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The National Women’s Soccer League preseason is underway and Racing Louisville FC are among 12 clubs beginning their journeys to the 2022 season. The 2022 Challenge Cup will kick off on March 18 with the cup final closing on May 7 — stream matches on Paramount+. After firing their former coach for cause in the middle of its inaugural season, the club is trying to turn things around following a near last place finish in 2021.
The franchise hired Kim Björkegren as its new head coach ahead of the 2022 season and with the hopes that the Swedish football tactician can apply his championship experience to Louisville. Let’s take a look at Racing Louisville FC ahead of the 2022 NWSL season:
Offseason overview
Finish in 2021: Finishing ninth in a 10-team table is probably par for the course for a team in its inaugural season. The midseason for-cause termination of Christy Holly as head coach casted a shadow over a rocky 5-7-12 season record, with interim coach Mario Sanchez taking over coaching duties. The coaching change didn’t inspire any late-season magic, and the lack of defined play may have overshadowed some strong individual performances.
Biggest losses: The club bade farewell to first-ever player acquisitions Savannah McCaskill and Yuki Nagasato. McCaskill was traded to Angel City FC and Nagasato traded back to Chicago Red Stars. They also traded the player rights to Christen Press in a midseason trade with Angel City and waived goalkeeper Michele Betos during the offseason.
Biggest acquisitions: The team was loaded with draft picks entering the 2022 draft and made selections to target several positions, including Jaelin Howell (FSU) at No. 2 and Savannah DeMelo (USC) at No. 4. Howell is a defensive mid, and two-time Mac Hermann trophy winner who recently won the NCAA College Cup with FSU while DeMelo brings a strong attacking touch. Both players have U.S. youth international…
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Source : cbssports
