“The Momentum Is In the Process”
Racing Louisville entered the April international break on an upswing. First, they drew the Chicago Red Stars 0-0 earning their first clean sheet since June 2021. Next, they earned a decisive 3-0 win against the Kansas City Current on the road. Now, after a two-week break, Racing hopes to keep their momentum going as they prepare to meet Chicago on Saturday night. This match will be Racing’s penultimate match of the Challenge Cup group stage and may decide whether they have a shot at making the tournament playoffs or not.
“Of course when you do good things you just want to keep going,” said Coach Kim Björkegren after practice on Thursday. Still, he said he’s sure the club can continue to put on a good performance even after the long break.
“For me, the momentum is in the process,” he continued. “We can see this team has had better and better performance and also better results. So the momentum will still be there, I’m sure about it.”
Midfielder Savannah DeMelo said it’s a process that’s been working. She said Björkegren started out by going back to the basics of soccer and they’ve been building on that as the weeks have progressed. Even if the process has been slow, she said everyone on the team is bought into the process and believes Björkegren will do what’s best for them.
“I just think it was the best strategy,” she said, “and it’s been working really well.”
And it’s hard to argue that this process isn’t paying off. Racing is already looking more cohesive than they did practically all last season. Although it’s still too early to tell if their good luck will continue, the fact they’ve won their first Challenge Cup match ever and earned two draws despite high player turnover and the addition of a new coach is a positive sign.
In Saturday’s re-match against the Red Stars, Racing will have their work cut out for them. Although Chicago has never beat Racing, they currently…
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