited that answer.
Were the Announcers Good?
Matt Pedersen and McCall Zerboni were the NWSL+ crew. They aren’t the league’s a-team but both had their moments.
Subsection: How was their “Louisville”?
Louisvillians are persnickety on the pronunciation of their beloved hometown. I will be monitoring the broadcaster’s commitment to getting it right.
Matt: Solid two, maybe two and a half syllable pronunciation. Don’t ask me for a definitive explanation of what a half syllable is but think about if the word “orange” is one syllable or two and you’ll get the idea.
McCall: “Allons enfants de la Patrie!” French, French, French. Lou-wee-ville.
I like when ex-players call matches in the leagues they played in, for the most part. McCall obviously doesn’t have a ton of experience yet, but other than a few malapropisms, she was good. I think she definitely has room to grow, and I hope that she keeps getting opportunities. She and Matt were a tad low energy, but the circumstances could have dictated that, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt. I did chuckle to myself when McCall said, “turn on the heat” (to describe bringing up the intensity) in the most soothing way possible. I thought Matt was insightful too. My personal preference is to err on the side of undersell vs. oversell on a neutral broadcast, so in general I liked this team.
TV Kit Rating
Houston donned the 2024 version of their orange kit. Back in 2024 when I reviewed it for the first time I said, “the pattern seems pointless.” I stand by that, but their identity is orange, and they wore orange at home, so that is a bonus point. (I really shouldn’t be giving out a bonus point for wearing a recognizable club color at home, but that is the state of things evidently.)
6/10
Show You Should've Watched During the Weather Delay
I am probably later than most on this one, but this “thriller” was a recent watch for Elizabeth and me. The Google “In a nutshell” description is “Confused, Unflinching and Confident”. I am not sure how that is supposed to be helpful. Anyway it's good and still too new for me to give too much away in terms of plot. If you don’t like the first episode it only costs you an hour. Maybe save it for Racing’s next weather delay because a black cloud seems to follow this team around, so there will surely be another one.
Excellent Show You Can't Watch During a Weather Delay
It isn't entirely true that you can’t watch the excellent Friday Night Dinner. It is available on a couple of Amazon Prime's Freevee channels, but you never know when and just like a broadcast channel in the last millennium, you are stuck with the episode currently airing when you stumble across it. I tuned into the Christmas Special during the second weather delay.
It's criminal that this show is, and pretty much always has been, unavailable in its entirety on a major streaming platform in America. I seem to recall that the first 4 seasons were available somewhere for awhile, but the best place to stream it used to be the Roku Channel. It left there over a year ago and now only plays live on Freevee.
Prime tried to make an American version, and stop me if you've heard this one before…it was terrible. I managed about 10 minutes before abandoning it. Wikipedia gets it somewhat right on the premise: “Friday Night Dinner depicts Shabbat dinner in the middle-class secular Jewish Goodman family.” It is so much more than that. I find it laugh out loud funny on repeat viewings. If it is ever easy to stream at some point in the future, I will be sure to point it out.
Lightning-in-a-Bottle-O-Meter
Whenever Racing wins a match, I will rate how much of it was down to catching lightning in a bottle versus Racing just doing the things they do well.
This ends up being a little “on the nose” in this instance, but the actually lightning (at least the second round of it) ended up contributing greatly to the circumstances that caused the win. Who knows what the outcome would have been without the second weather delay, but I don’t think you can argue that the chance to rest for 30 minutes gave Racing the opportunity to come out and press hard directly after the restart. This pressing lifted Racing’s energy which in turn lifted the effort and Racing evened things on a fantastic Fischer strike. The covid-era feel of the match due to the weather likely helped things too. Campbell seemed off her game and there is no way she should have been that far off of her line for the first goal. Racing played well, but had several things go their way. 3.5/5
“I’m driving on a straight road. It never alters”
“Faron Young”/Steve McQueen/1985
For better or for worse, Racing is sticking with the plan. That doesn’t mean that adjustments aren’t being made, but the roadmap remains the same. This team will live and die by its press and energy. I think that plan will eventually prove to be folly, but it is a plan, and everyone seems bought in for the moment. The true tests are coming up as Louisville has mostly faced teams in the bottom half of the league. Five out of the next six matches are against teams that will end this weekend in the top half of the table. It’s one thing to win against Houston and Chicago and quite another endeavor to do so against the upcoming foes. However, 7 points on the road is nothing to scoff at. If they could just figure out a way to get some points at home (AHEM! Ditch the green kits. AHEM! AHEM!) they could be in for a chance at the playoffs.
“Every other sentiment an antique”
Bev is making tough choices in her lineups now. Sonis played her way back in after Weber really didn’t do anything to play herself out. Part of me wonders why Elli Pikkujämsä and Uche Kanu haven’t seem more minutes, but that might just be the fan sentiment in me. The truth is that based on recent but still very limited evidence, the players getting the minutes are the ones who are producing results.
I thought Jordyn Bloomer was fantastic last night. The saves were great, but let’s also not forget that her long ball started the move for the first goal. The stars aligned for her to some degree, but she took her chance. When Katie becomes available, Bev might have a tough decision, but I think she will ignore some of the fan sentiment and go back with Katie. There may be some lingering fan sentiment for Ary Borges too, but I thought that the team looked better without her on the pitch last night. DiGrande’s game is smooth and unassuming but in a very positive way. She doesn’t make the mistakes that seem to be plaguing Borges at the moment. There is a competent team in this mix of players, and maybe Bev has started to unlock that mix regardless of if the changes and adjustments were enforced or not.
“Late Sky”
Sav DeMelo has always been this good at her core. If she can keep her performances in the range of her outing from last night, she can truly be the x-factor that this team needs. Her pass to Sears to set up the second goal was the type of pass that all players dream of. Elsewhere on the pitch she caused absolute problems for Houston. She is late in recovering her pre-World Cup form, but it looks like it may have returned.
Kayla Fischer has now started to score from the striker position. This is also a late-developing evolution, but it has come in the nick of time. If she can keep it up, Racing now has threats in enough positions to cause team’s problems. I also though Sonis had a good game. She did have an option to go for goal early in the match, but I think she yielded because she would have had to go with her weaker foot. Besides that, she was decisive and dangerous.
I am not changing my outlook on this team in any way. I stick by my original assessments. However, I have no capital invested in “being right”. I would much rather see this team go far and prove me wrong.
Dash 1 Racing 2 Player Ratings
Racing use their first 2nd-half goal of the season to secure 3 points on the road. It was also Racing’s first come from behind victory since the 2022 season.
Bloomer-8: Just excellent. The double stop was fantastic and the late save was good as well.
Petersen-6: Gave Patterson too much space on her goal, but was good after that.
Wright-7: Made some great recoveries to stop Dash attacks.
Jean-6: Undersold Bloomer on a pass to put her in a bad spot, but Jordyn recovered.
Milliet-7: Made a great block in the box late in the match to stop a dangerous attack.
Flint-7: Solid defending performance in front of the back 4.
DiGrande-7: Had a couple of pops at goal to keep the Dash on their toes.
DeMelo-9: That was the best performance by a player in a Racing kit in recent memory. Excellent all over the place.
Sonis-7: Seems reenergized since returning to a starting role.
Sears-8: After a slow start was a menace.
Fischer-8: Her energy after the restart changed the match.
Dash v RLFC -1
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Racing gets another opportunity to get some much needed road points on Friday in Houston. Every time Racing plays Houston, the match seems imminent winnable, but Racing has only won 3 out of the previous 13 matches. You would have to assume that Dash fans, if any actually exist, feel that every match against Louisville is a chance for 3 points as well. The game time temperature in Houston is expected to be around 80, or “chilly” as they refer to it in the Lone Star State.
This match is completely capable of giving us a no-score draw, having done so 3 times in the past. Hooray! Neither team is super prolific in front of goal although Racing has shown some goal-scoring ability recently. Then there is Jane Campbell. Just being Jane Campbell is good enough but sometimes she turns into Super Jane Campbell when she faces Louisville. She has stopped several shots against Racing that no other keeper has any business stopping.
To steal and mangle a line from The Smiths’ “The Queen is Dead”, if you say, “I know you and you cannot write”, I say, “That’s nothing, you should hear me on a podcast!” I recorded an episode of the Vamos Morados podcast with Zach Allen-Kelly and Chris “Road Dog” Lemmel last evening and it is out today. They like to talk about soccer, and I like to go off topic and talk nonsense, so it was a fun time.
A Little Slow, a Little Late
Courtesy NWSL
Stolen The Wire Epigraph
“…a little slow, a little late.”
For those of you who haven’t seen The Wire, it is about a dollhouse furniture hobbyist’s dark journey into spying on illicit phone conversations between young men.
This is how underperforming teams turn wins into draws and draws into losses. Both sides ended up unhappy with the officials. I don’t think the officials made any egregious errors, but in a game that set the NWSL record for fouls, you could definitely argue that the management of the game could have gone better from an officiating perspective.
The performance by Racing was better but in the times that ultimately mattered they ended up being a little slow and a little late. Both penalties might have been on the soft side, but by the letter of the law, the officials were fully within their rights to call them. Personally, I think they got them both right. They also got the call right on the build-up to the Sears goal by letting the contact by Fischer go. Some might see the contract made by Fischer and the contact made by Sears as an apples-to-apples comparison, but I don’t. Fischer’s contact was more natural and a coming together of feet. Sears was more direct and making no attempt on the ball. In short, Fischer’s contract was natural in the flow of play and Sears was deemed to be unnatural enough as to impede her opponent. Both penalties demonstrate the fine margins between winning and losing in this league. Even on Turner’s goal you could argue that Wright and Petersen were a little slow and late in closing her down.
When the margin of error is so thin you just cannot afford to be slow or late. If you are, it ends up costing you dearly.
Post Match Moment of the Match
Both teams (and specifically coaches) lost their composure as the match neared its end. Sergio Gonzalez actually got sent off when the match was still in progress, but Ary Borges was so upset that she got a post-match red card for getting in the official’s face. Stoppage time did seem to drag on, but it is hard to know exactly when the official is going to decide that the match is over, especially when there are multiple stoppages in stoppage time. Borges now finds herself suspended for the next match and really can have no complaints about it. Multiple players complained on various platforms after the match. I am sure fans did the same. In a month or so, I am sure everyone will be completely over it.
Were the Announcers Good?
JP Dellacamera and Jill Loyden were on the call. I thought Jill was good. JP Dellacamera was disappointing.
Subsection: How was their “Louisville”?
Louisvillians are persnickety on the pronunciation of their beloved hometown. I will be monitoring the broadcaster’s commitment to getting it right.
Jill: Solid. Two syllables. Sounded like a native.
JP: Alway three syllables but sometimes French and sometimes not. JP struggled with player names too. I don’t think he did his homework.
JP put in one of the laziest play-by-play efforts I have heard in some time. He struggled to say “Milliet” smoothly a few times and completely butchered Sonis pronouncing it “So-niece”. The club makes it easy to get pronunciations right because they put out a guide. He seemed bizarrely fascinated by the amount of stoppage time in the first half. He also seemed to disagree with the decision to let Sears’ goal stand (Jill did too) but I thought the official got that one right. He did do a good job at pointing out the number of fouls but did get a little fixated on it to the point of distraction. To me, he seems like a guy who has lost his fastball and maybe it's time to step aside.
TV Kit Rating
The fine details on the kit don't read in the wide shots on broadcasts. Here is an explanation of the kit from their team shop:
“Our new kit is a celebration of the heart and soul of Portland—the community that drives the Thorns. The dark shades of black symbolize the strength and unity within our city, while the glowing reds represent the embers burning at the heart of our team and supporters. Just like a small spark can grow into an unstoppable fire, the Thorns are powered by the passion of our players and fans alike.”
Puke! What a bunch of group think nonsense.
On the positive side it does look like a Portland Thorns kit and isn't confusingly green for no reason. 6/10
Making Your Youth Soccer Coach Weep
Mallie McKenzie had a foul throw in the 2nd minute. In the olden days this would result in a payment into the fine jar and endless ridicule from teammates. Today, that is probably seen a barbaric and “bullying”. Therefore, it is up to me to shame players when they can't do things that a 5-year-old gets right. Do better! (Also 5-year-olds don't get post-match red cards for dissent). By the way one of my friend's 5-year-old daughter scored 18 goals in a match this weekend, so there's that. What a ballhog!
…out of Nowhere
In honor of Kayla Fischer’s goal out of nowhere (really a bone-headed mistake by Portland) here are a bunch of RKOs out of nowhere.
“‘Please be careful’ is never careful ‘til it hears the gun”
“Appetite”/Steve McQueen/1985
For all of Racing’s faults so far this season, they usually have kept their composure pretty well. They might have been a little too measured and composed in the second half against San Diego, but the wheels came off of the composure bus late in the second half in Portland. It takes a good deal of composure to see out a match, especially when you don’t do it often enough to make it habit forming. For all of her good traits, Emma Sears didn't help Racing out much in the final minutes. She attempted to take the ball to the corner late in the match and then immediately kicked it over the line to concede a goal kick, essentially nullifying the whole point of taking a ball to the corner. The penalty she conceded was the result of an unnecessary stamp on the foot. I struggle with Borges’ performances sometimes. She is definitely “Brazilian” in her theatrics, of which I am not a fan. Her rolling around on the floor on very light contact resulted in a pretty big chunk of the stoppage time allotment at the end of the match. One might say that is was poetic justice that she received a red card because I personally thought her theatrics both in and after the match were borderline shameful.
Conceding multiple penalties seems like something that should be avoidable, if you are locked in and focused. The penalty that Flint conceded, while soft, was completely unnecessary as Moultrie was going nowhere with the ball in that spot.
I don't know what Sergio Gonzalez said to get a red card, but I bet you that it wasn't thoughtful and measured.
Racing is not ever in a position to lose its collective head, but this one especially hurts because it feels like they threw away 2 points. That is something they simply cannot do.
Elizabeth’s Thoughts
“Why couldn’t the match have ended at halftime? Racing sort of acted like it did.”
Thorns 3 Racing 3 Player Ratings
Racing almost escaped Portland with all three points, but things like this just seem to happen to Racing. A point in Portland isn’t bad. More concerning is the lack of composure by everyone at the end.
Lund-6: Got close to neither penalty and was a little nervy at times but put in a decent 90.
Petersen-6: Needed to help Wright out more on the Turner goal but was good otherwise.
Jean-6: Lund and Jean traded putting each other in rough spots, but none ultimately cost Racing.
Wright-6: Didn’t win many headers but won an important one near the end.
Milliet-7: Good in attack in the first, but was relegated to defending more in the second.
Flint-6: I thought the penalty call on her was soft, but when you make leg on leg contact in the box, you always run the risk.
Borges-6: Sometimes I struggle to see what she does well, but she helped defend late in the second half. I think she may have picked up a post-match red card, so I guess we will see how much she is actually missed in the next match.
DeMelo-8: Excellent, Excellent, Excellent. Racing needs more matches like this from her.
Sonis-8: Won her starting spot back and proved that she earned with a fine performance.
Sears-7: Good: excellent goal: Bad; Not wasting enough time in the corner and conceding the penalty.
Fischer-8: Glad to see her finally get her goal. She was good all over the pitch before she came off for Weber.
RLFC v Thorns -1
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Racing hit the road to face the Thorns on Sunday. Portland is always a tough place to play (unless it isn't, plenty of teams win there including Utah last season). Portland are mid table. That seems about right, especially without Sophia (Smith) Wilson.
It may be a bit of trolling on my part to feature a picture of Bloomer. I don't think there is anyway she replaces Lund. Keepers are a bit like quarterbacks in football. You can’t really be doing a whole lot of rotation there and expect good things to happen. If Lund is replaced for a league match in which she is available (fat chance in my opinion and she doesn't need to be) it would have to be permanent. Let’s close the book on any goalkeeper rotation ideas for now.
Racing do need to pick themselves out of this funk that they find themselves in. In my opinion, the best way to do so is with a clean sheet. I know that Racing is having trouble scoring, but if you can’t manufacture a goal, maybe the next best thing is to manufacture a clean sheet. Frustrating an opponent and keeping them from scoring might be the best way to find something on the counter. Racing might not be in an actual relegation battle, although maybe one day they will be, but they will be in a philosophical one if they don't put on a performance soon because they will be relegated from relevance (you could make an argument that they already are). For a team at the bottom of the table a relegation mentality isn’t always a bad thing. It makes you see every point as valuable but also recognizes the uphill battle in front of you. Racing needs to stop pretending that they are on equal footing with the league’s best or even the league's pretty good. I have always thought the way forward for Racing is this: be miserable to play against. That attitude shift can start in Portland by frustrating the Thorns on Sunday. I think any style or formation can be adapted into a frustrating one for you opponent if you are appropriately committed to it. Racing needs Milliet-like and Fischer-like efforts from everyone. I also think they need to pick up some yellow cards for physicality too. This isn't a non-contact sport. If they play like they did against San Diego when they face Portland, they will get thumped and will have fully earned it.
Milliet to make 100th League Appearance for Racing
Racing will play it’s 100th NWSL match on Sunday in Portland. Lauren Milliet has been on the pitch for every single one of them. In fact, she has played 92% of the available minutes in her Racing career. If you exclude the first season, she has played at least 98% of the available minutes in the last four seasons. If availability is the best ability, it is followed in close second by durability.
Everybody loves Lo. I think the easiest way to get on the bad side of any Racing fan may be to say a bad word about her. She has won Racing's Impact Player of the Year award at every LouCity & Racing Foundation Soccer Ball (2022, 2023 & 2024), an award is voted on by her teammates. When I talk to people, she is almost always at the top or near the top of their list of favorite players.
She also does more than her fair share of publicity and media responsibilities as well. When Racing is involved in the community, she almost always seems to be there. Lo genuinely seems to love this community and said on Friday that she is proud to represent the city and considers it her “home away from home”.
When asked about her commitment to the team, Coach Bev said, “She means a lot.” Bev added that Lo is always genuine and authentic, which is something that shines through easily when you spend any time with her.
Lo will be Racing’s first “centurion” which will cement her place in team and league history. The club stated that “she’ll be the first player in NWSL history to play in 100 consecutive regular season matches for the same club.” That also means that she is the first player in NWSL history to appear in all of a club’s first 100 league matches. That is remarkable.
Congratulations and here's to 100 more!
"The world is a smaller place now."
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Link to Elizabeth’s gallery of the match
Racing v. Wave 4-19-25 — Fleur-de-lis FC
Stolen The Wire Epigraph
“The world is a smaller place now.”
For those of you who haven’t seen The Wire, it is basically just a 60-hour commercial for Mint Mobile.
You can think about the reference above in multiple and maybe opposite ways. Here is how I am thinking about it. When Racing joined the league in 2021 the league was in a much more insular, and as it turned out, really bad place. The pool of coaches and available replacement coaches wasn't great. The roster rules frankly limited teams (although based on who some of the coaches were that was actually a good thing).
Now the world is smaller. You can get better and more proven coaches to relocate to America and coach teams. You hopefully don’t have to hire as many dirtbags (although you never know). You also don't have such draconian and antiquated roster limitations. You can call this the world being smaller or the world being bigger, based on your perception. You can’t deny that the NWSL world is different. In this world Louisville is a dinosaur. We all know what happen to them.
Losses like this tend to bring out the blame game. THAT game is rigged (also a The Wire reference from Season 1). I think plenty of people have seen The Wire and moved on with their life with their perception unchanged. (I really enjoy writing my “The Wire is” bits. Obviously, it isn't really a Mint Mobile commercial although there is some truth in that one.) The Wire didn't change my perception completely, but it did alter it and make me think of problems and issues as more nuanced things. The blame game treats problems as binary things. They aren't. Problems are often difficult, amorphous, unframed, complex and rapidly evolving. Racing has a problem being meaningfully competitive at this point. It is the fault of no single person, group of people, collection of groups of people, or single factor (environmental or self-inflicted). Solutions are the way forward, not blame.
If you follow this space, you surely know that my (not quite, actually) favorite quote from The Wire is “deserve got nothing to do with it.” That quote originally came from the Clint Eastwood movie Unforgiven. I think about that quote all of the time. To me it is a reminder that the things that happen to us are sometimes (mostly?) not based on our value as a person.
On The Wire Michael Lee questions Snoop about what Junebug and his family did to “deserve” what happened to them. Snoop’s response was the quote above. Michael Lee was about to meet the same end. He didn’t “deserve” what Snoop was planning to do to him. However, Michael Lee was smart, prepared and committed to do what he had to do to avoid getting something he didn’t “deserve” and turned the tables on Snoop.
Essentially for me it means this: You can’t operate based on what you think the world owes you, because there are too many factors beyond your control that contribute to your circumstances. For example, if you feel like you “deserve” to follow a winning or even halfway decent team, just because…that’s not the way any of this works. The world hasn't nor will it ever be “fair”. Sometimes you just end up on wrong side supporting the wrong team.
When we ask, “what have I/we/all of us done to deserve this?” The answer is this: something, nothing, or loads of stuff. I don’t think there is much comfort in that, and I am not sure any of us gain insight. It is a loaded question and the wrong one to ask. Instead, a better question is, “how do we move forward?”
…
To paraphrase one of my favorite dead comedians Bill Hicks…jokes are on the way, please relax.
Post Match Moment of the Match
Bev came to the post match press conference and took her lumps. She was franker and more honest than usual, but you would have to be, wouldn't you? The players we interviewed were Pikkujämsä and DeMelo. I can’t decide if this was a cowardly or smart decision, but all I can tell you is that I didn't want to ask anything to the players who started the match. Let's go with this: It was a kindness to those players from Bev or the communications staff who made the call. Anyway, because I can't seem to help myself, I once again asked a player to basically advocate for more minutes. I think both Sav and Elli said that they would like to extend their minutes to the point of their individual restrictions. I get the sense that Elli’s restrictions are tighter that Sav’s but can’t really give you a quote to back that up.
There wasn't much humor in this section either I guess. In honor of Elli…Why do Finn's put bar codes on their boats?
To scan da navy in.
Stink-O-Meter
It wasn't bad, but the general aroma of Butchertown did creep thought from time to time. At varying times, smells overshadowed “Eau d’Abattoir” including burnt popcorn.
It probably hit a 2 out of 5, but it was very manageable.
0 for 3 home matches with extreme offensive odors…
On the pitch, things stunk to high heaven, so 5 out of 5 on that front.
It's not easy being green
Green at home, again. Did you know that every time that Racing wears a dark green kit at home, a child loses their favorite toy? Just to rub it in San Diego wore my absolute favorite NWSL kit ever.
In protest of wearing green again at home you must now learn another useless fact about me. DO NOT SCROLL PAST THIS. THIS IS YOUR PUNISHMENT.
The above image is from the BBC comedy The Young Ones. I was an early anglophile. This show and Monty Python's Flying Circus are significantly to blame. As a 10 year-old, I shouldn't have been watching either, and I am sure I didn't get all of the jokes. However, I do believe watching stuff like this helped my ability to figure our things through context clues. Some adults still have never learned this. The pic above is from the Episode “Bambi”. It includes a “live” (actually mimed) performance of “Ace of Spades” by Motorhead.
It also included one of my favorite dumb one-liner jokes told by Rick Mayall: “I’ve told you a million times, do not exaggerate.”
Anyway, if you condone Racing’s wearing of green kits at home you must watch Kermit the Frog sing “Bein’ Green” 100 times before continuing.
Instant “Un”alysis
Some of us are ignorant. Some of us are dumb. I am hoping that the folks at today's match were simply ignorant.
I get that everyone isn't a nuanced rules expert, but I am going make a call back to context clues. Several times in the second half., fans near me complained about the side official not raising his flag for an offside offense. Inevitably, if they would have waited 5 seconds, they would see that he did eventually raise it once the attacking action had ceased. This happened multiple times. After the first or second time you think people might get a clue.
If a league has VAR, the officials are INSTRUCTED to delay raising their flag for offside until the attacking action has ceased on any play that is even remotely close. They know the rules. You obviously don't.
I will say it again. Please do not yell at the officials when you are wrong. It cheapens when I yell at the officials, and I only yell when I am right.
Heel of the match
At one point right before Borges penalty, Savannah McCaskill stood directly on the penalty spot preventing Ary from placing the ball down. I yelled very loudly at McCaskill to get off the spot. I think it was so loud that she heard me, because she looked over to my section. I didn't want her subtly digging her cleats into the spot to make the ball come of the spot awkwardly. This is exactly the type of thing I would do if I was playing. Sometimes it takes a cheat to catch a cheat. I love McCaskill by the way and wish more Racing players had half her fire and grit.
Did the stadium have good food?
The club dining had a Mexican theme. I enjoyed what I tried. The vegetables and Mexican salad were my favorites. The white queso and chips seemed to be a hit too.
What do you call a dessert that likes to go exploring?
Adven-churros
I didn't try the churros. I am not a fan of cinnamon.
Quote of the match
“I thought we were supposed to have a chance. They look a lot better than we do.” - Rick Cotton, legendary Eastern High School Tennis coach
I told Rick before the match started that I thought Racing had a chance to win this match. Rick and his wife Susan are good friends of Elizabeth and me. We attend many U of L sporting events together too. They have never attended a match in which Racing has won.
The Kayla Fischer Honorary Yellow Card of the Match
Racing received two yellow cards in the match. One was measured and likely necessary. The other was rash and unnecessary. Guess who had the rash one? It was Kayla Fischer! If you guessed correctly, you win the chance to watch “Bein’ Green” 100 more times!
“Did you mean to humble me? So, you did it unsuspectingly!”
Couldn’t Bear to be Special/Swoon/1984
“I’m just an also-ran” - I told Rick that I thought Racing has a chance to win, but in my heart, I didn’t believe it. I really didn’t expect it to be this bad, but I forgot about Taylor Flint. This team without Taylor Flint is way too susceptible to good attacking teams consistently charging at the back four. At varying times, Borges, O’Kane and DiGrande were the last midfielder in front of Wright and Jean. None of them are half as effective as Flint at disrupting the other team’s flow. I don’t know if Flint would have changed the result, but I would like to think that she could have changed the score line.
The other thing nagging at me, was that San Diego has a legitimately proven coach. I think there were some grumblings that San Diego might be really bad this season (there is still time for that), but Jonas Eidevall’s fingerprint will be on this team, regardless. They looked and played exactly as I thought they would. They started two 17-year-olds and subbed on a 19-year-old at half. Folks, teams don’t sign teenagers that can’t play at this level. I do feel like the rules hamstrung Racing when they were in the position to sign younger players, so I acknowledge that. However, San’s Diego’s rookies left Racing’s in the dust in this match.
Seeing San Diego make this quick pivot is why I think Racing is a dinosaur set for extinction. They have always moved too slowly or not had the right pieces. I don’t discount the environmental factors either. The NWSL rules sometimes seem like they change or don’t change soon enough to specifically make things harder for Racing. The attendance was less than 5,000 again. This is a relatively small metro area compared to the other markets. There are dozens of other factors you could point to. Actually, I misspoke earlier. All of you really know what may favorite The Wire quote is. “All the pieces matter.”
“There’s a mile between the way you see me and the way I am” - I don’t think Bev will turn things around. I don’t think she should lose her job, either. I can’t imagine Soccer Holdings is in any position to hire somebody skilled enough to actually turn things around. Unfortunately, I think everyone here is stuck with the status quo. All that I can tell you is that if you weren’t prepared for it before now, and believe me I tried to prepare you, maybe now you are. This is going to be a long and painful season.
I get optimism, but as the English like to say, it’s the hope that kills you. I really wish the NWSL had relegation. Then Racing would have something to fight for. At this moment, it seems like they are just a name on some better team’s fixture list. You don’t have to abandon all hope, maybe just temper things with some realism.
Racing 1 Wave 4 Player Ratings
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Capitulation pure and simple. A goalkeeping blunder seeled Racing’s fate.
Lund-3: Physical ability has never been the question with her. Concentration is still a concern.
Hase-4: Conceding 4 goals gets you a four.
Jean-4: Same
Wright-4: Ditto
Milliet-5: Unless you try as hard as Lo
O’Kane-5: Isn’t Flint
Borges-6: The goal lifts her a bit.
DiGrande-4: Didn't create much.
Weber-5: Kind of invisible.
Sears-6: Same.
Fischer-6: Fought as hard as Lo.
RLFC v San Diego -1
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
For me, this is the pivotal match of the season. San Diego retooled this year by adding an experienced and accomplished coach and several teenage players. Like all Eidevall teams, they will be quick and have a lot of the ball. I was impressed by what I saw from them in thier loss to Orlando. They then lost to KC, but that is a tough two-match gauntlet. I think San Diego will also use this match as their litmus test.
None of Racing results have surprised me, and I think any result is possible on Saturday. How Racing performs on Saturday will be our best predictor for their future fortunes, so far. This is a match where if Racing is serious about making the playoffs, then they need all three points. There are going to be limited chances to get wins this season and this is one of those rare opportunities.
DeMelo will likely make the bench at least based on Bev's comments. Past that who knows. I don't think Bev is in the place to want to switch up things too much yet, so I expect we could see consistency in the starters. Kanu is healthy, but this match may be too early for her to get back into the Starting XI. I am a little shocked that Pikkujämsä is still sitting on 0 minutes this season, and I think he best shot at getting minutes right now might be in the midfield.
Goals have to come from somewhere and soon. Racing hasn't looked close to “manufacturing” a goal, but is getting plenty of shots. I don't recall many of those shots being both a) at a meaningful point in the match (i.e. when they aren't trailing by multiple goals) and b) the result of stringing together more than a few passes together. Like always they look most likely to score on either a corner, counter, or mistake. The good news is that in this match, that is likely going to be the best route, regardless of how they are playing.
Savannah McCaskill almost always does something against Racing, so be on the lookout for that.
Elizabeth took some pics of practice. Find them here.
"That all there is to it?"
Courtesy Elizabeth Shaw
Elizabeth’s photo gallery from the match
Visit the photo gallery here.
Stolen The Wire Epigraph
“That all there is to it?”
For those of you who haven’t seen The Wire, it is a light-hearted drama where Idris Elba encourages inner city youth to chase the West Baltimore dream (selling dope and coke on the corner and dying before reaching 21).
The answer to the question listed above is “yup, pretty much.”
Get to halftime in decent shape. Throw on a couple of game-changing subs. Hold on in the final minutes.
That was the recipe for success for the Spirit. Unlike Mitch’s Hedberg’s recipe for homemade Sprite, I am sure there was more stuff in the recipe, but you get the point.
Post Match Moment of the Match
I asked Kanu how many minutes she was ready for, and the gist of her answer was “as many as the coaches will give me”. Personally, I was disappointed that she only got 10-ish and that those minutes were when the Spirit had abandoned any attacking pretense. Kanu is best in transition and on the counter. I would have liked to see her in the 60th minute when match was theoretically still in doubt. However, she is coming off of an injury, so maybe there was a restriction. I find it hard to believe that the restriction was “10 minutes only”, but who knows. I asked Bev if she thought that Racing has game changers to bring in like Spirit. I think she said that answer was yes, but Bev went on one of her rhetorical detours before getting back around to any semblance of an answer.
However, THE Post Match Moment of the Match was when Joe Havelda asked Bev point blank: Where are the goals going to come from? It is an excellent question, and I was so pleasantly surprised that anyone was bold enough to ask it that I kind of forgot to listen for an answer. I went back and listened and was not shocked to find that Bev didn’t really answer that question anyway. I don’t know what I would have said, and I wouldn’t hold up Marlo Stanfield as a role model, but his position on when the numbers were down in his shop, is that he for damn sure went out and did something about it.
Stink-O-Meter
Blissfully 0 out of 5. Smellier days are coming, so enjoy these while they last.
0 for 2 home matches with offensive odors…
Let’s keep the streak alive, but maybe without the preceding flood next time.
What did I miss?
I must have missed something because this banner seems delightfully out of left field. I feel like we might collectively be missing some context here, but I know for sure that I am. Bekki Morgan and I discussed the banner (which I have to say that I enjoy immensely) and her thoughts were that since Racing is going with a green theme this season and that California (Sav’s home state) produces its fair share of avocados that those two factoids provide some context. Maybe so, but it still seems quite bizarre. You also have to make the extra mental leap from avocado to guacamole for the chip thing to make sense (unless you know someone who dips their chips into a halved avocado with the pit still inside). So weird…I love it!
If anybody has any extra context, please DO NOT tell me. I enjoy it much more without it.
GREATEST BANNER EVER!!!
More non sequitur food-based player banners, please. Especially those where the pun only makes sense if you mispronounce the fruit.
Baby, baby…where did our Purp go?
If you stumbled across my preview for All for XI you might have come across my complaint about “Go Big Purp” already, but now I feel like I need to expand. For the second home match in a row, Racing has decided to go with its green kits at home. I hate this. I am not a superstitious person in the least, nor do I believe that “karma” is tied to such things, but I think at a minimum, consistently refusing to wear your primary colors at home is bad form. Lou City do this too when they decide to wear their usually god-awful 3rd kits at home near the end of the season.
Honestly, only the houndstooth kit has really felt like a true home kit for Racing in my opinion. The first couple of seasons established white at the away color for Racing and the first ever kit was more black (midnight violet if you’re nasty) than purple. The only season with any decent amount of “purp” was Paige Monaghan’s only season here in which she coined the phrase.
I have been indifferent to the slogan (it’s better than “Run with Us”) since its inception. Elizabeth has hated it from the get-go. I don’t have any evidence that Paige Monaghan put a curse on the motto when she was left unprotected by Racing in the 2024 expansion draft. I also don’t have any evidence that she didn’t put a curse on the motto, either. That last sentence is pretty ridiculous, but you’ve seen the state of logical thinking in this country so that sentence might make actual sense to half of the populace.
Ultimatum: Wear the purpliest kit at home or ditch the slogan! Failure to comply will lead to further and more intense mocking!
Did the club/stadium have good food?
Yes!
The Tandoori Chicken Salad Wraps were good, especially in the cucumber yogurt dipping sauce. They were a hit with all of us. Pertinent to this time of the year, the Derby pie was good too (solid B, not as good as homemade, but good for a mass-produced version). The club has also moved to canned soft drinks over fountain drink offerings from the previous years. On a chilly day, like yesterday, one’s hands might get a little cold carrying drinks back to your seats, but those cold aluminum cans might be useful on a really hot day.
“But there it is, and there we are.”
Desire As/Steve McQueen/1985
I think the level has been set now. We have four results to judge and at least for me, Racing is who I thought they were. The team is still missing a few players that when 100% available, can change games, but none that can change fortunes. We are already starting to see the rookies take minutes from veteran players, and we have to infer from that reality that those minutes have been given to the players who are performing better in Bev’s system. The other side of that coin is that we can also pretty much infer that the roster at the end of last season was in miserable shape in the eyes of the club/staff.
I said in my preview that any point for Racing would have been good here. Based on the first 45 minutes, I thought it could still be in their reach, but Santos’ stunning free kick in the 58th minute put any hopes to rest. The Spirit can be prone to scoring early in matches and not closing them out, but the 58th minute isn’t early, and Racing never posed much of a threat until Washington went into cruise control after their second. It was not a point I expected Racing to get, so the loss shouldn’t impact their quest for the playoffs. They will need to turn some draws into wins against mediocre competition to achieve that feat. They aren’t going to threaten a really good team unless they have a fantastic match and yesterday wasn’t one of those times.
The lack of goal scoring is a concern, which is bad, but I will say the back line is in better shape than I thought it would be. I really like Hase in the minutes I have seen from her. Flint was okay in front of them, but she has to offer more going forward if Borges is going to play like she did yesterday. I will give Bekki credit for this insight, but Borges plays much better when she shares the pitch with DeMelo. I think she might need to play further up the pitch, but at the moment she isn’t playing well enough to displace anyone up there (although I do think Weber may be better as a substitute at this point). Goals need to come from somewhere and Fischer has been given 4 matches to show what she can do. For all of her good qualities, I don’t think she is a natural goal scorer.
Racing needs natural goal scorers because they look nowhere near manufacturing a goal from open play with sustained possession. Set pieces and counters still look like the most likely routes to a goal for this team. I think Fischer got really close to snatching possession away in a dangerous spot a couple of times, but the fact is that she ultimately didn’t do it.
The good news is that Racing won’t face another juggernaut (in my opinion) until June 14th when they face Kansas City and then Orlando right after that on the 20th. They have time to get things sorted out and hopefully can get heathier, especially up front.
Did you know?
Since I seemed to have a “there” theme in my head, did you know that the Gorillaz song “Dare” is called that because Happy Mondays’ front man Shuan Ryder can’t pronounce “there” due to his heavy Mancunian accent?
Racing 0 Spirit 2 Player Ratings
Santos scored on an excellent free kick and Hatch scored her club leading 50th goal for the Spirit and that was all she wrote. It wasn't an unexpected result, but that doesn't make it any easier to digest.
Lund-5: No idea what she was thinking on her 17th minute adventure up the pitch which led to a cheap giveaway.
Hase-6: Had a very good first half, but the entire back line suffered in the second
Petersen-5: The counter on the second Spirit goal was down her side and she has to do better.
Wright-5: Conceded too much ground after the second half Spirit subs.
Milliet-6: Her energy after going down by 2 was too little too late.
Flint-5: The stats will show her having a better match than she did.
Borges-5: I don't think she works as a midfielder in this particular set up.
O'Kane-6: Was a decent replacement for DeMelo.
Weber-6: Less impressive than her previous efforts.
Sears-5: Keeps alternating between good and bad performances.
Fischer-6: Probably Racing’s best player on the afternoon.
RLFC v Washington -1
Unless something changes last minute, it looks like it is full steam ahead on Saturday's Not Thunder game. I believe that the decision to cancel Thunder Over Louisville was almost universally seen as the correct if disappointing decision. One of these matchdays will line up better for Racing, but they will be 0 for 2 starting off the year on the “nice day for it” front. It appears that Racing has been using U of L facilities to prepare this week since access to Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center would have been by aquatic vessel only. It's been a week full of varying levels of challenges for everyone.
Speaking of challenges, Washington will present several of them for Racing on Saturday. An air show might have inspired a larger crowd and thus a more energetic effort from Racing on Saturday, but they will just have to work with whatever kind of crowd shows up on Saturday. There will likey be a fair amount of no-shows due to the cancelation of Thunder and/or parking issues. Racing will have to shake off those minor nuisances and focus on the pitch.
Any points against Washington will be good ones. The Spirit is clearly the more talented team. However, more than any other club in the league, Washington does tend to find ways to drop points in matches where they have no business doing so. If Racing can keep things close, they can steal a result.
“Crawl, walk, and then run”
Courtesy NWSL/Harry Figiel
Stolen The Wire Epigraph
“Crawl, walk, and then run”
For those of you who haven’t seen The Wire, it is a British game show starring 5 comedians who complete a series of pointless tasks to please a tyrannical host. Tasks include “disappear the greatest number of dead bodies in abandoned row houses without getting caught”, “set up a warrantless wiretap” and “have the longest phone conversation about selling drugs without saying the words ‘sell’, ‘buy’, ‘drugs’, ‘money’, or ‘pepperoni’”.
Racing took home all three points in a rather dull and uninteresting match on Sunday evening in Chicago. It was a “grind it out” type match where Racing is usually on the opposite side. Elements and a rain delay will be in Chicago’s boatload of excuses, but the truth is that they are barely an NWSL team without Mal Swanson. You play the hand you are dealt however if you are Racing, you move on to the international break with a decent number of points though 3 matches.
Let’s talk about points for a minute. I think Racing will need around 33-35 points to make the playoffs. The easiest way to get there is to win all of their remaining home matches, but that isn’t going to happen. Let’s take Orlando, Kansas City, and Washington off the table. That leaves 27 points at home in the “available” category. Racing won’t win all of those, but let’s say they get 21 at home, then that would be one more point than they won at home last season. That leaves12-14 points that they’ll need to scrape on the road. Chicago is a good start, but (you guessed it) Chicago was their only road win last season so winning this one didn’t position them any better than last season. It wasn’t a “must-win” in the usual sense, but it was a “hold serve” win in my opinion.
Even though Clay Davis is a deplorable con artist/politician (not sure the distinction between those two things needed a /) he does give good advice here. Racing crawled to a victory. A point against Washington at the Thunder match would be a nice “walk”. Then maybe they can run.
Post-Match Moment of Match
Bev commented during the post-match media availability that she and other members of the staff played UNO to pass the time during the weather delay. She also stated that she wasn’t very good. I suggest that she step up her UNO game before her kids get much older. You don’t want to start off on the wrong foot in the board/card game battle with your children. Being better at something than your parent in a rite of passage, so I never let my kids (or any kids) win at anything unless they earn it fair and square.
I did lose a Connect Four match to a 5-year-old recently. SHUT UP AND STOP LAUGHING! I won like 30 before he beat me. He somehow cheated, but I can’t figure out how. Anyway, do you think he remembers that? No, but I do. Bev, work on your UNO skills and keep those kids in their rightful place as long as you can.
Were the Announcers Good?
Aly Trost Martin was on the play-by-play and Lori Lindsey was on color. Interesting matches are easy to call, so the real trick is to be good on dull ones. Martin was solid. Lindsey was not my cup of tea.
Subsection: How was their “Louisville”?
Louisvillians are persnickety on the pronunciation of their beloved hometown. I will be monitoring the broadcaster’s commitment to getting it right.
Martin: Smooth…Lou-uh-vul…I am a two-syllable guy, but I mumble and talk fast. Standard ‘correct’ announcer pronunciation.
Lindey: Slightly labored…Lou-wuh-vul…This is the danger of the three-syllable variant. You let that slight French-ness come in on the middle syllable. Still only noticeable to the connoisseur.
My bigger beef with Lindsey was that her analysis was all over the place. 90 minutes is a long time to say interesting things and not repeat yourself. Lori did seem obsessed about the conditions and the delay. She kept mentioning it. Plus, she wasn’t consistent. Sometimes all long balls should be “verboten” in the wind, and then when they would come off, they were necessary. She kept talking about playing the ball on the ground. Really? On a wet and thick pitch? I think we can come up with better advise than “play it on the ground”. What she should have said is something like “tighten up your passing triangles when it is windy and the pitch is a slog. Work the ball by closing down the spaces between your teammates and get the ball to your best dribblers.” I am not auditioning. As I said above: talk too fast/mumbler.
What drove me a little more nuts, however, is that like quite a few former players who are broadcasters, she is a handwringer. I like Lianne Sanderson for Arsenal reasons, but she is also a good broadcaster. Maybe it is the British “stiff upper lip” thing, but she can describe what a player might be feeling without getting overly sympathetic. Lori Lindsey described a 2-hour rain delay as “emotionally and mentally taxing” which is something that I think serves nobody. The players in this league have real historical and present challenges. Don’t turn them into overly delicate flowers that can’t handle something any normal adult should be able to handle. I would classify a 2-hour delay as an irritating inconvenience, but definitely not “taxing”.
By all accounts, Bev instructed the players to relax during the delay and was prepared for the chance that they could have one. Lori also questioned Bev by suggesting that Racing might not have been prepared for a windy game in The Windy City. Racing and Chicago could have helped Lori out some by staging a more interesting match, but I might just mute it the next time Lori is on the broadcast.
What Chicago Fans Should Have Watched Instead
Even if you aren’t watching Daredevil: Born Again, you could watch this bottle episode (Episode 5: “With Interest”). I imagine that it will be the one that people watch again without rewatching the entire series. The series itself has some interesting themes, but mine is probably “It is a bad idea to let our monsters out of prison, (or never put them there in the first place).” I hope none of you are “Pro-Monster”, but I suspect you know plenty of people who are!
Better Match You Could Have Watched
I thought this match was an interesting one from start to finish even if it was 0-0 at half. Sanderson was on the ESPN call (always a plus) but there was a real chess match going on at times in this match. Jonas Eidevall wasn’t a rousing success at Arsenal nor was he an abject failure. I think he will do good things with the Wave this season, especially based on the cameos from the Wave’s teenagers. We already know Seb Hines is a good coach and Orlando carries the aura of a defending champion in that they never seemed to be too bothered by not being in control of the match at times because they know they will have the last laugh. Like I said, there are all types of interesting things going on here so give the 10-minute highlights a watch. This section might not feature often as I don’t actively seek out other NWSL matches to watch but this was a “goodun”.
TV Kit Rating
Kits look one way up close and another way on the screen. I reassess the opposition kit each away match.
Still pretty bad on the screen. Elizabeth and I had it ranked next to last. No need to reassess more. 3/10
Series to Binge Instead of Watching Pointless International Friendlies
I hate international breaks because I don’t like international football or any flag-based competitions for that matter. You could spend your leisure time watching something much more entertaining.
I feel like this is one that most people will get around to seeing at some point based on word of mouth. If you like what the English call “light entertainment,” this whodunnit should be right up your alley. The journey is better than the destination in my opinion, but don’t let that stop you and isn’t that the point of a streaming series anyway?
Isiah Whitlock, Jr. is in this too (Clay Davis from The Wire). You’ll have to watch to see if he repeats his signature one-word catch phrase.
Lightning in a Bottle-O-Meter
Whenever Racing wins a match, I will rate how much of it was down to catching lightning in a bottle versus Racing just doing the things they do well.
By getting a relatively early lead, Racing cruised to a pretty uneventful win. The Stars are a shell of themselves without Mal Swanson. They should probably try to do something about that. Racing played within themselves once they got the lead and were much closer to increasing their lead versus Chicago pulling back one. Even though there was actual lightning in the area Racing didn’t have to catch any to win. 1/5
“Don’t you know who owns the weather, rain or shine?”
“Looking for Atlantis”/Jordan: The Comeback/1990
Talking and complaining about the weather is something we all do, but we obliviously can do nothing about it. We just have to deal with the consequences. Weather is a great tester of our preparedness and adaptability. Racing showed a good deal of both in the match on Sunday. I haven’t changed my forecast on them because I didn’t expect all of the days to be cloudy. However, I do expect more of them to be, so we should enjoy the metaphorically sunny ones.
“Lesson One: Child don’t waste it”: While it was a match that nobody should punish themselves by rewatching, there are some really good takeaways. The rookies put in some good shifts, especially Hase. I really don’t mind the Hase-Petersen-Wright-Milliet lineup. They all had rounded FotMob player ratings of 8. Petersen needs to play often because she is good at ball placement on in-swinging corners. As long as Petersen remains effective at center back, Hase may have left back locked down. O’Kane was an effective dribbler without getting herself into the tight spots that Fischer and DeMelo often find themselves in without an exit strategy. Swebs will score at some point, but I think she showed more of her “fox in the box” type skills in this match. I can’t wait for the first one to go in to see if it opens the floodgates. The rookies didn’t waste their opportunities. The kids are alright.
“Lesson Two: The world’s your cherry. But tomorrow? Maybe not.”: Nothing in the performance would make me rethink anything I said on All for XI. I learned zilch on Racing’s style and tactics in this match. The elements and the opponent mean that this a game film only good for individual players sessions. I don’t think Racing will kid themselves about the performance. They will never say is publicly, but their opponent was weak and ripe for the picking.
“Lesson Three: Come on and taste it.” That doesn’t mean that we (players and fans) shouldn’t enjoy it. If wins are as rare a fruit as I expect them to be this season, then every bite should be savored. There were some really fine individual efforts in the match and every player has a moment to be proud of. One of my favorite moments was seeing Sonis, who is usually a starter and has little that she needs to prove, hustle to win a late corner on a ball that I see way too many players in this league treat as a lost cause. Hase made two notebook worthy defensive plays. Sears took a chance in the wind and while it was the deflection that caused Naeher the problem, it is the confidence you like to see. Flint again was marvelous, but that has become the norm.
Elizabeth’s Thoughts
I’ll say the obvious - this line-up was a different team. Even the veterans played differently. Maybe it was the wind, or maybe it was the physicality of the match. Lo’s bloody nose! Flint’s steal to Sears for a Ramen-noodle-instant goal! Even the sides of the goals saw some action between Sears’ goal attempt and players piling up to get the ball. Weber has found her role on the team and knows how to keep up with the speed of the NWSL.
This team is alive! (“…like toys, when your back is turned.” Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock)
Stars 0 Racing 1 Player Ratings
Racing got its first 3 points of the season and will gladly take them. Chicago was pretty toothless, and Racing still has things to improve upon, but will go into the first international break of the season in decent shape.
Lund-6: Was beaten on a header early in the match, but it hit the crossbar. She played Wright into trouble to make stoppage time nervier than it needed to be.
Hase-7: Much better in her second start. She made a couple of good standout defensive plays.
Petersen-8: I am starting to like her at center back. I think she is steadier than Jean and Hase makes her not as necessary at left back. Her corner takes are good especially the inswingers.
Wright-8: Had a headed shot on goal to go along with a good defensive effort.
Milliet-7: Gritty as usual. I still feel like she has more to contribute offensively but it wasn’t needed in this match.
Flint-8: Her interception was as key to the goal as was Sears’ finish. It was another in a long line of good performances against the also rans of the league.
O'Kane-7: I thought it was a nice full debut. She offers some different things to Racing’s other midfielders and will be good for a change of page either by starting or as a sub.
DiGrande-7: Racing is calmer when DiGrande is on the pitch. Sometimes the chaotic nature of DeMelo is better for the situation but today was a good day for her to be the 10.
Weber-7: You have to feel like her goal is coming, but she will need to be just a little quicker to the ball in this league compared to what she is used to.
Fischer-7: If she ever gets her decision making to match her effort, she can move up a level. I thought she picked out the wrong pass a few times (or dribbled or shot instead of passing) but her effort causes problems for the other team.
Sears-8: She got a fortunate deflection, but was aware enough of the conditions to challenge the keeper, something you always want to do in the wind.
Chicago Not Red, Just Normal Stars v Racing -2
Look at that dumb logo. I mean, just look at the thing. Can you believe somebody paid money for that. There wasn’t anything wrong with the old name and the logo.
I searched “why did the Red Stars change their name,” and this is what came up. It sounds to me like the new ownership just wanted to change something for change’s sake. Sports owners are often just giant toddlers disguised as successful businesspeople.
Anyway, Racing’s best chance to secure 3 points on the road this season comes at an opportune time. The team needs a win badly and is likely going to catch the Stars again without Mal Swanson in the squad. All signs point to Racing being cautious with Sav’s return, but Racing has more cover for her than Chicago does for Swanson. Not counting Sav’s absence, Racing is starting to get healthier. Kanu might be close to being available for selection, but Bev is never too forthcoming with injury news.
Racing has 6 wins, 3 draws, and 3 losses against “the Stars”, which means that Chicago is the club which Racing has had the most success (Racing has an almost identical record against KC with KC winning 4 to Chicago’s 3). All for XI’s Phuoc Nguyen kindly asked for my help for a piece he is writing on Racing, a decision I am sure he now regrets. He asked me who I thought Racing’s chief rival was and instead of just saying “Chicago” like a good sport, I used the opportunity to be contrarian and serve my own agenda which should come as a shock to absolutely no one.
Look for my uber-positive outlook on Racing’s 2025 season coming to All for XI soon!!!
In other news that I thought about addressing in my post-match thoughts but will go ahead and put in here, there was announcement on everyone’s favorite topic…high-end real estate development. From the club…
“Butchertown Apartments residents will enjoy premium amenities such as a clubhouse, convenient on-site parking and dedicated retail spaces on the first floor. With a focus on comfort and convenience, Butchertown Apartments will provide a vibrant urban lifestyle in a prime location, and only smell like an abattoir on days ending in ‘y’.
Alright, I might have added in that last bit.
“The gods will not save you”
Stolen The Wire Epigraph
“The gods will not save you”
For those of you who haven’t seen The Wire, it is a dating show where young singles look for their soulmates and often find them, if their soulmate happens to be a crippling heroin addiction.
I will admit it. I hate going to press conferences after Racing loses a match on the road. I especially hate it when it is after midnight, so I just decided to skip it and go to bed after writing my player ratings post. I listened to Bev, Wright, and Petersen this morning and it is safe to say that I didn’t miss anything. The players almost always sound appropriately disappointed, and Bev tries not to be too downbeat. I have heard the same thing several times. You rarely get anything deep or insightful, but I am not really expecting it.
For those of you that like to let the stats lie to you, you can look at the numbers and say “hey, Racing was in this match and won some of the statistical categories.” You do you! I, on the other hand, trust what I saw based on a long history of watching this team. There are simply going to be times where Racing is going to be outclassed by their opponent and last night was disappointingly one of them. I was expecting it against the league powerhouses but was also prepared for it to start to happen against teams in the second tier. It is too early to know which of those Bay FC will fall into this season, but Racing was never in it in the first half.
How many times did we hear it last year? Racing puts together a good half, but either doesn’t capitalize or it’s the wrong half after being outplayed in the first. Bev has talked about the “1 to 2%” that decide matches. In another parlance that can be put down to “luck” or “the gods”. That might be true some of the time, but not this time. “It’s Baltimore gentlemen. The gods will not save you” means that you have to find creative solutions to fight a sober reality. Maybe don’t try the football equivalent of Bunny Colvin’s solution in this case, but either do something drastic or stop kidding yourselves.
Post-Match Moment of Match
I am glad that I watched the post-match interviews because Arin Wright was a little spicy on getting “pushed in the back” on Bay’s first goal. She actually got bumped into and went down way too easily. Again, “the gods will not save you”. This time, said “gods” are the officials or VAR. There were several times in the match where Racing simply wasn’t strong enough physically. If you are going to be playing against teams that are more talented, you are going to have to win the physical and mental battles. Racing wasn’t close to winning either in San Jose.
Were the Announcers Good?
I thought so. Jordan Angeli was on the call and Maura Sheridan was on the color. For the most part I thought they did a good job of keeping me engaged in the match.
Subsection: How was their “Louisville”?
Louisvillians are persnickety on the pronunciation of their beloved hometown. I will be monitoring the broadcaster’s commitment to getting it right.
Jordan: Not bad, although she let a few “French” ones slip in early. It was almost always 3 syllables, which is not the preferred style.
Maura: Pretty good, actually. I didn’t notice any “French” ones. She got a few 2-syllable versions in as well.
I thought they spent enough time on both teams, and I appreciated the concern for DeMelo and the update on her condition late in the second half. I like it when announcers are excited, but not over the top excited for goals. They hit a good balance.
The Kayla Fischer Honorary Yellow Card of the Match
Goes to…Kayla Fischer! Hooray! It was a tremendously unnecessary card in the extra bit or extra time after being let off the hook generously by Danielle Chesky just a few moments earlier. I was starting to rethink this whole bit. A million thanks for coming through in the dying seconds, Kayla!
Bonus Opposition Card Winner: Kiki Pickett was so confident last night that she argued herself into the dumbest second-minute yellow card you will see this year, just to make the game a little more challenging for herself. Congratulations! Your Quills gift card is “in the mail” as they say.
Dumb Fotmob Rating
Katie Lund-5.8
This is why I do player ratings. The number tells you that Katie was slightly sub-par. I thought she was brutal at times. When I question Katie, it is never on her ability but almost always on her decision making. It is fine to get beat near post on a banger, but she made her jump way to early. I think she was taken off guard by quickness of Lema’s shot. Another time she incorrectly made the decision to come for a ball that she was nowhere near getting. This was definitely a performance in the 4 or 5 range.
TV Kit Rating
Kits look one way up close and another way on the screen. I reassess the opposition kit each away match.
I think I was pretty astute in my initial reaction to Bay’s new kit this season. Elizabeth went to Trader Joe’s this week and was very pleasantly surprised by the prices and selection of fresh flowers. It was nice to see them as a back-of-the-jersey sponsor for Bay. Are the kits black or blue? I though they read black most of the time, but either Jordan or Maura referenced them as being blue before the start of the match. It was probably the power of suggestions, but I could see them as midnight blue in certain lights. Anyway, it’s a nice kit for what looks to be a pretty solid team. 7/10
“I buried something I should know”
“Technique”/Swoon/1984
What an idiot I was just a week ago. That may be a bit harsh, and honestly whatever rosiness appeared in my post-match piece last Sunday was really a guarded put-on. However, you weren’t to know that (or maybe you did). I honestly don’t expect this team to be “good” or even” competitive” some of the time. Any moments of joy with this team this season (possible forever) will be fleeting, so enjoy them while you can. This is the Racing that I was expecting: naive in their ability to control the important parts of a match and overly prideful in the moments where the opposition shifts down a gear because they see the match as being under control.
“Verse and chapter they unfurl”: I think it is going to be a long season, and I have thought so from the beginning. This chapter is likely to be one of many in which Racing will have to be “special” to win. Last night’s effort while not poor was “pedestrian” and that won’t get it done. If there is one thing that I am sure I have written it is some variation on the following theme: Racing as currently constructed is not good enough to get consistent results through common cause variation. It will take special cause variation for them to be successful. Only high effort/coldly efficient performances can yield results for this team. They are never going to accidently win a league match by just showing up and being who they consistently are.
“It helps the hurting soften”: For those silly enough to have high hopes, I think last night should prepare you better for what to expect going forward. I don’t think this version of Racing is in any danger of being embarrassed on the pitch. The approach is too professional, and the players care about each other enough (the broadcast mentioned the togetherness mantra a few times) to not let that happen (fingers crossed). However, that isn’t going to be enough to bridge the talent/expertise gulf that the team is going to often face. Bay looked like a proper team on the pitch in a way that Racing rarely does and has done it early in their second year. It makes you think a) that they do actually have the pieces figured out or b) most teams look like they have things figured out when they face Racing. If you are looking for Racing to break the 30-point barrier this season let me tell you that it isn’t happening, and I hope it helps the hurting soften.
Elizabeth’s Commentary
Every so often, Elizabeth will have comments about the match. Find them here:
“The team was just so young”
That kind of sums up things. Racing has too few players in the prime of their career.
Bay 2 Racing 0 Player Ratings
Bay outclassed Racing for big portions on the match and after Bay took a 2-goal lead, Racing barely threatened. It’s hard to see where the goals are going to come from at this point.
Lund-5: Went to early on her attempt to block the second goal and also was lucky not to concede before that by going too early on a set piece. Not her best night.
Hase-6: Played herself into the match but won’t move any regular starter out of the starting XI.
Petersen-5: OK at center back, but not a natural. None of her corner deliveries caused Bay much concern.
Wright-6: Easily the best defender for Racing on the evening, but that is faint praise.
Milliet-5: Should have been closer to Lema on her goal or at least close enough to take a tactical yellow.
Flint-6: Had a few good moments and was Racing’s best player on the night.
Borges-6: She played better than she did in the first match, and I am not sure why she was subbed off so early.
DeMelo-Get Well Soon: The broadcast mentioned that she was going to be treated at a local hospital for “lightheadedness” and let’s hope it is nothing more serious than that.
Sonis-5: Subbed off and didn’t create much.
Fischer-6: Much more active and had Racing’s best chances, but never got a shot on frame.
Sears-6: Pretty pedestrian stuff from her on the evening. Needed to do better on the initial headed clearance on Bay’s opener.
DiGrande-5: Had to come in for DeMelo and looked off the pace early as she wasn’t strong enough retain possession on Racing’s doomed set piece which led to the second Bay goal.
Bay FC v RLFC -1
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
It will be a late one
Ha ha…couldn’t help myself on this Kentucky specific pun
in the bay area (San Jose technically) on Saturday. Racing found road points difficult to come by in 2024, so this will be an opportunity to grab some early. Racing is the not-so-proud owner of two losses against Bay. The home loss was particularly dreadful match all around with only one shot on target for each team. Racing only managed one shot on target in the return match in San Jose compared to Bay’s six. I feel pretty good in saying that the key to winning this match will be to have more than one shot on target. Racing managed seven against the Courage, which is pretty encouraging and more than they had in any match against the Current last season.
With Bethany Balcer out for an indeterminant amount of time, Racing will need more firepower up front. Kayla Fischer had a grand total of zero touches in the 18-yard box last Saturday against the Courage, so she has to do better if she is going to be the nominal 9. Her heat map surely wasn’t very indicative of one (attacking on right half).
It is more indicative of a central midfielder who likes to be on the left. Compare to DeMelo’s.
When Fischer is a sub, she brings energy and something different for the defense to think about. As a 9, well I think there might be better options if the cameo we got from Weber is any indication. Here is her touch map (the heat map lacks intensity due to limited minutes.)
She had 3 touches in the box in much less time than Fischer. I am not calling for Swebs to start (yet), but Fischer will need to earn her place from week to week if she is going to stay in the Starting XI.
Lo and Bev were made available for the media today. I asked Lo about the back line’s performance last week at home. She said that she was pleased at how well the line was shifting together and that she felt as if the line mitigated many potentially good chances for North Carolina. She was also pleased with how other players were stepping in to cover defensively. Bev said that Racing will be looking to nullify Bay’s wingback threats during the match on Saturday but was also pleased at the performance of the back line. I asked about keeping calm on the road and Bev stated that the key to being calm is to focus on staying composed during the shifts in momentum, especially focusing on remaining composed during possession changes. If I had one nit to pick for Racing’s performance on Saturday against North Carolina it is that several times when they won the ball back, they gave it right back to the Courage by trying to play too fast. Racing had pretty even possession battles last season against Bay, so they shouldn’t necessarily see a quick counter as their most viable option on Saturday. I would like to see them concentrate on connecting a few more basic passes after winning possession, especially early in the match.