CLUB BACKGROUND
Kings Hammer SC is a nationally-known soccer program which has multiple affiliates throughout the country. They are the only club in Greater Cincinnati to offer a full development pathway for men’s and women’s players. Their goal, as Matt Shisler puts it, is to grow people.
They embody this with their pathway, which includes Kings Hammer FC: a club that has a men’s team in USL League Two and a women’s team in the USL W League. They were founded in 2020.
This year, the team plays at NKU’s Scudamore Stadium, a 1,000-seat capacity soccer-specific stadium. Their goal in 2024 is to make the playoffs and develop their players for both professional and collegiate soccer.
The Kings Hammer FC’s women’s team boasts a roster of players from top local clubs and high-level colleges alike. Kylee Simmons and Taylor White were both standout players from Missouri and West Virginia respectively, and players like Lilly Yordy and Natalie Bain are from the Cincinnati area.
They are led by first-year head coach Jacob Morrison and assistant coach Bronson Gambale, who is also the National Technical Director for Kings Hammer SC (the youth part of their development pathway).
KHFC has a record of 3-1-1 and is in second place in the Valley Division. Indy Eleven is six points ahead of them, but they’ve played one more match.
THE ATMOSPHERE
The team has the feeling of lower league soccer. When you go to a match, you are uniquely close to the players, the coaches and the game itself. You feel a sense of involvement. And yet, being there still has a sense of professionalism to it.
The youth players are very involved with the team, often engaging in pre-match walkouts with players and in pickup matches at halftime.
Overall, it is an involving and unique atmosphere. Most of those who come to watch are passionate about the team, and all kinds of people are able to attend due to tickets being $5.
Also, the hot dogs are fantastic. Just those alone are worth going to the match for.
MATCH REVIEW
KHFC played St. Charles FC on Saturday. Their opposition, sitting last in the division, had lost all six of their matches this season going into Saturday’s affair. KHFC had won their last two, including a 4-1 win away to STFC last week. Morrison was away for the match, leaving Gambale to be the coach.
The match started in a dominant fashion for KHFC. They had a majority of possession and were creating chances in the opposition’s half of the pitch. It was, however, quickly looking like an uneven match.
(7’) GOAL: Kylee Simmons — Ava Arengo was on the attack and took a good shot, but it didn’t cross the line. It was eventually turned in by Simmons after a pile-up in the box with multiple players vying for the shot.
Nothing had changed just minutes later. There was another good chance for KHFC, while St. Charles had just been defending.
(19’) OWN GOAL: Natalie Gum — KHFC were attacking again, as they had done for the entire match. Their dangerous cross into the box was accidentally turned into the goal by STFC defender Natalie Gum.
Two minutes later, she redeemed herself when she heroically blocked Simmons’ header off the goal line.
Taylor White subbed on minutes later for Elle Britt, who came off with a slight injury. She was instantly a threat to STFC and KHFC only continued to attack well and earn corners.
(40’) GOAL: Kylee Simmons — As STFC was building out from the back, the ball was misplayed to Simmons, who was right inside the box. She finished the goal in a 1v1 against the keeper and got a brace.
As the halftime whistle was blown, Kings Hammer FC had all eight shots in the match, all six corners and already three goals. It was quickly becoming a blowout.
Maddie Murphy, Lauren Flax, and Nat Bain subbed in for Yordy, Reed, and Arengo, and there was a goalkeeper substitution with Galley coming off for Taylor Spiller.
(59’) GOAL: Kylee Simmons — The second half was the same as the first. The ball was crossed into a dangerous area, and Simmons scored a point-blank header to complete her hat trick.
Simmons and Lauren Donovan then subbed off for Shannon Crogan and Rose Vigran respectively.
(66’) GOAL: Taylor White — Once again, KHFC found themselves in the opposition’s box. A penalty was awarded after a rough tackle on Lauren Flax. White took the penalty, calmly slotting it in the bottom corner. The goalkeeper didn’t even move.
An STFC player went down with what sounded like a painful injury in the 68th minute. Due to only having one sub that was already in the match, they continued playing with 10 for the rest of the match. Flax received a red card for the rough challenge on the injured player, so both teams continued playing with 10.
The full-time whistle was blown. KHFC completely dominated, with a large majority of possession, all 18 shots in the match and all the corners.
FINAL SCORE: Kings Hammer FC (5-0) St. Charles FC
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After the match, Simmons and Gambale commented on the result, with the former saying it was a “good dominant performance.”
“I feel great. Look, the ladies have worked really hard this week… Could we get a mixture of different girls in? Could we get different ladies’ minutes? And I felt the girls executed both going with the ball in possession and how we defended… But also, we left a lot of meat on the bones,” Gambale said. “And we’re really excited to go to work on Monday and Tuesday in preparation for a rematch with Indiana.”
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