On October 5, 2021, the United Soccer League announced that Tower Hill Sports had been granted a USL League One expansion team in Lexington to start play in the 2023 season.[1] Tentatively named "Lexington Pro Soccer," the team revealed its official colors, crest, and branding as Lexington Sporting Club on March 22, 2022.[2]
The club's inaugural match was against fellow expansion side One Knoxville SC on March 18, 2023, where they fell 1–2, with Don Smart scoring the first goal in the club's history from a penalty kick in the 28th minute. They won their first match on April 15, 2023, in a 2–1 victory over Tormenta FC in full time at Toyota Stadium.[3]
Lexington Sporting Club also fields 2 women's sides within the USL's structure – a professional team in the USL Super League and a pre-professional team in the USL W League. Former New Zealand international Michelle Reyner[6] serves as the Women's Sporting Director, with Mike Dickey[7] serving as the head coach of the USL Super League team and Paul Dolinsky serving as the USLW head coach. Prior to LSC, Dolinsky served as the head coach for Indy Eleven's W-League head coach, leading them on their 2023 title run.
The USL Super League (USLS) is a Division I professional women's soccer league in the United States. The league will be owned and operated by the United Soccer League. Originally planned to launch in August 2023, it is now slated to begin play in August 2024.[9]
On January 9, 2024, the club announced Michael Dickey as the women's first team inaugural head coach for the inaugural 2024 season that is scheduled to kick off in August.[10]
The reported trophy for the winner on aggregate score at the end of the USL1 season is "a full-size whiskey barrel and a bottle of bourbon from a distiller located in the losing club’s locale."[13] Despite this, neither fan group has yet to see such a prize as of the start of the 2024 season.
The Kentucky Derby Derby / El Bluegrassico (Lexington vs. Louisville)
Lexington SC and Louisville City FC met for the first time in 2023 in the 2nd round of the U.S. Open Cup. The fans of both teams coined the term "El Bluegrassico" as a play on the name of the classic La Liga derby El Clásico and the nickname for Kentucky, “The Bluegrass State.” Along with that, during their first match, an announcer coined the game as being "The Kentucky Derby Derby," in reference to both city's horseracing culture and the Kentucky Derby. Lexington plays in a separate division of the United States soccer league system with Lou City playing the USL Championship, which is the 2nd division, and Lexington playing in the 3rd division league USL1.
The Green Team Gauntlet/Battle of the Greens (Lexington vs. Greenville)
This "rivalry" was created by Tyler Crane of Crane Kicks Lex (fan blog/podcast) and Gio Cañas, who is a notable Twitter presence within USL1 Twitter landscape, who now works for the Greenville Triumph SC. On the field, the rivalry has lived up to "hype," featuring late-game thrillers in 2 of the first 3 fixtures.
The Railbirds are the only officially recognized supporters group for the club. The group was founded in August 2022 by Jesus Robles, Sam Spencer, Jon Lunsford, and Alan Clark.[21]
The Railbirds unveil their "The Race Starts Now" tifo prior to the kickoff of Lexington's inaugural home match at Toyota Stadium.
The group's name is inspired by the horseracing term "Railbird" – a person who hangs on the fence of a horse track, cheering for their horse and helping to give that final push across the finish line.[22]
They can be found in The Stables or Section 109 at Toyota Stadium.
Colors and crest
Per the club's website, the crest and colors are broken down as follows-
Typography – "Our name, Lexington Sporting Club, is emblazoned in typography inspired by bourbon barrels. The letters are reminiscent of the barrels' graceful curves, giving our name the weight of local history and tradition."[23]
The Shield – "The shield reflects the longstanding traditions of soccer. The heraldic silhouette recalls soccer club crests from the sport's early days during the Victorian Era. And the tapered shape perfectly frames our horse and our name."[23]
The Horse – "Horses are synonymous with Lexington, the horse capital of the world. People speak with pride about the majestic, athletic, powerful, animal. The design of our horse is distinct yet traditional. Rearing upward gives the crest a sense of energy and power, striking a balance of historical and contemporary."[23]
The Colors – "Lexington's rolling hills and lush, leafy woodland that bolster Kentucky's major industries – bourbon and horses – inspire the colors for this design. Our community carries a strong sense of place, and we love the memorable green colors that dominate our landscape."[23]
Design process
The Lexington SC crest was designed by Christopher Payne, a designer whose work with soccer clubs in the United Kingdom and the United States includes Eastleigh Football Club, Flower City Union, Monterey Bay FC, and Appalachian FC.[24] Payne coordinated with Lexington-based media and PR company Bullhorn Creative which oversaw project management, creative services, and messaging beyond the brand design.[25][26]
Over the course of several months, Lexington SC leadership held fourteen listening sessions with community members, gathering more than 300 responses to brand surveys and more than 1,500 responses to stadium surveys to identify key themes to reflect on the club's brand identity. Themes that emerged included the cultural landscape of the Bluegrass region and its lush green rolling hills and leafy woodlands, its equine and bourbon industries, and a communal sense of place.[27][28]
Surrounded by over 400 horse farms, Lexington is often referred to as the "Horse Capital of the World". It was also the first city outside of Europe to ever host the World Equestrian Games.[29] To reflect this heritage, as well as club ownership's involvement in the thoroughbred industry and President Vince Gabbert's professional connection to Keeneland Race Course,[30] the crest features a vibrant green stylized horse figure set against a dark green background.
Payne developed a typeface called Lex Type specific for Lexington SC branding. He states, "Like a horse, Lex Type is tall, powerful, and athletic. However, if you look closely, you’ll notice the typeface has subtle curves at the top and the bottom of the letters. This detail is inspired by the graceful curves of a bourbon barrel, tying the typography to this important element of local history and tradition."[25]
The club's mascot Thunder in her pen prior to kickoff
On May 12, 2023, LSC announced their official "mini" mascotThunder, a miniature therapy horse stationed in the southwest corner of Toyota Stadium during matches.[31] Thunder is very popular among fans, especially younger ones and helped pave the way for the green horse found on the club's crest to be nicknamed Thunder by the fans after her.
The team's ownership group had proposed a soccer-specific stadium in downtown Lexington, but the Lexington–Fayette Urban County Government denied that proposal. The stadium being built off Athens Rd will have a capacity of approximately 5,500 seats with the ability for the stadium to be renovated to be expanded to 11,000 seats. Surrounding the stadium will be the training grounds for both the professional Men's and Women's teams as well as the fields for the academy.[33][34]
Proposed stadium
Originally, the team had plans for a downtown stadium as a part of the Lexington Center Corporation's High Street Development Project.[35] The stadium's design was being directed by architecture firm Gensler.[36] The firm is perhaps best known for designing Shanghai Tower, currently the world's third-tallest building by height.[37] The firm is also responsible for designing several other sporting-specific stadiums and entertainment facilities including Milwaukee Bucks Entertainment Blocks (Milwaukee Bucks), BMO Stadium (Los Angeles FC), Q2 Stadium (Austin FC), and BMO Field, Canada's first soccer-specific stadium (Toronto FC).[38] The proposed location for the facility was in the heart of downtown, directly across the street from Central Bank Center[39] and Rupp Arena,[40] a multi-purpose venue which hosts the Kentucky Wildcatsmen's basketball team, concerts, conventions, and shows. The team has since withdrawn this proposal and that site will be used for mixed-use development instead.[41]
Toyota Stadium in Georgetown, KY during a Lexington SC game against One Knoxville SC.
Academy
On the same day the club revealed its branding, Lexington SC also announced that two local youth soccer clubs, Lexington F.C. and Commonwealth Soccer Club, would merge to form Lexington SC Academy.[42] In April 2022, Lexington SC announced that it will join the Girls Academy League to add a girls’ youth program in Fall 2022.[43] The following week, the club announced its participation in the USL Academy as part of its pathway-to-pro development model for youth.[44] Their teams play in leagues like Kentucky Premier League (KPL), Kentucky Select Soccer League (KSSL), Great Lakes Conference (GLC), Girls Academy (GA), and more.
Players and staff
USL1 current roster
As of July 11, 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Toyota Stadium is a stadium in Georgetown, Kentucky, United States. It is the home field of Georgetown College's American football, soccer, and lacrosse teams. It also hosts Lexington SC of USL League One and USL W League and previously hosted the training camp for the Cincinnati Bengals. The stadium, which holds 5,000 and is expandable to 20,000, was built in 1997.
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The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began play in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) as a Division II league since 2017, placing it under Major League Soccer in the hierarchy. The USL is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.
Orlando City Soccer Club, known as Orlando City SC or simply Orlando City, is an American professional soccer club based in Orlando, Florida. The club competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top division in the United States soccer league system. Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the USL Pro team of the same name. In doing so they became the first MLS team in Florida since Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny both folded following the 2001 season. The team plays in Downtown Orlando at Inter&Co Stadium, which it owns and operates.
Louisville City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the USL Championship, which is currently the second tier of the American soccer pyramid.
Asheville City SC is an American amateur soccer team based in Asheville, North Carolina. Founded in 2016, the men's team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The women's team was founded in 2017 and played in the Women's Premier Soccer League until joining the newly formed USL W League for the 2022 season. The team colors are blue and white.
USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championship and other leagues. As of 2024, the league has 12 teams who play 22 regular season games, followed by playoffs. All teams also participate in the USL Cup, adding an additional eight games, followed by knockout rounds.
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Alasanne Ates Diouf is a Senegalese footballer who plays for Lexington SC in USL League One.
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The USL W League (USLW) is a women's soccer league in the United States. It began play in May 2022 and follows the USL W-League, a similar league that existed from 1995 to 2015. It is currently not sanctioned by the US Soccer Federation, meaning it doesn't have a position in the US soccer pyramid.
One Knoxville Sporting Club is an American soccer team based in Knoxville, Tennessee that competes in USL League One, the third tier of the United States soccer league system.
The USL Super League (USLS) is a professional women's soccer league in the highest level of the United States league system, alongside the National Women's Soccer League. Organized by the United Soccer League (USL), it operates as its premier league for women above the pre-professional USL W League. The league consists of eight clubs who annually play four round-robins – two in the fall and two in the spring – to earn four places in a playoff tournament that determines the league's champion. Additional clubs are expected to join the league in the future. Clubs in the league have no cap on salaries or squad sizes, while minimum salaries are around US$35,000 to 37,000. There is no draft system, and squads are primarily built with free agents. The league's matches are streamed nationally on Peacock.
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The 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 109th edition of the U.S. Open Cup, the knockout domestic cup competition of American soccer. Houston Dynamo FC were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the round of 32 by Detroit City FC.
The 2023 Lexington SC season was the club's first season since their establishment on October 5, 2021. The club made its league debut in the USL League One as well as its domestic cup debut in the U.S. Open Cup.
The 2024 Lexington SC season is the club's second season since their establishment on October 5, 2021. The club will be competing in their second season in USL League One and will be part of the inaugural USL1 in-season tournament. They made their 2nd ever appearance in the U.S. Open Cup on March 19, falling 3–4 to amateur USL League Two side Vermont Green FC in what was the first-ever cup match played in the state, and LSC became the first professional club to play a competitive match in Vermont.
Lexington SC Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in Lexington, Kentucky. The stadium is home to Lexington SC's men's and women's teams, playing in the USL League One and the USL Super League, respectively. The stadium will have a capacity of 7,500, with the ability to be expanded to 11,000 with renovations.
The 2024-25 Lexington SC season is the inaugural USL Super League season, in which Lexington is a founding club. The league is a D1 women's professional soccer league that competes during the "European Calendar" from August until June, with taking a break in the winter similar to Germany.
Lexington Sporting Club fields 2 women's sides within the USL's structure – a professional team in the USL Super League and a pre-professional team in the USL W League. Former New Zealand international Michelle Reyner serves as the Women's Sporting Director.
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