SEATTLE — Reilyn Turner’s goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time saved a 1-1 draw for 10-player Racing Louisville against the Seattle Reign on Sunday afternoon at Lumen Field.
The tie kept Racing Louisville in eighth place and playoff position, a point ahead of San Diego, Angel City and Bay in the NWSL standings. Coach Bev Yanez’s team pulled back the late goal despite playing 80-plus minutes down a player after Arin Wright’s red card in the ninth minute and Bethany Balcer converting Seattle's ensuing penalty shot in the 10th minute. The Louisville side also was without star midfielder Taylor Flint, who exited the match just before halftime with an apparent head injury.
“Going down early in that moment, the group's resiliency and ability to adjust to the scenario, the ability to put the mentality at the forefront, be very committed and believe that we can stay in this game, I'm very proud of the group,” Yanez said. “They faced adversity today, and I thought they did a fantastic job handling that. They showcased a lot of areas from a mentality perspective to a commitment perspective to a belief perspective – you can list as many words as you possibly can – to get us a point here on the road, to help momentum coming back to play Bay next at home.”
Racing Louisville (3-4-7, 16 points) has now tied Seattle six consecutive regular-season games, matching the league record, which is held by Seattle and the Orlando Pride for six draws between 2017-19. The Louisvillians salvaged the point by scoring their seventh goal in the final 15 minutes of a match, ranking second in the league in that category.
Defender Ellie Jean stepped into Wright’s center back role, and the now-healthy captain Jaelin Howell won six duels, three aerial duels and helped create the chance for Turner while playing a familiar role in central midfield. Goalkeeper Katie Lund made two critical saves to keep Racing within one goal of the hosts.
“It just shows the depth that we have on this team and on this roster, and whoever is in there knows their role and knows what they have to do,” said midfielder Marisa DiGrande. “Anyone who steps in is going to fight for this team, fight for this club. I keep saying I'm so proud, but that's exactly what I'm feeling right now: grateful to be a part of this club, and I know we all are, and we want to fight for it. We want to fight for this city. And that's exactly what we did.”
It was the second time this season Turner has scored in the fifth minute of stoppage or later, making her one of four NWSL players to do so. All three of the rookie’s goals have come in the 87th minute or later.
For the goal, Lund played a free kick from near midfield to the left side of the box, where captain Jaelin Howell headed the ball back across the frame of the goal toward Turner, who toe-poked her shot into the roof of the net just as she took a hard hit to the ribs.
“Being in stoppage time, having a free kick kind of near the goal, it's most likely your last opportunity,” Turner said. “Knowing that, I just knew that we were going to get something on it, and I knew that someone was going to get it across the goal and that I'd be there if, in case, I needed to clean anything up. Luckily, I was, and it's just a great feeling. I know I was crying in the moment from pain, but it's a great feeling overall to be able to be there at the right time.”
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