Led by a hat trick from Sophia Boman, Racing Louisville FC’s USL W League team earned its first victory of the season Wednesday with a 6-1 win over Kings Hammer FC at Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center.
Louisville improved to 1-1-0 in the nation’s premier pre-professional women’s soccer league after losing in last week’s opener to reigning W League champions Indy Eleven. Racing once again had 12 current Academy players or graduates play in the game.
“I thought we came out and implemented everything we were trying to do,” said Racing W League head coach Callie McKinney. “They fine-tuned everything and came out more on the front foot. We talked a lot about them coming out into the game and being composed and playing our style.”
Louisville started out strong with possession, eventually breaking through in the 34th minute when Tessa Dellarose scored from Sarah Schupansky’s cross. Not long after, Sophia Boman scored Racing’s second goal when she backheeled in a close finish.
Schupansky padded Racing’s lead in the 56th when she spun off a defender and scored. Racing added two more with Dellarose assists on Boman’s two second-half goals, helping Boman, a University of Minnesota midfielder, earn her hat trick.
“They are some of the smartest players that I’ve coached,” McKinney said of Dellarose and Boman. “Even with coaching them, I don’t have to tell them a lot because they naturally start doing things that I want them to do. I think their combination play and the movement off of each other creates a lot of space for everyone on the pitch.”
Racing Louisville Academy midfielder AG Gibson scored her first W League goal when she cleaned up a loose ball in the box.
Kings Hammer pulled one back off a corner kick late in the match.
With a roster comprised of college standouts and Racing Academy talents, the club is currently in third place through two of 10 games in the Valley Division. The first-place finisher from each division will advance to the USL W League playoffs in July.
Next up, Louisville will host in-state foe Lexington SC on 6 p.m. ET next Wednesday at the Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center. Home matches are free to attend and open to the public.
Visit RacingLouFC.com/WLeague for more information on the 2024 campaign.
