Emina Ekic (born June 6, 1999) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Racing Louisville FC of the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federati ...

(NWSL). She previously played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and Philippines, the Philippines. Th ...

for the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

Early life

Ekic attended

DuPont Manual High School duPont Manual High School is a public magnet high school located in the Old Louisville neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It serves students in grades 9– 12. It is a part of the Jefferson County Public School District. DuPo ...

, where she was named the 2015–16 Kentucky

Gatorade Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball, boys' and girls' basketball, boys' and girls' cross country, boys' football, boys' a ...

. Ekic also played for Javanon SC.

Louisville Cardinals

As a freshman in 2017, Ekic played in all 18 games for Louisville, starting 17 of them, and scored a team-high seven goals. She was named ACC Co-Freshman of the Year, as well as being selected to the All-ACC second team and ACC All-Freshman team. In 2018, Ekic started all 18 games for the Cardinals, and earned first team All-ACC team honors. In her junior season, Ekic started all 20 games. She scored 8 goals, including a game-winner vs. Vanderbilt on September 15. In the 2020 fall season, Ekic started all nine games of the shortened ACC season. Ekic scored seven goals and was named ACC Offensive Player of the Year.

Club career

Ekic declared for the

2021 NWSL Draft The 2021 NWSL Draft was the ninth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 13, 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the first NWSL Draft to be held virtua ...

on December 17, 2020. She was drafted fifth overall by expansion team Racing Louisville FC from her hometown. She made her debut for Racing Louisville in their first match of the

2021 NWSL Challenge Cup The 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup was a league cup tournament that took place during the 2021 National Women's Soccer League season. It began on April 9 and ended May 8, one week before the start of the regular season. It was the second iteration of th ...

. She scored Racing's first NWSL regular-season goal with a left-footed shot into the upper corner of the goal in a 2-0 win over the Washington Spirit, the club's first victory. Ekic finished her rookie season with 15 appearances, including three starts. In November 2022, Ekic was loaned to Australian club Melbourne City until mid-February.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ekic, Emina 1999 births Living people American women's soccer players Louisville Cardinals women's soccer players Racing Louisville FC draft picks Racing Louisville FC players Melbourne City FC (A-League Women) players Women's association football forwards National Women's Soccer League players