Tag: Racing Louisville

Savannah DeMelo gets first USWNT call-up, replacing Trinity Rodman on roster

The midfielder is in the midst of a stellar rookie campaign with Racing Louisville

Savannah DeMelo has been added to the U.S. women’s national team roster for its upcoming friendlies against Nigeria, replacing Trinity Rodman who will miss out with a family commitment.

DeMelo is in the middle of a stellar rookie season with Racing Louisville, having started all 17 of the club’s regular season matches and scoring three goals. Her 1,520 minutes played lead all NWSL rookies.

DeMelo, who starred at USC before she was selected fourth overall in this year’s NWSL Draft, has represented the USWNT at several youth levels and played at the U-20 World Cup in 2016 and 2018.

The midfielder is the second new player added to the roster, after Hailie Mace was named as an injury replacement for Kelley O’Hara last week.

The USWNT will face Nigeria on Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, and then on September 6 at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.

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Ebony Salmon is proving Racing Louisville wrong one goal at a time

The English striker has been in inspired form since joining Houston in June

Ebony Salmon was seen as a major coup when Racing Louisville signed her last season, and her early NWSL returns showed that thinking was not incorrect.

Salmon scored six goals after arriving early in the season, hitting the ground running in a new league and new country at the age of 20.

But everything started to change for the England international when Kim Björkegren took over as Racing Louisville head coach in the offseason.

Under Björkegren, Salmon played in just five regular-season games in 2022, with all of those appearances coming off the bench. In an interview with The Striker, Salmon said that Björkegren did not address her lack of minutes with her, and she was forced to request a trade.

Racing shipped Salmon out at the end of June in exchange for $175,000 in total allocation money.

It’s looking like a major bargain.

Salmon, now 21, has been on fire since her move to Houston. She’s now scored six goals in five matches, with the Dash having won three in a row after Salmon’s brace helped them to a 2-1 victory at OL Reign on Sunday.

“Throughout my career I have (always) scored goals,” Salmon said after Sunday’s game. “One thing I focused on, especially after my move to Houston was consistency, which I am starting to find with scoring.”

Salmon’s form has Houston up to third in the NWSL standings as the Dash mount an unlikely challenge for the NWSL Shield.

Next up for the Dash? A visit from Racing Louisville in a game Salmon has likely had circled on her calendar since the moment she arrived in Texas.

“It is a big game for me,” Salmon said. “It is a chance for me to prove people wrong and I think I have been doing that since I got traded.”

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USWNT stalwart Tobin Heath has landed with OL Reign

The 34-year-old has returned to the NWSL after spending two seasons in England

OL Reign have announced the acquisition of U.S. women’s national team stalwart Tobin Heath in a trade with Racing Louisville FC.

Heath’s playing rights were acquired by Louisville in the 2021 expansion draft, though the 34-year-old did not actually play for the club as she spent the past two seasons in England with Manchester United and Arsenal.

OL Reign sent a second-round and fourth-round draft pick to Louisville, along with $50,000 in allocation money, to complete the deal, and signed Heath to a contract through the 2022 season with an option for a further season.

“Couldn’t be more thrilled to play alongside the world class players here, for Laura Harvey as my coach, and in front of the amazing community of supporters,” Heath said in a club release. “We’re all eager to win a title, and I’m hopeful I can help OL Reign achieve that goal.”

Heath made her name in the NWSL with OL Reign’s rivals, the Portland Thorns, where she spent seven seasons between 2013 and 2019, winning two NWSL titles and being named to the league’s Best XI on three occasions.

On the national team level, Heath is one of the most successful USWNT players in the recent iteration of the team. She’s appeared in four Olympics and three World Cups, winning two titles in each competition.

Heath has scored 36 goals and added 42 assists in her 181 USWNT caps. She will not, however, add to those numbers this summer after she was omitted from the CONCACAF W Championship roster as she continues to work her way back to fitness after an injury cut her season at Arsenal short.

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Tobin Heath, OL Reign near stunning deal for NWSL return

Heath returns to the Pacific Northwest, but not with Portland

Tobin Heath is about to return to the NWSL, as according to a report from Equalizer Soccer, the USWNT winger will sign with OL Reign after the Seattle club makes a deal with Racing Louisville for her NWSL rights.

Per the report, the Reign and Louisville—who controversially selected Heath’s rights in their expansion draft—have agreed to a deal that will see $50,000 in allocation money and two draft picks go to Racing in the exchange. Heath and OL Reign have not reached an agreement on contract terms, though that is expected to be a formality at this stage.

Heath, 34, is out of contract after reaching a deal with Arsenal to end her deal with the club in late April. She has spent the last two seasons playing in the Women’s Super League, first with Manchester United and then with Arsenal for the 2021-22 campaign.

Injuries plagued Heath during her time in north London, restricting her to nine league appearances, but she did score two goals in just 292 minutes of WSL playing time. If the deal is completed, she would join another Arsenal star, Kim Little, who will play with the Reign on a short-term loan later this summer.

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Racing Louisville goalkeeper Jordyn Bloomer was injured by a falling goal at training

Head coach Kim Björkegren was not happy, saying “these kind of things can’t be a part of a professional league”

Racing Louisville goalkeeper Jordyn Bloomer was injured by a falling goal on a substandard training pitch in Kansas City, according to the club’s head coach Kim Björkegren.

Björkegren saw his side fall 1-0 to the Kansas City Current on Monday, but he was more concerned after the game with some of the conditions his team faced in the build-up to the match at Children’s Mercy Park.

“We [were] trying to do a training here in Kansas but we couldn’t do it because of the quality of the pitch that they gave us,” Björkegren told reporters.

“We had a goal that was not a normal goal that was falling down on Bloomer, our goalkeeper, so she needed to stop.”

Emergency goalkeeper Hillary Beall had to quickly be summoned to take Bloomer’s normal role as backup.

“Hillary needed to take a flight here,” Björkegren added. “It has been a mess with many things and I think these kind of things can’t be a part of a professional league to be honest.”

A spokesman for Racing Louisville told Pro Soccer Wire that the goal blew over on Bloomer during the club’s walkthrough, and the extent of her injury is not yet known. He added that the club is not planning on taking any action against Kansas City.

In an exchange on Twitter, Racing Louisville forward Nadia Nadim said: “We’re speaking about an accident that happen due to a broken goal that was clearly not visible.”

Nadim added: “You expect the provided fields to hold a certain and safe standard, as per stated in the new CBA.”

KSHB 41 Sports in Kansas City reached out to the Current and was provided with the following statement:

“We take this matter very seriously. The field Louisville was provided is the same field that all teams have been provided when traveling to KC, without incident. We will look into any issues that occurred during yesterday’s training session.”

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