September 28, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL)
Racing Louisville FC News Release
Racing Louisville FC’s Janine Beckie and Utah Royals FC’s Ana Tejada in action
(Racing Louisville FC, Credit: NWSL)
SANDY, Utah – A second half strike from Ana Tejada tipped the scales as Utah Royals FC edged visiting Racing Louisville, 1-0, on Saturday night at America First Field.
The defeat stunted Racing’s two-game win streak, though Louisville remains just above the playoff line in eighth position before two more playoff hopefuls – Bay FC and Seattle Reign FC – meet Sunday night in Seattle.
“Simply it just wasn’t good enough from us,” said Racing head coach Bev Yanez. “We had opportunities to put the ball in the back of the net, so I definitely feel like as a group, we had those. We created those. But overall, it wasn’t good enough as a group.”
Louisville (6-9-7, 25 points) has four matches remaining in the regular season – two at Lynn Family Stadium and two on the road – to punch its ticket into the postseason for the first time in the club’s short history.
In Utah, Racing relied on another outstanding performance from goalkeeper Katie Lund to keep the match level through the opening 78 minutes. Lund made four saves, including a fantastic stop of Cam Tucker in a 1-on-1 situation in the 68th minute.
“Katie is playing as one of the best goalkeepers in the league,” said winger Janine Beckie. “She’s kept us in games – back-to-back-to-back games in the last couple of weeks. That’s a world-class save. Nine times out of ten, that’s probably a goal. She made herself big and she kept us in the game.”
Two halftime substitutes, Ohio State grads Kayla Fischer and Emma Sears, pushed Louisville into a more aggressive posture, finding some success in the final third down the right flank.
Midfielder Taylor Flint nearly put Racing ahead in the 58th minute when she plucked possession off a Utah defender at the top of Utah’s box and blasted a shot off the crossbar. Four minutes later, amid a frenzied sequence in front of goal, Lauren Milliet saw her shot from inside the box headed away from two yards off the goal line.
In the 78th minute, Tejada broke the deadlock, scoring a long-range effort to give Utah its first win since Aug. 31.
“Our job is to go back and look at the game, recap it, ensure that we take something from this game, and ensure that we continue,” said Yanez. “There are still four matches left. There’s still massive opportunity, taking it game by game and putting these…
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