Can We Talk? With Massey from WOSO Wine Up

Massey from the excellent podcast WOSO Wine Up joined me for a chat recently. Massey is an encyclopedia of WOSO knowledge.

FDLFC: How did you come up with the idea for WOSO Wine Up? It's a great name by the way.

Massey: My cohost and I were brainstorming things we could do and we both like wine and drinking it 🙃

I have to ask...how much wine do you go through in a podcast?

Ha ha ha…I can’t speak for Brianna because we haven’t actually recorded in the same place yet! But there have been episodes where I’ve drank a whole bottle!

Before we move onto Racing...I'm not a huge follower of international soccer, so I wanted to get your opinion of the USWNT's Olympic performance.

Oh wow. I could go on and on about it… there didn’t seem to be the same fire in the team that we saw in 2019. I think certain people played poorly and certain people shined. I did discuss some of it on the most recent episode (15 I think) and will definitely be talking more in the next episode :) (FDLFC: I will be sure to tweet a link to the podcast once it's available)

Racing according to "the numbers" have been playing better, what's your assessment of the team's recent play?

I think they’ve done some amazing things on the field! The talent the team possesses is INSANE! I also think that for a first year team that hasn’t played together we’ve done some AMAZING things.

I guess the disappointing thing has been the results. Frankly they were lucky early on and maybe a little more unlucky recently. What are you expectations for the remainder of the season?

I’m really looking forward to the women’s cup! We get to have some major clubs come here and experience our world class stadium and facilities! I’m looking forward to more goals and games in the fall! Being on the capo stand in the heat is BRUTAL.

ALSO very excited about OL Reign… they may have rain and Rapinoe in Seattle but we’ve got bourbon and Betos here in Louisville.

Were you a Reign fan before Racing joined the league?

I actually was! I never have gotten to see them play in Seattle but I was a Seattle Sounders women’s team fan way back in the day.

If we’re not playing them I generally am rooting for them.

Who is your favorite Racing player and non-racing player?

Oh gosh favorite Racing player!! I don’t think I can pick just one.

Well… there’s only one Erin Simon. I might have a signed pride jersey. And it might be hers. I do also love me some Michelle Betos! She’s one of the greatest goalkeepers in the game. She’s the only one (GK) to score in the NWSL EVER.

(As for non-Racing) Allie Long! For sure!!! I’ve actually played Call of Duty with her a few times. If I’m talking about players overseas Jennifer Hermoso. She’s one of my favorites.

That is awesome! Is there any sport with better fan connections than WOSO?

Oh wow. I honestly don’t think there is. WoSo is so niche still in my opinion.

I came into following this league a little naive. These first few months have been eye-opening for me. I know the passion that surrounds my favorite Premier League team (Arsenal), but it actually seems a bit tame compared to some of the ferocity I see surrounding this league. Am I getting a good feel for the passion, or has this been an unusual season?

I think that things really turned after the 2019 World Cup in such a grand way.. there are some crazy fierce fans too. But viewership numbers started going up then. Which the more people watch the more fans you get and that leads to the passion I think.

It’s crazy to see how it has evolved each World Cup starting since 2011 really.

I am old and lazy with a back that gives me fits. I can’t stand in one place for long periods of time. What is the stand experience like?

Oh it’s nuts! I keep my Apple watch on and track my calories it’s insane especially if I do the March to the match. I love it though. I like being able to help energize a crowd.

One of the things I love about Lynn Family Stadium is the variety of experiences you can have there. If you weren't in the stands, where would you like to watch the game?

Oh wow. Hmmmm probably 209 or 219. High enough up to see and at an angle to see goals scored on either end.

Thanks to Massey again for answering my questions. Follow her @sassyismassey and subscribe to WOSO Wine Up through the website.

July Fleur-de-lis-fc.com Player of the Month

Courtesy ISI Photos

Each month I will conduct a Twitter poll to let people vote on the Player of the Month. I will pretend to consider input from this poll then award the honor precisely to who I think deserves it.

It's hard to come up with a player of the month when the team goes 0-3-1, but I said I would pick one every month so I guess that means I have to do it. Well it doesn't mean I have to choose, so this month I am deferring to the Twitter poll and picking Ebony Salmon. Her goal was the only goal scored for the month and earned the sole point in July, so maybe it doesn't need to be any more complicated than that.

Other players of note were Gemma Bonner who helped bring more defensive stability, CeCe Kizer who was dangerous in her new wing role, Freja Olofsson who led the midfield in passing accuracy and Nadia Nadim who brought new life into the attack.

July didn't turn out the way that any Racing fan wanted, but there were clear signs of progress. Let's hope that progress turns into more points in August and difficult choice for Player of the Month due to overall better play.

OL Reign 2 - Racing 0 Analysis

Courtesy OL Reign

If you have noticed my writing style, I write from a fan’s perspective and almost always ignore Racing's opponents other than my Know Your Foe and preview posts. I focus my energy on Racing during the analysis posts. While I will continue to do that here I wanted to come at the analysis from the opposite direction…how to play against Racing.

I watch enough soccer to know that there is more than one way to win a match. Louisville's two major soccer teams, Racing and City both believe in possession football. The philosophy is to dominate possession and put the other team on the back foot. This often includes high pressure. They want to build possession from the back and score as a result of that possession. When done correctly it looks like their first goal against Chicago. The highlight of this goal cuts out the early buildup, but the move started from a recovery from Martin, a pass to Betos who fed it quickly to Bonner. You can watch the rest here:

So when it works it's beautiful. However there are three things that building from the back requires: good positioning, quick ball movement and accurate passing.

If I were planing to play against Racing here is what I would tell my team: let Racing possess the ball in the back and wait for a loose pass in midfield to counter. Here's the thing, the possession numbers don’t mean much once you're behind and they really mean next to nothing when you're down by more than one. Now the possession stats will say that possession was equalim last night's match, but the Reign had 26 more passes in the opposition half. Possession in your own half frankly doesn't mean much.

The other thing I would tell my team is to attack from the left. Emily Fox according to some terrible analysis on Twitch could soon be a centerback, but for now locks down the right side of attack. Simon has put in some decent efforts, but she's not Fox. Is it any surprise that most teams attack Racing from the left?

That’s it. That's the winning formula against Racing. Score first and your pretty much guaranteed a victory. My verdict: Racing need to be much harder to figure out. I think the recent increase in Racing's shot and possession numbers are due to improvement to some degree, but also due to teams figuring out that Racing are more dangerous in transition than in possession and that they are prone to a mistake in midfield.

From the beginning of the season, I thought Racing's best chances for points would be to set up to defend and counter. Now I am all but totally convinced of it. However, Racing just simply isn't built for this. I think Coach Holly simply doesn't think he has enough healthy, viable options at centerback to play a back 3. I’m not sure I disagree. In the off-season I expect this to be addressed. For now Racing is stuck with a back 4. The midfield is under staffed as well. Simply, the roster isn't balanced. That's a difficult thing to overcome. There are too many players not playing in their natural positions. That's how an expansion roster is going to be, so it's not really anyone's fault. For the remainder of the season, Coach Holly will have to figure out how he wants to play. I am fine with him sticking to his guns. The team will continue to improve, but there may not be many points to come from it.

I am a huge fan of relegation, and since the overwhelming majority of the football world has this system it tempers my analysis. However, since the NWSL will not have this in the foreseeable future I might need to adjust my thinking. For the rest of the season, points aren't as important as they would be in a league with relegation. That doesn't mean they aren't important at all. Winning is good for morale and Racing technically aren't eliminated from the playoffs, yet. If Coach Holly has found a formation that he likes, then by all means he should stick to it through the learning and mistakes. He has switched it up a bit recently through his own admission. I am sure he wants to win every match, but he has to decide what is more important at this point, learning and improving or accumulating points. I still think accumulating points is still the way to go, but I obviously will defer to his judgment. I would only say this: while winning is contagious, so is losing. I would hate for this team to have too many more losses where they played well and lose by two goals.

Which brings me to last night. Racing was beaten by 2 fantastic goals by Le Sommer, which can happen. However, I would have considered a 2-1 defeat real progress. Racing have to learn how to come from behind. A goal would have showed progress towards this. As a fan, it seems like all hope is lost for a win or draw if Racing doesn't score first. At some point this team needs to figure out how to score against a team that has a lead. They were close a few times last night and will surely get one soon. I think that would show true growth.

Reign 2 Racing 0 Player Ratings

Will be super quick tonight.

Before I get to the ratings I want to say that the game management from the referees was pathetic. One of the great aspects of soccer is the ability of the officials to allow play to continue even though an infraction has occurred. At least twice, the official stopped play and disallowed Racing an advantage. I think this may have been what drew Coach Holly his yellow card. I was embarrassed for the officials and this league needs to remedy the quality of officiating. That being said, I don’t think it greatly impacted the outcome.

Betos-6: Had no chance on either goal.

Simon-5: Tough to necessarily blame her for either goal, but she was the last defender on both.

Riehl/Bonner-7: Both solid

Fox-7 (Player of the Match): Delivered a couple of excellent crosses. The color commentator when asked what she thought Fox's future was said that she thought Fox's best position might be CB. Bizarre. Twitch is a dumpster fire.

Olofsson/McCaskill-6; Solid if unspectacular.

Nagasato-7: Looked like a different player tonight. Pushed the team forward a bunch. Needs more of these type of displays.

Nadim/Kizer/Salmon-6: Need more time together to be a threat as a working unit.

Will cover this tomorrow, but no more praise for learning during a loss. The team is getting better. In fact they are good enough to swallow a loss without having to focus on the positives. The rest of the season should be about becoming something better than an expansion team.

Reign v Racing Preview

Racing is already in Tacoma preparing for tomorrow’s late night EDT match vs. the OL Reign. It appears that this trip is already better than the trip to Portland. The OL Reign is the final team that Racing has yet to play. The Reign still are a bit tough to figure out in my opinion.

First, let's look at the stats. The Reign are second in the league in shots on target with almost 6 per match. They are also good at creating big chances and are tied for the league league in that category with NCC at 21. However, they have only converted 2 of those big chances and are only averaging 0.9 goals per match. The Reign do sit 8th in the table now after spending much of the year in 9th. There recent form has been much better with 2 wins in 3 matches, but those two wins are against a slumping Orlando Pride and bottom of the table KC. The Reign have tended to win the possession battle against their opponents recently and keep it close even if they don’t win. They average 52.4% possession on the year which is 4th in the league. I expect the Reign to win the possession battle in this match-up, and frankly do it pretty easily.

That means Racing should set up to counter attack. At least that's how I would play it since a) you're on the road, b) the other team likes to have the ball and c) I think Racing's best chances to score come through quick attacks and not long build up play. What the heck do I know, so expect the same formation if not the same starting XI. If Nadia Nadim starts, it will be interesting to see who's spot she takes. Ebony and Nadia I believe would both prefer to play in the middle. Ebony shifted to the left side of attack when Nadia came into the game against Washington, but they weren't on the field much together since Ebony was subbed off for Cheyna. The other thing to watch is to see if Martin keeps her place. I believe she will, but it's really 50/50 in my mind. Brooke Hendrix wasn't in the 18 last match, so I wonder what's up with that. A full roster makes Coach Holly's decisions tough and usually only an injury or a late lead sees a CB sub. As I write this, there hasn't been a published injury report. Racing buries those in their game notes, so as a public service, I will start tweeting those out.

I didn't make a prediction last match and we saw how that went. Let's go with a 1-1 draw and hope I'm wrong in the right direction again.

Know Your Foe with Susie Rantz of Ride of the Valkyries/Sounder at Heart

Susie Rantz is a writer for the OL Reign/Seattle Sounder website Sounder at Heart. Ride of the Valkyries is the dedicated OL Reign blog on that site.

OL Reign seemed to have turned their season around in a matter of a few weeks. What has been the key?

Susie: It might sound like simple fixes, but I think there are two important factors in OL Reign's recent run of form: more time together and simplifying things. OL Reign had a lot of players show up into the regular season, including the three loaned players from OL, in addition to Rose Lavelle, Alana Cook, Jimena Lopez, and Phallon Tullis-Joyce. Integrating these new players isn't always as easy as it sounds. They finally hit a stretch where the team had more time to train together and get to know each other's strengths and tendencies.

Former head coach Farid Benstiti also did a lot of roster rotation along the backline. That led to inconsistent performances where the team had trouble closing out games. Interim head coach Sam Laity said after their recent win against Orlando that it was important to him to start a consistent backline to keep some order to the team. They finally seem to be holding it together for 90 minutes.

The last factor is just a little more confidence in the attack. There were matches earlier where the Reign created plenty of chances but seemed to get stuck in the 18-yard-box. They seem closer to solving this puzzle after putting a few more goals in the net.

Has it been tough on the team not to have a true home stadium upon moving to Tacoma?

While a true soccer stadium would be great, Tacoma has really embraced the Reign. Their attendance in 2019 was higher than it ever was in Seattle, and the team is building real connections with the community in Tacoma. With the Reign sharing their stadium with a USL and minor league baseball team, they really do get to be kind of the marquee team at the stadium. While a soccer stadium in Tacoma is still the dream -- and something the team is pushing toward -- it's worked out well, given their limited alternative options.

I'm not sure how closely you've followed the opening of Racing's new training facilities, but the ownership group in Louisville has been deliberate about making the dressing rooms at the stadium equal in size and quality as well as the training facilities. Is OL Reign expecting the same treatment when their new stadium is built?

Yes. OL Reign CEO Bill Predmore, who was previously the majority owner before OL Groupe's purchase, has always tried to give the players the most professional experience possible. One good development this year is that OL Reign became equal partners in the planning for the new stadium in Tacoma. Previously, they were just considered tenants of the space, with the Seattle Sounders and Tacoma Rainiers driving the process. That equal seat at the table can only mean good things as the work progresses.

Has the fan base in Seattle stayed engaged since the move?

I'd say that the dynamic of who is able to attend matches has changed a little. It's not that simple to get to Tacoma from Seattle, especially during rush hour. At the same time, people in the south end of the Puget Sound region suddenly had a professional team closer to them. I think it is fair to say that there's been some healthy skepticism of the recent changes, with OL Groupe's purchase and Farid Benstiti's hire in 2020. But most fans have stuck with the team through all of that because the club has some really fun players and a core of four veterans -- Jess Fishlock, Lauren Barnes, Megan Rapinoe, and Steph Cox -- who have been with this team since the beginning. This is still the same Reign, and fans are realizing that.

How much has the team benefited so far from its association with Olympique Lyonnais?

I think we're just starting to see that relationship shine. The roster this year is loaded. Obviously, it would have been a little harder to get players like Dzsenifer Marozsan, Eugenie Le Sommer, and Sarah Bouhaddi onto one team without that association. But I think there are behind-the-scenes ways that the partnership is having a real impact that fans don't always see. OL flew all the players out for a few weeks of training in Montana last year ahead of the Challenge Cup, putting them on charter flights and housing for nearly a month. They had plans to fly the team to France for a tournament in August after the Challenge Cup, but the pandemic halted that. Instead, they flew three players out to train with OL. And they now have more staff behind the scenes, including Bruno Cheyrou, who was recently named the new Sporting Director of OL Reign.

Laura Harvey, who is returning to OL Reign as head coach after the Olympics, spoke to the possibilities of this relationship during her announcement press conference. Harvey is beloved by Reign fans, and it's exciting to see her back with the club. “That the best women’s team in the world decided to jump on board and be a huge part of it and lead the ship only elevates the club even more," Harvey shared. It feels like just the beginning of what these two clubs can do together.

Who should Racing fans pay close attention to on Saturday?

Good question! I think Eugenie Le Sommer is due for a goal. She's been a ton of fun to watch since she joined the club, but hasn't found the back of the net -- despite creating a number of chances. I know it's kind of obvious to choose France's all-time scoring leader, but I truly feel like the floodgates are going to open after she gets her first goal.

Thanks to Susie again for answering my questions. Follow her on Twitter @SusieRants.

Racing 0 Spirit 2 post match thoughts

Racing won a few key stat battles, but lost the match last night. The stat victories are a small sign of progress, with a slight caveat, so let's start with the positives.

Racing won the possession battle 57% to 43%, their most lopsided possession advantage ever by a wide margin. Of course when you concede a goal early, sometimes the other team is perfectly willing to sit back and absorb pressure. Racing has fallen behind early before and gone on to lose the possession battle by a wide margin, so I think the possession advantage, especially in the first half, was a good sign.

Racing also had a best ever shot total with 17. The Spirit had 18 shots as well and I thought the game was pretty open, especially in the 2nd half. Louisville also had there best ever passing accuracy for a match (79.8%) and a half (83.5% in the first half).

Let's talk about accuracy. I’m not enough of a soccer stat nerd to know if the pass that Nealy Martin attempted to Freja Olofsson in the fifth minute counted as an accurate pass or not. Accurate statistically or not, the loss of possession led to the first Spirit goal. Freja definitely got a touch on the ball from Nealy, but she had to stretch to get her right foot on the ball and the pass made it impossible for Freja to get a second touch to steady her possession. There was nothing wrong with the idea of the pass. If it had been delivered slightly more accurately, Olofsson could have delivered a one touch pass to Fox to start an attack. To be completely fair, Olofsson was calling for the ball in space. It's one of those slightly misplaced passes that if it leads nothing, is completely forgotten in a matter of minutes. However, passes in your own half have to be of pinpoint accuracy. I have made enough terrible passes out of the back that led to goals during pickup games, that I am an expert on this. In fact, my friend Juma scored on me this past weekend. I feel your pain Nealy!

The second goal came from a secondary header on a corner. Bonner could not quite deflect the initial header out of harm’s way and Staab finished off the effort. It wasn't the best game for the Martin/Bonner pairing.

Racing have played 10 games now, and in my opinion are a playoff long shot at this point. Some early luck probably raised my hopes a bit. They are by no means out of the race, but now have very little margin for error. If they can win their next 2 matches, I will be willing to reevaluate, but as this league has shown every point is earned via hard work.

It's a bit early to start thinking about next year, but I have started making a mental list of areas that need to be addressed during the next offseason. I won't go into all of them here, but I did want to mention a couple.

First I think the team need a few more physical defenders. The old adage in basketball goes that you can't teach height. Racing could use at least one more towering presence in the box both on defense and attack. This leads to my second point. Bekki Morgan, who sometimes I swear I share a brain with, pointed out on Twitter that this team doesn't look threatening at all from corners. I went back and reviewed the goals just to double check, but Racing has never scored from a corner. They have scored from a couple of set pieces, but that is rare too. Maybe short corners are the temporary answer but who knows.

Overall the first half was very encouraging, but a rather pedestrian 2nd half tempered the progress a bit. At least we don't have to wait 2 weeks for the next macth.

Player Ratings: Racing 0 Spirit 2

Washington flipped the script on Racing tonight in their victory at a Lynn Family Stadium. It was a tale of two halves, one very well played and one very sloppily played. I will dive into the numbers a bit more tomorrow, but even though the overall passing numbers were better, the number of loose passes doomed Racing tonight.

Betos-6: Not her best night. Showed a slip in concentration late conceding a corner, but not really at fault for either goal.

Fox-6: Rather anonymous based on the very high standards I set for her.

Simon-7: Unusually for her played the full 90 and was dangerous in attack a few times.

Bonner-6: Not as sharp as her usual self and had a couple of bad give aways.

Martin-5: A loose pass from her toward Olofsson led to the change of possession that resulted in the first goal. Looked to pass sideways vs. forward a bit too much.

Olofsson-6: Was her usual steady self before being subbed off for more attacking players after the 2 goal deficit.

McCaskill-6: It truly was a mixed bag for her. She had 2 shots, one on target, but only completed 59% of her passes.

Milliet-7: Was good going forward as usual and had a highlight reel flip throw. Substituted in the 55th minute for Nadim.

Nagasato-6: Bizarrely I didn't make a single note about her in the game. The one thing I see more and more is her tendency to hold up the play in favor of keeping possession. Had a 92% passing accuracy, but I don’t remember a single one of them as driving the team forward.

Kizer-8 (Player of the Match): Had 4 shots with 3 on target, one of them needing a fantastic save from Bledsoe. The only thing she got wrong was opting for a pass late in the game vs. testing Bledsoe again.

Salmon-6: Again, got next to zero service. It will be interesting to see what the plan is when both Ebony and Nadia start. Tonight Ebony went out left for a bit before being subbed in the 69th minute.

Nadim-7: On long enough to show flashes of brilliance. Managed 4 shots, although none on target.

Racing v Spirit Preview

Courtesy Connor Cunningham

It's hot. There is frankly little relief from the heat while the sun is out, so the kick-off for tomorrow’s match had been moved from 3:00 to 7:30 to try to get some relief. The temperatures are forecasted to still be in the eighties during the majority of the match. I played soccer this morning in a similar temperature range, and it was rough. Kudos to anyone who can play at a high level in this heat.

Racing achieved their first ever victory against the Spirit back in May. As I have stated several times, I consider that win to be a bit lucky. The good news for Racing is that their roster looks quite different from the previous matches vs. Washington. While Racing may benefit from new editions to the rosters, Washington is missing 4 players from the match in May due to Olympic commitments. Washington is plenty deep and you could argue that their top players are still here. This begs the question, are we sure the USA's best players are even at the Olympics? Let's not go there and say that Washington's attacking talent is here even if their defensive talent isn't.

In the last match the Spirit defense didn't have to do much other than watch Bledsoe pick the ball up out of the back of her goal twice. Racing will obviously have more attacking thrust this time around with Salmon surely starting again and Nadia Nadim to possibly get some minutes as well. Coach Holly had a rather wide grin on his face when asked about if Nadia was available for selection during his recent presser. For a second I thougbt maybe he knows he is going to start her, but given the match conditions, a sub appearance after the sun goes down is much more likely. I will make a rather straightforward prediction and say that if Washington gets off around 30 shots in this match, they are going to win. Thankfully, I think the Bonner/Martin pairing will keep the total shot number well below 30.

This match in my mind is the critical match of the season so far. It will tell us whether there are 7 teams fighting for a playoff spot or 8. If the Spirit win, I think we can pretty much split the league into a top 7 and a bottom 3. While no match before the team has played half of their games is a must win, I think enough of the season has passed for this match to serve as a barometer for Racing's chances the rest of the year. A draw means Racing can hedge for one more week. A win means now is the time to push to get into the top six. I usually make a prediction here, but I think I will pass this week. Something tells me that Racing is owed some Karmic payback for their victory in May, but maybe Washington just doesn't know how to finish off matches. Here's hoping for the latter.

Know Your Foe with Jason Anderson of Black and Red United

Racing and the Spirit already know each other pretty well due to a couple of early season meetings, one in the Challenge Cup and Racing's improbable first ever victory back on May 21st. A bit of time has passed between their last meeting, so I wanted to catch up with Jason Anderson, who runs Black and Red United. Jason is also a Podcaster in addition to being a member of the NWSL Media Association.

Going back through the results for this year, the Spirit have seemed to have a chance at points in every match they played, yet they sit 7th in the table. To be fair that's only 4 points from first. What's your assessment of on field performance related to where they sit in the table?

It's been an interesting season. The Spirit have some truly impressive performances (the recent win over the Courage, plus road wins against Houston and OL Reign stand out), but they've also pretty clearly let some points slip through their grasp. They've had at least two opportunities to climb into 1st place with a win, but couldn't get the job done on both occasions. I think they're a top 4 team in the NWSL, but the Spirit sometimes struggle to reward themselves for their good work. It's been a mix of reasons: they haven't been that great at converting good performances at home into actual wins — they've taken more points on the road (8) than at home (7) — and seem to have one substantial mistake (never the same player or same kind of mistake) in the back in most games. Ultimately I think they're going to address that tendency to not reliably convert good performances into good results, but we have to be realistic and note that the season is nearly halfway over, and the solution hasn't arrived yet.

Fotmob rates Trinity Rodman as the Spirit's best player this season, slightly ahead of Huster and Sanchez. What's your assessment?

I've voted for Tori Huster in the league's Team of the Month poll twice, and I think she's been the team's most consistently good player. But Trinity Rodman has been outstanding too, and has often been the player that breaks the defensive scheme for their opponents. Ashley Sanchez has also been ramping up her play, becoming more consistent within games since a move into a false 9 role a few weeks ago. One player not mentioned here that I think has to be brought up as well is Andi Sullivan, who on top of setting the tempo in possession and organizing the midfield has also been the main source of dangerous balls over the top for the Spirit's forwards.

Racing was frankly really lucky to hand Washington a loss in Louisville last time around. Do you think Washington will stick to the same formation/plan?

Broadly speaking, yes. Richie Burke is going to try to out-possess the opponent whenever possible, and the Spirit are going to go about this game the same way they did last time in terms of the big-picture tactics. Washington's offseason plans were really about moving into a 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-3 formation, but they dropped that plan before the Challenge Cup was over and have played a 4-3-3 since then. However they have adjusted a major aspect of that 4-3-3 since playing Louisville: Sanchez was playing as an attacking midfielder in that game, but has for the last 5-6 weeks she pushed up as a nominal center forward who drops off the front line to create for Rodman and Ashley Hatch. I mentioned what this has done for Sanchez above, and I'll add that Hatch has been able to find more space slashing in off the wing, and is now tied for the league lead in goalscoring with 5, so the adjustment has worked quite well.

Washington has been in the league since its inception I believe, but have yet to win any silverware. What are their chances to change that over the next few seasons?

The Spirit came as close to winning something as you can without doing so in 2016, when they lead the league for weeks only to opt to rest players in a couple games right at the end and let the NWSL Shield slip away. They then went to the championship game, took a 2-1 lead in extra time, got past the 120th minute...and gave up a goal to Lynn Williams with what was essentially the last play of the game, and then lost on penalties. It was brutal, and I apologize to any Spirit fans who happen to read this for even discussing it.

I do think their chances of changing that are pretty good, though. Washington has built a very young core group, where you can safely argue that seven starters still have plenty of room to grow and they've shown that they can play as well as anyone in the league at this point. That's created a pretty long window right now where, as long as that group is largely kept together and continues to grow, the chances at a title somewhere in there feel pretty realistic.

What does Washington need to do to close out the season in a playoff position?

I think the main thing is more consistency. The Spirit have shown that they can, at their best, match anything other teams in the league can put together. The last three games illustrate the problem, though: they played at their best against the Courage, but that game is sandwiched by losses to Chicago and Gotham. Against Chicago, they controlled possession but couldn't create chances, while against Gotham they were unlucky to get a very early red card that has since been overturned, but still gave up two goals on corner kicks. I think it's reasonable for the Spirit to still strongly expect to end up in one of the six playoff spots out there, but this is a team aiming for the top, and they'll have to be able to regularly match good performances with good results if they want to host a playoff game.

Thanks to Jason again. Check out his website blackandredunited.com and follow him on Twitter @JasonDCSoccer

Chatting with Todd from Louisville Ledgehogs

The Louisville Ledgehogs are a supporters group for both LouCity and Racing. I chatted yesterday with Todd Lanham who leads the group and runs their Twitter account.

FDLFC: Tell me a little bit about the GameDay experience with the Ledgehogs supporter group.

Todd: We just kicked off middle of last year so we're still trying to figure ourselves out. Our core group consists of 10 of us anchored at a couple of the tables on the ledge and some of our other members are further down. We partnered with the LouCity Dads to help get things off the ground. Most games we try to arrive an hour or so early. Get the flag up and walk around to say hello. We joined the Coopers March to the Match from Ten20 a few weeks back. Most of our members were an original group that went to games together from the first season on.

That's cool. Do you have a similar group for both LouCity and Racing?

Same core group. We rotate games due to our schedules and kids activities. One of our wives said that if the Ledgehogs were a movie, we'd probably be Old School…but without the streaking.

I love that. Are you Wilson, Ferrell or Vaughn?

Definitely Ferrell. What about yourself? How'd you get involved?

I always swore that whenever Louisville got a top tier sports team, I would be all in on day one. I share season tickets for LouCity with my brother and a friend, but my wife and I have 4 tickets for Racing.

Totally same. Have been trying to help with the NBA2Lou initiative for years. When I found out we had a chance for soccer, I was sold. All the different folks building from the ground up based on a pure passion has been one of the things I've enjoyed most.

Me too. What were your expectations prior to the season, and have they changed at all based on the on the field performance?

For Racing, my expectations were that we'd be competitive but I didn't think we'd have a chance at the playoffs. I had hoped we would have had a nationally known player but I've really enjoyed getting to know our group and see the new player we've added. Huge fan of Gemma and Ebony.

Are you excited about seeing Nadia Nadim on Sunday?

For sure...but just as much for the impact she can make here off the pitch. Can't wait to see her interviews.

Racing play the 7th, 9th and 10th place teams the next 3 matches. What's a good point return for those matches?

I'd say at least 5 points but would love to see 7.

5 was my expectation too. Do you have a favorite piece of Racing merch?

Well...I was hoping it would be a signed Salmon jersey, but I got outbid at the last minute. I tried to get Salmon, Emina or Gemma but lost them all...otherwise my purple shoes to match my purple Racing Nike t-shirt. I tried to buy one of the Hawaiian shirts but it didn't fit my Will Ferrell build.

I like the Nike Racing shirt too. Probably my go-to shirt. I don't know if you've been following my Skyline Chili War with Benton on Twitter. Have an opinion on Skyline?

I've maybe had it 3 times in my life and usually because someone else picked it. I don't get the hype. I guess if I was drunk it might sound better...plus, it's from Cincy, so…

I'm going to put you in the Skyline=”Meh" category.

Agree. I can see him defending it though. I defend mint juleps the same way.

I am 100% pro mint julep. Thanks for answering my questions.

Enjoyed it. Thanks again for reaching out! Go Racing!

Follow the Ledgehogs on Twitter @Ledgehogs

I won’t be watching the Olympics, and I want to talk about why.

My brother and I often reminisce about our favorite summer…1984. We make a George Orwell joke and talk about how that summer seemed to last forever. There were so many memories we crammed into that summer that there are too many to mention. One particular memory that sticks out is going to McDonald's after swimming lessons to get something to eat for free. McDonald's legendary miscalculation on Team USA's performance during the 1984 Summer Olympics is quite often parodied. My favorite is obviously this gem.

Those were the first summer Olympics of my cognizant lifetime, with the USA boycotting the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. I loved watching them. The details are a little fuzzy, but I think we just got cable that summer with a whopping 30 channels. Regardless, only ESPN was a sports outlet in competition with the big 3 broadcast networks. This was pretty much your only chance to see Olympic sports outside of some sporadic coverage on ABC's Wild World of Sports. I recall watching pretty much anything I could: boxing, swimming, gymnastics, diving, track and field, etc. What I don't remember is watching was any team sports. To begin with, I think there were only a handful, and I already watched plenty of team sports anyway. In my view, the Olympics were great and the new and unfamiliar sports were the draw for me. For me the appeal of the Olympics was never about the familiar team sports: Basketball, Baseball and Soccer.

As I have gotten older, I have become less and less interested in the Olympics. One reason is pretty banal…you can view “Olympic” sports fairly easily now either on TV or online. The second reason is the one that I want to talk about here: The Olympics are bad. Quite often the Olympics are an economic disaster for the host city at best, and a human rights disaster at worst. I would be shocked if this is news to anyone reading this. I feel like there are many more reasons the Olympics are bad, but those two are good enough to turn me off.

Here is the part where I know the ice is getting pretty thin, but I am going to plow forward regardless. I think the World Cup is a bad idea in its current setup with FIFA as its governing body. ANY INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION THAT REQUIRES BUILDING NEW FACILITIES IS A TERRIBLE IDEA. I truly believe the World Cup should only be ever held in like 5 or 6 counties…those that wouldn't have to build a single stadium.. We as a global community of Football fans have got to come to grips with this. I think the Euros this year were a great example of using existing stadiums, although not quite exclusively. The Puskás Aréna in Budapest was built for the Euros, but replaced the older national stadium. There is no good reason to hold the World Cup in any country that doesn't have the existing infrastructure. Does anybody think Qatar is going to make it out of the group stage? Reports say that 6500 migrant workers have already died in preparation for the Qatar World Cup.

I think American fans of Women's sports are in a peculiar position when it comes to the Olympics. I cannot imagine any Men's Basketball or Baseball fan saying their favorite team is the US National Team. However, I can definitely imagine the Women's National teams for Basketball, Softball and Soccer being someone’s favorite team. Who I am I to deprive someone the opportunity to cheer on their favorite team? If one of those teams is your favorite then by all means watch. I just think the Olympics is the wrong place for those competitions. If the infrastructure doesn't exist to host those events, why spend millions of dollars? Women's sports in this country have been so historically undervalued that we are just beginning to close the gap. The Olympics have often been the best place to display female athletes. I just hope that one day soon people will put more value in specific competitions for sports like swimming, gymnastics and others, so that host cities like Tokyo don't have to spend a small fortune on building venues that are destined to sit empty after the Olympics are over. Make the World Championships for each sport THE event and forget the Olympics.

I know this opinion is wildly unpopular. Many fans of Women's soccer became fans of the USWNT first, and still consider them “Their Team". They will watch their favorite team in the Olympics, and very possibly see them win another gold medal. The NWSL has historically gotten an attendance boost after international success. Racing could very well benefit. That would be good in the short term and possibly good in the long term.

I guess my real point is that it's time to move on. The Olympics are a relic and are dying a slow death, but way too slowly. We need to pull the plug. Many more people's lives will be impacted both positively and negatively by the Olympics. I am completely aware of the positive aspects of the Olympics. They really can change lives for gifted athletes and aid the dreams of the people who watch. The thing that gnaws at me is that the negative effects tend to disproportionately impact the poor. I for one will not be tuning in. There has to be a better way to promote the beautiful game and we need to face the ugly truth. I don't believe this post will change anyone's mind, but I would feel dishonest by staying silent on this issue. Sorry for the downer post. Back to regularly scheduled optimism tomorrow.

Jumbled: A quick look at the NWSL table and Monday notes.

Courtesy ISI Photos

You take a week off and the world is turned upside down! Well, not quite but the NWSL table looks quite a bit different than it did before I left for New England last week:

• Portland is the only tram to hold their place in the top 4.

• Early season leaders (and perennial posers) Orlando are now in 5th, where frankly they probably belong.

• Chicago, although having played one more match than most of the other teams is nicely placed in 2nd and has been playing well since Racing embarrassed them on their home pitch.

• Houston is moving nicely up the table and steady as you go Gotham continues to rack up points while not conceding many goals.

• The Courage seem to be missing their Olympians and have dropped two in a row and down the table to 6th.

All of this is interesting to watch and still probably means next to nothing at this point. Only 4 points separate 1st from 7th.

Racing has a real opportunity to make up some ground over the next few matches. Their next 3 matches are against 7, 9 and 10 in the league table. While Washington is a playoff contender, Racing know that they are beatable. The stats from the last match will definitely have to improve, but the belief should be there. A trip out to Tacoma will be tough, especially if they have another travel nightmare like their trip to Portland. Speaking of travel nightmares, I had a bit of one on my way back from Boston due to storms in Philly and an unnamed airline's (for now) general incompetence. I spent an extra night in Philadelphia and a small fortune to get back to the Ville last night. I missed my pick up soccer game, which is a clear tragedy.

KC looks to be the league doormat and anything but a win there will be a disappointing result. This is the stretch where Racing will solidify its season goal. Will it be playoffs or bust, or to finish with the best point total of an expansion franchise? I think 5 points keeps us in the playoff hunt, but anything less, and it will be time to reassess a realistic goal.

In case you somehow missed it, Nadia is here! I am sure she will need a bit of time to get back up to match fitness. I predict a brief appearance on Saturday, but not a start until August.

Where in the world is Fleur-de-lis-fc?

Undisclosed location northeast of Louisville

Quick post. Fleur-de-lis-fc.com will be on hiatus for another few days. I am currently on vacation in parts unknown, (or known if you're paying attention on Twitter). I will back next week with the normal posting cadence. GO RACING!

Pride 1 - Racing 1 Analysis

ISI Photos

Racing got to experience the other side of the coin of a late equalizer last night at Exploria Stadium last night. Even after conceding that late goal, it was still Racing's best overall performance so far. Before the match I said that Racing needed to improve the passing accuracy to 75% and they nearly hit that number with 74.6%. In fact, the first half passing accuracy almost hit 80%. Racing out passed Orlando 426 to 394 as well. Racing was outshot again, but the Pride only managed 2 shots on target. In a game where the margins are so fine, a decision here or there could have turned the match. I think Coach Holly has done an excellent job with this team, but one choice caught my eye last night, and I can't help but wonder how it ultimately impacted the game.

Erin Simon was having an excellent game last night, having made a few good defensive plays on Syd Leroux. Her passing accuracy was 78.1% and I didn't think she looked tired. However, Simon has started every game and only played the full 90 once, so off she went at the 63 minute mark. I am clearly not in charge, but I thought she was playing well enough to stay in the game at least a little longer than she did. On the flip side, if you were looking for players to sub, I thought Yuki and Savannah looked to be struggling a bit in the first half. More than once in the first half I noticed Yuki had open space in front of her, but chose a short pass to a teammate. I think she went on to have a decent game, but I wondered if she and Savannah, might have been affected by the heat and humidity a bit in the first 30 minutes. Coach Holly made 5 substitutes, as you would expect on a hot and humid evening and he usually does this every match anyway. For the first time that I can recall, the level of play seemed to drop some when the substitutes entered. Only Matthews had a passing accuracy over 60%. Simon’s replacement, Ashley only completed 43% of her passes.

However, I don’t want to dwell too much on those minor items because the overall performance was great. If Gemma Bonner can get her fitness levels up enough to start every match, I really think she gives Racing a markedly increased chance at points every time she is on the pitch. Other than the last sequence leading to the goal, the back 4 (5 late) was up to the challenge. We need to get used to the fact that Nealy Martin is a first choice center back. Her play has merited this. She has done nothing to make you think she doesn't deserve a spot in the starting XI. I think she's won the job. Now as soon as I type this, we may see the Hendrix/Bonner pairing that everyone seems to expect, but I for one am no longer going to expect it. The job is Nealy's until someone else steps up.

The goal that Racing scored was a fine effort, and a clinic on how to score playing out from the back. The sequence that you see on Twitter/YouTube omits this, but the build up actually starts from Nealy Martin making a nice defensive recovery on her own blocked pass. Leroux steps in to block a pass and wins possession, but Martin calmy recovers to run down a misplaced pass to Leroux. Leroux is sprinting towards the ball, but Martin calmly plays if back to Betos who starts the forward attacking move. You can watch the rest.

Having complained a bit about Yuki earlier, I will complement her here. She led the way in passing accuracy for the match with 88%. Cece completed 80% of her passes and had a very nice assist to Salmon. Ebony obviously has been a clinical finisher so far. In what has become a trend, Fox led the team in touches for the third consecutive match. She has started to move more into the center of the pitch during the attack, and it's just a matter of time before get gets her debut goal.

One quick note on Orlando…in my opinion they are no threat to win the league. Their early season performances were probably a bit of fool’s gold. They clearly miss Morgan and Marta, but I think NY/NJ, NC and Portland are clearly superior.

Overall it was a performance that deserved 3 points, but Racing will have to settle for one. A quick note about next week. Since there is no match expect fewer posts, but I will return to the normal frequency leading up to the match against Washington.

Pride 1 - Racing 1

For 93 minutes, it was the best performance of Racing's existence. However, there were unfortunately 5 minutes of extra time. Normally I say you take a point on the road, but this definitely felt like 2 points dropped. The performances were still good, so let's get to those.

Betos-6: Not given much to do other than pick up the ball out of her net on the late goal.

Simon-7: I thought she had an excellent defensive match and was only subbed to get fresh legs on the field.

Matrin-7: Her composure on the ball leading up to the goal was a highlight. Could have safely knocked it out but took her time to find Betos to start the build up for the goal.

Bonner-8 (Player of the Match): It's almost day and night defensively when she's on the field. Needed one more player better positioned behind her on Orlando's goal.

Fox-7: Looked dangerous going forward and solid on the ball as always. Won a corner near the end that almost saw the match out.

Olofsson-7: Solid again and fought hard for the ball in the midfield area.

Milliet-7: Other than the goal, was the attacking threat while on the pitch.

McCaskill-6: Looked to suffer through the heat a bit in the first half. Had a nice run in first half stoppage time.

Nagasato-6: I thought she looked a little off the pace in the first half, but played better after halftime.

Kizer-7: Earned an assist on the goal and looked threatening while on the attack.

Salmon-7: Converted the single good chance in the game. Will be even more dangerous if Racing can find a 2nd reliable attacking option.

More analysis tomorrow…

Pride v Racing Preview

It's the Purple Derby! OK I know I said I was going to be patient about trying to push too much immediate tradition on this team, but I couldn't resist on this one. Anyway, can Racing grab a point or three against Orlando? Let's see how things stack up.

Orlando: Contenders or Frauds

I think the big question is which Orlando team will show up. Will it be the dominant force that won 10 pts out of 12 in May while defeating both North Carolina and Portland? Or will it be the team that has only taken 5 points from their last five matches? The Pride are short 3 key players for the Olympics, (they are also missing backup keeper Erin McLeod). The Pride actually played what I think will be a very similar lineup, minus Mcleod, in their 3-1 victory over KC. I think KC is very clearly the worst team in the league so take that for what you will. Although Orlando is losing some firepower in Morgan and Marta, Sydney Leroux is clearly still dangerous with 4 goals on the season. In previous years Orlando has fallen down the table with players out, and it won’t be a shock to see them do the same this year, even though they seem a little better prepared this time around. Benton and Zack commented on their Vamos Morados podcast that they thought Orlando was a mid-table team masquerading as a top 3 team. I concur, and I think Racing has a chance for some more road points.

Do we know what Racing is yet?

I don't have the slightest idea how Racing is going to line up. The back 4 seems a complete mystery to me. Simon and Fox will surely start, but as soon as I day that you may see one of them get a rest. Coach Holly has seemed to prefer Neely Martin at center back over the last few matches. Martin has played 5 matches in a row, 4 in the middle of the defense. My experience has been that you want have a solid center back pairing and not mess with it too much if you want to be successful. Whether it be injuries, fixture congestion or trying to evaluate talent, the center back pairings for Racing have been a bit too unpredictable. I am hoping Coach Holly finds one he likes and sticks to it.

I wasn't as down on the performance against Portland as some, but the passing accuracy was definitely off. If Racing has a shot to draw against or defeat Orlando, I think the passing accuracy needs to be 75% or higher. Racing needs better accuracy in the middle of the field, and it will be on Freja Olofsson (with a passing accuracy or 84%) to lead the charge. Plan A always seems to sit back and play on the counter, but in the first match against Orlando at home the possession was a 50/50 split. Orlando is next to last in the league in possession with Racing dead last, so an even split in possession should be the bare minimum expectation for Racing in this match. Can Racing beat a team by winning possession against a full 11 for an entire match?

Prediction

I think Racing puts on a better performance and earns a point against Orlando. Let's say 1-1 with Salmon scoring first and Leroux equalizing.

Collect them all!

“You’ve got my card!”

Michelle Betos examined a picture of herself and signed one of many items she often does after matches. This particular item caught her attention because it was her Parkside Collectables 2021 NWSL Premier Series card. The Racing players get asked to signed a variety of items after matches from jerseys, to paper plates. However there must be something special about signing a trading card of yourself.

Parkside Collectables, the creator and distributor of the NWSL card set has been featured in The Athletic and if you have a subscription you can read the article here.. In a nutshell, Parkside seized on a gap in the trading card market, and has had a very successful run of selling their NWSL set. Parkside did a limited set in 2020 for the NWSL Challenge Cup and printed only 3000. For this year's set, Parkside printed many more cards and found a couple of distribution partners in Walmart and Target. So far, the set has been a resounding success with fans and is sold out on the Parkside site.

I have always been a collector of things, but particularly trading cards. There's something special about opening a pack and not knowing what you're going to get. One Easter I got 10 packs of 1991 Upper Deck Baseball Trading cards and pulled the Michael Jordan insert out of one of them. Another time I opened a pack that was all inserts (special cards not in the base set). Over the last few years, I really haven't bothered much with trading cards, and I thought I might never buy a pack for myself again (my wife still collects NFL trading cards and has frankly a ridiculous collection). Then I heard that the NWSL would be having a trading card set this year, and ordered 5 packs from Parkside. While waiting on those cards to arrive, I stumbled across a few sets in Target. Over the next few weeks, I started monitoring eBay and searching Targets and Walmarts. I had become hooked.

I wasn't the only one. On Twitter and Facebook, groups started popping up that were interested in trading cards. One of the leaders in the effort to get organized around trading cards is Luke Fritz. I have traded with Luke a couple of times and asked him about his experience.

Tell me a little about your collecting history...I'm guessing the NWSL trading cards are not your first collection.

Luke: I used to collect sports cards growing up, then in middle/high school I collected (but did not play) Star Wars CCG. Since then, I have not purchased or collected any cards, so it has been probably 15+ years since I have collected cards.

What was it that made you take particular interest in the NWSL cards?

I have been a huge supporter and advocate for the NWSL since its inception in 2012 and inaugural season in 2013. I was born and raised in Portland, and so making sure I did everything possible to help the Thorns and league be successful was (and is) very important to me. When the cards were announced last year, I knew for sure that I wanted a Christine Sinclair signature card (she is my favorite player and I watched her play a lot in college), so that was an easy hook in.

What do you think of the set?

I like the set! It has been fun to collect and there are a ton of inserts that will interest almost anyone interested in trading cards and/or the league itself. I also know that as a first big release for Parkside, there is always room for improvement and cutting down on errors.

What's your favorite pull so far?

Definitely a Simone Charley autograph, which I *finally* pulled after not pulling any autographs in 45+ packs. It was also a fun pull because I bought the pack in a Target in a different state on a whim, as I was there for a totally different reason.

Let's move on to the trading aspect. This set seems like a true "trading card set". You started a Google doc and a Twitter group to encourage trading. How have those technological advances enhanced your newly revived collecting fascination?

I knew from the 2020 Parkside release that it was somewhat challenging to find traders - it sort of relied on Parkside itself retweeting those who might be trading. When the current set was released (and the checklist was unveiled), I knew that there needed to be a better way to organize trades. I am a high school teacher and I use Google Docs/Sheets all the time in meetings with colleagues, so it seemed like an easy way to just use similar templates and share it with everyone. The Twitter group was really only so that I would know who to share the document with once it was ready for editing.

Are you using Facebook as well?

I am! That was also cool to see - that someone both joined the spreadsheet to track their inventory and created a Facebook group to more easily facilitate trades. I would guess I have made about 20 trades so far, about half via Twitter and half via the Facebook group.

Do you think Parkside will release an update set? They seemed to misjudge the demand a bit for the 2021 initial release.

It sounds like for sure that they are going to make a series 2 set, at least according to indications on their Twitter account. As for the demand part: it's funny, because the 2020 Challenge Cup set was *seriously* misjudged in terms of demand. They only made 3000 sets/packs, and they sold out almost instantly whenever they went on sale. So I'm not surprised that a print run of 140,000 for the 2021 set is in demand, given how hot the trading card market is at the moment.

Do you consider yourself a "completist"? I'm sure you have a full set. What other subsets are you trying to complete?

Haha, I consider myself a completist when it comes to the team I support, Portland Thorns FC, yes. My aim was to collect every card possible (within reason - the Chrome 1 of 1 set would be impossible to collect all 20 of) for the club, both for 2020 and for 2021. I have just about accomplished this, pending receiving some final cards (including the trade that we just made)!

What the longest distance between you and a trading partner so far?

I think Long Island, New York is the furthest away. Portland to New York is about as far as it gets in the continental U.S.

…

The set has really been fun to trade and there are a lot of cool inserts. Of course it has been difficult to produce a set of cards for an expansion team when you don’t have any game action shots from the previous year to use for your cards. There are two unsung heroes that made it possible for Racing to be included in this year's set. Toni Geiger of EM Dash Photography and Joe Robbins of ISI Photos are responsible for the action shots and the headshots respectively. Toni told me that Parkside reached out about some photos she had taken for ISI during a preseason march. You have seen Toni and Joe's work on the Racing website even if you weren't aware of it.

For me, trading the cards has almost been as much fun as collecting them. I have mailed cards to Portland, Newport, KY, Port Orchard, WA, Columbus, OH and have made an exchange with a fellow fan that sits in my section at the Fam. It has been really cool to see people just give away cards to help collectors fill in their sets. I am hoping for an update set later this year to include Salmon, Miramontez, Bonner, Nadim and Matthews.

Know Your Foe: Orlando Pride with Sean Rollins from The Mane Land

The Mane Land is an SB Nation Soccer site dedicated to covering both Orlando City SC and the Orlando Pride. Sean Rollins is an Editor and Senior Columnist.

I wanted to include a little preamble prior to this post. I think it is of note that Louisville owes quite a bit to Orlando when it comes to soccer. Louisville City moved from Orlando to begin playing in 2015. Minority owner of Orlando City Wayne Estopinal was instrumental in the relocation. Orlando kept its formal association with LouCity for about a year, and the purple color scheme remains an enduring reminder of the association. LouCity's success led to the building of Lynn Family Stadium, without which there would be no Racing Louisville FC. This connection is important and one day, maybe can even lead to an eventual friendly rivalry, maybe even one that honors the late Mr. Estopinal. I am slowly learning not to force things with this club, so I will leave it at tbis: One day I hope this league is full of natural rivalries that mean something to the fans, and I think this match-up could be one of them.

Now onto the main event:

The Pride were at the top of the table for a while this season. Is that the expectation, to finish top and win the league?

Since the Pride joined the NWSL in 2016, they've had high expectations. Big names have been in the team every season, but the only playoff appearance came in 2017. Marc Skinner took over in 2019 and began to build the team around non-internationals, players they wouldn't lose for major tournaments. This has increased expectation that the Pride will continue to play well during the Olympics and not fall apart as they did during the 2019 World Cup.

How do you expect Orlando to deal with missing players during the Olympics?

The Pride are well-prepared to handle the absences during the Olympics. Skinner showed his plan two weeks ago against Kansas City when he left forward Alex Morgan, midfielder Marta, and right back Ali Riley out of the lineup. Ali Krieger has played a lot of right back in the past, they recently signed England center back Amy Turner, and Sydney Leroux will move up to the forward position. They won't be as strong without Morgan, Marta, and Riley, but they should be able to handle the absences must better than they have in the past.

On a recent trip through Orlando, Racing's players noticed the Orlando City/Pride pub at the airport. Have you visited it, and if so what did you think?

The club has opened a pub at Orlando International Airport and on Church Street in downtown Orlando. I haven't visited the pub in the airport but it was created as a part of Flavio Augusto da Silva and Alex Leitao's plan to expand the club's brand globally.

How long did it take for Orlando to stop feeling like an "expansion team"?

The Pride joined the NWSL at an interesting time. The Boston Breakers were on the verge of folding and the league was looking to expand. The club also made big moves by bringing in Ashlyn Harris and Alex Morgan in 2016 and Marta in 2017. I'd say that they no longer felt like an expansion team in 2017, the team's second season.

Whom should Racing fans pay special attention to on Friday night?

Defensively, Ashlyn Harris has been incredible this year in goal. Courtney Petersen can be a handful at left back when at her best. On the attacking side, the two players to watch are Sydney Leroux and Taylor Kornieck. Fans of the USWNT will remember what Leroux can do and Kornieck has had a breakout year in the attacking midfield.

You can follow Orlando Pride News on Twitter @TheManeLand.

A Quick Story from Last Night

Courtesy Racing Louisville

Courtesy Racing Louisville

Addison Merrick and Katie McClure were teammates on Kansas University's Women's Soccer Team prior to joining Racing Louisville for its Inaugural season. In 2019 Kansas won the Big 12 Tournament and qualified for the NCAA tournament. During their time at Kansas they developed a few dedicated fans.

At last night's game, there was a family of 5 in my section that traveled all the way from Kansas to see Addisyn and Katie in Racing kits. Although the family is KC fans, they were decked out in full Racing gear last night with all 3 of the children wearing Racing home jerseys, two of them customized for Merrick and McClure. One of the girls had been a mascot (one of the young kids you often see lining up with players in the tunnel and on the field before matches all across the world) at KU and lined up with Katie for one match. The young lady was lucky enough to get to show Katie this old picture and take another to relive the moment. I shouldn't say, lucky because the Racing players are very intentional about interacting with fans after games. Each of the girls got their jerseys signed and got to spend time with Merrick and McClure.

I think it says something about the pull of this sport particularly in this league that you get fans willing to travel such distances. The connections with players start early in their careers and are genuine. I’m sure this wasn't a unique experience, it's just the one I witnessed. I think we should share these little snapshots of Racing and it’s players interacting with the fans, because it shows their commitment to the fans, the city and the city's visitors.