Orlando 1 Racing 0 Post Match Thoughts
Courtesy USA Today Sports Images
Racing were bound to have a game like this sooner or later. If I am being honest, I have to say that overall, I came out of Sunday's match more impressed with Orlando's performance versus disappointed in Louisville’s. That being said, there are definitely a few talking points to hit on from a Racing perspective.
We all knew that sooner or later Racing’s streak of never trailing would come to an end. If I had to grade their response, I think I would give it a solid C. They didn't panic for sure and stuck to game plan. On the other hand, there didn't see to be any real sense of urgency to turn things around either. I definitely didn't see anything that conjured images of “running through a brick wall.” That's honestly fine at this point in the season. This team is on a journey but it's way too early to tell if it is a destination towards the playoffs or another road to nowhere.
We are 7 matches into the season now which means I will be writing my “1st quarter of the season” review this week. I expect to have more to say there, but so far I would say that their has been marginal improvement in the club. It might take a full season with Bev at the helm to reap the results of any real change. There will be more to come on this.
It think the impact of Racing missing both DeMelo and Howell really showed in this match. Fischer and DiGrande were fine individually, but the added loss of Borges meant that the connections just weren't there. Who knows if the result would have been different, but their absences were crystal clear.
Sears for all of her strengths isn't quite ready to put in 60 or 70 minutes of defending. I like her as a number 9 who would have less defensive responsibilities. Bahr isn't getting enough touches, so I wonder if something different up front might be a wise idea. When Kirsten Wright is fully fit, I think she goes right back into the 9 slot.
Emily Sams will always kind of be the one that got away for Racing. She was excellent for Orlando and was the player of the match in my opinion.
