LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The game had barely begun before Racing Louisville FC found itself in a hole against visiting Kansas City Friday night in Lynn Family Stadium, thanks to a Michelle Cooper penalty kick off a bizarre hand-ball situation in the 6th minute.
The penalty came when midfielder Jaelin Howell raised her hands in front of her face to avoid a clearance by teammate Abby Erceg. The resulting infraction put Cooper on the spot, where she converted.
But on a night when star striker Nadia Nadim would return for Racing after a 10-month injury absence, there was far more for the club to celebrate.
After giving up the early penalty, it was all Louisville. The home team fired a club-record 26 shots, 9 of them on target, 2 of them finding the back of the net, in a 2-1 victory that moved Racing Louisville within a point of sixth place (and a playoff position) entering the league’s summer break.
Elii Pikkujämsä leveled the score just 12 minutes after Kansas City’s penalty, slamming a shot through traffic into the net, then flying off toward midfield in celebration of her first NWSL goal. The Finnish star signed a 2-year contract with Louisville in December.
“I was so excited – maybe everyone saw that,” Pikkujämsä said. “I needed to take everything out of it (the celebration) because you never know how much you’re going to score.”
On Friday night, it looked as if Racing would score more than it did. It was target practice at times for the home team, which won its fourth straight over Kansas City and for the 7th time in 11 games in Lynn Family Stadium, where it now has won three straight for the first time in club history.
The go-ahead goal for Racing came from Paige Monaghan in the opening minute of the second half, sending a rocket curling into the goal off an assist from midfielder Kayla Fischer – her first in the NWSL. Monaghan, meanwhile, has scored in consecutive games and matched her single-season best for goals scored with her third in this campaign.
Racing coach Kim Björkegren would like to have seen more scoring, given the number of chances his team generated, but was happy with the win.
“If I take away the first 10 or 15 minutes, when I thought we gave away the momentum a little bit, I am extremely proud,” Björkegren said. “We were the better team tonight. We created so many chances. Of course I want the third goal so we can kill the game, but overall I was really proud. It was such an important game for us. … We talked about it and said, ‘We need to win today if we want to be a top-six team,’ so there was only one way to go.”
Nadim, who entered in the 82nd minute, returned after a 10-month absence from a knee injury, during which time she also lost her mother when she was struck by a car in Denmark.
“It was emotional,” Nadim said. “I’m so grateful to be back.”
After a week off, the club will return to training on July 17 to prepare for its July 21 NWSL Challenge Cup game against the Chicago Red Stars at Lynn Family Stadium.
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