Preview: Washington Spirit Returns to Action Against Racing Louisville FC After International Break

Louisville, Kentucky (04/12/2025) – The Washington Spirit will travel to Kentucky after last week’s break for international play. The match against Racing Louisville FC will kick off on Saturday, April 12 at 5 p.m. EDT at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. Local fans can watch the match on Monumental Sports Network, while fans across the country can stream the match on NWSL+ and Paramount+.

 

The Spirit

When the Spirit last took the pitch on March 28, the team notched a 2-0 win against Bay FC. Washington took charge of the scrappy game largely thanks to two header goals from Ashley Hatch in the first half. Hatch is now fifth all-time in the NWSL for most regular season goals (56) and tied for the lead in the 2025 Golden Boot race with three goals. For her performance, Hatch was named the NWSL Player of the Week presented by AT&T along with earning a spot in the league’s Best XI of the Month presented by Amazon Prime.

Hatch scored her first goal of the game off a cross from midfielder Leicy Santos who earned her first assist of the season. Just three minutes later, Hatch headed in another goal, this time off service from midfielder Narumi Miura in her 50th NWSL appearance. The match also featured the NWSL debut of Kysha Sylla, a defender on loan from Olympique Lyonnais.

Aubrey Kingsbury anchored the team in goal, earning her first shutout of the young season. In front of her, Tara McKeown and the defensive third were able to limit the Bay FC offense to just two shots on goal.

 

The Opponent:

Louisville finished ninth in the league last season just missing the playoffs with a record of seven wins, 12 losses and seven draws. The club has a penchant for avoiding defeat at home, though, losing just twice in its last nine home matches. Since 2023, Louisville has only lost seven times at Lynn Family Stadium, a stat only three other teams have bettered over that period.

In the club’s most recent match against Chicago Stars FC on March 30, Emma Sears became the seventh different player to score a game-winning goal for Louisville in its last seven victories. Three games into the 2025 season, Sears has been the only goal scorer for Racing. The forward, a finalist for Rookie of the Year in 2024, scored in the season opener against the North Carolina Courage before her team was held scoreless in a loss against Bay FC.

 

All-Time Series History:

The Spirit is unbeaten in its last eight matches against Racing Louisville FC and maintains a 4-1-4 all-time regular season record against the club with a +7 goal differential (17-10). Louisville’s only victory over the Spirit was in 2021 during the teams’ first ever regular season meeting.

Most recently, the Spirit defeated Racing 4-1 last October with two goals from Makenna Morris and a converted penalty kick from Hatch who made her 150th NWSL regular season appearance during the match. Louisville’s lone goal came from Sears.

 

After this Saturday’s match, the teams won’t meet again for three months when the Spirit hosts Louisville at Audi Field on Friday, August 15 at 8 p.m. EDT.

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