Michael Shaw 6/17/22 Michael Shaw 6/17/22

Spirit 2 -Racing 2 Player Ratings

Racing will be much happier with the point based on a first half thoroughly dominated by the Spirit. Nadia Nadim scored Racing's first ever brace from the bench and gave fans a dose of what this team can be offensively with her fully fit.

Lund-6: Has a great knack for stopping the first shot, but has been rather unlucky on the second chances recently.

Fox-6: Rodman won this round, and Emily didn't see as much of the ball as usual.

Lester-6: Had another solid match.

Bonner-6: Ditto for Bonner, who was good in the air.

Martin-6: Was good on both sides and got off a rare shot in the box.

Olofsson-6: Had a solid night, but I feel like she needs to show more offensively

Howell-7: Won the most tackles on the night.

DeMelo-7: Her passing accuracy was a bit off and she got knocked around some too, but her charge up the middle of the pitch started off the move for Racing's opening goal.

Ekic-5: She played more minutes than she usually does when subbed on, but it's never great to be subbed on and off in the same match.

Milliet-7: Won possession 8 times and won 4 fouls, both of which were the most for a Racing outfield player.

McDonald-8: She is a different player when she has another player willing to commit to getting in the box. Assisted both goals.

Nadim-9: (Player of the Match) Scored 2 excellent goals and completely turned the match around to save a point. It was clearly the greatest substitute appearance in Racing's brief history (if you ignore Lund's legendary appearance in the Women's Cup final).

Michael Shaw 6/15/22 Michael Shaw 6/15/22

Spirit v Racing Preview

If you were wondering how hot it had to be before Coach Björkegren would wear short sleeves, the answer is however hot it was at practice this morning. He has been asked several times why he is always in long sleeves, and he has always responded that his is used to the temperature in Cyprus. I guess today was even hotter than he was accustomed to enduring. The big(ish) midweek news is that Tobin Heath's rights were traded to the OL Reign for $50 000 in allocation money and a 2nd and 4th round pick. In other words, Heath's rights were sold for the opportunity to pay another player and a hope and a prayer. To get anything for Heath's rights is a “win” I guess. Maybe we can finally declare the mess cleaned up from that jackass of a previous coach. I get hammered every time I say this, but that won't stop me from saying it again: I'm not sure there is tremendous value in the NWSL college draft after the first round. There have surely been some great picks in the 2nd round, but I think after that, the picks aren't of much value. There are 3 main factors why I believe this. 1) The rounds keep getting bigger (it has increased by 33% since the 2019 draft). 2) Free Agency will be starting next year. 3) Team can acquire International players outside of the draft process. If Racing can convince some other team that there is value in some of its 5 current picks after the first round, then I wish them the best of luck. Also Coach Kim said today publicly (again) that he likes a small squad, so does having 6 picks in next year's draft reconcile with that strategy?

Oh well, at least there is a match to talk about too. Racing continue its current stretch of facing teams that very badly need a win too. The Spirit haven't won since May 1st. They seem to be having an extended hangover since the Challenge Cup. Their form has fairly placed them 8th in the table based on being 8th in both goals scored and conceded. It is hard to fathom that at some point they won't turn things around.

In Racing news, Emily Fox will miss 3 matches very soon for the CONCACAF Championship (hurray?), so Coach Björkegren discussed opportunities for other players to step up in a few weeks. I have seen some suggestions that the Challenge Cup might be a good tournament to play in the international breaks. I kind of like that idea. I definitely like it more than experiencing 3 matches without Fox and possibly Howell. However, they will be around until the end of June and Racing desperately needs at least a point on Friday. If you are still with me at this point, let me say one more semi-controversial thing: I wonder what Savannah McCaskill would lhave looked like at the top of Racing's press. Last year she definitely over dribbled a bit much for my liking, but she sure is a nuisance. The reason I bring this up, is that there seems to be a bit of a sting missing at the top of Racing's press at the moment. They haven’t scored from pressing in a while. To my best recollection, they haven't gotten one directly from the press since Davis’ goal vs. Houston. I won't pin the blame on a single player, but maybe a fresh look up front is what the doctor orders. On the opposite end of the pitch, the defense simply can'tgive up multiple goals again. I tweeted earlier this week that Racing are the league’s worst team in protecting a 1-0 lead. Here is that graphic again.

Racing's coach and players keep saying the right things about needing to be better in the “details”. Their high line is always going to leave them vulnerable to a certain type of attack. On all 3 goals that Angel City scored, there was either a player out of position or in a really bad match-up. If that happens again expect Rodman or Hatch to make them pay again .

Michael Shaw 6/12/22 Michael Shaw 6/12/22

Racing 2 - Angel City 3 Post Match Thoughts

Last night’s match was a microcosm of Racing’s season so far: so many things to like in style and effort, but not enough concentration in the key moments. It’s way too early to write off any team this season but Racing just has the look of a team that seems to be one more offseason away from becoming the club they want to be. That’s not to say that the playoffs are beyond them, but they definitely need to figure out how to keep a lead if the club is going to make a run this year.

Racing took a well-deserved early lead on Gemma Bonner’s excellent 29th minute goal. From the time she placed the ball DeMelo knew she was going to hit the ball low and hard (she confirmed this for me after the match when we spoke) and hope for good things to happen, which they did. From the view in my seat, I could tell that DeMelo was not standing over the ball in her typical manner for curling one toward the goal. Her two options were to loft a soft ball to the back post, or put her laces through it. If you watch the replay, you can see Chidiac running away toward the top of the box after talking to DeMelo and as soon as that happened, I said to myself “laces”. Seconds later DeMelo drove the ball toward the goal and got the deflection she was after. It was not the usual free kick that you see teams take from that spot. I believe if Ekic has been in the match at this point, she would have been given the kick and curled a shot in with her left foot. I appreciated the creativity shown by DeMelo in that situation.
Angel City equalized on a very direct play in the 36th minute, but I believe that goal had actually been greatly assisted by Angel City’s formation and plan to neutralize Fox. Christen Press had not been greatly involved in the match up to that point, but the one thing that she did was let the Racing defenders know that she was playing centrally (something she obviously can do but tends to prefer the wings). The great thing about Emily Fox is that she can defend pretty much anyone, but she can’t be everywhere at once. If Angel City had deployed Press wide from the start, I am fairly certain that Fox would have picked that side to defend and stuck with her pretty much all night. However, whether it was through planning or not (I have to assume it was) Angel City were able to disguise how they were planning to use Press in attack right up until the moment they needed a goal. On the goal Press was still deployed pretty centrally, but was definitely more on the right hand side. Racing’s defense had shifted over to that side too, but was not ready for the long ball and when it came in, Bonner was the closest defender and no other defender had time to help. Press easily beat Bonner and slotted the goal into the net. I believe that since she hadn’t really been involved up until that point, Racing had lost track of Press. It was a clever deployment of her by not giving Racing the chance to put its best defender on her, and I give the Angel City coaches credit for that.
The other two goals conceded by Racing were brought on by lapses in concentration. Angel City’s second goal came as a direct result of not being ready for the counter from a throw in deep in its attacking half. Neely Martin took the throw in, which ultimately put her way out of position for the counter. It's almost pro forma for the left or right backs to take the throw ins, but Racing has used McDonald for throws ins deep in their half several times this year. With a throw in so deep, I think a quick counter is always the risk and once again Press made Racing pay. She was given all kinds of space on the right-hand side and sent Olofsson the wrong way once she entered the box. Then she has an absolutely exquisite little left footed chip to the back post which Savannah McCaskill headed in from an unmarked position. On the second goal, there seemed to be a breakdown in communication. There was a very good pass into Simone Charley from Le Bihan which Lester seemed to have covered, but Lund for some reason decided to come for the ball and clattered into Charley to concede the penalty. Even if Lester doesn’t get there, she had Bonner there for help. There was really no need to have Lund come off of her line in that situation, but she did and McCaskill scored her second of the night from the penalty spot.
For Racing fans, I am sure it was a tough night to see Press get a goal and an assist and McCaskill score twice. Press reminded us of her overall fantastic quality and maybe showed that Racing is missing a super-elite level goal scorer (McDonald is great, but still doesn’t score at Press’s rate.) The McCaskill goals probably were the toughest ones to process. McCaskill was a fan favorite and I couldn’t help but feel a little happy for her. I spoke with her for about a minute after the match and she was gracious in victory. She really is a player you love to have on your team, and hate to play against. She was her usual wrecking-ball self, but deployed in a much better position for her and her team. Racing simply misused her, and while that was most-assuredly out of necessity, it was a necessity of its own making. With the departures of Kizer and Merrick this week, not much of the expansion draft is left. I believe Racing is on the right track, but it’s hard not to think that if Coach Björkegren has been given the keys to the club in year 1 vs. year 2, maybe the team is a bit further along. I think McCaskill might have really liked to play for Coach Kim. She really seems to have the qualities that he values. I will never apologize for being happy for seeing a player find the right team and situation, and I think Savannah may have found it at Angel City.
It was great to see Nadia Nadim open her account for the season. If Racing are to turn its fortunes around, Nadia will have to be one of the keys.

Michael Shaw 6/11/22 Michael Shaw 6/11/22

Racing 2 - Angel City 3 Player Ratings

The effort was good for Racing tonight even if the result wasn't. Racing dominated big sections of the match but couldn't overcome a few key mistakes.

Lund-5: Probably didn't need to go to ground and give up the penalty on Angel City's last goal.

Martin-6: An average night for her.

Bonner-7: Scored a really good goal and I'm not going to fault her for Angel City's first goal because she simply shouldn't be left in a position to have to defend Press one on one.

Lester-6: Not really at fault for any of the goals Racing conceded.

Fox-6: I will get more into this tomorrow, but I thought Angel City's game plan worked well to take her out of the match defensively.

Olofsson-5: Got turned completely around by Press on her excellent delivery to McCaskill. Subbed off at 61 minutes.

Howell-6: A decent if unspectacular effort.

DeMelo-8 (Player of the Match): Made both of Racing's goals. Tomorrow I will break down her excellent assist on Bonner's goal.

Chidiac-6: Subbed off really early in the 2nd half, but was good in her time on the pitch.

Milliet-7: Her flexibility continues to let Coach Björkegren switch up things in the 2nd half.

McDonald-7: Really unlucky not to score, and gets my gratitude for letting me basically drag her over to sign a poster for girl who had traveled from Ohio for her 14th Birthday to see the match.

Nadim-7: Surely had to feel great seeing the ball go into the back of the net.

Michael Shaw 6/10/22 Michael Shaw 6/10/22

Racing v Angel City Preview

“My mind is elsewhere” was Emina’s comment upon being asked to answer a few questions at practice after being shown Jack Harlow’s birthday message to her on Instagram. Considering the recent loss of two of Racing’s original players and two consecutive 1-0 losses the vibes at practice on Thursday seemed good. Sav DeMelo received a pie in the face after being named to the NWSL Best XI for May. After practice on Thursday, Coach Björkegren commented that the previous day’s practice has been their best ever. I always think it is better not to dwell on the negative if you want to turn your fortunes around, and it looks like the team is ready to head into Saturday’s match against Angel City with a positive attitude.

Both Racing and Angel City find themselves in the logjam in the middle of the NWSL table with 7 teams separated by 2 points. After a really hot start where the club won 3 out of 4, Angel City has only taken a point from its last 3 matches and hasn’t scored since May 21st, which coincided with its last victory. Being a new team, I think Angel City will be expecting ups and downs but will be looking at Racing Louisville as a chance to turn its fortunes around. Similarly, Racing will be looking to score its first goal since May 22nd and will be looking to avoid a 3-match losing skid. With all of Angel City’s attacking talent you would expect them not to be last in the league in goals, but that is where they sit. However, if they score, they win. They have won all 3 league matches in which they have netted at least one goal but have been shutout 4 times with 3 losses.

Once again, the task seems blatantly apparent for Racing: don’t concede an early goal. Angel City likes to have the ball as much as Racing (51.7% and 53.3% respectively), so expect a good battle in midfield. Racing will have at least one change in its starting XI, but I don’t yet have a good feel for who will be taking over for Kizer. Nadia Nadim could be a natural fit, but she is probably still a few matches away from being ready to start. DeMelo is a possibility, but she tends to like to play a little more to one side. Emina Ekic is another possibility since she played centrally at U of L. I also wouldn’t be totally surprised to see McDonald play a little deeper and to give Ebony Salmona chance a start up front or play as a front two with McDonald. Of all of those options, I think I would put my money on DeMelo as the ten with Olofsson taking her spot in the midfield.

No matter what the actual starting positions are, expect Fox to stick with Press. Press has been playing left wing mostly, so expect Fox to start at right back. Since Press is capable of playing anywhere in the attacking half, Racing might employ Martin at left back in case Fox needs to switch sides (Holloway as a left-footed left back is somewhat limited in her ability to switch). McCaskill will be familiar to Racing fans and can also be a nuisance pretty much anywhere on the pitch.

Michael Shaw 6/9/22 Michael Shaw 6/9/22

Racing Trade Kizer and Merrick to KC Current

Racing announced today that the team completed a trade with the KC Current sending CeCe Kizer and Addy Merrick in exchange for $150,000 in allocation money and an international roster slot for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Both players apparently requested a trade “to be back closer to their families.” As with any trade/player movement some fans will feel angry because they are losing some of their favorite players.

Kizer served an important role and scored important goals in Racing’s history. She will leave the club as its all-time leading goal-scorer (8) and assist provider (5). She memorably scored Racing’s first ever goal in its first ever match vs. the Orlando Pride. Beyond that, she was a regular in my section after the matches signing autographs for fans. I am also fairly confident that she was several fans’ absolute favorite player and a popular back of the jersey choice for many fans. However, part of me wonders if her time in the Starting XI was about to end regardless of this trade. She was mostly used by Racing in the 9/10 roles, which is where Nadia Nadim is likely to find herself very soon. Last year when Racing needed her presence, she was a good player in whatever attacking role she was in. This year she had managed to keep her place in the Starting XI, but it wasn’t always a given. Racing has other options in central attack now, and definitely many more options than last year. From a statistical contribution standpoint (using FotMob’s Player rating), CeCe ranks 8th on the team. In addition, American Soccer Analysis has CeCe rated 226 out of 256 NWSL players in Goals Added (which measures a player’s total on-ball contribution in attack and defense). I’m not a huge fan of this metric, but it is a measure by which to judge a player. To sum up, she will be missed (by some more than others) but is not irreplaceable.

Addisyn Merrick will probably be one of Racing’s great “what if” players. She was selected number one overall by Racing in the NWSL 2020 expansion draft, so you can infer that the team had big plans for her. As a versatile defender she seemed to be the ideal pick, but injuries killed her first season at Racing. When she returned healthy for 2022, many fans including me thought she would force her way into the starting back four. Somehow things just didn’t work out that way. I think Merrick will benefit from a change in scenery. The simple fact is that Coach Björkegren preferred other defenders. I deliberately say it that way because I believe it is true. Coaches look at their squads and decide which players can best help them win matches. It does not mean that the players that don’t get minutes are not good players, it just means that the coach believes there are better options. Addy’s best performance for Racing would turn out to be the second match of two enforced starts due to sickness on the back line. She played excellently in that match vs. San Diego and hasn’t seen the field since. A consistent run in the side is what she needs, and it just seemed like she wasn’t going to get that opportunity here in Louisville. I wish her the best of luck in Kansas City because luck has sure been against her in her time at Racing.

Now read into this what you will…Coach Björkegren said today that Wednesday’s practice (neither Kizer nor Merrick were involved) was the best practice that he has seen from his team this year. Good practices don’t always translate to good performances, but practice is a good indicator of mentality and effort. Let’s hope that translates to the field on Saturday.

Michael Shaw 6/5/22 Michael Shaw 6/5/22

Racing 0 Courage 3 Post Match Thoughts

Last night’s Racing performance was reminiscent of several mid-season performances that Racing put in last year and eerily similar to some of those put in against the North Carolina Courage. The effort and energy seemed low from the start which resulted in another early goal conceded. After the match, Coach Björkegren conceded that there were too many areas of concern in the match to focus on a single one.

Racing has continued to sign players throughout the season and then immediately integrate them into the Starting XI. I would say that Lester has been the best of these decisions. Chidiac has put in solid performances, but seemingly at the expense of Olofsson, Davis, and Ekic. Holloway in my opinion hasn’t done much to merit an immediate inclusion. I saw some noise on Twitter about Simon and Merrick not being included in the squad at all. The fact of the matter is that who does and doesn’t start will always be up for debate among the fans. I asked Coach Björkegren after the match if he was considering switching things up a bit. I give him credit for basically saying that it would be a consideration, but also he said he wasn’t ready to move on from the loss yet and talk about the next match vs. Angel City.
Coming into the match, the Courage and Racing were the top two teams in the league in possession, so obviously something has to give in the match yesterday. The Courage were able to completely dominate the first half and got into halftime with a 2 goal advantage and over 60% of the possession. Racing simply need more of the ball especially early in the matches. In previous matches after going behind early, there has seemingly been a spark in the team to fight back. Last night the team seemed to be missing that spark. The way that the Courage play surely had something to do with that, but I also wonder if it wasn’t a bit of “here we go again” after conceding another early goal. In the final 10-20 minutes, Racing finally looked like a team desperate to win balls. While you would like to see that same fire all match you can also see that one mistake when giving that much effort to the offensive side can lead to dangerous counters. Personally, I didn’t think Racing’s press worked at all last night because you need to get a foothold in the game in order to get it going. In short, Racing needs to find a way to start matches better.
Racing did have a chance to get back into the match via a couple of opportunities from Jess McDonald: one through a first half effort that bounced off of the crossbar (where no other Racing player was in the box for the rebound) and a golden opportunity that was incorrectly ruled offside.

The flag had gone up and the whistle had blown too early for me to call it a “disallowed” goal. People will call for VAR again after this and others (like me) will point out that it is an expensive technology. However, I believe that there could be a compromise for calls that are so obviously incorrect to be quickly reviewed. I believe the major expense in the VAR technology is the multiple angles needed and the drawing of the lines. In last night’s instance neither would be necessary. A quick look at the broadcast replay showed that the decision was incorrect. Why not have somebody in a central office be available to take a look at clear and obvious errors? Frankly, this is also a bit of a pipe dream because 1) officials would have to be trained to leave their offside flags down until a phase of play was completed on close calls, and 2) I don't think the league is run well enough to afford or manage something as simple as this.

Now is not the time to wallow in the pain of two consecutive defeats. The team (Emily Fox in particular) looked down after the match yesterday. It's hard sometimes to keep a positive attitude after a couple of bad results, but winning typically comes from confidence. This may be the biggest test of Björkegren's tenure: to see if the team can stop the bleeding before it turns into a losing streak.

Michael Shaw 6/4/22 Michael Shaw 6/4/22

Racing 0 - Courage 3 Player Ratings

Racing had arguably their worst performance in recent memory in tonight's match. Racing can't keep conceding early goals and expect to get anything from the game.

Lund-6: Not really at fault for any of the goals and had a really good save to keep it at 0-1.

Fox-6: Wasn't called on in defense a great deal.

Lester-6: Probably the pick of the defenders tonight.

Bonner-6: Had an average match.

Holloway-5: It’s still early, but has to improve to keep he spot in the Starting XI.

Howell-6: Had a decent match with 9 recoveries.

DeMelo-6: Didn't fill up the stat sheet like normal but was the driving force in trying to find a late goal.

Chidiac-6: Keeps putting in solid performances.

Kizer-5: Not really involved in any real dangerous possession for Racing.

Milliet-6: Seemed to rush a couple of decent chances in the 2nd half.

McDonald-6: Unlucky to hit the post and their was some question about whether she was offside on her opportunity in the 2nd half. Regardless she was flagged off several seconds before the ball went into the back of the net.

Michael Shaw 6/3/22 Michael Shaw 6/3/22

Racing v Courage Preview

The North Carolina Courage come to town on Saturday as a bit of an enigma. The Courage are last in the league with a single point, but surprisingly won the preseason Challange Cup. Racing’s opponent leads the league in possession (57.6%) and number of completed passes per match, but are dead last in shots on target per match and next to last in goals scored per match. FotMob gives out Player of the Match awards based on their statistical performance player ratings and no NCC player has won the award in a league match so far this season (as a comparison Racing has 3 with Fox having 2 and DeMelo the other).

However, for Racing the Courage are a puzzle that they have yet to solve. The teams have faced each other 4 times with the Courage winning all 4 and the aggregate score line is 13-3 in North Carolina’s favor. When the season started, I thought that the Courage were going to struggle, but they played really well early on. It’s possible that the team benefited from surprising the other team’s in their group, or maybe their group was on the weaker side as those team currently occupy 4 out of the bottom 6 positions in the table.

Likely, the truth is that we don’t know who the Courage are yet. I suspect that they are probably in a group of teams that will be challenging for a playoff spot, but based on early returns that group could include all of the teams. In fact, it could be argued that there are no excellent or really bad teams in the league this year. That means that every team should be taken seriously and that every team has a legitimate chance to win every match. Racing had been on a run of really good performances, but Coach Björkegren conceded in his press conference today that Racing’s performance in the last match wasn’t up to their usual standard. Hopefully the most recent match was more of blip vs. a trend.

The big news on the Racing front is that Nadia Nadim is now available for selection. Both Björkegren and Nadim said that it would take a while for her to be up to full match fitness. It will be intriguing to see how Nadia is used as a sub. I could see her as a like-for-like replacement for both McDonald and Kizer. It’s also entirely possible to see her subbed on as an extra attacker if Racing trail after 60 minutes, but we all hope that doesn’t happen. I believe Nadia will have to get a few substitute appearances under her belt before she is under consideration for a start and Nadia also said that she expected to have to earn her way into the starting lineup and to fight for a place in the match day squad. Jordyn Bloomer is still in a walking boot and is “weeks” away from returning according to Coach Kim.

If you read my piece from earlier this week or follow me on Twitter, you might have noticed that I have become a bit fascinated by how teams perform when scoring first. Here is the lowdown on the Courage:

This season the Courage are averaging .25 points/match when scoring first which is below the league average
Conversely, the team is averaging 2.25 points/match when scoring first which is right at the league average

If Racing can jump out into a lead vs. the Courage (something they achieved on a 24th minute goal by CeCe Kizer in their first ever meeting), I like their chances at taking all 3 points. Racing has scored first in 6 of their matches in 2022 and the Courage has scored first in 8 (7 in the Challenge Cup and only once in the league) which may be the key stat in the shifting of their form. Here is the updated graphic through Wednesday’s match between the Spirit and Red Stars.

Michael Shaw 5/31/22 Michael Shaw 5/31/22

Current 1 Racing 0 Post Match Thoughts

Much of the post game chatter yesterday surrounded Coach Björkegren's comments regarding the field conditions of the practice facility in Kansas City. The response from the Current was: “We take this matter very seriously. The field Louisville was provided is the same field that all teams have been provided when traveling to KC, without incident. We will look into any issues that occurred during yesterday’s training session.” There is no reason not to believe this. However, whether or not a visiting team takes advantage of this practice field is completely dependent on how early the teams arrive for the match. I understand that Racing has practiced at Swope Park on previous trips, and their earlier arrival for this trip meant that they needed to use the other field.

Regardless of the reason, the reality is that Racing did not look as sharp as they had looked in the previous 4 or 5 matches. Falling behind early again could have something to do with that as well. Interestingly, I have been laboring under the false assumption that Racing was uniquely prone to needing to score first in matches to influence their results. I looked at all of the non 0-0 results this year (Challenge Cup included) to see which teams were benefiting the most by scoring first. All of the analysis that follows is based purely on non 0-0 matches. There are a few ways to looks at this. Kansas City has the highest deviation from their average points taken with a perfect win record when scoring first and an average of .55 points when not. San Diego also has a perfect record when scoring first, and have a dreadfull avcerage of .29 points when not (SD is averaging slightly more points in non 0-0 matches with 1.41 compared to 1.31 for KC). The OL Reign and Courage have scored first the most (8 times). Angel City haven't taken a single point without scoring first, something it took Racing pretty much all year to accomplish last season. The only category where Racing is at the extreme is that they only average 1.83 points when scoring first, which is tied for last with Chicago. Obviously it is still greatly advantageous to score first (teams average 2.29 points vs. 0.45 points when doing so), but Racing doesn't benefit as much as other teams in the league when they do. Falling behind pretty much dooms your chances of winning with only 4 matches (6%) being won by the team that trailed first, and none of those teams trailed later than the 56th minute.
The stats will say that Racing completed 74% of their passes, but their passing yesterday was far from sharp. Perhaps the most telling stat was that they only really were successful in completing passes in their own half. In their previous 4 matches (all undefeated) the percentage of total passes completed that occurred in their own half were 50%, 59%, 60%, and 61%. Yesterday that percentage was 68%. Said differently only 32% of their completed passes occurred in the opposition half. I believe partial credit is due to KC for keeping Racing pinned into its own half, but Racing seemed to get pressured against the touch lines and thus created an “extra defender” for KC by not playing longer balls or trying to work the ball across the pitch.
On the positive side, Racing haven't conceded a goal from open play in 3 matches. KC didn't really look close to scoring other than the excellently taken penalty by LaBonta. I believe Lester and Bonner are starting to compliment each other well, and we'll chalk up Holloway's performance to first game jitters. The penalty was a bit soft, but probably fair.

Michael Shaw 5/30/22 Michael Shaw 5/30/22

Current 1 Racing 0 Player Ratings

After falling behind early, Racing could never quite get a foothold in the match. The passing and energy were not up to the usual standards and thus resulted in no points.

Lund-6: Could do nothing on the excellently taken penalty.

Holloway-5: A case of early nerves cost Racing any chance at points.

Lester-7: Made several really good recoveries to keep the match within striking distance.

Bonner-7: Her positioning was solid and kept the score close.

Fox-6: Not up to her usual high standards, but not terrible.

Olofsson-6: Looked a bit off the pace in her return to the starting lineup.

DeMelo-6: Was due an average match, which is what she had.

Howell-6: See DeMelo.

Milliet-7: Came close to getting the equalizer, but was just wide.

Kizer-6: Looked dangerous in the first half, but couldn't get anything going in the second.

McDonald-6: On a different day probably turns at least one of her chances into shot on goal at least.

Michael Shaw 5/28/22 Michael Shaw 5/28/22

Current v Racing Preview

Racing looks to continue its winning ways at 3pm on Monday vs. the Kansas City Current. Racing won in Kansas City in the Challenge Cup in April rather handily by a score line of 0-3. In their midweek match-up, the Current were missing quite a few players in addition to the season ending injuries for Lynn Williams and Mallory Weber. Suffice it to say that the season isn't really going according to plan for the Current. However, it is still early and there is plenty of time for the team to turn its league form around. On the other hand, the Current are last in the league in goals scored and next to last in goals allowed.

For Racing, the key will likely be to continue its trend of scoring early, which the team has done in the previous two matches. Teams in a bad run of form shouldn't be given any form of hope, so look for Racing to press hard to start the match. Racing are nearing full strength with Nadim's imminent return. Ekic didn't practice on Thursday, so I suspect her return is less imminent.

The Challenge Cup match is Kansas City was also Sav DeMelo's first start with Racing. Now firmly entrenched in the Starting XI, DeMelo looks to continue her run of fine form that started there. Racing is also deep enough in midfield that I think we can start to expect at least one of the starting midfielders to be subbed off at the 60 or 70 minute mark on a regular basis in order to keep the team fresh. Chidiac may get her first 90 minutes depending on the score line as the match enters the last 20 minutes. Olofsson and Otto both have fresh legs, so we could see significant time from them. Lastly, Holloway may finally make her debut after missing the last 2 matches due to illness.

Michael Shaw 5/23/22 Michael Shaw 5/23/22

Gotham 0 Racing 1 Post Match Thoughts

Part of the reason that coaches like to look at a team’s performance over the score line is that sometimes the score line is deceptive (or at least perceived to be). Yesterday in Gotham Coach Björkegren admitted that 1-1 probably would have been a more accurate and fair result. I don’t disagree, but Lori Lindsey’s ridiculous assertation that Gotham could have been ahead at the midpoint of the 2nd half really annoyed me.

I’m not going to relitigate my problems with xG, but one of the ways that I think it is misleading is when it’s added up and shown as a total xG for a match. More than any other team sport, the score line in soccer dictates the way a match is played. You will never be able to convince me that if Katie Lund doesn’t make that excellent save on Mewis’ free kick and the score becomes 1-1 that the remainder of the match plays out in the exact same way as it did. The fact that Gotham trailed for over 75 minutes dictated the way they played for those minutes. The truth is that you take different chances when you trail in a match vs. when you lead or are even. However, if you looked at the matches final xG (1.21 to .99 in favor of Gotham) and determined that Racing were “lucky” to win, I wouldn’t argue with that analysis in this instance. Lori Lindsey’s statement about Gotham potentially being ahead based on the chances they had is the type of “analysis” that I really loathe. Once a chance is gone and the score line doesn’t change, the game somewhat resets itself back to equilibrium. It is impossible to score the second goal before you score the first. I know what she was trying to convey, but it was some hypothetical alternate reality where one of those shots goes in. However, in this alternate reality none of the events are the same after the equalizer goes in. I jokingly gave Katie Lund’s goalpost a 10 rating in my post yesterday, but we all know that the goal posts and the ball don’t have memories. Only the players and fans do. Gotham players hit the woodwork 5 times yesterday, yet it didn’t matter to the ball. The ball will only go where the players and the elements dictate. When a shot hits the goal posts and bounces out, it is the fans and players that feel like the ball “owes” them a more fortuitous bounce next time. The ball feels nothing.
Racing continues their habit of playing a really excellent stretch of football for about 10-15 minutes in the match. One of the positives of this habit in the last few matches has been their ability to score during these stretches. I have witnessed many matches where teams have even longer stretches of excellent play, but can’t quite get the goal. The team has to be commended for converting while their are in control of the match. The other encouraging trend is the ability to keep up the excellent play after getting the goal. Racing doesn’t immediately sit on a lead, especially when getting the lead early. I thought they were always looking to get that second goal until about the 85th or so minute. The next step is to turn these 10-15 stretches into 15-20 minute stretches and to put teams away. I think they could become capable of this, but we will let them learn to walk before they learn to run.
People like all kinds of different types of goals. Some people like “bangers”, whatever that is supposed to indicate, and some people like goals scored from set pieces. Each of those have their charms, but give me a goal like Racing scored yesterday over a long-distance strike or free kick goal everyday. The move started from Lund and then went straight to Fox. Fox easily turned her defender and the move was kickstarted from there. Emily Fox is a cheat code and it is almost unfair to her opponents. She is visibly so much better than almost all of her opponents. It might be more exciting to have your best athlete in an attacking position, but it is likely much more valuable to have her in her current defensive role. The fact that she can recover so quickly allows Racing to play the way they do. The rest of the goal was simple passing to open teammates. It is football at its simplest and most beautiful. None of the passes in the build-up were difficult or risky. The ball moved quickly and efficiently. None of the touches were heroic and in fact Milliet might have even fortuitously mishit the final touch. I will happily code this one “Move started with goalkeeper from the back” along with my favorite goal from last season.
I try to wait until at least all of the teams have played a third of their matches before I put too much stock into the NWSL table. More than any other league I have ever followed, the NWSL’s early season table is subject tremendous volatility due to the competitiveness of the league. This year the margins could be even finer. My advice if you want to monitor Racing’s early season progress is to monitor the percent of available points taken to date. Right now, Racing has taken 8 out of 15 for 53% which should put them comfortably in the mix to finish in the top 6 places. Staying above 50% in that metric probably merits the team a playoff berth. As of right now, 5 teams are above that number.

Michael Shaw 5/22/22 Michael Shaw 5/22/22

Gotham 0 Racing 1 Player Ratings

All things being equal, Racing are probably a bit lucky to get all three points against Gotham today, but you never apologize for going up 1-0 and hanging on to win.

Lund-7: Made several good saves but was greatly assisted by…

Katie Lund’s Goalpost-10 (Physical Object of the Match): I am not superstitious, nor do I believe in curses but if you told me Gotham had done something to anger the soccer gods, I might believe you.

Fox (Player of the Match)-8: Her ability to use her speed and physicality to get Racing’s defense out of trouble cannot be overstated.

Lester-7: Had a really solid return to the starting lineup and showed her speed to close down a couple of dangerous counters.

Bonner-7: It was good to have the captain back and she was solid as usual.

Martin-7: As more options become available in the defense, it will be interesting to see if she keeps her spot.

Howell-8: Led the team in interceptions with 6 and had a really good aerial clearance in the second half.

DeMelo-8: Again, had really good match and won 13 of her 22 duels.

Chidiac-7: Still getting up to speed, but kick started the movement for the goal.

Kizer-7: Looked dangerous and had the key pass to McDonald during the goal sequence.

McDonald-7: Keeps adding to her NWSL record in assists.

Milliet-7: Finished off the terrific team move for the goal.

Michael Shaw 5/20/22 Michael Shaw 5/20/22

Gotham v Racing Preview

Racing will be looking for its first road victory on Sunday vs Gotham. The team’s improving performances have resulted in points taken in each of the last 3 matches, and Racing will be looking keep up the momentum of its first victory of the league season this past Wednesday. Racing faced Gotham last year 3 times and drew all three. CeCe Kizer scored both goals for Racing in a pair of late-season 1-1 draws that were played within 4 days of each other. Kizer’s goal in the away fixture last year was Racing’s only in-match penalty taken and converted to date.

It’s still too early in the season in my opinion to read too much into the numbers but taking into account the Challenge Cup and the 2 league matches played by Gotham this season the team is averaging 9.3 shots taken and a SHOCKING 20.9 shots allowed in 2022. If Racing get off 21 shots, I expect a few to go in. Racing on the other hand are giving up 13.2 shots/match, which isn’t great either but tell me I get to shoot 8 more times in a match and I will like my chances.

The big question mark for Racing is who will be available to start. It’s not too hard to imagine both Fox and Howell getting a break since they were both carrying knocks into the match on Wednesday. Here’s hoping that Bonner, Holloway, and Olofsson are available. Lester is an almost certain inclusion due to her involvement on Wednesday. Typically the teams release availability around 24 hours prior to a match, but Racing had to be a bit cagey on Wednesday, and I think everyone in the league knew and sympathized with the situation. I think Kizer will fancy her chances to scores again and will be pushing for another start, but Jess McDonald has played a full match twice this week and may be given the afternoon off. Here is my best guess at a lineup for Sunday (which as always is sure to be wrong): Lund-Holloway-Lester-Bonner-Martin-Olofsson-Chidiac-DeMelo-Kizer-Ekic-Salmon. Gordon could get an opportunity based on her very good, but brief shift on Wednesday. DeMelo probably isn’t good for another 90 minutes, so if she starts expect her to be subbed off around the 60th minute. Davis might get a start over Ekic or Salmon as well. In a prediction that I hope doesn’t come true, maybe Milliet gets her first ever full day off.

I an unrelated note, if you happen to listen to Soccer City Radio or the newly released Vamos Morados podcast from this week, you know that I am working on a kit ranking piece. I have a decent number of responses so far, but might open my survey up wider after the original article posts. You can let me know on Twitter via DM if you might be interested.

Michael Shaw 5/19/22 Michael Shaw 5/19/22

Racing 1 Wave 0 Post Match Thoughts

First of all, I would like everybody to calm down a bit on the “best team in the league” and “top of the table” status of the San Diego Wave. It is way too early to be staring at the NWSL table and way too early to be calling any team “the best team”. It also isn’t fair to the Wave as they will surely go through some growing pains this season and shouldn’t have to answer a bunch of “What happened?” questions if they do eventually slide back into the mid or bottom part of the table. However, for the night Racing got 3 points against the team that was at the top of the table entering the evening.

It was Racing’s first clean sheet of the league season, and it was a team effort especially in the last 10 minutes plus stoppage. Lund was called upon in the later stages of the match, but the players in front of her kept her out of too much trouble early on. San Diego had 10 corners, and many of those seemed to come in the first 15 minutes or so. Racing was able to buckle down and didn’t really allow a dangerous change in those first few minutes. After the first 15 minutes Racing did a good job of controlling the match (which in my opinion is the best defense you can play). Alex Morgan had a dangerous run, but ultimately tame shot in the 46th minute to open the second half, but for the next 35 minutes, Racing looked like the team more likely to score. In the 80th or so minute, Racing did the inevitable and set back and defended for the last part of the match. There was one really good opportunity from Doniak, but Lund was in the right spot.
I thoroughly enjoyed the run that Fox had that basically killed off the match. She had a couple of similar runs in the match which makes you wonder if anybody in this league can catch her when she is on the ball. Fox basically singlehandedly killed off a minute of stoppage time with her run and the corner that she won. Sh’Nia Gordon also deserves special mention here as she was responsible for reclaiming the ball in Racing’s end to give Davis a shot on goal, and also killed of the last few seconds with a run into the box. I always appreciate killing off a match in your attacking half vs. your defending half, which is exactly what Racing did here.
Howell mentioned in her post match press conference that hopefully Racing had “broken the seal” on their ability to get wins. Racing didn’t have a dominant performance last night, but it was a performance that was good enough to give them a chance at a victory which they took. There will surely be several matches for Racing like this one where the outcome is in doubt until the very last minute. I think the team can feel good about how they managed all of the difficulties surrounding this match and move forward confidently that 3 points are always available to them.
I recorded an episode of the Vamos Morados podcast with Zach Allen-Kelly on Tuesday night that will air sometime this week. We both mentioned that we thought a goal for Sav DeMelo was coming sooner rather than later. After the match, Coach Björkegren said that he told his wife the same thing before tonight’s match. One of my favorite aspects of being a fan is watching a good player develop into a great one. I think that may be what we are seeing with DeMelo. Her injury in her Junior year of college, probably set her back from a development standpoint a bit and now Racing are the beneficiaries of that. In a few year’s time we may be looking back in even more astonishment at Racing’s ability to select the right players in the first round of the draft.

Michael Shaw 5/18/22 Michael Shaw 5/18/22

Racing 1 Generic Kit United 0

*This terrific photo is courtesy of the inimitable Connor Cunningham*

Positive ratings all around tonight (except for the Wave’s dreadful excuse for a kit) as Racing Louisville secures its first league victory of the season. The team was again short-handed at the back, but the Wave couldn’t find their way through and Racing capitalized on its one golden opportunity.

Lund-7: Made comfortable saves all night until the end where she had to made some challenging ones, but she was up to the task.

Fox-8: She basically ran the Wave out of the game in stoppage time with a terrific run to the corner flag. Was great all night on both sides.

Simon-8: Maybe a little nervy at the start of the second half on Morgan’s half chance, but had her second consecutive solid effort at CB.

Merrick-8: Strong in attack and defense as she switched out wide late after Lester came on.

Martin-8: She was effective again at right back and her pace helped kill off a couple of Wave attacks.

DeMelo-9 (Player of the Match): Even though it will air after the match, Zach Allen-Kelly and I called out on the Vamos Morados podcast that her goal was coming soon and it came tonight as the match winner. A full USWNT call up seems inevitable at this point.

Howell-8: Possibly her best match in a Racing uniform as she was all over the pitch.

Milliet-7: Picked up a questionable early yellow card, but managed her way though the match and drew two yellow cards from her opponents.

Kizer-7: Not her best night, but is was a solid shift.

Chidiac-7: Looked really quick early, but tailed off a bit in the second half. She is probably still getting used to the pace of the league, but had a solid debut regardless.

McDonald-7: Worked hard against the Wave back line and was close to getting the right pass played into her a few times.

Michael Shaw 5/17/22 Michael Shaw 5/17/22

Racing v Wave Preview

Look at that terrible jersey above. I had higher hopes based on the Wave’s color scheme, but that’s the NWSL for you.

Racing prepares for its first ever match vs. the San Diego Wave. Based on results in the Challenge Cup, Racing fans could be forgiven for at looking at this match a few weeks ago as a solid chance for 3 points, but recent trends paint a much darker picture for Racing’s hopes. First, let’s start with the San Diego side. Looking at the numbers from their 3 league matches so far, only their biggest critics would begrudge them from getting at least 5 points in those matches based purely on the statistics. In reality, they have all 9 and sit atop the league table. Alex Morgan does what she does which is score goals (albeit 3 of those coming from the penalty spot.) The Wave has conceded only one goal so far and they have real talent on defense. It is way too early to judge the class of this team, but there can be no denying that its form is excellent. On the Racing side, one hopes that they can field a full team. Losing 4 players in a day due to sickness is not a great sign, and who knows how many were exposed to illness. Hopefully those 4 players can recover to some degree, but the team stated “TBA” on its initial availability report on Tuesday, which isn’t good.

If Racing rolls out a similar lineup to the one on Saturday, the team will have a fighting chance, but Simon left that game with leg cramps and Racing finished the game with a back 3 comprised of primarily wing defenders. We really should be looking forward to the debuts of Holloway and Chidiac, but I’m pessimistic on any selection of players at this point based on anything other that their ability to take the field absent of illness. Racing have to release an availability report at some point prior to the match (possibly 24 hours prior to kick-off, but that is a guess), and we will know who is available at that point, but obviously that is subject to change as well. Watch my Twitter account for updates.

Michael Shaw 5/15/22 Michael Shaw 5/15/22

Racing v Dash Post Match Thoughts

Racing dominated the possession in the match vs. Houston last night and had a much higher passing accuracy than the Dash, but everything else on the stat sheet was fairly even and that led to a mostly fair 1-1 result in Louisville in my opinion. Here are the things I noticed.

Houston’s goal was the result of another 2nd chance opportunity. Katie Lund made a fine original save on the first attempt, but Racing couldn’t clear their lines well enough to stop the second shot. Defending set pieces is still a work in progress for this team, and at this point in the match there wasn’t a traditional center back on the field for Racing, so maybe this goal was a bit unlucky for them. I rewatched the incident that led to the corner, and I didn’t see a clear error from the official, so maybe Coach Gonzales saw something I didn’t see. He has as mad as I ever remember seeing him, and he was definitely upset enough by the call to get a verbal warning from the official.
Racing had to deal with the loss of 3/4 or its back line last night. I can’t be 100% sure, but based on what I observe at practice, Coach Björkegren usually shows his starting XI in open practice a couple of days before the match. At practice on Thursday, a couple of different back lines were tried out, but I entered into the match assuming that we were about to get the debut of the Holloway-Lester-Bonner-Fox back line. When I saw the projected lineups I was surprised and then even more surprised when Bonner was a late scratch. I won’t speculate on their illnesses, but at least one was a positive COVID test. Coach Kim said that this situation was one of the most challenging that he ever faced. Not only did the absentees mean that he was missing 4 players, but also several players were playing in positions that were not planned. My assumption is that the replacements and adjustments went as such: Merrick for Lester, Simon for Bonner, Martin for Fox, Fox for Holloway, Davis for Milliet, and Milliet for Olofsson. That basically means only, DeMelo, Kizer, Howell and McDonald started in their projected spots from the beginning of the day on Saturday.
Based on all of the late changes, I thought Racing played well. In her post patch interview, Jess McDonald mentioned Simon specifically as a player that stepped up and that Simon is a tough opponent in their squad scrimmages. Being afforded the chance to see squad scrimmages from time to time, I hesitate to give too much away as to not give aid or comfort to the enemy. However, I will say this: in 7-10-minute stretches, the backup squad can hold their own and sometimes cause real problems for the starters. I think we can safely say that Racing now has an NWSL level squad and not just an NWSL Starting XI. That being said, I hope that Lester, Bonner and Holloway are available for selection sooner vs. later.
Lastly, I will repeat myself from other analyses and say again how impressive DeMelo has been. She plays in a more forward position than Jae Howell and thus is likely to get more attention for the positive things she does over Jae’s less flashy but just as important duties in her defensive midfield role. That being said, she is going to give Howell a run for her money as Racing’s best rookie. DeMelo led the team in the following categories for the match: touches, passes in the final third, total duels, duels won, possession won in the final third, tackles, won tackles, interceptions and fouls won. She fills out a stat sheet and came very close to a goal again. At this point, her form (and hopefully class) will keep her in the Starting XI (barring rotation) for the foreseeable future.

Michael Shaw 5/14/22 Michael Shaw 5/14/22

Racing 1 Dash 1 Player Ratings

Courtesy USA Today Sports Images

After Racing’s 1-1 draw, Coach Kim Björkegren said it was one of the toughest matches he has ever experienced as a coach. There were 4 game day scratches due to illness. Most of those illnesses seemed to strike the back line. In fact Bonner was posted as projected starter on Twitter before being a late scratch. Taking that into account, Racing will be somewhat happy with a point.

Lund-6: Made a couple of routine saves and a good one that unfortunately found its way to Nichelle Prince who put away the Dash’s second bite at goal from a corner. On a side note, Coach Sergio Gonzales vehemently disagreed with the decision to award a corner, earning a verbal warning from the 4th official. I will take a closer look at that call tomorrow, but honestly I couldn’t tell who the ball was out on in real time.

Fox-7: Led the team in passing accuracy with 91.4%. I believe she was the only projected starter on the back line to play in the match.

Martin-7: Another solid effort from Martin, who continues to get minutes based on her work rate.

Simon-7: She the late replacement for Bonner and deputized brilliantly on short notice before having to be substituted for what I believe was a cramp.

Merrick-7: Led the team in passes and was a very solid partner of Simon while they were both in the match. She basically played the last 25 or so minutes as the lone center back.

Howell-6: She was Racing’s most accurate passer in the midfield, but was rather quiet on the stat sheet.

DeMelo-8: Was close to scoring again, and led the team in touches with 85. She is steadily becoming Racing’s engine.

Milliet-7: She seems to never get tired and had a very good assist on McDonald’s goal.

Davis-6: Was offside a couple of times when she probably shouldn’t have been, and rushed a cross early in the match that could have been more dangerous with a few more yards taken on a dribble. Was Racing’s first player subbed off.

Kizer-6: Looked a little off her game and definitely a little tired late in the match.

McDonald-8: Celebrated her 159th match with balloons from the Lavender Legion. She scored on a great header, which makes one wonder why she takes long throws when she is so good in the box. She was also probably working on very little sleep having taken the Red Eye back from Phoenix College’s commencement address.

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