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USL Louisville City FC

Cruz Sees Right Kind of 'Bite' in His Team Ahead of East-West Showdown

April 15, 2022 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC Head Coach Danny Cruz
Louisville City FC Head Coach Danny Cruz
(Louisville City FC)

When Danny Cruz looks at Louisville City FC's performances early this year, the head coach says he truly sees his team.

There have been a number of differences from a 2021 USL Championship campaign when Cruz took over after a game had been played and this one, where he oversaw offseason transactions and preseason training.

The word that continues coming up is "bite," which Cruz saw in full effect as LouCity shut down Loudoun United FC last Sunday in a 2-0 victory. The boys in purple held Loudoun to just two shots attempted and 0.09 expected goals but did amass 21 fouls in the process.

The collective fight - and willingness to make an aggressive late tackle - are traits Cruz hopes to see on display again at 10 p.m. Saturday when LouCity plays at San Diego Loyal.

"When I see that, it certainly makes me feel like a group of players that is coached by me," the coach said. "That's something that's really important to me. I say it all the time: Players are going to make mistakes. it's normal. But if you have the right mentality and the fight, I can live with those mistakes."

Cruz, who previously served as LouCity's top assistant, was promoted to interim head coach in April of 2021. The club removed that tag in October, making him its permanent manager.

The 32-year-old marked his first offseason in charge by retaining most of a roster that advanced to LouCity's seventh straight Eastern Conference Final. But he also brought in a number of young signings that have provided the boys in purple a boost early, among them striker Wilson Harris (four goals across all competitions) and wing back Manny Perez (multiple Team of the Week nods).

To boot, goalkeeper Kyle Morton has conceded only one goal in seven games, a credit both to him and a player like Amadou Dia, the 28-year-old former Phoenix Rising standout newly signed this season.

"There's a strong belief in the group right now," Cruz said. "The culture that is set at this club, you can tell that the new players coming in are integrated and completely bought in. For us, that's what it's about.

"As a team comes together and begins to grow with one another, everybody is obviously fighting for a common goal and relationships begin to build. I think certainly from back to front, whether players are starting, or whether players are on the bench or not in the 18, you absolutely have that collective buy-in right now."

San Diego will provide perhaps the toughest test of that yet. The Loyal are 5-1-1 and atop the Western Conference table. LouCity, meanwhile, is first in the Eastern Conference while off to its best start to a season since 2018, when the club won its second consecutive USL Championship title.

Not only are the boys in purple winning. Especially defensively, they've been dominant. Loudoun didn't take a shot in the first half Sunday and even chasing the game down two goals couldn't manage any desperate chances to claw back.

A fifth clean sheet for LouCity leads the USL Championship. It took LouCity until late August - 22 games in - to match that shutout total in 2021, when the side tended to allow goals late in halves.

"From a defensive standpoint, I talked to the players yesterday, about when anybody watches us play, I want them to take away that this team fights for one another," Cruz said. "That they have a strong mentality and that they're looking to press for 90 minutes. And so far, throughout this season we've certainly had that."

"If you have that defensive fight and you have that mentality, you're going to give yourself a chance to win a lot of games, and I think you're seeing that so far."

Follow along...

- For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @LouCityFC on Twitter and Louisville City FC on Facebook. Also find us at @louisvillecityfc on Instagram.

- The game will air on MyTV and stream via ESPN+ and the WDRB Now app. Listen to live radio coverage from Jeff Milby and Casey Whitfield on ESPN 680/105.7 or at ESPNLouisville.com.

Story lines...

Battle of the best: Saturday won't just mark a tilt between the two sides atop the Eastern and Western conference standings. It's also a meeting of the league's hottest attack, San Diego, and its most potent defense in LouCity. San Diego - which has five wins, a draw and a loss - leads the USL Championship with 16 regular-season goals while City's one goal conceded is the fewest in the league.

Locking down: Speaking of LouCity's defense, it's hard to concede goals when you're allowing the opposition so few quality shots. While goalkeeper Kyle Morton has come up big, he hasn't had to do so very often. Through six league games, a LouCity back line largely led by Amadou Dia, Wes Charpie, Josh Wynder and Manny Perez has only allowed 12 shots on target. The club's five clean sheets lead the USL Championship.

Strike first: LouCity head coach Danny Cruz often says he expects his team to start with the right mentality and maintain that energy for all 90 minutes. That was certainly the case on Sunday afternoon, when City scored in the fourth minute at Loudoun United FC, with Wilson Harris netting LouCity's earliest goal of the season. LouCity's defense didn't allow the hosts a shot in the first 45 minutes, either.

Fear the beard: Attacker Brian Ownby's impressive run of form to start the season continued last Sunday when he netted a 53rd-minute goal - his second of the season - to secure City's 2-0 win at Loudoun. Ownby broke through the hosts' back line to gather a well-placed pass from Charpie and chipped the goalkeeper from well outside the box. The 31-year-old earned back-to-back Man of the Match performances on the road, previously claiming the honor in the 0-0 draw at Birmingham Legion FC.

Up for the Cup: Both LouCity and San Diego will face quick turnarounds from Saturday's game to go back into Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play. Loyal travels to play Major League Soccer's LA Galaxy on Tuesday, while the boys in purple host MLS Next Pro's St. Louis CITY SC in a Third Round game on Wednesday. LouCity advanced out of the Second Round - its first game in the national championship knockout competition - with an April 6 win over USL League One's Chattanooga Red Wolves SC.

Cam's way back: While there is still no timeline for the return of LouCity star striker Cameron Lancaster, Cruz said recently that the Englishman returned to training with the team in a limited capacity. The boys in purple have been without their 2021 leading scorer since he suffered a hamstring injury in the final minutes of the team's last preseason game. In the time Lancaster has missed, the 22-year-old Harris has proved to be up to the challenge, scoring four goals across all competitions.

A mainstay returns: Niall McCabe made his season debut for LouCity in its Open Cup victory over Chattanooga Red Wolves SC last Wednesday and followed that up with a late substitution at Loudoun on Sunday. McCabe, who now boasts 176 league games played for City, is the only member of the inaugural team in 2015 to stay with the club through all eight campaigns. The Irishman missed the start of the season while recovering from a non-COVID-19-related illness.

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Louisville City FC Head Coach Danny Cruz
Louisville City FC Head Coach Danny Cruz
   

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