FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Katie Lund is a Texas native, but she’s found a home both in Fayetteville, Arkansas and Louisville, Kentucky.
At Arkansas, she was a grad transfer from TCU in 2019, earning All-SEC honors as goalkeeper and leading the Hogs to an SEC regular season title.
“I really found the joy in the game again playing there and I think I’ve transitioned how much fun and how happy I was at Arkansas into my game here,” Lund said.
Now at Racing Louisville, Lund is living out her professional dreams in the NWSL.
“It’s been great,” Lund said. “I really like it here and I feel like this is the place for me.”
She’s made her mark on the league one save at a time.
Last year, she set the league’s single-season saves record with 112.
That led to a three-year extension with Racing Louisville. This year, she’s picked up where she left off, leading the NWSL with 57 saves.
“When I’m having fun and I’m enjoying it with people that believe in me and gave me confidence, that’s when I play best,” Lund.
Lund’s path to success hasn’t been linear though, not playing right way in Washington, her first stop, nor when she first landed in Louisville.
All along though, she’s had support back in Fayetteville, from Coach Colby Hale to the rest of the Razorback staff.
“I continued to fight to get onto the field,” Lund said. “I’m grateful to them because they continued to stay in touch with me and encourage me to keep fighting and to continue to work hard. I’m glad we still have a relationship now even though its been a couple of years. I’m always rooting for them (Arkansas) and they’re a huge reason why I’m still here playing.”
Helping her feel more at home in the Bluegrass State has been playing alongside fellow former Hog, Parker Goins.
“It’s so nice to have a familiar face and to kind of know what we’ve been through together,” Lund said. “I feel like since I’m the older one, I’ve kind of mentored her a little bit, but she does great on her own anyways.”
Now as she plays in her third year in Louisville and with her game improving every year, Lund is thankful for where her career has taken her, and where it’ll go in the future.
“I think it’s a dream come true for me, having only 12 teams and being a part of something so special, so I definitely don’t take it for granted,” Lund said.
“I realized I could hang in the league and it’s been such a special experience, but I do think that I have so much left to learn which is great because I know I haven’t hit my ceiling.”
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