TSC Media Release
Inaugural Season Kicks Off this Week for Tennessee Soccer Club USL W League
FRANKLIN, TN – After months of preparation and anticipation, Tennessee Soccer Club USL W League will kick off its inaugural season against South Georgia Tormenta FC on Wednesday, May 18th at at Ravenwood High School Stadium at 7:30 pm CT.
“This is the beginning of what promises to be an exciting season for our team and the Greater Nashville community,” said USL W League Head Coach Dalton Kaufman. “The players have created the goal of competing for the South Central Division championship and their intensity has shown during the first week of training. That intensity has created a unique and immediate team chemistry that has our coaching staff very excited about what’s to come.”
TSC announced the new USL W League and USL League Two franchises January 3, 2022, followed by the hiring of Kaufman as the head coach just seven days later. Kaufman brought a wealth of experience with coaching pre-professional teams in Arizona and California. Together, with assistant coaches Dean Blain and Ronnie Woodard, the coaching staff worked diligently to build a talented roster, many of whom formerly played with TSC.
The roster starts between the pipes with goalkeeper Kate Devine, a starter at Vanderbilt University. Katie Bahn, a red-shirt freshman at Austin Peay University, Ana Boero from Lander University, Long Island University’s Eva Katsaitis, and Sydney Jones from Lipscomb University will all challenge for minutes throughout the season.
“We have an outstanding committee of five goalkeepers, all of whom are capable of having a breakout season,” Kaufman said. “The group is led by Kate [Devine] who is coming off an incredible season at Vanderbilt. Katie, Ana, and Eva will play key roles in the rotation. Sydney will be joining the team in early June and I expect her to immediately battle for quality minutes.”
Anchoring the backline with experience is Clemson University senior Harper White. After playing in all 20 games as a freshman, White has rarely come off the field for the Tigers in helping them reach the NCAA Division I Tournament. LJ Knox (Auburn University) and Ana Major (Samford University) join White on the backline. Belmont’s University’s Claire Fallon, Summer Elmore (Lipscomb), Sophia Finol (Southern Indiana University), Olivia Mills (University of Oregon), and Lauren Spaanstra (Middle Tennessee State University) will give the backline plenty of depth.
“This is an experienced group of defenders and a definite strength for our team,” Kaufman said. “Center back Harper White will anchor the line with a wealth of experience. It will be exciting to watch this group develop over the first half of the season as many will play slightly different defensive positions than they did for their universities.”
Coming off an invitation into the United States U-23 Women’s National Team, Auburn’s Anna Haddock will lead an experienced and talented midfield. While Haddock will focus on innovative attacking and creativity, Hayley Howard, a sophomore starter at the University of Louisville, and Shelby Craft from Lipscomb will bring a more balanced presence to the midfield adding strong ball winning and distribution. Meredith Nye (Tennessee Tech University), Grace Klippenstein (University of Tennessee – Chattanooga), Raine Jones (Davidson University), and Alec Baumgardt (Austin Peay) will all add depth and balance to the group.
“This is our deepest and most experienced position group,” said Kaufman. “Anna Haddock and Hayley Howard lead the midfield and promise to keep things creative and exciting for the fans. With so many quality midfielders on the roster, it will not be unusual to see different faces in the lineup at each match.”
Up front will be a dangerous group of players with speed and 1v1 attacking abilities. Whitaker Buchanan, who transferred from the University of Mississippi to Samford, has the ability to hold the ball and beat defenders off the dribble. The University of Tennessee’s Nolyn Bartholomew and Hannah Morton from the University of North Carolina – Greensboro give the TSC W attack a dynamic element with acceleration and creativity. McKinley Stiff (Southern Illinois University), Jaylin Counts (LIU), Sydney Hammond (University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley), Mia Roberts (MTSU), and Kelli Beiler (Lipscomb) will all add to the rotation throughout the season.
“This is another positional area of our team with great depth,” Kaufman said. “Led by target striker Whitaker Buchanan and wingers Nolyn Bartholomew and Hannah Morton, our front line has the speed and creativity to cause headaches for opposing defenders.”
“Our coaching staff has worked diligently to put together a talented and versatile roster of players who we feel can compete for the division championship,” Kaufman added. “With 12 highly-competitive matches to play in one of the toughest USL divisions, we know this is a lofty goal, but this is exactly why our players committed to TSC.”
This week will be a busy one for TSC W. After Wednesday’s historic first home match, the team with take step back on the field two days later, Friday, May 20th to face Southern Soccer Academy. All TSC USL home games will be played at Ravenwood High School Stadium. Tickets will be available at the gate.
TSC USL W League Team Schedule
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Tennessee Soccer Club (TSC) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Williamson County and the surrounding Greater Nashville area. TSC's Mission is "to promote a love for soccer by developing excellence in the game for our players and coaches to positively impact our member families and communities.”
Since 2012, TSC has been the premier youth soccer club in the state of Tennessee and currently serves over 3,500 players participating in recreational, competitive and/or supplemental soccer programs across four locations: TSC Murfreesboro, TSC Nashville, TSC Sumner and TSC Williamson. TSC teams compete locally, regionally, and nationally in leagues such as the Tennessee Youth Soccer League, USYS National League and Mid South Conference, and the Elite Clubs National League. TSC also fields two U23 pre-professional teams competing in USL W League (women’s) and USL League Two (men’s). TSC has won multiple state and national championships in recent years through competition in these leagues.
