Yet Another Heartbreaker
After Racing Louisville’s 2-2 draw against the Portland Thorns on Saturday night, defender Abby Erceg didn’t mince words.
“We don’t know how to win. I think it’s becoming quite obvious at the moment. It’s frustrating for the girls, we’re not losing, but drawing all these games won’t win you anything.”
Although Racing is still without a loss in their first three matches, this game against Portland certainly felt like one. It started brightly enough with Uchenna Kanu getting on the board not once, but twice in the first six minutes. This feat not only notched Racing their first-ever goals in Providence Park, it earned Kanu the quickest brace from kickoff in National Women’s Soccer League history.
Louisville’s hot start quickly cooled, however. Although they smothered Portland successfully in the first half, they gave up a goal early in the 52nd minute of the second to bring the Thorns back into the game. Then after scrambling to hold the lead, a heartbreaker of an equalizer was given up in the ninth of 10 minutes of stoppage time. A serious injury to centerback Elli Pikkujämsä in the 72nd minute certainly didn’t help Racing, but it can hardly be blamed for the loss of the lead.
This heartbreak is all too familiar for Racing Louisville players and fans. Giving up two-goal leads happened again and again and again last season and has now happened twice in two out of three matches in 2024. Hence, Erceg’s comments on not knowing how to win. How is it that Racing can fail so consistently in holding onto leads? The offense is clearly clicking, so is it the defense? Is it the many missing players? Are bad habits and old mindsets just this hard to break? Here’s a breakdown of everything in the match against the Thorns.
By the Numbers
Racing Louisville and Portland ultimately had fairly even xG with Racing earning 1.35 and Portland 1.55. The Thorns drastically outshot Racing with 27 shots to Racing’s nine, but Portland only managed seven out of those 27 on target while Racing had four out of nine on-frame.
For the third game in a row, Louisville found themselves on the wrong end of the possession battle. This was their worst showing with only 39%. This match also featured their worst passing accuracy with only 70.2%. Interestingly, Racing also won zero corners in the whole match to Portland’s seven.
In terms of individual performances, this was the Uchenna Kanu Show all the way. In addition to her two…