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RLFC v Chicago -1
There has been a lot of uncharted territory that Racing has traversed this year. All of this feels new and somewhat precarious. It has been a gloriously weird season. It’s hard to overstate how much I underestimated this team. Now, with 3 matches left things can still go great or horribly wrong.
I will tell you that I would feel much better if Racing was able to have more than 7 subs on the bench on Friday, but I am afraid that is likely to be the case again with Weber presumably returning and Flint being unavailable. There’s thin and then there is thin. Racing will likely list 9 players as “out’ once again, with 3 out those being SEI.
That puts a lot on the shoulders of the healthy players and Emma Sears is carrying her fair share at the moment. Having reached 10 goals in a season for Racing puts her in a one-member club. With that accomplished I asked her what the next goal was. Her response was, “maybe 15? We’ll see…you never know.” We can only dream…
Ellie Jean has thankfully been available for most of the year. Now, she is the only person on the back line in her “natural” position. I asked about if she felt responsibility to keep the back line stable. She said that she was happy to be able to step up and be a leader on the back line. Quietly, and maybe not so quietly now, she has probably become the key defender on the team.
Bev has already out achieved every previous Racing head coach including the year-one version of herself. In a roundabout way, I think she is likely pleasantly surprised to be where Racing currently sits in the table. She has framed up the last 5 matches as a set and both Emma and Ellie mentioned this. It’s good to be 2 for 2 so far.
Everybody says that they are not underestimating Chicago. I believe them, but the Stars has a prominent goal scorer in Ludmila. They almost always seem to have a goal in them as well. The key for Racing will be to decide if a little more possession against Chicago is prudent or if it will be better to concede more possession like they have been doing to great effect. Chicago does tend to give up goals (an average of 2 per match), so what Racing can’t do is fail to capitalize on good chances, because there will likely be at least a few.
“A man must have a code.”
Stolen The Wire Epigraph
For those of you who haven’t seen The Wire, it is the story of 3 friends who either a) spend their free time hunting demons, or b) use hunting demons as code for scoring heroin.
After a rather dull and uneventful first half, where it looked like the clash of styles between the Courage and Racing was only succeeding in putting the viewer to sleep, the style battle kicked into high gear at the start of the second half. Announcer Jill Loyden commented that Racing’s opening goal was “against the run of play” which is an odd thing to say in a half that is only 5 minutes old, but I guess I get her point. Racing’s style, or code if you will, is all chaos and pressing and disrupting, and the Courage likes to string together passes and play “beautifully”. The Courage had been winning the style battle, or so they thought, running into halftime. These types of matches have always been fascinating to me because of the great difference in attitude and style. Admittedly, given infinite time and resources I think most fans would prefer to watch a team win beautifully. That isn’t going to ever be Racing’s style. Their code, and I agree that this is the right way to go for them, is to win, not ugly exactly, but through wearing down their opponents physically and mentally. Their code is definitely more “Barksdale/Stanfield” level street code versus an aspirational code of ethics about “doing things honorably and with grace.” That does not work for this team.
The most important thing about a code, however, is to stick to it. It is particularly relevant if your code is more “streetwise” than “collegial”. Maybe more than any other player, Kayla Fischer is the embodiment of the positives and negatives of Racing’s code. She has a very eventful 75 minutes: goal, assist, yellow card, making Courage defenders complain to officials. She is always on that razor’s edge. Racing will likely be on that edge too for the remainder of the season.
Post Match Moment of the Match
Sears, Fischer and Bev spoke after the match. Sears has no really good explanation for the discrepancy in her goal scoring on the road versus at home. She did talk about having friends from Charlotte in the crowd. Compared to Charlotte, Raleigh probably does seem like a bit of a destination. (Reminder: I find North Carolina charmless).
Kayla said that the team had a good week of practice and created the goals from pressure. Agreed. She also commented on being prepared for North Carolina to play the ball through the middle and to be ready to pounce on mistakes.
Bev talked about Sears being a special player. Once again, agreed. She also talked about halftime adjustments in spacing, which obviously worked. Bev praised the work ethic, which is virtually always present. She commented that Racing had even more chances to expand the lead before they ultimately did on Emma’s second goal. Finally, she praised the “type of result” that this ended up being.
Were the Announcers Good?
JP Dellacamera and Jill Loyden were on the call. Yet again, I was not in my normal friendly confines at home, which oddly seems to happen when this duo in on the call. I watched the Racing match in the Lynn Family Stadium press box as Lou City won 2-0 against the Indy Eleven.
Please retire, JP. Or NWSL, please retire JP. I assume this guy had a fastball at some point but has clearly lost it. In every match he mispronounces Sonis as “So-niece”. He obviously doesn’t care about getting it right and nobody wants to correct him. He kept saying that the Manaka goal that was ruled offside, was a VAR overturn. It was reviewed by VAR but as a confirmation of the on-field call. I am not a friend to officials, which regular visitors to this space know, but I do think that officials get offside calls right most of the time (because it is objective, my beef with officials are usually with their discretionary decisions). It’s lazy and insulting to the officials to not credit them for getting it right the first time.
Usually, I like Loyden, but this wasn’t her best match either. “Comfortability” is making its way into the vernacular and new words don’t bother me. Language always has and always will evolve. However, the way she used it seems odd and off-putting.
The duo seems overly fawning on the Courage’s play in the first half, but adequately self corrected when the match slowly swung in Racing’s favor.
Go home, Fotmob. You’re drunk.
Fotmob as an app isn’t 100% reliable, but it does help me with real time stats and if I miss a fact, it usually gets those facts correct…at least eventually. This however, seemed like a real “glitch in the matrix” type moment. I might be the only person in the world who caught this, which is way I grabbed a screenshot. At about the same time as Sears scored the third goal in Cary, Damian Las was sent off in the Lou City match in Louisville for a DOGSO. I don’t know exactly how Fotmob ingests real time information, but it seemed to take two “Louisville-themed” events and get the logic confused. It would be interesting to know if this was human error or some kind of AI confusion occurring. Anyway, for a brief moment Damian Las broke the laws of physics according to Fotmob and scored a goal in Cary at virtually the same time as he was heading to the locker room in Louisville. Only one person is Louisville is allowed to break the space-time continuum and that is Jordan Rivers who is often on the radio when I turn off my car upon arriving at Lynn Family Stadium while also voicing an announcement from inside the stadium. Sometimes, I swear he is also voicing an announcement and then I immediately run into him on the concourse. I have confronted him about this, but he remains dodgy. Just be sure to continue to use your powers for good, Jordan.
TV Kit Rating
For the second time this season, I found myself watching Racing play an opponent in the same color that Lou City was playing in. The first time was purple and purple for the Orlando away match. This time it was pink (hot) and pink (salmon, maybe?). Anyway, the details on the authentic version of this jersey do not read on TV and it just seems pink. From my kit rankings:
“I do enjoy the irony of having “Aesthetics” written on such a boring and dull jersey, so kudos, I guess? I would say that the fans deserve better, but have you ever been to Cary, NC? Don’t bother if not. It sucks. Cary definitely doesn’t deserve nice things, so I am done complaining about them not having them.”
I will always take the opportunity to take a shot at Cary, and its joke of a stadium (the pitch is nice though, to be fair). I am delighted that Racing finally won there.
Rest in pieces, North Carolina Courage. And your terrible kit. 3/10
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 played the way that they wanted to play and so did North Carolina. There have been so many times in past matches when it seemed like Racing outplayed the Courage (and plenty not) and didn’t even get a point. This one seemed beyond fair. The Courage are short key players but so is Racing. Racing could only seat 7 players on the bench. The facts and previous evidence were against Racing coming into kickoff. Then for 45 minutes, bar one pretty poor defensive letdown, they had the Courage right where they wanted them. Racing didn’t seem to benefit from any call or decision. The second goal was a gift, which might be the only thing you could point to. Racing dictated the match and fooled North Carolina into thinking that they were the ones in control. 1/5
The Kayla Fischer Honorary Yellow Card of the Match (brought to you by Taylor Flint)
Flint’s card, which will see her miss the next match, was softer than a Letterkenny birthday party. The only real explanation may be that it was given for dissent instead of the intensity of the foul. Bev was not forthcoming on if she received an explanation but did lament that the card was on Flint’s first foul. If it was based purely on contact the center official should be embarrassed and resign immediately because it was a terrible judgement call not based on anything other than reputation. Fischer got a typically Fischer-esque card. It was 2 minutes after she scored and not really necessary.
“Does heaven wait all heavenly over the next horizon?”
“Cars and Girls”/From Langley Park to Memphis/1988
I think we are all prone to overreact to individual results no matter how much we know intellectually that we shouldn’t. Three losses in a row plus all of the other stuff that went with it felt like hell. Why shouldn’t a couple of wins in a row feel like the exact opposite, not only because of the immediate gratification, but also because it might ultimately lead to more. I will leave facing the harsh realities for another time.
Sears was fantastic as was Fischer. It is the first time in a while that I felt like the good chances either found the back of the next or had to be stopped by an opponent. For the most part, the defense was solid and in a match like this, the midfield did what is needed to do.
Maybe the most encouraging takeaway is that Racing seemed to want that 3rd goal. They may have felt as if they needed it, but the entire team felt elevated after Fischer’s goal because it prevented them from reliving that “here we go again” feeling. Racing has to maintain discipline and focus in its last three matches to ultimately get where they want to go.
Courage 1 Racing 3 Player Ratings
It was an Ohio State kind of night, as Sears and Fischer supplied the offense. The second half was their best offensive performance in a while.
Bloomer-7: Had a fine save early in the match to keep it 0-0, and another one late.
Morris-6: Partly to blame for the Manaka goal.
Petersen-6: Caught ball watching on the Manaka goal.
Jean-7: Nervier than usual in her passing, but still solid overall.
Sonis-7: Split duty again tonight with Milliet's sub in for Hase.
Flint-7: Played through an early harsh yellow card to have a good match. Will miss the next one.
Borges-7: Has found herself in really good form recently.
O'Kane-7: Was gifted an assist on a terrible ball by Jordan.
Hase-6: Not as involved as the other forwards but didn’t have to be.
Fischer-8: Really eventful match with a goal, assist, and a yellow.
Sears-9: Was a great Jordan save away from a hat trick.
Lou City & Racing Foundation 2025 Soccer Ball
All Photos by Elizabeth Shaw
Lauren Milliet and Aiden McFadden posing with their Impact Player of the Year awards
Nearly 1000 people attended the Lou City & Racing Foundation Fourth Annual Soccer Ball on Tuesday evening.
The Soccer Ball serves as one of the main fundraising opportunities for the foundation and is also very fun.
Here are Elizabeth and I with Ray Serrano and his wife Jennifer who were seated at our table. The table directly behind us sat several other Lou City players.
Our dedicated and committed introvert, Elizabeth was brave enough to grab some selfies. Here she is with Aiden McFadden, who is an absolute delight off the pitch. (On the pitch his demeanor is definitely all business.)
“New favorite” Adrien Perez
“Favorite classic” Kyle Adams
Here is Elizabeth showing Josh Jones one of her favorite pictures she took of him while Kevon Lambert looks on.
Some of the Lou City players standing in line for the very popular bourbon pull.
The dashing Mr. and Mrs. Flint as they arrived
Fisher and Sears being the H and I in Ohio…O!H!I!O!
I never get the chance to take pictures with my favorite players, but since I was technically off duty, I grabbed a quick selfie with Emma Sears. I swear she isn’t actually taller than me.
Here is me with Lo, who I am definitely taller than.
The Soccer Ball is also an excuse for me to buy a purple themed outfit from Amazon each year.
“Business. Always business.”
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Elizabeth’s photo gallery from the match
It’s fall, so bye-bye AC! Racing 1-Angel City 0 — Fleur-de-lis FC
Stolen The Wire Epigraph
“Business. Always business.”
For those of you who haven’t seen The Wire, it is a light-hearted mystery where three unlikely friends work together to score heroin without leaving the abandoned row house they occupy together.
Most of the match wasn’t a ringing endorsement for NWSL soccer, especially the first half, but Racing ultimately put together a good enough chance for its goal and defended strongly enough to take home all three points. It was scrappy and will likely have to be scrappy from here on out. Once again Racing did not have enough healthy players for fill out a full bench. If I was in the league office, I would seriously look at a way to fine clubs for doing this repeatedly. Racing doesn’t have any options to get up to nine players really, but in my opinion, you always end up paying the piper one way or another when you try to do “more with less”.
On this day however, Racing had just enough to get the ball over the line as it were. Angel City rarely, if ever, troubled Racing. The decision to drop Flint into the middle of the back four in the final 10 to 15 minutes (which actually ended up being 20 to 25 minutes) was a nice wrinkle (more on that later). For once, Racing was able to bring in fresh defensive legs off the bench in the form of Lo Milliet and her energy and focus definitely helped the back line stay solid during those last several minutes of the match.
Angel City’s strategy, at least in the first half, seemed to be to try to make Racing play through them. Racing doesn’t really want to play that way and frankly without DeMelo in the midfield, I think every future opponent will try to make Racing do the same. Fortunately for Racing, Angel City let them press a little too easily in the second half and ended up making a mistake that cost them. Sears did the high effort work and Weber finished it off with a highly skilled shot. It was Sears’ first assist of the season and only her second ever in a league match. As a footnote, this was Racing’s 100th goal scored in Lynn Family Stadium by my accounting methods, but yours may vary.
The ultimately overturned penalty seemed to be the correct decision, and it set up a tense and nervy finish for the home crowd once again. Twelve minutes of stoppage time seemed like a joke, but it played out anyway. Maybe the most encouraging part of the night was that Racing never seemed to lose their nerve collectively or individually. Ellie Jean was so calm and effective, that for large portions of the match I kind of forgot she was out there. Usually, she is having to make tackle after tackle to prevent attacks. She didn’t attempt a single one in this match.
It was definitely business-like performance in front of 6,000 fans and a couple hundred dogs.
Post Match Moment of the Match
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Taylor Flint was awarded for her 100th league appearance in the company of her family, including her dog. There were lots of dogs on the pitch after the match, which always makes things extra fun. I am a cat person, but other people’s dogs are great! Sarah Weber handed out praise to Sears for her work rate in dispossessing Angel City in order to set up the goal. She also said that she prefers scoring “instinctually”. Milliet talked some about the impact of going to a back 5 in the last several minutes of the match, but honestly it was just good to see her in uniform in person once again that she could have said anything I would have just nodded along.
I really, really wanted to ask Bev about the maneuver to put Flint in the middle of the back line. I don’t think I have every been more excited to ask a question. She shared that the move was something that the team had been working on for a while and actually had a hand signal prepared in order to utilize it. I had not noticed Racing use this tactic before, and I am excited to see if they deploy it again with a lead. Bev indicated that they may, but she also indicated that it would be dependent on how the opponent was set up.
Stink-O-Meter
Home fans have had a nice run of odor free nights in Butchertown, but for about 15 minutes tonight the stadium reeked of pig. By the end of the evening, it either dissipated, or I got used to it. However, at its peak, it was very high on the offensive odor smell. It was a 🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖 out of 5 in my opinion. This comes off of a Lou City match where it was also faint, but apparent. It might be time to remember the essential oil nasal inhalers again.
Did the stadium have good food?
It seems like as the season winds down every year, the club starts to run out of new ideas, so it relied on old standbys for the evening. They did expand the dessert section to include peach pie/cobbler. I have never been one for warm fruit. I stuck to the standard, dip/sausage/Caesar salad combo with some pork barbecue to sample. The club did have a salmon option for once. Nothing against salmon, but I think it is over relied upon and personally I could happily live the rest of my life without it.
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 didn’t seem particularly fortunate or unfortunate on the evening, but the twelve minutes of stoppage time made the hurdle slightly more difficult. Weber’s goal could just as easily have been miss hit, and I seem to recall a ball going close for Angel City in stoppage time (it must have been a touch from Racing, because it didn’t register on Opta’s shot chart) that made me jump a little. On the whole Racing won the match in the manner that they are built to win. 1.5/5
The Kayla Fischer Honorary Yellow Card of the Match (brought to you by Taylor Flint)
Flint is back in the league lead for yellow cards. In this match, she picked up a pretty soft one from Shawn Tehini who I thought called the contact a little too close, in the first half especially. This is what drives fans nuts in my opinion. In the previous Racing match the officials let all kinds of contact go. It was internally consistent but diametrically opposed to how this match was called. I think the league would be way better off if they suspended card accumulation rules until they figure out their consistency issue. If Flint picks up a yellow card in any of the remaining four matches she will have another suspension. Personally, I think picking up one in either the next match at North Carolina or the following one against Chicago is the way to go, because I don’t think she would be missed as much in the Chicago match, and the Gotham match is likely to be a tough one anyway. In an ideal world, she would go yellow card free, but based on recent evidence, “that ain’t happening”.
“‘Chance being a fine thing’ brought us together”
“The World Awake”/Protest Songs/1989
I don’t think this starting XI is one that Bev would have ever dreamed up when she started the season. However, I think most coaches in their career have this happen to them if they coach long enough. This line up might be enough to squeak out a victory against Angel City and possibly a few other teams, but I think a playoff win is likely beyond this set of current players. The roster at the beginning of the season definitely didn’t seem like a playoff worthy roster in my opinion, and with the healthy players available now, it barely seems like a functional one. I am getting the message loud and clear from Soccer Holdings. They want to invest just enough to be the chicken but not the pig. It is their right. It just feels disingenuous to ask the players and coaches to be committed to breakfast like the pig is, when the owners just want to supply enough eggs to “be competitive”. I have never shied away from my opinion that sports team ownership is a public service as much as it is a business venture, and I am sorry if that offends your capitalistic sensibilities (not actually sorry). I am fairly certain that Soccer Holdings loses a significant amount of money investing in this team. I am 100% certain that I do not care. They knew what they signed up for.
So…that leaves us with a coach working her tail off with one hand tied behind her back, and players doing the same and playing out of their natural positions. “Next woman up” makes for a good rallying cry and a good story, but in reality, it doesn’t win you much. My opinions are rightly summed up as “just the way I am” and Racing is also just left being “just the way we are” which isn’t a super encouraging way to be heading into the final four matches of the season. However, on the night they were good just good enough.
Racing 1 Angel City 0 Player Ratings
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Racing finally hold on to a lead and take all 3 points. 12 minutes seemed obscene, but they saw them out.
Bloomer-7: Definitely not a bad night, but stayed when she could have caught at least once.
Morris-7: Solid if a little nervy at times.
Petersen-7: Neither centerback seemed troubled much at all in the match.
Jean-8: This clean sheet belongs to her.
Sonis-7: Really good in defense and attack on the night.
Flint-7: I like how Bev deployed her in the last 10+12 as a third centerback.
Borges-8: Absolutely killed it. When the match was flat she brought the energy. She stepped up big.
O'Kane-7: Another solid effort.
Hase-6: Not as threatening tonight for some reason.
Weber-8: Great to see her score on a tougher than it looked finish.
Sears-7: First assist of the year was a good one.
"Ain't never gonna be what it was."
Courtesy of LCC
Stolen The Wire Epigraph
"Ain't never gonna be what it was."
For those of you who haven’t seen The Wire, it is a documentary about a struggling newspaper that decides to shift from filling its print edition with AP articles to reporting on the best corners to score heroin.
Racing will look back on this road trip as a nightmare in every conceivable way. They got 0 points out of a possible 6 and will end it in 10th place. They lost 2 key players, and one may not see the pitch again this season (no inside knowledge here, just conjecture). Injuries and bad form have coincided to hit this club at once and are likely related. There was some good news in that Lauren Milliet was back on the pitch for a few minutes, but that really is one of only a few bright spots.
I wrote a few times prior to the trip that I thought Racing was short on its roster. It is so short now that Racing recalled Allie George back from loan early. She will likely not see minutes here, so the minutes she was getting in Ft. Lauderdale were going to be key to her development. Racing as a club likes to “run lean”. Its technical staff is small, and its roster is on the smaller side too. If I haven’t said it so bluntly before, I will say it now. Racing is carrying too much dead wait on its roster. Without being specific, there are too many players with too few minutes. One can only assume that their quality isn’t up to requirements. Filling in a back of a roster is hard, I will grant you that. However, it is killing Racing now. Every player that has taken the pitch for Racing in these last few months has absolutely been worthy of taking it. There are just too many square pegs in round holes at the moment to say the roster is constructed appropriately. On Friday’s back line, there was one only player who was in her planned position from the start of the season. As a unit, they struggled. One other item of note: Baron, who has been a mainstay on the bench, was not in the squad.
This is the currently reality unfortunately. Personally, I think if Racing is to have a prayer at recovery it’s going to be on the younger players. Weber came on and made an immediate impact when she replaced Fischer, who looks lost for whatever reason at the moment. Unfortunately, Hase and O’Kane didn’t have matches of the quality that they have demonstrated in the past. In is unfair to put so much burden on them, but Racing has done so through its roster construction.
If (and now I am squarely in that "if” mindset) Racing is to make the playoffs, this needs to be Emma Sears’ team starting right now. She scored her eighth goal of the season on a steady and composed finish (something Fischer completely botched in the first half). Sears is going to have to be excellent from here on out if Racing is to get back in the playoff hunt. This is the time of the season where big players step up and pretenders fold. I will be watching how Sears responds in the next few matches.
Post Match Moment of the Match
The national media’s interest/empathy is good for exactly one news cycle it seems. For those of you who didn’t catch my deliberately under publicized recap of the last match, the national media was out in full force to ask Bev and players questions that focused them on Sav and not the match. That was fair, expected, and they performed empathy fairly valiantly. The rest of us will continue to be concerned about Sav long past any deadline or new cycle. You show you care by showing up in my opinion. I show up every time its humanly possible. Sometimes I wonder if Bev and the players would prefer it if I was less diligent. However, there is only one reason I do and that is because I care and care deeply. That also means I tend to ask questions that I know that they would prefer not to answer, but somebody has to do it. You’ve seen the state of the first amendment in this country at the moment. It needs all of the help it can get.
First things, first while on the record Bev didn’t want to say much about Sav other that she is “doing well”, I do know that she is expected back in Louisville soon. I don’t know how soon, but that is good news regardless.
Emma Sears as a goal scorer and Janine Sonis as a goal scorer and captain drew the short straws last night and had a paltry crowd of media to which to answer. Both Emma and Janine were clearly disappointed in the result and proud-ish of the second half performance. Emma was glad to see Milliet back on the pitch and called Lo her “wing woman” which I found amusing even though I knew that she (probably) was limiting that to the pitch. Sonis, who I like more every time I talk to her, gave a fair assessment of the team’s and her own performance. She owned up to being at fault (partially in my opinion) for not getting closer to Lacasse on her goal. She did confide that Emma essentially told her to go for it on her wonderful free kick goal. She did add that the team misses Arin Wright “a lot”. That was painfully obvious to all of us.
Bev talked about Racing not winning the second balls much in the first half and that really being the key to their huge deficit at half. Bev won’t make any excuses but did talk about the “clear reality” of the position in which Racing now finds itself. She praised Weber’s energy when I asked her about it. She did also share that she thought that in this case that the quick turnarounds for Racing were more taxing emotionally than physically.
Were the Announcers Good?
Maura Sheridan was on the call and Jordan Angeli was on the color on Friday once again.
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.
Sheridan: 3 syllables a few different ways, but none all that distracting.
Angeli: Pretty much spot on, most of the time.
The pairing is astute most of the time when calling Racing matches. This time was no exception. After Utah caught Racing in offside traps a few times I believe that it was Angeli that said, “Do you think Utah knows that Louisville likes to go long?” Why yes…yes they do. I chuckled. They also correctly called out the abomination of a performance by the center referee in the second half who got whistle happy and forgot how to manage a match. I could happily live with this crew continuing to call Racing’s matches.
TV Kit Rating
Utah decided to go with their 2024 primary kit and forced Racing into their cursed green kits again. Good idea Utah. I think you all know my opinion on the green one at this point
I like Utah’s kit. Yeah, I wish the blue was royal blue. That seems like a missed opportunity, but people like navy over royal blue for some reason. The mountains on the kit don’t read, but still, I like it. One of these seasons Utah is going to kill in on their kits. This one is still an “almost” one. 8/10
The Kayla Fischer Honorary Yellow Card of the Match (brought to you by Taylor Flint)
There was nothing too shocking in the discipline department for this match. Sears got one for a rough tackle and now sits on 3 yellow cards for the season. DiGrande’s was more cynical but still it stopped a potentially dangerous attack, so it was worth picking up. For a brief second it looked like Flint picked up one for dissent, but that was just broadcast misattribution. On the Utah side, while Tanaka had a wonder strike, she also ran afoul of the center referee enough for the official to make a hand gesture to her with her fingers about an inch apart after she made a careless foul while on a yellow. I am shocked that Utah didn’t sub her off after that, but she managed to keep her nose clean, something the Utah staff must have known she was capable of doing.
“Equating elegance to real estate”
“Elegance”/Swoon/1984
Racing’s precarious position in the table is now gone. Truth be told, their position in the table disguised some shortcomings for a while (lack of finishing in both senses of the word being the glaring ones). As fans of Racing, we hope this is rock bottom, or the floor of who they are as a team. The first half performance was flat, evidenced by Racing’s previously mentioned lack of winning second balls. Optimists will point to the second half comeback, but I think that was fool’s gold to some degree. First, Utah didn’t really need to do much other than not fall apart completely. They just about managed it. Racing was always going to be the aggressor after half and Utah was going to let them. Utah has been better recently, but they still aren’t that good.
Tenth place is a rather inelegant place to find oneself after what has been Racing’s best season to date. True, they are missing key players, but if you are supposed to have a tough mentality, “next player up” has to be part of that and recently they haven’t been up to it. Racing is experiencing death by thousands of tiny cuts at the moment. They have to find a way to pull out of this tailspin and fast.
Royals 3 Racing 2 Player Ratings
Racing's disorganized first half ultimately doomed them after a valiant effort in the second. Racing now finds itself on the outside looking in from a playoff perspective.
Bloomer-5: Maybe could have done better on Utah's second. Not nearly as sharp as usual.
Morris-5: Not nearly as impressive as her debut.
Petersen-5: Isn't a centerback.
Jean-6: Not at her best, but the best defender on the evening.
Sonis-6: Mixed bag for her. Great goal. Terrible defending on Utah's third.
Flint-6: Had a wonderful header correctly disallowed for Jean's offside.
O'Kane-5: Needed more from her.
Borges-6: Hit the crossbar on a fine long effort.
Hase-6: Didn't track back hard enough on Utah's second.
Fischer-5: Ugh…offside too often and a really poor effort on a breakaway.
Sears-8: Gave Racing life. This has to be her team now if Racing are going to make a late push.
Reign 1 Racing 0 Post Match
Courtesy Nikita (LLC)
This brief post is a buffer between the big picture and the smaller picture. In the bigger picture, nothing else matters other than Savannah DeMelo’s health. If that is all you feel equipped to handle at the moment, this is your chance to beg off a normal match review. If you stick around, I feel obliged to say that you are going to get a “normal” match review from me and I don’t pull punches on those or censor myself due to other circumstances. I acknowledge Sav’s medical issue, but do not dwell on it. Here is the link to my normal piece.
“Don't matter how many times you get burnt, you just keep doin' the same.” — Fleur-de-lis FC
Reign 1 Racing 0 Player Ratings
The unusual circumstances of this match led to a choppy affair. One thing is clear: Racing has to finish their chances more clinically.
Bloomer-8: Made 2 fantastic saves when she had to.
Petersen-6: Went down on contact prior to Fishlock's goal leaving Jean powerless on a 2 on 1.
Wright-7: Excellent, but went down on a non contact injury.
Jean-8: Had another excellent match but was left stranded on the goal.
Sonis-6: Some good moments and a few nervy ones.
Flint-6: Silly yellow card and needed to do better on her offensive chances.
Borges-7: Really good on Sunday and decent on Tuesday.
O'Kane-6: Played less than 40 minutes and didn’t make too much impact.
Hase-8: Racing’s best offensive option by far on the evening.
Weber-6: Not super involved.
Sears-7: Has to finish better when she finds herself in good spots.
Reign v RLFC -1
I will start off with one bit of excellent news and that is that Lauren Milliet is back to “full participation” in training. Note that this is different than “full fitness” although with Lo, that seems to not take very long. She had been practicing in drills for some time and was working on her fitness on the side pretty much since she sustained her injury, so I figure it is just a matter of time before she is fully available. Nobody works harder than she does. I had heard some buzz that she was pushing herself to be ready for the “end of the season” which I took to mean the last match or two. It appears that she could be ready much sooner. One potential wrench in those plans is that Racing will be staying on the west coast after the Seattle match since there is a short window between Sunday’s 8pm EDT kickoff in Seattle and the Friday 10pm EDT kickoff in Utah. If Milliet isn’t ready for Seattle, I see no need for her to make the trip.
Racing has only ever beaten Seattle once (Semi-final of the 2023 Challenge Cup) but has drawn them 6 times. This feels like a chance to get all three points. Seattle’s form has been rather unimpressive, but they do tend like to “win ugly” from time to time (see the win in Louisville earlier this season). That match was a clinic in not finishing their chances by Racing. Finishing is the next stage for this team (matches and chances).
There are a couple of things that I think could be logical contributors to Racing’s lack of finishing matches. First, is that recently they have been short on match-killing subs. Balcer keeps getting used, but she is not a possession-oriented striker and is consistently put into situations where she is not asked to play to her strengths. Another available midfielder or defender would be better. However, Racing is starting to get some options healthy. Maddie Pokorny would be fantastic in a 60/70th minute sub role and she is practicing but hasn’t made a squad yet. The second and more subtle factor is that I think pressing teams fade past the 80th minute. Racing keeps giving up last minute goals and in the match they didn’t (San Diego) they did give the Wave a few corners and they couldn’t convert.
That is what make finishing chances so vital. Listening to BTRD this week, Kaitlyn Whiteside echoed a point that I have made plenty of times. Your best striker can’t be so one-dimensionally one-footed. At least not when your other attackers don’t score all that much. Set pieces and corners are great weapons, but sometimes they disguise the fact that a team can’t really score as often as they need to during open play. One of the things I track is goals scored from what I classify as “sustained possession”. What I mean by that is the team has the ball and has passed the transition phase of play and the goal is scored from open play. It is the “breaking down your opponent” portion of goals. Last season Racing scored 37% of their 43 goals this way. This season they have scored 19% of their 27 goals this way. What is better for Racing this season is their dead ball goals (41% of all goals in 2025 and 26% of all goals in 2024). One concerning thing about that fact is that Carm Moscato was the architect of Racing’s set piece success and she isn’t around any longer. The point is that the finishing of chances has to be better than it has been.
"If you with us, you with us."
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Link to Elizabeth’s gallery of the match
Every thorn has its rose Racing 1- Portland Thorns 2 — Fleur-de-lis FC
Stolen The Wire Epigraph
“If you with us, you with us.”
For those of you who haven’t seen The Wire, it is a supernatural mystery comedy…no it isn’t. I just wanted an excuse to post this picture to commemorate the release of new Episodes of Wednesday.
Arin didn’t wear this for the match, but did rock a black full-leg band.
The result of last’s night’s match wasn’t very fun if you were a Racing fan, but I will try not to be too much of a downer today. All in all, the performance was good. A draw was probably a “fairer” result, but soccer is a cruel, cruel mistress and if you get deeply involved sometimes you get hurt with results like this one.
I always go back and forth on things that get said on the pitch that aren’t strictly on the record. However, in this case I don’t have any qualms. After Bev’s press interview after the match, she pleaded with those of us there, something along the lines of “stay with us”. Honestly, it hadn’t even occurred to me to give up on this team after a few disappointing results where they dropped points from a winning position. We are with you, Bev. All of us. Now we may turn out to regret it like Michael Lee definitely did about 15 episodes on from Chris Partlow uttering the epigraph above to him (the epigraph for that episode show up frequently here, so I am loathe to use it yet) but for now we are all bought in. We are part of the crew, regardless of how much we eventually may end up getting hurt.
Post Match Moment of the Match
Nobody really wants to do press after a disappointing loss, but Katie O’Kane obliged us since she scored her first career NWSL goal. It must absolutely suck to score a memorable goal in a loss. Maybe it’s just bittersweet. Anyway, nobody we talked to really has any answers as to why Racing keeps conceding late goals. My opinion: there really isn’t one. The match is 90 minutes for a reason. Late goals are memorable, but they are not particularly unique. In the little bit of data that I have, it doesn’t point to more goals happening after the 75th minute than during the span from the 16th to the 30th minute. Things have a way of balancing themselves out, so I expect the trend to stop soon, and it probably won’t be due to anything in particular that the players or staff end up doing.
Bev, prior to the video recording her reaction, was commenting on how cruel the result was, but not in a downbeat way. She was proud of how the team played (they were hilariously short-handed for this match in that they only sat 8 players on the bench including 2 keepers) despite the result. Racing’s history is full of “moral victory” post-match press interviews, but this wasn’t one of them. The result was accepted, not mourned, which is a huge difference. You can do that when you believe in yourself. There is still plenty of time to right things, just don’t leave it too late.
Did the Stadium Have Good Food?
The premium club had pretty standard fare, but I would like to air a general complaint.
I hope the first person who decided to put dried fruit in salads is burning in hell!
I hate dried fruit. I have always detested raisins. I find that food preparers these days will sneak craisins into spots where we used to get raisins. Nice try, Satan! I scooped a decent-sized helping of “broccoli salad” onto my plate. Said Broccoli salad was really more of a slaw, of which I am fond. I did however suspect that any kind of more exotic slaw is the opportunity to poison me with shriveled grapes or cranberries. My cursory inspection (an ocular pat down if you will, for IASIP fans) assessed the purplish part of the salad to be cabbage. There definitely was cabbage, but it only served as a trojan horse for those stupid craisins. Slaw/salad preparers be warned. I will be lobbying whoever I can lobby to create rules that prevent you from having two ingredients of virtually the same color in slaw-like dishes. I scooped all of the craisins out of my salad, performed an exorcism and set them on fire.
From a Neutral Perspective
Amazon Prime was there for the match, so everyone pretended like this was a big deal. All that it ultimately does is clog up the press box and sideline with extra people and equipment.
Anyway, they picked a fine match so kudos to them, I guess. I am not much of a “neutral” viewer of sports other than the NFL and NBA. I don’t watch much of any soccer where I don’t have a rooting interest. I do feel like, for reasons that I frankly detest (the “I just hope everyone has fun contingent”), that the NWSL has a fair share of this type of fan. For them, the match had to be a very good watch. If I wasn’t invested in the outcome of the match, this one would have been highly entertaining. The first half was free flowing from a footballing perspective. The second half was chock full of drama and late drama won it. Everyone likes a saved penalty other than the fans of the team whose penalty is saved. Sears almost goal was memorable, and I will think about it for quite a while. Own goals are heartbreaking, but again also memorable.
I would rate this match a 9/10 on the watchability scale for general entertainment purposes.
Bonus Kit Rating/Swap
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
I like jersey swaps, but the picture above is a hilarious fashion nightmare. Love it. I also love it that Turner and Sears seem to be genuine friends. I believe that their families (from what I have observed in the stadium) share in the love fest. The funny thing is that after Sears and Turner swapped jerseys, they swapped them back before heading to the locker room. Players get a limited number of jerseys, so sometimes this is due to a league/club rule that prevents a permanent swap.
I went back and looked at my 2024 ranking of this Portland kit. I had it ranked in the “boring” category. I now think it looks quite striking on the pitch. I love the socks. 7/10
Please, for the love of all things holy, do not let us see Emma Sears in action in an opposition kit any time soon.
The Kayla Fischer Honorary Yellow Card of the Match
Racing almost escaped the match card-free, but a late pull back from DeMelo has her now sitting on 4 cards. She isn’t renowned for consistently behaving herself, so expect number 5 and a one-match suspension very soon. I was so focused on the 5th yellow card from Flint last week, that I missed that Fischer had her 5th in the last match as well. Shame on me, but really, shame on her for her second suspension of the season. I feel like she is really only hurting herself at this point. The fifth card was harsh, but I don’t recall any of the others being that way. Borges covered well for Flint (more on that next) but Fischer’s absences aren’t having the impact that they did early in the season. She has essentially misbehaved herself out of a consistent starting role. It’s a shame.
“Don’t start pretending you’ve feelings of anguish if you’d prefer to dance”
“Here on the Eerie”/Swoon/1984
It’s entirely possible to be disappointed at a result and pleased with a performance. I have tried to avoid that too much this season as it became a played-out trope in previous ones. Like I said above, I am not going to wallow today. In bullet point form, here is what has me feeling mostly good.
Ary Borges: I think Ary’s biggest challenge is that other players are starters in the roles in which she shines the most. She would be good in DeMelo’s role, and she proved herself in Flint’s role on the evening. She played it differently than Flint does but showed that a different type of deep-playing midfielder can work in Bev’s system. She was lively and tidy all night. She is always lively; it’s the tidy that sometimes escapes her. She isn’t going to supplant Flint, but if she can play with the focus that she did on the evening she becomes an asset wherever she plays.
The football in general: Maybe it was the opponent, but Racing worked the ball better than they usually do. They still needed to find the end product, but it is very easy to visualize another of the 37 touches that Racing had in the opposition box finding the back of the net on a different night. If not a season high (too lazy to verify) it is a recent high. Getting into good spots in the box is half the battle. Sears actually attempted a left-footed shot inside the box too. The O’Kane goal was a thing of beauty.
Attitude: The players were disappointed, but not down. They felt like they played well. They did. Sometimes things just don’t go your way. Results need to improve soon, but I truly believe that if Racing plays as they have been, they will.
Jordyn Bloomer: I am running out of superlatives here. Bev called her “a Star.” Everyone will talk about the penalty save, but the one in the 55th minute is the pick of the bunch. All of the Racing players are somewhat approachable, but none are more “approachabler” than Bloomer. Because she is that way, you can just go up and ask her stuff. She’ll give you an honest answer whatever you ask. On that save she did confirm that she was unsighted and had an instinctive reaction. Now, she said it in the hilarious manner in which she says everything, but I’ll be darned if I can remember it well enough to do it justice.
On the more feeling nervous side:
Solidity on the back line: The defense didn’t play poorly. It you disagree I suggest you punish yourself by rewatching some 2021/2022 vintage defensive performances from Racing to reset your expectations. This match, however, did reveal the weak spots. Turner (and most teams don’t have a player quite like her, thank goodness) put Sonis on skates to win a penalty and beat her on the shot that set up Portland’s first goal. There are many things you can cover collectively that you can patch over one-on-one. Sonis is a good right back, but not a great one. Now, I know I am going to sound like a hypocrite here, but the drawback to playing Sears on the left (which I still like on balance) is that when she switched sides late in the match when Morris came on, you put her in a position where she has to defend crosses with her weaker left foot. On the go-ahead goal, Sears gave Mallie McKenzie too much space and her cross created all kinds of trouble and ended up leading to the own goal. Sears isn’t a great defender, but the circumstances meant that she needed to be on at this point in the match. It wasn’t a major mistake, but possibly just a tiny moment of loss of concentration that cost Racing the match.
Racing 1 Thorns 2 Player Ratings
Racing led again. Gave it up…again. Have to figure out to be more clinical when their chances come.
Bloomer-8: Good save on a pretty pedestrian penalty attempt. Made an even better save in 55th minute.
Petersen-7: Solid. Good on corner delivery.
Wright-6: Involved in attack a little more than usual. Good to see her moving well.
Jean-6: Own goal was rough. Otherwise pretty good.
Sonis-6: Conceded a penalty when Turner put her on skates.
Borges-8: Excellent. Both sides of the game.
O'Kane-8: Wish she had a better outcome to celebrate her goal.
DeMelo-7: One of her better performances in recent memory.
Hase-6: Not as effective on the night.
Weber-7: Fantastic assist on the goal.
Sears-7: The post was cruel to deny her a goal.
RLFC v Portland -1
Racing has a second opportunity in a week to move up the table with a win. Portland comes to town, once a problem team for Louisville but now more of a team looking to recover some form. There was much discussion of the 3-3 draw in Portland earlier in the season during the media availability on Wednesday. That match doesn't seem as relevant to me as motivating factor as the San Diego away match did. I think both teams know what to expect of each other and I expect this to start Racing’s run into “cagey” match season. Bar a couple of matches, I think every team’s priority from here on out is to start with a clean sheet. Of course all of that goes out the window with an early goal, but at this point in the season I think matches often start with the mentality that it is okay to shorten the match to a half and be level at halftime. Just a theory. I could be way off base.
Racing will have a glaring, Taylor Flint-sized hole in their midfield for this match. The last time that happened San Diego demolished Racing at home. Wright's absence would compound that, so fingers crossed on her availability. Like I said in my wrapup of the Houston match, I think the roster is a little short at the moment. If that doesn't bite you early in a match it can still bite you late. Bev gave a very Bev answer when I asked her about the depth. I think she feels comfortable with the sqaud she has available, but I am not sure I do.
As much as Racing will want a clean sheet here, I don’t see it in the cards. I think multiple goals from Racing are needed here to give them a shot at 3 points. Reilyn Turner is the top scorer for the Thorns. Turner’s goals for Portland have been just as valuable as Sonis’ assists and versatility have been for Racing so that trade, now a year old, can probably be classified in the win-win category.
“And then he dropped the bracelets.”
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Link to Elizabeth’s gallery of the match
Houston, we have a problem with you scoring in stoppage time. Racing 1-Dash 1 — Fleur-de-lis FC
Stolen The Wire Epigraph
“And then he dropped the bracelets.”
For those of you who haven’t seen The Wire, it is a show about a love triangle between a teenage girl and two brothers, who ultimately decide that instead of striving for love, they are better off moving into an abandoned Baltimore rowhouse and getting addicted to smack.
No matter your place in the table, your recent form, or how much you “want it”, no opponent is this league is going to roll over without a fight, especially when they still have something for which to play. It’s tough to accuse Racing of anything in this match other than being on the wrong end of some atrocious officiating, (we’ll call that the “Lynn Family Special” going forward because the number of horrible officiating performances I have witnessed at Lynn is WAY TOO MANY for a serious officiating organization to allow) and Houston’s recent dogged determination to never give up (laudable, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise).
In the end, the amateurish officiating probably didn’t change the outcome of the match. I am never going to win the “Sears didn’t foul Campbell on the disallowed goal” argument because “attempting to catch the ball” is almost always interpreted as the keeper being anywhere near it with their hands up. I hate this rule interpretation. Racing had opportunities to close out the match but gave up an objectively pretty well-worked goal to Houston. Racing had been possessing the ball in their own half but wasn’t good enough with their individual touches to keep the possession when it mattered. One tiny nitpick: was Racing maybe better off leaving DeMelo in for those last few minutes instead of subbing on Balcer (who is also WAY too hard on herself on TikTok)? Personally, I would have kept on a midfielder on instead of subbing in a forward still working her way back into match fitness. I think Balcer needs to be on sooner if you are going to sub her in, and not after Racing has decided to switch to game-killing mode.
If you are going to label yourself (or in all honesty it’s probably the rest of us doing the labeling) a '“contender” you are going to have to learn from this. You need to handcuff a suspect by yourself and not rely on a partner (there seems to be some misunderstanding of this epigraphic quote on some of The Wire fan sites) if you are going to be serious about making the playoffs. A point here isn’t a disaster, but I will file this result under “does not meet expectations”.
Post Match Moment of the Match
Sometimes (alright, most of the time) I can’t help myself when there is a question that I want to ask and I know I probably shouldn’t. I end up doing it anyway. I am the World Heavyweight Champion of getting “no commented” by Bev. However, I think we all know that there is value in getting a “no comment” out there versus not broaching the subject. You’re welcome, everyone. I asked a very specific and pointed (and frankly rather innocent) question about an explanation, if any, that Bev got from the 4th official. She immediately went into “no comment” mode at the thought of the performance. At least her “overall I am going to say no comment” is on the record and you can’t really get fined by the league for that little smirk she gave me.
Sonis, as captain, drew the short straw for press duties but didn’t have to answer anything too challenging. She thought the makeshift backline performed admirably. Houston is one thing, but Portland quite another so I think we are all crossing our fingers for a quick recovery from Wright. This is especially true because Flint will be suspended for the next match.
Speaking of Flint, she gave her typically expressive post-match interview. The stadium misattributed Racing’s goal as an own goal, so she learned that she got the goal credited to her during the post-match press conference and was obviously pleased.
Did the stadium have good food?
I am not the “vegan police” but the vegan chili in the club was suspiciously good. Instead of alleging that there is any chicanery going on I will give my compliments to the chef because I could not tell the difference between the vegan pork and any other pork I have eaten. Then again, I am not a “foodie”. The Southwest eggrolls, while arriving late, were also worth it.
Banner Watch
There was a new Women’s Cup banner that according to Peter Brown, the Lavender Legion President, was courtesy of Legion member Holly Freeland and others. It was designed by Brigid MoonDragon, who has also done some work for me. Great job everyone! I mean, it’s still no “Sav-acado” banner, but it looks quite nice.
Show to Binge Rather than Rewatching the Match
When the match isn’t particularly entertaining, I like to provider a viewing alternative. Thankfully, this hasn’t be the case recently.
As a committed anglophile, I would struggle without my BritBox subscription. It’s a good place to get the best of BBC, Channel 4, etc. In this case, the series is an ITV production set in Canterbury. There are some familiar faces like Andrew Buchan most notably from Broadchurch and Charlotte Ritchie who is great at everything other than winning tasks on Taskmaster. However, the stars of the series are most definitely Rose Ayling-Ellis and Kieron Moore, playing characters making questionable decisions but with their hearts in the right place. It has all the stuff and plenty of feels.
The Kayla Fischer Honorary Yellow Card of the Match
Kalya Fischer is back in the bad graces of the officials, to nobody’s surprise. As far as I can tell this was the first ever NWSL match for Atahan Yaya. It sure felt like it. If there is a future match for which he is in charge, I am going to wait until the quietest moment and yell “you suck, Yaya”. His lack of NWSL experience is relevant here because I felt like he either studied film or read a dossier and made some “reputation” calls, thus making decisions on what he expected to happen instead of what actually did. Fischer’s card was harsh, and you wonder if that impacted her pressing early in the match. Bev wisely saw enough at half after Fischer seemed to get a final caution late in the first half and subbed on Weber. It could also have been preplanned. I forgot to ask.
DeMelo’s yellow was cyclical and smart, but Flint’s will hurt the most. Racing is a different proposition without her. Borges and O’Kane and DiGrande will likely fill her position and minutes for the Portland match.
“While I waste my time in regretting that the days went from perfect to just okay.”
“Cruel”/Swoon/1984
This habit of giving up later equalizers is something that Racing needs to fix. It isn’t unique to this club or this iteration of Racing. The team needed three points here, not necessarily because of the table, but because of the expectations now put upon them. Racing is predictable in many ways. Some of that is good predictability in that their opponents now dread facing them, which is never good for the collective psyche. You know what you are going to get. Unfortunately, this still includes shaky possession in stoppage time. Racing’s depth has improved but, in this match, despite adding a defender this week, they found the only substitute option late in the match to be Balcer. An extra midfielder or defender makes the most sense here, but Racing was fresh out of experienced ones on the bench. The roster building has been good the last 12 months or so. However, on this night, they were one player short in my opinion. At this point, Barón, Kalitta and Scott don’t appear to be anything more than emergency replacements based on their lack of usage. If there ever was a match to give Barón stoppage time minutes, I feel like this was it.
You might win a match with eleven or sixteen, but you win bigger and better things with twenty and twenty-four. That has to be Racing’s next step. Injuries haven’t helped here, but I feel like Racing is still in the situation where the roster contains fringe players. That may be the reality under which Racing has to operate, but on this night, it probably cost them.
The draw is an okay result, but the Portland match is now much bigger and will be undertaken shorthanded. We will see just how shorthanded next week.
Racing 1 Dash 1 Player Ratings
Photo by Elizabeth Shaw
Frustrating draw. Embarrassing performance by the officials.
Bloomer-7: Made some good stops, but couldn't keep out a late roller.
Morris-7: Really good in her first appearance.
Petersen-7: Mostly solid. Her delivery on corners was terrific.
Jean-7: Commanding much of the time.
Sonis-7: Just so good at what she does.
Flint-7: Outside of the goal it was a quieter night. Suspended for next match with a late yellow.
Borges-7: More good things than bad things tonight.
DeMelo-7: Not her best match but made some great passes.
Hase-7: Really sharp later in the match.
Fischer-6: An early yellow and a last warning late in first half meant she was subbed at half.
Sears-7: Ran hard at the defenders. Had a foul called on her because keepers are delicate flowers made of angel's wings and gossamer web.
Weber-7: A nuisance while on.
RLFC v Houston -1
The big news today was the introduction of new acquired Mckenna Morris. She was available to media and excited about joining the club. She can be deployed in multiple spots but Bev has a spot in mind for her. We will see if she takes the pitch at some point on Friday, but my feeling is that we will.
Swebs was available as well and talked about her tiny bit of frustration at not scoring goals but more pleased with her contribution to Racing’s press. She was especially good in San Diego. She has also been good enough to supplant Fischer as the starting 9 recently, but we will see if that holds on Friday. Fischer was so vital in the match in Houston earlier this season, that it would be hard to drop her again for the return match.
Racing has reached the point of the season where taking care of business is the one and only job. There needs to be no looking ahead nor looking back. Houston is the toughest opponent they will face this week, so the only focus needs to be on getting 3 points at home. It's a cliche, but Racing is on a “one match schedule” from here on out. Win the week and move to the next.
“…And All the Pieces Matter”
Courtesy of the NWSL
Stolen The Wire Epigraph
“…and all the pieces matter.”
For those of you who haven’t seen The Wire, it is a show much like Love Island except the choice is to “re-couple“ with cocaine or stick with heroin.
For me this match with always exist in delicious dichotomy. The epigraph points to a pure team effort, yet for me, this will always be “The Ella Hase Match”. Some matches are like that. If you are lucky enough to see an individual performance that rates10/10, or a rookie make her breakthrough, you tend to remember those matches associated with that particular player. This is the match where I realized that Hase has “late pace”. What I mean by that is that her speed is evident late in the match as much as the first minute. I am sure that there are biometrics to either prove or refute what I saw, but what I experienced was a player that looks to be a real danger now.
Dichotomy part two…Sears still drives me absolutely crazy and yet delights me. There is something so aesthetically pleasing about seeing a left-footed right winger cut inside and shoot on goal. Emma is not that. It is almost equally infuriating to watch the natural curve of a right-footed shot take it outside of the goal frame, which happened a few times to Emma in this match. Curse your right foot, Emma! I was begging Sears to take a left-footed shot until I wasn’t. Her right foot did the trick on the lone goal of the match. Bless your right foot, Emma!
Dichotomy part three…possession is “the way” until it isn’t. I will take “winning ugly” over “losing beautifully” any day. San Diego completed 89% of its passes having 513 accurate ones. At times they played the beautiful game. It left them with a giant “L”. The expected goals (if you believe in such nonsense) paint another lopsided picture. Almost all of the stats lied in this match. San Diego played exactly the way they wanted to play. We (okay, I) have accused Racing of being stubborn in the past. Stubbornness is easier to discern on a “blue-collar” team like Racing than it is on a well-oiled machine like the Wave, but San Diego mostly looked dangerous when in transition, and yet they refused to let Racing have the ball. That left most of the transition opportunities (but not all because the Wave were definitely dangerous with theirs) to Racing. San Diego loves to construct goals into works of art. When that doesn’t work, the emperor has no clothes.
Dichotomy part four…I almost dare not type these words…let me circle the edge of it…circumstances have dictated that Sonis and Hase now find themselves on the pitch at the same time. It’s something nobody wanted, especially in the way that it happened, but that diagonal combo provides a different look to what Racing offered before it was necessarily enforced. Would we have ever known this was an option without the cruelty of an injury? Maybe or maybe not. However, it is working in the interim and is a viable option now even when the team is at full strength. Lo when healthy goes straight back into the team, but maybe she doesn’t have to do 90 minutes every time and can be substituted for tactical reasons too.
The above quote is the signature epigraph/quote of The Wire. I would never use it lightly. The culture that Bev has built could be summed up as “all the pieces matter” but so could just about every other thing that exists. That phrase is a personal mantra, so I am going to see it manifest in more situations that most. It is a special quote to me. In its context it means one thing, but I like to read it to myself with three different emphases. ALL the pieces matter, all the PIECES matter, and all the pieces MATTER. Is the Racing context: ALL: togetherness; PIECES: uniqueness: MATTER: importance. This is a special, special team now in possession of its signature win. If things keep going this way, it will be their signature win…so far.
Post Match Moment of the Match
Ella Hase was frustratingly humble in her assessment of her performance. She deferred the credit to her teammates, as per usual. I don’t get to talk to Ella very often, but it was twice in a few days this week. She started off talking about her assist with an apology for losing the initial ball. If this team is going to have an Ali Night every year, it would be nice to have a player every once in a while come out and give an Ali-esque interview. Since Hase didn’t do that, I will do it for her. “EVERY DEFENDER IN THE LEAGUE WILL SEE “6” ON MY SHORTS BEFORE THEY SOON SEE “6” ON MY BACK AND THE BALL IN NET.” A guy can dream, can’t he? Regardless she did give the solid quote “We are not a very fun team to play.” I still like my made up one better.
Sears talked to multiple outlets last night, but the best bit was Joe Havelda trying to create a “who’s quicker” debate between Sears and Hase. The demure Hase said it was Emma. The more assured Sears seemed to be at least mildly interested in proving it in practice while not immediately confirming herself as the fastest player on the team.
Everyone loves Bev, so happy Bev is much preferred to sad Bev. She shared that the tweak to the press at halftime was needed and effective. Personally, I think Bev wanted this win really badly. She wants to win every match, but I think she knew that 3 points here in these circumstances would likely be season changing. If Racing doesn’t quite have a target on their backs now, they surely have a “Beware of Dog” sign on their fence. I asked Bev if the burden of expectations would change anything. Essentially…no. Bev will always be Bev and that works.
Were the Announcers Good?
Maura Sheridan was on the call and Jordan Angeli was on the color. They were very good. If we can just get JP to retire, we might actually start to have a decent roster of announcers for this league.
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.
Sheridan: A virtual cornucopia of pronunciations. Always 3 syllables with the middle one varying among “uh”, “ih”, “ee” and “wuh”. Still…not distracting.
Angeli: Vacillating between 2 and 3 but always close enough.
There was a misattributed “Savannah” a couple of times between McCaskill and DeMelo. That seems to happen with that name for some reason. They caught one of them. I liked a couple of phrases like “hospital balls” and “flat tire” by Angeli. The announcers across the league are now starting to credit Racing more in broadcasts and this was a good example.
TV Kit Rating
From my kit commentary where we had them ranked last.
“There is definitely a nursing scrubs theme to some of the jerseys this year. The absolute worst offender is the Wave’s kit. It looks like water, which is on brand, but it is such a downgrade from my favorite kit from last year, the Wave Primary. The swoosh is pink which is sort of cool. Maybe when these jerseys don’t sell, Kaiser can hand them out to their nursing staff. Then again, that may be enough to make them strike again.”
No real change in that assessment. Those jerseys look bad, and they should feel bad. 1/10
The Kayla Fischer Honorary Yellow Card of the Match
Ary Borges picked up a nice and crunchy Fischer-esque card in the 22nd minute. I didn’t mind it at all. Sears picked up another for what I assume was a bit of time-wasting, or time-wasting AND arguing about time-wasting. Either way, the card issuance itself wasted time. The irony!
“Are they happy to see you? No, you always bring trouble.”
“Don’t Sing”/Swoon/1984
The late Carl Weathers did one of my favorite ever pieces of wordless acting in the original Rocky movie. As the music swells and Rocky beats the ten count and gestures to Apollo to keep fighting, he conveys so much with a drop of the head and slump of the shoulders.
What he clearly conveys is “I don’t want to keep fighting this dude.” He then immediately gets his ribs broken.
At this point that much be what it is like to see Racing on the schedule. It is a nightmare for opponents, and it is my dream come true.
Racing is never going to be a club that is going to beat teams on paper. Matches aren’t won there. As with the aforementioned Rocky they might not always win, but their opponents will know they have been in a fight. In Rocky, Apollo Creed, at least in the original, functioned as a proxy for Ali. There is dichotomy rearing its head again. Be Ali, or be Rocky? Who’s to say one is more fun to root for than the other. The city of Louisville may have produced Ali, but it is always going to be in the Rocky role in this league.
“The burden of love is so strange” - My expectations for this season were so low that they were underground. I expressed them without remorse or fear. That didn’t mean for one second that I didn’t love this team. I have loved them from the beginning when they were lovable in a way a new puppy is. They were a bit tougher to love in their adolescent and teenage years, so frustratingly and predictably unpredictable but I still did this and wrote when frankly, the less said about things the better. The soccer was passable but uninspiring. You get used to disappointment pretty quickly. In fact, it fit like a glove. For a while, the only way I knew how to write about this team was from the perspective of disappointment. I know that there will inevitably be more of that at some point.
However, at this point and hopefully for the majority of the future, this team is fun, gritty, joyful, and easy to love. Today, there is nothing but joy and hope and excitement for what comes next. It will surely be the playoffs in the short-term future. Past that, maybe even greater things.
San Diego 0 Racing 1 Player Ratings
Racing gets their signature win of the season in my opinion. In a match where they only had 30% possession things couldn't have gone much more to plan.
Bloomer-8: Critical save in 33rd minute.
Petersen-7: As with the rest of the back line, worked tirelessly.
Jean-8: Rock solid in the best way. Looked untroubled by anything the Wave attackers threw at her.
Wright-6: A real captain's performance.
Sonis-7: Growing into her role but still dangerous in attack.
Flint-7: The most critical part of her game was slowing down San Diego's progression through the midfield.
Borges-6: Good in possession, mediocre without it.
DeMelo-7: Not a signature match for her, but still created 3 chances.
Hase-8: A towering performance. Player of the match.
Weber-7: Pressed really well in her time in the match.
Sears-8: Drives me absolutely batty with her refusal to shoot left-footed but when she is in the goal mouth, her right foot is golden.
San Diego v RLFC -1
Racing will look to get some semblance of revenge against the Wave on Sunday evening in San Diego. The match between Racing and San Diego earlier this year was easily Racing’s worst performance of the season. After that loss the team started to play much better. Much of that improvement is down to Racing finding form and identity.
Everyone is on the Wave bandwagon now, but I was on it early. More than any other team in the league, San Diego likes to play with the ball. Their average possession on the season is near 60%. This team is unlike any other that Racing will face. It will be a challenge to bait them into a frenetic match that flatters Racing’s strengths.
The collective psyche of the team seems to have recovered from letting 3 points slip away late in DC. In the interviews on Thursday there seemed to be the right amount of disappointment without wallowing in it. The team is fully aware of the unique challenges that San Diego presents.
The match will come down to how disciplined Racing can be without the ball and how clinical they can be when the do get their opportunities. As with the last 2 matches, a point here is a good result. Three points would be a dream.