Match Preview: Seattle Reign vs. Racing Louisville

On the heels of a big win against the North Carolina Courage last week, Seattle Reign heads on the road to face Racing Louisville on Saturday, August 31. The match kicks off at 4:30 PM PT and will air on ION.

The Reign will be without head coach Laura Harvey, who had to stay back home with an illness that apparently had her in the hospital. She's out now and hopefully will recover quickly. Scott Parkinson will be leading the club in her absence.

The Reign have struggled on the road this year – they haven't won away from home – but they know that every game is a must-win right now.

"Every point is huge," forward Jordyn Huitema said ahead of the match. "We obviously didn't start very well this season, and doing some math, we don't really have a lot of room for error in these next nine games. We're going to do everything in our power to make sure we keep getting more and more points as we continue."

Parkinson and the team hope to ride some of the momentum from last weekend's win.

"Winning's infectious. Winning makes you believe, gives you confidence when you're committing to a pass or a run or some movement. When you have that little bit of belief, everything just looks a little crisper and a little more clear. And they've earned that right to feel confident going into tomorrow."

Recent Results

The Reign scored in second-half stoppage time to earn a 1-0 win against the North Carolina Courage last Sunday, extending their regular-season undefeated streak to five games. Racing Louisville won 3-1 at home against the Chicago Red Stars.

Head-to-Head

This is the second matchup between the two teams in 2024.

• The Reign are 1-1-6 all-time against Racing Louisville
• Seattle is 0-0-3 on the road against Louisville
• The last 3 regular-season meetings between Seattle and Louisville have featured a game-tying goal in the 87th minute or later

Quick Stats

• Racing Louisville (4-6-7) has scored 24 goals and conceded 23
• Seattle Reign (3-9-5) has scored 17 goals and conceded 28
• The Reign are 0-7-1 on the road this season. Louisville is 3-3-2 at home
• The Reign haven't lost in five straight regular season games
• Savannah DeMelo, Uchenna Kanu, and Bethany Balcer all have five NWSL goals this season

What to Watch

Dangerous in transition

Racing Louisville can be a real threat in transition. According to Opta, they are tied with the Current for the fastest "direct speed" in the league, meaning they move the ball upfield faster than any other team.

Despite attempting the 11th most passes in the league and averaging 47.5% possession, Louisville is seventh in the league in progressive passes completed. What do all these numbers mean? Simply put: Racing can get the ball forward quickly, even if they don't always dominate possession and passing stats.

Midfielders Taylor Flint and Savannah DeMelo are critical to this style of play. When Racing wins the ball back, they both look for progressive carries and passes to get forward as fast as possible. Flint leads the team in passes into the final third. Kayla Fischer's goal last week against Chicago is a great example of how easily Flint can eliminate lines with her progressive passes.

The 6' 1" Flint leads the league in interceptions, aerials won, and tackles won. She is also third in fouls committed and second in blocks and dribblers tackled. Flint wins the ball and immediately looks to play vertical passes.

Where does DeMelo play?

DeMelo, who typically plays center attacking midfield for Racing, moved to the right wing last week against the Red Stars. However, her positioning didn't always look much different. DeMelo (#7 in the below clips) often tucked inside as right back Lauren Milliet filled the space on the flank.

If Louisville deploys this lineup again, Milliet's runs forward leave room on the Reign's left wing for counter-attacking opportunities. Despite not producing much offensively last weekend, one of the Red Stars' better looks came this way. Can Seattle exploit that in a similar fashion?

New additions have added a twist

Louisville made some changes during the summer transfer window that have changed their lineup. Left back Carson Pickett, who led the team in expected assists and progressive passes, was traded to Orlando at her request. Louisville brought in Bethany Balcer, who Reign fans obviously know well as a pressing forward who can be a hold-up player and score goals. They also added Janine Beckie from Portland, who is versatile and can combine well with teammates.

With these changes, Louisville is trying to be a team that can move the ball around and be dangerous in transition. Early results were promising against a Red Stars team that likes to defend in a low block. Last week, every player touched the ball in Louisville's opening goal sequence.

Before the match, Parkinson spoke about Racing head coach Bev Yanez, who coached alongside him at Gotham and played under Laura Harvey at the Reign. "She likes to keep the ball. She likes rotations and fun soccer – and we're definitely seeing that out of Louisville. She also – I think playing for Laura and Vlatko [Andonovski] – took a lot of pride as a player in defending, and so has her team really organized, really scrappy every time we play them."

One of the best ways to defend against teams that like to move the ball is to be organized and disciplined with your shape and choose the right times to press. And one of the best ways to defend a team that's dangerous in transition is to take care of the ball. The Reign did both things well last week. They will need to be even better against Louisville.

Injury / Availability Report

Seattle Reign

OUT: Ryanne Brown (SEI – knee), Olivia Van der Jagt (excused absence)
INTERNATIONAL DUTY: Emeri Adames (USA), Jordyn Bugg (USA)

Racing Louisville

OUT: Jordyn Bloomer (knee), Kirsten Wright (SEI – knee), Elli Pikkujämsä (SEI – knee), Courtney Petersen (excused absence)
INTERNATIONAL DUTY: Milly Clegg (NZL)

How to Watch

Seattle Reign faces Racing Louisville on Saturday, August 31, at 4:30 PM PT. The match will air on ION, which can be found with a digital antenna, cable TV, or YouTube TV, as well as free streaming services like Roku, Tubi, Freevee, or Pluto.