Former UofL women's soccer players start semi-professional indoor team in Louisville (2024)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A new semi-professional women's soccer team in Louisville is building its foundation around uplifting their community.

Louisville Triumph FC is in the midst of its inaugural season in the Premier Arena Soccer League.

Former University of Louisville soccer players Erin Yenney and Kaela Dickerman founded the team. After playing in Cincinnati last year, they decided to build something closer to home.

“We didn’t want to have to make that trip as much and we were aware of the already very vibrant indoor women’s soccer scene, we knew there was a lot of talent,” Yenney said.

The roster includes professional and former college players from UofL, Bellarmine, West Virginia, WKU and other schools around the region. Yenney and Dickerman want to provide players a winter home for soccer, whether they are in between professional contracts, continuing their playing careers after college or looking for a way to stay connected to the game.

It happened quickly, but the club was ready for the 2024 season. The co-founders had to build a business, search for sponsors, create marketing materials and jerseys and register for the league, along with finding places to train and host matches.

“It’s difficult to create a whole business and enter in a league without having any experience ourselves,” Dickerman said. “But in the grand scheme of things, it’s relatively easy.”

Arena soccer is a bit different from traditional soccer. The smaller field is walled-in as five field players and one goalkeeper make up each team.

It’s traditionally higher-scoring and faster paced.

“The game is exciting, you might see things that you’ve never seen before,” Dickerman said. “We want to be a place to introduce you to something new and exciting.”

The team played in the 39th Annual Mockingbird Tournament in early January.

Three weeks later, Louisville Triumph hosted its first home game at Mockingbird Valley Soccer Club against the Cincinnati Sirens. After taking a lead at halftime, Louisville lost to the league’s four-time reigning champion.

“That was a really big game to get us started and it gave us a lot of confidence,” Yenney said.

Despite the loss, the team had more than 300 fans supporting them in the home debut.

“We never expected it to be as big as it could be and just to see how many people are interested in having another soccer outlet for female athletes has been really exciting and it gives us the opportunity for a lot more potential within this team,” Dickerman said.

On Feb. 3, Louisville Triumph had a road match against Detroit FC. The team left with its first PASL league victory in club history.

“It was just a really intense environment, super physical game and we just dug out a really big win on the road,” Yenney said. “We’re feeling like the team is starting to mesh and we’re excited to continue to grow our product and be able to put that in front of fans here.”

The team’s mission goes beyond scoring goals and winning games. Yenney and Dickerman, who both have played professionally, want Louisville Triumph to have an impact within the community.

“We understand the power of having role models that you can look up to and those role models also being accessible,” Yenney said. “Anytime that you can highlight more strong, powerful, confident females in the community is a good thing for everybody.”

While the inaugural season has surpassed expectations in some ways, the founders want to continue to build Louisville Triumph.

“We still have high goals with just making sure that we can get a lot of fans and a lot of engagement for our team so players are interested and invested,” Dickerman said. “In the future, we want to be able to make this a really intense and high-level pro space.”

Dickerman said PASL is looking into paying players in the future. The 16-team regional league includes clubs from Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Indiana. Louisville Triumph wants to set an example for other teams.

#SoccerChat Powered By @EXACTSports ep. 192 - Erin Yenney & @kkdick of Louisville Triumph FC🎧 LISTEN HERE: https://t.co/t4T7Lx4xh7 download wherever you get your podcasts from! (Apple, Spotify, IHeartRadio, & etc) pic.twitter.com/5yymyOsO9G

— #SoccerChat (@ChatSoccr) November 30, 2023

“We’re hoping that we can help other teams and other cities be excited about what we’re doing in Louisville and think that they can make a team for themselves,” Dickerman said.

Louisville Triumph plays its next home game against Memphis on Feb. 18 at Mockingbird Valley Soccer Club. The team also hosts the Columbus Eagles on March 16. To purchase tickets, click here.

The club has theme nights for its home matches. Girls and Women in Sport Night is planned for Feb. 18.

“If you’re a soccer fan in Louisville, if you’re a women’s soccer fan, we hope that we can continue to spread the word and the season is short,” Yenney said. “It’s outside of the Racing Louisville season, so it’s kind of a pick me up for some more women’s soccer. It’s a different type of soccer that’s exciting for fans.”

To learn more about Louisville Triumph, visit the team’s website by clicking here.

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