By Christine Espinoza
After a hard-fought tie against OL Reign last week, Racing Louisville’s momentum was strongly present during the first 25 minutes of the match. During those minutes, Louisville enjoyed having the advantage offensively and defensively. On the offensive side CeCe Kizer and Emily Fox, who was not playing on her usual position constantly broke Orlando’s defense and made Orlando’s goalkeeper Erin McLeod dance around to save their strikes.
Additionally, Jorian Caucom and Nadia Nadim’s budding player chemistry was also seen before an extremely scary moment. Following a painful tackle by Phoebe McClernon, Nadim, having August’s NWSL player of the month, fell to the ground. It was clear that Nadim would not be able to stand on her own and had to be carried out of the game on a stretcher. In the post-game interview, interim coach Mario Sanchez said that they would “get her evaluated and go from there and hope for the best.” “She’s not only an important soccer player but an important human being for us-a great leader.”
The sudden addition of Yuki Nagasato due to Nadim’s departure would not deter Louisville. On the contrary, not only would she prove to be a seamless addition while Louisville had the advantage but would be instrumental in the second half.
Unfortunately, Sydney LeRoux began to break into Louisville’s defense with a missed shot saved by Michelle Beto, followed by a successful shot at the 30th minute. Marta would score a second goal just minutes later.
While Kizer scored with Nagasato’s assistance at the 51st minute, Alex Morgan’s third goal would bring the victory to Orlando Pride.
As the team heads to the international break, Sanchez added “One thing I can promise you: They are not done. There’s still motivation there.”