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USL Louisville City FC

Gonzalez's Strike Sends LouCity Forward in Playoff Win over Miami FC

November 6, 2021 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC forward Jorge Gonzalez
Louisville City FC forward Jorge Gonzalez
(Louisville City FC, Credit: Connor Cunningham)

On a Louisville City FC squad stocked with postseason experience, a newcomer to the club advanced the boys in purple out of their USL Championship Playoffs opener.

Jorge Gonzalez, on loan from Major League Soccer's Portland Timbers, corralled a 74th-minute loose ball in the box Saturday and tucked it in at the far post to secure a 1-0 victory over Miami FC.

The win at Lynn Family Stadium was accomplished in front of a club-record crowd of 9,097 for a postseason opener. It also moved LouCity forward to the Eastern Conference Semifinal round with a 7:30 p.m. home matchup next Saturday awaiting against the Charlotte Independence.

"It was amazing," head coach Danny Cruz said of support in the stands. "Every single one of our players feels an immense sense of pride playing in front of these fans every single week. You could hear it tonight. You could feel it tonight. We'd press. We'd win the ball back and you could hear the crowd. It gives us another sense of energy.

"I'm looking forward to feeling it again next week. It's a big reason we've had success at this place."

Gonzalez made this his fourth goal in purple across all competitions in 18 appearances having missed much of the season's first half due to injury. A game-winning strike seemed long in the making during a game LouCity out-numbered Miami FC 7-2 in shots on target.

With the game scoreless at halftime, Cruz said he told his side to understand "we're going go get a goal. Believe that. Understand that. Here's how we can break them down a little more."

"We had good chances in the first half, so we weren't worried about scoring the goal," Gonzalez said. "We knew it was going to come...We always talk about it. We say when someone comes here, we're going to play under our terms. That's what's so special about this stadium. It's really hard to beat us."

Five minutes before Gonzalez converted, the host side's next-best look came on a grounded Jonathan Gomez cross and Paolo DelPiccolo flick. Soon after, Gonzalez found himself set up to beat opposing goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell thanks to some 1-2 play with Corben Bone.

Yes, that's the same Caldwell who starred all season at Hartford Athletic, a division rival of Miami. The club on Friday announced an emergency loan to bring Caldwell in with Miami FC reduced to a single healthy goalkeeper - then threw him straight into a starting role.

Coincidentally, Gonzalez last scored on Sept. 7 in a victory over Hartford. Caldwell was in goal that night as well.

Gonzalez's finish was all LouCity needed on another solid night for its defense. A week ago, the boys in purple kept Birmingham without a shot on target in a shutout victory that resulted in a USL Championship Central Division title and No. 1 playoff seed.

A similar performance propelled City to the league's round of eight and a meeting with Charlotte, the Atlantic Division's No. 2 seed. The independence are on a run of nine games unbeaten having defeated Memphis 901 FC by a 3-1 score Saturday.

LouCity season ticket members who opted into attending the playoffs will see those tickets hit their SeatGeek accounts Sunday. Ticket go on sale to the public at noon Sunday by visiting LouCity.com/Playoffs.

Game Summary: Louisville City FC vs. Miami FC

Date: Nov. 6, 2021

Venue: Lynn Family Stadium

Kickoff: 8 p.m.

Weather: 48 degrees, showers

Man of the Match: Jorge Gonzalez

Attendance: 9,097

Scoring

Louisville City FC (0, 1, 1)

Miami FC (0, 0, 0)

Goals

Louisville City FC:

74' Jorge Gonzalez

Lineups

Louisville City FC: 1 - Chris Hubbard, 19 - Oscar Jimenez (84' 15 - Pat McMahon), 4 - Sean Totsch, 6 - Wesley Charpie, 42 - Jonathan Gomez, 13 - Corben Bone (84' 3 - Alexis Souahy), 11 - Niall McCabe, 36 - Paolo DelPiccolo (79' 29 - Antoine Hoppenot), 10 - Brian Ownby, 9 - Jorge Gonzalez Asensi (79' 12 - Tyler Gibson), 17 - Cameron Lancaster (87' 23 - Kyle Greig)

Subs not used: 24 - Parker Siegfried, 20 - Jimmy McLaughlin

Head Coach: Danny Cruz

Miami FC: 49 - Jeff Caldwell, 5 - Paco Craig, 4 - Callum Chapman-Page, 9 - Christiano Francois (70' 21 - Adonijah Reid), 98 - Pierre Da Silva (82' 15 - Chris Cortez), 11 - Richard Ballard (54' Billy Forbes), 30 - Boluwatife Akinyode, 80 - Devon Williams, 10 - Ariel Martinez

Subs not used: 24 - Connor Sparrow, 13 - Lamar Walker, 18 - Junior Palacios, 3 - Luca Antonelli

Head Coach: Paul Dalglish

Stats Summary: Louisville City FC / Miami FC

Shots: 15 / 10

Shots on Goal: 7 / 2

Possession: 49.4% / 50.6%

Fouls: 16 / 12

Offside: 0 / 1

Corner Kicks: 3 / 6

Discipline Summary

Miami FC: 24' Paco Craig (yellow)

Miami FC: 72' Pierra Da Silva (yellow)

Louisville City FC: 87' Cameron Lancaster (yellow)

Louisville City FC: 89' Kyle Greig (yellow)

Referee: Elton Garcia

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics




Images from this story

Louisville City FC forward Jorge Gonzalez
Louisville City FC forward Jorge Gonzalez
(Connor Cunningham)		   



United Soccer League Championship Stories from November 6, 2021


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