The busy soccer summer is upon us. Amateur leagues and professional clubs are gearing up to make Cincinnati and the surrounding area a hive of soccer. We here at Cincinnati Soccer Talk are looking to keep you in the loop on all the action outside of TQL Stadium this summer.
Looking Back
Victory or Valhalla
Valhalla FC have made their mission as a club to make the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. ‘Victory or Valhalla’ is the battle cry for the club as founder and player Anders Michelson shared with CST’s Nathan Forsthoefel in an offseason interview. Boy, did they live up to that motto in Sunday night’s USASA Amateur Cup match against rival Northern KY Nitro. Faced with a one goal deficit and acquiring a red card ejection in the 34th minute, Valhalla dug deep to fight for advancement.
In the 62nd minute, an earned PK by Jacob Pokorski led to the equalizing conversion by Itay Soffer. In the 86th minute, a unbelievable series of dribbles by the Valhalla saw Justin Rosa splitting the backline defenders to slot the ball in the bottom corner for the go-ahead goal. Kees Ciric slammed the door shut in the 90+2′ to send Valhalla through to the next round.
For Northern KY Nitro this marks another crushing blow during a cup competition despite such success during league play. Valhalla will await their next opponent for the USASA Amateur Cup Region II Quarterfinals. Continued advancement inches Valhalla ever closer to that goal of making the USOC.
.@Valhalla_FC_1 secured a trip to the next round with this incredible goal from Justin Rosa. pic.twitter.com/RhVhGTlswN
— Justin Blair (@_jeblair) May 19, 2025
Not An Ideal Start
The Dayton Dutch Lions (W) travelled to Racing Louisville for a midweek matchup to kickoff the USL-W season. The visitors failed to score a goal while conceding a eye-watering nine goals. Erin Connolly of Racing Louisville bagged a hat-trick and Grace Maddox picked up a brace on the evening. Despite the disappointing start to the season for DDL, Racing Louisville are the heavy favorites to win the division so the 9-0 defeat will be one DDL can move on from rather quickly.
Stellar Performance Falls Short
After Racing Louisville’s dominate performance Wednesday against the Dayton Dutch Lions, they would have a quick Saturday night turn around at Kings Hammer FC. KHFC is loaded with collegiate talent and it didn’t take long for them to come together. Lily Yordy would put KHFC on top in the 16th minute followed by a Kennedy Clark goal in the 26th minute. Racing Louisville pulled one back to make it 2-1 going into the half. Kings Hammer would extend the lead to 3-1 with a goal in 63rd minute from Kennedy Clark assisted by Natalie Bain. With a quarter of the match remaining, Racing made a mass substitution that really turned the tide. The lead was cut to one with a Grace Maddox goal in the 82nd minute and the match was level after a back breaking 90+4′ goal from Erin Connolly.
Locked In 🛠 pic.twitter.com/wSAhYZLzxK
— Kings Hammer FC (@kingshammerfc) May 17, 2025
Opening Week; USL-W Central Conference, Valley Division
No surprise that the second teams for both Indy Eleven and Racing Louisville top the standings but it is still early in the condensed, 10 match, USL-W season. A pair of Racing Louisville players lead the league in scoring, Erin Connelly (4) and Grace Maddox (3).

Standings courtesy of USL-W, Filtered by Point per Match
Lady Boots Ribbon Cutting
Bootleggers AC (W) played their inaugural OVPL match against Kings Hammer Academy at home this past Sunday. Despite a 2-4 loss, there were plenty of positives to build on for Coach Kellie Ponchak and her Bootleggers AC Women’s squad—affectionately known as the ‘Lady Boots’. “I am pleased with everyone’s effort and attitudes today,” said Ponchak after the match. “They all barely knew each other yet played with chemistry.” Bootleggers’ goals came from Allison Yeager, who opened her summer account with a composed finish, and Molly Ennis, who added a spark off the ball and found the back of the net to keep the Lady Boots in striking distance throughout the match.
Credit Bootleggers AC for their assistance with this portion.
Taste of Hell
FC Cincinnati 2 and Columbus Crew 2 of MLS Next Pro renewed their rivalry Sunday afternoon in Historic Crew Stadium. For the Orange and Blue, the long awaited appearance of Andrés Dávila, the signee from Independiente Medellín of Colombia, came in the 68th minute. Dávila has been recognized as one of the best young players in the world and has been dealing with injury. The day was for the Columbus Crew II though. The Crew were able to get a goal from Taha Habroune in 16th minute and hold the 1-0 advantage for the remainder of the match.
Measuring Stick
The Dayton Dutch Lions (M) hosted reigning three-time divisional champions Fort Wayne FC on Saturday evening. Mamadou Diarra of FWFC struck first in the 14th minute. Caio Oliveira doubled the advantage in the 69th minute. The 2-0 lead for the visitors would hold. Despite dropping the first match, DDL looked like they had found some things out defensively late in front of the home fans.
Thank you to our incredible supporters for showing up and showing out for our season opener! You make every game unforgettable 🦁 #DDLFC #DaytonDutchLionsFC #USL2 #soccer #sports #sportsphotography pic.twitter.com/Q9XGho353p
— Dayton Dutch Lions FC (@DaytonDutchLion) May 18, 2025
Nil – Nil
Manu Ledesma Academy played host to United Stars Soccer Academy in hopes to jump their foe in the UPSL standings. The match was a physical slug-fest with neither side able to build up a solid shape moving forward towards goal. The match ended with a 0-0 score-line. Fortunately, for Manu Ledesma Academy, all competition ahead of them in the standings saw draws this weekend. However, they only have three matches remaining to make up ground.
Other Scores in Our Area
Bootleggers AC (M) 3 – QST Academy 2 | OVPL
Columbus Eagles FC 4 – FC Dayton 1 | WPSL
FC Pride 2 – Peoria City 1 | WPSL
Columbus Astray 1 – Indy Gladiators 1 | UPSL
Racing Louisville 0 – Seattle Reign 1 | NWSL
Lexington SC (M) 0 – FC Tulsa 2 | USL-C
Lexington SC (W) 0 – DC Power FC | USL-S
Indy Eleven (W) 2 – Lexington SC 0 (W) | USL-W
Lexington SC (M) 2 – Kings Hammer Columbus 1 | USL-2
Hartford Athletic 1 – Louisville City 1 | USL-C
Looking Forward
Lioness Double Feature
The Dayton Dutch Lions have two matches at home this week in USL-W competition. This will be a good opportunity to shake off the bad taste from the season opener.
- vs Indy Eleven, 7:00 PM Wednesday May 21 at DOC Stadium; Tickets | Stream
- vs Kings Hammer FC, 2:00 PM Saturday May 24 at DOC Stadium; Tickets | Stream
🦁⚽ It all kicks off Wednesday at 7 PM at DOC Stadium!
The Dutch Lions Women’s Team opens the 2025 home schedule vs. @IndyElevenWomen.
Preview the matchup with @KleimeyerLucas 🎥
⁰#DDLFCvsIND #USLW #GameDay #DutchLions #HomeOpener pic.twitter.com/2THqfB4pM2— Dayton Dutch Lions FC (@DaytonDutchLion) May 20, 2025
New Beginnings
Kings Hammer FC Men’s squad start their 2025 campaign this Saturday against the newcomers West Virginia United. KHFC made a splash signing in former FC Cincinnati players Corben Bone and Kenney Walker. They and Ohio State midfielder Parker Grinstead will look to lead the team after a considerable amount of turnover from last year’s squad.
Ready to bring some magic to Kings Hammer FC!🪄♦️ We’re thrilled to have former FC Cincinnati midfield maestro Corben Bone joining our squad this summer! Welcome to the team, Corben! pic.twitter.com/qWhvtsPQDr
— Kings Hammer FC (@kingshammerfc) May 21, 2025
We're not bluffing, we've played our cards right with this next signing!🃏✨ Welcome to another FC Cincinnati club legend, Kenney Walker, who joins the Kings Hammer FC midfield for the 2025 season. pic.twitter.com/QbAEqZTPmX
— Kings Hammer FC (@kingshammerfc) May 21, 2025
Kids, Lace It Up
Cincinnati Street Soccer is holding open registration for their summer futsal league. CST recently interviewed Chris Bean of Cincinnati Street Soccer to discuss the group’s history and mission. Follow this the linked image for the futsal league registration.
Dust Off Your Boots
Northern Kentucky Street Soccer holds frequent adult futsal events. You can join them this Wednesday at 6:00 pm at Kenney Shields Park. Follow their Facebook group to stay connected to other match days.
What did we miss?
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