OL Reign rallied from a goal down at halftime to beat host Racing Louisville FC, 2-1, in The Women’s Cup final on Saturday night at Lynn Family Stadium.
Kirsten Davis opened the scoring for Racing, nabbing a goal in the 34th minute, but OL Reign’s Olivia Athens equalized in the 59th minute and Jordyn Huitema slotted home the game-winner seven minutes later.
OL Reign joined Racing as the first two winners of The Women’s Cup, which started last year in Louisville. Mexico’s Club America topped Italian club AC Milan, 5-4, in a thrilling undercard to claim third place in the tournament.
“We had a good game,” Racing coach Kim Björkegren said of the final. “Our first half could have been a little better, and we were struggling a little bit after their equalizing goal. We need to learn to recognize when they have the momentum and make things more difficult. … We have a lot of young players who need to learn from this, and we need to learn as a group as well. We need to keep in mind we are playing against a really good team.”
After the weekend away from NWSL regular-season games, Racing now turns its focus to the final six games of the league campaign. There were good flashes on Saturday night to build on.
Racing’s goal came from hustle. Rookie midfielder Jaelin Howell whipped a cross into the area that required OL Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey to punch the ball away just before Racing forward Jess McDonald could get her head on it. But the loose ball fell near Davis, who chased after it as the ball rolled away from goal and shot with her left foot all in one motion as she turned back toward the frame.
Davis’s shot split two defenders and beat Dickey to the far post, helping her become the first Racing player this season to score a goal in each of the three competitions Louisville has played in – the NWSL Challenge Cup, the NWSL regular season and now The Women’s Cup.
Racing carried the lead into halftime, but OL Reign came out of the break on the front foot and eventually broke through with the Athens header on the back post off a corner kick.
Huitema scored after a well-placed pass from left back Jimena Lopez played the forward into a dangerous area. The Canadian international carried to her right, stopped and fired in a low left-footed drive that beat Racing goalkeeper Katie Lund to the near post.
“OL Reign is such a good team,” Howell said. “It’s always a battle playing against them, and it’s a super fun game every time we play against them. But obviously (it’s) disappointing with a loss. We were up, 1-0, but we have to keep the lead. That has been the story this year, so we just have to buckle down and focus on that. We have to keep our leads, and we have to finish.”
Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC vs. OL Reign
Date: August 20, 2022
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium
Weather: 82 degrees, cloudy
Player of the Match: Kirsten Davis, Racing Louisville
Scoring
Racing Louisville FC (1, 0, 1)
OL Reign (0, 2, 2)
Goals
Racing Louisville FC:
34′ Kirsten Davis
OL Reign:
59′ Olivia Athens (Tziarra King)
66′ Jordyn Huitema (Jimena Lopez)
Stats: Racing Louisville FC / OL Reign
Shots: 8 / 12
Shots on goal: 3 / 4
Corner kicks: 1 / 5
Fouls: 6 / 15
Yellow cards: 0 / 2
Red cards: 0 / 0
Offside: 4 / 3
Game Summary: Club America vs. AC Milan
Date: August 20, 2022
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium
Weather: 85 degrees, cloudy
Player of the Match: Alison Gonzalez, Club America
Scoring
Club América (1, 4, 5)
AC Milan (2, 2, 4)
Goals
Club América:
4′ Katty Martínez (Montse Hernández)
58′ Kiana Palacios (Scarlett Camberos)
73′ Alison González
75′ Alison González
90+2′ Alison González (Montse Hernández)
AC Milan:
38′ Linda Tucceri Cimini
45′ Valentina Bergamaschi (Linda Tucceri Cimini)
85′ Lindsey Thomas (Kosovare Asllani)
88′ Martina Piemonte (Linda Tucceri Cimini)
Stats: Club América / AC Milan
Shots: 11 / 13
Shots on goal: 5 / 5
Corner kicks: 7 / 2
Fouls: 7 / 9
Yellow cards: 2 / 2
Red cards: 0 / 0
Offside: 0 / 2
