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Racing v Royals Pre Match Thoughts
Racing will host its first “Thunder Over Louisville” match this weekend against the new version of the Utah Royals. It will be a rather unique match on Saturday, and I don't think anyone really knows what to expect. I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of fireworks unless I am setting them off myself. Let’s just say that I am probably fortunate to only have had temporary hearing loss from my earlier adventures with explosions. All of that to say that I have never attended “Thunder” in person. Therefore, I have to rely on other people’s experiences to let me know what to expect. Everyone I have talked to expects the air show to continue into game time, so I guess let’s go with that. If that ends up being the case, it will be interesting to see if fans (and players) can keep their eyes on the pitch at all times. It’s already projected to be a record crowd, and I hope that Racing’s puts on an entertaining enough display to win over some new converts.
On the pitch, this is a match that Racing needs to win. Utah being an expansion team on the road, should be vulnerable especially with the added distractions. Ary Borges put in the type of cameo in the last match that makes you think that she may be up for a start in this match. Racing should also focus on trying to improve its possession in this match. Regardless of how much possession that Racing has managed, too much of it has been frantic and disjointed. This could be an opportunity to start to get things right in the attacking third with possession. This will hopefully be the second match in a row with a Howell/Flint/DeMelo midfield, so I think we can expect some improvement there.
In her press conferences, Bev Yanez has been really positive in her comments about the team. I expect that to continue regardless of the outcome on Saturday, but this team needs 3 points in order to start getting some momentum. I think it’s fair to point out that a team doesn’t even have to be league average in points production to make the playoffs this season, so just making the playoffs won’t be seen as much progress in my eyes. Racing has played well enough in spells to make the top-four their collective goal. I think when we get about 10 games into the season, we will see how close they are to that goal. The immediate goal for this match should be to jump out to a lead and put the Royals away early. However, matches in this league have the tendency to surprise you.
Paige Monaghan returns to Louisville, and I hope she gets a warm welcome during the lineup announcements. She was a bright spot on the team last season, and I know that the team hated to lose her. After the whistle blows, Racing needs to make sure to lock her down and not let her turn into another Savannah McCaskill, who seems to relish scoring against her old team. Paige has the added bonus of scoring on Racing before she joined Big Purp, so I am sure she will be extra incented to do so again.
Racing 0 Wave 0 Post Match Thoughts
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Shaw
Four draws in four matches isn’t the ideal way to start a season, but Racing fought back from a lackluster first half to make the second one much more entertaining. The team still needs to find a way to put two good halves together, but a squad that is getting healthier in attack gives Coach Yanez some options as the season progresses.
I mentioned in my first player rating post of the season that I likely needed some time to figure out how to evaluate Taylor Flint. She doesn’t necessarily play like a traditional midfielder, so that took some getting used to from me. I still stand by my earlier ratings of her performances, but now knowing what to expect and what not to expect allows me to more fairly rate her performances. I don’t think any reasonable person can disagree that her performance last night was clearly her best yet. Earlier in the week, the club tweeted out a graphic demonstrating her “impact” in the first few matches. Being that it was messaging from the club, it was clearly slanted to show the statistical categories where she excelled. Even so, I was surprised that she was at the top in so many categories. I tend to think of a midfielder’s role as a player that stiches things together, but Taylor’s strengths are clearly in disrupting things. Once I wrapped my head around that, I saw her most recent match much differently. Don’t get me wrong, she is still learning how to stitch herself into the possession fabric of the team, but when it comes to disrupting the opponent, she is clearly becoming a true force. If she can continue to improve her offensive touches, (and they were clearly better in this match) she could be an even bigger force.
Savannah DeMelo on the other hand is still looking to find her form. She is the team’s offensive engine, but a couple of times in the match she slowed down things when speed would have been more prudent. If we are honest with ourselves, she hasn’t been the same since her absence from the team to play in the World Cup. It’s difficult to say if one thing has anything to do with the other, but the drop in form has been noticeable. Racing needs her to recapture her early career form. She will never be a liability on the pitch, and the team is clearly better with her on the field, but she has to learn to play with this group of players because at the moment her teammates are getting into better scoring positions than she is. Perhaps her early success led to her feeling that she has to do too much. Honestly, if she gets her head up a little more when she is on the ball, she will be fine.
The crowd was really good last night, but it took some questionable officiating to really get them involved. Flint’s goal was correctly ruled offside, but there were some other baffling decisions that disrupted the flow of the match. Personally, I don’t think they were enough to impact the outcome, but you would always rather be unaware of the officiating crew that blatantly aware of them.
The first half attack for Racing was anemic, so it was good to see Bev pull the trigger on a halftime sub with Sears entering for Turner. Things immediately got better, and Sears had a couple of good looks early in the second half. Borges had a brief cameo and was close to scoring but a fantastic save from Sheridan prevented a storybook return. I guess the message is that the attacking options off the bench look to be good enough to change matches.
Racing Wave Player Ratings
Racing are still looking for their first win but put in a really good 2nd half performance after a rather lackluster first half.
Lund-6: Wasn't called into action much but was there when she was needed.
Pickett-7: Shiowed her attacking prowess well in this match.
Erceg-7: She had an odd moment early in the second half conceding a bizarre corner but was solid otherwise.
Wright-7: I’m sure she will take a clean sheet in her first start
Milliet-7: Managed an early yellow card well.
Howell-7: Looks to be fully fit and confident now. I would still like to see her pull the trigger on a shot every now and then.
Flint-8: Correctly denied a goal, but even without that had her best performance yet. If she continues to improve at this rate she will be a force of nature by mid-season
DeMelo-6: Still yet to reach the heights she did early in 2023.
Kanu-6: None of the starting forwards were terribly involved, but she put in a decent shift.
Turner-5: Got no service but didn't create much either. She was subbed at half and Sears immediately contributed more significantly.
Bahr-6: She was the last of the starting forwards to be subbed off, but didn't have much impact while shen was on.
Racing v Wave Pre Match Thoughts
Have I mentioned before how much I hate international breaks?
Anyway, this time it likely helped Racing out quite a bit. Excluding the announced SEI to Elli Pikkujämsä and the shorter-term injury Kirsten Wright, Racing is getting closer to having a full complement of players available. Against Portland, Racing didn’t even have enough healthy players to fill out a full bench. Without getting into specifics, let’s just say that the availability report should be much rosier for Racing. For the reigning Shield champions the Wave, their availability report could be longer with players returning from international duty or deciding that they have better things to do than be with their teammates in Louisville. The other good news is that we can finally say good riddance to this frankly dreadful week of weather and look forward to a nice evening on Saturday.
On the pitch, Racing simply has to pull out a win or two in the next few matches. The team definitely hasn’t put together a solid 90 minutes yet, and one could argue that they really haven’t put in much more than a solid 45. Carson Pickett, Marisa DiGrande, and Bev Yanez all talked about the competition for minutes on the squad (partly because I asked them directly about it). Actually, Carson brought up that nobody is promised minutes. Personally, I would like to see DiGrande get more minutes, especially if Racing is in the lead again. Holding a lead is a learned skill and other than the back line, Racing still has a lot of players that don’t have whole lot of experience winning in this league. Carson talked about the responsibility of the back line when it comes to protecting a lead, but also said that protecting a lead is difficult when the back line gets pinned in. It’s okay to defend with a lead and its even okay to defend deep with a lead, but you have to be super organized and super composed. I haven’t seen Racing demonstrate much defensive organization outside of the back line and I definitely haven’t seen much composure yet this season. The other school of thought is to try to make it 4-0 once you get up 2-0, but let’s not kid ourselves about that. The margins are too fine in this league for teams to win many matches 4-0 so you are likely going to have to learn to get wins in close matches.
I have to say that watching practice on Friday that Bev is coaching her heart out. I still have full confidence in her abilities. However, I was once in my twenties and let’s just say that I am a better listener now than I was then. I think the message that is being communicated is the right message. Bev told the media on Friday that she spent the long plane ride home from Portland “reframing” the performance. Even with the disappointing result, there were positives in her mind and if you treat learning as a process, then the mistakes that cost them the win are part of that process. The next step will be to learn the same lessons while getting the full 3 points.
One final note: I asked Bev about Millie Clegg since it was my first chance to see her fully participate in practice. One of the things she said was that she was always smiling. That’s a good sign, but I think it might be some time before we get to see her on the pitch. Racing’s attacking depth looks pretty good, so I personally think we could see her during the Olympic break, but that isn’t a given. That could change, but for now I don’t think there is any real need to rush her development.
Thorns 2 Racing 2 Post Match Thoughts
Courtesy USA Today Sports Images
Racing fail to hold a lead (again) and only pick up a point (again) in what is already starting to become a too familiar pattern. The current style seems set up well to score quickly from transition, but it’s hard to see any other great advantages yet.
If Racing is going to continue to jump out to early leads, then it going to have to learn how to find a way to possess the ball. In its history, Racing has never been a great “in possession” team but seems to have taken a step back this season. What is evident is that they are a dangerous attacking team when the moves are in transition, or the opportunities are taken quickly. After going up by 2 goals, Racing basically spent the rest of the match defending. There were a few longer passages of possession late in the second half after it looked like the Thorns might have expended all of their energy trying to make a comeback. However, from basically the 7th minute to the 80th minute it was one-way traffic for the Thorns. When Racing did win possession, most of the time it was unfortunately deep in their half where a long ball was the only way out. On the rare occasion that Racing was able to string a few passes together, the positive movement was really only made with the intent of adding a 3rd goal. Maybe I am alone in thinking this way, but there is value in just keeping the ball in your opponent’s half without immediately making a move toward goal. Sometimes, and especially with a lead, there is value in taking the speed out of the match and attempting to pass the ball around just to keep yourself from running back constantly on defense. Racing’s game management with the lead has never been great and hasn’t really shown any sign of improvement under Yanez (yet).
Uchenna Kanu has shown such improvement that the greatest tragedy of the season so far is that she hasn’t had a match-winning performance. She has done everything in her power to try to will the team to a win, but things haven’t worked out. Her commitment on defense has been great too.
Elli Pikkujämsä went down with a worrying injury. She will be further evaluated in Louisville today.
Racing gets to go back to the drawing board during this week without a match. The team is still missing key players, but I am starting to wonder if the players missing are the problem. I will be watching the possession numbers in the next match to see if the coaches can figure out a way to try to possess the ball more in the next few matches.
Thorns 2 Racing 2 Player Ratings
Racing just can't quite figure out how to close out a match. They simply have to find a way to keep some possession when they have a lead.
Lund-5.5: I thought she was completely at fault for the first goal by not picking up the ball when she decided to try to clear it with her foot. She did make a couple of good saves after that.
Pickett-7: Kept Portland's attack at bay on the wings.
Erceg-7: Was brilliant in the first half, but only average in the second.
Pikkujämsä-6: Went off injured and it didn't look good. She had a solid match prior to that.
Milliet-7: Just like Pickett, kept any outside attack from Portland locked down.
Howell-7: She had a fabulous first half, but Portland had more joy through the midfield in the second.
Flint-7: I thought it was a much improved match from her. She is starting to get the hang of midfield.
Fischer-6: I thought she had a rather odd performance. It wasn't poor, but she tended to dwell on the ball longer than necessary, which isn't her strength.
Kanu-9: Fantastic again. Her defensive work rate was so impressive to match her 2 terrific goals. What does she have to do to have such a great performance be a match winning one?
Turner-7: Had a fantastic assist on Kanu's 2nd.
Bahr-6: Not nearly as involved as Kanu. Switched sides with her in the first half to try to get a bit more into things.
Thorns v Racing Pre Match Thoughts
Racing visits Portland on Saturday to take on the Thorns. Here are a few items to keep your eye on:
The availability report will be interesting to watch. As previously stated, Bev isn't going to give too much away, therefore any speculation prior to the official release will have to be taken with a grain of salt. I get the “feeling” that Sav will be missing again, but that feeling isn't anything more than a hunch. The squad is deep and even though Racing are better with her in the lineup, the drop in quality isn't what it has been in the past.
Portland is still a tough trip for Racing. They have never taken a point there. Regardless, Milliet stated that the team is looking to take all 3 points. I would have liked for Racing to have been heading into Portland with 6 points secured, but that isn't the case. This feels like a chance to maybe get a full result. It could also be a bad time to catch the Thorns who have to be disappointed in their start and therefore looking for blood. Depending on how things go, a first point in Portland may not be a bad result.
Emma Sears shared when I asked about her team speed record that Abby sets PRs when she runs with her. I think it sometimes gets overlooked that the veterans can benefit as much from the rookie/veteran relationship as the rookies do. Emma also said that she wasn't going to give up her speed record any time soon.
The actual flight to Portland was smooth according to Lo, which is always a plus.
Next week is an off week, so whether Racing heads into it with 2, 3 or 5 points, it will be a chance to reflect before going into a 7 week stretch with a match per week.
Dash 0 Racing 0 Post Match Thoughts
Courtesy NWSL/Jordan Prather
There were plenty of encouraging signs and a few not-so-good ones in the 0-0 draw against Houston on Saturday evening. Coach Yanez is still looking for her first win, but if Racing keeps getting as many opportunities to score as they did against Houston, it will come soon enough.
Reilyn Turner got off 8 shots in the first half, 6 of them on target. However, the match would have been totally different if she had stayed onside for the goal that was ruled out or if she would have buried her excellent opportunity in the sixth minute (.539 xG). Across the board, Racing needs to be more clinical in their finishing. The team has yet to have what I deem a really clinical striker in its brief history. However, I do think Turner and Sears both have that capability in them. Above all, forwards shouldn’t ever be hesitant to shoot and neither Reilyn nor Emma is hesitant at all. They just need a few more minutes under their belts to develop that killer instinct. For as many chances as Turner had, only the first couple had the potential to really trouble Campbell at all. However, a lesser keeper maybe lets one of the lower probability shots in. Campell won the Goalkeeper of the Year last season for a reason, and it really showed last night.
I thought the defense played really well last night. Other than the early opportunity for Ordonez and the late one for West, none of Houston’s shots were anything more than speculative. Albeit based on a small sample of 180 minutes so far, Racing may need this type of effort more often than not. The way that Racing play may not be set up to possess the ball for long stretches of time. The commentators on the NWSL+ broadcast both stated that they thought Racing “dominated” the first half. I understand why they felt that way, but Houston had 59% of the possession in the first half even if significant portions of it were in their own half. My assessment of the current state of affairs is that Racing simply isn’t going to hold on to the ball for large sections of time. I don’t think many fans like 0-0 draws, but to me they really show a team’s nature. Goals change matches and there is goal-related momentum in any score draw or win/loss. I think you see a team’s true nature when the score is 0-0. Right now, Racing’s nature is to press and attack quickly. I am not sure how sustainable that is. It’s one thing to press and keep your opponent’s 60% possession in their own half, but you are still expending more effort on defense than you are on offense. By the end of the match, Pickett looked exhausted. Erceg went down for a brief period with a knock. I don’t think that you can play without the ball for so many large portions of the 90 minutes and be consistently successful.
Last season, it drove fans crazy that Coach Kim waited so long to substitute in matches. Last night, Houston made 4 subs before Racing made their first one. That will be a trend to watch. I don’t think it had anything to do with squad depth. Speaking of depth, I thought Fischer deputized well for DeMelo, but she was running on fumes at the end.
I am still wrapping my head around Taylor Flint. I thought she was excellent defensively. Her presence in the box both defending and attacking on set pieces is a real asset. However, there were a few times where her passing decisions were baffling, and her first touch was frankly awful. I definitely liked her better playing alongside Howell (who was a half-step slow to start but got better as the match progressed), but I don’t like yelling at my TV, and I found myself doing it more often with her than any other player. She is still finding her way, and I don’t think she is close to unlocking her full abilities.
Coach Yanez has talked about “peaking at the right time” and I get that mentality when the championship is won in November. However, you need points to get you to that position. These two matches feel like 4 points dropped already and Racing definitely doesn’t need to fall into the pattern of playing well and only getting a point again this season. For the team’s psyche, I think they need to amass some points soon, so they don’t start to think “here we go again”.
Dash 0 Racing 0 Player Ratings
You won't see too many more entertaining 0-0 draws. By the end several players were struggling to stay on their feet.
Lund-6: Had a couple of wobbly distributions but was solid when she needed to be.
Pickett-8: Put in a warrior's performance.
Erceg-8: Ditto for Abby.
Pikkujämsä-8: It looks like Racing wanted to use her long ball as a weapon fairly often, but none of them really came off. She was excellent on defense, however.
Milliet-8: Put in another good two-way performance.
Howell-6: It was good to see her fit, but she is still working her way back to her normal standards.
Flint-6: Her defense, especially heading the ball was really vital, but her attacking touches and decision making had me scratching my head.
Fischer-7: Deputized well for DeMelo and had the potential winner denied by the slimmest of margins.
Kanu-7: Put in another good shift but not quite as bright as last week.
Turner-8: Put the ball in the back of the net but was offside. She was rampant in the first half, but ultimately couldn't convert it into her first goal.
Bahr-7: Would have had a brilliant assist if Turner could have stayed onside. Her teammates still need to get her more involved.
Racing 2 Pride 2 Post Match Thoughts
Opening matches are sometimes difficult to parse, especially when there is a new coach/system in place. I think Racing has plenty of room for improvement after a very interesting first match under Bev Yanez.
To my eyes, Racing didn’t look drastically different in their style of play when compared to last season. Maybe they were a little quicker in attack. Regardless, what stood out to me in the first half at least was Racing’s commitment to building from the back. The Racing players exhibited patience for the most part on the ball deep in their own territory. There was an occasional misplaced pass that tended to invite pressure from Orlando, but the team didn’t panic and held their ground for the most part. That being said, this team is not very good at building from the back yet. At least half of the Premier League tries to play the way Racing does, (starting with short passes from the goalkeeper, looking to keep possession and progress up the pitch with high percentage passes), but none of them got it right overnight. The teams at the top of the league make it look easy. The rest of the teams that attempt it often look foolish when they try it against better competition. The keys when playing out from the back is getting the 10 to drop deep to vary the attacking points and to have a 6 that can progress the ball up the pitch by multiple means. We have seen what Sav can do, and she was deep to start the movement for the opening goal. I am not convinced that the Baggett/Flint partnership is the right one to play this way. Bagget never seemed deeply involved in the possession or buildup and Flint’s body position when she received the ball too often led to a “return to sender” pass. Those aren’t always bad because sometimes they create space, but in this match didn’t lead to much. Personally, I think Flint is playing out of position. It’s early, so I am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and she will probably look much different when Howell is fit enough to play along beside her. Based on her first half performance, I was surprised she lasted the full 90. Coaches often see things that we don’t and after the match Bev assessed her performance positively.
Uchenna Kanu put in a performance that I thought merited a Player of the Match recognition, but that award went to Elexa Bahr, who was just as deserving. Kanu looked like a different player from last season, and her work rate on the defensive end impressed me as much as her goal. More than once she used her physicality to muscle a Pride player off the ball and win possession. On her goal she demonstrated patience to stay onside and poise to place the ball past the Orlando keeper. Hopefully, it is a good sign of things to come from her. By all accounts she had a tremendous preseason, so here’s to hoping her good run of form continues.
Elexa Bahr scored on her debut, and it was a fine goal. However, she had the fewest touches of any Racing starter along with Turner (who also had a great debut.) What was frustrating to me (and I think had to be to her to some degree although she didn’t overly vocalize it) was that she was in loads of space quite frequently, but her teammates couldn’t find her. Part of the time, this was due to the Pride effectively applying ball pressure to Racing’s midfielders. After the match Bahr did express that if they could have found a way to play just a little quicker, that she felt that she could have exploited the space that the Pride was giving her even more. In future matches, I think her spacing and runs will present Howell and Pikkujämsä opportunities to find her with a long ball. I think there will be a real battle for starting minutes on the front line this season.
There were quite a few positives, especially in attack, but on the game management side Racing’s old habits are still popping up. Orlando’s first goal was just one of those freak goals that you can’t really blame a single player for. Milliet stuck with Abello pretty well and her cross wasn’t really dangerous until Pikkujämsä stuck a leg out to deflect the ball past Lund. However, on the second Fischer committed a silly foul that led to the free kick. Orlando really shouldn't be scoring from there down a player, but they did. Since Orlando dictated large portions of play it's difficult to say that a point for them is unfair. However, Racing needs to hold a lead with a player advantage and there really isn't any excuse for not taking all 3 points. What that tells me is that Racing isn't yet comfortable holding the ball while setting themselves up against the counter. The midfielders need to dictate possession when holding a lead, but too often it was Milliet who was holding the ball out wide. Ultimately the counterattacking danger came on her side.
Racing 2 Pride 2 Player Ratings
It was probably a match that Racing should have finished off, but Orlando pulled back two goals. However, on the balance of play especially in the first half a point is a fair result.
Lund-6: I don't think she was at fault for either goal, but I will need to rewatch the 2nd one.
Pickett-6: Made some good deliveries, but was unusually tentative on defense a few times.
Erceg-6: Solid but unspectacular.
Pikkujämsä-6: A bad touch led to Orlando's first.
Milliet-7: Put tons of pressure on Orlando late but couldn't help find the breakthrough goal.
Flint-5: Is playing out of position and it clearly shows.
Baggett-6: Not tremendously involved.
DeMelo-6: Had a decent match, but picked up a yellow card, so that isn't great for a player that picks up so many.
Kanu-9: Fantastic. I feel gutted for her that her performance didn't end up a winning one.
Turner-8: Was excellent in her debut and played a perfect ball on Bahr's goal.
Bahr-8: Scored an excellent goal, and found herself open way more but her teammates couldn't find her.
Racing v Pride Pre Match Thoughts
Ready or not, the season kicks off for Racing Louisville at 4 PM on Saturday at Lynn Family Stadium.
Racing seems well prepared to start the season, but seeming prepared versus actually being prepared will be better judged after the first match. Arin Wright who has seen her fair share of opening matches commented that season openers are unique and challenging in their own ways. I think Racing might benefit from a home opener this season, but I could just as easily be convinced that opening on the road for a new head coach might be better too. Regardless, the coaches have done just about all they can do to prepare for the first match and the outcome will be left to how the players execute.
The idea of a “Starting XI” may need to be put out of our collective minds this season. The roster is deep enough to support some rotation without any real drop in quality. I expect that this season will see the players who can demonstrate match fitness and skills that might confound specific opponents get the nod on more of a match-by-match basis. Björkegren, for better or for worse liked who he liked and tended to start them if they were available. I think we will see a slightly different approach this season. My suggestion would be to manage your expectations by not having any preconceived ideas around who the “starters” are.
Bev is going to play things closer to the vest than Coach Björkegren did. Her style will be to give no more information to the media than is required and no sooner than absolutely necessary. I can't say that I blame her. We are all going to have to wait until the NWSL Availability Report is released each week to have any insight to players’ match fitness. That could change, but I think her philosophy will be to stick with keeping fitness information close. That isn't to say that she isn't a good interview, I just think she understands the fine margins of the NWSL and doesn't want to give her opponents any advantage by being too forthcoming.
I don't think we will see a huge stylistic switch from previous seasons either. The team is built to play a certain way. The changes will be in the details. As always my concern is keeping the fine line between playing quickly but not rushed. There was a little too much rushing in the match against Gotham once Racing fell behind. The other item that I constantly look out for is to see how well the players are connecting. Some of the players in previous seasons liked to take on too much load when things weren't going well. There is too much talent this season for anyone to think they need to carry the burden alone.
If Racing are to win, it could likely come from a set piece. I don't think we will see any fantastic team goals to kick off the season but I would love to be proven wrong on that. Personally, I don't think that any lineup that is put forward by any team this match week will be clicking on all cylinders. Since Racing proved itself dangerous from set pieces in the last couple of seasons, one of those could be the difference maker this week.
Gotham 3 Racing 1 Post Match Thoughts
Racing put in a fairly lackluster performance after getting a goal in the first 10 minutes against Gotham on Friday evening in Columbia in The Women's Cup Final. It’s not time to panic, put it’s fairly evident that a new coach and some new players haven’t been an immediate panacea for Louisville’s traditional ails.
Reilyn Turner found the back of the net, and probably should have scored prior to it as well. If she keeps finding herself in the right positions, it could be a good rookie campaign for her. The other potential (although still unsigned) ROY candidate Sears had another solid match, and her strength and pace could cause real problems for teams. I am not sure she was offside in her breakaway attempt, and it sure would have been nice to see if she could have buried it. She did put the ball in the net from a clearly offside position earlier in the match.
The defensive communication isn’t up to par yet. Several times the defenders didn’t seem to be on the same page as each other or Lund. That will take time, but with the number of veterans on the back line, I hoped that it would be further along than it is. Racing will miss Howell every time she isn’t on the pitch. I think her absence exposed this team’s weakness. Flint might be fine with Jae next to her, but so far she doesn’t look comfortable enough on the ball to dictate the match in the style that Racing wants to play. That will obviously take time too, but a few questionable touches from her last night made me want to scrutinize her play a bit more, and don’t think opposing coaches didn’t see the same thing.
Racing had fits with Gotham’s press. To start the second half, Louisville could barely maintain any possession at all, let alone any meaningful piece in Gotham’s half. Once they showed that they were having trouble with the press, Gotham was relentless, and forced Lund to start the possession deeper and wider in Racing’s territory than was comfortable. Racing seemed to burn off too much energy in the opening 10 minutes because they never reached that intensity level again. Frankly, Louisville was fortunate to be up a goal at the break.
Once Racing did manage to get the ball into Gotham’s half early in the second half, they immediately tried to get a chance to attack on the counter. All of those chances sputtered due to a rushed or forced pass. Obviously once Gotham equalized, Racing thought they needed another goal. What they actually needed was some possession. There is value in just keeping the ball out of your own half for a while even if you aren’t creating any chances. This is especially true when the other team has all of the momentum. Racing has traditionally liked to press and move quickly in attack. They obviously still need to learn the value of ball retention and dictating play. Gotham dictated the lion’s share of the match after the first 10 minutes and were happy to drop and defend in the last 10 to 15 minutes with a 2-goal lead.
On a lighter note, I can’t remember a match with so many foul throws. I used to referee matches for preschoolers, and they struggled with the rules of a throw from time-to-time, but no professional footballer should even have a foul throw. I think maybe the referee started specifically looking for foul throws after a while, but it started with Fischer having her second in two matches. That is something that needs to be cleaned up.
Gotham 3 Racing 1 Player Ratings
Racing got outclassed and were frankly terrible in possession and the reigning Champs made them pay. There is still work to do before the season starts
Lund-5: Her distribution wasn't great but she really couldn't do much about the goals.
Pickett-6: On a night where Racing gave up 3 goals she had a fairly decent night.
Erceg-5: She put Flint in a really bad position to start the second half, leading to Gotham’s first goal.
Wright-5: Made an incredible tackle to save a goal, then scored an own goal to cancel it out.
Milliet-5: Should have done better on the second goal.
Flint-6: Erceg did her no favors on Gotham’s first, but she has to be stronger in possession.
Baggett-6: Wasn't overly involved, but on this night that wasn't such a bad thing.
DeMelo-6: Her effort is always there even when the execution isn't.
Fischer-6: Wasn't as sharp a she was in the previous match.
Turner-7: Scored one, probably should have scored two.
Sears-7: Her pressing created the goal for Turner.
Racing nears 100 competitive goals
By my calculations, which are always subject to opinion and scrutiny, the next goal that Racing scores will be its 100th goal in a competitive match. Here is how I define “competitive match”: any NWSL competition including knockout competitions AND any other knockout competition with a trophy awarded to the winner. In a nutshell, the 99 goals so far include all NWSL goals (including own goals) and The Women’s Cup goals. Here are a few of my favorites (you can view then all here.)
The first goal
1. 04102021 ORL 5 C KIZER 12 H C
Cece Kizer scored the first ever goal and it was a fine one. Racing took a lead in its first match, and the possibilities were endless until they fell behind 1-2. Then…
The equalizer
2. 04102021 ORL 15 B HENDRIX 90+3 H C
Brooke Hendrix scored a dramatic late goal to even the score at 2-2 and rescue a point for Racing. It was an auspicious start for the NWSL in this city.
A hometown hero scores a great one
5. 05212021 WAS 13 E EKIC 76 H L
After winning this match, Racing was at the top of the table. Emina never did reach her full potential here, but this was a great moment.
Ebony Salmon’s terrific debut
7. 06202021 HOU 9 E SALMON 72 H L
Ebony scored some fine goals from Racing, but none finer than her debut goal. I broke it down at length here.
End to End
11. 07092021 ORL 9 E SALMON 21 A L
This is probably my personal favorite goal. I loved that the move started with Betos and the ball never seemed to stop until it found the back of the net.
Yuki scores in style
18. 08222021 BMF 17 Y NAGASATO 85 H C
It ended up not being the match winner, but it was vital in seeing the match go to penalties where Lund won it for Racing.
Old Sav’s great strike
22. 10062021 NCC 7 S MCCASKILL 24 A L
I bet most of you forgot about this one as it came in a 3-1 loss to the Courage. It’s still a great goal.
New Sav’s first
40. 05182022 SD 7 S DEMELO 27 H L
It was the first goal for Sav from a free kick. It wouldn’t be her last. It also proved to be the match winner and the only goal in a victory over San Diego.
A Beauty by Bonner
42. 061112022 AC 4 G BONNER 27 H L
On a great delivery from DeMelo, Bonner backheeled a goal into the net. Too bad it wasn’t enough as Racing fell at home to Angel City by 3 goals to 2.
Nadia’s brace
44. 06172022 WAS 10 N NADIM 66 A L
The first of Nadia’s two goals in a comeback draw against the Spirit was a fine give-and-go with Jess McDonald. It was the first time Racing got a point from a multi-goal deficit.
Alex dances on the line
49. 07292022 POR 27 A CHIDIAC 29 H L
Racing would ultimately fall in this match at home vs. Portland, but Alex Chidiac had her finest moment on the pitch for Louisville with this goal.
Jess wins 3 at the death
61. 10012022 KC14 MCDONALD 90+2 H L
It was the last minute of the season and Jess McDonald came through to send the fans home happy. Unfortunately, the Yates report followed a few days later and we weren’t allowed to bask in the glory of this goal for long.
Ary secures a point
63. 04012023 WAS BORGES 65 H L
It had been a very dreary day and home opener for Racing until Erceg scored from a corner. Then Borges equalizes with this fine strike.
DeMelo’s half volley
67. 04292023 OLR 7 DEMELO 45 H L
There have been some fine matches between the Reign and Racing. As usual this one ended in a draw but will be forever memorable thanks to this stunning goal by DeMelo.
Sav’s toe poke
81. 06152023 HOU 7 S DEMELO 45+6 H C
DeMelo scored once again with a fantastic toe poke from just outside of the box. Racing kept on cruising through the Challenge Cup group matches as result.
Paige blasts the back of the net
90. 07212023 CHI 5 P MONAGHAN 19 H C
Monaghan started and ended the move in style. She scored some other memorable ones, but this is my favorite.
Kgatlana helps Racing overcome the Thorns
93. 09022023 POR 11 T KGATLANA 64 H L
It seemed like it would never happen until it did, and Racing finally beat Portland. Thembi’s fine strike sealed the victory.
Davis makes the run
96. 10062023 ORL 22 K DAVIS 70 H L
For all of Kgatlana’s speed and ability, she often needed a willing runner to go with her and this time Davis obliged to draw Racing level with Orlando, and they would ultimately take all 3 points.
America de Cali 0 Racing 2 Post Match Thoughts
Photo courtesy of The Women's Cup
Racing Louisville cruised to an fairly easy win in The Women's Cup semis. I'm not sure we learned too much, but here are the items that caught my eye:
Kayla Fischer looks to have made a pretty big leap from year one to year two. As I mentioned in my player ratings, she saw quite a few passes that other Racing players in the past would have never attempted. The one that came off flawlessly was the long pass to Turner. After the success of that pass she tried a few more that were a little too fast or heavy but she still attempted them. I like when players try ambitious attacking passes. It isn't always great for your pass completion percentage, but when they work they create real chances. I hope Kayla keeps up her ambition.
Turner and Sears are still really raw when it comes to NWSL-level performance, but they both should see minutes this season. Sears seems like a constant danger on the left and in the middle. Turner stuck more to the right side consistently and seemly slightly more composed. I expect that they will likely be deployed as attacking subs to start the season, but Racing would not be in bad shape if they ended up getting a few starts.
DeMelo had become a bit of a peaks and valleys player. Her highs are really high, but at times I find myself wondering what she is thinking. It's still preseason, so maybe she is still shaking off the rust, but I would like her to cut down on the errant passes and the reckless challenges. She still gets fouled too much and late in the match invited a needless foul when the game was already put to bed. She is too important to put her body needlessly at risk. She should NOT play 90 in the final.
Based on one match, I would say that the back line is a little more fluid due to the flexibility of Arin Wright. The match on Friday against Gotham should show us more.
Olivia Sekany hilariously picked up a yellow card before she had even had a touch. That isn't something you see everyday. It was good to see her get some minutes.
America de Cali 0 Racing 2 Player Ratings
It wasn't the most beautiful match, but Racing was never in any real danger of losing. There is still much work to do, but there were some encouraging signs.
Lund-6: Made a few comfortable saves. We know all we need to know about Katie, so it was good for Sekany to get a few minutes.
Pickett-7: The defense was rarely troubled and Pickett got to be involved offensively quite a bit.
Erceg-7: She wasn't asked to do much, but played the whole match. It was a typical performance from her.
Wright-7: She started centrally, and seemed to be the more advanced of the 2 centerbacks during most attacks.
Milliet-6: Finally got a bit of a rest for once. She had a small nervy moment in the first half, but was solid otherwise.
Baggett-7: She scored a great goal and had another chance. It would be great to see her get some more game time this season.
Flint-6: I think it will take some time for me to adjust to watching Flint’s game. I didn't see anything to make me rate her performance other than average.
Fischer-8: She sees and attempts passes that others don't. Easily my player of the match.
Sears-6: Her raw talent is obvious, so give her some time. A more seasoned player easily scores on the chance she had denied in the first half.
DeMelo-7: She took her penalty excellently and was in the right place at the right time to win it. Conversely, she gave the ball away too much for my liking. Hopefully she’ll be her best self before the season starts.
Turner-6: Like Sears her talent is evident. I would have loved to see her finish off the chance that Fischer created for her.
Early Preseason Thoughts and Storylines
Racing had another busy offseason, and as the offseason transitions into preseason here are some thoughts and storylines to watch for in the preseason and the early part of the 2024 season.
Defensive depth: Even after the departure of Julia Lester, Racing has a fairly experienced defensive roster. The club is still carrying 6 signed defenders on its roster (although they are now missing Monaghan who could be deployed there), so I think that is a number that works for them. One thing to look for early in the year (and maybe in the preseason as an indicator) is fullback rotation and substitution. Lauren Milliet played 2789 minutes last year which was the most for any fullback in the league. In spite of being unavailable for 4 league matches and 2 cup matches, Carson Pickett had the 8th most minutes for a fullback last year with 2496. Look for the addition of Arin Wright to greatly reduce thr number of matches where both fullbacks play the full 90 minutes. Ideally, each starting fullback should be playing a 90 minute match followed by a 60-70 minute match. Right back may be open to full competition, but Arin Wright can play both sides. Regardless of how the defense lines up to start, expect more in-match changes this season.
Scoring goals: Here is a quick, but ultimately meaningless tidbit. Racing and Gotham (the “Champions”) had the exact same number of goals scored and conceded in the league last season. This yielded a championship for Gotham and 9th place for Racing. I consider Gotham rather “weak” champions and their form directly preceding the playoffs was frankly awful. Nevertheless, they ended up a champions which demonstrates either parity or general mediocrity depending on your perspective. I wouldn't plan on the “champions” having a plus one goal differential very often and my personal champion (Shield winners the Wave) topped the league table with a plus 9 goal difference scoring 31 and allowing 22. Even 31 scoring goals isn't a great return (the 2022 season had six teams score more than 31). I have a hunch that the league might have some truly dreadful teams this season and that means more goals will likely be scored per match.
All of this is to say that for Racing to be considered a real threat to enter the upper echelon of the league, they need to score more goals. I did a quick analysis of last year’s goals+assists in league and cup matches and came up with an average of G+A/90 minutes for each position group. I used the data and position assignments from the American Soccer Analysis website to do the analysis and then split each position group into thirds based on each players relative distance from the position average. Of note, and probably to nobody's surprise, Sophia Smith was the best performing striker, Megan Rapinoe was the best performing winger, Debinha was the best performing attacking midfielder, and Savannah DeMelo was the best performing central midfielder. There could be some debate about how players were classified, but regardless of that classification the analysis pretty clearly identified the high overperformers and underperformers. Based on each players performance I split each position group into thirds and classified players into either “Top Third”, “Middle Third”, and “Bottom Third”. Unfortunately for Racing they only has DeMelo and Erceg in the “Top Third” category for players that had over 1000 minutes. If you expand that to all players, Rebecca Holloway, Parker Goins, and Thembi Kgatlana are in the top third. The real problem for Racing is that their strikers and wingers underperformed in G+A/90 minutes when compared to the rest of the league. While the 3 players that had at least 1000 minutes were in the middle third, only Kirsten (Davis) Wright was in the top 50th percentile for her position group. Monaghan and Shuang were slightly above average when compared to the mean, but the winger category had so many low performers that the average was dragged down relative to the 50th percentile. That's a lot of numbers to throw out, but essentially my takeaway was that Racing simply didn't have enough of its key players in the Top Third of the league when it came down to goal contributions. Their offseason additions aren't NWSL proven goalscorers, so any additional goals this year are going to have to come from unproven players, or improvement in goal contribution rates from NWSL veterans.
For me, Kirsten Wright will need to be the key player to step up her goal contributions. Ary Borges could benefit by a change in position too. There is a spotty record for seeing goal production from other leagues translate into goal production in the NWSL, so while I don't think you can count it out, you definitely can't rely on it. Reilyn Turner might chip in a few, but even Messiah Bright for Orlando last year was just average compared to the striker group as a whole and I don't think saddling Turner with a 7 goal expectation is fair.
Goals need to come from somewhere which leads me to…
Scoring with possession in open play: This is just an assertion with no real data or evidence to back it up, but I believe that you can tell how effective a team is as an attacking entity based on how they score in open play. There is a way of thinking in some circles that says you can “steal” goals from being more effective than your opponents at set pieces and corners. Racing was pretty good at those last season in my opinion (I am unaware of a way to check their number of set piece goals compared to other teams). However, Racing seemed deficient in breaking down other teams when they had extended possession (again just a feeling that I wish I had a way to verify). What I can demonstrate (although this is done through my own coding system) is that Racing had 10 goals in transition last year compared to 6 in 2022, but only 6 with sustained possession compared to 12 in 2022. Set pieces combined with corners were about the same, but 2022 definitely had more set pieces and 2023 had more corners. Racing won and scored 5 penalties in 2023 compared to 2 in 2022.
The clear room for improvement in my mind is the slice labeled “with sustained possession”.
Managing Great Expectations: Everyone is allowed great expectations, but nobody is promised results. I get the feeling from players, Racing staff, and fans that they expect better things this season. It’s hard to argue with those expectations based on what has happened so far this offseason. Everybody loves Bev. Racing signed some “name” free agents and it appears that nearly everyone is healthy at the start of the season with only Clegg managing an injury and she could be ready early in the season. It’s a great way to start of the preseason.
However…
The fact of the matter is that Racing enters the 2024 with an unproven coach. “Unproven” is not meant by me to be used in a pejorative sense, just that we simply don’t have much evidence of what kind of a head coach Bev will be. Knowing this, I would like to say that “patience” should be the watch word with her. She may come out of the gate and be fantastic, and she might not. Neither is cause for overreaction. She must be given time whether she knocks it out of the park, strikes out or something in between.
Preseason is all about Plan A. The regular season is all about Plan B. In some extremely rare cases, Plan A works all of the time, and you never have to worry about Plan B. If you are Barcelona, you often get to march through large sections of a league season undefeated and mercilessly beating your opponents with Plan A. There is no “Barcelona” in the NWSL and really not even a Chelsea or Lyon. You are going to have to switch tactics to win sometimes, and that is likely the best measure of a head coach. The early indications on Bev are good, but everyone needs to remember that is all that they are. She isn’t always going to get it right. If we give her the grace to make some mistakes, we will all be better off.
As to the players, we really don’t know what we are going to get from them either. A very good early indication is that Bev told me after the first practice that she had to remind the players to ramp it down sometimes versus ramping it up. All of the players seem anxious to get going. There will be competition in some spots that there hasn’t been before. All of this is good for the team. The defense and midfield look solid, and the attack looks promising, but they still need to learn Bev’s system AND to learn to play cohesively inside of it. This preseason is shorter than last season so it will be interesting to watch how ready the players are by March 16th.
NWSL College Draft Thoughts
Before I get to the draft stuff (full disclosure: I wrote most of it prior to today's media availability so excuse any wild tonal shifts) I wanted to share my takeaways from the time Bev and Ryan spent talking to the media Tuesday morning. As always, bullet points probably make for easier communication and reading for this type of thing.
Bev Yanez is so enthusiastic that it's hard to be in the same room with her and not get super excited. I immediately felt better about Racing's offseason as a whole and their approach to next year after listening to her for 5 minutes. I had to actively remind myself to calm down. I do wonder if Bev's exuberance will always serve her best. You want to believe that she can move mountains and transform paupers into kings when you hear her speak. However, I would advise that we all would be better served managing our expectations of her. She inevitably will need time to grow into the role of head coach and unreasonable expectations are unfair and we should manage them appropriately. I believe that the organization believes that she is a slam-dunk hire, and that's all that really matters.
Bev did talk at some length about how the coaches collectively are preparing for the draft. She specifically called out Sergio and Mario for their scouting and player evaluation.
Bev also shared that the “style” of this year’s team would be different than last season. When pressed on exactly what that meant she was appropriately cagey as you don't want to tip your hand until necessary. Personally, I think cohesion and players’ understanding their teammates’ strengths are the biggest room for growth, but there isn't any reason to suspect that Bev missed what we all saw last season which was a clear lack of being on the same page at some points.
Bev's coaching staff will be augmented by one more assistant. In addition a couple more support staff will be added including a player experience staff member (In Racing’s first season, there was a Director of Player Experience, Brynn Sebring.) All of this seems close to being announced.
Ryan Dell and Bev both shared that there were some player moves that hadn’t been announced yet. Expect a couple of those by week’s end by the sound of things.
I asked Ryan Dell what he thought of the draft as a “player acquisition mechanism” and he stated that he saw it as more of a piece of the entire player acquisition process rather tham necessarily the primary mechanism. He also shared that he didn't really like the expansion draft and that he had worked the phone tirelessly to try to avoid losing a player.
Here is what I wrote yesterday (slightly edited with tibbits from today).
The 2024 NWSL College Draft is scheduled to take place on January 12th. As it stands right now, Racing Louisville will have 5 picks (6, 15, 29, 42, and 48). Let’s do a quick comparison to the 2019 Draft/Season to illustrate the leagues growth.
In 2019, there were 36 picks in the four rounds. This year there will be 56.
In 2019, the number of NWSL players was roughly 230. This year it will be roughly 360.
In 2019, the number of opening day starters was 99. This year it will be 154.
Players are expected to report on January 22nd according to Dell. This means a six-week-ish window for the preseason. A trip south and to Europe are likely with the European trip possibly being available to stream as part of a tournament or tournament-like event.
All of those represent about a 55% increase. The good news that the jobs in this league went up by 55% in five years. I won’t call it bad news, but it does mean the overall quality of the league could take a downturn if the teams don’t manage their rosters correctly. The number of starters in 2024 (154) would have made up approximately two thirds of the entire league in 2019. Quick expansion will do that to a league. It will be interesting to see if we detect a drop in the quality of play this season. I don’t personally believe that it was noticeable to a tremendous degree in the last two seasons, but at some point, continued expansion will make it noticeable to the average fan.
I personally believe that the draft is quickly becoming outdated and that smart teams will begin to treat it as a 2-round, if not single round, endeavor. Racing continues to put in a good amount of effect and resources into the draft and Ryan Dell shared that Racing held what he believed to be the first ever “Pro Day” for what I understood to be later round prospects. I am of the opinion (backed up by my own analysis here) that there are very quickly accelerating diminishing returns after the first few picks in the draft. However, I want to make a clear distinction between the numberer “pick” and the value of the players selected with that pick. The numbered pick has intial value in terms of how much it is worth prior to being used (Dell shared that he too sees picks as a tradable/negotiable assets). Once that pick has been exercised, its value is now player and team specific. Historically, most of your starter-level talent is coming out of the first 15-20 picks. If you see a team signing their 3rd and 4th round draft picks, that’s probably a sign that there is a rough season ahead (or possibly in Racing’s case that their “Pro Day” or scouting worked out as they are not in need of tremendous upgrades other than goal scorers which are a very rare commodity).
One thing to remember is that in essence, a draft pick in this league is just the exclusive right to negotiate a contract for a limited time. In other sports/leagues that use a draft process, players often have fewer options, especially equal or better ones past the draft for which they are eligible. In the NWSL any player drafted can still play outside of the league and Europe is becoming more attractive (Mexico and Australia too). In the NFL/MLB/NBA/NHL dratfts, the pick often has a salary expectation associated with it. Especially in the NFL, draft picks slot into a salary structure based on the pick. Even if this happens to some degree in the NWSL, the salaries aren't high enough to make this a real negotiation point. (I specifically asked Dell about how much insight the team gets into other teams contracts. He stated that he doesn't directly get information but that player agents help in letting clubs know what the going rates are.) When you get to a 3rd or 4th round pick, there isn't much value in those picks as things stand.
The draft kind of stinks for some of those 3rd and 4th rounders. Instead of getting to choose where they might be the best fit for the end of the roster, they get stuck in Portland or San Diego or (God-forbid) Cary, North Carolina for a winter knowing that they probably don’t have a shot. In a year like this, a winter in Utah, San Jose, Seattle, or Chicago might be more worth their time. I personally think Gotham FC has the right idea. Get out of the draft with as few picks as possible.
With Racing's announced trade of Hillary Beall to the Wave for their 2nd rounder next year (I would project this being in the 23-28 range) I think you could infer that Racing sees some, but not tremendous value in the pick. I think a second-round pick for a backup keeper who is never likely to play for Racing is about right.
I really would like to see the draft cut down to a single round or maybe two. That would be 28 players, and I think history has shown that identifying the quality of a player after that is difficult in the current system (no combine, no real NFL-style draft industrial complex).
The other draft-related tidbit: I am still quite bitter that Racing didn’t take Trinity Rodman. The longer time ticks on the more I am convinced that they should have taken her. There is nothing I nor anyone else can do about that now, but it did make me develop my own personal hierarchy of needs for player acquisition when specific needs aren’t an issue.
Priority 1: Goal Scorer. This can be a pure striker or a winger, but you need someone to give you consistent goals. Goals are the most important things. Find someone who can score them or prevent them.
Priority 2: Central Defender. See above.
Priority 3: Attacking Midfielder. Creating goals is next to scoring goals.
Priority 4: Midfielder. Controlling possession is always better than not.
Priority 5: Attacking/Defending Winger. If you could score you would be in the Priority 1 category.
Priority 6: Utility Player. You will have injuries. This is an effective way to plug the holes.
Priority 7: Goalkeeper. Unless you have Katie Lund or some other alleged “top keeper” you should be able to find one outside of the draft.
While I have a rather mild disdain for the NWSL Draft itself, I have a tremendous disdain for what quickly follows, which is the draft analysis or draft grade content. Immediately after the draft is definitely too early to grade a team’s draft and I would say that one is probably much safer evaluating it 2 years down the line and taking into account the offseason as a whole. It is a symptom of one of society’s ills that people feel the need to evaluate something immediately when time, data and perspective will surely enhance that evaluation. Sometimes it’s in your best interest to work with limited data when speed of decision is key. However, I can’t imagine much of anything with lower stakes than the analysis of a team’s draft performance the day or week after it occurs. All that is going to tell you is how close the picks matched up to the evaluator’s inherit biases. Anyway, if you think it’s fun to read those, I guess I would say, “to each their own”, but I wouldn’t put too much if any stock in it.
Racing Expansion Draft Player Power Rankings
Courtesy USA Today Sports Images
There won’t be much to write about (hopefully?) on the Racing front until they make a coaching hire, and then it’s likely to be very light on news until the expansion draft. Like most other Racing fans, I have been keeping a mental list of which players I would protect in the upcoming expansion draft. Since the rules were released yesterday, we now know officially that Racing can protect 9 players (then a 10th after the first player is selected). I will share my list in a power rankings-style manner. Believe me when I say that my mental list has changed at the bottom to some degree, but I would say that 8 are pretty inarguable. I will provide a list of players that I believe merit consideration and then give my opinion.
No debate on inclusion or placement
Savannah DeMelo: She is number one on the list and I can’t imagine that there would be much debate, so I won’t bother making much of a case for her spot other than to say she has the longest signed contract with the team, and the team is obviously building around her.
Jaelin Howell: We all saw the impact of her missing a significant chunk of the playoff-push and the impact it had on things. She is signed through 2025, and is the club captain so there shouldn’t be much doubt that she only trails Sav in her importance to the organization.
Lauren Milliet: When Racing signed several new players to start the 2023 season and people were trying to predict what the starting XI would be I couldn’t believe the number of people who left her out of their top choice lists. That was my personal “tell me you don’t understand football without saying you don’t understand football” moment for the year. As Racing’s all-time appearance leader, this is a no-brainer. I understand if some might have her further down the list, but I would love to manage my “5 a side” team of Racing players vs. theirs any day.
No Debate on inclusion, some debate on placement
Ary Borges: For half a second, I thought about ranking her as high as 3. I spent longer thinking about moving her down to 5. Ultimately, she is comfortably entrenched at 4. It is plausible that depending on how the offseason goes, that she could find herself playing further forward next season. Her flexibility and still somewhat untapped potential make her a lock to be on the list.
Abby Erceg: Will be 34 when next season starts, and that is really the only thing keeping her out of the 4th spot and potentially 3rd. Was the clear team MVP in my opinion.
Carson Pickett: Would be ranked potentially higher if Björkegren could have figured out how to get her teammates to use her better. I think she could have an even better season next year if the players in front of her figure out how they should be tailoring their runs to her crosses.
Elli Pikkujämsä: I think she tends to be overlooked sometimes, but her flexibility makes her an invaluable addition to the team.
Katie Lund: Racing needs to stop having 4 goalkeepers under contract. There is nothing that makes me think that any keeper will ever see the light of day as long as Lund is #1. She is so far above the league average from a metrics perspective, that losing her would essentially destroy the season anyway so I don’t really understand why she can’t just have single backup on the roster (and a bunch of non-rostered backups on the speed dial). Only ranked this low because I am super biased against keepers. I wouldn’t protect a single other keeper in the league if I were in charge of their rosters (maybe Campbell). By the way, the USWNT keepers were league average or worse in goals added this season.
Tough call(s)
Kirsten Davis: This was a tough call, but I still think she has the potential to get better, and I started to see encouraging demonstrations that she gets some of the game’s finer nuances better than some of her teammates. I almost guarantee that she gets taken if let unprotected (and if I end up being wrong, I can’t wait to face the organizations that would pass on her).
Paige Monaghan: Was number nine on my mental list until the last quarter of the season. I think Davis outplayed her and I think it is slightly more likely that a team would look at her and be more likely to pick a different attacker.
Thembi Kgatlana: If I thought she fit better into Racing’s system and that her teammates understood how to make runs with her and be in her preferred target spots (she is never going to have enough space or time in this this league to dribble AND pick out a pass, so her teammates are going to have to be in the spots she instinctually passes to) I would rank her higher. Her (alleged) salary might scare off some people. She definitely could move higher depending on the coach, but I don’t think she fits in a pressing system. She is more effective in a counterattacking system at the moment.
Kayla Fischer: I think I would roll the dice and hope she flew under the radar enough for the two expansion teams not to pick her. If she does get taken, it wouldn’t be immediately damaging, but I have a feeling that Racing would ultimately regret it.
Who I think will be taken
Wang Shuang: (Bay FC) It makes too much sense. You can build a team around her. It would be much easier for her to manage her international travel from the Bay area compared to Louisville. It makes sense for both teams to get this done before the draft, but it could ultimately be left to draft day.
Paige Monaghan (Utah Royals): I hope I am wrong here, but I think they ultimately take a look at the roster and decide to take the best player available and decide that while Kgatlana is likely the better player, Monaghan is the better value.
Huge caveat: I don’t have any insight who might have a “no trade” clause, so ultimately this entire list could be thrown off by any player with said clause. I could imagine that Monaghan tried to negotiate one into her contract. It is also plausible that some of the international players have those in their contracts. I really don’t think any player would mind waiving that clause to be included in the draftable player pool, however. Time will tell.