Top Five for Five
The five best individual seasons in Racing’s first five years
2025 was Racing Louisville FC’s fifth year since joining the NWSL and marked an important step forward for the club as they finally escaped the dreaded 9th place, made the playoffs, and had the best year in club history to date. To celebrate, let’s take a look back at Racing’s first five years and rank the best individual player seasons in club history!
First, I had no mathematical ranking system, no points gained for various statistical accomplishments or docked for poor play. This was purely arbitrary. Second, I decided to remove the keepers from the list and treat them separately. And third, I opted to only include one season per player otherwise the list very well might have been completely dominated by Taylor Flint and Emma Sears
This list would have been much easier if I’d expanded it to a top 10 but I liked the symmetry of looking for the five best individual player seasons in Racing’s first five years. Even still, I’m going to blur that top 5 line a bit by separating the keepers and doing a couple of honorable mentions. So, without further ado, lets dive in!
Honorable Mentions
Jess McDonald (2022), Dr. Nadia Nadim (2022), Abby Erceg (2023)
A big part of me wanted to find a way to sneak Dr. Nadia Nadim’s 2022 season into the fifth spot on the list but ultimately I decided that despite 6 goals in just 11 matches (7 starts), an impressive 45% shot on target percentage, and an insane 0.78 goals/90 minus, playing in just 11 matches and 696 minutes didn’t justify a top five season.
Jess McDonald on the other hand did play in every game in 2022 and her 3 goals and 4 assists are still tied for 3rd most goals + assists in a single season and the two players ahead of her both had 4 more games in their season.
Measuring the value of defensive players is always tough and I was determined to not ignore the defensive contributions. The unfortunate reality is that historically Racing has not had strong defensive lines. That started to change in 2023 with the acquisition of Abby Erceg and Carson Pickett. That year, Erceg put together an iron woman season, led the league in blocks and even managed to score two goals. Certainly enough to earn an honorable mention.
Best Goalkeeper Season
Take a look at these two stat lines:
Player A: 20 matches/starts, 79 saves, 76.20% save percentage, 5 clean sheets, 25% clean sheet percentage, 3rd in league in both saves and save percentage.*
Player B: 22 matches/starts, 89 saves, 81.4% save percentage, 6 clean sheets, 27.3% clean sheet percentage, 2nd in league in saves and save percentage.
That’s a downright coin flip on the stat sheet and if you wanted to pick either one, I wouldn’t argue with you. But, in the end, my top goalkeeper performance in Racing history goes to Jordyn Bloomer’s (player A above) 2025 campaign with a slight edge over Katie Lund’s 2023 season.
What was the deciding factor? A few things. First, Lund came into 2023 knowing she was the starting keeper. Bloomer entered 2025 as the backup and had to step up about a quarter of the way into the season when Lund was placed on the Season Ending Injury List. Second, that asterix next to Bloomer’s 2025 stats is to reflect her three penalty kick saves (in four chances) including becoming the first keeper in league history to save two PKs in the same match. And finally, though hard to quantify, Bloomer’s impact on the rest of the team’s defense was noticeable throughout the year. She became an organizing voice that steadied the ship despite potentially catastrophic injuries.
And now, the top five:
Number Five: Savannah DeMelo (2024)
This was a bit of a toss up between DeMelo’s campaigns in 2024 and 2023. In the end the distinction came down to card accumulation. In 2024 DeMelo had 5 goals (1 PK), 2 assists, and led the league in fouls drawn (86) with the second most being her teammate Lauren Milliet (62). DeMelo was strong on both sides of the ball and despite missing five games remained a critical piece in Racing’s midfield.
Number Four: Ebony Salmon (2021)
Ebony Salmon’s inclusion here might surprise some people but she is absolutely deserving. As a 20 year old in her first year in the NWSL Salmon stepped up in a big way. She made 20 appearances for Racing with 14 starts and notched six goals and one assist and averaged .44 goals/90 minutes which remains elite in Racing’s young history.
The one big limitation in Salmon’s game seemed to be her defensive contributions, a factor that may have led to her limited playing time in 2022 and the trade that eventually sent her to the Houston Dash where she racked up 9 goals in 12 matches!
Number Three: Taylor Flint (2024)
Like with DeMelo, deciding to go with Taylor Flint’s 2024 season over the 2025 season ultimately came down to cards. Flint drew 6 yellow cards in 2024 compared to 10, which led the league, in 2025. Whether all of those cards were deserved is another conversation (hint: they weren’t!) but being available for an extra game is significant as Flint’s presence, or lack thereof, is always noticeable for Racing.
In 2024, Flint had 3 goals (1 PK) and 1 assist. She led the league in tackles, tackles won, aerials won, and interceptions and was 3rd in blocks. After arriving from San Diego she immediately became such a lock down starter for Racing that they eventually traded then team captain Jaelin Howell to Seattle Reign FC in August.
Many Racing fans might agree that Flint’s long-range screamer of a goal against Gotham in May 2025 is one of the best goals in club history, and Flint did score one more goal in 2025 than 2024. However, the fact is that she was far more selective with her offensive action in 2024 and as a result far more accurate and efficient. Flint took just 24 shots in 2024 compared to 45 in 2025 but she got 50% of those shots on target compared to just 17.8% this year which means she actually had more total shots on target in 2024 despite taking 21 fewer shots.
In the end, Flint’s greatest value to Racing comes as a disruptor in the middle of the field breaking up opponent’s offensive attacks and she has done that at an elite level in both of her first two years with Racing.
Number Two: Emma Sears (2025)
But wait! Didn’t Sears just become the first player in Racing history to achieve double digit goals in a single season? Yes she did. But, if you read my End of Year Awards piece, the number one on this list might not come as big of a surprise. But first, Emma Sears.
Sears finished her sophomore campaign with 10 goals and 2 assists. Those 10 goals were enough for 4th best in the league, the most goals by an American in the NWSL, and second team NWSL Best XI honors. She led the team in minutes by a significant amount and her 12 goals + assists are also a club record.
Sears scored in 9 different games with her lone brace coming against the North Carolina Courage in October. She did score the majority of her goals in the first half of the season but that likely is due to a number of factors. In some ways that speaks to the emergence of Sarah Weber, Ella Hase, and Katie O’Kane as alternative scoring threats in the second half of their rookie campaigns thus creating a more balanced Racing attack.
As a result of her stellar play Sears earned herself a new contract with the team announcing in October that Sears had resigned with the club through the 2028 season.
Number One: Janine Sonis (2025)
I will admit that I was initially hesitant when Racing acquired Sonis from the Portland Thorns in exchange for rookie forward Reilyn Turner. At the time of the trade Turner was in the middle of a stellar rookie campaign. She had 4 goals and 2 assists in 16 matches for Racing and many fans, myself included, were excited by the thought of watching Sears and Turner develop on the front line together for years to come. Sonis had a good first half season with Racing but her 2025 was so stellar it erased any misgivings I may have initially had about the trade.
Sonis’ 3 goals and 5 assists in 2025 is the second highest goals + assists total in Racing history. She finished the season tied for 3rd in the NWSL for assists, she was 2nd in key passes (51) and crosses (135), and 3rd in both shot creating actions (89) and in goal creating actions (10). Simply said, Sonis is able to score but she is also an elite playmaker who makes everyone around her better as a result.
Sonis’ positional versatility doesn’t seem to have impacted her ability to contribute offensively. During the first half of the year Sonis made 10 starts at left wing and 3 on the right wing but a summer break injury to Lauren Milliet led to Sonis making 10 straight starts at right back coming out of the summer break and finishing the season with 3 starts at left back. She had 1 goal and 3 assists in the first half of the year and 2 goals and 2 assists during the second half.
At the end of the day Sonis may not have had the best offensive season in Racing history but I am a big believer that there is more than just offense when it comes to discussing player value. Sonis’ contributions on both sides of the ball and at four different positions earn her the top spot here for the best individual seasons in club history.
Let us know what you think in the comments. Do you agree? Disagree? Who do you think have produced the best single season performances in Racing history?