Preview: Washington Spirit to Face Louisville in Yellow Out at Audi Field

Spirit to face Louisville looking for third straight win; pre-match performances from Tyler Goldstein Trio to entertain fans on the concourse

Washington, D.C. (04/28/2026) – The Washington Spirit will wrap up a short home-stand Wednesday night when it takes on Racing Louisville FC in the sides’ second and final meeting of the 2026 regular season. Washington will wear its yellow Shockwave kit at home this week and fans are encouraged to come dressed in their best neon yellow. The match will be the Spirit’s last at Audi Field until Saturday, May 30. Tickets are still available at WashingtonSpirit.com/tickets. Kicking off at 7 p.m. EDT, the match will air on Victory+ for Spirit fans unable to attend. 

 

On the Pitch 

Wednesday’s match will be the second meeting between the Spirit and Louisville in just over five weeks as the sides drew 2-2 in Kentucky on March 20. After Washington fell behind 0-2, the team battled back in the second half to save a point on the road. Tomorrow’s contest will be the final time these two teams face off in the regular season until next year. 

The Spirit holds a strong 6-1-7 all-time record against Louisville, having not lost in the series in 12 straight contests. This unbeaten streak is the longest active run by one club against another in the league. Washington also has an unbeaten record at home against Racing, with three wins and three draws at Audi Field. Despite the favorable record, the Spirit has gone three consecutive matchups without a win with regular season draws in August 2025 and March 2026 as well as a draw in last November’s quarterfinal match in which Washington advanced after a penalty shootout. 

Washington is currently on a two-match win streak as well as a three-match shutout streak after last Friday’s resound 4-0 win over the defending Shield winner Kansas City Current at Audi Field. Goalkeeper Sandy MacIver has been in strong form lately with a goals against average of 0.67 through six matches. The team’s three straight clean sheets matches a club record; one on Wednesday night would set a new team mark at four. 

The Spirit is led in the attacking third by midfielder Leicy Santos who was recently named the NWSL’s Player of the Week for her two-goal performance last weekend. Santos now has three goals on the year. Since the start of the 2025 season, six different Spirit players have tallied multi-goal games. No other team in the league has more than three such players. Forward Trinity Rodman also got on the scoresheet last week, tallying her first assist and goal of the year. 

The Spirit still leads the league in possession rate at just under 60% and maintains its standing in the top three in shots and shots on target. After a slow start to the year in goal-scoring, the team broke through last week, finishing its chances at an impressive clip. While Washington also has the second-most big chances in the league so far this season, it only has the 13th-most assists as six of the team’s goals have come unassisted. 

Racing Louisville enters the week fresh off its first win of the season, a 3-2 home victory over Orlando. Louisville matches have been anything but action-less with all five of the side’s games this season seeing at least three total goals scored. Racing is currently tied for third-most goals scored (10) and is second in goals against (12). Alongside this year’s Angel City FC team, Louisville is the first in league history to start a season with five matches of three or more total goals.

Six different Louisville players have already scored this season, including three that have multiple goals. Forward Sarah Weber leads the team with three goals while midfielder Taylor Flint and defender Lauren Milliet are close behind with two apiece. Forward Emma Sears has provided three assists already through five matches, scoring one as well.

Louisville is currently last in the NWSL in rate of possession compared to the Spirit’s number one standing. Washington will want to limit Racing’s time with the ball and keep its fast-paced attack without many looks in the final third. 

This week’s playoff rematch will be a close one if recent history is any indication. In Louisville’s last five trips to the DMV, it has managed to battle to a draw four times. In 2023, the side saved a point after conceding in the opening minutes at Audi Field and even held a lead through much of the second half of last summer’s meeting before earning a playoff berth for the first time later that season. 

 

Around the Stadium 

Upon arrival for Wednesday’s “yellow out”, fans will be welcomed by the sounds of Tyler Goldstein Trio at the Spirit Stage. The band will perform a blend of rock, blues and funk music from the time gates open at 5:30 p.m. EDT until the match kicks off at 7 p.m. Also showing up and showing out this week is the Spirit Crew Entertainment Team to continue entertaining fans until the stadium lights turn off. Assembled this offseason, the Spirit Crew is the first ever co-ed NWSL entertainment team. 

Spiritville will continue to feature activations that fans will be sure to love on Wednesday night. In addition to the return of soccer bowling and fan-favorites like the temporary tattoo station, poster-making station and yard games, Spiritville features even more photo areas this year for fans to immortalize their visits to Audi Field including the all-new metro set. 

The concourse will also feature several new concessions options that debuted at the season opener earlier this year. Around the southeast corner of the stadium will be food truck row with four unique food truck options to provide even more variety on matchday. In addition to a new pizza stand at the stadium, the north concourse will be home to a new vegan vending machine for inclusive options. 

Before kickoff, Audi Field will experience another custom light show thanks to the Spirit’s new fan-first tech. Fans will be able to turn their phones into part of the show themselves by scanning a QR code available in-stadium and join the fun. The code will take you to a web page that will ask to enable permissions to your phone flashlight. Once you click accept you’re in the show! Make sure to keep the tab open until it’s time for the show to begin. Once closer, you’ll notice the screen will change. The light show will begin before procession to welcome your favorite Spirit players out of the tunnel in style. 

The national anthem will be performed by Rachel Ferguson tomorrow night, with ASL interpretation by Jillian Regen. The DC Fire color guard will present the flags alongside them before the match kicks off. The soccer action won’t stop at halftime as Volo Sports will hold seven-on-seven mini games on the pitch during the break as fans gear up for the second half. 

 

About The Washington Spirit 

The Washington Spirit is the premier professional women’s soccer team based in Washington, D.C. and plays at Audi Field in Buzzard Point. The Spirit was founded on November 21, 2012, and is an inaugural member of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), the fastest growing sports league in the U.S. The club is home to some of the best players in the world who have won championships for both club and country. For more information about the club, visit WashingtonSpirit.com and follow the club on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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