Sports stats



USL Louisville City FC

LouCity Moves Six Points Clear with Win Over Pittsburgh

June 19, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC midfielder Jansen Wilson
Louisville City FC midfielder Jansen Wilson
(Louisville City FC, Credit: Ed Thompson)

Louisville City FC rookie Jansen Wilson struck a second half goal from distance Wednesday and, as tends to be the case when the boys in purple travel to play Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, that was enough to win it.

A 1-0 LouCity victory followed scoreless draws between these sides in both 2022 and 2023 over the compact turf at Highmark Stadium. It took a bit of brilliance for Wilson to break through, too, as he took just one touch near the top of the box to strike the 49th-minute winner.

LouCity improved to 11-2-2 on the season while bouncing back from a rare weekend defeat to the Tampa Bay Rowdies. City's 35 points rank best in the USL Championship and are six ahead of second place in the Eastern Conference.

"We're really, really proud of the execution of the game plan," said coach Danny Cruz. "It's not pretty when we come here. We have to change a little bit about how we play. I was proud of the resolve from the group. I was proud of the mentality.

"...I thought we created chances in a tough environment on a tough field."

LouCity knocked at the door throughout the first half, generating at least three quality chances. Wilson Harris wound up a shot on target in the eighth minute, Jorge Gonzalez put a header on frame in the 43rd, and Gonzalez curled another attempt in just before the half.

The end product, however, lacked, with those shots taken directly at Pittsburgh's goalkeeper. But there was little Jason Randolph could do on the other side of the break when Wilson got his opportunity. Elijah Wynder popped a pass out to the wingback, who fired to the keeper's left to score.

It marked the third goal of the season for the Elizabethtown, Kentucky, native Wilson.

"It was a good buildout from the team," Wilson said of the goal. "We were able to switch it and get out on the right side. It was good combination play from Jorge and Elijah as well. Luckily, the ball bounced out to me.

"...It's always a privilege to put on this jersey, and I can say for every person on this team, they have the same feeling."

LouCity completed a season sweep of the Riverhounds, who they also defeated by a 3-1 score back on March 23 at Lynn Family Stadium. These losses - and a series of others - have left Pittsburgh an uncharacteristic 10th of 12 on the Eastern Conference table.

Wednesday's hosts struggled to create chances against LouCity, with the Riverhounds' best look somehow coming shortly after Luke Biasi was dismissed for picking up a second yellow card. Three minutes later, Junior Etou got behind City's defense for an attempt Damian Las came out to palm away.

Six shutouts on the season tied the Louisville goalkeeper Las for most in the USL Championship.

"It's massive," Cruz said of a rebounding win. "I think that's one of the biggest things we spoke about over the last few days - making sure we see a response from the group. I talked about, after the Tampa game, that I thought the second half the players left everything on the field. We were obviously disappointed with the result, but good teams find a way to make sure they respond the right way."

LouCity - unbeaten now in nine of its last 10 games - plays for the third time in a week on Saturday when hosting league newcomer Rhode Island FC. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. at Lynn Family Stadium, where City will debut its 2024 third kit.

Game Summary: Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC vs. Louisville City FC

Date: June 19, 2024

Venue: Highmark Stadium

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET

Weather: 89 degrees, partly cloudy

Scoring

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (0, 0, 0)

Louisville City FC (0, 1, 1)

Goals

Louisville City FC:

49' Jansen Wilson (Elijah Wynder)

Lineups

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: 31 - Jacob Randolph, 13 - Luke Biasi, 3 - Pat Hogan (39' 44 - Pierre Cayet), 5 - Sean Suber, 8 - Junior Etou (90'+1 7 - Langston Blackstock), 4 - Dani Rovira (90'+1 70 - Pablo Linzoain), 11 - Kenardo Forbes (67' 14 - Robbie Mertz), 2 - Danny Griffin, 15 - Bradley Sample, 77 - Enoch Mushagalusa (67' 45 - Kazaiah Sterling), 9 - Emmanuel Johnson (67' 19 - Edward Kizza)

Subs not used: 1 - Eric Dick, 28 - Illal Osumanu

Head coach: Bob Lilley

Louisville City FC: 18 - Damian Las, 32 - Kyle Adams, 6 - Wes Charpie, 5 - Arturo Ordóñez (86' 4 - Sean Totsch), 3 - Jake Morris (90'+3 13 - Amadou Dia), 25 - Jansen Wilson (77' 2 - Aiden McFadden), 17 - Taylor Davila, 23 - Elijah Wynder, 21 - Jorge Gonzalez (86' 11 - Niall McCabe), 14 - Wilson Harris (66' 20 - Sam Gleadle), 24 - Tola Shownumi (86' 7 - Ray Serrano)

Subs not used: 30 - Ryan Troutman

Head coach: Danny Cruz

Stats Summary: Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC / Louisville City FC

Shots: 9 / 10

Shots on Goal: 2 / 6

Possession: 47.8% / 52.2%

Fouls: 11 / 16

Offside: 3 / 0

Corner Kicks: 2 / 3

Discipline Summary

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC:

17' Luke Biasi (yellow)

70' Junior Etou (yellow)

76' Luke Biasi (second yellow)

Louisville City FC:

45'+3 Danny Cruz (yellow)

45'+6 Arturo Ordóñez (yellow)

66' Wilson Harris (yellow)

Referee: Matt Thompson

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics




Images from this story

Louisville City FC midfielder Jansen Wilson
Louisville City FC midfielder Jansen Wilson
(Ed Thompson)		   

• Discuss this story on the United Soccer League Championship message board...

United Soccer League Championship Stories from June 19, 2024


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central