By Caden Charpentier
In auto racing, the best teams know you can’t win without a reliable engine. Soccer operates on the same principle. And for Racing Louisville FC, that engine hasn’t been a turbo-charged V6 but rather an inspired Taylor Flint.
After Flint re-signed with the club through the 2028 season, it’s time to contextualize just how well the season has started for Racing Louisville’s star midfielder.
Flint, 26, arrived to Louisville via trade with San Diego Wave FC in January 2024. Since then, she’s found her perfect fit within Racing’s tactical framework, cementing herself as one of the NWSL’s elite in a position she only began routinely playing just last year — the holding midfielder.
“When I first got here, I thought I was going to play the number 10 (position). (Coach Bev Yanez) told me, I think it was like the first or second week, ‘Yeah, we’re going to try you in the six,'” Flint said. “… It’s crazy how much I love it. I get more joy blocking a shot than I do scoring a goal.”
Flint laid a foundation during her first season in Kentucky, finding her rhythm within the club’s structure, and now she’s building from it. She has taken to Louisville’s high-octane style and has been a spark plug, igniting Racing to a club-record 20 points through 13 league games — a testament to how the right player in the right system can transform an entire team’s trajectory.
Few, if any, NWSL players have managed to do what Flint is on-pace to accomplish since Opta began logging statistics for the NWSL’s 2016 season.
In more than one statistical category this season Flint is in a league of her own. Having appeared in 12 of 13 games to this point, she ranks first in the league in duels won (152), interceptions (40) and successful aerial duels (80). No other player in the NWSL has eclipsed either 100 total duels won or 50 aerial duel victories.
From a historical perspective, Flint is on pace to rewrite the record books this season. If she maintains her current rate of 12.73 duels won per 90 minutes, she’ll finish with around 318 — just three shy of Lindsey Heaps’ 2018 single-season league record of 321 with Portland Thorns FC. For context, Heaps is the only player to surpass 250 in a season.
At her current pace, Flint would also become just the second player in league history to record 80 or more interceptions in a season. Perhaps most impressively, after winning 97 aerial duels last year, Flint is tracking toward a new league record of 160 aerial duels won in a single campaign.
The numbers alone tell the story, but Yanez knows firsthand just how crucial Flint is to the team’s success.
“She’s such a constructor,” the coach said. “She gets involved defensively, obviously, aerially, she’s been very present for us on both sides of the ball. She’s really come into this role as of last season and has just done a fantastic job. She orchestrates a lot in the role, knows when to be involved in possession … but also defensively does a fantastic job at breaking up play and allows us to build from what she can create centrally.”
As this year has shown again, Flint’s game spans far beyond those defensive numbers. Offensively, she has already matched her entire 2024 goal contribution total with four goals and one assist. Her chance creation has also improved compared to last year’s production, increasing about 22 percent.
Additionally, Flint’s distribution capabilities stand out, with her numbers positioning her among Louisville’s top three players in both progressive passes and passes into the final third.
What she has and continues to do on both ends enables those higher up the pitch, like Emma Sears, to thrive in their more creative-based responsibilities. It’s selfless work, but incredibly necessary in a league where physicality and transition play are defining characteristics.
However, this season, Flint made it clear that statistics aren’t her main focus, saying, “I still think I have a lot of work to do. The numbers are nice, yes, but I’m just focused on myself right now and just making sure I come out every game and bring my absolute best, especially for the team.”
If Racing hopes to carry its momentum from the first 13 games into the final stretch, there isn’t a question: Flint is going to be at the center of it all. She may play in a position that often doesn’t get the recognition it deserves, but what the Louisville star has accomplished halfway through her second year here is something well worth appreciating.
