Courage v Racing Preview

Courtesy EM Dash Photography

It's hard to know when to resume “regular” or “normal” activity after the news of last Thursday. I hate to even consider what “normal” is in this league given the continuous parade of stories reporting heinous and despicable behavior. This league needs transformation not normalcy. However, unless you want to “burn the thing down” (which I don’t think is an unreasonable idea) the NWSL is going to try to press on while attempting to fix its many problems. I decided since there is going to be a return to game action on Wednesday that I would resume my usual cadence of posting a match preview the day before the match.

First off, the women on these teams are professionals and will do their jobs, which should solely be the game of soccer by the way. On the other hand, they are human and completely within their rights to have their minds on other things. I believe we will see focused performances on the field from both teams, even if part of that focus is just to escape the outside pressures of the current environment for 90 minutes.

On the Racing side, here is the depressing injury report:

D ADDISYN MERRICK (OUT/SEI)

F NADIA NADIM (OUT/SEI)

D GEMMA BONNER (OUT)

F CECE KIZER (QUESTIONABLE)

Not having Bonner usually means a greater struggle on the defensive side.

As for the Courage, they will be under the guidance of Sean Nahas as their interim coach. The Courage will have to adjust to a new coach, but if that is the most difficult thing the women on the team have to deal with this week, I’m pretty sure they will count in as a win.

No prediction for a scoreline, but I predict a good effort from both clubs.