ORLANDO, Fla. — Just months after scoring an equalizer against the Orlando Pride in stoppage time of their inaugural game, Racing Louisville FC got a taste of their own medicine Friday.
The Pride scored a goal in the 94th minute of play at Exploria Stadium, tying Racing 1-1.
Racing controlled the majority of the game, with Ebony Salmon scoring the club's fastest-ever goal in the 21st minute. Orlando did not have a shot on target until the 82nd minute. The team's second try at a goal, a long delivery from goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris to Sydney Leroux, proved to be enough to tie Racing in stoppage time.
"You just keep looking ahead," said Racing coach Christy Holly. "We can feel the sting of this and the hurt of giving up two points at the very end, but the performance is what we wanted and the steppingstone we needed as we continue to look forward."
Salmon, who joined Racing in June, has now scored three goals in five appearances in the U.S. Her goal against the Pride took only 15 seconds to get from goalkeeper Michelle Betos' feed to the back of the net.
"We’ve all seen what Ebony can do and the threat that she’s got in behind," teammate Gemma Bonner said. "We worked on a couple of patterns and we felt where we could exploit them. I think it showed in the transition, that if we played quickly and with quality we could get through them."
Racing’s record stands at 3-4-2. Their four losses come from top opponents NC Courage and Portland Thorns FC.
The game was physical, with the Pride finishing with 17 fouls while Racing had 15. After the game, Holly expressed his frustration with the officiating.
"There's 28 fantastic players that stepped on the field, it's very unfortunate that they don't get to determine the outcome of the game," Holly said. "There was a real good honest effort by the team, very proud of the team. Orlando, credit to them as well, they played fantastically well...just a shame these world class players gets the chance to determine the outcome of games."
Racing will host the Washington Spirit at Lynn Family Stadium July 25. The team will remain intact while others, like the Pride, play on without their Olympian teammates.
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