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Racing Louisville FC head coach Christy Holly has set a technical staff that will lead the National Women’s Soccer League expansion club into its inaugural season.

Coaches include top assistant Gary Curneen, Goalkeepers Coach Sergio Gonzalez, Head of High Performance Brianne Brown and Assistant Coach Kiley Polk.

Support staff consists of Director of Player Experience and Operations Brynn Sebring, Head Athletic Trainer Megan Fernandez, Head Equipment Manager Alyssa Delsanter and Assistant Athletic Trainer Sam Klein.

With preseason underway, Racing’s staff and players are preparing for an April 10 start to the NWSL’s Challenge Cup tournament against the Orlando Pride before their regular season begins in mid-May.

“I’m both excited and proud to be able to enter the season working with such a fantastic group of people,” Holly said. “Each individual has a huge amount of experience at various levels of the game and, most important, there is a real alignment between each of them and the club’s overall vision.

“We were very deliberate with our recruitment process to ensure we brought in people who were highly skilled but also always willing to put the players first. I am very thankful for the support of the Racing management throughout this process.”

• Curneen who, as with Holly, is a native of Northern Ireland, worked for two seasons on the Chicago Red Stars’ staff after a stint as Division 1 California State University Bakersfield’s head coach. A self-described student of the game, Curneen holds a UEFA A License and is the published author of “The Modern Soccer Coach 2014” detailing emerging trends in his industry. 

• Gonzalez, Indiana University’s women’s associate head coach, will join Racing just before the Challenge Cup. He boasts more than two decades of coaching experience, including eight years with both women’s and men’s Big 10 Conference programs. Internationally, he has also coached goalkeepers for the U-16 and U-17 national teams.

• Ahead of Gonzalez’s arrival, Louisville City FC standout Tim Dobrowolski worked with Racing’s keepers in preseason. Dobrowolski played three seasons for the USL Championship side, helping the club to league titles in 2017 and 2018.

• Brown arrived in Louisville having worked most recently with the University of Houston’s women’s soccer and basketball teams as director of sports performance. There, she oversaw all aspects of performance, GPS monitoring and nutrition for her teams. Brown holds CSCS, M.Ed., FRCms, FRA, and Metabolic Analytics Practitioner certifications. As a military child, she has lived in Germany, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Brown is the proud owner of a golden retriever puppy named Winston.

• Sebring, the NWSL’s first director of player experience, spent four years within the league at OL Reign in Seattle, most recently holding the title of associate general manager. She graduated from Lindenwood University in Missouri with an exercise science degree and competed as a synchronized swimmer from age 8 through college.

• Fernandez also served as head athletic trainer at her last stop, Florida International University, where she worked with the women’s basketball program. The proud Cuban American holds ATC, CSCS, and LAT certifications.

• Delsanter, who worked with Sebring as OL Reign’s head equipment manager, is also well versed within the NWSL with three years of experience and known for her exceptional shoe game.

• Klein, formerly head athletic trainer at Bullitt Central High School, spent two years with Baptist Health Sports Medicine. While preparing to go into athletic training, she played four years on the Spalding University softball team in Louisville.

• Polk, who won a state title with Sacred Heart Academy in 2015, went on to play for the University of Louisville. She also coaches within the Racing and LouCity youth academies.

Erin Simon entered the 2016 NWSL College Draft but didn’t hear her name called, leaving the defender out of Syracuse University, who also scored 10 goals and registered 8 assists, with no professional deal.

That did not particularly dissuade Simon.

She attended a few clubs’ open tryouts, and among those inviting her to preseason camps was Sky Blue FC in her home state of New Jersey.

Simon stood out enough to earn a contract. As for the head coach offering it? Christy Holly.

Now leading Racing Louisville FC into its inaugural season, Holly also selected Simon in the 2020 NWSL Expansion Draft to be part of his new club.

“I was excited to play for Christy again because I think he is a great coach,” she said. “He has a lot of incredible information to give. We had a bond over the years since leaving Sky Blue. We had kept in contact, so we have a pretty good coach-to-player relationship where we’ve spoken extensively about soccer.”

Simon, who went on to make 18 starts as a Sky Blue rookie, has also featured during her pro career with England’s West Ham United, with her stint there featuring an appearance in the 2019 FA Women’s Cup Final.

Simon eventually made the move back to the U.S., joining the Houston Dash for the 2020 season.

“I wanted to be closer to home and my family,” she said. “Also, I feel like my attributes as a player are better suited for the NWSL.”

One week after arriving in Houston, the COVID-19 pandemic sent the U.S. into lockdown. From her apartment, Simon had to find a way to build relationships with her new teammates.  

“It was hard getting established into a team right when COVID hit,” she said. “You couldn’t form any chemistry. Then you had four weeks before the Challenge Cup to throw everything together. It was time crunching but a cool experience.”

Simon made five appearances during that Challenge Cup, which made pro women’s soccer the first American sport to return to play amid the pandemic. The Dash also won the tournament.

Shortly after Simon returned from the event, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She opted out of playing the NWSL’s Fall Series to spend time with family at home. In the process, she witnessed her mom’s tribulations.

“She has handled it with such grace and strength,” Simon said. “It has been inspirational to see her go through this. She has not complained once. She has not gotten down about being tossed this challenge in her life. And honestly, the most inspirational part for me was that she was still volunteering and looking out for other people’s interests.”

Simon is a bit closer to home now in Louisville — a potential drive away, not necessarily a flight — where she’s becoming part of a new family. The familiarity with Holly helps, but Simon says she’s also “excited to be part of a new city, being with all new kinds of players and different personalities.

“I am excited to establish our footprint in this city and to have the honor to play for the only top-tier professional team in Louisville. We have such an awesome fan base. I am so excited to be here.”

With the club’s preseason games concluded, Racing will next see outside competition in the second edition of the Challenge Cup, which for the expansion side kicks off at 7 p.m. April 10 against the Orlando Pride at Lynn Family Stadium. For more information, visit www.racingloufc.com/racingloufc/Challenge-Cup.

Racing Louisville FC president Brad Estes answered a range of questions on the latest Soccer City radio show, powered by Kentuckiana Toyota Dealers — including, yes, about the 2021 kits.

Now airing on ESPN Louisville’s AM 680 and FM 105.7, Soccer City airs from 6-7 p.m. Thursdays.

A few takeaways from Estes’ conversation…

• Estes followed up on his tweet from last week in which, amid issues at the NCAA tournaments, he noted Soccer Holdings’ new facility will have “mirror image” layouts for Racing and Soccer Holdings’ men’s club, Louisville City FC. “We don’t really look at this in terms of male and female,” Estes said. “We look at the fact that we have two professional soccer teams.”

• As for the kits, Estes said to look for an April release both on the Racing and LouCity sides. He said supply chain issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic have delayed the process a bit. “It’s not something where we have the kits held back and we’re waiting,” Estes said. 

• On design, he said they can be fully customized. Matthew Wolf, who’s behind the Racing crest, also mocked up the jerseys. “I don’t like to overstate things, but I think our fans will be blown away…particularly by the home kit. I think it’s something you’ve never seen before.”

• While player personnel decisions aren’t under Estes’ umbrella, he did address some of the NWSL playing rights Racing holds moving forward. “We want to make decisions based on the health of our club in the long term,” Estes said. “…They’re trade-able assets that could provide some protection for us moving forward as (the league) continues to expand.”

Playing then for KIF Örebro in her native Sweden, midfielder Freja Olofsson made her UEFA Champions League debut before even turning 18.

In many instances overseas, that’s right on schedule. There’s no college athletics system on par with the United States’ NCAA, meaning talented young athletes like Olofsson go straight into the professional ranks as teenagers.

“Starting that early you get experience from it,” Olofsson said. “Being around older players, you learn a lot. For me, it is normal to be in a professional environment.”

By 2019, Olofsson had already logged more than 5,000 minutes for KIF Örebro, a member of Sweden’s first division, and earned a move to Norway to play for Arna-Bjørnar.

On opening day, the midfielder came on as a 61st-minute substitution. By the 68th minute, she left the game with an injury that turned out to be a torn ACL.

Olofsson worked the rest of the year on a return to the pitch, which she made in July of 2020 when back with KIF Örebro.

“That rehab was very tough both physically and mentally,” she said. “I had some big setbacks, so that was a struggle. Now, looking back at it, I felt like that only made me stronger. I got physically stronger. Looking back, and it sounds horrible to say, but maybe it was a good thing for me.”

Olofsson made 21 appearances, 18 starts and scored twice, putting her on the radar for a move to arguably the world’s best women’s soccer league, the NWSL.

“I was surprised when Christy (Holly) reached out,” Olofsson said of Racing Louisville FC’s coach. “I never really thought about playing in America, but when then opportunity occurred. I liked how Christy talked about what he wanted to build up. I just felt like it matched up with my personal goals as well.

“I was ready for something new as well. I wanted a challenge. I wanted something different.”

Part of Olofsson’s motivation to move to the NWSL is her international aspirations. She has already represented Sweden at the U-17 and U-19 levels. More recently, she was called into training camp with the U-23 squad.

Olofsson is focused on helping her new club in its inaugural season. Along the way, she hopes a full national team call up arrives.

“That is one of the things that I spoke with Christy about,” she said. “One of my goals is to make the national team and play in a World Cup. Of course, that is something that I have set up as a goal. I know that I have a lot of development work to do. But for now, I am going to get settled in here and try to help the team out.”

On April 10 — the afternoon before Racing kicks off the NWSL Challenge Cup later that night — the U.S. National Team will play Sweden in a friendly. Olofsson said she hasn’t bantered about the matchup with her American teammates yet, but she’s excited to watch the game with them — and dream of one day playing on that stage.

With Racing Louisville FC having defeated three prior opponents by a combined 10-1 score, coach Christy Holly is taking a different approach into the club’s final preseason competitions.

Ahead of closed-door matchups Wednesday and Sunday against the NCAA’s No. 1 team, Florida State, Racing will detail its tactics and approach with the Seminoles’ staff. Essentially, these are the only games this year in which Holly wouldn’t mind seeing his side struggle.

“The reason we’re sharing as much information as possible is because it allows them to come into the game fully prepared to break us down,” he said. “The adversity will be very beneficial.”

Previously, Racing opened its inaugural preseason with winning score lines of 4-0 on Feb. 27 against the University of Louisville, 2-1 on March 3 versus Vanderbilt University and 4-0 on March 13 when hosting West Virginia University.

Florida State could prove to be a different type of test. The Seminoles went 11-0 last fall, won the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament and have carried over their top ranking to the spring, receiving 28 of 34 first-place votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches rankings.

“Florida State is widely regarded as one of the best collegiate women’s soccer programs in the country, and it’s for that very reason we’re excited to have them on our schedule,” Holly said. “We expect them to allow us to find a lot out about our game and give us pieces to improve upon before NWSL play starts.

“I’d like to thank (Seminoles coach) Mark Krikorian and Florida State’s staff for being such world-class hosts. This is going to be a very challenging and beneficial visit to their campus. We’re thankful for the approach they’ve taken in helping aid our development as much as possible.”

Both sides of the Racing-Florida State matchup feature U.S. Women’s National Team experience. Racing defender Emily fox, selected No. 1 in the 2021 NWSL Draft, registered her fourth cap in January when appearing in an international friendly. Fox has trained alongside Seminoles midfielder Jaelin Howell, who was with the USWNT for the recent SheBelieves Cup.

Racing has seen contributions this preseason from all across its roster, with goals scored by forwards Cece Kizer, Katie McClure and Emina Ekic in addition to midfielder Lauren Milliet. Also on the roster, forward Yuki Nagasato is a World Cup winner with her native Japan, and forward Savannah McCaskill boasts multiple USWNT caps.

The club’s preparation leads up to an April 10 start to the NWSL’s Challenge Cup tournament, which for Racing kicks off against the Orlando Pride. Tickets to that game and an April 26 visit from the North Carolina Courage went on presale to season members Monday. Should tickets remain, they’ll be available later on a single-game basis. For more information, visit www.racingloufc.com/racingloufc/Challenge-Cup.

The NWSL regular season follows the Challenge Cup with a mid-May start. The full schedule is to be announced.

Emina Ekic always wanted to be a professional soccer player, but she never imagined that she would get to do it in her hometown. 

“It was a total surprise,” Ekic said on a recent edition of the Soccer Girl Problems podcast. “I would have been happy to play pro anywhere, but now I get to stay home and be around my friends and my family. Also, I am part of the first team. That is pretty special to me.” 

Ekic, selected No. 5 by Racing Louisville FC in the 2021 NWSL Draft, spoke with hosts Carly Beyar, Shannon Fay, and Alanna Locast about her draft day experience, overcoming multiple ACL injuries, her advice to young “lady ballers” and more. 

“Don’t compare your journey to other people’s journeys,” the forward said. “Because yours is super different, and you can end up at the same place at different times. Your teammate may commit before you but that shouldn’t scare you.

“On my college team, we had people commit during their freshman, sophomore and junior and senior years. And we all ended up at the University of Louisville playing.”

While the interview was recorded before Ekic opened preseason camp, she emphasized wanting to thrive” at her new team but knows that won’t come easily.

“I am new here. I am new to the league. If I mess up, it is OK. I need to keep pushing through it,” Ekic said. “I just want to be real with myself. Because I know I am going to struggle. I know I am not going to show up and just be amazing.”

Christy Holly says his staff has “asked a lot” of Racing Louisville FC’s players in the club’s inaugural season. The good news?

“Not once has a player taken a foot off the pedal,” the coach said. “Every day they show up and they’re competing and they’re pushing forward.”

Holly spoke on the year’s first Soccer City radio show, powered by Kentuckiana Toyota Dealers. The show will air on ESPN Louisville’s AM 680 and FM 105.7 from 6-7 p.m. each Thursday, including exclusive interviews and analysis of our NWSL expansion club.

“Quite frankly, we want to get in the league and upset a few people. We want people talking about us,” Holly said. “We’re not just going to show up and accept the ribbon that says we’re an expansion team and we should take our beatings and sit at the bottom of the league. That’s not something we’re willing to accept or use it as a crutch.”

Hear Holly’s full interview, which begins around the 30-minute mark, below.

Racing Louisville FC has set its ticketing plan for the club’s historic first National Women’s Soccer League home games played as part of the Challenge Cup tournament.

Season members are in the process of being contacted about access to a presale starting at 10 a.m. Monday, granting priority for their spots in Lynn Family Stadium on April 10 against the Orlando Pride and April 26 against the North Carolina Courage.

Those who haven’t yet purchased a membership — which includes tickets to the NWSL regular season’s 12 home games — can still do so before Monday to become part of the Challenge Cup presale; visit www.racingloufc.com/racingloufc/season-memberships for more information. All others can join the waiting list at this link to be contacted in the event tickets remain on a single-game basis.

Racing will play four Challenge Cup games in all, with away dates April 16 at the Washington Spirit and May 2 at Sky Blue FC. Leaders of the NWSL’s respective East and West divisions exiting group play will meet in a May 8 final before the regular season begins May 15.

Racing’s roster — overseen by coach Christy Holly — includes U.S. Women’s National Team defender Emily Fox, former University of Louisville forward Emina Ekic and Yuki Nagasato, a World Cup winner with Japan.

Pending call ups during a FIFA window from April 5-13, plenty of star power could visit Lynn Family Stadium.

Orlando’s roster includes U.S. National Team striker Alex Morgan and Marta, a Brazilian legend who has scored a record 17 goals in FIFA Women’s World Cup competitions. North Carolina, back-to-back NWSL champs in 2018 and 2019, features USWNT member Lynn Williams and Debinha, another Brazilian mainstay.

In addition to tickets, Racing season memberships include a number of perks, among them an exclusive scarf, a merchandise discount online and in the Team Store, access to member-only events and first right to purchase tickets to club events such as the Challenge Cup.

While only a third-year professional, Julia Ashley has already played around the globe with stints in Sweden and Australia preceding her selection by Racing Louisville FC in the 2020 NWSL Expansion Draft.

As the defender trains up to her American pro debut, she’s doing so in a comfortable place given Ashley’s surrounded by familiar faces.

“When I went to Sweden, I knew no one. When I went to Australia, I knew one girl before I went,” Ashley said. “It is cool having people that you are already so close with and that you have that chemistry with on and off the field. I think that has helped.”

While home from college when attending the University of North Carolina, the New Jersey native Ashley used to hop in training with her local club, Sky Blue FC. Their coach at the time: Christy Holly, who drafted her to Louisville.

Then on the night of the 2021 NWSL Draft for college players, Ashley heard the names of two former Tar Heels teammates called. Emily Fox went No. 1 overall, and midfielder Taylor Otto followed at No. 11.

“I was getting so many texts that day,” Ashley said. “It’s like UNC West.”

Suddenly, Louisville felt like a fit despite its status as an expansion side.

Ashley had signed her first contract with Sweden’s Linköpings FC in 2019. There, she faced a language barrier to the point that a translator helped get her through film sessions. That also meant Ashley missed out on bonding moments with teammates.

“People were helpful,” she said, “But I just wouldn’t know what was going on when people were chatting with each other in the locker room.”

In the fall of 2019, Ashley made a move to play for Adelaide United FC in Australia’s W-League.

“It was great being in Australia — such an awesome experience in a beautiful country,” she said. “I felt more at home in terms of being in America there. The majority of the team was Australian, but the style of play was similar to the U.S.”

“…I think my style of play is American. My stronger attributes are that I am athletic, and I think that going abroad, I was going to be challenged in a more tactical sense and technical.”

Last March, Ashley returned to the U.S. once her NWSL playing rights were transferred to OL Reign in Seattle. She was met with a new sort of setback.

Throughout her career, Ashley has dealt with injuries, including multiple knee surgeries. But a back ailment sidelined her through 2020.

“I was alone the whole time,” she said of dealing with it amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was so different from when you are with a team rehabbing. I just think that I knew that even if my progress was kind of slow, that I was going to come back. I saw slow progress and I just kept working toward it.”

Given her myriad experiences, Ashley, 24, is viewed as a young role model on the Racing Louisville roster.

“I have been injured for a lot of my professional career, but I want to be a leader on this team and be a positive influence,” she said. “I think as the weeks have gone on. I have been communicating more with them and everyone on the field and I hoping to build that leadership role more.”

Ashley and the rest of Racing Louisville will round out their preseason schedule March 24 and 28 with games at the college level’s No. 1 team, Florida State. The club’s NWSL era begins with the Challenge Cup, a preseason tournament Racing opens April 10 against the Orlando Pride at Lynn Family Stadium.