Match Preview: Racing Louisville FC vs. Orlando Pride
Lynn Family Stadium | Louisville, Kentucky – Friday, September 16 at 7:30 PM ET
Players to watch:
Racing Louisville forward Nadia Nadim scored the lone goal for her side in its loss to North Carolina on Saturday, her fifth of the season, despite having just two touches in the opponent’s box. Among players with five goals this season, Nadim is the only one with less than 35 touches in the opposing box (24).
Orlando had zero shots on target in the first half of their 2-0 loss to Portland and has taken just 29 shots in target in first halves this season, the second fewest in the league (Louisville – 28). This has resulted in just six goals scored in a first half this season, tied for the league low with Gotham FC. Though they had lost their last two games, the Pride had won the previous two to those and seen midfielder Meggie Dougherty Howardscore twice in that span. In addition, recently acquired forward Aly Watt also scored in that span and could be an attacking threat.
Match facts: Racing Louisville FC hosts the Orlando Pride at Lynn Family Stadium on Friday night in the lone match across the league, a rematch of the July 4 showdown at Daytona International Speedway.
Louisville has failed to score multiple goals in any of its last eight games, having scored just five times since July 8. The eight-game stretch is the longest of any NWSL team this season without a multi-goal game, and the longest since Louisville set its own club record last year (nine games). The last time Louisville did manage to score twice in one game, though, was in their 2-2 draw on Independence Day.
On the other side, Orlando has lost its last two matches, both at home, after winning its two prior matches which were both on the road. The Pride are averaging 1.56 points per road game in 2022 compared to 0.78 at home, on pace to be the first NWSL team ever to average 1.5 or more points on the road and less than 1.0 points per game at home in the same season.
The previously mentioned 2-2 draw has been the lone meeting between the two sides this season, but in the four league matches in the fixture overall there have been two draws and a win to either side. To boot, each side has also scored exactly seven total goals.
