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Racing 2 Dash 0 Post Match Thoughts
Courtesy Elizabeth Shaw
In the end Racing handily took care of business at home after a rather lackluster first 45 minutes. DeMelo continued her terrific run of form and a let off from Houston in the 86th minute meant that Louisville could see out the last 10 minutes with relative ease.
As I mentioned prior to the match, sometimes the international break can lead to slow starts. Racing was actually pretty good for the first 10-12 minutes, but the rest of the first half was a rather dismal showing from both sides. Houston never really looked dangerous, but Racing wasn’t very sharp either. Those 45 minutes will now be relegated to the dustbin of history never to be spoken of again.
Racing is starting to have a look of a team that believes it is going to have a chance to win matches if they can avoid mistakes. Louisville felt like they were in control for large sections of the second half and didn’t let DeMelo’s goal change their mindset. After the goal, the Dash had a few more attacks, but Racing had just as many and looked to be pushing to extend the lead as much as defending it. This was one of the few times that I felt that they got that delicate balance right and obviously they caught Houston napping to wrap up the match.
I classify each goal for my Goal Pie Chart page and usually it isn’t too difficult. For example, the Sears goal from the last match was pretty simply “with sustained possession”. The two goals in this match were a little more difficult to classify. On the first, Racing started the sequence with possession then lost it to Houston, but a Dash player immediately gave it away. From there Racing possessed it for a few seconds before Kanu’s shot was saved by Campbell. DeMelo was obviously in the right place at the right time to finish it off. Since Houston never had their defensive shape back from the sloppy turnover, I classified it as an “in transition” goal, but there could be an argument made for a sustained possession goal. On Goins’ goal I kind of wish I had a classification for “defense was asleep” because that was some really sloppy defending as Parker waved her hand to signal how open she was, and no Dash defender was within 5 yards of her. Racing was so bad at being at the back post last season maybe teams just make a conscious effort not to defend it. Regardless, you won’t see an easier back post header all season.
Uchenna Kanu changed the match. Turner slid over to a more central role with Bahr out wide in this match. Bahr wasn’t terrible, but she doesn’t offer what Kanu does on the outside at least offensively. Kanu is a much more free-flowing player which means that from time-to-time she will find herself out of position defensively. When Bahr plays out wide, she pretty much stays out wide. She didn’t have a single touch in the middle third or right side of the pitch. It was a cunning decision to sub her off at half because Kanu plays so differently. Houston never adjusted so kudos to Coach Yanez on that decision.
Racing 2 Dash 0 Player Ratings
After a rather tame first half Racing found its footing and pretty much cruised after DeMelo’s opener. It was a good 3 points and now it is time to keep the momentum going.
Lund-6: Her goal kicks and free kicks were poorer than usual, but she was solid in goal.
Pickett-7: Moved centrally as an inverted left back several times and was effective.
Erceg-7: As solid as ever.
Wright-7: Ditto for Arin.
Milliet-8: Racing brutalized Houston down Lo's side.
Flint-7: Played a key role in killing off the match.
DiGrande-7: It is going to be tough for Howell to push her out of the line up.
DeMelo-8: Another goal and an assist for the ultra in-form midfielder.
Turner-6: Not nearly as involved as Racing attacked more effectively down the opposite side.
Bahr-6: Not nearly involved enough so she was subbed for Kanu at half.
Sears-7: Proved herself menacing again.
Kanu-7: She changed the match.
Goins-7: Finished off her header nicely.
Racing v Dash Pre Match Thoughts
Courtesy Amber Lynch
Racing is back in action after an international break and play 6 matches in 31 days before taking an extended break this summer for our quadrennial collective ignoring of human rights abuses in order to celebrate sporting achievement. As for Houston (a hellscape of a different type in the summer), the city gives us the Dash who are marginally in the playoff picture with a recent uptick in form. This is the type of match that Racing has faced at this point of the season in the past where there is momentum to be sustained, but the team has never quite taken full advantage of the opportunity to put a really dominating stretch together. This season could be different, but it would likely take some much-needed returns of some key players. For pretty much all of the absentees, I am in the “believe it when I see it” camp when it comes to their availability and effectiveness.
The good news for Racing is that their most important player is in form at the moment, and that always increases your chances of winning. I always look at the first 15 minutes of a match after the international break as a chance to catch your opponent napping. Training is no match for game time and sometimes teams come out a little flat. Racing has been bitten by that bug in the past, but I think Coach Yanez has done a good job of getting the team ready to play from the first minute this season.
Despite the absences, I think Racing has somewhat settled into their temporary best XI. Flint has made the deepest midfield role hers and if/when Howell is fit, she might find herself playing further forward. There is absolutely no reason to swap Sears back out regardless of who else is available, so I think Bahr could really do herself some good by scoring a goal or two before Borges and KW are fit.
As the temperature increases, I have to think that it would be prudent to use Ellie Jean a bit more. She is capable at multiple positions, and I don’t want to see another season where the left back and right back are playing 90 minute matches all summer. Pokorny is nominally an option there too if Racing find themselves trailing. The fact is that Racing is shorthanded in defense, so a short-term signing isn’t out of the realm of possibility either.
Red Stars 0 Racing 1 Post Match Thoughts
Courtesy USA Today Sports Images
Sorry for the slight delay due to technical difficulties
Racing was able to enforce its will for the most part on Saturday evening and came away with all 3 points. On the night, Chicago proved to be the perfect opponent for Louisville to demonstrate the best version of themselves.
Sears did it again, and I think you have to say that she is Racing’s chief goal-scoring threat at the moment. I was excited to see her get minutes pretty much the moment I saw her in training camp. However, I don't think anyone forsaw her being this reliable this early. Being still so early this could just be a good run of form, but I don't think so. Racing's opponents will surely start to game plan more around her. She doesn’t restrict herself to strictly wing positions on the pitch and I personally think that someday she could become this team’s number 9. Nobody seems to favor a 4-4-2 anymore but I think she would be extra special in that formation. Hopefully she will be as good as she has been in whatever position she plays.
Racing looked good against Chicago, but I couldn't believe how much space the Red Stars were giving them especially in the first half. I wouldn't expect many other teams to willingly concede as much possession as Chicago did. I thought Chicago were poor and Racing surely forced some but not all of it.
DeMelo has had 3 really good matches in a row and even though she didn’t score I thought this one was even better than her last two. She did find herself in more space than she is used to, but I thought her on the ball decision making was much quicker and she seemed to make the right decision 80-90% of the time. It will be a shame if the international break disrupts her newly recovered form and rhythm.
Lund and the defense had a much easier time of it this week, but Katie was called into action a few times and had to be ready when she was. Chicago rarely plays like a team that is going to break you down offensively, so you must be ready for the quick strikes and Racing was.
Red Stars 0 Racing 1 Player Ratings
First: One-nil to the Racing! The team has to be extremely pleased with that performance. After the break they will look to extend their momentum.
Lund-7: Had a fantastic save in the 83rd minute after not having much to do prior to that.
Pickett-8: Other than playing Hocking onside unnecessarily in the 1st half had a pretty flawless match.
Erceg-8: As good as she typically is.
Wright-8: She had an excellent last ditch block on Hocking.
Milliet-8: Much better than her last couple of performances.
Flint-8: So good that is it now expected and she didn't disappoint.
DiGrande-7: Probably the quietest performance but good nonetheless.
DeMelo-9: Bossed it. She had about the best match you can have without a goal contribution.
Fischer-8: Sprightly! It was one of her best performances this season.
Sears-8: She was so composed on her goal and it was a deserved match winner.
Bahr-6: Had her best match since the opener.
Red Stars v Racing Pre Match Thoughts
Courtesy USA Today Sports Images
Racing look to extend some of momentum they gained with a last gasp point in Kansas City this Saturday in Chicago. The schedule will start to ease up after this match to some degree, but there are no easy matches in the NWSL. Racing will look to kick start a run of points with a good result against the Red Stars.
Both Chicago and Louisville are comfortable playing without the ball, but the Red Stars are REALLY comfortable conceding possession to their opponents. They have a league low 41.1% possession rate, which is sometimes indicative of getting early leads. However, in the Red Stars case they have scored first in only 4 of their matches. They did go on to win all of those (the Spirit, Thorns and Royals also have perfect records when scoring first). The Red Stars have also clawed out 4 points when they haven’t scored first which also puts them slightly above the league average. Their 16 points so far this season has them in a fairly comfortable playoff position. The less said about Racing’s numbers when scoring first the better. Racing also hasn’t won a point when conceding first (the two times is have happened).
Racing still has a bit of an injury problem, but I never like that as an excuse. Jae Howell was being evaluated at practice today, but the safe bet is that she will be listed on the injury report and won’t play. Until last season Howell had never dealt with what she considered to be a very serious injury. I think (but don’t know for sure) that her current issues probably extend back to last season’s injury. This is really starting to concern me. At the beginning of the season, I was glad that Racing brought in some midfield depth this season precisely because I was concerned about Jae’s availability. At no point do I feel like Jae has been rushed back too soon, but only she knows for sure. Regardless, this team needs to figure out how to play without her for extended periods of time because that has simply been the reality since last fall.
The duo of Wright and Erceg will likely need to be extra aware of Chicago’s counter attacking ability. Wright might have some inside info on how to play against Swanson, Hocking, and Schlegel who have 10 goals among them in this campaign. I really look forward to matches where neither team is particularly adept at maintaining possession because I think those matches tend to be pretty open as long as the scoreline is level. Houston and Louisville played an entertaining match earlier this season under similar circumstances and even though it ended 0-0 it was entertaining and full of chances.
Coach Yanez mentioned the dreaded “peaking” concept again in practice today. I don’t have much more patience for more non-peak performance. I am not a huge fan of quotes and proverbs, but this one resonates with me: The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is today. I will steal this and propose: The optimal time to be playing your best football is always. This next best option is starting now. Time has almost run out to drop any more points and have a realistic shot at the playoffs. I also tend to think that setting a target to make the playoffs is aiming low. The “top four” should now be the bare minimum goal for every team in this league.
Current 3 Racing 3 Post Match Thoughts
Courtesy USA Today Sports Images
The narrative of this match would have been much different if Savannah DeMelo had not scored a very, very late equalizer. Now Racing needs to kick on and make it mean something.
The most encouraging part about last night was how Racing hung in and got a point against a lead-leading team that played a really solid match. Kansas City pressed hard to get all 3 points and Racing just wouldn't let them have them without a fight. This is definitely a point won and earned.
I can't overstate the importance of Savannah DeMelo playing up to her abilities, especially with the roster being so thin. There are absolutely things that drive me nuts sometimes about how she plays, but those are often the things that when she gets them right make her the player she is. She is a self-indentfied dribbler, and sometimes she over dribbles. However, she used this tendency to absolutely grab the game and snatch it away from the Current. This team will go as far as she carries them. That is a heavy burden, and we will see how long she can continue to carry it.
The defensive line is in danger of playing too many minutes. Racing cannot go through another season without rotating just a little bit at left back and right rack. Milliet has had a couple of sub par matches in a row and Pickett doesn't need to play every minute either. It's hard to make a defensive sub when you are trailing, so sometimes I think you just need to have a plan to do so regardless of score.
Sears put in her 2nd 90 minutes in a row and looked none the worse for wear. I think she may have secured her starting spot. Personally, I haven't seen enough from Bahr to think that Wright just doesn't walk straight into the team once fit. Racing played a player short in their squad due to a late scratch of Motlhalo. This is at least the second time this season that Racing fielded a short bench. I believe that they were both on the road, which can happen from time to time. However, with Pikkujämsä out for the season Racing probably do need to sign another player.
After the trip to Chicago, Racing has a run of matches with teams that are currently out of the top six. That should be a prime opportunity to close the gap that still exists between Racing and the playoff positions.
Current 3 Racing 3 Player Ratings
I’m not quite sure why the match was still going, but Racing get a late equalizer. Racing should count themselves lucky, but sometimes you would rather be lucky than good. Regardless, it's a fantastic point.
Lund-6: Got close on the penalty. I thought it was better from her.
Pickett-6: Struggled a bit defensively but was good in attack as always getting an assist.
Erceg-7: Not sure if her goal will stand to strict scrutiny but got the contact that caused it.
Wright-7: Solid effort from Arin.
Milliet-5: Lost possession in a dangerous position for the Current's 2nd and the 3rd deflected off of her.
Flint-7: Looked bound and determined to get a yellow and got one.
DiGrande-6: Does well as a backup, but Racing misses Howell.
DeMelo-7: Scored a classy equalizer at the death.
Fischer-5: Got caught on the ball for the penalty though it may not have been completely her fault.
Sears-7: There is absolutely no way she meant that goal but won’t care.
Bahr-5: I think it's time to ask why she is an automatic starter.
Turner-6: Produced a fine effort that Franch needed to save.
Current v Racing Pre Match Thoughts
Courtesy USA Sports Images
Louisville and Kansas City meet on Saturday evening with a 13-point gulf between them. The Current are at the top of the league and Racing finds itself in a familiar spot near the bottom of the table. This trip is an opportunity for Racing to turn heads or reinforce their league reputation as an also-ran.
For me, Kansas City’s performance this year encapsulates the most frustrating part of my four years of Racing fandom. The Current have seemed to turn things around in a rapid fashion. There is definitely an argument to be made that the Current way underperformed last year, and that hiring a big-name coach sped along their progress. That doesn’t necessarily make me feel any better about where Racing sit at this moment in time. I asked Bekki to pose the question on the latest Butchertown Rundown episode to assess where Tom and Kaitlyn (but unfortunately, we didn’t get to hear Bekki’s own take) stood on the scale of “Trust the Process” vs. “Law of Holes” scale. I would categorize their attitude as mostly in the “Trust the Process” category and I would have to agree with that for the most part. The concerning part for me was that the concept even popped into my head and neither Bekki, nor Kaitlyn, nor Tom thought it ridiculous enough to dismiss from the outset. I think Bev is doing a fine job. I think the attitude of the players is upbeat and correctly so. The piece that bothers me it that maybe I don’t have realistic expectations.
Frequent and long-term visitors to this site know where my soccer fandom was born and where my deepest loyalties lie. I am not going to rehash any of that, but it did get me thinking “this is what it must be like to be a Crystal Palace fan.” That club has a long, but not necessarily successful history. Their most recent teams have been prone to moments of absolute brilliance and have featured some very, very good players, but they never are consistently what I would classify as “good”. No sane person without of some kind of connection to South London would ever think it was a good idea to be a Palace supporter. Therefore, their club is characterized by fiercely loyal, but long-suffering fans who are mostly from South London. It you asked me to summarize what I thought their club identity was in a single sentence I would say this: It is a club that can be dangerous on their best day, but they are hardly ever going to threaten to win any kind of major trophy.
I don’t want that to become the identity of this club. However, lacking any other option, I would have to say that through what I have seen so far, my assessment of Crystal Palace kind of sums up this team too. Honestly, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I will gladly attend every home game and write about every match they participate in. I just can’t imagine any scenario in the near future where this team wins a major honor. I hope someday very soon they prove me wrong. For me, proximity is the main reason I support this club. They really haven’t given me any other one yet.
With that huge bummer out of the way, I do have to say that the attitudes of the players and coaches in this club couldn’t be better, at least in public or in the media. They have had a rough start to the season that was somewhat masked by an undefeated run but have kept a positive attitude. However, this isn’t the Disney Channel, so that doesn’t always work. Another minor bummer…the team just can’t seem to get healthy. The news is as good as it can be on Borges, but even if an optimistic June timetable works out for her, she would likely head off to the Olympics with no real chance to find her form. Davis is participating in practice, but I do not believe she is near contact yet. Once she is fully fit, it will probably take at least a month for her to find some form. Coach Yanez has definitely not been dealt the best hand when it comes to injuries. In Racing Louisville’s pre-match media today, Bev shared this on the squad depth when I asked her if we had seen her best XI: “You have to have belief in the whole group because opportunities will present themselves and you need the confidence of those players to be able to step in and execute.” I think the squad has shown its depth and there really hasn’t been a huge drop-off. Maybe the results point to the tiniest bit of drop in quality (or the realization that you would have gotten a similar result with everyone available.)
I will stick with the bummer theme to hopefully get it out of my system. I am not a fan of the “peak at the right time mentality”. It implies to me that non-peak performance is acceptable at points. I think Racing missed huge opportunities at the beginning of the season to pad their point total. One would much rather experience a dip in form with some padding in the table when it comes to placement and points. Unfortunately, Racing didn’t take full advantage when they got leads and now the table is rather daunting. The playoffs are always going to be a crapshoot (Gotham had dreadful pre-playoff from last season) and 3 points in the first match count just the same as 3 points in the final match. Louisville might have dug themselves an early season hole too deep to escape. The good news is that there is still time to turn things around.
Let me say this about the mentality of “peaking”. I think it’s soft. I prefer the mentality of “constant and continuing excellence.” I realize the nobody starts there, but it’s the mentality that the top clubs in the world have. They can recover from dips in form because the can mentally picture success either through their own experiences or through the club’s history. The odd thing is that I would classify Lou City as having a true winner’s mentality. There are people in the combined Soccer Holdings group that clearly have it. I just wish they could bottle it and donate some of it to Racing. I hold out hope that Racing gets there, but as I frequently attest, I just haven’t seen evidence of it yet.
Racing 1 Spirit 2 Post Match Thoughts
Courtesy USA Today Sports Images
While Racing fought hard in the second half to try to find an equalizer, the early mistakes doomed them and now there should be a real urgency to turn things around. The overall health of the team is concerning to me, but the players who are fit should be doing more to get results.
For the first time this season, I think Bev got things wrong. Coach Björkegren was constantly criticized (although not necessarily by me) for sticking too long with his starters. I think at least one of the following things are true: 1) while Racing are putting 9 players on the bench, not all of them are actually ready to go into a match, 2) Bev got caught up in the momentum of Racing’s first 15 of the second half and couldn't bring herself to pull some of the starters for subs, and/or 3) she made the correct decision to leave on the players she did, but it wasn't enough. I would have wagered heavily that there was no way that Howell or Clegg were getting on the pitch on Friday. After the match when she was asked about Kanu, she deflected the question to basically say that she was happy with the players on the pitch. I believe Pickett and Sears were gassed by the 85th minute and subbing in either Kanu or Goins for Sears and Pokorny for Pickett would have been prudent. Let's just say that in my opinion transparency with the media isn't one of Bev's top concerns, so oftentimes we are left to speculate on things. Personally, I think she got too caught up in the match and missed her window for subs. After the 80th minute passes, you start to worry if the subs you make can get up to match speed quickly enough to make a difference. I am starting to get a rather unpleasant feeling of déjà vu in that while there are nominally 20 players on the matchday squad, the number who are healthy AND trusted is much lower. Björkegren ran last year’s team into the ground by August because he didn’t trust his squad. At this rate, I think we could see a repeat if some players don't get back to full fitness soon.
Missed penalty aside, this was DeMelo’s most complete game in a long while. She was everywhere on the pitch, especially in the 2nd half. We all know that she is an excellent free kick taker, so seeing one go close and another go in shouldn't have surprised anyone. For me it was her on the ball movement that seemed to be back to her early season form from last season. She looked confident and controlled. Now, she is never going to be my top choice to take penalties. Her penalty in this match was pretty poor and it isn't the first time she has taken a bad one. Unfortunately, I don't have a suggestion for who should take over, and that is the real problem. If I am being honest, I thought the penalty was soft, so I won't dwell on the miss too much.
Lund has had some nervy moments and questionable decisions this year. Additionally, she has gone down for treatment at least of couple of times in matches. Whether it is a physical or mental issue with her, she definitely hasn’t been at the top of her game. She wasn’t at fault for the first goal and made a fine save just before the second one, but could have done better on the ball that Milliet inadvertently put in. She had a bizarre miskick in the first half that she just got away with, and she made a frankly terrible pass to Erceg in 2nd half stoppage time that I am still not sure why Ratcliffe didn’t at least attempt to put the ball into the empty net. Lund’s reputation is that she is supposed to be good with her feet, but this season she has over relied on them, and they have oftentimes let her down. Racing’s margin of error for victory isn’t big enough to overcome too many goalkeeping mistakes.
Speaking of mistakes, this match reminded me of error-prone days that I had hoped had passed. Off the top of my head, you had 2 bad touches from Lund, an own goal from Milliet, a missed penalty for DeMelo, but maybe the most egregious one was not marking Bethune on the corner from which she scored. DeMelo tried to close he down, but there is no way she should have been given that much space to begin with. DeMelo did better marking her on the next corner, but it makes me wonder if it was a missed assignment on the first one.
Racing 1 Spirit 2 Player Ratings
Racing dug itself too big of a hole but fought galantly. It's hard to fault the effort but there were too many early mistakes.
Lund-5: Looks to be a bit off her game if I am to be completely honest.
Pickett-6: As always good going forward.
Erceg-6: A decent effort from the captain.
Wright-6: Continues to grow into the team.
Milliet-5: Not her best match, but the own goal was only partially her fault.
Flint-7: Helped Racing control large sections of the match.
DiGrande-6: Had a decent effort on goal.
Fischer-6: Had an interesting game as a winger.
DeMelo-8: She had her second really good performance in a row, but has to get her penalty conversion percentage up.
Bahr-7: Getting more involved in attack.
Sears-8: Put in her first 90 minutes and was really quite excellent.
Racing v Spirit Pre Match Thoughts
Photo Courtesy of David Mucker
The Washington Spirit (donning their stupid and pointless kits) return to Lynn Family stadium to face Racing on Friday evening. The Spirit are almost always good value for the money and play in entertaining football matches. After beating Racing 3 out of 4 times in Louisville’s first season (with a memorable win from Racing on Ekic's super strike thrown in) there has been nothing to separate the teams. The script has typically been the Spirit starting strong and Racing fighting back to equalize (with the sole exception of a Nadim opener canceled out by a Hatch equalizer). The moral of the story is that you are never really out of match when facing Washington.
The Spirit this season are kind of the anti-Racing. They have zero draws and score more and concede more than Racing. I like their attitude of “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead”. This philosophy has put Washington in the top 4 so far. Racing, to me at least, tend to go with a “safety first” approach, especially when they get a lead. Both teams are coming off of a loss, so both will be looking to avoid a second straight one. It will be interesting to see how each team approaches the first 10 to 15 minutes in this match.
Howell and DeMelo could be available, but we likely won't know for sure until the lineups are announced. Borges seems further away from returning. For the first time in a while, I find myself struggling to pick out Racing’s best XI, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, some of that is down to not being able to evaluate players and connections due to injuries. I have a hunch that it is going to be “one of those years” where each match will have a key player or two who are unavailable (this is above and beyond Elli P's SEI). Racing's depth has held up so far, but I don't think anyone wants to see it stretched further.
In her media availability on Wednesday, Bev talked about not dwelling on the loss or going down “a very dark rabbit hole” to analyze what exactly went wrong. In my opinion, one of Bev's key strengths is maintaining a positive attitude. Let's hope that translates to the players. Historically, Racing is prone to long bouts of malaise when the results start to not go their way. Friday will be a good test for her and the team.
Orlando 1 Racing 0 Post Match Thoughts
Courtesy USA Today Sports Images
Racing were bound to have a game like this sooner or later. If I am being honest, I have to say that overall, I came out of Sunday's match more impressed with Orlando's performance versus disappointed in Louisville’s. That being said, there are definitely a few talking points to hit on from a Racing perspective.
We all knew that sooner or later Racing’s streak of never trailing would come to an end. If I had to grade their response, I think I would give it a solid C. They didn't panic for sure and stuck to game plan. On the other hand, there didn't see to be any real sense of urgency to turn things around either. I definitely didn't see anything that conjured images of “running through a brick wall.” That's honestly fine at this point in the season. This team is on a journey but it's way too early to tell if it is a destination towards the playoffs or another road to nowhere.
We are 7 matches into the season now which means I will be writing my “1st quarter of the season” review this week. I expect to have more to say there, but so far I would say that their has been marginal improvement in the club. It might take a full season with Bev at the helm to reap the results of any real change. There will be more to come on this.
It think the impact of Racing missing both DeMelo and Howell really showed in this match. Fischer and DiGrande were fine individually, but the added loss of Borges meant that the connections just weren't there. Who knows if the result would have been different, but their absences were crystal clear.
Sears for all of her strengths isn't quite ready to put in 60 or 70 minutes of defending. I like her as a number 9 who would have less defensive responsibilities. Bahr isn't getting enough touches, so I wonder if something different up front might be a wise idea. When Kirsten Wright is fully fit, I think she goes right back into the 9 slot.
Emily Sams will always kind of be the one that got away for Racing. She was excellent for Orlando and was the player of the match in my opinion.
Pride 1 Racing 0 Player Ratings
Orlando jumped out fairly early and Racing never really looked like they were going to get the equalizer. All in all, you would have to say that Orlando was clearly the superior team on the night.
Lund-7: Kept Racing in the match with some fine saves.
Pickett-7: Delivered some of Racing's best opportunities from corners in the first half.
Erceg-7: Took the sting out of Banta's shot to keep it 1-0.
Wright-6: Tried some longer attacking passes with mixed results.
Milliet-6: Didn't really connect with Sears who was surely a last minute replacement.
DiGrande-7: Subbed in well for Howell.
Flint-6: Would like to see her touch improve in matches like this.
Fischer-6: Had a decent effort on goal saved.
Kanu-6: Was a little bit off her game in this match.
Bahr-6: Didn't have many chances, but did have Louisville’s best chance in the second half.
Sears-6: Was just okay in her first start, but her touch when receiving the ball needs to be better.
Orlando v Racing Pre Match Thoughts
Courtesy Chris Humphrey
Racing’s all-time record is now 17W-29D-28L. For the first time since Racing drew in its inaugural NWSL league match the club has more draws than losses in its overall league historical record. Congratulations, I guess. This year’s vintage of Racing Louisville is still in the unique (but not as helpful as it could have been) situation of never having trailed this season. If Racing are going to stay in the playoff hunt this season, they will surely need to top their best ever return of 6 league wins last season. That means that they will likely need a win percentage of at least 30% in their remaining matches. That doesn’t seem like an impossible or even improbable hill to climb, but they would have to demonstrate form better than any other Racing squad has ever consistently shown. I am a big believer in “form”. Put more mathematically, I would never expect (but also never rule out) a run of data in a time series to which I hadn’t witnessed a similar pattern before. However, I would say that winning at least 6 more matches is about equally likely to happen as to not happen. It’s still early in the season but based on what I have seen so far, I wouldn’t rule out a playoff run but I also wouldn’t plan on one yet either.
Speaking of plans, I get the sense from talking to Bev Yanez over the last few months that she doesn’t necessarily like to “plan” for adversity. I asked her on Wednesday, if she was “anxious” to see how the team responded when they inevitably trail in a match at some point. She flipped her answer on me and said that she focused on putting the team in positions to not be trailing. She likes the positive “mindset” by asking players to be “brave” when they go into matches. Let’s be frank here. Racing hasn’t really faced any real adversity this season. They sure have faced disappointment a few times, but that is different than adversity. The problem is that when you don’t face adversity, sometimes you mistake disappointment for adversity. I think there is a clear difference in mentality between “holding on” to a lead and “fighting back” to equalize or even overtake an opponent. Whether you like it or not, you build memory based on your experiences. Racing definitely has quite a bit of collective memory built up around not holding on to leads. In their history they really only have a small number of instances of fighting back to win from behind. I’m not saying they can’t do it and if somehow, they go through a continued stretch never trailing, I would put my money on getting more wins. At some point they will fall behind, and if 0-0 is the scoreline where you see the team’s true style, 0-1 is the scoreline where you first start to see their true mentality.
I believe that there is a pretty good chance that neither DeMelo nor Howell play on Sunday in Orlando. Luckily Racing has the depth to overcome this. I have to think DeMelo is closer to returning than Howell. Howell’s removal seemed semi-precautionary, but repeated leg muscle injuries are hard to manage. I have full confidence in DiGrande and maybe just slightly less confidence in Fischer, but she is certainly capable of slotting in for DeMelo on a good day. Dropping Borges into midfield is an option too. A less experienced bench means we could see more minutes for Motlhalo.
Gotham 1 Racing 1 Post Match Thoughts
Courtesy USA Today Sports Images
I very much want to write the post where I declare that Racing is in the upper echelon of the league now. I thought I might get to write that post for a grand total of 2 minutes yesterday. The way that Racing set up in the match was nearly perfect. It was the ideal “snatch and grab” scenario (although Racing really wasn’t outplayed at all). They snatched it, but the grab was beyond them.
I feel like the art of goalkeeping is evolving. For the tops teams in the top men’s leagues in the world, it is almost quaint to think of the goalkeeper’s role as that of a shot stopper. They frequently are involved in build-up play and are becoming more part of the proactive effort on defense rather than the last line of it. A huge part of that is grabbing dangerous passes out of the air, before they become a problem. The key to this skill is to do it with 100% conviction. I’ve rewatched the botched grab from Katie Lund several times, and while it may be harsh to put all of the blame on her for not catching it, once you decide to go for it and don’t get it I feel like you have to take the blame whether you merit all of it or not. In real time it looked like one she should have grabbed. After rewatching it, maybe Wright got in her way a bit. Ultimately, the correct decision there may have been not to go after the ball since Wright seemed to be in a good position. We don’t know what the communication was, and I really don’t care to dwell on it by trying to find out later. Either way, it resulted in two points dropped and I still wait to write the piece that says maybe this team has learned their lesson because obviously they haven’t.
What does this team need to do with Emma Sears? I can’t quite decide if she is so effective because she is used as a sub or would be just as good if she started from the first whistle. She is so good at running at the defenders when they are tired, but could she be used just as effectively to make them tired? Luckily it isn’t a question that is yearning for an immediate answer. I will tell you one thing…I wish she would have signed a 3-year contract instead of a 2-year one. That run was other-worldly. Turner’s name is on the scoresheet and her finish was delightful, but it was made by Sears.
DeMelo left Sunday’s game (although not immediately) with a head injury. She is being assessed in New Jersey before returning home. It appeared that she went through some kind of head injury evaluation on the pitch before deciding that she couldn’t continue on. Sometimes head injuries are difficult to assess right way, so Sav showed real maturity by not just continuing on because she was cleared. Jae Howell also left the match early and Bev stated in her post-match press conference that the team is being cautious with her calves. Based on how the team managed her at the tail end of last season and the beginning of this one, I would expect her to miss some time (but that is just based on past observation and not any real information). Luckily, Racing has some midfield bench strength and Borges could be moved back into midfield for a bit if needed.
Zoomed in, this definitely feels like 2 points dropped, but zoomed out I don’t really think at point at Gotham is a bad result. Racing still has never trailed this season. The most frustrating part is that it seems like the Soccer gods make Racing work and earn their goals and gift goals to the other teams through mistakes. It seems that way but in reality, there is plenty of evidence in Racing’s history that simply points to the fact that they just aren’t good playing with a lead.
I hate the amount of stoppage time that is given in these matches. There were more than 17 minutes in yesterday’s match when you take both halves. The quality and intensity of play in second half stoppage time was vastly different from the rest of the match. I personally think Racing’s plan yesterday worked to a tee. They essentially shortened the match to a 10-minute period. It’s just too bad that the late goal wasn’t late enough.
Gotham 1 Racing 1 Player Ratings
The game really only came to life in stoppage time. This is one that Racing really should have won “smash and grab” style but a point isn't a bad result.
Lund-4: Have to grab that ball.
Pickett/Erceg/Wright/Milliet-8: All four defenders put in an excellent performance worthy of 3 points
Flint-7: She was the only starting midfielder to make it to the end of the match. Put in another really good shift.
Howell-6: Went off early with what appeared to be a lower leg problem.
DeMelo-6: Left with what may have been concussion-like symptoms. Prior to that did a decent job holding up possession.
Kanu-6: Missed a big chance to put Racing ahead.
Borges-6: Still getting up to speed.
Bahr-5: Wasn't involved much.
Sears-8: Changed the match. Her run on the goal was world class.
Turner-8: Found herself in the right place to score.
DiGrande-6: Subbed well for Howell.
Gotham v Racing Pre Match Thoughts
Coming off its first win of the season, Racing looks to keep the momentum going against Gotham in New Jersey on Sunday. It is way too early to be looking at the NWSL table, so keeping focus on the upcoming opponent should be the team's only concern. Racing put in an excellent performance on Saturday put not a perfect one, so there is still room for growth.
I thought it was pertinent to give Bev’s full answer when I asked her about the moments where the team switches off like the end of the half against Utah: “I think it's unrealistic to say that there won't be moments like that. No team is perfect, it just doesn't exist. No person is perfect. We all wish it, but it's not the case. I think for us when those moments occur (we ask) is it just one line? Is it one player or two players, but not the third the 4th the 5th? It's how quickly we can stop it because at the end of the day everybody's executing to their ability and for the right reasons. They're trying to make the right decision in the moment. It just can't be a domino effect, or a trickle effect. (It’s about) how quickly can we recognize that it wasn't the right decision, and we all have to go stop it.” I think you could easily argue that the overwhelming majority of goals can be traced back to a mistake by the other team at some point. Bev’s suggests that mentality is the key here and I agree.
For as well as Racing played on Saturday versus Utah, Gotham is an entirely different opponent. They haven’t played consistently well yet, but proved last season that their form can turn on a dime (good or bad). Gotham thoroughly outplayed Racing in Columbia and if Racing put in a similar performance to that one, it will be a long Sunday afternoon in New Jersey. However, Gotham are at the bottom of the league when it comes to goals/match (.5) and FotMob’s ratings of their performances puts them near the bottom too. Racing needs to capitalize on Gotham’s lack of form before they get any momentum.
This is the point of the season where I start to track performance based on which team scored first. I like to put together a chart that places team on an X axis and Y axis that contrasts the number of points that they get when they score first and the number when the other team scores first. I can’t do that yet this season, because Racing has yet to trail at all this season. The team has played 450 minutes without trailing in a match. They are the only team in the league that hasn’t trailed in a match. That is a fairly decent accomplishment.
As a team Racing is getting healthier, but one player did miss Thursday’s practice with a “head cold”. It isn’t a major concern.
The team will be making a “quick trip” to New Jersey. They will fly out on Saturday and are scheduled to return Monday morning. A direct flight to Newark makes this one of the easier road trips.
Racing 5 Royals 1 Post Match Thoughts
Courtesy Elizabeth Shaw
Racing put in its most complete performance on Saturday and ultimately cruised to a 5-1 victory over the short-handed and frankly over-matched Utah Royals. It was the sign of a superior team taking care of business, which is something that should never be taken for granted in the unpredictable NWSL.
It was clear how much the victory meant to the players and the coaches, and to celebrate it in front of a record crowd made it extra special. If you could bottle a feeling and an experience in order to reproduce it on demand, I believe you could do a lot worse than picking yesterday’s match. Now, comes the grind. I think if Racing have gotten over the proverbial “hump”, now is the time to show that they know how to grind out results when they need to do so. I think it would be foolish to expect Racing to head to Gotham and pull off another 4-goal victory. However, getting all 3 points isn’t beyond them and shouldn’t be beyond them in any upcoming match. The importance of this match was getting the victory to prove that is could be done. Hopefully the mental hurdles are cleared and now the focus to turn completely to replicating good performances.
While this was Racing’s best performance, it certainly wasn’t perfect. Sometimes coaches have to dig deep for coachable moments in victories, but I don’t think that is the case here. I have been really pleased with Uchenna Kanu’s performance so far this season, and she had another good game yesterday. However, she switched off for a moment when the match approached halftime and it cost Racing a goal in my opinion. The Royals had just won possession back and Kanu wasn’t tremendously out of position, but her slight hesitation to track back to help Pickett on the left side meant that Carson was isolated when the ball was played to Utah’s right side. Pickett was left deciding which player to cover and she slipped when trying to cover both. A fine finish from Griffitts meant that Racing went into halftime at 1-1. It shows that you can’t shut off even for a moment if you want to win in this league. Fortunately Racing showed its class, and this moment became a footnote rather than the story. It is still a moment that is coachable, and I expect that next time Uche will be where she needs to be.
DeMelo finished her best game in a long time as Racing’s all-time leading scorer. I think that this match was a good reminder of her best quality which in my opinion is being in the right place at the right time. She is still trying to do too much in my opinion, but by scoring her first goal in a while and seeing new names on the score sheet maybe she can get back to her very best. She was excellent in the second half after having a rather pedestrian first half. Perhaps the biggest sign of her continued maturity was avoiding a second yellow after Encarnación gave her a final talking to. After that final warning she played in a more controlled manner and scored twice. I think there is a lesson in that more measured performance.
It will be interesting to see how Bev uses Turner and Sears going forward. I liked the double substitution of the rookies with the score level and with the opponent being Utah. I’m not sure how that would go in the same situation with say the score level and Racing on the road against North Carolina. I think Bev likely wouldn’t play it any differently, as coaches tend to like to show faith in their players. Being more of a pragmatist, I think I would go with the substitution of DiGrande a bit earlier on the road. In fact, I think on the road I would have gone with Baggett over Goins or Motlhalo on the bench. The good news is that Bev has actual decisions to make versus having no real options.
Goals make matches fun and all four goals from open play had something to like about them. I think Sears’ goal was my favorite, but the mirror image goals from Kanu and Turner aren’t that far behind. Pickett and Milliet both had excellent matches, so it was good to see them rewarded with assists. Lo was so close to scoring herself, and if that one would have gone in, it would have been the best of the bunch. The Milliet/Wright combination was the most frequent passing combination for Racing in the match. It’s good to see the right side of defense gelling as much as the left side.
Racing 5 Royals 1 Player Ratings
Photo Courtesy of NWSL
Racing ended up winning comfortably and hopefully this is the start of better things to come. Utah was overwhelmed in the 2nd half, but Racing was the impetus for it.
Lund-7: Made some solid saves and her defense let her down on the goal she allowed.
Pickett-8: The outer backs ended up with bookends assists. It's hard to pick which was better.
Erceg-8: Commanding at the back.
Wright-8: Made some key interceptions and looks to be back to her best.
Milliet-8: Unlucky not to score to go with her assist.
Howell-8: Jae and Taylor kept Utah penned in well.
Flint-8: Keeps improving and the Racing midfield looks really solid now.
DeMelo-8: It was her best match in a while, so hopefully this kickstarts a good run of form.
Kanu-8: Scored on a beautiful header. Her improvement has been so important.
Bahr-7: Her shot led to the first DeMelo goal.
Borges-7: Looked really solid in her first start.
Bonus: Turner/Sears-7: Nice goals from the rookies.