Photo Credit: Racing Louisville
Los Angeles, CA | May 02 | Kelly Landaverde – @kel_una
Racing ended this preseason tournament with a 0-2-2 record at New Jersey’s Montclair State University. These matches will not count toward the regular-season standings. The Kentucky club produced its first clean sheet in their franchise’s young history, with Michelle Bretos four key saves, three of them during the first half, and had two shots on target. One from Yuki Nagasato, and the other one from Emina Ekic. The team is still looking to secure their first victory. In the past three group games, Racing managed a draw, and two defeats both by a goal. Head Coach Christy Holly called this “our worst performance of the Challenge Cup.” “I don’t think we executed anywhere near what we were looking for in terms of possession or defensively,” coach Christy Holly said after the game. “So that was quite frustrating. We got into halftime and had really good conversations — really productive conversations. It was great to see the girls then apply that in the second half and have some success come from it. “I think the big thing is understanding that we’re going to have bad days where we genuinely don’t play well and getting out of here with a point is good.”
In the 44th minute, forward Emina Erik cut in from the right wing, and fired a left footed shot, that ultimately was saved. Their best offensive chance, was when Emily Fox was taken down in the Gotham FC box, but they didn’t get the whistle for a penalty, and thus Fox needed to be substituted off. Lauren Milliet, tried four shots, and Savannah McCaskill’s corner in the 70th minute, was redirected off defender Brooke Hendrix’s head nearly led to a goal. “When to speed it up, when to slow it down — when to play through the lines and when to just keep the ball moving quickly,” she said. “…I think there’s just a lot we can work on, and I think there’s a lot of positives we can take from this.” Goalkeeper Michelle Betos was voted woman of the match. Gotham FC secured a ticket to the final against Portland Thorns on Saturday. Racing will play their home opener hosting Kansas City at Lynn Family Stadium, and the first game of the regular season on May 15.