USL Louisville City FC

LouCity Looks to Stay Atop the Table against Pittsburgh

Published on April 29, 2022 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


It's a clash for the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings when Louisville City FC hosts Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Lynn Family Stadium.

City holds a two-point advantage over the second-place Riverhounds, and with a win or draw, the boys in purple would create even more space between them and Pittsburgh atop the Eastern Conference table. A loss would vault Pittsburgh ahead of Louisville City.

LouCity is on a 10-game unbeaten streak across all competitions. With a 5-0-3 record in league play, City remains the USL Championship's only undefeated side. Head coach Danny Cruz and his squad are coming off a statement week that began with a 5-2 rout of Western Conference leaders San Diego Loyal SC on April 16 and was followed by a cross-country trip home, a 120-minute shift and penalty shootout against St. Louis City SC on April 20, a 12-hour bus ride to Charleston and a gutsy 1-1 draw over the Battery last Saturday.

Pittsburgh, on the other hand, comes to Louisville with a 5-1-1 record, most recently beating Atlanta United 2, 4-0, on Saturday. The Bob Lilley-led side touts a rejuvenated attack after signing Dane Kelly, who is the USL Championship's top scorer so far this year. With 16 goals across seven league games, Pittsburgh's attack ranks second in the USL Championship, and the Jamaican striker accounts for six scores as well as two assists.

Saturday will mark the 16th meeting between Louisville and Pittsburgh, with City leading the Riverhounds 7-3-5 all-time since the club's inception in 2015. The boys in purple knocked Pittsburgh out of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, first in 2019 after extra time and most recently in 2020 with a 2-0 win.

Follow along

Saturday's game will air live on WBKI and stream via ESPN+ and WDRB Now, with ESPN Louisville carrying the radio broadcast on 680 AM/105.7 FM. For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc on Twitter and Louisville City FC on Facebook. Also find the club at louisvillecityfc on Instagram.

Story lines

Can't beat City: With LouCity on a run of 10 matches unbeaten across all competitions to start the season, head coach Danny Cruz noted in back-to-back post-game press conferences how his team has "gotten results in different ways." While there have been games when the boys in purple have asserted their dominance on teams, City has also gutted out results while down a man on the road, rallied back from conceding early goals and advanced in the U.S. Open Cup after a penalty shootout.

Group effort: On top of City getting results of all types, the boys in purple are also getting goals and assists from an array of players. Striker Wilson Harris leads the group with five goals across all competitions, but seven others have added goals of their own, with midfielder Brian Ownby close to matching his career-high of five goals with three on the season. LouCity is even across the board with eight different players tallying assists, including goalkeeper Kyle Morton.

Away days: After his side posted a 6-5-5 away record in 2021, Cruz challenged his squad in preseason by playing exclusively on the road. While the season is still young, the strategy seems to have paid off after an undefeated month of away trips in the regular season. When faced with six games in 21 days, cross-country travel twice and a 12-hour bus ride to Charleston, LouCity didn't fold, posting a 2-0-2 record in its four road games in April.

Home fortress: While the team's results on the road have been impressive, the boys in purple certainly look forward to returning home to Lynn Family Stadium on Saturday night. Cruz and his team have lost at home just once since COVID-19 capacity restrictions were lifted in June 2021 and are undefeated across all competitions with a plus-4 goal differential in 2022.

Squad rotation: Three games, a cross-country trip and 120 minutes plus penalties against St. Louis CITY SC last week required a true test of LouCity's depth on Saturday against Charleston. Cruz made seven changes to his starting group - the most between any game all season - inserting Wes Charpie, Jorge Gonzalez, Jan-Erik Leinhos, Napo Matsoso, Enoch "Matiti" Mushagalusa, Ray Serrano and Ian Soler into his lineup.

Play the kids: An average age of 24.9 years old made Saturday's lineup the youngest under Cruz. Teenagers Moguel Jr. (18) and Serrano (19) entered the group, along with Mushagalusa (22), Gonzalez (23) and first-year pro Leinhos (24). The starts for that group came just days after the boys in purple advanced in the U.S. Open Cup after a penalty shootout with six players under the age of 25 take penalties for LouCity.

Man of the Match: Mushagalusa got the breakthrough he'd been waiting for in the 73rd minute of Saturday's match when he combined with midfielder Corben Bone to net City's equalizer and his first goal in purple. Mushagalusa also gained possession 10 times and won eight duels and a team-high three tackles for a Man of the Match performance.

Hometown hero: It'll be hard for 16-year-old Josh Wynder to top last week after he scored the game-winning penalty to advance City to the Round of 32 in the U.S. Open Cup and earned his first U.S. Youth National Team call-up. The defender left Louisville last week to spend time with the US U-19 team at camp in Carson, California, where he'll be until May 1. A Louisville native and graduate of the LouCity Academy program, Wynder signed his professional contract with City last May before inking a multi-year deal in the offseason. Through eight league games, he made six starts and leads the team with five blocks.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from April 29, 2022


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