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USL Louisville City FC

LouCity Hits Record Lows in Loss at Sacramento Republic

April 2, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


A week after being routed by El Paso Locomotive FC in its 2023 home opener, Louisville City FC traveled west looking to provide an answer. Instead, Saturday's 5-0 loss at Sacramento Republic FC only prompted more questions.

Sacramento scored as early as the fifth minute at Heart Health Park, where the boys in purple never threatened on their way to a historic result.

The margin of defeat ranked as LouCity's widest in a USL Championship game, exceeding the club's 4-0 stumble against FC Montreal in its inaugural season. Never before had City conceded five goals in league play. And paired with last Saturday's loss to El Paso, these also marked the first consecutive shutout LouCity games since July of 2019.

Still, City had reason to believe this week would be different. A lengthy injury list paired down to just two players. Plus Brian Ownby returned from a one-game red card suspension, and Josh Wynder made his first start of the season back from international duty with the U.S. U-20 national team.

"You don't lose that way and take any positives from it," said coach Danny Cruz. "I thought it was a really good week of training. They came out and did exactly what we talked about all week. I thought our pressure was not good enough. I thought our defending in the box was shocking, and I thought our quality on the ball wasn't good enough.

"There was nothing going into it where we felt like we weren't going to win the game. But ultimately, we started the year, first four games - three of them in California - and picked up a ton of injuries. The last two games have been obviously nowhere near the standard of myself, the club and the players. We have to turn it around."

Sacramento poured in three of its goals before the halftime whistle, all on service from the right side. Luis Felipe converted first, making the most of a rebounding try; Jack Gurr doubled the lead in the 24th minute after goalkeeper Kyle Morton and defender Sean Totsch collided trying to collect a cross; and Russell Cicerone finished another chance in the 27th minute.

Cicerone made it a brace when he chipped in another goal in the 71st minute, and Keko Gontan - having hit woodwork multiple times in the run of play - converted a stoppage-time penalty kick to write this LouCity loss into the record books.

LouCity attempted 11 shots but placed just one on target. Sacramento, meanwhile, numbered 22 shots, with 16 from inside the box and 10 on frame of what was an all-systems failure by the boys in purple.

To boot, Wynder exited early as a 38th-minute substitute when showing discomfort in his knee. Striker Cameron Lancaster also had to be lifted at halftime after being tended to by the trainer. Cruz said both ailments were muscular in nature and will require further evaluation.

LouCity's record stands at an even 2-2-0 through four games. Sacramento improved to 3-0-1 and sits atop the Western Conference standings.

The boys in purple will enter a new week dealing with more injuries, poor form and little time to think about it. They host new local rival, USL League One's Lexington SC, at 7 p.m. Wednesday as part of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup before continuing league play at 3 p.m. Saturday against Detroit City FC. Both games will be played at Lynn Family Stadium.

"We have an opportunity at home to try to turn things around on Wednesday," Cruz said. "You don't just become a (bad) team overnight. We did some really good things the first couple weeks of the season, and we've done some very, very poor things the last two weeks. But I'm confident we're going to be able to turn it around. I'm still confident in the group. But by no means is this acceptable."

Game Summary: Sacramento Republic FC vs. Louisville City FC

Date: April 1, 2023

Venue: Heart Health Stadium

Kickoff: 10 p.m. ET

Weather: 60 degrees, partly cloudy

Scoring

Sacramento Republic FC (3, 2, 5)

Louisville City FC (0, 0, 0)

Goals

Sacramento Republic FC:

5' Luis Felipe

24' Jack Gurr

27' Russell Cicerone (Keko Gontan)

71' Russell Cicerone (Arnold Lopez)

91' Keko Gontan

Lineups

Sacramento Republic FC: 31 - Danny Vitiello, 24 - Conor Donovan, 6 - Shane Wiedt, 5 - Jared Timmer, 2 - Jack Gurr, 8 - Rodrigo Lopez (77' 10 - Zeiko Lewis), 3 - Damit Viader (46' 40 - Aldair Sanchez), 29 - Arnold Lopez, 96 - Luis Felipe (77' 20 - Matthew LaGrassa), 11 - Russell Cicerone (77' 17 - Luther Archimede), 9 - Juan Herrera (12' 7 - Keko Gontan)

Subs not used: 1 - Carlos Saldana, 18 - Johnny Fenwick

Head coach: Mark Briggs

Louisville City FC: 1 - Kyle Morton, 19 - Oscar Jimenez, 4 - Sean Totsch, 66 - Josh Wynder (38' 13 - Amadou Dia), 15 - Manny Perez, 12 - Tyler Gibson, 8 - Carlos Moguel Jr. (85' 36 - Paolo DelPiccolo), 9 - Jorge Gonzalez (72' 5 - Rasmus Thellufsen), 77 - Enoch Mushagalusa (46' 7 - Ray Serrano), 10 - Brian Ownby, 17 - Cameron Lancaster (46' 14 - Wilson Harris)

Subs not used: 28 - Oliver Semmle, 51 - Ramzi Qawasmy

Head coach: Danny Cruz

Stats Summary: Sacramento Republic FC / Louisville City FC

Shots: 22 / 11

Shots on Goal: 10 / 1

Possession: 45.7% / 54.3%

Fouls: 12 / 15

Offside: 5 / 3

Corner Kicks: 3 / 4

Discipline Summary

Sacramento Republic FC:

40' Damit Viader (yellow)

57' Danny Vitiello (yellow)

Referee: Ricardo Fiero

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics

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