Washington, D.C (10/11/2024) – The Washington Spirit will face Racing Louisville FC on Sunday, October 13th in the final regular season game between the two teams this year. The game begins at 5:00 p.m. EDT at Audi Field in Washington, DC and will be broadcast locally on Monumental Sports Network and streamed on NWSL+. Fans can also listen to the Washington Spirit Radio Network by visiting WashingtonSpirit.com or the ESPN 630 website or app beginning at 4:30 p.m

The spirit

Last week the Spirit fell to the undefeated Orlando Pride. In the shutout loss, the Spirit received a penalty kick – one that the goalie missed Aubrey Kingsbury almost saved – and an own goal from a bad deflection from a Spirit defender.

Similar to previous weeks and with several regular starters missing from the game, the Spirit's starting lineup was quite different compared to lineups throughout the season. Unused rookie Heather Stainbrook After seven appearances for the Spirit as a substitute before the game, she celebrated her first professional start. Paige Metayer even appeared on the front line for the Spirit, meaning she has now appeared at all levels of the field as the Spirit's outfield player this season. Finally, Jenna Butler, The Spirit, who signed the Spirit until the end of the season after appearing as a national team substitute (NTR) this summer, made her NWSL debut in the regular season, coming onto the field in second-half stoppage time.

Towards the end of the game, Spirit became captain and former No. 1 overall pick Andy Sullivan was struck down with an apparent knee injury, later diagnosed as a torn ACL. She will miss the rest of the season.

Despite two defeats in their last three games, the Spirits are still in control of their fate at No. 2 in the NWSL table. However, Washington (47 points, +17 goal difference), Gotham FC (47 points, +14 goal difference) and Kansas City Current (46 points, +20 goal difference) are all tied or just one point apart. Therefore, these last three games are of utmost importance.

The Spirit finishes the season with Louisville, Chicago and North Carolina. Based on the current seeding of future opponents, Kansas City Current has the easiest schedule moving forward. Gotham FC has one last match against Orlando. Both Gotham FC and Kansas City will also participate in CONCACAF W Champions Cup games as well as a game against each other in the NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup final.

This weekend, look for North Carolina, the Spirit's final opponent of the season. Should the Courage lose or tie on Saturday, the Spirit will automatically be seeded in the top four in this year's playoffs, ensuring a home playoff game at Audi Field in November.

Washington is undefeated in seven games against Louisville (3-0-4), including a 2-1 road win earlier this season. The Spirit has scored a goal in every game during that span, the second time in team history that it has scored in seven straight NWSL games against a single opponent without losing (seven games against Chicago from 2013 to 2016).

Additionally, the Spirit has lived up to its “Rowdy at Audi” nickname at its home field, Audi Field. Washington has scored multiple goals in three straight home games and in nine of its 12 games at Audi Field in 2024. It also scored multiple goals in two Summer Cup home games outside of Washington, DC. The 11 home games with two or more goals in all competitions are the second-most in a single season for a team in NWSL history, trailing only Kansas City, which has 12 this season.

With an appearance in the game on Sunday, Ashley Hatch will reach 150 regular season games played. Hatch also has six career goals against Racing Louisville FC, all in the regular season. This is the most league goals scored by a player against Racing. The only other teams Hatch has scored five or more goals against in the regular season are the Pride (nine) and Dash (seven).

Another milestone to keep an eye on Sunday: Kingsbury is just three saves away from becoming the second goalkeeper in NWSL history to record 450 or more saves with a single club (Jane Campbell, Houston).

Next week, the Spirit concludes its regular season home schedule on Sunday, October 20th at 5:00 p.m. EDT. The Spirit will celebrate Fan Appreciation Night, the final opportunity for fans to experience the Spirit at home this regular season. Tickets are available here.

The opposition

Racing Louisville FC comes into Sunday's game hungry for a win after a crucial loss to Kansas City Current. Racing head coach Bev Yanez lamented the team's lack of chances in this game, so one should hope the club revives its attack this Sunday.

One reason for Louisville's subpar performance – a result similar to Washington's game against Kansas City a few weeks ago – may be that NWSL Golden Boot leader Temwa Chawinga scored in the second minute and the team of Louisville cornered. The game was exciting, a total of 23 fouls were called, and Vanessa DiBernardo added a safety goal shortly before the final whistle.

Despite this, Racing Louisville managed 447 of its 529 overtaking attempts (84.5%) last Saturday. It was both the fourth-most completed passes and the fourth-highest passing accuracy in a regular season game in team history.

The loss puts Racing Louisville in a difficult position with only three games remaining in the season. The team sits in ninth place in the NWSL standings, just one spot behind the final playoff spot currently held by Bay FC.

With 25 points (6-10-7), Louisville is just three points behind Bay FC and Portland Thorns FC (whom Racing Louisville plays against the Spirit). Among teams ranked seventh or lower, Racing Louisville is tied with Portland and has the best goal difference at -2.

The last game between Washington and Louisville was a physical and exciting battle. The final score would be 2-1 in favor of Washington, and all three goals came in the first half.

Croix Bethune, Ouleye Sarr and Sullivan scored the first goal of the game in the fifth minute and set the tone. Kingsbury would later have a Louisville penalty denied. Currently, Kingsbury has saved seven penalties in the regular season, the third most in NWSL history.

Finally, both Katie Lund and Abby Erceg played every minute of the 2024 regular season for Racing Louisville. Only six other NWSL players have played 2,070 minutes this regular season, the only other teammates to do so are North Carolina's Casey Murphy and Kaleigh Kurtz.

Next up, Racing Louisville FC will face Portland Thorns FC at home on Saturday, October 19th at 7:30 PM EDT.

Series story

The Washington Spirit have a 3-1-4 record against Racing Louisville FC in the regular season. At home, the Spirits have never lost to Louisville and are 1-0-2 in three games. The all-time goal difference is +4 (13-9) in favor of the Spirit.