After slow start, Lexington Sporting Club enjoying success on the field and in the stands

After a slow start in its debut season as Central Kentucky’s newest professional sports franchise, Lexington Sporting Club is beginning to hit its stride.

LSC — the professional soccer franchise that plays in USL League One, the third tier of American men’s pro soccer — is on a five-match unbeaten run, and has settled into a strong run of form under head coach and men’s sporting director Sam Stockley.

The most recent feather in the cap for Lexington Sporting Club came Sunday, when the upstart franchise posted a 2-2 draw at league-leading North Carolina FC.

This uptick in on-field results, coupled with some impressive showings in the stands for LSC’s home matches at Toyota Stadium in Georgetown, makes it a convenient time to check in with Stockley’s team as they continue to establish the franchise within the commonwealth’s sports landscape.

Lexington Sporting Club enjoys five-match unbeaten run

After three straight one-goal losses across all competitions in the franchise’s first three matches, LSC has found a way to more consistently get results more than a third of the way into the season.

LSC has recorded a 3-5-5 (W-L-D) record after 13 matches. There will be 32 games played in the USL League One regular season.

While Lexington Sporting Club’s current points total of 14 is still five points short of the cutoff line for the playoffs, LSC is trending in the right direction during its current five-match unbeaten run (one win and four draws) thanks to a few players in particular.

Three different LSC players are tied for the team-high with three goals this season.

Midfielder Ates Diouf scored all of his goals in consecutive matches this month, which included a brace (a two-goal game) in a home draw with the Northern Colorado Hailstorm.

Fellow midfielder Don Smart, who is by far the oldest player on the LSC roster at 35, has scored all three of his goals this season from the penalty spot. Smart is 3-for-3 on spot kicks.

Forward Khalid Balogun — who at 6-foot-4 offers an imposing presence up top — also has scored three times this season, most recently in Lexington’s last home match, a 2-0 win last Wednesday against the Chattanooga Red Wolves.

“We feel we’ve been working really hard at our attacking movements and our final third entries,” Stockley said after that victory. “Now you see we’re starting to score goals and create chances.”

Defender Tate Robertson has been LSC’s clear-cut leader in setting up goals: Robertson leads the team with four assists, while no other player has more than one.

Robertson got his moment in the spotlight Sunday though, scoring a late goal directly from a free kick to earn LSC a point at North Carolina.

Goalkeeper Amal Knight has reestablished himself as the starter for LSC, and was a major part in Lexington’s second-ever win last month when he saved a stoppage-time penalty to preserve a 1-0 lead against the Charlotte Independence.

“I think we’ve adapted to each other,” Knight said Wednesday when asked by the Herald-Leader about LSC’s recent success.

“I think right now we’re at a point where we are finally starting to gel and you see guys coming in and doing well. Guys are playing their part in training and off the field and taking care of their bodies, so I think everything has contributed to us doing well.”

LSC posts strong home attendances in first season

Lexington Sporting Club has played seven of its 13 matches this season at home at the 5,000-seat Toyota Stadium on the Georgetown College campus in Georgetown, Kentucky.

Toyota Stadium also houses the football, lacrosse and soccer teams for Georgetown College, an NAIA school located about 13 miles north of Lexington.

While the process continues to find a site for a permanent stadium for the club, fans have already flocked in strong numbers to come watch LSC in action.

LSC has posted an average attendance of 2,395 fans per home match.

The largest crowd was 3,029 for LSC’s first ever home match on April 8 against Forward Madison, which occurred on the same day as the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland.

Only once in these seven home matches has LSC drawn a crowd of less than 2,000 to Toyota Stadium.

That occurred last Wednesday for LSC’s first ever midweek match, when 1,986 fans watched the 2-0 win over Chattanooga.

In total, more than 16,700 fans have passed through the turnstiles at Toyota Stadium in 2023, with at least nine more home matches to come.

Lexington’s home attendance among best in league

Despite being a first-year club, Lexington Sporting Club’s home attendance numbers compare favorably to the other 11 teams in USL League One.

LSC ranks third in the league in average home attendance, behind only the Richmond Kickers (5,312 fans per home match) and Forward Madison (3,958).

This lofty position in the attendance rankings puts LSC above both established USL League One teams and teams that, like Lexington, are new to the league.

Prior to this season, LSC officials told the Herald-Leader that the club ranked among the top teams in the league in season ticket sales.

The home crowds in Georgetown have supported those preseason thoughts.

Attendance information notes: No attendance was provided for the April 21 match hosted by One Knoxville against South Georgia Tormenta.

Also, the June 17 match between South Georgia Tormenta and the Northern Colorado Hailstorm was postponed due to lightning after kickoff and is yet to be rescheduled. No attendance was recorded for the postponed match.

Next match

Lexington Sporting Club at Forward Madison FC

When: 8 p.m. Thursday

Where: Breese Stevens Field in Madison, Wis.

Live video stream: ESPN Plus