Racing Louisville head coach Bev Yanez was recently named the 2025 National Women’s Soccer League Coach of the Year. She is the first American and first former NWSL player to earn the honor. It caps off a season where Racing Louisville leaned into its underdog identity and brought home its second Women’s Cup title.
To mark the moment, we are revisiting a conversation from September.
LPM News’ Ayisha Jaffer spoke with Yanez and team captain Arin Wright about the team’s growing identity and what it means to represent Louisville.
This conversation was edited for length and clarity.
Ayisha Jaffer: Bev you came in as head coach just a few years ago, taking on your first head coaching role in the NWSL. In just a few seasons, Racing Louisville has built an identity, both on and off the pitch. How would you describe the team's style of play?
Bev Yanez: I think we're very aggressive. I think we have very high intensity in our press. Out of possession has been a massive influence for us this year. I think we've been very good in attacking transition. On the flip side of that, I think we're just a team that people now fear playing.
AJ: What about you, Arin? How have you seen the team grow and evolve, and what stands out to you about the bond you've built as a group?
Arin Wright: I came in last year, and I have seen the group evolve so much from last year. We were great last year, but we are approaching unstoppable this year.
I’ve played now for 12 years. I know a locker room that is going to be successful, and I know a locker room that's not going to be successful. And you can just feel it in our locker room this year. People are so happy here.
We have the state-of-the-art stadium. We have state-of-the-art fields. We have amazing coaches that treat us like we're people and not just like this commodity.
So I think every single person, from 1 to 26 on the roster are really enjoying their time. Look at all the resignings we're having. People want to continue to be here.
AJ: What's unique about playing and winning in Louisville compared to other places that you both have played?
BY: I think this city is so special. I think it's a highly underrated city. I think not a lot of people know about it.
The people are so welcoming here, so kind, and I feel like they've embraced us. Everyone enjoys representing the city and cares a lot about the city, and you don't often, always find that on teams. We feel when we do have the crowd, whether the seats are full or not, the crowd’s behind us. And I think that's super special and very unique.
AW: I guess for me, if I'm thinking from a player perspective, I think when you look at our roster, you don't see a lot of those big names. We've got a few. We love that underdog mentality. And I think we take a lot of pride and joy being like, “You don't know our name. You're going to know it soon.”
AJ: You talk about being underdogs, but you recently won your second Women's Cup title, defeating Brazilian club Palmeiras. What was that experience like?
AW: Incredible. They eat, breathe, live — everything is soccer. The city, São Paulo was incredible. And to be in a place and see the passion that there is around the sport, and knowing that at some point that could be the passion that lives within Louisville and lives within the U.S. around soccer is a really exciting thing for me as an athlete.
AJ: So when you look to the future, what do you hope Racing will be known for, both in the league, but also here in Louisville?
AW: As a player, I want to be known as the gritty team that never stops, that people just dread to play because they know we're going to work harder than them every single day.
BY: Well, I don't know if I could say it any better than that. One thing I was taught very early on is very simply, life's not fair. You're going to feel you deserve something, and you're not going to get it.
And football makes zero sense. It can be very cruel. It can throw you up on a pedestal just as fast as it could grab you by the shirt and throw you on the floor. This is life.
Ultimately, putting on that shield of armor and going, “but nobody's going to hurt our group. Nobody's going to get inside this group.” And how quickly they can put that armor back on themselves and back on the group is ultimately what I believe will carry them past football. Because someday they're going to be presented with very similar scenarios, just in a different way, and I want them to be very proud of who they are in that moment — very confident of who they are in that moment.
