LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two new signings helped Racing Louisville rally back from a two-goal deficit in its home opener to register a 2-2 draw against the Washington Spirit on a frigid and windy Saturday afternoon at Lynn Family Stadium.
With Washington already up 2-0, Abby Erceg scored Racing’s first goal of the season just after halftime, and Ary Borges tied the match with a stunning shot from the edge of the box 20 minutes later.
It was the third consecutive year – the length of the club’s existence – that Racing drew its home-opening match.
“We talked at halftime that we were still thinking we could win the game,” said Racing coach Kim Björkegren. “We had an amazing second half, scoring two goals and coming close to a third one. It showed good team spirit. I’m overall happy with the performance, even if we were trying to win the game.”
The story of the game might just have been the wind, which whipped between 20 and 25 mph through the course of the 90 minutes, with gusts up to 45 mph as temperatures dipped into the 30s. The wind disrupted play for both teams on numerous occasions.
“You go on with tactics and you work all week, and the wind takes that all away,” Erceg said. “You have to adapt on the fly. Obviously in the first half we didn’t do a very good job of that, and then in the second half we just wanted to make sure we got an early goal to get back in the game, and that’s what we did.”
Washington (1-0-1, 4 points) took an early lead through Ashley Hatch, with the U.S. Women’s National Team forward slotting home the go-ahead goal in the 17th minute. Hatch added a second in the 32nd minute, assisted by fellow national team forward Trinity Rodman.
Racing (0-0-2, 2 points) pushed its way back into the game while actually playing into the wind. Erceg’s goal, 52 seconds into the second half, came from a towering header from 5 yards out off Wang Shuang’s corner.
“It was a good ball, and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” Erceg said. “I’m always going to be happy with a goal, and to score for a new team is obviously cool as well – in the first game, the home opener, too.”
Erceg said Racing’s halftime discussion focused on playing faster and with a harder edge. Louisville’s second goal of the afternoon was a perfect example of that.
In the 65th minute, Lauren Milliet’s cross from the right required a defensive header from Washington, but Savannah DeMelo’s pursuit of the loose ball forced a poor second attempt at a clearance from the Spirit.
The deflected ball bounced into Borges’s path, and she half-volleyed a left-footed strike from 17 yards out into the very top right corner of the goal. The Brazilian’s first goal for Racing ranks among the best in the club’s short history.
“Wow, amazing,” Björkegren said. “She is that kind of player that you’ll probably see that one or two more times, for sure.”
Racing now has the chance to regroup after its first two matches of the season, getting next weekend off for a FIFA international break. The Louisvillians will be back in action on April 15 in Los Angeles, where they'll take on Angel City, a team Racing beat 3-1 last September in California.
Tap-ins: Saturday marked the 50th NWSL regular-season appearance for Lauren Milliet, who is also Racing’s all-time leader in appearances for the club. … Racing matched its longest unbeaten streak in club history with the draw on Saturday, extending a four-match unbeaten run back to last fall.
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