Former Kentucky high school and college soccer great will play for Lexington SC

Lexington Sporting Club’s women’s team is making a clear push to escape the bottom of its league.

On Friday, LSC announced the signing of last year’s USL Super League Player of the Year, midfielder Emina Ekic. The signing comes as Lexington Sporting Club resets its roster following a last-place finish in the first season of the Super League, during which Lexington lost 18 of its 28 matches and allowed the most goals (62) of any team in the league.

Ekic brings local star power to next season’s LSC roster.

Ekic is a Louisville native and a former college soccer star at Louisville from 2017-20. She was the first Louisville player to earn Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors (2020) and tallied 29 goals and 19 assists over her four-year career with the Cardinals.

Before that, Ekic was the 2015-16 Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior at DuPont Manual High School.

Last season, Ekic starred in the Super League with the Spokane (Wash.) Zephyr. She led the team in goals (10) and earned a spot on the All-League First Team to go along with her player of the year nod.

“Bringing elite experience, hometown pride and a championship-level pedigree, Ekic adds immediate value to Lexington SC’s 2025-26 roster and strengthens the club’s foundation heading into its second season in the Gainbridge Super League,” a news release from LSC said.

Before her time in the Super League, Ekic was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2021 National Women’s Soccer League draft by Racing Louisville. Ekic appeared in 41 games over three seasons with Racing and scored three goals in regular season play for the club.

She spent some of the 2023 season, her last year with Racing, on loan with Melbourne City, a team in the top league of Australian women’s soccer. She tallied four goals and one assist before being sidelined with a lower leg injury for the rest of her time on loan. She signed a two-year contract with Melbourne before exercising a clause in her contract and joining Spokane.

Ekic appeared in 27 games and scored 12 goals with Melbourne, while also earning her first call-up to the Bosnia and Herzegovina National Team while with the club. Internationally, she has played in UEFA Nations League and European Championship qualifying matches for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ekic isn’t the only fresh face on LSC’s new-look roster for next season.

She joins another reigning First Team All-League member, Addie McCain, who arrives at LSC via the highest transfer fee in Super League history. McCain spent last season with Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) United, starting all 30 games and scoring 10 goals.

Ekic, McCain and the rest of the roster will be playing under new head coach Masaki Hemmi, who joins LSC after a stint as the interim head coach of Chicago Stars in the NWSL.

LSC began preparation for the 2025-26 season with a 1-1 draw in a friendly match against Ekic’s former team, Racing Louisville, last week.

Lexington will begin the Super League season against McCain’s former team, Fort Lauderdale, on Aug. 23.