Racing Louisville FC
Connor Cunningham

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Racing Louisville Football Club's path to the NWSL playoffs does not leave much room for error. And the fourth-year franchise needs help to make history.

Currently, Racing is three points behind expansion side Bay Football Club for the eighth and final postseason spot. Louisville kept pace in the race with last weekend's 2-1 comeback victory over Angel City. And head coach Bev Yanez hopes the win sparks a run of consistency that is yet to be seen this season.

"A lot of people defined it, internally and externally, as a great and resilient type of performance," Yanez said. "And I think that momentum is just a bit different in the sense of how we feel and where we feel we're at mentally as a group."

The first-year head coach saw signs of new pieces flowing well with the existing ones in the structure she has emphasized since being hired. Racing's two biggest transfer acquisitions in striker Bethany Balcer and winger Janine Beckie scored the goals in the last match to show not only what experienced winners can bring to a club, but how their head coach wants to be able to capitalize on opportunities.

"Their wisdom within this league and what is required of them right now is unmatched," Racing defender Arin Wright said. "I think it's been really great for us at this point."

"I think we worked our butts off toward the tail end of that game to close the game out," Yanez said.

The work within that work is what Racing must carry forward. As their coach mentioned while previewing Saturday's match vs. North Carolina, each goal was created from Louisville's ability to successfully pressure the ball and force mistakes. 

"Securing that first passing transition, the ability we have on the ball in that moment, to Ary's service to Beth, but she has multiple options," Yanez explained. "She has a runner from deep, and obviously it's an unbelievable header that puts us in a good position.

"Then again, on the flip side, we go into a pressing moment, we recognize a pressing trigger. Janine is able to step in and capitalizes on her opportunity."

Sure, the tactical understanding of world-class players and patience for them to get those goals within the system is key. But what Yanez and Wright note is just as important is the mindset needed to execute during this pressure-packed portion of the schedule.

"We've been talking about that mentality, that fight you need to make it to the postseason," Wright said. "And you've seen we've tied a lot of games. We've been up and then we've fallen short. And that mentality could get over that hump to see games out, to get that win, is what we've been searching for.

"That's what we've been working on in training, regaining that ball quickly so that we can attack after you lose it. And I think it finally came full circle. We came out second half, we knew we needed a goal. We hunted the entire game."

Now, Louisville hunts for its first-ever win over North Carolina. The Courage took care of Racing in a 3-1 Louisville loss back on July 7, which did not sit well with Wright.

Racing Louisville FC

"I think we definitely have some vengeance coming for this game," Wright said. "Our performance in the first half last time we played them was something we were really proud of. And the second half, we didn't rise to the occasion. I think that's something we're going to want to come back and do better on."

Building a winning streak is something that has been needed in the worst way. In the NWSL regular season, Racing has run off back-to-back victories just once. With only five points separating eighth place from tenth, and six games remaining in the regular season, the stakes are impossible to ignore.

"You do have to kind of put your blinders on and focus on yourself, especially where we're standing in the table," Wright said. 

"We're not hiding from reality," Yanez said. "But I think what we're doing is taking our job, just like anybody else within their normal world, day by day and opportunity by opportunity. I think the group's doing a fantastic job of just putting in the work and understanding that it is game by game.

"You don't just come into the game the same as you don't take a test on the weekend and you don't study. You do the homework throughout the week, you study throughout the week and then you take the test. But you can't already think about the next test."

Acing the test of starting a winning streak would be a needed development for the club. It may not be enough to leap back into playoff position yet. But Louisville has to do its own part of the group project for any of it to even matter.

"You just have to focus on yourself and what you can do in getting those three points each game," Wright said. "And if you get your head down and do the job each day, it's not going to matter what the table does. Because at this point, it matters what you do."

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