Racing Louisville FC

Team information

Inaugural season: 2021

Home field: Lynn Family Stadium

Owner: Soccer Holdings, LLC

Team colors: Lavender and midnight violet

Overview

Racing Louisville FC is a professional women’s soccer team based in Louisville, Kentucky. It was established as a part of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) as the organization’s fourth expansion market in October of 2019. In the following months, officials and designers picked a name, logo, and colors for the team. An early name suggestion, Proof Louisville FC, was abandoned in favor of Racing Louisville Football Club (FC), which alludes to Kentucky’s horse-racing legacy and the Kentucky Derby. The team selected lavender and midnight violet as its colors and incorporated lavender into its logo, which also features a decorative lily design known as a fleur-de-lis, which appears on the seal of the city.

Officials built the team roster through the fall of 2020 and practice began the following February. Racing Louisville FC’s inaugural match against the Orlando Pride took place on April 10, 2021 and ended in a draw. The Louisville women secured their first victory on May 21, 2021, with a 2–0 win over the Washington Spirit. In August, they won the inaugural Women’s Cup tournament at their home stadium. In its first season, Racing Louisville FC won 5 matches, drew 7 times, and lost 12 matches. The club ranked ninth out of ten clubs in the NWSL, but its number of points (22) set a league record for the most scored in a season by an expansion club. Racing Louisville FC plays out of the Lynn Family Stadium. Soccer Holdings, LLC, owns Racing, the stadium, and a Louisville men’s soccer team called Louisville City FC.

History

The sport Americans call soccer—known as football in most other countries—was slow to become popular in the United States. Soccer leagues struggled to find footing through the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Women’s soccer caught on at an even slower rate than the men’s version. However, a major new US organization for female players, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), was founded in 2012 and started organizing games in 2013.

In the following years, the NWSL grew in scope and popularity, establishing franchises in several major American cities. In 2019, Louisville, Kentucky, entered contention for its own women’s soccer team. On October 22 of that year, NWSL officials announced that they had chosen to include the city as one of the organization’s fourth expansion markets.

This was a historic development for Louisville sports fans. The city had been without a top-level pro sports team since the Kentucky Colonels basketball team had folded in 1976. In the late 2010s, the city gained two new professional soccer teams. The first was a men’s team called Louisville City FC, also known as LouCity, which quickly made a name for itself and won two championships in the United Soccer League (USL). Shortly thereafter, in 2019, the city prepared to launch a women’s soccer team. Both teams would be run by Soccer Holdings, LLC. John Neace served as chairperson and chief executive officer, while Brad Estes was the franchise president.

Organizers had much to do following the NWSL announcement. Even before a roster could be assembled, teams of designers and marketers went to work creating an identity for the new team. The original concept for the team involved the name Proof Louisville FC. The word proof is a standard for alcohol content in liquor and represented Kentucky’s long tradition of making bourbon. However, this name proved unpopular, with many local residents asking officials to reconsider. After further consideration, officials chose the name Racing Louisville FC. The term racing refers to the state’s long heritage of horse racing, best demonstrated in the world-famous Kentucky Derby. Meanwhile, the fc in the title is short for football club, a nod to the sport’s name outside of the United States.

On July 8, 2020, the new team announced its name and branding. The logo, designed by Matthew Wolff, takes the form of a lavender circle with a black border, which contains the name of the club in black text. In the center of the circle are four fleur-de-lis symbols facing the four points of a compass. The fleur-de-lis was the symbol of the French monarch Louis XVI, for whom Louisville is named, and is the city’s symbol. Wolff worked to show off the team’s colors, lavender and midnight violet, which he felt were unique to Racing Louisville.

Thus outfitted, Racing Louisville FC began building its roster. In the autumn of 2020 the team gained players through drafts and trades. The first players added were Savannah McCaskill and Yuki Nagasato, formerly of the Chicago Red Stars. The team also selected college standout Emily Fox in the NWSL College Draft the following January. Team training began on February 2, 2021, despite nagging snowfall.

The club played its first game on April 10, 2021, facing off against the Orlando Pride to a 2–2 draw that opened the NWSL’s Challenge Cup for that season. The team struggled through its next matches, with two losses and two draws (the latter to the Kansas City Current and NJ/NY Gotham FC). Louisville finally got into the win column with a 2–0 defeat of the Washington Spirit on May 21, 2021.

On June 20, Racing Louisville defeated the Houston Dash 1–0. The club took down the Chicago Red Stars six days later by a score of 0–3. In July, the Racing women tied with Orlando Pride. On August 8, they secured a strong 3–1 win over the Kansas City Current, and then drew in their subsequent two matches, against Gotham and the Red Stars. A draw against OL Reign took place on September 4, and a victory over Orlando Pride occurred on October 16. The final two matches of the 2021 season were draws against Gotham.

One of the most important days in the short life of Racing Louisville was July 16, 2021, which marked the official opening of the Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center and Lynn Family Stadium at Champions Park. The Lynn Family Stadium, owned by Soccer Holdings, LLC, was the new home of Racing Louisville as well as its brother team, Louisville City FC. With seating for 11,600 supporters and a total capacity of more than 15,000, the stadium is the largest soccer field in the area. An average of 6,585 supporters attended Racing matches there during the team’s first season.

By the end of its inaugural 2021 season, Racing Louisville FC had a record of 5 wins, 7 draws, and 12 losses. That score put the team in ninth place within the ranks of the NWSL, but Louisville set a new league record for the most points scored by an expansion club with 22 points. Clubs are awarded three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss. Racing Louisville FC also marked an uncounted victory on August 21, 2021, in a new tournament called The Women’s Cup. In this tournament, Racing won against international teams Paris Saint-Germain (from France) and FC Bayern Munich (from Germany), defeating the latter on penalty kicks.

Notable players

In its short life, Racing Louisville FC has welcomed many accomplished soccer players into its roster. Its first-ever players were former Chicago Red Stars Savannah McCaskill and Yuki Nagasato. Racing also secured a top college draftee, Emily Fox, during its formation in 2020.

For the team, 2021 was a season of firsts. Racing’s first victory came on May 21 thanks to a goal and an assist by Emina Ekic, a native resident of Louisville. Another important win came on June 20, when forward Ebony Salmon secured a game-taking goal. Although it was only Salmon’s debut game with the NWSL, she was featured as the “Top Play of the Day” by ESPN’s SportsCenter. A big win in the inaugural Women’s Cup trophy took place on August 21, when Katie Lund, Racing’s substitute goalkeeper, beat FC Bayern Munich with penalty kicks.

Other players during the 2021 season included goalkeepers Shelby Money and Michelle Betos, and outfielders Erin Simon, Gemma Bonner, Sinclaire Miramontez, Nealy Martin, and Brooke Hendrix. As of August 31, 2021, the interim head coach was Mario Sanchez, with assistance from Gary Curneen, Sergio Gonzalez, and Kiley Polk.

Bibliography

“About Racing Louisville FC.” Racing Louisville FC Website, 2021, www.racingloufc.com/about. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.

Creditor, Avi. “NWSL Expansion Team to Be Called Racing Louisville FC.” Sports Illustrated, 8 July 2020, www.si.com/soccer/2020/07/08/racing-louisville-fc-nwsl-expansion-team-name-colors-crest. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.

Lauletta, Dan. “Eight Teams to Start New Women’s Pro Soccer League in 2013.” The Equalizer, 21 Nov. 2012, equalizersoccer.com/2012/11/21/eight-teams-to-start-new-womens-pro-soccer-league-in-2013/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.

“Racing Louisville FC.” The Athletic, 2021, theathletic.com/team/racing-louisville/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.

“Racing Louisville FC.” ESPN, 2021, www.espn.com/soccer/team/‗/id/20905. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.

Racing Louisville FC Website, 2021, www.racingloufc.com/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.