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USL Louisville City FC

City Stuns Charlotte in Four-Goal Attacking Thriller

July 21, 2018 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC battered the Charlotte Independence, 4-1, on a rainy night at Slugger Field for the team's first win at home since beating Atlanta United near the end of May. City's four-goal run saw Niall McCabe, Ilija Ilic, Cameron Lancaster, and George Davis IV all add to their tallies on the season.

What Happened?

An overcast night soon saw rain began to pour as goals poured in for City's first match at Slugger Field since the departure of coaches James O'Connor, Daniel Byrd, and Thabane Sutu at the end of June. Both sides came into the match having played midweek, leaving little time to rest and recover ahead of Saturday's session.

City started hot and looked the better of the two teams from the beginning, testing Charlotte and "keeper Brandon Miller multiple times in the early goings. Knocking on the door time and time again, City eventually broke the Independence down in the 21st minute on a goal from Niall McCabe. Forward Ilija Ilic, who started in place of Cameron Lancaster, threaded a pass through for McCabe, who produced a calm finish to put his side one-up.

Taking the lead into the halftime break, City came back out still the aggressors and added a second goal in the 72nd minute after Ilija Ilic converted from the penalty spot. As Charlotte continued to wear down, City would pile on another pair from Cameron Lancaster and George Davis IV to put the hosts firmly in front.

With nothing left in the match, the Independence would find one goal late from leading scorer Jorge Herrera but it would only put a dent in the damage done by City, who scored four goals in a league match for the first time all year.

Louisville City FC will head into a full week of rest before traveling to Ottawa to face Fury FC at 2:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 28. After that, City returns to Louisville to host Indy Eleven on Sunday, August 5, with kickoff set for 5:00 p.m. ET at Slugger Field. Tickets are available for as low as $16 by calling (502) 384-8799, option 2, or online at LouCity.com.

The Key Points:

* Midfielder Niall McCabe opened the scoring after 21 minutes off an Ilija Ilic pass

* Ilic turned provider to goalscorer with a converted penalty in the 72nd minute

* Cameron Lancaster added City's third for his 10th of the season

* George Davis IV rounded out the show with the team's fourth goal of the night

* Charlotte's consolation on the night came from Jorge Herrera in stoppage time

Luke Spencer's post-Charlotte press conference

On how it feels to be home:

"Yeah it feels really good to come back home in front of our fans after two losses that didn't go the way we had planned, it feels really good to get back on the field."

On how the team how's played as of late:

"There's a lot more freedom now. James [O'Connor] is a great coach but he likes things specific ways. What we try to do here is give structure and allow us to go out there and express ourselves. Especially on a night like tonight when it's wet, there's some good attacking play but we really need to get the shots off."

On the strong mentality and ability to bounce back after disappointing losses:

"To go through this situation with a coaching change - you're away at Tampa, you're away at Charleston, you're away at Chicago - those were three tough games in a tough situation. We kept that perspective and we know our capabilities so we really just talked about the belief in each other. We know we're good players and it showed tonight."

On the need for a home game:

"It was needed. It was good to get back here and hear our fans and be on familiar soil."

On the cruciality of the next six days approaching a tough stretch of games:

"Yeah, it's key. We're going to harp on the rest and recovery piece definitely but then Tuesday when training rolls around, it's back to work and we're focused on Ottawa."

On what point in the game they felt they were ready to open the game up:

"From the start of the game, we wanted to take it to them with our intensity. I thought the guys did that with our pressure. Over the course of the game, we saw the pressure was causing turnovers and we were able to get some success from that. It was just a matter of keeping the ball and knocking on the door."

On the different-looking lineup with Oscar Jimenez out:

"Well Oscar [Jimenez] didn't give us a choice, so we had to make some changes and I thought Frano [Shaun Francis] was brilliant today. It just gave us a different look out there and it led the guys to a win."

On if he has looked at the Eastern Conference standings and the race towards the playoffs:

"Honestly I haven't. I know it's close, but if we take care what we're supposed to, it will take care of itself."

Injury Report:

OUT - Richard Ballard (stress fracture)

OUT - Luke Spencer (knee)

Louisville City FC 4 : 1 Charlotte Independence

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Slugger Field | Louisville, KY

82 degrees / overcast

Attendance: 8,006

Scoring Summary:

LOU - Niall McCabe (Ilija Ilic) 21'

LOU - Ilija Ilic (p) 72'

LOU - Cameron Lancaster (Speedy Williams) 81'

LOU - George Davis IV (Magnus Rasmussen) 87'

CLT - Jorge Herrera (Kay Voser) 90'

Disciplinary Summary:

CLT - Kevan George 71'

Starting XI (4-1-4-1): Greg Ranjitsingh (GK); Shaun Francis, Alexis Souahy, Paco Craig, Kyle Smith; Paolo DelPiccolo; Devon "Speedy" Williams, Brian Ownby (Magnus Rasmussen 74'), Niall McCabe (Cameron Lancaster 68'), George Davis IV; Ilija Ilic

Bench: Chris Hubbard, Tim Dobrowolski, Sean Totsch, Pat McMahon, Magnus Rasmussen

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics

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