LEXINGTON, Ky. – Lexington Sporting Club saw a triumphant return on Saturday as Natalie Higgins made her USL Super League debut against Dallas Trinity FC on Saturday in the Cotton Bowl.
Higgins was sidelined in the preseason due to a severe leg injury and had been unable to suit up for the Greens prior to the contest in Texas.
“That was a bright spark of the entire evening for me that Higgins has got back in the team,” Head Coach Sam Stockley said. “She’s trained so hard since she’s come back from her injury, it’s been a long journey for her. She puts in the effort and works every single minute of every day, (I put her in) the first opportunity that I could get her on the field for the 15 minutes that I was told that she could have. I did it because she deserves it, because she’s a fantastic player and a great person.”
Heading into a tough contest against an in-form Dallas Trinity squad, the Gals in Green saw an uncharacteristically poor start to the contest in the first half, conceding a goal in the fourth minute and never truly challenging in the first 45 minutes.
“I’m really disappointed with the result,” Stockley said. “I think that this is a real hard working group, they’re locked in, but we didn’t show up in the first 45 minutes of this game, and we had some honest words at halftime, and then they came out and put a performance on that warrants who we are as a football club, the crest that we have on our chest and how we are as a team and what we expect as a team with hard work, attitude, fight, and togetherness.”
Back out for the second half of play, the squad found new life, playing its brand of soccer that helped it secure a strong draw in Brooklyn the week prior.
This effort would pay off in the 69th minute when LSC’s Hannah White was assisted by captain Shea Moyer to level the score.
Unfortunately for the Greens, Dallas was quick with a response to regain the advantage.
“The first half performance was very lackluster, but in the second half we came out and we went toe to toe with them,” Stockley said. “We got the goal, and then obviously to concede the second goal within 15 seconds was a real blow for us, but we tried to then get after the rest of the game, and we conceded the late goal. Very pleased with our performance in the second half.”
Despite LSC’s strong second half play, Dallas would add an insurance goal late for the 3-1 final, but the true story of the night came in the 76th minute when Higgins would sub into the match for Madi Parsons, officially making her USL Super League debut.
“Stepping on the pitch again was truly an incredible feeling,” she said. “I just felt an immense amount of gratitude. The environment was incredible and I felt so much love from my entire team. It was a great feeling to see all the hard work pay off.”
With the full-time whistle bringing about the final, LSC will now look ahead to the final four matches in its USL Super League campaign, traveling to Spokane to face off against Spokane Zephyr FC in the club’s final road contest before ending the season with three straight at home.
“I think last night’s 3-1 score didn’t reflect the team’s performance especially in the second half. This team is special and I think there’s a togetherness about this squad that has weathered many storms and continues to stay connected and play for each other,” Higgins said. “We are a team that’s not going to take our foot off the gas .We will continue to work hard and play every game with a hunger to get a result.”
LSC’s contest with Spokane Zephyr FC is scheduled to take place at Beyond Bancard Field in Spokane. The contest will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET and air live on Peacock.
For Game Footage, click here. For additional media information such as game notes, photos, etc., please visit the Lexington SC Media Center.
About Lexington Sporting Club
Lexington Sporting Club is a U.S. Soccer professional soccer club competing in USL League One (U.S. Soccer third division men’s professional soccer), and in USL Super League (women’s professional soccer launching in 2024). The two professional teams are the pinnacle of the soccer ecosystem in Lexington that features more than 1,000 players within its youth and academy systems. Lexington SC in the process of building the club’s formal stadium, performance center and training fields.