March 22, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – Racing Louisville FC News Release
Racing Louisville hits the road for the first time in the 2024 season with an away trip to Houston for the Dash’s home opener at 8:30 p.m. ET Saturday.
Shell Energy Stadium is the stage for the eighth NWSL regular-season meeting between the two clubs and 12th all-time across all competitions. Based on the series history, expect a tight, physical affair – nine of the 11 all-time meetings have been ties or determined by one goal, including seven matches with 0-0, 1-0 or 1-1 score lines.
For Racing, the trip to the Space City represents an opportunity to erase Louisville’s difficult history in Texas. In five games at Houston, Racing has an 0-3-2 record with one goal scored.
This past weekend’s season-opening results, however, suggest a potential change in the low-scoring pattern charted from Racing and Houston’s previous meetings. The teams started the season with games that featured 10 combined goals – Racing played the Orlando Pride to a 2-2 draw, while Houston fell, 5-1, at North Carolina.
New addition Elexa Bahr, a 25-year-old who also plays for the Colombia national team, was electric in her Racing Louisville debut, becoming the fourth player in the club’s young history to register a goal and an assist in a match. She was the first player since former Houston star Rachel Daly in 2016 to ring up a goal and an assist in her first NWSL match.
Bahr had help up front, too. Rookie forward Reilyn Turner was instrumental in both goals, assisting Bahr’s score and making the outstanding first pass that led to Uchenna Kanu’s first NWSL regular-season goal. The trio made up one of the youngest attacking corps in club history to start a game, with an average age of 24 years old.
There were other firsts on opening weekend, with Taylor Flint making her first start in lavender after moving to Louisville via trade from San Diego this offseason. In addition to Turner, fellow rookie Emma Sears made her NWSL debut as a substitute. Another new signing this offseason, Linda Motlhalo, came on as a sub, too.
Now Racing’s attention turns to Houston, which is hoping to bounce back from a second half that saw a 1-0 game blow up into a North Carolina rout. Last year, the Dash was the league’s top defense, only allowing 18 goals in 22 matches and shutting Racing out twice.
The Louisvillians opened their 2023 campaign with a scoreless draw in humid, hot conditions in Houston. This weekend’s forecast…