Shortly after her team had been eliminated from playoff contention in this NWSL season, Racing Louisville head coach Bev Yanez was praising their character and fight. Racing is now the second team to be eliminated this season, having needed a win (plus help from a couple of those above them on the table) to escape their fate for a few more days. The San Diego Wave put an end to that hope at Racing's own stadium with a 2-0 victory.
Friday's defeat was the final nail in a season of tough results — Louisville have lost six in a row, and San Diego's two goals pushed them past 50 goals allowed this season (they're now at 51, with a -16 goal differential). With four matches left to play, Louisville has won seven, drawn twice, and lost 17 times this year. Last season's playoff appearance — their first as a club — feels a long way away.
For Yanez, who was named the NWSL's coach of the year for that 2025 performance, the messaging hasn't changed too much publicly, even as the results have.
"A lot of character was shown tonight, and we've talked about what we want from these (final) five games," she said in the postgame press conference after the loss. "What do we want to look like? What do we want to be remembered for from a character standpoint?"
Racing Louisville didn't exactly create many waves last offseason in terms of transfers or player acquisitions, but largely looked like a team that understood its 2025 identity and was ready to continue in that way. They got younger, including adding their first U-18 signing in 17-year-old Audrey McKeen. (McKeen was most recently the youngest player on the USYNT roster for the U-20 World Cup.) Racing's most notable departure was Janine Sonis, letting her head home to Denver, where she has had a banner year for the expansion team.
They had some flashes in the first half of the year, especially defeating the Portland Thorns at home 3-1 in May. But after the World Cup break, Racing went west to Providence Park for their first game back and were soundly beaten 4-0 by the Thorns. They finished July with another deeply one-sided loss, 5-1 to KC.
Then, the team's best run of form for a few glorious weeks in August: four wins in a row, including a 4-1 rollicking of the Boston Legacy at home that featured a brace from Kayla Fischer — one of the team's clear standouts this season.
Right after that four-game winning streak came the six-game losing run. None of the losses were blowouts, with most decided by a single goal. Still, any chance of sneaking into the playoffs as the final seed looked more and more out of reach as September rolled on.
Put simply, Racing Louisville has not been able to keep up with the rest of the NWSL. While they do have a strong head coach, they have not been able to recruit and retain top-line talent. As much as the Chicago Stars have had another deeply underwhelming season, their ownership has shown a willingness to invest in a few key areas, such as a new training facility and a brand new chief soccer officer in Vlatko Andonovski.
No comparable answer seems to be on the horizon for Louisville. Their grit and character served them well in 2025, but there's only so long that character can consistently outperform stronger rosters.
Racing is facing more existential questions than any other club heading into the 2026-2027 offseason. "We're still out there seeking an investor, or investors, who can help us stabilize, for lack of a better word, our current situation," owner John Neace told The Athletic in August , with the club open to either a new operator-investor or cash infusion. Relocation is not off the table, even if the NWSL would prefer to avoid it. ESPN has reported that FC Cincinnati has had conversations with ownership over a potential sale.
Yanez's status is also in question. Racing exercised her contract option through the 2026 season but there have been no announcements as of yet on 2027. With multiple openings amongst the existing teams — and incoming expansion clubs in 2028 — it feels fair to ask if the relationship has come to its natural end.
And Emma Sears, one of the team's brightest talents, is also ready for an exit from Louisville. With the 2027 World Cup fast approaching, getting quality minutes and goal-scoring opportunities to help bolster her case to United States Women's National Team head coach Emma Hayes has to be top of mind.
In the meantime, there's still the matter of four more games (vs. Utah, Boston, Denver and Kansas City). On Friday, when asked how those could change the story of the season and how she would want this team remembered, Yanez countered by saying that's the question the team must ask themselves.
"We're in control of what we look like, and we're in control of our character," Yanez said, "It's going to test us in multiple different ways. But I believe we're prepared to fight as a team, and I believe we're invested in that from staff to players. So we want to be remembered that we went out fighting."
This article originally appeared in The Athletic .
Racing Louisville FC, NWSL, Sports Business, Women's Soccer
2026 The Athletic Media Company
