Preview: Racing v Courage III

If Racing as a new franchise is familiar with any club, it is the North Carolina Courage. One of the first posts I wrote on this site was about the 5-0 defeat suffered in Cary. In that post I wondered if Coach Holly might change up his formation a bit and advocated for a back 3. The answer was no, and I’m not surprised. Coaches don't like to switch formations much, especially mid-season. I don't think he will for this match either. First of all, Brooke Hendrix is still listed as questionable, so that limits his choices a bit at center back. I do wonder what his back four will look like. I wouldn't be surprised to see Merrick or Ashley get a start. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Yuki get a rest. If Kizer wasn't listed as questionable, I also wouldn't have been surprised to see McCaskill get a rest too. The numbers for midfielders on the roster are still thin, but I have a hunch (based on nothing really) that maybe Fox takes a midfield spot in this match to get one of the starting midfielders a rest. I hope that if Coach Holly is planning to rest Yuki and Savannah soon, that he does so in this match and not the trip to Chicago. I think both players would relish the chance to shine against their old club.

Salmon is also listed as questionable, and if she wasn't I would say she definitely would start. Could we see Jorian Baucom or Cheyna Matthews get a start? I say it's definitely possible.

My biggest concern though is not about the lineup, but to see if Racing can handle the pressure from the left side of the Courage attack. I will be watching to see if the tactics are any different for the third time around against this team. Who ever plays on the right side of the attack will surely be given extra defensive responsibilities this time around. I'm not predicting a win here, but a draw would be a good result, so let's go with that.