LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) - Racing Louisville FC needed some sort of spark.
After Louisville got a much-needed break following a five-match winless skid, Mexico's C.F. Monterrey had already taken an 1-0 lead not even 11 minutes into a Saturday night Summer Cup match at Lynn Family Stadium. Racing looked a bit listless and sloppy for large portions of the first half.
And then, captain Jaelin Howell bent a ball to bounce off the post to the waiting foot of rookie Emma Sears.
Sears tapped in the tying goal and Racing took off to run to a 3-1 victory, opening the group stage of the international friendly competition with a confidence boost. Kayla Fischer and Ary Borges also found the back of the net thanks to Savannah DeMelo's assists. Backup goalkeeper Jordyn Bloomer filled in well for regular starter Katie Lund. And the result was Racing's first win across all competitions since June 7.
"It's incredibly important, right," Racing Louisville FC head coach Bev Yanez said. "There's only so many times that you want to go back and say, 'Okay, what did we learn?'
"Of course, we're always going to have learnings. That's the game, that's football. But we could put a stamp on the fact that we're headed in the right direction, confidence is in the right place and we could push the group. So, the demeanor just enhances the fact that we have the confidence and we have the positivity in that moment. So, you have to take it, you have to go with it.
"Because if we don't get the results, we continue to look at what do we need to be better?"
An area that has been a glaring need for improvement is simply finding the back of the net more. The three goals are the most Racing has scored since May 18.
Louisville showed better passing connectivity and overall finishing when given opportunities to score. Yanez credited steps forward in the team's structure and how it builds up within it.
"I was very specific on how I wanted that to occur this game," Yanez said. "And so, that was something we definitely looked to get into and I think the group adapted to massively today and their roles within that.
"We spoke very clearly about how we were going to get into this attacking shape and what we wanted to look like, how important counterpressure was. So, I just think the adapting to the information that we shared at halftime, on top of the group being in a really good space to bounce back as quickly as they did, allowed us to be in that position."
The first-year head coach also called her team's response to trailing early "massive." Sears said the message at halftime was to not let up after finding a first-half equalizer.
"One of the main points we talked about in the locker room was just continuing to go at them," Sears, who now has three goals across all competitions this season, said. "We were able to press them differently in the second half, which I think helped us a lot offensively. And yeah, the energy in the second half was a big part of the conversation."
The one we continue to have regarding this club is inconsistency and how to fix it when NWSL play resumes on Aug. 24. If Louisville wants its first-ever playoff berth, then playing professionally as it did against its international opponent on Saturday would be an encouraging step forward.
"I think there's something to be said about pulling off a full 90-plus minutes," Yanez said. "I think our identity and what we worked on from an adoption perspective of what I wanted to test and see this week I think allowed us to gain confidence in moments that we needed to, which was counter pressing, building out, getting more players around the ball, having options around the ball, having the ability to change the point of attack and having those numbers available.
"And I think for us, again: The players executed it massively today. I think there's something to be said about a little bit of change of momentum. And for me, I think that says something about the group and the growth of the group."
Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
