WSOC Players Stay Local for Summer -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Four Cards on Racing Louisville USLW Team 

Davy (20) and Huckaby (2)

Racing Louisville announced the roster for their 2025 USL W League season, and four Cardinals will spend their summer playing for the local club. The four Louisville players are among 18 Division I players on the 46-player roster, with 10 of those coming from Power 4 conferences. This season, Cards trading the red and black for lavender are Fina Davy, AG Gibson, Betsy Huckaby, and Grace Maddox. That marks an increase in UofL representation by one, Davy and Maddox join for the first time and Brooke Dardano graduated this past season. 

Other local schools represented include UK (Mallory Glass), EKU (Kaitlyn Rowlett), Breanna Dardano (Xavier; and yes, they're related), and Bellarmine. Callie McKinney's squad ties UofL for the largest non-Racing Academy contingent on the roster with four representatives of their own: Dakota Bramer, Sidney Rigsby, Shelby Smith, and Lucy von Stefenelli. 

Racing got their USL W season started with a bang yesterday evening on a beautiful night down at the Lynn Training Complex, beating the Dayton Dutch Lions by a whopping 9-0 scoreline. The win kicked off a 10-match schedule against local clubs. From now, Racing will play a home-and-away with Kings Hammer FC (Cincinnati/NKY), Lexington SC, Indy Eleven, and Dayton with one extra road game against Kings Hammer. The season is short, as the last game will be played on June 24th. 

Maddox (5), Gibson (24), and Avery Oergel

The UofL representatives on the team had a big game in last night's win, with Grace Maddox getting a start, playing all 90 minutes, and leading the team in scoring with three goals. Fina Davy also played all 90 and scored one goal. AG Gibson started and played 59 minutes, and Betsy Huckaby's 31 minutes make it seem as though Huckaby may have subbed on for Gibson. Neither of the two scored, and assists weren't tracked. 

Regardless of the outcome and the stats, Louisville players getting more touches on the ball, especially with one another, is extremely valuable. One of the biggest issues with the Cards last season was seeming disjointed, especially in the middle and final thirds. Having more opportunities to develop an on-field relationship can only help, considering that the four players on the Racing squad will likely make up the core of Louisville's attack in 2025. 

The team will head to Covington for their next game on Saturday before returning to Louisville against Lexington SC next Wednesday at 6PM. Home games are open to the public and free to attend. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case