Maren McCrary is retracing her professional soccer steps in Lexington

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW)- If Maren McCrary is dreaming then she doesn’t want anyone to wake her up.

A Super Chance for Soccer

For the first time in United States soccer history, two top tier women’s professional leagues are kicking a ball. McCrary is a part of the action as Lexington Sporting Club (LSC) is playing in the inaugural season of the United Soccer League Super League (USLSL).

“I never could have imagined that we’d have two professional leagues in this country with soccer specific stadiums being built for women,” said McCrary, the assistant coach for LSC’s women’s professional soccer team.

McCrary at LSC Super League team training.

“It’s an incredible opportunity and that’s one reason why I took advantage of the opportunity when I had the chance to come. I got to be a part of history as a player,” said McCrary.

While every step the players are taking is into uncharted territory, their coach seems to be retracing hers. Maren’s story begins back in a dorm room at Brigham Young University in the summer of 1999.

One Kick Changed Everything

Women’s soccer has been on a rollercoaster ride since the legendary moment Brandi Chastain slotted her 1999 Women’s World Cup winning penalty kick past China’s Gao Hong.

Chastain, who then won the U.S. Women’s National Team its second World Cup, is an inspiration for female footballers. You can count McCrary, a collegiate All-American and eventual school Hall of Famer, as one of them.

McCrary at BYU.

“I remember watching the 1999 World Cup and 18 months later playing with those women,” McCrary, who was a senior at BYU. “I thought we had made huge strides at that point.”

The Women’s World Cup win snowballed into the creation of the nation’s first professional soccer league for women. At the time of Chastain’s strike, McCrary had no plans to play professionally in the U.S. because no such league existed.

“If you weren’t on the national team there was nowhere else for you to play,” said McCrary. “(Playing pro) hadn’t even crossed my mind.”

But, a combine invite turned into draft night and McCrary was taken by the Carolina Courage in the seventh round.

McCrary playing for San Jose.

“We loved every aspect of it. I loved every moment of ‘Oh my gosh. I’m getting paid money to play the game that I love,'” said McCrary. “At that time I thought I was living on top of the world. To put into words is incredibly difficult.”

Maren later played for the San Jose Cyber Rays until she medically retired as the league folded in 2003.

“We knew going into the third season that the league was bankrupt and that would be the last season,” said McCrary. “Midway through that third season I suffered a third concussion and was told by doctors that they didn’t recommend I head a ball again. I knew playing soccer without heading a ball wouldn’t be an option for me.”

20 Years of Ups and Downs

The end of the WUSA was just the beginning of countless peaks and valleys in the women’s game across the U.S.

In 2008, the Women’s Professional Soccer League (WPS) formed. But, the league folded in 2012. The same year, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) was developed.

To date, the NWSL is the longest running women’s professional league in the country and has 14 teams including Racing Louisville FC.

The league has reached several positive milestones (landmark collective bargaining agreements, building soccer specific stadiums and attracting investments from billionaires) and experienced some damaging events including findings of sexual harassment and teams folding.

LSC huddles during the team’s first USLSL match.

The NWSL stood alone as the top league in the women’s pro soccer landscape until USLSL came into the picture in 2024. The mission of the new league is to expand opportunities for women to play professional soccer.

“Neither league is going to take away from the other. It’s going to make each other better and we’ve already seen some of that,” said McCrary.

A Full Circle Moment

Maren looks on at training.

For the past two decades, McCrary has been coaching. Collegiate, U.S. national team and sports ambassador roles lined her resume before Lexington came calling.

In the Bluegrass, Maren’s career comes full circle. She mentors players who are wearing the shoes she once wore and helps the technical staff build a soccer club from the ground up.

“I never even thought that this would be a dream come true,” said McCrary. The hands on and always enthusiastic coach has no shortage of street cred with the Gals in Green.

“She leads by example. She’s been out on the field playing with us, slicing and dicing, scoring goals, hitting us,” said midfielder and forward Madi Parsons. “She goes hard when she plays with us and it definitely encourages us to play hard.”

McCrary focuses on what’s next with her players on the pitch. The next run, pass, or command to a teammate. Outside the lines she asks the same questions of herself, the players and the women’s game.

“To see the growth we’ve had with women’s soccer in this county in the last 20 years has been phenomenal,” said McCrary. “The next generation needs to know that they’re going to be able to come into an environment where they’ll feel supported.”

It doesn’t seem like you’ll need to pinch her anytime soon.