May 25, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL)
Racing Louisville FC News Release
BRIDGEVIEW, Illinois – Emma Sears scored for the second consecutive game to help Racing Louisville top the hosting Chicago Red Stars, 1-0, on Saturday night at SeatGeek Stadium.
The comfortable win pushed Racing into eighth place – playoff position – in the NWSL standings. Racing attempted a season-high 21 shots, held possession for 55 percent, out-touched Chicago 41-16 in the opponent’s box and made 65 final-third entries to Chicago’s 35.
“I thought we were very good,” said Racing head coach Bev Yanez. “I thought we started off the game in a very good fashion. I thought we had some very good sequences. And I am very proud of the group for closing out the match and walking away with three points away from home. I think we’ve shown a lot. I know early on we were known to give up some late opportunities, and I think we’ve shown a lot in our growth. We competed until the final whistle blew, and I’m just very proud of the group to walk away with three points.”
With the win in Chicago, Racing Louisville (2-2-6, 12 points) completed a tough stretch of five straight games against opponents in playoff position, including four on the road. Yanez’s club took five road points from the slog and now returns to Louisville with three home games coming up in June. Next weekend will be off for the NWSL before Racing hosts Houston on June 7.
“We really needed these three points, but it’s also that we believe that we could have these three points,” said goalkeeper Katie Lund, who registered her third shutout of the season with five saves, including two in the final 10 minutes to seal the win. “We just needed to put together a full 90-minute performance, and going into the break, it gives us a good feeling. But this is only the beginning and hopefully we can keep this run going.”
For Sears, the highlight-reel goal came days after signing a new three-year contract with Racing just nine games into her professional career. The Ohio State grad has been sensational for Louisville, with three goals while standing as the only player in the NWSL to rank in the top six in goal-creating actions, shot-creating actions and shots on target per 90 minutes.
Sears wasted no time posing a threat down the right flank, creating a scoring chance for midfielder Savannah DeMelo in the second minute and getting involved in three more chances in the opening 11 minutes.
In the 26th minute, Racing fullback Carson Pickett…