April 19, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL)
Racing Louisville FC News Release
Racing Louisville exchanges hugs after a goal
(Racing Louisville FC, Credit: USA TODAY Sports Images)
Racing Louisville will play the first professional soccer game during Thunder Over Louisville, hosting the Utah Royals at 5 p.m. ET Saturday at Lynn Family Stadium as part of the all-day Thunder event known locally as the kickoff of two weeks of festivities leading up to the Kentucky Derby.
The game will play out amid an air show, followed by live music and fireworks in a lively atmosphere in downtown Louisville. Racing is expecting one of its largest crowds in club history for the occasion.
The match will be broadcast over the air on WAVE’s The 365 channel and streamed on the WAVE News app, WAVE3.com or NWSL+ for free with a sign-up. Fans can access NWSL+ online at plus.nwslsoccer.com or via the app on Apple, Fire or Roku services. News Talk 1080 AM or online at talkradio1080.iheart.com, and the iHeart Radio app will carry the radio broadcast.
Racing Louisville (0-0-4, 4 points) is the first team in NWSL history to draw its opening four matches of a season, with two 2-2 ties and a pair of 0-0 deadlocks, including last weekend’s entertaining slugfest against the San Diego Wave. The scoreless battle with San Diego was the third time in five meetings between the teams that ended with that score line.
Coach Bev Yanez’s squad is angling for a breakthrough against expansion side Utah, which returned the league after the original iteration of the franchise moved to Kansas City.
Nigeria star forward Uchenna Kanu leads the line for Racing, with her three goals topping the league in scoring. Both Kanu (eighth) and midfielder Taylor Flint (second) rank in the top 10 in the NWSL in average match rating, per FotMob, with both making strong cases for NWSL team of the month honors for March/April and an early push for NWSL Best XI.
Utah (1-3-0, 3 points) notched its first win in Week 2, edging North Carolina, 2-1, after dropping the season opener in front of a sellout crowd at America First Field. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft, forward Ally Sentnor, leads the team with two goals – both from distance.
Saturday’s match returns a familiar face to Louisville in Utah captain Paige Monaghan, who spent the 2023 season in the Derby City before the Royals selected her in the offseason expansion draft. Defenders Addisyn Merrick and Kaleigh Riehl also suited up for Racing in previous…