Match Preview: Angel City vs Racing Louisville FC | 6.19.24

Wednesday, June 19, at 7:00 p.m., Angel City is back at home against Racing Louisville FC. The match will be broadcast locally on Bally Sports SoCal and nationally on CBS Sports Network. An English-language radio broadcast will be available on iHeart. Tickets are available here.

Matchup

Angel City’s last game was a scoreless draw on the road against the Houston Dash. ACFC forward Messiah Bright nearly notched a game-winner on the last play of the match, but her attempt, which keeper Jane Campbell caught while positioned on top of the goal line, was ruled to have not been a goal upon video review.

Louisville’s most recent result was a 0–2 loss over the weekend at home to NJ/NY Gotham FC, with the team conceding in the 21st minute and again in the 53rd.

Racing is currently in eighth place in the league with a 3–3–6 (W–L–D) record. Angel City is in 11th with a 3–6–3 record.

ACFC has a 1–1–2 record all-time against Racing. Their most recent meeting was a 1–1 draw in Louisville in August of 2023.

Scouting Report

Since joining the league in 2021, Louisville has leaned heavily on the NWSL Draft to add talent to their squad, having selected a total of five players in the first round, three of whom—Jaelin Howell, Savannah DeMelo, and Reilyn Turner—are still on the roster.

DeMelo, who the team drafted fourth overall in 2022 out of USC, has been a staple for the club since her rookie season, with 45 all-time appearances under her belt; she currently leads her team on the score sheet, with five on the season. 

The club’s top pick in the 2024 draft was Turner, a former UCLA star who finished her three NCAA seasons with 42 goals and 16 assists. Turner has appeared in every game this season for Louisville, notching two goals and two assists so far, and co-leads the team in shots on target with 11.

Also new this season is Louisville’s head coach, Bev Yanez. Yanez had a long playing career, most recently with the Seattle Reign, where she was a two-time NWSL Championship finalist and one-time Best XI selection. She began her coaching career as an assistant at Gotham, before moving to Louisville in 2023; she was promoted to head coach this past offseason after the club parted ways with former manager Kim Björkegren.

All Hands on Deck

Angel City has just two full days between Wednesday’s game and their next match, a road trip to Bay FC—and this game is itself just four days after the team last played, in Houston. That extra-busy schedule will mean Head Coach Becki Tweed will need the whole squad to step up as she manages players’ minutes.

Fortunately, the match is coming at a time when the team is recouping some of its injury losses, with defender Sarah Gorden seeing the field in Houston for the first time since her May 18 injury. Defender M.A. Vignola, who was injured in March, has been back in the fold since mid-May, so even in the absence of captain Ali Riley, who is working her way back from injury, the team isn’t hurting for options on the back line.

ACFC also has plenty of choices in the midfield; Madison Hammond, Lily Nabet, and Clarisse Le Bihan started there on Saturday, with Meggie Dougherty Howard, Kennedy Fuller, and Rocky Rodríguez, all of whom have started in the past, available for Wednesday.

On the forward line, while Bright has yet to find the back of the net, she’s provided a late spark off the bench all season, and her very near miss in Houston hinted that she’s not far from opening her account.

Know before You Go

Angel City will be celebrating Juneteenth with a pregame street fair in partnership with the Black Women's Players Collective. Starting at 4:30 p.m., the festivities will feature:

• Music by DJ Purple Lettuce
• A panel discussion with the hosts of Shea Butter FC
• Black Women Vend
• A Coaches' Corner for young fans to hone their soccer skills

Inside the stadium, both "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "Lift Every Voice and Sing," the Black national anthem, will be performed before the game kicks off.