Lexington’s women’s soccer team looks to continue historic start under new coach
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Lexington Sporting Club names Kosuke Kimura head coach of professional women’s team.
- Kimura was previously an assistant coach for the team under the direction of Masaki Hemmi.
- LSC is off to a historic start in the Gainbridge Super League this season.
Lexington Sporting Club’s women’s soccer team is off to a historic start this season. And the club will look to keep it going in the new year despite a change at head coach.
In early December, LSC announced Masaki Hemmi — the first-year head coach of the women’s team who has guided Lexington to a historic start in the Gainbridge Super League — would become the next head coach of the club’s men’s team in the USL Championship.
In a corresponding move, Lexington opted to promote from within to replace Hemmi. Kosuke Kimura, who was an assistant coach on Hemmi’s staff, is the new head coach of the LSC women’s side.
“I’m excited to keep enhancing them, improving them every day,” Kimura said on Dec. 12 during a joint press conference with Hemmi. “Then game by game, you know, we keep winning and getting points and getting close to that finishing line.”
Under Hemmi’s guidance, Lexington has begun the 2025-26 Super League season in superb form. Lexington sits in second place in the nine-team league, which is the newest pro women’s soccer league in the United States and was formerly known as the USL Super League.
Lexington is tied for the most goals scored (28) and has the least goals allowed (13) in the league. LSC is also the only undefeated team in the league, having won five and drawn nine matches so far this season. This comes after LSC finished in last place in the Super League last season, winning only four of 28 matches.
“I’m very confident in (Kimura) taking over the team to continue that success.” Hemmi said. “We share the same values in terms of organizational structure and how we value people before the players.”
An offseason spent retooling the roster has gone a long way. So has the coaching job by Hemmi and Kimura — who are both from Japan — along with assistant coach Taylor Leach, goalkeepers coach Nate Walzer and analyst Justin Stone.
Now, Kimura’s task is to keep things on track. The Super League is currently on a winter break, with Lexington set to return to the pitch Jan. 31.
“The standard has to be set high every day. Then, we’ve got to make sure that we push each other,” Kimura said. “The competition is key as well, within the group. I think we can enhance it a little bit more. Then just keep that group going. We’ve got to be hungry, stay humble. That starts from training every day, making sure that we create that environment every day.”
Kimura was the first Japanese-born player in Major League Soccer and spent eight years in the league. He won the MLS Cup as a player with Colorado Rapids in 2010 and later spent time as an assistant coach with another MLS team, Nashville SC.
Since arriving in Lexington, Kimura has helped lead training sessions with Hemmi and also assisted in creating individual development plans for LSC players.
Kimura and Hemmi’s relationship dates back more than 15 years and includes a period in Colorado during which Kimura let Hemmi sleep on his couch while both men were with the Rapids.
“He’s been a big brother of mine,” Hemmi said of Kimura. “He gave me a lot of advice along the way as a player and when I became a coach... He’s the hardest-working individual I’ve ever seen in the soccer industry.”
So it’s not surprising that Kimura said he and Hemmi “see soccer the same way.”
“The players understand how we see the game, how we want to play the game,” Kimura added.
Lexington’s first match with Kimura as head coach will be Jan. 31 at Fort Lauderdale United.
“I want (players) to reach out to the community, bring more people, fans, and all that, keep playing the soccer that everybody likes, loves to watch... I think we have a power to inspire people, inspire the next generation of soccer players in Lexington,” Kimura said.
