LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It would be more than fair to say that Racing Louisville FC forward Nadia Nadim played Sunday's game at Gotham FC with a heavy heart. The native of Afghanistan whose father was killed by the Taliban watched the militant group seize power in the country as American forces attempted to withdraw following a 20-year occupation.
Nadim was smuggled out of the country by her mother, along with her sisters, in 2000. Her remarkable story took her to Pakistan, then Italy, and finally to a refugee camp in Denmark that happened to be next to a soccer complex. She learned the game, fell in love with it, and has played it on the world's biggest stages.
On Saturday, after watching news reports for much of the day, she scored a goal just 12 minutes into Racing Louisville FC's game at Gotham -- her old club. It wound up being Louisville's only goal in a 1-1 draw.
"Regarding what's happening in Afghanistan, obviously it's super upsetting," she said after the game. "I've been following the news the entire day. It's heartbreaking honestly. I just feel that after 20 years, you try to get out of all that (stuff) that was happening, and now we're just back to where it started. And now (the Taliban is) even stronger. They've taken over. It is upsetting."
Nadim has spent her career advocating for refugees from all countries, and knows there will be many displaced from her home country now. She embraces that her opportunity to raise awareness and garner support, and even has worked with the United Nations as a global ambassador through sport.
Still, if you think it diminishes her passion for soccer, think again. While Louisville is an expansion club and is steadily developing its team while trying to put process ahead of results, Nadim still wants some results.
She wasn't altogether pleased with Sunday's draw on the road, even against a team now third in the NWSL standings.
"I'm really disappointed right now," she said. "Just because we have to be a bit better, including myself, when we do create those chances, especially in the second half, to get a second goal. I think we don't make the right decision. And at the end 1-1, I feel like we lost two points, and it's upsetting. . . . Right now, I'm very disappointed, but of course there are a lot of positives. Gotham is a great team and we are a young team and this is a step in the right direction. But we want to be winners, and a draw is not good enough."
Statistically, Racing was competitive across the sheet, taking 10 shots to Gotham's 11 and placing four on frame to only two for the home team. Even after Gotham's late goal from Ifeoma Onumonu in the 83rd minute, the visitors put themselves in position for a couple of good chances, but could not manage another score.
Racing was the aggressor early and had several outstanding chances before Nadim's goal. Ebony Salmon ran down a clearance attempt at the top of the box and nailed the crossbar with a shot in the seventh minute. A minute later, Nadim sent a header toward goal that had to be saved by Gotham goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan. After Nadim's goal, Salmon got a quality chance in the 26th minute that Sheridan had to scramble to save.
"We started out great and kind of lost our way a little bit," Racing coach Christy Holly said. ". . . Coming to Gotham and taking a point away from home from one of the top teams in the league -- it's really a reflection on where we are and where we're going. But we do have to pin things up and make sure we don't concede goals in the latter part of the game."
For Nadim, the goal was her 30th in NWSL competition. According to NWSL statistician Jen Cooper, Nadim is the fifth-fastest player to reach the 30-goal milestone, doing so in 64 appearances. Only Christen Press (48 games), Megan Rapinoe (57), Amy Rodriguez (61) and Kim Little (62) accomplished the feat earlier.
Louisville won't have much time to reflect on its loss. While it was playing on Sunday, teams from Paris-Saint Germain and Bayern Munich touched down at Muhammad Ali International airport ahead of this week's Women's Cup. Those teams will play on Wednesday at Lynn Family Stadium, with Louisville set to face the Chicago Red Stars immediately after. The winners will play for the cup on Saturday evening, with the losers to square off in a consolation match before.
Sunday's game kicked off a stretch of five games in 15 days for Racing.
Racing moved to 4-6-3 on Sunday, in ninth place in the NWSL standings but still only four points out of the playoff hunt.
"I think Gotham made adjustments," Racing defender Emily Fox said. "I think they were kind of shocked in the first half, but they obviously made adjustments to it, and they're a great team. They're in third place for a reason. We're obviously disappointed with a tie. . . . We're going to go back home, have conversations. We play five games in 15 days so we need to move on, learn from our mistakes and keep going."
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