What to know as Lexington Sporting Club begins a new era playing in the USL Championship
A new era for men’s professional soccer in Lexington will begin Saturday night.
Lexington Sporting Club’s pro men’s team is set to begin its first season in the USL Championship at 7 p.m. Saturday with a home match against Hartford Athletic at the Lexington SC Stadium.
LSC’s men’s side previously played two seasons in USL League One, the third-highest level of men’s pro soccer in the U.S.
Last August, it was announced that Lexington would be moving up to the Championship, which is the second-highest level of men’s professional soccer in the United States.
Currently, the Championship is the highest-level of men’s soccer overseen by the United Soccer League, which is beneath Major League Soccer (MLS) in this country’s soccer pyramid.
That’s not the only change in store for LSC, which struggled on the pitch during its two seasons at the League One level.
The team has a new head coach this season, an almost completely new-look roster and will play its entire home schedule at its own stadium, the 7,500-seat Lexington SC Stadium, which opened in September along Athens Boonesboro Road near Interstate 75.
There’s plenty of things to catch up on as professional men’s soccer returns to Lexington for another season. Here’s what you need to know.
Lexington Sporting Club to play Louisville City in USL Championship
Lexington’s move up to the Championship means LSC is set to face a whole new schedule of teams this season compared to its previous two seasons in League One.
LSC is one of 24 teams competing in the Championship in 2025.
Lexington’s fixture list includes two marquee matchups against Louisville City, a team that has twice been crowned Championship winners. But only one of these games will be a regular season match in the Championship.
Lexington and Louisville’s first on-field clash this season will be a Championship match at Louisville’s Lynn Family Stadium at 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 1. This will be just two days before the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
The two teams will meet again at the Lexington SC Stadium at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 26, but that match will be part of the newly expanded USL Jägermeister Cup, a competition that now includes all Championship and League One teams.
So far, LSC and Louisville City have faced each other only once in a competitive match: LouCity defeated LSC 1-0 in April 2023 in the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a national single-elimination tournament that’s held each year.
In addition to Louisville, Lexington Sporting Club will also have a regional rivalry matchup this season against Indy Eleven (Indianapolis). LSC will host Indy Eleven at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 22.
All Championship teams — evenly divided with 12 clubs in the Eastern Conference and 12 clubs in the Western Conference — will play a 34-game regular season.
Lexington is in the Western Conference, despite having a more Eastern location in the United States than three teams that are in the Eastern Conference.
The Eastern Conference, in full: Birmingham Legion, Charleston Battery, Detroit City, Hartford Athletic, Indy Eleven, Loudoun United, Louisville City, Miami FC, North Carolina FC, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Rhode Island FC and Tampa Bay Rowdies.
The Western Conference — Lexington’s conference — in full: Colorado Springs Switchbacks, El Paso Locomotive, Las Vegas Lights, Lexington Sporting Club, Monterey Bay, New Mexico United, Oakland Roots, Orange County SC, Phoenix Rising, Sacramento Republic, San Antonio FC and FC Tulsa.
The top eight teams in each of the Eastern Conference and Western Conference qualify for the playoffs. From there, it’s a bracket competition of one-off games to determine the champions of each conference. Then, the Championship final is contested to determine the league’s overall winner.
Colorado Springs is the defending champion. The Western Conference winner has won each of the last five Championship finals.
Lexington Sporting Club missed the playoffs in both of its seasons in USL League One.
LSC will attempt to record first win in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Lexington Sporting Club will once again be part of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup this season, which is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States.
Lexington will host Southern Indiana FC — a team from the United Premier Soccer League, a pro-development league — at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19, in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup.
Southern Indiana is based in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and had to advance through qualifying rounds to earn its spot in the U.S. Open Cup.
LSC is yet to record a victory in the national single-elimination tournament, losing at the first time of asking in each of the last two years. After being eliminated by LouCity in the competition in 2023, Lexington suffered a significant upset loss in the opening round of the U.S. Open Cup last season at Vermont Green FC, a team that was largely made up of college players or recently graduated college players.
Lexington is one of eight teams from the Championship set to begin U.S. Open Cup play this year in the first round of the competition. LSC is joined by Birmingham Legion, El Paso Locomotive, FC Tulsa, Hartford Athletic, Loudoun United, Miami FC and Monterey Bay in this regard. These teams were the lowest-seeded Championship teams in the U.S. Open Cup.
The other 16 teams from the Championship will enter in the third round of the competition.
New LSC coach and new-look roster ready for USL Championship play
Those who followed Lexington Sporting Club during its time in League One won’t recognize many players on this year’s Championship roster.
That’s because after a pair of disappointing seasons in League One, Lexington has rebuilt its roster for the Championship.
This includes the arrival of experienced midfielder Devon “Speedy” Williams, who is the first player to win four Championship titles. Williams won back-to-back Championship titles with Louisville City in 2017 and 2018, and he also hoisted the season-end trophy with New York Red Bulls II in 2016 and Colorado Springs last year.
“To be honest, I saw the aspiration of the club and I saw what they’re building... New stadium, the facilities, everything is looking good,” Williams, who is from Jamaica, said during LSC’s team media day last month. “The ambition of the club was really enticing.”
Other notable arrivals for Lexington this offseason include defenders Kendall Burks and Joe Hafferty, forward Marcus Epps, goalkeeper Logan Ketterer and midfielders Eliot Goldthorp and Nick Firmino.
“For me it’s exciting. It’s always exciting to get in with a new group, a new group of guys, a new group of coaching staff, to jell. Your different playing styles, your different interpretations of the game. It’s been really fun,” said Epps, who could be used in a defensive wing back role this season.
Some key holdovers from last season’s Lexington team include leading scorer Cameron Lancaster (13 goals in all competitions) and midfielder Yannick Yankam, who made history last year as the first active European international player in League One. Yankam represents Malta internationally.
Other players from last season’s Lexington squad are still with the team, but are currently out on loan playing for other clubs. This list includes forward Nico Brown (Forward Madison of League One), defender Kimball Jackson (Chattanooga Red Wolves of League One) and forward Ates Diouf (Detroit City of the Championship).
Of course, Lexington will also have a new coach leading the way this season.
In December, Lexington announced that Terry Boss would be the new head coach of its men’s professional team. Boss’ past coaching experience includes two seasons as an assistant coach with MLS team Austin FC and time as the head men’s soccer coach at Oregon State.
While he was the head coach at Oregon State, Boss compiled a 49-23-15 (W-L-D) record over five seasons with the Beavers. Oregon State made it to the NCAA Tournament four times during Boss’ five-season run as head coach, and the Beavers were the No. 1 overall seed in the 2021 event.
Boss is the fourth-ever head coach for LSC’s men’s team.
“The objective has been really clear from us from day one. We’re bringing in almost 20 new players, a new staff. So to have people that are on the same page, galvanized by purpose, was something that was really clear that needed to happen from the beginning,” Boss said. “So, our objectives since we’ve gotten here have been simple: We want to build an identity and a playing style that Lexington will be proud of. We want to inspire people. And we want to win championships. Every day we come out, we work to that end.”
LSC’s first USL Championship match will be against Hartford Athletic
Following a preseason schedule that included a 3-2 loss at Louisville City and a surprise match against soccer superstar Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami MLS team, Lexington’s Championship opener against Hartford Athletic on Saturday will feature a number of incentives for fans to head out to the Lexington SC Stadium.
A game day poster will be given to the first 300 fans in the door, and the first 2,000 fans in attendance will get a free, commemorative T-shirt. Additionally, a pregame concert presented by The Burl will take place at the stadium featuring Lexington indie rock group LYLAK.
Saturday will also mark the debut of Lexington Sporting Club’s new home jersey, which features a black and green design that is heavily influenced by horse racing and Keeneland.
2025 Lexington Sporting Club USL Championship schedule
The full Lexington Sporting Club schedule for the 2025 season is below, including matches currently scheduled in the Championship regular season, the USL Jägermeister Cup and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Currently, Lexington has two matches set to be shown on national television. LSC’s home match on Friday, June 20 against defending Championship winners Colorado Springs Switchbacks will be shown on ESPN2. On Sunday, Sept. 28, Lexington’s road match at New Mexico United will air on the CBS Sports Network.
Home matches are in all capital letters.
March 8: HARTFORD ATHLETIC, 7 p.m.
March 15: At Orange County SC, 10:30 p.m.
March 19: 1-SOUTHERN INDIANA FC, 7:30 p.m.
March 22: INDY ELEVEN, 7 p.m.
March 29: SAN ANTONIO FC, 7 p.m.
April 5: At El Paso Locomotive, 9 p.m.
April 12: LAS VEGAS LIGHTS FC, 7 p.m.
April 19: MONTEREY BAY FC, 7 p.m.
April 26: 2-LOUDOUN UNITED FC, 6 p.m.
May 1: At Louisville City FC, 8 p.m.
May 10: At Loudoun United FC, 6 p.m.
May 18: FC TULSA, 7 p.m.
May 24: TAMPA BAY ROWDIES, 7 p.m.
May 31: 2-At Charlotte Independence, 7 p.m.
June 7: At Monterey Bay FC, 10 p.m.
June 14: NEW MEXICO UNITED, 7 p.m.
June 20: 3-COLORADO SPRINGS SWITCHBACKS, 7 p.m.
June 28: 2-At Richmond Kickers, 7 p.m.
July 4: At Phoenix Rising FC, 10:30 p.m.
July 12: At Miami FC, 7 p.m.
July 19: At Sacramento Republic FC, 11 p.m.
July 26: 2-LOUISVILLE CITY FC, 7 p.m.
LSC fans will receive team flags as a giveaway item.
Aug. 1: At Colorado Springs Switchbacks, 9 p.m.
Aug. 9: PHOENIX RISING FC, 6 p.m.
Aug. 16: At San Antonio FC, 9 p.m.
Aug. 23: OAKLAND ROOTS SC, 7 p.m.
Aug. 30: At Las Vegas Lights FC, 10:30 p.m.
Sept. 5: NORTH CAROLINA FC, 7 p.m.
Sept. 12: ORANGE COUNTY SC, 7 p.m.
Sept. 20: At Detroit City FC, 7 p.m.
Sept. 28: 4-At New Mexico United, 6 p.m.
Oct. 4: At FC Tulsa, 8 p.m.
Oct. 11: EL PASO LOCOMOTIVE, 7 p.m.
Oct. 17: SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC FC, 7 p.m.
The first 2,000 fans will receive an LSC beanie.
Oct. 25: At Oakland Roots SC, 10 p.m.
1-Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup; 2-USL Jägermeister Cup; 3-ESPN2 broadcast; 4-CBS Sports Network broadcast.
This story was originally published March 6, 2025 at 6:45 AM.
