LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – When you’re an expansion team in a top professional league, the understanding going in is that you’re going to take your lumps, more than your share. The hope is that you can punch above your own weight — and create some moments that give players and fans a like a glimpse at what is possible.
On a rainy Saturday night that was tinged by periods of brilliant sunlight and graced for a good time by a double-rainbow, Racing Louisville Football Club played its first National Women’s Soccer League game in Lynn Family Stadium in front of a COVID-restricted crowd of 5,300.
And in a couple of moments, it both delivered and received a small taste of what professional soccer in this city can become. The final score of the NWSL Challenge Cup opener was Racing Louisville 2, Orlando Pride 2.
But from beginning to end, and especially at the beginning and end, Racing showed it had fight. CeCe Kizer scored in the 12th minute to put Racing up 1-0, and the partial crowd responded in full voice. After back-to-back Orlando goals, Brooke Hendrix scored in the third minute of stoppage time to tie the score – and a rollicking Lynn Stadium light show ensued.
"It’s just everything coming together today," Racing coach Christy Holly said. "We’re just delighted for the girls to be able to get out on the field, play in front of the crowd. Our fans have been fantastic, they’ve been patient as we build this program together. ... If you look back at the game there, that said everything about this team. We’re young, they’re hungry. We got a lot of work to do, a lot of growing to do, but they’re not going to stop until the very last minute."
Racing had run through its exhibitions against college opposition with little trouble. Holly figured it was about time his team saw some, and it did.
After Kizer’s early goal, Holly said he was frustrated that the team missed several more early chances.
"We needed to see them face adversity on the field," Holly said. "... We wanted to see them under pressure and in difficult positions. ... I thought the first period of the game was fairy fast, it was a little be frantic. I look at it and I think we should’ve had one or two goals at the very least. Not including the one that we scored. That’s where frustration was. That’s where the disappointment was. We’re young, we’re naïve and we definitely left ourselves exposed at different times. But, for the players to ride on — that feeling, the adrenaline, the excitement — I was very impressed by their ability to hold it together and stay in control in those tense moments."
After the game, the experience of finally getting to play in a real home match — even if the crowd capacity was reduced, clearly left an impression on Louisville’s players.
"It was incredible, the lights, the sounds, the fans," Hendrix said. "It was unreal honestly and kind of took my breath away at first. I was so excited and nervous all day and then we got here, and it honestly felt like home from the first step we were on."
Kizer said she got a bit emotional after scoring not only the first NWSL goal in club history but her first goal in the league.
"Emily Fox just dribbled down, did her thing, and found me through, and it was a great ball to get behind,” she said. “I just found a lot of open field behind their back line, which is something that I was told by Christy to do is just make friends in behind and find those little scene passes. So, just getting there, got the ball, tippy touch, found the back of the net. Honestly it was just such a thrill. I tell everyone that when I score goals, I don’t really have a celebration I just try to find someone to hug me, so I was just running around trying to find people to hug me, it was a really great experience.
"... I think for all of us we have been told that with the men’s team last year I believe they got twenty percent capacity and they always said that it got pretty loud. So we were really eager to get out here and hear the crowd and see the light show after we scored and all that. So, it’s great to be back on the field. It’s a great pitch, and the fans are very loud and rowdy. We definitely can feel that love and passion behind us."
The equalizer came three minutes into extra time when forward Savannah McCaskill played a long free kick into the box. Midfielder Freja Olofsson headed the ball to the ground before Hendrix found the chance for her first professional goal.
"I saw it was 90 minutes and thought, 'All right I’m going for it. I got nothing to lose,'" Hendrix said. "I sprinted up there and tried to get something on it. Freja got a head across, and I saw the ball bouncing in front of me. Honestly, I just struck it and then I just blacked out. I was just running around, screaming, and yelling. I didn’t know what to do because I was so excited."
The ensuing celebration was more than a light show and a rain-soaked crowd that remained to see a little bit of magic. It was, perhaps, a preview of things to come, even if they take time.
In its first NWSL game, Hendrix said the team learned, "we have a lot of fight in us. We’re not going to give up until the very, very end as you saw. I think there’s a lot to be said about our character tonight and we learned a lot when we were put under the pressure. We haven’t had any professional games as a team. That was our first one and we played with a lot of grit. I appreciated it."
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