Racing Louisville squanders 2-0 lead to OL Reign to settle for another draw

Racing Lousiville’s woes against OL Reign continued on Saturday night when they squandered a two-goal advantage in the final ten minutes of their regular season match in Seattle to settle for a draw.

Wang Shuang opened the scoring by converting a penalty after a handball in the box was called in the box against Seattle. In the second half, Paige Monaghan scored a smart, head’s up goal after OL Reign defenders had stopped pressing in anticipation of a foul being called outside the box. The whistle didn’t blow, however, and Monaghan sent the ball past the unprepared opposing keeper to earn Racing’s second. This is the second time in three matches Racing managed to score a goal after their opponents stopped playing in anticipation of a whistle that never came. The fact they’ve developed a habit of not stopping the play until it’s finished and have profited directly, as a result, is probably the most positive development in the match.

The least positive developments were the fact that Racing’s typically stalwart defense gave up two goals in the final ten minutes of the game. In the 82nd minute, a header from substitute Veronica Latsko halved OL’s deficit. Only five minutes later, another header — this time off a corner kick — from Elyse Bennett tied up the match.

“In the end, they had two good chances and punished us for it and then it’s a 2-2 game,” said goal scorer Monaghan. “Unfortunate, and it doesn’t feel good walking away from that, but we have to keep pushing on. The only way is forward for us.”

The larger beats of this match were starkly reminiscent of their April 29th match against OL Reign when Racing went up by two goals in the first half only to give up two late and split points with Seattle. This has become a habit between these two teams as this was the fifth-straight regular season draw between them. Racing has never beaten OL Reign in the regular season, but the last time OL Reign beat Racing was in their first-ever meeting way back in July 2021. In both meetings in 2022, Racing charged back from a deficit to earn draws that felt like wins. The opposite has occurred this season and, as a result, this match feels like a loss more than anything.

“Obviously disappointed and frustrated to give up that win and those three points,” said midfielder Jordan Baggett, “but at the same time, I’m really proud of our effort and it’s a huge learning moment for us. We’ll go back and watch the film and learn…