Racing Louisville FC North Carolina Courage

North Carolina Courage forward Kerolin (left) battles Racing Louisville FC defender Abby Erceg (right) for the ball during North Carolina's 1-0 win on June 24, 2023. (Photo courtesy: NWSL LCC - Josh Lavallee)

CARY, N.C. (WDRB) -- Knowing all too well this season how thin the margin for error is in the National Women's Soccer League, Racing Louisville FC received another reminder Saturday night.

The club fell in a tight 1-0 match at North Carolina, as the Courage moved to 2-0 against Louisville this season and undefeated over their eight all-time meetings. Tyler Lussi put a rebound into the back of the net after Katie Lund made a save in the 73rd minute. Racing couldn't clear the ball away and saw a five-match unbeaten streak across all competitions end to drop the club to 3-4-6 for the regular season.

With those six draws and now three one-goal losses, Racing again learned how it doesn't take much to change a result.

"I think we know better than anybody because I think a lot of times, we fight and we work hard," Racing Louisville FC captain and midfielder Jaelin Howell said. "You can see our heart, you can see us creating opportunities and us playing really well. And then, it's just this final detail that you slip up on. And in this league, if you slip up on a detail for one second, they're going to punish you."

"I felt maybe in the second half, we gave away too much," Racing Louisville FC head coach Kim Björkegren said. "But overall, good work on defense. We were well prepared, but against a good team like North Carolina, we need to take care of our attacking transitions a little bit better."

The Courage controlled about 60 percent of possession for the match, but both teams only registered two shots on target. Louisville had few chances against a North Carolina team that now has three consecutive shutouts in regular-season matches. But Racing could not capitalize on limited opportunities, like a late shot from Parker Goins that went just wide when it could have equalized the game.

"They don't give away so many chances," Björkegren said. "So the chances that you have, you need to take care of them."

"We have to create, in my opinion, a bit more quality in the final third," Racing Louisville FC defender Lauren Milliet said. "We needed a bit more movement. I think the the more movement you have, the easier it is for the people behind playing balls in or it's just harder to track, especially as a defensive line.

"If you watch North Carolina, they're moving off each other so much that it's really hard to kind of pick up players and watch through the lines because there's so much going on in front of you. So I think for us, it's just moving off of each other and supporting in the final third. And also, I think we're taking shots from outside the 18 (yard box) at times. It's like, can we get quality further in the box? Because those will amount to better shots and better chances."

Louisville had found some scoring touch in its previous two matches, outscoring the Houston Dash and NJ/NY Gotham FC by a combined score of 5-0. But there was little to no offensive spark on Saturday, as the club only registered an expected goal figure of 0.63. The loss marks the fifth time Racing has been shut out during the regular season.

"I think it's just being more dangerous," Howell said. "It's knowing when to take those chances and knowing when to step on the ball, kind of swing it back and forth and get our numbers higher in order to get a better opportunity. I think in the past four or five games, we've been really good and creating attacking opportunities. I think tonight, we lacked that a little bit."

Racing Louisville FC vs. North Carolina Courage

Racing Louisville FC captain Jaelin Howell (center) dribbles during the club's 1-0 loss to the North Carolina Courage on June 24, 2023. (Photo courtesy: NWSL LCC - Josh Lavallee)

With a lot of the season left to play, Louisville could have overtaken Gotham for the sixth and final NWSL playoff spot with a win over North Carolina. Instead, Racing now must regroup for another road match on July 1 against another top-four team team in the NWSL in OL Reign.

"We just have to focus on the next one," Milliet said. "And by no means are we out of it. And I think we all know that. We're confident in that. It's just, again, it's the details. So I think if we can clean those up, we have a great shot."

Racing will also start to say goodbye to some of its players leaving for the World Cup. Ary Borges (Brazil), Savannah DeMelo (United States of America) and Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa) will depart.

"We're so happy for the girls going, they have our full support," Howell said. "And they know that we're going to take care of business back here. I think we have a lot of depth. We're obviously going to miss them tremendously. But I think it's a good opportunity for a lot of girls to step up and show what they have."

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