Lexington SC
Lexington Sporting Club is an American professional soccer team based in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 2021, the team will play its inaugural season in 2023. The team will compete in USL League One, in the third division of the United States soccer league system, and play its initial home matches at Toyota Stadium at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky.
| Full name | Lexington Sporting Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Lexington SC, LSC |
| Founded | October 5, 2021 |
| Stadium | Toyota Stadium Georgetown, Kentucky |
| Capacity | 5,000 |
| Owner | Bill Shively, Stephen Dawahare |
| President | Vince Gabbert |
| Sporting Director & Head Coach | Sam Stockley |
| League | USL League One |
| Website | Club website |
History
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]
Colors and crest
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.[3] Payne coordinated with Lexington-based media and PR company Bullhorn Creative which oversaw project management, creative services, and messaging beyond the brand design.[4][5]
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 in the club's brand identity. Themes which 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.[6][7]
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.[8] 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,[9] 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."[4]
Stadium
Lexington SC will play its inaugural season in Toyota Stadium at Georgetown College.[10]
The team's ownership group had proposed a soccer-specific stadium in downtown Lexington, but that proposal was denied by LFUCG. The stadium will now be built off Athens Rd just off the 104 I75 Exit with a capacity of approximately 6,000+ seats, as their permanent home, with 2024 as the goal for opening.[11]
Proposed stadium
Originally, the team had plans for a downtown stadium as a part of the Lexington Center Corporation's High Street Development Project.[12] The stadium's design was being directed by architecture firm Gensler.[13] The firm is perhaps best known for designing Shanghai Tower, currently the world's third-tallest building by height.[14] The firm is also responsible for designing several other sporting-specific stadiums and entertainment facilities including Milwaukee Bucks Entertainment Blocks (Milwaukee Bucks), the Banc of California Stadium (Los Angeles Football Club), Q2 Stadium (Austin FC), and BMO Field, Canada's first soccer-specific stadium (Toronto Football Club).[15] The proposed location for the facility was in the heart of downtown, directly across the street from Central Bank Center[16] and Rupp Arena,[17] a multi-purpose venue which hosts the UK Wildcats men'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.[18] Plans for a new stadium site are finalized now in a separate location.
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.[19] In April 2022, Lexington SC announced that it will join the Girls Academy League to add a girls’ youth program in Fall 2022.[20] The following week, the club announced its participation in the USL Academy as part of its pathway-to-pro development model for youth.[21] 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
Current roster
- As of March 15, 2023
| No. | Pos. | Player | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Austin Causey | United States |
| 2 | DF | Tate Robertson | United States |
| 3 | DF | Owen Green | England |
| 4 | DF | Kimball Jackson | United States |
| 5 | DF | Kaelon Fox | United States |
| 7 | FW | Jalen James | United States |
| 8 | MF | Charlie Machell | England |
| 9 | FW | Will Baynham | Australia |
| 10 | MF | Don Smart | Jamaica |
| 11 | MF | Seo-In Kim | South Korea |
| 13 | GK | Amal Knight | Jamaica |
| 14 | FW | Khalid Balogun | Nigeria |
| 17 | DF | Erick Gonzalez | United States |
| 18 | FW | Drew Patterson | United States |
| 20 | MF | Diallo Irakoze | Tanzania |
| 22 | MF | Phila Dlamini | South Africa |
| 25 | MF | Pierre Mané | Senegal |
| 26 | DF | Cesar Murillo | United States |
| 32 | FW | Ates Diouf | Senegal |
| 33 | DF | Franky Martinez | United States |
| 44 | GK | Luke Phillips ([A]) | United States |
| 57 | DF | Terique Mohammed | Canada |
| 77 | MF | Nico Brown | Jamaica |
- ^ USL Academy Contract
Staff
| Front Office Staff | |
|---|---|
| President | Vince Gabbert |
| Chief Operating Officer | Steven Short |
| Director of Business & Finance | Denver Pratt |
| Operations & Projects Manager | Gretchen Mills |
| Director of Marketing & Communications | Kyle Piercy |
| Video Producer and Editor | Charles William Brubeck IV |
| Director of Retail Operations | Leslie Delk III |
| Technical Staff | |
| Sporting Director & Head Coach | Sam Stockley |
| Assistant Coach & U-23 Head Coach | Nacho Novo |
| Goalkeeping Coach & Head of Goalkeeping | Connor Talbot |
Team records
Head coaches
| Coach | Nationality | Start | End | Games | Win | Loss | Draw | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Stockley[24] | England | October 13, 2022 | Present | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
References
- ^ "United Soccer League Welcomes Lexington Pro Soccer as League One Expansion Club". 5 October 2021.
- ^ "Lexington Sporting Club Reveal Brand Identity". 22 March 2022.
- ^ "One Pager". Football Brand Designer.
- ^ a b Payne, Christopher (2022-03-22). "Behind the scenes: Designing Lexington Sporting Club's visual identity". Football Brand Designer.
- ^ "Lexington Sporting Club". Bullhorn Creative.
- ^ "Lexington's new pro soccer team releases name, crest". FOX 56 News. 2022-03-22. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
- ^ "OUR CREST". Lexington Sporting Club.
- ^ "61 Reasons Lexington is the Horse Capital of the World". www.visitlex.com. 2020-07-02.
- ^ Wood, Campbell (2021-11-18). "BizLex Q&A: Vince Gabbert". Smiley Pete Publishing.
- ^ "Lexington Sporting Club to play inaugural professional season at Georgetown College". Lexington Sporting Club. February 24, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
- ^ "Lexington Pro Soccer Release Renderings for Downtown Soccer Stadium". 21 January 2022.
- ^ "Lexington Center Corporation requests proposals for High Street Development Project". WLEX. 2021-09-17. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
- ^ "Lexington leaders: USL stadium will bring jobs, excitement downtown". spectrumnews1.com. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
- ^ Mikel, Aaron (2022-01-21). "Lexington Pro Soccer releases stadium renderings". LEXtoday. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
- ^ "Pro soccer team pitches downtown stadium complex". ABC 36 News. 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
- ^ Lofton, Shelby. "Business owners ready for increased foot traffic following official opening of Central Bank Center". WKYT.
- ^ Lofton, Shelby. "Lexington Pro Soccer releases renderings of proposed stadium". WSAZ.
- ^ Hedrick, Chad. "Lexington Sporting Club plans to build complex off Newtown Pike". www.wymt.com. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
- ^ "Lexington Football Club and Commonwealth Soccer Club to Merge Under Lexington Sporting Club Soccer Academy".
- ^ "Lexington Sporting Club to join Girls Academy for 2022-23 season". WLEX. 2022-04-11. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
- ^ "Lexington Sporting Club signs on for pre-professional league". WLEX. 2022-04-18. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
- ^ "Front Office Staff". lexsporting.com. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
- ^ "Technical Staff". lexsporting.com. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
- ^ Piercy, Kyle (October 13, 2022). "Sam Stockley selected as first ever head coach for Lexington Sporting Club senior team". Lexington Sporting Club. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
External links
- Official website