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RLFC v Pride -1
Photo: Elizabeth Shaw
For once, there isn’t rain the forecast for a Racing match at home. It may be on the hotter side, but it will be an interesting night to watch the crowd that Racing attracts. Orlando, the defending champions should be a decent draw on paper, but it’s hard to know what Racing’s steady state attendance number will be this year. It will be the last chance to catch any NWSL action in Louisville for over a month, due to the upcoming summer break.
Racing got a reality check on Saturday but shouldn’t carry over too much sting into this next match because of how well Kansas City are playing and the fight Racing showed in the second half. Orlando is equally as tough. I like a back 3 in this league and specifically on Orlando. It cuts the defensive responsibilities into thirds instead of halves. Racing have might try to experiment with some different looks at different points in the match. I think I would rather have Sears on the Dyke/Pickett side over Sams’ side, but we will see what Bev thinks.
Any result here for Racing isn’t disastrous but stealing some points before the break would be good for the psyche. After the long summer break, the schedule doesn’t get any easier. Here are some things to consider going into the break.
The transfer window opens on July 1st. Racing has by my count 19 players on its roster that have contracts that only run through the end of this season. At least a few of them have to be keeping an eye on Boston and Denver. The newer expansion teams have been willing to splash money on players. There are also some names on that list that might be attractive to teams looking for a final piece for a playoff push. Racing has bought and traded in the summer window in the past as well. Just be braced for the chance that the roster that returns after the break might look different that the one that exists now.
Balcer was seen in practice today
I have no information on what that means exactly, but as close as Bev keeps things to the vest, one would have to think that is means that Bacler is at least on the path towards returning. I have no idea how fully she participated in practice, but the staff felt comfortable enough letting the media see her in the warmup drill today. Reason would seem to point to a return post break.
There are just as many games after the break as before it, so anything can happen in the table. Nobody is out of it, but Utah and Chicago have to been looking at their rosters and deciding if they have assets that are valuable in the short term. Mina Tanaka is a free agent at the end of the season for Utah and Bea Franklin is for Chicago is as well. I don’t have any inside knowledge on these players, but they might be interesting to teams looking for extra pieces.
They used to make steel there, no?
Courtesy of the NWSL
Stolen The Wire Epigraph
“They used to make steel there, no?”
For those of you who haven’t seen The Wire, it is a cautionary tale of when seven drug lords picked to live in an abandoned row house have their lives taped to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real.
“Sometimes the old ways are the best.” according to Eve Moneypenny from Skyfall.
Complaint A from my coverage of the entire history of Racing is that they aren’t good at Plan B. Once upon a time before Pep Guardiola convinced the world that playing one way and sticking to it regardless of the outcome was the “right way”, teams used to have self-realization. There are still pockets of it (ironically often deployed to counter Man City’s stubbornness) but it is becoming more and more rare. It’s a shame really. One of the most liberating things you can tell yourselves as a team is “we can’t beat this team strength vs. strength.” Racing was never going to beat Kansas City that way.
To be fair, (dammit Letterkenny, I can’t ever type those words without thinking of this) we really don’t know what Racing’s plan was in full force because they got smacked in the mouth before they could settle in and were down 3-0 before 20 minutes had elapsed. That used to be an adage too. “Weather the storm for 20 minutes on the road and go from there.” Racing didn’t look prepared to weather much of anything. For all of Racing’s newfound identity, there is still an absence of steel. I feel like Arin’s Wright’s Chicago Red Stars team that made it to the 2021 NWSL finals was a good example of this. They let in their fair share of goals but knew how to grind one out. Racing seems to be in a stage where they can only win a few different ways. Last night’s set up kind of made the performance irrelevant. Very few people in America make steel anymore. For all of the talk of blue-collar grit on this team, the thing missing from that old, antiquated metaphor is the humble self-awareness that goes unstated but implied.
Post Match Moment of the Match
I skived off my usual post-match duties for Racing to catch the last few minutes of the Lou City match (a mathematically pleasing inverse of the Racing result culminating in a 4-2 home win with Governor Andy in attendance). The “respectable side” platitude that Bev invariably uses to describe every team from Utah to Kansas City grates a bit on me at this point, but it is coach speak so I will move on. Identity was a theme from Bev. She said that they “veered away from who they are” even early. I think it was more accurate to go where Jeff Milby was trying to guide her and just say “KC was the better team”. Sonis gave “credit where credit is due”. Racing didn’t fold however, which honestly is the big takeaway for me. Bev seemed satisfied with the “fight back” and frankly so am I.
I also think a fair point is that Racing never folded (a habit seen as recently as against San Diego, but I think that was due to a bit of shock versus any internal self-doubt). Arin, Janine and Bev all commented on the subs, who all performed well.
Were the Announcers Good?
JP Dellacamera and Jill Loyden were on the call. As I hinted at this earlier, but I was not in my normal friendly confines at home for this match. I watched the Racing match in the Lynn Family Stadium press box while Elizabeth took pictures of Lou City’s 4-2 win. I caught some of the broadcast, so here is what I caught.
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 once again. Two syllables. Sounds like a native speaker.
JP: The one’s I caught were French…again. JP pronounced Sonis wrong…again. Time to think about retirement on doubling down on studying the pronunciation guides.
I will give credit to JP for this assessment: “There are some teams you can make a mistake against, but Kansas City isn’t one of them.”
The Jill Loyden corollary was: “This team (KC) entices foolishness.”
I don’t think I could have said it better myself.
TV Kit Rating
My number two overall kit from my 2024 rankings still holds up well. I said at the time that if not for San Diego’s brave and wonderful kit, in another season it would have been number one. My hope for kits in this league is that when teams find one that works, they do variations on a theme and not go all change as Racing is wont to do. 9/10
Show You Might Want to Binge When Racing Plays a Top 4 Team
Thanks to Jonathan Lintner for the suggestion and reminder:
If the “Tusk” opening doesn’t hook you, you might want to check your pulse. It’s been a while for me, so I am due a rewatch. It’s a period piece (but in some ways isn’t everything) so it will be interesting to see if the relatively quaint concerns of 2013 play into the portrayal of the early 1980s the same way they do today as they did back then. No piece of art is free of the context in which it is created (that goes double for non-fiction). It’s something we would all be good to recognize when consuming anything. Other than The Wire this may be the one that I suggest most strongly if you haven’t seen it.
“Your mother’s got bags of good advice. The “don’ts” exceed the “dos”, but she’s not you.”
“Wicked Things”/Protest Songs/1989
You have to analyze the wisdom of playing a high line against the Current. Racing paid dearly once, and that was AFTER having another one ruled offside where the high line burned them. Everyone plays some version of a high line but after going down 1-0, didn’t it seem obvious that this was the way that Kansas City was going to counter? Kansas City is superfast. Prudence seems like motherly advice but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.
The other thing that I noticed, especially in the first 60 minutes, was that while not quite everything came off for the Current, it at least looked like it was possible. Racing tried so many things that bordered the line between improbability and impossibility in possession and in attack (another long standing complaint as Racing often over depend on forcing mistakes versus creating).
Racing’s first goal came from its best spell of possession. This is why I held out some slight home before the match and after Racing pulled to within 3-2. Racing can score goals on teams, especially teams like Kansas City. I just don’t know if they can outscore them, which seemed to be the plan.
Then there is this: why not at least try something different against the Current? I could pretty much guarantee you that the effort that beat the Dash, Angel City, and Utah wasn’t going to get it done against the Current. Only the 1-0 win against Gotham seemed like a blueprint, but that was thrown out early due to Milliet’s own goal. If there ever was a time to switch things up in the Starting XI, I think Kansas City and Orlando are the teams to do it against. I think you have to confuse them out of the gate to throw them off. Wright talked of a slight tactical tweak that didn’t work after the match, so maybe that was some of the plan. You lose something with Kanu in the press but maybe don’t press as much in this match and show your opponent a puzzle to solve. But hey, if every team you play is a “respectable side” then maybe you don’t think you need to approach any match differently.
“All it takes is a little nerve as they close in for the kill.”
Racing simply looked rattled early. They did ultimately get their bearings, but it was too late. While the scoreline crept to 3-2 late in the second half, Kansas City always felt capable of killing off the match which they did with cold efficiency. Chawinga had a lot to do with that. Again, look at the talent gap and maybe say “we need a plan B here.”
Current 4 Racing 2 Player Ratings
Racing prove that they are not ready for the league's best yet. The second half was better but the match was only on edge for a brief time late in the match.
Bloomer-4: It seemed like communication was lacking on the first goal and needed to do better on the other three.
Petersen-4: Got absolutely torched by Cooper.
Wright-5: The high line didn't work.
Jean-4: Beaten and outclassed by Chawinga on her goal.
Milliet-4: Maybe the worst attempt at a headed clearance in recent memory.
Flint-5: Won a bunch of duels to drive up her automated rating. That doesn’t fool me.
O'Kane-6: A solid performance for the rookie again.
DeMelo-6: Racing’s best player on the night until the goals, with Hase a close second.
Sears-5: Invisible. Not good for your star player.
Sonis-7: Nice finish, and started the mini comeback.
Weber-5: Less involved than Sears.
Kanu-7: Scored and excellent header.
Current v RLFC -1
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Racing starts its toughest stretch of the season on the road in Kansas City this Saturday. However, the mood around the team is uniformly optimistic. The team has played well on the road since the loss at Bay. Kansas City is an exciting place to play according to Bev, Emma, and Arin. It's hard to disagree.
You obviously want to accumulate points, but that isn’t the absolute necessity in these next two macthes. The performances need to stay at the level they have been at, especially on the road. The results will come if the levels are maintained. Kansas City has never been this intimidating force like some other teams have been in the past. Racing has usually found ways to score on them. Last year the Current bossed huge sections of the 3-3 draw in Kansas City last season, but Racing kept clawing back. I believe muscle memory of these types of things helps sometimes.
Maybe we won
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Link to Elizabeth’s gallery of the match
6-6-25 Racing 3-Utah 2 — Fleur-de-lis FC
Pregame note of the match
I feel like I spent the overwhelming majority of my life before I heard the word “bespoke” used in a sentence. Now I feel like I hear it everywhere, even in places where it seems out of place…like the game notes of a soccer match. From Utah's game notes: (on new coach Jimmy Coenraets) “Coenraets also implemented a plethora of bespoke tactical tweaks…” I don't know. Sounds weird but technically accurate, I guess. I think I may try it to see if I like it.
Stolen The Wire Epigraph
For those of you who haven’t seen The Wire, it is like Antiques Roadshow except for bespoke heroin vials.
It’s good to win a match that you should win, especially when you don’t play that well. Teams that do well (make the playoffs/win championships) find ways to win. Racing won this match by being excellent in some moments to compensate for the moments when they weren’t so great. It feels like it could be a little like getting over the proverbial “hump”. Racing has never won 4 out of 5 matches prior to this stretch. If I recall correctly, I think a point total of 10 out of a possible 15 is the best they have ever accomplished. This means that we at least have some evidence that this team can go on a pretty decent run.
There wasn’t a moment in the match where I didn’t believe a Racing win was possible or even probable. When Utah’s Tejada picked up a second yellow, a win felt inevitable, to me at least. As a team, Racing doesn’t seem to get too bothered when bad things happen to them and doesn’t seem to put too much pressure on themselves when they need to be patient and put in the work to make good things happen. I think we have all been waiting for this team to be something identifiable even if it isn’t perfect. It has been a struggle, but maybe we won.
Post Match Moment of the Match
Bev graciously let assistant coach Mitch Sowerby take the post-match media duties since Bev was gone for most of the week (for required training) and Mitch really ran the practices. Mitch was deferential and didn’t want to take too much credit for the win. We spent some time asking him about Sears’ excellent goal which he said was down to technique and Emma spending extra time at practice working on shooting. I asked Sarah Weber if she or teammate Katie O’Kane was more excited about Weber’s first goal. Sarah conceded that Katie may have been even more excited than she was (I am unsure if the broadcast picked it up and if you were in the stadium, you may have missed it, but O’Kane embraced Weber excitedly on the sideline after the initial celebration.) Ellie Jean confirmed that her bespoke goal was her first one ever but also conceded that she was a little disappointed that Utah’s initial goal came from a ricochet off of her legs.
Lightning-in-a-Bottle-O-Meter
Racing didn’t play that great at times and Sears’ fine goal was, if not fortunate, the result of an unpredictable swerve that threw off Utah keeper McGlynn. Jean scored from a set piece and if Weber planned a bespoke header exactly like that (by her own admission felt like “it was in the air for 30 seconds”) I will eat my hat. The deflection off of the first goal was unfortunate, but the positioning could have been better. The perfectly timed run (yes it was, don’t argue) from St-Georges could have just as easily been offside as onside. On the whole if feels like a middling score is appropriate. 2.5 out of 5
“On a traffic light green means 'go' and yellow means 'yield', but on a banana it's just the opposite…
Green means 'hold on,' yellow means 'go ahead,' and red means, 'where the hell did you get that banana at?”
- Mitch Hedberg
Utah’s bespoke 2024 primary uniform may be a new favorite after seeing them in person again. The blue isn’t as navy as it appears on the screen of a phone or computer. The yellow socks are great too.
And Racing is back to its stupid green home uniforms. I don’t care that everyone else likes them. I get sicker and sicker of them every time I see them. Unlike Utah’s uniforms which are striking when they reappear into my field of vision, Racing’s green uniforms are too much green for a rainy spring that blasts your retinas with constant emerald shades.
As for the red donning referees, I didn’t think they were half bad other than Adorae Monroy’s insistence of bespoke positioning of every free kick, and throw in. She unnecessarily stopped play too much for my taste, but if that is the worst thing I have to say about an official then I think you have to say job well done.
Did the stadium have good food?
The tomato basil caprese sandwich was a nice vegetarian option (sorry vegans, but the buttered cauliflower was good too). Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya was an interesting but tasty choice as well. I will say this. Every time someone brings a bespoke burrito from I Love Tacos into my line of sight, I do kind of wish I wasn’t too cheap to try one of those. Maybe on a Lou City night with a food voucher.
The Kayla Fischer Honorary Yellow Card of the Match
Pure unnecessary time wasting (although Monroy didn’t seem to add any time to make up for it) from DeMelo. Monroy had already shown a bespoke yellow for time wasting to Nuria Rábano 20 minutes earlier for virtually the same thing, so why test her? Now she will have to try to work it off based on good behavior, something she isn’t universally renowned for.
“Movin’ the river: bucket by spoon”
Moving the River/Steve McQueen/1985
“If it's uphill all the way, you should be used to it by now”
Slowly but surely Racing is accumulating points. That’s a good thing because the road gets pretty tough really quickly. It’s unreasonable to expect exponential growth in a team that is run like Racing, but the slow and steady growth seen over the first part of the season is really encouraging. The team still likes to make things hard on themselves. Joe Havelda said to me as we were leaving that Racing’s new motto should be something like “Racing always makes things harder than they need to be” (I am sure he was more poetic, sorry Joe). I agree. One, anything to replace “Go Big Purp” and two, it is painfully accurate. There are better ways to move a river than bucket by spoon, but I guess it will move eventually.
“You surely are a truly gifted kid, but you're only as good as the last great thing you did”
Doing great work almost always gets you two things: higher expectations and more work. Sears has six goals and if the season ended today, that would still be the club record for a season. However, ask anyone if she ended the season with 9 goals, would it be a disappointment and I bet almost everyone would answer “yes”. What is the number for her? Is it12…15? She is in the high-pressure position now of having to be the face of the team while scoring loads of goals. Her demeanor makes me think she can handle it, but we will have to see.
O’Kane was my player of the match. No player on Racing’s roster is going to single-handedly replace what Fischer gives Racing in the press, so other players are going to have to step up. O’Kane’s bespoke secondary pressure, especially after Utah insisted on trying to break the press through the middle for some reason, was really good. She sniffed out when to go after 50/50 balls really well and let Weber keep some of her energy so that she could last the entire match.
Weber didn’t quite play the full 90, but 87 minutes was her longest night by some measure. I am not quite sure that the goals will come one right after the other just yet (she only touched the ball 22 times) but it is always good to see that first one go in.
“Did the schedule get you down?”
Oh boy…the schedule makers did Racing no favors. While the KC/Orlando double gauntlet is broken up by a six-week summer league break, it is a four-game stretch where zero points isn’t beyond the realm of possibility. I think the important thing here is to play well regardless of the points you get. There are 27 points available in the last 9 matches, so if Racing can scrape 4 or 5 in the next six matches, they should be in decent shape. Long low-point runs have gotten to Racing in the past, so Bev’s job over the next few months might be therapist and cheerleader as much as head coach. The whole point of getting points early in a season is to weather these inevitable storms. I am not writing off any of these matches, but in aggregate they look very daunting because you get Washington and San Diego away after the second Orlando match.
Racing 3 Utah 2 Player Ratings
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Racing found a way to win despite not playing up to their recently elevated standards. While not a “must win” this was a “should win” and Racing accomplished that mission.
Bloomer-7: Not a fault for either goal. Made a couple of fantastic saves. Still punches when she should catch more than I like.
Petersen-7: Her steady deliveries consistently give her teammates good chances to score.
Jean-8: It was great to see her score. Rounding up due to it being her first professional goal.
Milliet-6: Solid effort if slightly under her standard.
Flint-7: Filled in the stat sheet in the usual spots but had a rather terrible give away in the first half that Racing were fortunate to escape from.
O'Kane-8: I remember one pretty bad giveaway from her too but the rest of her night was nearly perfect.
DeMelo-7: Maybe not as involved as she usually is in the attack, but she drove Utah crazy and collected fouls.
Sonis-7: Picked up a nice assist but should have finished off her golden opportunity to score.
Sears-8: On pace to reach double digit goals pretty easily.
Weber-8: The header took ages to loop into thr net, but she will take her first goal any way she can get it.
RLFC v Utah -1
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
6-4-25 Racing Practice — Fleur-de-lis FC
Racing will try to carry momentum over from an absolutely unnecessary international break. In case you needed exhibit Q as to why the NWSL can't get its act together, Bev Yanez was in required training on Wednesday that the NWSL demands but can’t demand that it take place in a time period more convenient (last week vs. this week). Several players were out traveling to play soccer that isn't necessary and it sounds like that most of them won't be returning until Thursday. Hooray for pointless flag-based competitions!
On paper (words only ever said before the fact as a harbinger of doom or after the fact as an excuse) this should be a favorable matchup for Racing. Utah likes to possess the ball. That usually plays into Racing’s hands when they face equal or lesser teams. Somehow, Utah is not in last place with only 5 points. Only’s Chicago’s utter lack of any kind of dependable attack keeps them out of it. This may be Racing’s best chance for 3 points in the foreseeable future because the next 6 matches are KC (A), Orl (H), KC (H), Orl (A), Was (A) and SD (A). That is an absolutely brutal schedule.
All in the game
Courtesy of the NWSL
Stolen The Wire Epigraph
“All in the game…”
For those of you who haven’t seen The Wire, it is modern adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel, “Lord Baltimore’s Folly”.
The NWSL season is one match shy of reaching the 10-game mark for every team. In my opinion, it is the first opportunity to look at the table and get a sense of things. The result of the one outstanding match (North Carolina at San Diego) probably wouldn’t change my assessment much, so I think it is fine to go ahead with it. Similar to last season, there appears to be about 4 teams at the top (I am a believer in San Diego) and the next group of teams competing for the remaining 4 playoff spots is comprised of eight teams. I didn’t think Racing would be in that group. I do now.
Racing has discovered its formula. It won’t always work, but I believe that it is good enough to beat any team outside of the top four (although on any given night, Racing is capable of that too) when Racing has their finishing boots on. Racing controlled large sections of the first half of the match and Angel City were second best pretty much throughout the rest of it, bar one dazzling display from Riley Tiernan. I am still a little concerned about the finishing (in the first half Racing were pretty poor in that department) and the discipline (more on that later) but it is hard to argue with the result.
Racing will have its ups and downs throughout the remainder of the season (like Omar says, “It’s all in the game,”) but they have shown me enough for me to believe that they have a real shot of making a run at the playoffs.
Post Match Moment of the Match
“That’s identity. That’s our team, and that’s Racing Louisville,” were the comments from Arin Wright after the match. Arin was really delighted to win after going down a player and almost seemed to say that she actually enjoyed the challenge that it presented. I think what she was getting at is that the team showed toughness and resolve. They have shown those things before, but to see them result in a road win was really good to see. The post-match press conference lasted to nearly 1 AM EDT because there was so much to talk about.
Bev (ever coy) mentioned the tactical switch to deploy Sonis on the right and Sears on the left to start the match but didn’t give anything way as to the reason for doing so. She hinted that she would do it again, if the situation warranted it (which was the reason for not going into the details). I did ask her if she considered taking off Fischer before the red card (Fischer frequently gets subbed off between the 55th and 65th minute (her red card here was in the 67th). She said that she doesn’t like to second guess herself (I agree with that philosophy), but that Fischer was likely going to be the first sub. Fischer (for once) was not on a yellow. Had she been, I think she gets pulled before the 65th minute. I think the lesson going forward is that you should pull her the second you get up two goals.
Were the Announcers Good?
Maura Sheridan and Jordan Angeli were the Ion crew. They were hit and miss.
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.
Maura: “Lou-wuh-ville” was the most frequent choice with the odd French one slipping in. I expect better from the play-by-play lead.
Angeli: “Lou-uh-vul” for the most part, which is acceptable, I guess.
The crew had the chance to talk about eyeballs more than anybody needed to hear thanks to Courtney Petersen’s contact lens issues. Their analysis of the game play and tactics was good in my opinion. They drove me nuts on the infringements.
They made way too big of a deal about a shoulder pull on Fischer in the box. They commented that it could have been a penalty (in what universe?) and that is put Fischer off (I highly doubt it).
There was the ultra-moronic commentary on the potential handball by Jean (I am amazed by how many ex-players and current players don’t understand the rules or how the game is managed by the officials). On the replay you could clearly see that the ball hits Jean’s thigh first before hitting her hand. Officials almost never give this because it is almost never deliberate.
They made a meal of Anderson’s shirt pull on Fischer. I hate when keepers are treated like the rules don’t apply to them, but in this case, it was a nothing shirt tug and official was correct to play on. It was moot due to the handball that followed, so it was rightly much ado about nothing.
This is the hardest part of the match to get right and announcers in this league in general need to be better. They also gave Angel City way too much credit in their analysis and seemed to expect and anticipate the equalizer. Call the match based on what is happening and not what you think might happen.
TV Kit Rating
Angel City’s kit was a holdover from last season. It stunk then and it stinks now. The pink numbers are its only redeeming feature.
3/10
“International” match to rewatch instead of any of this International Break nonsense
Europe has its utterly pointless Nations League during this international break. It serves no purpose other than offering some of Europe’s best players the opportunity to become injured. Literally nobody cares about this. Shame on UEFA.
Hooray for UEFA however for giving us this match:
Courtesy of Getty Images/Arsenal
This was a great match for a neutral (which I am definitely not) and a terrific showcase piece for the women’s game. Barcelona has been dominant, but it is good to see the dominant teams lose big finals from time to time. Arsenal’s win will always be a better story than Barcelona’s would have been. You could practically just pencil in Barcelona for a semifinal run every year for the foreseeable future.
When Arsenal won the Champion’s league in 2007, they did so in a two-legged tie that had a combined attendance of less than 10,000 fans. The two stadiums that the matches were played in could be politely described as quaint (but more accurately described as “dumps”. Arsenal still plays a (un)fair share of matches at Meadow Park in Borehamwood but is getting more and more at the Emirates). This match was played in a proper European venue in Lisbon where almost 40,000 fans watched the match (still a little disappointing considering that Arsenal regularly draws 50,000 to the Emirates). The crowd was slightly partisan to Barcelona, but the Gooners showed up well.
The match itself was a fine display of hard-nosed defending and creating just enough chances to snatch a victory. On paper Barcelona was the better team, but Arsenal was clearly better on the day as Barcelona rarely troubled Arsenal’s keeper. Quite a bit of that was down to Leah Williamson, who everyone in the world is happy for (I assume so at least unless you are a dirty, dirty Chelsea fan). Arsenal remains the only English side to win the UEFA Women’s Champions League, so in your face Todd Boehly, Emma Hayes, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Sam Kerr.
Also, congratulations Emily Fox!
Courtesy of Getty Images/Arsenal
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 always struggle to properly describe Letterkenny because there isn’t really a similar show, at least in my experience. There are 12 seasons to watch, so this show can get you through this international break and potentially the NWSL summer break. For me, this is a show about the English language. It is a particular provincial version of the language, but the language is the star of the show, especially the colorful insults. Maybe a similar type of show would be Veep, which is also full of creative insults. However, there is tons more fighting and sunbathing in Letterkenny.
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.
Racing did everything in is power to make this match harder to win than it needed to be. Once they went up by two goals, all that they needed to do was keep their heads and stay at full strength. They still saw it out and maybe there is value in winning in the manner they did. I am a huge fan of winning easily and boringly, but that just may not be in the cards for Racing. The press worked as intended, and the tactics played out well. Their finishing could have been better, so 3 goals was not a flattering scoreline at all. -1/5
The Kayla Fischer Honorary Yellow Red Card of the Match
The winner once again, is Kayla Fischer! For her win, she will likely receive the coveted “paid suspension” mentioned in so many police shows and movies. Enjoy your time off, Kayla!
She snatched the red card with surely just moments left in her evening. She cleverly picked up the card by doing the one thing you will always be caught doing, pulling hair! She even did it in the box to make sure there was extra scrutiny! Arin Wright wanted to win a tough match, so congratulations to Kayla for setting up the drama and making the end much more interesting.
“We’re addicted to friction too”
Enchanted/From Langley Park to Memphis/1988
Nothing ever seems to come easy for Racing. It is a long season, and certainly you are better off not making things harder on yourself than they need to be. Racing was clearly the superior team on the night and except for the goal from Tiernan, Angel City didn’t really seem to have any answers for playing through Racing. Louisville still hasn’t created much from open play with possession from a goal perspective, but they have started to create the situations that lead to goals. Racing’s penalty and set piece came from longer spells of possession. The counterattacking goal will always be an option with their press.
“Now we’re living”- The team was so full of energy and life in this match. I gave Kayla Fischer a hard time for the red card, but she was brilliant before that. If she can just learn to keep her head, she can become a special player for this team. The other goal scorers already are special for Racing and the team needs them to continue to be that way. Louisville will also need players like Jean (who I thought was just excellent) and Sonis (who worked extremely hard in defense) to continue to step up when called upon. I do believe that the players are starting to believe in themselves and each other in a way that translates on the pitch.
“It’s a disbelieving world”- These types of scrappy displays from Racing are likely to keep them under the national media’s radar and that is probably how they like it. Arin Wright talked about the pleasures of quieting a rowdy road crowd and Racing has been really good on the road this season. Racing has had more than its fair share of adversity this season, but the players and staff have done well at overcoming it, when they can get away from home.
At home is another story itself. Racing will have the chance to put on a better show at home in a couple of weeks, but will anyone be there to see it? Regardless of who/what is to blame for the lack of crowds at Lynn, it is starting to become a real problem. Racing doesn’t seem to be able to conjure up the same fire at home that they do on the road. It won’t matter the reason if the city still refuses to show up for this club. This team needs energy in the stadium, support or antipathy. The antipathy seems to be driving them on the road. They are often met with indifference at home. It’s fine if our enemies don’t believe in us, but it stings when our friends don’t.
Angel City 2 Racing 3 Player Ratings
Racing made it harder than they needed to (thanks Kayla…) but held on for all 3 points. This team's toughness serves it well on the road. Now they need to convert it to points at home.
Bloomer-6: Saw the Tiernan strike late and got a poor jump on it although I am not sure it mattered.
Petersen-8: Had a crucial late block in the box.
Jean-8: In my opinion, her best performance for Racing by far.
Wright-8: Her header was the key to the 2nd goal.
Milliet-7: Might have been slightly off the pace of Angel City's attackers a few times but made up for it in other areas.
Flint-8: Buried her penalty with cool efficiency.
O'Kane-6: Another solid effort from her.
DeMelo-8: Had a great finish to give Racing a two-goal lead.
Sonis-7: Worked her tail off to see out the victory.
Sears-8: Found the back of the net again on a rather simple header.
Fischer-9 (Pre-RC)/3 (For the RC): An absolute nuisance to Angel City all night and then absolutely lost her head. What was she doing?
Angel City RLFC -1
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Racing will try to recover from a disappointing loss at home against Seattle this Saturday on the road against Angel City. This matchup has been a fairly even one in its history (2W/2D/2L). This could be a matchup to get the press back on track. Angel City is not overly skilled as possessing the ball (49% over the season so far) but they aren’t a possession conceding team like the 4 teams at the bottom (Seattle/KC/Louisville/Chicago). At home I think the plan for Angel City will probably be to control the possession.
The only match when Racing had more possession than their opponents this season was the most recent one against Seattle in which they demonstrated virtually zero ability to construct a goal against a team determined to sit back and defend. I don’t get why virtually every team talks about playing to its strengths and never about attacking the weakness of their opponent. Maybe they don’t talk about but actually plan for it and maybe that is the point. Either way, Racing’s ability to win with Plan B has been virtually nonexistent in their history. Racing’s best recipe for winning a match at the moment appears to be scoring first (but not too early) or have some weird weather thing disrupt the action (Houston/Chicago). The Gotham win formula seems to me to be the way to go. The bad part about that is that you can’t expect Taylor Flint to score a worldie every time.
Angel City may be the definition of mid, so you always have a chance against them. They score enough but give up more. You do kind of know where the goals are going to come from (Tiernan/a Thompson) but that doesn’t make it easy to stop. I do fear that one of these days, teams are going to smarten up when they get a lead on Racing and basically dare them to score against an organized back line. I don’t think Angel City will necessarily play that way with a lead, so Racing will probably be in this match to the end unless they go down by multiple goals.
You cannot lose if you do not play
Courtesy of Connor Cunningham
Stolen The Wire Epigraph
“You cannot lose if you do not play.”
For those of you who haven’t seen The Wire, it is a documentary on the thriving blue collar working class at the Port of Baltimore.
Full transparency: I wasn’t there. The plan was to rewatch the match if Racing won, but that didn’t happen, so you're getting a half-assed effort today. The good news is that it comes at half price!
I did have one eye on the match, and as far as one eye and the stats tell me, I didn’t miss much. No team is obligated to play “football” in a soccer match. The Reign definitely didn’t seem interested in it. Their stat line was abysmal in just about every category bar the important one.
There were a couple of things that Seattle did well. They finished off their golden opportunity (xG=.688) and made Racing try to prove that they could score when the other team was determined not to play to Racing’s strengths. Seattle didn’t bother trying to break a press. They simply let Racing have the ball (in the parts of the match I saw). Racing could do nothing with the advantage that was ceded to them. Seattle simply was not afraid of Racing’s ability to construct a goal with loads of possession. Seattle was determined not to play football and therefore set themselves up not to lose. They won and should make no apologies.
This match gives me the perfect opportunity to bang on xG as an additive match statistic. Game theory/probability/mathematics will all tell you that seven .1 xG shots are equivalent to one .7 xG shot. Give me the one .7 xG shot every day and I will live with the consequences. The ball has no memory, and you are always better off creating fewer great chances vs. more poor chances in the long run and the short run. Your mileage may vary on that, and that’s enough on xG.
Post (and mid) Match Moment of the Match
I was going to listen to the post match interviews, but Bev saved me the trouble by starting off with “I think we deserved…”
CLICK. DONE. CLOSE THE VIDEO.
HIT IT SNOOP!
Thanks Snoop!
Seattle rightly does not care about your “deserve” and I don’t either.
You don’t get to ask the league for a replay on what you think you “deserved”. Take your medicine and do better next time.
TV Kit Rating
In my 2024 kit ratings I had this Seattle kit ranked third for the primary kits. At the time I said “Even though I prefer royal blue to navy, it works with the gold on this kit. It's simple without being boring.” Without the Black Future Co-op Fund branding however, I think it looked rather dull. The badge is still great though.
6/10
Show You Should've Watched If You Had Power After the Storms Last Night
Season 2 of Poker Face is out now! If you are unfamiliar, what’s the matter with you? (Or maybe you don’t have Peacock.) Get in on this show now! It’s light and breezy…with murders! Come on, you know you are into murders. Everyone is. This week’s episode was full of familiar faces and voices and alligators and meth. It’s like a tourism ad/cautionary tale for Florida! Who doesn’t either hate or love Florida, or kind of both at the same time?
Did the stadium have good food?
Beats me, but I would like to think Kaitlyn and Bekki from Butchertown Rundown enjoyed the club experience this week. Maybe they will mention it in the podcast.
What did have good food however is this place:
It was a last-minute post-graduation lunch for my nephew, and they were able to accommodate 12 of us on short notice.
The cosmopolitan was served with a smoke bubble on top. Similar to this lavender one.
Too cool by half!
“Missed chances and the same regrets”
Bonny/Steve McQueen/1985
(“Bonny” may be one of my favorite songs. It will likely get multiple uses here.)
Twenty shots with one on target isn’t going to get it done. There is no excuse other than the execution must be better. Getting into good positions is half the battle. The problem is that is really is half the battle and you need to finish the other half. On the other side of the ball, Ellie Jean was beaten on the Dahlien goal and there will be no regrets for Seattle. In the second half of the match Seattle was laughably statistically poor and Racing gave them no reason to even attempt to play a football match. They opted for trench warfare and got away with it.
You have to make your good stretches of play pay off and Racing had been relatively good at that in the last 3 matches. Other and better teams will decide to play football against Racing, but Seattle has given them the blueprint if they get a lead. If Racing isn’t going to create better chances, they are going to have to make the volume pay off, but none of the 20 shots from Racing today looked particularly dangerous in its execution. The ball may have gotten to a dangerous spot, but Racing was toothless on the next touch.
RLFC v Seattle -1
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
It may be wet (again) and/or delayed (again) but Racing is scheduled to play at 7:30 PM tomorrow at Lynn. The team hasn't had many “clean” matches this season in that there have been weather events that have significantly impacted 3 of the matches so far. However, you play the ball as it lies as they say so Racing will once again be prepared for whatever Mother Nature throws at them.
Racing also announced that Caitlyn Milby has had the interim tag removed from her title as Racing General Manager. Caitlyn has worked her way up inside the organization and talked about having a good rapport with the players and the staff. I like that she is close to the city (as a former U of L player/manager) and I think her player mentality will surely help her in her role. Her immediate concerns will be the summer transfer window, but she also mentioned that she might not wait until then to address the need at keeper.
On the pitch, Seattle poses a unique challenge. Although I didn’t watch it, I heard that their most recent match against Houston was a stinker. Just like my posts on this blog, they can’t all be winners. The Reign has scored only 7 times in 8 matches (not great) but has only conceded 7 times (actually, pretty great). Their goals have come from different goal scorers which means a) that they are semi-dangerous all over the pitch and b) not particularly dangerous in any one spot. Racing poses a different problem in that you know where to expect the goals, but an odd scorer (like Flint) might sneak up on you.
With the anticipated rain and the anticipated Reign, this match will likely be one in which Racing will have to grind out a result, maybe off of an error created by the press. This was how the 2023 vintage of Racing advanced to the Challenge Cup Final. That final had all of the Racing hallmarks (rain, a weather delay, travel issues and crushing disappointment). I will take 2 out of those 4 if it means a win.
If I hear music, I'm gonna dance
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Link to Elizabeth’s gallery of the match
Stolen The Wire Epigraph
“If I hear music, I’m gonna dance.”
I am never going to read too much into a three to five match string of results, but I also don’t want to read too little into it. Racing outplayed Gotham on the night. That is a statement that I don’t think many people would disagree with. Gotham has had some good performances this season but, on this night, they were definitely more Bateman than Batman.
A Lavelle-less Gotham (which all of her club teams should know that they have to plan for) looked toothless for large portions of the match and you have to say Racing was the reason.
Racing did an excellent job of making sure that the early press rattled Gotham enough to put them off of their game. I was most impressed by the commitment by the Racing players to the coordinated press. It didn’t yield a goal (which I don’t necessarily think was the point anyway) but it did delay Gotham’s ability to find any sort of rhythm until about midway into the first half.
The league table is too jumbled up at the moment for any team to be considered a clear favorite to win the league. In fact, we are probably a couple of matches away from it even reflecting a true reality for this season. However, Racing’s reality for the moment is that they are in this thing (the playoff race). Based on last night, if they hear music, they’re gonna dance.
Post Match Moment of the Match
Everyone in the Racing-sphere was exciting. All of the post-match interviews were full of energy, but the best moment came from Jordyn Bloomer in the club.
I love the way she switches from “Party Jordyn” to “Role-model Jordyn” when she sees the kids.
A close second was Sonis and Fischer throwing cold water or Gatorade (on not the warmest of nights) on Taylor Flint during her post-match interview on Amazon Prime. The Gatorade bucket was unavailable.
And a good time was had by all!
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.
Racing won the battle of styles, which is something they have done in the last three matches. I really did expect Gotham to do better especially after they seemed to weather the first 15 minutes. However, Racing had no problem defending Gotham when Gotham had long spells of possession. There wasn’t anything tremendously flukey about this win. The only lightning-ish thing was Flint’s thunderous strike. Even though I believe Gotham is a better team than Houston (on the night Gotham was pretty poor), this felt like fewer things significantly aided Racing other than their preparedness and effort. 1.5/5
It's not easy being green, so let's just be lavender
Ding-dong, the kit is dead! Which old kit? The wicked kit!
Hooray! Racing stopped wearing the green kit at home! Let’s retire this thing until forced to wear it. Some kits are just cursed (not really, but let’s pretend). You definitely shouldn’t switch kits for no reason during a streak. Racing’s next opponent has an actual witch on their badge (work with me here). That rain witch will definitely curse Racing if she sees a color that reminds her of the wicked witch. NO MORE GREEN! NO MORE GREEN!
Instant “Un”alysis
I really don’t mind when the crowd gets on the refs, but can we stop it with the over belligerent yelling at assistant referees on offside calls? Boo if you like but keep it quick and don’t try to start a conversation with the assistant referee. If there is one thing that assistant officials are good at (there actually might be just one thing) it is getting offside decisions a) correct and b) flagged at the appropriate time.
I will once again repeat this PSA:
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
Jae Howell was slightly fortunate not to get sent off in this match. She teetered in “orange-plus” territory for much of the second half. Her 7th minute yellow meant that she would need to be careful, but she sure wasn’t. She even had a few fouls after it appeared that the center referee gave her the final, final warning. Jae’s been gone long enough now to be a full-on villain.
Ella Stevens was a close second. If I had been the assistant referee and she said the things to me that she said to him, she would have seen yellow and received a stern talking to. Screw it, this whole club, their fans and the media that cover them are all heels! Go back to…
All kidding aside…maybe don’t fly back through Newark.
Did the stadium have good food?
I was pleasantly surprised by the vegan pepperoni pizza in the premium club. We had an extra person in our loge box with us on the night which meant that a) I stood for most of the match (an experience I didn’t hate) and b) Elizabeth gave her club pass away. She had a corndog instead, which she actually prefers (I think). I have had the stadium corndog. It is good with mustard and the cheese cup. I also got Ehler’s for a few of us. It’s hard to mess up ice cream, so that was a win too. The Chicken Boscaiola in the club was good as well.
The Kayla Fischer Honorary Yellow Card of the Match
Yes! Fischer again! However, she managed to go nine more minutes than Jaelyn Howell before picking up her yellow card. Let’s not be too harsh on her because I thought her card was harsh in and of itself. I was likely an accumulation card (I know, in the16th minute?) but to be fair, she had been fouling quite a lot in the press. It is probably no coincidence that Racing’s press was less effective after this card.
“Playing for blood as grandmasters should”
Cue Fanfare/Swoon/1984
There aren’t too many songs about chess, but “Cue Fanfare” is one of them.
Bev won the chess match on the night and frankly I was a little disappointed in Juan Carlos Amorós. He did appear to hold his players in the locker room a little longer at halftime, but that didn’t seem to help Gotham much. After the match Amorós talked about the need for Gotham to be better in front of goal, but that wasn’t their problem. The problem was that he let his team get suckered into a defensive-oriented, ragged match when that isn’t their forte. For once the opposing coach played right into Bev’s hands AND the players made it work for her.
“In shock they stare and cue fanfare”- For me this was an unexpected result. I am not so shocked that Racing was able to pull off a win against Gotham, but I was surprised at how easy it seemed. I don’t mean easy in a low effort kind of way, but more in the “free from worries or problems” way. Racing never looked overly concerned or bothered by anything that Gotham threw at them. If this team can win this way more often, then I may have completely misjudged them.
It was great to see how everyone celebrated this win. There were toasts and smiles and fireworks and maybe best of all, the feeling of (credit to Tom Benson) “that was fun, let’s do it again!” I teased Jenna Tonelli via Bluesky about her pre-match assessment of Racing as “struggling”. That might have been painfully accurate after the San Diego match, but that assessment is miles off base now. Maybe teams will continue to underestimate Racing and be as shocked as Gotham was.
“The sweetest moment comes at last.”- To finally win at home in front of your fans for the first time this season had to feel great for the players. The sweetest moment for Flint was the payoff of her near miss in the opening home match. After this match the media were stepping all over themselves to ask about her post-match quote from the North Carolina match where she said, “I would have retired if I made that.” Thank goodness there was no retirement talk after this match because Racing’s consistently best player had her best ever match for Racing. As I said in my player ratings, that is no small feat.
The rest of Racing’s squad played well last night too. There wasn't a bad performance in the bunch. I am starting to wonder a bit what Kanu and Pikkujämsä have to do to get some real minutes. I think we all would like to see a Sears/Kanu/Fischer front line at some point in a match, but honestly that is now probably only going to come in a match where Racing trails. Pikkujämsä seems tailor made to see out a 1-0 win, but O'Kane's performance kept her firmly on the bench. These are good problems to have.
They'll be no talk from me about “turning a corner” yet, but you have to start somewhere, and Racing is on a nice mini-run. It is critical that you pick up points while you are playing well, because there will naturally be patches where you don't. In the past Racing made a habit of getting draws from well-played matches. If they can keep the 3 points coming, they could find themselves in excellent shape come the July break.
Racing 1 Gotham 0 Player Ratings
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Gotham had no answers for Racing and now Racing has some real momentum. The crowd was good and I especially enjoyed the center referee blowing the final whistle on Gotham's nonsense.
Bloomer-7: Excellent again but Gotham didn't trouble her much to be fair.
Petersen-7: Another solid effort from her.
Jean-7: Really solid in the last few matches.
Wright-8: Great effort from the captain
Milliet-7: Really good as per usual.
Flint-9: Her best effort in a Racing kit and THAT is saying something.
O'Kane-8: Really impressive. May have won the job.
DeMelo-8: Ran out of gas a bit in the first half, but found her second wind and helped see out the win.
Sonis-7: Would like to see her be a little more confident in attack
Sears-7: Had some decent runs but couldn't find her finishing touch.
Fischer-7: Her pressing rattled Gotham early.
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.