Showing Progress
Some draws feel like losses and some feel like wins. Despite drawing the first four games of the 2024 season, Racing Louisville has certainly the close brush of defeat in their matches against the Portland Thorns and Orlando Pride. In both cases, they went up by two early only to squander their leads and give up late heartbreaking equalizers.
While they have yet to earn a draw that feels like a real win in 2024, they arguably came the closest in Saturday’s 0-0 match against last year’s shield winners, the San Diego Wave. Racing broke their trend of having a good first half and not adjusting well in the second and instead did a solid job of controlling the game and keeping the Wave on their back foot through much of the final 45 minutes. They also created better chances and were the more dangerous team. For these reasons, head coach Bev Yanez said she sees progress in her side’s performance against the Wave.
“I know a lot of people will look at the scoreline and say, ‘Another tie’”, Yanez said. “We’re still undefeated in this league, and we’re showing the progress of our group. And I’m incredibly proud of it.”
Midfielder and captain Jaelin Howell said that draws are never the result the team sets out for, but she agrees with Yanez that progress is evident in Racing’s performance.
“You can see the growth. San Diego is a very good team. That’s a team that made it very far in the playoffs [last season], and I thought we did very well and especially the second half. I thought we dominated the game in the second half. Honestly, I thought we had more chances. That’s where I think it’s just going to take one (goal), one of those games to win and let the goals fall and finish out a game. And then I think from there on, we’re just going to be flying.”
By the Numbers
Howell is right. Racing did have more chances in the second half — by a lot. In the first half, Louisville could only manage two shots with none on frame for a measly 0.07 xG. Comparatively, the Wave had seven shots and two on target with an xG of 0.52 in the first 45 minutes. In the second half, Racing upped their game dramatically by getting 10 shots with four on frame for an xG of 1.11 while the Wave wavered a bit with seven shots and none on target for an xG of 0.38. The match ended with Racing having 1.19 xG to San Diego’s 0.9.
Once again, Louisville struggled to keep possession and ended the match with 44% overall. The good news is…