The Commonwealth Cup, officially called The Commonwealth Cup Presented By Republic Bank for sponsorship reasons, is a soccer rivalry between the two American United Soccer League (USL) teams in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Louisville City FC and Lexington SC. Currently, both teams play in the USL Championship. As of July 2025, both teams have played each other in the USL Championship Regular Season, The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the USL Cup and in preseason friendlies.
The rivalry is a manifestation of a greater cultural rivalry between the cities of Lexington and Louisville. As the two largest cities in the Kentucky, Lexington and Louisville are major cultural hubs for the state, with both cities being the principal cities of the first and second largest metropolitan areas in Kentucky. The two major universities in each city have a fierce rivalry between themselves, with the University of Kentucky Wildcats (Lexington) and the University of Louisville Cardinals rivalry considered one of the most intense in the country. As of July 2025, both teams play for a physical trophy presented by Republic Bank.
Background Louisville City was founded in 2014, and has been considered one the USL's premier clubs. Louisville City has won two USL Championships and remains near the top of the USL's ranking for average attendance. Louisville developed two fierce rivalries with FC Cincinnati and Saint Louis FC, but due to MLS expansion, Louisville was left without an established rivalry to compete in within their league.
Lexington SC was founded in 2021, joining the USL League One, the third division of American soccer. To support the new club, the City of Lexington announced it would be assisting in building a new soccer stadium and complex around the team, expecting to host around 5,000 fans. The stadium, named Lexington SC Stadium, was completed in the middle of the 2024 season.
History In their first match, before Lexington SC was promoted, Louisville City and Lexington met in the 2nd Round of the 2023 U.S. Open Club. Louisville City soundly beat Lexington 1–0. Louisville outshot and outpossessed Lexington in both halves of the game.
In January 2024, Lexington SC announced it was signing former Louisville City captain and all-time club leading scorer Cameron Lancaster. He was later announced to be Lexington SC's captain.
In 2025, it was announced that the rivalry would be officially called "The Commonwealth Cup Presented By Republic Bank." The trophy was first awarded on July 26, 2025, after Louisville defeated Lexington 2–1. During the match, Lexington wore their "Icicles Kit," a kit to honor the University of Kentucky's 1990s basketball teams who wore similar uniforms. The game would be highlighted as Lexington SC's first ever sell-out game, a record attendance for the rivalry at 8,252. Louisville won the match, and ultimately secured the Commonwealth Cup, with Louisville's Jake Morris scoring a brace, scoring both goals in stoppage time.
Statistics
Head-to-head record SeasonDateCompetitionStadiumHome teamResultAway teamGoal scorersAttendanceSeriesRef2023April 5U.S. Open CupLynn Family StadiumLouisville City FC1–0Lexington SC(LOU) 4,205LOU 1–0–02025May 1USL ChampionshipLynn Family StadiumLouisville City FC 2–0Lexington SC(LOU) , (LOU)8,233LOU 2–0–02025July 26USL Jägermeister CupLexington SC StadiumLexington SC 1–2Louisville City FC(LEX) , (LOU) , (LOU) 8,252 LOU 3–0–02026March 6USL ChampionshipLexington SC StadiumLexington SC 1–2Louisville City FC(LEX) , (LOU) , (LOU) 8,277 LOU 4–0–0 2026April 1Lamar Hunt US Open CupLexington SC StadiumLexington SC 0–2Louisville City FC(LOU) , (LOU) 4,406 LOU 5–0–02026July 11Prinx Tires USL CupLynn Family StadiumLouisville City FCTBDLexington SCTBDTBDTBD
All-time leading scorers PlayerTeamGoals ScoredJake MorrisLouisville City2 (2025)Jacob Greene Lexington SC1 (2025)
Players that have played for both clubs
References