Nobody promised the first win of the season would come easy, and for Racing Louisville FC, it surely didn’t.

But, amid the rain, the group dug in late on Friday evening, and thanks to a brace from Louisville original Lauren Milliet, Racing was able to gut out a 3-2 victory over the Orlando Pride for the club’s first NWSL win of 2026 at Lynn Family Stadium.

Racing (1-3-1, 4 points) had begun the 2026 campaign winless through its first four matches. The bright spots were always there, though. On Friday, the team just put it all together.

Milliet, who hadn’t scored a professional goal in nearly four years, got the hosts out front first with a belter, after Louisville had suffered through pressure on the other end.

However, Barbra Banda leveled late in the first half — only for Louisville to storm back through Weber, and a second from Milliet in a three-minute span at the start of the second period. That would prove crucial as Banda managed to pull one back in second-half stoppage time to make for a nervy 3-2 conclusion.

The win moved Louisville to 10 goals in five games to start the season, making it one of just two sides in double figures so far. The result also extended Racing’s home unbeaten streak against the Pride to seven matches.

“Super excited for the group, super happy for the group,” said head coach Bev Yanez. “Obviously, our first win, first three points of the season, and to be able to do that at home is incredibly exciting. It’s no secret, we discussed it at halftime, I thought the group came out a bit flat at the start. I thought their response was fantastic. To have those two goals as quickly as we did at the start of the second half put us in a really good position to feel comfortable and confident throughout the match.

“… It was really important, very big three points for us, given how the past matches have gone coming into this.”

Returning from the international break, Louisville had to weather an early storm, with goalkeeper Jordyn Bloomer’s acrobatics proving key before Racing found the net.

And find the net Louisville did — emphatically. Milliet exploited an open half space outside the box to fire into the top corner for a memorable 19th-minute opener. The strike marked her third professional goal and first since May 2022.

On the screamer, Milliet said, “I feel like I just saw space. … (I) trusted myself in that moment. Honestly, I was just like, ‘I’m just going to hit this as hard as I can and hope for something.'”

The patience and consistent pressure up front would eventually pay off for Orlando just before the half, with leading scorer Barbra Banda levelling the scoreline in stoppage time.

Racing found its answer, though, in the blink of an eye at the start of the second period — first through a corner-kick finish from Weber, then a slick redirection from Milliet for the club’s third of the match. That made it the second consecutive game with at least three goals.

“I honestly just think the standard is higher coming off of last year, just how it ended,” said Weber. “We’re expected to put the balls in the back of the net and give our team the best chance at winning games. Pretty cool that we were able to get three tonight. We plan on keeping that up.”

Then, it was only a matter of holding on — something the hosts have historically struggled to do. Despite a fortuitous Banda goal in the waning minutes, Louisville did enough defensively to get its first three points of 2026 over the line.

Louisville will now quickly pivot, bringing this winning momentum into a two-game swing on the East Coast, starting Wednesday night in the nation’s capital against the Washington Spirit. The two sides drew, 2-2, in the first encounter back on March 20 at Lynn Family Stadium.

Four days later, Racing will travel to the reigning NWSL champion Gotham FC at Sports Illustrated Stadium to wrap up a week on the road.

Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC vs. Orlando Pride

Date: April 24, 2025

Venue: Lynn Family Stadium

Kickoff: 5:30 p.m. ET

Weather: 76 degrees, cloudy and rainy

Attendance: 4,928

Scoring

Racing Louisville FC (1, 2, 3)

Orlando Pride (1, 1, 2)

Goals:

19’ Lauren Milliet (Kayla Fischer)
47’ Sarah Weber (Katie O’Kane)
50’ Lauren Milliet (Emma Sears)

Orlando Pride:

45’+6 Barbra Banda (Angelina)
90’+3 Barbra Banda

Lineups

Racing Louisville FC: 24 – Jordyn Bloomer; 8 – Courtney Petersen, 3 – Arin Wright (c), 5 – Ellie Jean, 2 – Lauren Milliet (90’+4 12 – Quincy McMahon), 26 – Taylor Flint, 20 – Katie O’Kane, 9 – Kayla Fischer (70’ 10 – Macey Hodge), 6 – Ella Hase, 13 – Emma Sears (70’ 4 – Makenna Morris), 42 – Sarah Weber (90’+4 16 – Maja Lardner)

Subs not used: 1 – Maddie Prohaska; 11 – Taylor White, 19 – Avery Ciorbu, 23 – Macey Blackburn, 88 – Audrey McKeen

Head Coach: Bev Yanez

Orlando Pride: 1 – Anna Moorhouse; 12 – Cori Dyke (75’ 20 – Julie Doyle), 4 – Rafaelle, 5 – Hailie Mace, 21 – Oihane Hernández (63’ 41 – Hannah Anderson), 7 – Angelina, 6 – Ally Lemos (63’ 30 – Seven Castain), 2 – Haley McCutcheon, 29 – Solai Washington (63’ 80 – Simone Jackson), 11 – Barbra Banda, 10 – Marta (56’ 28 – Summer Yates)

Subs not used: 31 – Cara Martin; 8 – Luana, 23 – Nicole Payne, 38 – Reagan Raabe

Head Coach: Seb Hines

Stats Summary: Racing Louisville FC / Orlando Pride

Shots: 11 / 27

Shots on Goal: 5 / 11

Expected goals: 1.46 / 2.37

Possession: 38.6% / 61.4%

Fouls: 9 / 7

Offside: 2 / 2

Corners: 5 / 10

Discipline Summary

Racing Louisville FC:

90’+1 Makenna Morris (yellow)

Orlando Pride:

90’ Haley McCutcheon (yellow)

Match referee: Alyssa Pennington

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Racing holds on, uses Milliet’s brace to capture first win of 2026 over Orlando