LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Racing Louisville FC captain Jaelin Howell did not waste much time Friday pointing to what Sunday's match at North Carolina represents to the club.
"These next three points are going to be huge," Howell said. "We want to go into the break with momentum."
The mandated break that results from the NWSL's collective bargaining agreement goes from July 8-14. NWSL play will also pause from July 15 to August 18 for the Olympics as various players leave to represent their countries in Paris. Racing finds itself two points behind Bay FC for the final NWSL playoff spot while North Carolina is in sixth in the standings.
"We have to go in with the right mentality knowing that for an away game against a good team, we have to bring everything we have in order to get those three points," Howell said.
Fixing inconsistency has been a consistent problem for Louisville, who went unbeaten over a three-game stretch from May 18 to June 7 to get into a playoff position. Now, the club is in the middle of a four-match winless skid. Two of the four opponents in those games are currently in NWSL playoff positions.
"I don't feel a heaviness around it," Racing assistant coach Carmelina Moscato, who filled in during Friday's media availability for head coach Bev Yanez due to Yanez attending to a personal matter, said. "I feel personally, as a staff in this situation, excited to get it right."
In its last game, Racing outshot Bay FC, won the passing and possession battle, but finished with a lower expected goal figure thanks to just one of eight shots being on target. The visitors capitalized with a goal from the penalty spot in the 76th minute to leave Lynn Family Stadium with a win.Â
"It's obviously frustrating," Howell said. "And there's obviously areas in that game where we could have been better. We wanted to capitalize for 'Fill the Fam,' an opportunity to get three points and obviously stay above that playoff line.
But it's the middle of the season and we just got to know that there's a whole other half of the season. So we can't look back, we have to look forward and know that there's a lot of points ahead of us."
The first key to maximizing those is scoring more goals. Louisville ranks decently for the season, sitting at sixth in the NWSL with 20 goals. Racing's latest loss represented a departure from the amount of shots that are typically on target. The club ranks second in the league for the season with 39.3% of its shots being on frame and also has a mark of 2.13 goal-creating actions per 90 minutes, good for sixth in the league.Â
The issue though is converting those efforts to show up on the scoreboard. Racing's goals per shot on target, an average that serves as a shooting efficiency statistic, has Louisville ranking ninth in the NWSL with a figure of 0.26.Â
"We have really good goal scorers," Howell said. "We just got to realize that the more we're in the attacking third, the more opportunities we need to take. It's being clinical."
Moscato said the needed improvement to score is about a 50/50 split between mentality and technique.
"As a coach, you look at the construction, the process, how we get to the final quarter, final thirds, what decisions we're making in and around goal, and how we're interacting with each other," Moscato said. "Did you see that you had an option there? Did we cross it prematurely? Was the box loaded? And I think that's really what it comes down to is decision-making.
"Then, you could argue quality. If we're on frame and there is a perfect cross, what quality are we in technically in that moment to get it on frame, to hit it with the right surface of the foot, to hit with the head when necessary, to go and attack it and not let it attack you?"
One change we saw in the last match can help or hurt the attack. Louisville's possession percentage of 53.8% was noticeably higher than its percentage for the season of 47.2%. Racing wants to press and often counter after winning the ball back, so losing possession battles can be expected. But the back-and-forth pull between needing to still be on the ball enough to attack while also sticking to your system is a delicate balance.
"Being more comfortable having possession for longer stretches is what happened last game," Moscato said. "We had the ball, and had more time and space. It's like the burden or the blessing of possession: It depends on how you look at it. And I think the more time you have, sometimes the harder decisions are moving forward."
Perhaps they get easier with some good news in the midfield. Ary Borges is a talented playmaker who will be available for a second-straight match after having her left knee scoped to clean damage from a meniscus tear.
And Taylor Flint, arguably Racing's best player this season, will be available to play Sunday after missing the last match. The defensive midfielder left Louisville's 1-1 draw at Seattle on June 23 due to a head injury from a collision with a goalkeeper while jumping to head a cross.
"It's big for the group in all the ways," Moscato said, while also adding it is not yet known whether Flint will start vs. North Carolina or be available as a substitute off of the bench. "No matter how she factors into this next game, it's going to be amazing to have her back for her presence and her spirit."
"She brings the intensity on the defensive side and the playmaking on the offensive side," Howell said. "It's always nice having her on the field. I think Taylor definitely has been a standout to the team."
On June 15, 2024 at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, K.Y. (Ariana Shchuka/WDRB News)
For Louisville, going into the break with a standout performance would be as big of a boost as the breather that comes from it for many players. Racing has had a rough history in eight games against the Courage, losing all of them by a combined score of 23-3.
"We're a different group and it's a different year," Howell said. "I think for us, it's going in and knowing what we're capable of doing. And I think this team is capable of a lot of great things.
"The past two or three games, we came up short. But the confidence is still in the group. And we know that on any given day, we can beat any team. So, we're going to go in with that mentality because we wholeheartedly believe that."
"It's about going in, giving a resilient performance and bouncing back," Moscato said. "Knowing what that response is going to be from the team is almost more important, and I think will then elicit a result, whatever that may be. But we need to be proud of how we do that."
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