Orlando Pride vs. Racing Louisville FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Welcome to your match thread as the Orlando Pride (4-0-3, 15 points) play the second game of a three-game homestand against Racing Louisville FC (1-0-5, 8 points). This is the second of three games the two teams are scheduled to play this year and the final regular-season contest. They’ll also play in the NWSL X LigaMXF Summer Cup on Aug. 1.

Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s game.

History

This is the fourth season of existence for Racing Louisville. The two teams have played nine times so far, with the Pride going 2-3-4 (2-3-3 in NWSL games and 0-0-1 in the NWSL Challenge Cup). The Pride are 2-0-2 against Louisville in Orlando, all in league play.

The most recent meeting between the two teams was on March 16 in Louisville, the season opener for both teams. It looked like it would be a long day as Elexa Bahr and Uchenna Kanu gave the hosts a 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes. The Pride got on the board in the 24th minute with an own goal by Elli Pikkujämsä, but the task was made more difficult when Kylie Strom received her second yellow card in the 62nd minute. However, Amanda Allen and Summer Yates combined in the 86th minute as the Pride pulled out an unlikely 2-2 draw.

The first game last year occurred on May 6 at Exploria Stadium. Messiah Bright gave the Pride an early lead and the hosts held on for 69 minutes for the 1-0 win. It was the first home win of 2023 for the Pride and their second win of the season. The second meeting was on Oct. 6, 2023 in Louisville. The Pride got off to a great start with goals by Marta from the spot early and an excellent individual effort by Kerry Abello to make it 2-0. However, Bright took Savannah DeMelo down in the box just before halftime and Nadia Nadim converted the penalty. A five-minute swing started in the 70th minute with goals by Kristen Davis and an own goal by Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse, resulting in the Pride losing the critical game 3-2.

The first meeting between the two in 2022 was on Sept. 16 in Louisville. The Pride got off to a quick start, but Louisville struck first when Nadim was left open in front of goal for a tap-in. The hosts doubled their lead on a great strike by DeMelo from outside of the box, and the Pride fell 2-0.

The first meeting of 2022 was in a unique setting, taking place at Daytona International Speedway on July 3. The game was a part of the 2022 Daytona SoccerFest and was the first time a soccer game was played at a racetrack. Emina Ekic gave Louisville a halftime lead and DeMelo doubled the lead shortly after the break. However, the Pride fought back with goals by Strom and Darian Jenkins, pulling out a 2-2 draw. The game launched a seven-game unbeaten run that pulled the Pride back into the playoff race.

The first year the two teams met was in 2021 during the NWSL Challenge Cup in Louisville. CeCe Kizer gave the hosts the lead early, but Taylor Kornieck equalized just before halftime. It looked like the Pride would win when Abi Kim scored late, but Brooke Hendrix equalized in second-half injury time and the teams drew 2-2.

The teams played three times in the 2021 regular season, with the first meeting coming on July 9 in Orlando. Ebony Salmon gave Louisville the lead, but Sydney Leroux scored to force a 1-1 draw with a goal in second-half injury time. The second meeting was on Sept. 11 in Orlando. The Pride took a 2-0 lead into the break with goals by Leroux and Marta. Kizer got one back, but Alex Morgan’s conversion sealed three points for the Pride.

The final meeting of 2021 was in the penultimate game of the year for both teams. The Pride needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive and they got off to a good start when Jodie Taylor scored in the third minute. However, the game slipped away as Salmon and Katie McClure scored on either side of halftime and Yuki Nagasato made the final 3-1.

Overview

The Pride have gotten off to a great start to the 2024 season, going seven unbeaten and winning four straight. The most recent game was on Wednesday night when the Pride hosted the North Carolina Courage at home. Seb Hines changed the formation for the game, moving from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-4-2, with Barbra Banda and Ally Watt starting up top. Watt had a goal and an assist and Banda had two goals and an assist, proving Hines right with the formation change by running away with a 4-1 win.

Tonight, the Pride will play their second game of a three-game homestand as they welcome Racing Louisville. These are two of the three NWSL teams with unbeaten records to start the season, along with the Kansas City Current. However, while the Current and Pride have five and four wins respectively, Louisville only has one win and five draws. But it’s an impressive start for a Louisville team with a new head coach in Bev Yanez.

The only win Louisville has this year was a 5-1 thumping of the Utah Royals at home on April 20. While the Pride played Wednesday night, tonight’s opponent has more rest heading into this game, last playing to a 1-1 draw against NJ/NY Gotham FC in New Jersey a week ago.

Despite five draws in their first six games, Louisville has the fourth-highest goal difference in the league and a greater difference than the teams around it. The Kentucky-based team has scored 10 goals this season and has only conceded six times for a +4 goal differential. Racing is led in the attack by Kanu, who has scored three more times after her goal against the Pride for four total. DeMelo and Reilyn Turner have two goals each, with Bahr and Emma Sears splitting the other two.

Defensively, the Pride caught Louisville without one of their newest acquisitions and starting center back Arin Wright in the first game. However, the other three in front of Katie Lund were Carson Pickett, Abby Erceg, and Lauren Milliet. That unit has earned two clean sheets in the first six games and has only given up multiple goals twice — both times conceding twice.

“There was so much excitement going into that first game of the season against Louisville, not really knowing what to expect with, you know, Bev’s come in with a coaching change,” Hines said about tonight’s opponent. “We’ve now seen them play a lot of games, both home and away. They’re still unbeaten, so it’s going to be a challenge for us. I think we’re in a different place to where we were at the start of the year. We want to continue the momentum moving forward. You know, some of the personalities have changed since we last played them as well. So it’s nice that we’ve gone through that experience early on in the season. But the teams look completely different and, obviously, the environment’s different. They’re coming to our place now, our home stadium, in front of our own fans, and we need our fans to push us through all the way to the final whistle.”

Angelina (knee) is out for this game after suffering an injury against the Courage Wednesday night. Simone Charley (right leg), Luana (illness), Megan Montefusco (right heel), and Viviana Villacorta (left knee) are also out tonight. Meanwhile, Marta (lower leg) has been upgraded to questionable. Adriana (leg) and Morgan Gautrat (lower leg) are available after being listed as questionable Wednesday night.

Louisville has five players out for this game, including Pikkujämsä (knee), DeMelo (concussion), Yuuka Kurosaki (knee), and Kirsten Wright (knee). Additionally, Jaelin Howell (leg) is listed as questionable.

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Official Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Kylie Strom, Emily Sams, Rafaelle, Bri Martinez.

Defensive Midfielders: Ally Lemos, Haley McCutcheon.

Midfielders: Julie Doyle, Summer Yates, Ally Watt.

Forward: Barbra Banda.

Bench: McKinley Crone, Adriana, Amanda Allen, Morgan Gautrat, Mariana Larroquette, Celia, Carrie Lawrence, Brianna Martinez, Cori Dyke.

Racing Louisville FC (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Katie Lund.

Defenders: Carson Pickett, Abby Erceg, Arin Wright, Lauren Milliet.

Defensive Midfielders: Marisa DiGrande, Taylor Flint.

Midfielders: Kayla Fischer, Emma Sears, Uchenna Kanu.

Forward: Elexa Bahr.

Bench: Ellis Jean, Jaelin Howell, Linda Motlhalo, Maddie Pokorny, Jordan Baggett, Parker Goins, Jordyn Bloomer, Reilyn Turner.

Referees

REF: Alyssa Nichols.
AR1: Nicholas Seymour.
AR2: Ricardo Ocampo.
4TH: Alejo Calume.
VAR: Greg Dopka.
AVAR: Maggie Short.

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How to Watch

Match Time: 6 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV: Bally Sports Sun.

Streaming: NWSL+.

Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow @TheManeLand and the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter feed (@ORLPride).

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Enjoy the match. Go Pride!