Racing Louisville FC lost its second consecutive home match Saturday afternoon, falling by a 4-1 score to San Diego Wave FC at Lynn Family Stadium.
Both sides found the back of the net in the opening half, but San Diego ran away over the final 45 minutes, netting three unanswered goals.
Still early in the season, Racing dropped to 1-3-1. Four points earned so far left the club 12th in the NWSL standings at the final whistle.
“Look, it’s disappointing,” said head coach Bev Yanez. “You come out to fight for results. You come out to get points, and obviously we’re all disappointed in that result. It doesn’t feel good. It doesn’t feel good to have that result at home, so I just think we’re disappointed.”
San Diego held the majority of possession throughout the match, hitting Racing early with a 17th-minute free kick from Kenza Dali. Louisville responded with an equalizer just before the half, seeing Katie O’Kane earn a penalty kick that Ary Borges fired home six minutes into stoppage time.
But the Wave took control from there, getting a go-ahead goal from Melanie Barcenas before Delphine Cascarino scored two of her own down the stretch.
“I feel like we gave them too much respect,” said midfielder Savannah DeMelo. “And to be honest, I think we needed to dribble at them more. We needed to create better scoring opportunities, and I think our decision making on the ball wasn’t good enough. I think we had the positional excellence that we always talk about, and we had opportunities. But I think when it’s time to make certain decisions, I don’t think we’re making the right ones.”
A silver lining for Racing: DeMelo made her first appearance since March 22, and defender Elli Pikkujämsä also came on as a substitute for her first minutes in 385 days due to a knee injury.
“It’s been a while — over a year,” Pikkujämsä said. “A lot of ups and downs, so it was very emotional. Obviously, it wasn’t the result we wanted, but personally, it was a step.”
Louisville will now turn its attention to a two-game road trip starting with a 4 p.m. matchup next Sunday with Portland Thorns FC at Providence Park.
Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC vs. San Diego Wave FC
Date: April 19, 2025
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium
Kickoff: 3 p.m.
Weather: 79 degrees, cloudy
Attendance: 4,431
Scoring
Racing Louisville FC (1, 0, 1)
San Diego Wave FC (1, 3, 4)
Goals:
Racing Louisville FC:
45’+6 Ary Borges (penalty)
San Diego Wave FC:
17’ Kenza Dali
50’ Melanie Barcenas (Delphine Cascarino)
60’ Delphine Cascarino (Perle Morroni)
77’ Delphine Cascarino (Kimmi Ascanio)
Lineups
Racing Louisville FC: 1 – Katie Lund; 2 – Lauren Milliet, 5 – Ellie Jean, 3 – Arin Wright (c), 6 – Ella Hase (69’ 11 – Courtney Petersen); 8 – Ary Borges, 14 – Marisa DiGrande (82’ 4 – Elli Pikkujämsä); 20 – Katie O’Kane (56’ 16 – Janine Sonis), 13 – Emma Sears (69’ 29 – Uchenna Kanu), 42– Sarah Weber (56’ 7 – Savannah DeMelo); 9 – Kayla Fischer
Subs not used: 24 – Jordyn Bloomer; 12 – Allie George, 15 – Ángela Barón, 19 – Jordan Baggett
Head Coach: Bev Yanez
San Diego Wave FC: 1 – Kailen Sheridan (c); 6 – Hanna Lundkvist, 12 – Kennedy Wesley, 3 – Trinity Armstrong, 75 – Perle Morroni; 21 – Savannah McCaskill, 10 – Kenza Dali (90’+2 28 – Jordan Fusco), 11 – Gia Corley (65’ 17 – Kimmi Ascanio); 25 – Melanie Barcenas (65’ 7 – María Sánchez), 20 – Delphine Cascarino (79’ 15 – Makenzy Robbe), 9 – Adriana Leon (46’ 8 – Chiamaka Okwuchukwu)
Subs not used: 31 – DiDi Haracic; 14 – Kristen McNabb, 23 – Nya Harrison, 24 – Favour Emmanuel
Head Coach: Jonas Eidevall
Stats Summary: Racing Louisville FC / San Diego Wave FC
Shots: 14 / 12
Shots on Goal: 2 / 6
Expected goals: 1.38 / 0.85
Possession: 64.1% / 35.9%
Fouls: 18 / 10
Offside: 1 / 5
Corners: 3 / 3
Discipline Summary
Racing Louisville FC:
39’ Ella Hase (yellow)
45’ Kayla Fischer (yellow)
Match referee: Jaclyn Metz
