Lexington SC (women)

Last updated
Lexington Sporting Club
Lexington SC logo.png
Full nameLexington Sporting Club
Nickname(s)Gals in Green
Short nameLexington SC
Lex SC
LSC
FoundedOctober 5, 2021;3 years ago (2021-10-05)
Stadium Lexington SC Stadium
Lexington, Kentucky
Capacity7,500
OwnerBill and Donna Shively
Stephen Dawahare
PresidentVince Gabbert
Sporting DirectorMichelle Rayner
Coach Michael Dickey
League USL Super League
2024-25 TBD
Website https://lexsporting.com/
Soccerball current event.svg Current season

Lexington Sporting Club is an American professional women's soccer club based in Lexington, Kentucky, that competes in the USL Super League (USLS). The club also fields a team in the USL W League (USLW).

Contents

USL Super League

Inaugural season

In May 2023, the USL announced that LSC would be an inaugural member of the USL Super League, kicking off in 2024 alongside Charlotte, Dallas-Fort Worth, Carolina Ascent FC, Brooklyn FC, Dallas Trinity FC Spokane Zephyr FC, Tampa Bay Sun FC, Fort Lauderdale United FC, and DC Power FC, with Chattanooga, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Madison, and Oakland set to join in subsequent seasons. [1]

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. [2]

On January 9, 2024, the club announced Michael Dickey as the women's first team inaugural head coach for the inaugural 2024 season scheduled to kick off in August. [3]

On September 8, 2024, the USL Super League team played the first ever game at the newly built Lexington SC Stadium in front of a crowd of 3,946 - the largest in the club's history across all teams. [4]

USL W League

Announced in October 2022, Lexington SC participated in the USL W League [5] a pre-professional women's soccer league in the United States which began play in May 2023. The team competes in the Valley Division alongside Indy Eleven, Kings Hammer FC, Racing Louisville Academy, and St. Charles FC. [6] The inaugural team played its matches at Toyota Stadium (Kentucky). Former National Women's Soccer League player Morgan Proffitt notably appeared in a handful of matches for the inaugural team.

Supporters

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. [7]

The Railbirds unveil their "The Race Starts Now" tifo before the kickoff of Lexington's inaugural home match at Toyota Stadium. Railbirds first ever tifo revealed April 2023.jpg
The Railbirds unveil their "The Race Starts Now" tifo before 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. [8]

The group supports all teams that the club fields, including the men's teams that play in USL League One.

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." [9]

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." [9]

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." [9]

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." [9]

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. [10] Payne coordinated with Lexington-based media and PR company Bullhorn Creative which oversaw project management, creative services, and messaging beyond the brand design. [11] [12]

Over 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. [13] [14]

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. [15] 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, [16] 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." [11]

Sponsorship

SeasonsKit manufacturerShirt sponsor
2024 (USL Super League) Nike UK HealthCare Sports Medicine
2023-24 (USLW)Badass Coffee of Hawaii

Mascot

The club's mascot Thunder in her pen prior to kickoff LSC Mascot Thunder at a game.jpg
The club's mascot Thunder in her pen prior to kickoff

On May 12, 2023, LSC announced their official "mini" mascot Thunder, a miniature therapy horse stationed in the southwest corner of Toyota Stadium during matches. [17] 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.

Stadium

Lexington SC's Super League team will be the first to play in Lexington SC Stadium, a new 7,500 soccer-specific stadium in the southeastern part of Lexington, Kentucky. The stadium will be the home for the club's 2 professional teams and is surrounded by the club's professional and academy training grounds.

Players and staff

USL Super League current roster

As of October 2, 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
00 GK Flag of the United States.svg  USA Taiana Tolleson
1 GK Flag of the United States.svg  USA Sarah Cox
2 FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Kailey Utley
3 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Alyssa Frazier
4 DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Trinity Watson
5 DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Madison Perez
6 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Emmi Dunn
7 DF Flag of South Korea.svg  KOR Na-Yeong Shin
8 MF Flag of New Zealand.svg  NZL Grace Wisnewski
9F/DFlag of the United States.svg  USA Elysia Laramie
10 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Kimberly Mendez
11 FW Flag of Norway.svg  NOR Madelen Holme
12 FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Marykate McGuire
13 FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Hannah Richardson
No.Pos.NationPlayer
15 FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Madison Parsons
16 FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Julie Mackin
17 FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Cori Sullivan
18 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Natalie Higgins
19 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Natalie Turner-Wyatt
20 DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Autumn Weeks
21 GK Flag of the United States.svg  USA Bridgette Skiba
22 DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Sydney Shephard
23 FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Jennifer "JJ" Aalbue
24 FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Courtney Jones
25 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Shea Moyer (C)
29 FW Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Amanda Allen (On Loan from Orlando Pride)
42 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Claire Winter

C - Team Captain

Staff

Front Office
PresidentVince Gabbert
Chief Operating OfficerKim Shelton
USL Women's Technical Staff
Women's Sporting DirectorMichelle Reyner
USL Super League Head Coach Michael Dickey
USL Super League Assistant CoachMaren McCrary
USL Super League Assistant & Goalkeeping Coach Ben Willis
USL W-League CoachPaul Dolinsky

[18] [19]

Team records

Year-by-year

USL Super League

As of December 14, 2024
Season USL Super League PlayoffsTop Scorer 1 Head CoachAvg. Attendance
DivMWDLGFGAGDPtsPosPlayerGoals
2024-25 1143382030-10127thTBD Flag of the United States.svg Madison Parsons5 Flag of the United States.svg Michael Dickey 1,811

USL W-League

As of December 6, 2023
Season USL W League PlayoffsTop Scorer 1 Head Coach
MWDLGFGAGDPtsPosPlayerGoals
2023 103161017−7103rdDid not qualify Flag of the United States.svg Kailey Utley4 Flag of England.svg Alan Kirkup
2024 104242313+10143rdDid not qualify Flag of the United States.svg Makala Woods6 Flag of England.svg Alan Kirkup

^ 1. Top Scorer includes statistics from league matches only.

Head coaches

USL Super League

CoachNationalityStartEndGamesWinLossDrawWin %
Michael Dickey Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States January 9, 2024Present14383021.43

USL W League

CoachNationalityStartEndGamesWinDrawLossWin %
Alan Kirkup Flag of England.svg October 18, 2022June 29, 2024 [20] 20731042.5
Paul Dolinsky Flag of the United States.svg Unknown [21] Present00000

League honors

USL Super League

USL W League

2024
Team of the Month
  • Katelyn Fishnick - May

Other honors

The Railbirds (Supporters Group)

Golden Horseshoe
2024 USLW Player of the Year - Makala Woods

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References

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  2. "About the Usl Super League".
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  10. "One Pager". Football Brand Designer.
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  12. "Lexington Sporting Club". Bullhorn Creative.
  13. "Lexington's new pro soccer team releases name, crest". FOX 56 News. 2022-03-22. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  14. "OUR CREST". Lexington Sporting Club.
  15. "61 Reasons Lexington is the Horse Capital of the World". www.visitlex.com. 2020-07-02.
  16. Wood, Campbell (2021-11-18). "BizLex Q&A: Vince Gabbert". Smiley Pete Publishing.
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  18. "Front Office Staff". lexsporting.com. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  19. "Technical Staff". lexsporting.com. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  20. Announced over the PA at the June 29th, 2024 match against Kings Hammer FC that Coach Alan Kirkup would be retiring
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