Lexington Sporting Club’s new professional women’s soccer team plays its first match

A new chapter in Kentucky’s professional sports history began Sunday afternoon.

Lexington Sporting Club’s professional women’s soccer team , which is one of eight teams that plays in the new USL Super League, played its first match.

LSC earned a 1-1 draw against the Carolina Ascent FC at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Lexington’s first professional women’s soccer goal came in the 48th minute when Sydney Shepherd’s header from a Maddy Perez corner kick deflected off a Carolina defender and in.

Carolina Ascent equalized in the 76th minute through Mia Corbin, whose powerful shot flew into the top left corner of the net after she was set up by a pass from the left wing from Jill Aguilera.

LSC goalkeeper Bridgette Skiba made several late stops to secure a road point for the visitors as Carolina applied late pressure. This included an 88th minute diving save to deny a goal by Carolina’s Jaydah Bedoya.

Carolina Ascent enjoyed a slight 50.7% possession advantage over LSC. Carolina had five shots on goal compared to Lexington’s four.

“Really happy about getting our first game in this league,” LSC head coach Michael Dickey said in a news release. “Happy to come away with a point, but disappointed it wasn’t three. We had some opportunities that got away from us. We will get back to work this week and improve on areas that need be to addressed.”

Lexington played with energy from the start of Sunday’s match. The first half of the game was filled with encouraging moments for Dickey’s team.

LSC used a high press to force Carolina Ascent into several turnovers deep in its own half of the field. While LSC was unable to score before halftime, the visitors enjoyed the majority of the dangerous scoring chances during the opening 45 minutes.

This included when forward Kailey Utley hit the post on a right-footed shot during a breakaway attempt on goal in the 30th minute.

Utley, who is Lexington’s all-time leading scorer for the club’s pre-professional women’s team in the USL W League, timed her attacking run for that scoring chance perfectly before being played through on goal by Madison Parsons, who also had an active first half when it came to creating scoring chances.

“Definitely just high pressing them, not letting them have time to face up and play those balls out,” Parsons told the Peacock-streamed broadcast of the game at halftime. “High intensity when we’re defending, winning that ball back as soon as we lose it is key to our success here.”

Both Parsons and NaYeong Shin picked up first-half yellow cards for LSC. Shin was substituted at halftime by Dickey for Natalie Turner-Wyatt.

During the course of the second half, Dickey opted to make four other substitutions with JJ Aalbue, Alyssa Frazier, Kimberly Mendez and former Kentucky women’s soccer standout Hannah Richardson all also seeing the field.

Lexington Sporting Club sets women’s soccer firsts in debut match

In addition to the first goal in the history of LSC’s professional women’s soccer team, several other firsts for the club were established Sunday.

The first starting lineup for LSC was: Skiba (GK), Shepherd, Perez, Courtney Jones, Autumn Weeks, Shin, Parsons, Shea Moyer, Cori Sullivan, Utley and Marykate McGuire.

LSC’s injury report for Sunday’s match featured four players: Elysia Laramie, Trinity Watson, Natalie Higgins and Emmi Dunn.

Through two weeks of Super League play, seven of the league’s eight teams have now made their debuts. Only Brooklyn FC (New York) is yet to take the pitch.

Thus far in the Super League, four of the five matches that have been played have ended in draws. Carolina is the only Super League team that’s recorded a victory.

The Super League is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation as a Division I league, which places it on the same level as the already-established National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

Kentucky’s other pro women’s soccer team, Racing Louisville FC, plays in the NWSL.

LSC’s next pro women’s soccer match will be at new stadium

Next up will be another milestone moment for both LSC and the Central Kentucky sports landscape.

On Sept. 8, Lexington Sporting Club’s women’s team will play its next match. That matchup against Tampa Bay Sun FC will also be LSC’s home opener in the Super League, and it will be played inside a new, soccer-specific stadium located near Athens Boonesboro Road and Interstate 75 in Lexington.

That stadium — which is part of a larger soccer complex at the same location that already includes seven training and youth fields — will have 7,500 seats and will also host home matches for LSC’s professional men’s soccer team.

The LSC men’s team currently plays in USL League One, the third-tier of American men’s pro soccer. But, the LSC men’s squad will move up to play in the USL Championship — the second-tier of American men’s pro soccer and the highest level overseen by the USL — starting in 2025.

The Super League season runs from August until June 2025. Lexington will play 13 more matches in the fall 2024 portion of its schedule, starting with that Sept. 8 home opener.

Following the regular season, which includes 14 more matches in spring 2025 for a total of 28 regular season contests, the top four teams in the Super League standings will compete in a single-elimination playoff tournament.

Tickets to Lexington Sporting Club’s home matches in the Super League — including the first match in the new stadium on Sept. 8 — can be found by visiting www.lexsporting.com/tickets .

Every Super League match is available to stream on Peacock, NBC’s streaming service. Fans can visit www.peacocktv.com/sports to access Super League matches on Peacock.

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