Lexington Sporting Club plays its first home match, and a crowd comes out to support

About two hours before Central Kentucky sports history was to be made in Georgetown, two men integral to the landmark moment shared a handshake and a hug.

Standing on a new artificial turf field at Toyota Stadium near the campus of Georgetown College, Vince Gabbert and Sam Stockley embraced each other, with a smile across each of their faces.

Gabbert, the president of Lexington Sporting Club, and Stockley, the men’s sporting director and head coach of LSC, have been with the venture since the beginning, when soccer in USL League One — the third tier of American men’s pro soccer — was announced as coming to the region in October 2021.

The 18 months since have featured significant steps like the unveiling of LSC’s first roster and uniforms, the playing of its first matches and the first meeting between LSC and its natural in-state rival, Louisville City.

But nothing felt as tangible as Saturday night, when 3,029 soccer fans filed into Toyota Stadium to watch LSC play Forward Madison to a 0-0 draw that marked the first home match in club history, as well as the first point earned by the team in competition.

So long before those spectators came, Gabbert and Stockley were allowed to have their moment.

“This has been a huge process and when you look up and see the amazing fans that have all come out to support us, hopefully they see a team that’s growing and trying to get better and better every game,” Stockley said afterward. “I felt that we executed the game plan well and if one or two bounces go our way we could win. I look around here and see the fans and the setup and all the work that has gone into it, and that’s a big part of it.”

Lexington Sporting Club will use Toyota Stadium as its home stadium this season, while progressing toward building its own venue. But Saturday’s home opener didn’t come with the feel of a temporary space.

LexSporting signage coated nearly all areas of the 5,000-seat stadium, from the scoreboard to the main concourse to the two LSC merchandise locations open to fans.

LSC’s official supporters group, The Railbirds, had a designated seating area with the ability to release a smoke display before the match and maintain a steady drumbeat during the 90 minutes of play.

It wasn’t quite the crazed game day atmosphere typical of a University of Kentucky sporting event, but LSC’s home opener felt and looked the part, despite being held on the same day as the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland and in chilly and windy conditions.

“Obviously, this has been a long time coming. We’re delighted to finally get here. What an amazing atmosphere it was tonight from all our fans. We’re extremely lucky to play in front of such an amazing crowd,” team captain and midfielder Charlie Machell said. “It actually gave us a massive lift, coming out here and seeing all the green. It was incredible.”

The opportunity exists for LSC to build off the atmospheric success of its home opener: Saturday was the start of three straight home matches for Lexington Sporting Club, including next weekend, when defending USL League One champion South Georgia Tormenta comes to Georgetown.

Saturday’s match also ended a run of three games in seven days for LSC.

“The emotions have been high and low so we’ve had to manage all of that, but as you can see they came out here and they were so hungry to try and get a performance for this group, for the fans and for this city,” Stockley said. “I feel like we’re one step closer to where we want to be.”

Lexington Sporting Club still searching for first win

The curiosity and interest that comes with Lexington Sporting Club figures to carry the franchise, at least for the time being.

LSC officials previously told the Herald-Leader that the club ranks among the top teams in the 12-team USL League One in season ticket sales.

On the pitch, though, it has been a slow start for Central Kentucky’s newest pro sports franchise.

With Saturday’s 0-0 result, Lexington Sporting Club is now 0-2-1 after three USL League One matches. LSC lost its first two matches, both 2-1, on the road at One Knoxville SC and North Carolina FC.

LSC has also already been eliminated from the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup — a knockout tournament open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation — after losing 1-0 in the second round of that competition on Wednesday at Louisville City, which plays a division above LSC.

LexSporting has scored just two goals in 360 minutes this season, and only one of those goals came from open play.

In each of the club’s three USL League One matches so far, LSC has had 46.6% or less possession of the ball.

While having less possession than your opponent isn’t prohibitive to scoring, it does mean you have to be more efficient and effective with the ball to create scoring chances.

“Even when we didn’t have the ball our shape allows us to set traps to be able to win it back in areas,” Stockley said. “I’m happy with where we are. We’ll continue to get better and better.”

Forward Nico Brown had one of LSC’s best chances to score in its home opener Saturday, with a shot from the center of the penalty box that was saved by the left leg of Forward Madison goalkeeper Bernd Schipmann in the 35th minute.

Fellow LSC forward Khalid Balogun — who has one of the two goals in team history — also had chances to score turned aside in the 60th minute: A one-on-one between Balogun and Schipmann was saved by the Madison goalkeeper, and Balogun also had a follow-up shot cleared off the goal line during that sequence.

But progress could be found at the other end of the pitch: Saturday marked the first shutout recorded by the LSC defense.

Goalkeeper Austin Causey — who has started LSC’s last three matches — made two saves in the scoreless draw.

“I think that’s the one thing we wanted to work on as a group to cut out the little mistakes, especially on set pieces,” Causey said. “I think we did what we needed to do today defensively … Now we just go forward.”

After Saturday’s matches, Lexington Sporting Club is 11th out of 12 teams in USL League One standings. The top six teams qualify for the playoffs.

How was the fan experience at Toyota Stadium?

Saturday’s historic home opener at Toyota Stadium also offered a first look at the match day experience for LSC.

Commemorative posters, tickets and rally towels were available to fans, who filled the majority of all seated sections of the venue.

A grass hill behind one of the goals was also frequently used by young children who were playing and running around.

Toyota Stadium also houses the football, lacrosse and soccer teams for Georgetown College, an NAIA school located about 13 miles north of Lexington. Football lines are present on the newly installed artificial turf surface at the stadium, with the soccer lines marked in yellow.

Field goal posts from the football setup remained in place and were located directly behind each of the soccer goals during Saturday’s match.

Concession offerings for Saturday’s match included Chick-fil-A sandwiches, Little Caesars pizza and general fare like hot dogs, nachos and popcorn.

No alcohol was sold at Toyota Stadium, but LSC did advertise a pre-match happy hour at Slainte Public House, an Irish pub in downtown Georgetown that is a little more than a mile from the stadium.

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