Racing Louisville, North Carolina Courage advance to NWSL Challenge Cup final on Saturday
North Carolina's Kerolin Nicoli (9) handles the ball during an NWSL soccer match against Kansas City, Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Cary, N.C. Louisville will play against North Carolina in the National Women's Soccer League's Challenge Cup title game on Saturday. Credit: AP/Ben McKeown
SEATTLE — Kirsten Davis scored and Racing Louisville beat OL Reign 1-0 Wednesday night to advance to the National Women's Soccer League's Challenge Cup title game.
Louisville will face the defending champion North Carolina Courage, a 1-0 winner over the Kansas City Current in the earlier semifinal.
The title match is sent for Saturday at Cary's WakeMed Soccer Park.
The NWSL Challenge Cup is an in-season tournament among the league's 12 teams that has a $1.1 million prize pool.
OL Reign had a free kick in the defensive half in the 28th minute and mistakenly passed directly to Davis at the top of the 18-yard box on the reset. Davis took one touch to her right and fired a shot into the left corner.
The Reign put a lot of pressure on Louisville after the goal, getting off 16 shots, but couldn't score the equalizer at Lumen Field.
In the earlier game, Brianna Pinto came off the bench and scored the winner in the 96th minute, sending the Courage past Kansas City.
Racing Louisville FC's Paige Monaghan (5) play during an NWSL soccer match against the Chicago Red Stars, Friday, May 12, 2023, in Louisville, Ky. Louisville will play against North Carolina in the National Women's Soccer League's Challenge Cup title game on Saturday. Credit: AP/AJ Mast
North Carolina had most of the possession and shots at the start. The Current didn't register a shot until the 57th minute.
Just when it appeared the match might end in penalties, Pinto scored. The Courage took a long throw-in and the ball bounced around in the box. After a few attempts that were blocked by Kansas City, Pinto slipped a shot into the right corner with her left foot.
More soccer news
