Janine Beckie scored the go-ahead goal in the 68th minute and Katie Lund made four saves as host Racing Louisville rallied for a 2-1 victory over Angel City FC on Saturday night.
Bethany Balcer also scored for Racing Louisville (5-8-7, 22 points), which closed to within three points of eighth-place Bay FC for the final playoff spot in the NWSL.
Meggie Dougherty Howard scored for Angel City (6-11-3, 21 points) which suffered its second straight loss. DiDi Haracic finished with four saves.
Angel City took a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute when Ford’s two-handed save of a Claire Emslie shot caromed to Howard in the middle of the box where she booted a left-footed shot into the left corner of the net for her first goal of the season.
Louisville tied it eight minutes later when Balcer headed in Ary Borges’ crossing pass into the middle of the box for her sixth overall goal of the season and first in four games since Racing acquired her from Seattle Reign FC.
Lund came up with a pair of big saves early in the second half to keep the score tied, stopping a close-in header by Madison Curry in the 54th minute and then deflecting away Howard’s right-footed shot from the middle of the box in the 58th minute.
Beckie then put Louisville ahead, 2-1, when she intercepted Haracic’s clearing pass outside the box and then dribbled past a defender and blasted a right-footed shot high inside the near post for her fourth goal of the season and the first in four games for Louisville since she was acquired from the Portland Thorns.
–Field Level Media
