It was a scary moment on March 22 for the NWSL and Racing Louisville. Star and member of the US World Cup team, Savannah DeMelo, was injured during the game playing for Racing against Bay FC. In the 43rd minute, she became faint and dizzy and was carted off on a stretcher.
Not much was known of the injury, and it cast a fog over the game. Racing lost the game 2-0 but the questions surrounding DeMelo's status were a much bigger deal. After the game, via social media, Racing announced that she was alert and being sent to a local Bay Area hospital.
DeMelo had been out of the lineup ever since, before her appearance this past weekend against the San Diego Wave. She played limited minutes in a 4-1 defeat for Racing.
The loss of DeMelo has hurt Racing, and they have won only once in five games this year, after a 7-7-12 finish last year. The 27-year-old has been one of the more steady and creative players in the NWSL since her rookie season in 2022.
Since her rookie season, she has 14 goals and in 2023 was named to the NWSL Challenge Cup All-Tournament team. Her play did not go unnoticed by US Soccer.
Savannah DeMelo became just the third player to ever make a US World Cup roster before playing in a game for the USWNT
It was her play with Racing, that earned a spot on the national team roster for the 2023 World Cup. She played and started in both the US matches against Vietnam and the Netherlands. They scored four goals between the two games, compared to zero goals in the last games of the tournament, in which she did not start.
During the 2024 season for Racing, she added five goals and two assists and was consistently one of the premier midfielders in the league. She was poised for another impressive 2025 season before her injury.
She has now made her way back to the lineup, via limited minutes. It appears both DeMelo and Racing will be bringing her back slowly. Hopefully she will be on the pitch as a starter soon. However, due to the nature of the injury, will she return to her 2023 form?
She told reporters after her appearance against the San Diego Wave, "My legs feel good, and my heart feels good, which is what most important."
Time will tell, but the heart she has displayed by coming back after the injury should prove her durability and chance to return to be a premiere midfielder yet again.