Friday’s match will be the last time Racing Louisville FC and the Dash face off in 2022. The two teams have met three times this year and the Dash are unbeaten against Louisville with a 2-0-1 record. The first meeting between ended up in a 3-2 come from behind victory over Racing in Kentucky. The Dash scored the three fastest consecutive goals in Challenge Cup play to take the lead in the second half and secure the first win of 2022. Houston closed out Challenge Cup group play with a 2-1 win over Louisville on April 24. Houston and Racing played to a 1-1 draw less than a month later at Lynn Family Stadium on May 14.
The Dash are looking to continue its recent success at home and win its fourth straight game since late June. Houston is coming off a 2-1 road win over OL Reign on Sunday, Aug. 7. Forward Ebony Salmon scored twice in the game to give Houston its fifth road triumph of the season, the most in the NWSL so far. Houston was trailing early in the game after OL Reign and USWNT forward Megan Rapinoe scored to give the Reign the lead in the 16th minute. Houston was awarded a penalty kick after a hand ball was called in the box by an OL Reign defender. Salmon converted her second penalty attempt in as many games to even the scoring at one a piece. Two minutes later a takeaway by midfielder Marisa Viggiano in the Reign half of the field led to Houston’s breakaway, where midfielder Shea Groom found Salmon to score the game-winning goal.
Racing Louisville FC is coming off a 1-1 draw against the Washington Spirit on Aug. 5 at home. Racing struck first in the second half of the game after both teams were still knotted at 0-0 heading into the half. Racing’s Nadia Nadim gave Louisville the lead in the 52nd minute of the match. However, less than 15 minutes later Spirit and USWNT forward Ashley Hatch scored the equalizer to force the draw. Racing led the Spirit in corners with six and had 13 shots with four of them being on target.
The Dash close the two-game home stand when they host NJ/NY Gotham FC on Wednesday, Aug, 17. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT and will air on CBS Sports Network.
Here are three key points ahead of Friday's match:
- SALMON’S SUCCESS: Forward Ebony Salmon continues to be a threat in the final third. Salmon scored twice during Houston’s latest victory over OL Reign on August 7 and is now tied for the fourth most goals scored in the league with Chicago’s Mallory Pugh. The 21-year-old forward is the leading scorer for the Dash with six goals. Salmon has scored all of her goals across a three-game stretch which is a team record and matched her goal scoring production of the 2021 season. Since arriving with the Dash, after a trade Louisville at the end of June, the England international recorded her career first hat trick, named NWSL Player of the month and converted twice from the penalty spot.
- RD3’S FAREWELL During half time of Friday’s match against Racing, the Dash will celebrate Rachel Daly’s recent triumph with the Lionesses and her contributions to the club. Daly, who spent seven seasons with the Dash, requested a transfer to Aston Villa F.C. in the WSL in England to be closer to her family. The club completed the transfer on Tuesday for an undisclosed fee. Daly was drafted by Houston with the sixth overall pick in the 2016 NWSL College Draft. The 30-year-old finished with 116 appearances for the club in all competitions and led the team to the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, the first trophy in club history. The forward scored 42 goals and tallied 12 assists for the team across seven campaigns in the NWSL.
- RACING LOUISVILLE RUNDOWN: The Kentucky based team is fifth in the league and looks to mount a rally for the postseason. They are led by forward Nadia Nadim and midfielder Savannah DeMelo, who combined for seven goals this season. Nadim, who has made six appearances this season, has four goals in 311 minutes of action. Goalkeeper Katie Lund leads the league in saves this season with 67, including three clean sheets. Louisville is tied with Orlando for the most yellow cards so far this season with 25 through 15 games.
