2022 Racing Louisville FC season explained

Club:Racing Louisville
Season:2022
Manager:Kim Björkegren
Chairman:John Neace
Chrtitle:Owner
Stadium:Lynn Family Stadium
League:NWSL
League Result:9th
Cup1:NWSL Playoffs
Cup1 Result:DNQ
Cup2:Challenge Cup
Cup2 Result:Group stage
Cup3:The Women's Cup
Cup3 Result:Runners-up
League Topscorer:Nadia Nadim (6)
Season Topscorer:Nadia Nadim (6)
Highest Attendance:8,729
(Aug. 27 vs. CHI)
Lowest Attendance:5,107
(Aug. 2 vs. SEA)
Average Attendance:6,048
Prevseason:2021
Nextseason:2023
Largest Win:2 goals
(2–0 Sept. 16 vs. ORL)
(3–1 Sept. 25 vs. LA)
Largest Loss:4 goals
(0–4 Aug. 27 vs. CHI)
(1–5 Sept. 10 vs. NC)
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The 2022 Racing Louisville FC season was the club's second season of play. Racing Louisville competes in the National Women's Soccer League, the top flight of professional women's soccer in the United States. The club finished 9th in the 12-team league's regular season and failed to qualify for the playoffs, was eliminated during the group stage of the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup, and were runners-up in the 2022 The Women's Cup hosted by the club.

Background

See main article: 2021 Racing Louisville FC season.

In its inaugural season, Racing Louisville built a squad from the 2020 NWSL Expansion Draft, the 2021 NWSL Draft, a series of free agent signings, and international transfers after the opening of the season under first head coach Christy Holly. After two losses and two draws to open the campaign in the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup, Racing Louisville experienced an up-and-down 2021 NWSL season which saw the club finish 9th in the 10-team league and miss the playoffs.[1]

The club's greatest success in the first year was as host of an inaugural international competition called The Women's Cup, a 4-team mid-season competition won by Racing Louisville with a defeat of FC Bayern Munich on penalties.[2]

In the middle of the season on August 31, 2021, the club fired Holly for cause and installed Mario Sanchez as interim head coach.[3] [4] On December 9, after the season concluded, the club announced the hiring of Kim Björkegren as the second permanent head coach of Racing Louisville.[5]

The 2021 NWSL Championship, originally planned to be played in Portland, Oregon, was moved by the league on October 13, 2022, to Racing Louisville's home ground of Lynn Family Stadium following player complaints regarding the artificial turf at Providence Park and the 9 a.m. local kickoff time required to meet television obligations.[6] [7] [8] The match, played on November 20, 2021, was won by the Washington Spirit over the Chicago Red Stars before 10,300 attending fans, a record for a women's soccer match in the venue.[9] [10] [11]

Current squad

Several players departed from Racing Louisville's 2021 squad after the season ended. Aside from free transfers, Racing traded Savannah McCaskill to Angel City FC,[12] [13] Julia Ashley was sent to Houston Dash,[14] Yuki Nagasato was traded back to Chicago Red Stars,[15] and Kaleigh Riehl was selected by San Diego Wave FC in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft.[16] Louisville traded Cece Kizer and Addisyn Merrick to their hometown club of Kansas City,[17] and Ebony Salmon to Houston Dash,[18] while also waiving Erin Simon, who was subsequently signed by Leicester City W.F.C. on a free transfer.[19]

Racing Louisville traded the rights to Christen Press to Angel City FC in exchange for expansion draft protection,[20] the rights to Janine Beckie to Portland Thorns FC in exchange for allocation money,[21] and the rights to Tobin Heath to OL Reign for allocation money and draft picks.[22] [23]

Racing Louisville reloaded primarily through the 2022 NWSL Draft, bringing Jaelin Howell, Savannah DeMelo,[24] and Jordyn Bloomer into the squad. Louisville acquired Jess McDonald through a trade with North Carolina Courage, signed 2021 draftees Kirsten Davis and Parker Goins, and signed free agents Hillary Beall, Taylor Malham, Julia Lester, Rebecca Holloway, Alex Chidiac, Satara Murray, and Thembi Kgatlana to pro contracts.[22] [25] Following FIFA's ruling that foreign player contracts with Russian clubs were voidable in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sh'Nia Gordon left CSKA Moscow and signed with Racing Louisville.[22]

On July 27, 2022, Racing announced that Gordon and Taylor Otto had mutually terminated their contracts with the club to pursue playing opportunities in Europe, and that National Team Replacement player Zaneta Wyne had signed a contract through 2023. The club did not offer permanent contracts to its other National Team Replacement players — Hannah Adler, Isabella Beletic, and Allison Whitfield.[25]

On August 1, 2022, Racing traded $30,000 of allocation money and a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft to OL Reign for the discovery rights to sign China women's national football team forward Wang Shuang to an NWSL contract.[26] [27] On August 10, after Wang received her visa, the club announced that it had signed Wang to a contract through the 2023 season.[28] [29]

On August 15, 2022, Racing announced the transfer of goalkeeper Kelsey Daugherty from Djurgårdens IF. Per a club statement, Björkegren said the signing would allow the club to loan out backup goalkeepers Beall and Bloomer.[30] [31]

On September 7, 2022, Racing announced the transfer of midfielder Freja Olofsson to Real Madrid four months into her three-year contract with Racing, in exchange for an undisclosed transfer fee.[32]

Racing announced the loan of goalkeeper Hillary Beall to Western United FC, from the end of the NWSL season to the end of the A-League Women season in April, on September 27, 2022.[33]

[34]

Competitions

Preseason friendlies

All preseason friendlies for this Racing Louisville season were closed to the public with results not published.

NWSL Challenge Cup

See main article: 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup.

Match results

NWSL Regular Season

See main article: 2022 NWSL season.

Following their loss to the North Carolina Courage on September 10, Racing were eliminated from NWSL playoff contention.[35]

Match results

The 2022 NWSL Season will feature 12 teams with the addition of expansion sides Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC. All clubs will play a balanced schedule with one home match and one away match against all others.

The Women's Cup

See main article: 2022 The Women's Cup.

NWSL Playoffs

Racing Louisville FC finished 9th in the regular season and did not qualify for the 2022 NWSL Playoffs.

Player statistics

Source: NWSLsoccer.com

Goals

Matches as of October 1, 2022.

width=40 Placewidth=40 width=40 width=150 Namewidth=40 width=40 NWSLwidth=40 width=40 Total
1FW10 Nadia Nadim0606
2MF16 Savannah DeMelo0404
FW14 Jess McDonald1304
4FW22 Kirsten Davis1203
FW13 Emina Ekic1203
6DF4 Gemma Bonner1102
MF 27 0 2 0 2
MF2 Lauren Milliet1102
N/A-Opponent Own Goals1102
10DF11 Emily Fox0101
FW5 Cece Kizer1001
Total723030

Assists

Matches as of October 1, 2022.

width=40 Placewidth=40 width=40 width=150 Namewidth=40 width=40 NWSLwidth=40 width=40 Total
1FW14 Jess McDonald1405
2MF16 Savannah DeMelo0303
3FW5 CeCe Kizer0202
4FW13 Emina Ekic1001
FW 22 0 1 0 1
MF 6 0 1 0 1
MF2 Lauren Milliet0101
MF77010 1
DF 11 010 1
Total213015

Clean sheets

Matches as of October 1, 2022.

width=40Place!width=40Pos.!width=40No.!width=150Name!width=80!width=80!width=80!width=80Total
1GK1 Katie Lund2608
Total2608

Disciplinary

Matches as of October 1, 2022.

PlaceNameNWSLTotal
1DF30 Satara Murray041041
2DF4 Gemma Bonner130040
MF7 Savannah DeMelo130040
MF6 Jaelin Howell040040
MF8 Freja Olofsson220040
6DF15 Julia Lester040040
GK1 Katie Lund030030
DF17 Nealy Martin120030
FW10 Nadia Nadim030030
10FW22 Kirsten Davis020020
DF11 Emily Fox020020
MF2 Lauren Milliet110020
DF3 Erin Simon110020
DF30 Zaneta Wyne020020
15FW13 Emina Ekic010010
FW14 Jess McDonald010010
Total73810451

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Racing Louisville FC: Recapping the Season at the Finish Line. November 4, 2021. July 11, 2022. State of Louisville. Michael . Shaw.
  2. News: Racing Louisville wins The Women's Cup over Bayern Munich in chaotic PK shootout. August 21, 2021. July 11, 2022. The Equalizer. Rachel . Krieger.
  3. News: Garnder. Hayes. August 31, 2021. Racing Louisville FC fires first head coach Christy Holly 'for cause'. The Courier-Journal. August 31, 2021.
  4. News: NWSL's Racing Louisville FC fires coach Christy Holly . September 1, 2021 . July 30, 2022 . The Athletic.
  5. News: NWSL: Racing Louisville hires well-traveled Swede as head coach . December 9, 2021 . July 30, 2022 . . Mike . Woitalla.
  6. News: A pro soccer championship at 9 a.m.? NWSL draws ire from players for 'laughable' move . September 16, 2021 . July 30, 2022 . . Melanie . Anzidei.
  7. News: NWSL championship final moved from Portland to Louisville after player complaints . . Melanie . Anzidei.
  8. News: NWSL championship game moved from Portland to Louisville . October 14, 2021 . July 30, 2022 . . Associated Press.
  9. News: Lynn Family Stadium draws national crowd as Louisville hosts NWSL championship. November 20, 2021. July 11, 2022. WDRB. Dakota . Sherek.
  10. News: NWSL championship 2021: Washington Spirit 2-1 Chicago Red Stars – as it happened . November 20, 2021 . July 30, 2022 . . Bryan Armen . Graham.
  11. News: Washington Spirit beat Chicago Red Stars for first NWSL championship after overcoming early-season turmoil . November 20, 2021 . July 30, 2022 . . Jonathan . Saxon.
  12. News: Angel City FC acquire midfielder Savannah McCaskill via trade with Racing Louisville. December 17, 2021. July 11, 2022. Angels on Parade. Trebor. Tracy. June 24, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220624215536/https://www.angelsonparade.com/2021/12/17/22843201/angel-city-fc-acquire-midfielder-savannah-mccaskill-trade-racing-louisville. dead.
  13. News: Angel City's Savannah McCaskill: 'Everything that I'm doing now is to try to get back to the national team' . March 17, 2022 . July 30, 2022 . . Steph . Yang.
  14. News: Houston Dash acquire Julia Ashley from Racing Louisville FC. December 17, 2021. July 11, 2022. The Striker. Theodore . Lloyd-Hughes.
  15. News: Yuki Nagasato traded back to Red Stars following engagement. January 11, 2022. July 11, 2022. Just Women's Sports. Emma . Hruby.
  16. Web site: After a pair of expansion-draft moves, Kaleigh Riehl gets her big moment. March 24, 2022. July 11, 2022. The Equalizer. Jenna . Tonelli.
  17. News: Racing Louisville trades Cece Kizer and Addisyn Merrick to KC Current. June 9, 2022. July 11, 2022. Just Women's Sports. Emma . Hruby.
  18. News: Exclusive: Ebony Salmon on her 'unfinished business' in the NWSL. June 27, 2022. July 12, 2022. The Striker. Theo . Lloyd-Hughes.
  19. News: Leicester City Women recruit Erin Simon from Racing Louisville. July 11, 2022. July 12, 2022. She Kicks Magazine. shekicks.net. Wilf . Frith.
  20. News: Racing Louisville FC trades rights to Christen Press to Angel City FC. August 23, 2021. July 11, 2022. The Courier-Journal. Hayes . Gardner.
  21. News: Portland Thorns FC sign Janine Beckie to three-year contract. April 1, 2022. July 11, 2022. KPTV. Riley . Blake.
  22. Web site: Racing Louisville 2022 Roster Tracker . July 6, 2022 . July 11, 2022 . Beautiful Game Network . bgn.fm . Bekki . Morgan.
  23. News: Tobin Heath joins OL Reign in trade with Racing Louisville. June 16, 2022. July 11, 2022. SBI. sbisoccer.com. Larry . Henry Jr..
  24. News: Racing Louisville FC NWSL preview: New dawn ahead with new draft picks Jaelin Howell and Savannah DeMelo . March 11, 2022 . July 30, 2022 . . Sandra . Herrera.
  25. News: NWSL 2022 Summer Transfer Tracker . June 9, 2022 . July 30, 2022 . The Equalizer.
  26. News & Notes: USWNT to face England Christen Press inducted into Stanford HOF NWSL Trades (Soccer 8/3) . . Sandra Herrera and Lisa Roman . August 3, 2022 . 32:09 . August 10, 2022.
  27. OL Reign Acquires $30,000 in Allocation Money and 4th Round Draft Pick . August 1, 2022 . August 10, 2022 . OL Reign.
  28. Racing signs star Chinese forward Wang Shuang through 2023 . August 10, 2022 . August 10, 2022 . Racing Louisville FC.
  29. Tyler_Greever . Tyler Greever . Some context on Wang Shuang and Racing Louisville FC: She just got her visa to start training with the team and is available to play on Friday. Shuang has been in Louisville for more than a week, but couldn’t do anything with the team until the visa went through. . 1557350293125439489 . August 10, 2022 . August 10, 2022.
  30. News: Kelsey Daugherty lämnar Djurgården . August 15, 2022 . August 15, 2022 . . Nils . Rahm . Swedish.
  31. Racing completes transfer, signs goalkeeper Daugherty . August 15, 2022 . August 15, 2022 . Racing Louisville FC.
  32. News: LIVE Transfer Talk: AC Milan eye €120m for Rafael Leao's transfer amid Real Madrid, Chelsea interest . September 7, 2022 . September 7, 2022 . ESPN.
  33. Web site: Racing goalkeeper Beall loaned to Australian club. September 27, 2002.
  34. Web site: Roster. racingloufc.com. August 15, 2022.
  35. News: NWSL Results: Washington earns thrilling 4-3 victory over San Diego; North Carolina routs Louisville . September 10, 2022 . September 12, 2022 . The Equalizer.