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Racing Louisville FC builds for future in team’s historic first draft
Racing Louisville FC participated in the franchise’s first National Women’s Soccer League Draft on Jan. 13. Armed with the No. 1 and No. 5 overall picks among others, Racing Louisville drafted high quality players to lead the franchise into the future.  (Logo and photo courtesy of Racing Louisville FC)

Racing Louisville FC builds for future in team’s historic first draft

Logan Hanson

Logan Hanson

Updated:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BVM) — Jan. 13 marked a historic day for the National Women’s Soccer League expansion franchise Racing Louisville FC. The day marked the first collegiate draft the franchise ever participated in and the team had plenty of opportunities to make an impact as they held both the No. 1 and No. 5 overall picks among their six draft picks on the night. Racing Louisville made waves and then some during the night.

Kicking off the night, Racing Louisville FC selected University of North Carolina star Emily Fox. Fox, a defender, had an outstanding career as a Tar Heel. Fox started all four seasons at North Carolina, leading the team to College Cup appearances in both 2018 and 2019 and earning three consecutive All-ACC honors. In 2019, Fox was also named a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy, which is awarded to the top collegiate female soccer player. 

In addition to her performance with the Tar Heels, Fox also excelled as one of the few draft prospects to play with the U.S. women’s national soccer team. In 2015, Fox helped the U-20 U.S. National Team to its fifth straight CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship and competed with them in both the 2016 and 2018 U-20 FIFA World Cups. In 2018, Fox earned her first senior team call up , making two starts in friendlies against Portugal and Scotland before earning a spot on the 2019 SheBelievesCup roster. Fox is currently in training with the USWNT in Orlando where she and the team celebrated the selection.

“I’m super excited,” Fox said in a team press release. “I know [head coach] Christy [Holly] from when he was on the national team as an assistant. So talking to him and him telling me about the culture and everything that they have in store — the facilities, the girls on the team. Especially since it’s a new club, I feel like it’s a very unique opportunity for me to be able to go in there and try to do as best as I can and work my way up and do anything I can for the team.”

Fox was not the only standout Racing FC added to their roster as the team picked a local star with their next pick at No. 5. The team selected forward Emina Ekic from the University of Louisville with their next pick, making her the first Cardinal ever selected in a NWSL Draft. Ekic, the 2020 ACC Offensive Player of the Year, was an electric offensive force for the Cardinals throughout her career, scoring the fourth-most goals in program history with 29 while also adding the program’s second most assists with 19. Last season, Ekic contributed to 10 of the Cardinals’ 11 goals on the season, scoring seven herself while assisting on three others. A Louisville native who played at duPont Manual High School in the city, Ekic will bring a lot of fanfare with her to the new franchise.

“It’s a fairytale ending as they say,” Ekic said in a team press release. “This is exactly perfect. I’m at home. I’m with the professional team here. I’m so excited to be playing for Racing Louisville and Christy Holly as head coach and the staff and I’m really excited.”

With the first pick of the second round, Racing Louisville FC decided to give their top pick a running partner with fellow Tar Heel Taylor Otto. Otto, a midfielder, was excellent during her time at North Carolina earning either first team, second team or third team all-ACC honors each of her four seasons at the school and helped lead the team to a 10-0 regular season in 2020. Another player with an international soccer background, Otto played for the U.S. youth national teams from the U-14 through U-20 levels, including the 2016 U20 National Team’s trip to the World Cup in Papua, New Guinea. Otto, feels she can immediately help by setting up the team well and by getting the ball to the team’s playmakers.

“For me, some of my strengths are keeping the ball and distributing and I think I can be helpful in just kind of setting play for the team and also be on the defensive side as well,” Otto said in a video released by the team. “That’s what I really hope to bring to this team.”

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For the team’s next pick, only two slots later following a trade, Racing Louisville selected Texas Tech forward Kirsten Davis. This past season, Davis was selected to the first team All-Big 12 and all-academic team en route to playing in each of the team’s nine games during the shortened season. During her last full season with the Red Raiders in 2019, Davis earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors with 16 goals and seven assists. Davis finished her career at Texas Tech as the program leader in single-season game-winning goals, No. 2 in career game-winning goals and No. 3 in single-seasons goals as well. For Kirsten, the moment was one she will remember for the rest of her life.

“As soon as they said my name, my heart just started immediately going 100 miles an hour.” Davis said in a video released by the team. “I was so excited! I’ve been following all of Louisville’s social media since they started becoming a team and I’ve been talking to [Texas Tech head coach] Tom [Stone] a lot about them and I was just so excited I can’t even believe it’s happening.”

With the first pick in the third round, Racing Louisville again looked to add some firepower to the offensive side drafting University of Arkansas forward Parker Goins. Goins, a back-to-back first team All-SEC member in 2019 and 2020, scored 25 career goals during her time with the Razorbacks. Last season, Goins helped lead Arkansas to the SEC championship game against Vanderbilt while also getting the team ranked as high as No. 6 in the country. Goins also came to the university as a highly touted four star recruit from Broken Arrow, Okla. being selected as one of just three high school athletes selected to participate in the U.S. team camp prior to the 2018 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

With their sixth and final pick of the night, Racing Louisville selected California defender Emily Smith with the first pick of the fourth round. Smith was one of the top defenders in the country in 2019 when she became the first player in league history to be named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week three times in a single season and received First Team All-Pac-12 and All-Region honors. With Smith at the forefront, she helped lead a Golden Bears defense that finished with a 0.692 goals against average, good for No. 25 nationally.

The new draft picks are among the 24 players Racing Louisville now hold rights to. With players set to report to Louisville on Feb. 1 ahead of its inaugural season and the NWSL planning for a mid-April Challenge Cup, which will take place in multiple bubbles in various team markets, the team will look to kick into high gear in no time. With a 24-game season planned to begin in mid-May, excitement around Louisville’s newest sports franchise should only grow with the newest additions to the team and the new season approaching.

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