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NWSL Racing Louisville FC

Racing Signs 'Dynamic' Forward Gordon for 2022 Season

March 15, 2022 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Racing Louisville FC News Release


Forward Sh'Nia Gordon with West Virginia University
Forward Sh'Nia Gordon with West Virginia University
(Racing Louisville FC, Credit: WVU Athletics)

Racing Louisville FC added more firepower to its attacking ranks on Tuesday with the signing of Sh'Nia Gordon, a speedy American forward who starred collegiately at West Virginia University and last played professionally for Russian club CSKA Moscow.

Gordon left CSKA Moscow after FIFA ruled that foreign players and coaches on contracts with Russian clubs may void their deals in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine. She spent the past seven months in Moscow with the two-time Russian Women's Football Championship winners and UEFA Women's Champions League qualifiers.

Gordon agreed to a two-year contract with Racing.

"This is my first time being back in America in two and a half years, and I'm really excited," she said. "I've always wanted to play in the NWSL, but first I wanted to play overseas. That's why I went to France - that was my dream. But long-term, I always thought about returning to America, and this was just perfect timing."

A 24-year-old from Ocklawaha, Fla., Gordon comes to Racing with a goalscoring and playmaking pedigree. Before her time with CSKA, she totaled 7 goals and 4 assists for French club Dijon FCO in a ninth-place finish in the top flight over the 2020-21 campaign. In the 2019-20 season, she played 16 matches as a first-year professional for French first-division side FC Metz, where she scored three goals.

Those standout seasons attracted attention from CSKA, which won back-to-back league titles in 2019 and 2020 and finished second in 2021. Gordon made two appearances for CKSA, both in Champions League qualifiers, including 45 minutes in a loss to Kim Björkegren's Apollon Ladies.

Now Björkegren, who became Racing's head coach in December, will coach his former foe.

"Sh'Nia is a winger with great pace and power," Björkegren said. "I saw her already a couple of years ago, and this last year she played for CSKA Moscow, a team we played against in the Champions League with my former club. She has proven her level in different leagues, and we're excited to see her in the NWSL with us."

At WVU, playing alongside Canadian Women's National Team stars Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence, Gordon compiled 25 goals and 15 assists while making a program-record 95 starts in as many matches over her four-year collegiate career. She earned All-Big 12 honors her senior year in 2018, two years after being named to the All-College Cup Tournament Team after WVU's run to the 2016 national title match.

Gordon's college coach, Nikki Izzo-Brown, said the forward will give Racing "something different" with her ability to stretch defenses.

"She is a dynamic player," Izzo-Brown said. "You're going to see next-level speed. She loves to attack. She's willing to go on both sides of the ball. She obviously scored a lot of goals for us and is going to be fun to watch. She'll do things at that high-speed level but is also really shifty - really crafty."

Gordon will count toward Racing's league-required 22-player roster ahead of the NWSL Challenge Cup and is scheduled to arrive in Louisville before Friday's 7:30 p.m. opener against the KC Current at Lynn Family Stadium.

She joins a talented attacking corps that returns leading scorers Ebony Salmon (6 goals) and Cece Kizer (5 goals) in addition to Denmark international Nadia Nadim and local product Emina Ekic. This past offseason Racing also added 2019 World Cup winner Jess McDonald, the league's fourth all-time scorer and top assists producer, as well as college All-American Kirsten Davis.

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Images from this story

Forward Sh'Nia Gordon with West Virginia University
Forward Sh'Nia Gordon with West Virginia University
(WVU Athletics)		   

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