LouCity Reclaims First Place After Pulling Away from North Carolina in Second Half
USL Louisville City FC

LouCity Reclaims First Place After Pulling Away from North Carolina in Second Half

Published on August 2, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC's Kevon Lambert on game night
Louisville City FC's Kevon Lambert on game night
(Louisville City FC, Credit: Connor Cunningham)

Louisville City FC is back where it belongs - the USL Championship's summit.

Courtesy of three second-half goals, LouCity returned to the top of the Eastern Conference standings Saturday night with a 4-1 triumph over fellow top-four side North Carolina FC before 9,756 fans Lynn Family Stadium, the second-largest crowd of the season.

The emphatic victory sets up a marquee showdown atop the table next Saturday for what promises to be the season's biggest game to date. LouCity will welcome the Charleston Battery to Lynn Family Stadium for this year's "Fill the Fam" match, with the two sides tied on points (41) at the top of the Eastern Conference and Players' Shield standings.

Tickets are available for the 8 p.m. kick at LouCity.com/fillthefam.

The rivals jointly lead by a significant margin. Currently, there is a 14-point gap that separates Louisville and Charleston from the club in third position in the East, Loudoun United FC. The advantage is nine points over New Mexico United for the Players' Shield.

Scoring four goals for the second time at home this season will give the boys in purple quite a vote of confidence heading into such a pivotal clash. They also managed to tally five total big chances - the most in a game since the USL Jägermeister Cup opener against the Richmond Kickers.

"I thought it was a strong second half for sure," head coach Danny Cruz said. "In the first half, we had some good moments ... then I thought it wasn't good enough from there. Poor turnovers in bad areas and we know they're looking for transitional moments and that's what they found. That being said, good halftime talk, good response, really good execution from the group. It's important to collect three points in a big game against a team that's right there in the table."

The hosts didn't waste any time, converting a chance just five minutes in through midfielder Kevon Lambert. It marked the Jamaican's second goal in as many games, including Tuesday's friendly against Eintracht Frankfurt. However, the visitors produced an answer. Oalex Anderson's sheer effort in the final third brought the match back level in the 18th minute.

Cruz's halftime adjustments paid off after an even opening period. Phillip Goodrum, the club's leading scorer, restored Louisville's lead in the 50th minute before Jansen Wilson netted 12 minutes later off some slick combination play with Sam Gleadle. The halftime substitute Gleadle also assisted on Goodrum's goal.

Evan Davila provided the exclamation point on the night, tapping home his first USL Championship goal in the closing stages.

It's a bit of revenge against a team that is still the only side to beat LouCity in the league so far this season. NCFC bested Louisville back on June 20 at WakeMed Soccer Park.

"We knew that we couldn't let them get any more points off of us," said Lambert. "We take pride in that. They took points from us and we can't let them do that again. We knew this game as important to stay at the top of the table."

All the attention is now on Saturday - a game that is bound to play a critical role in the race for the Players' Shield. City claimed its first Players' Shield - a trophy awarded to the team with the best regular season record - in 2024 and aims to retain the title.

"It could be a title-deciding game," said the younger Davila. "Tied on points, game at home, 'Fill the Fam.' We need this place to be loud, popping. We need all the support we can get because they're a great team and we know it's going to be a battle. We know we're going to fight for the fans."

The boys in purple claimed their first meeting against Charleston on the road, with Adrien Perez's second-half long-range strike providing the decisive moment in a 2-1 victory in the season opener in March. That result remains the only stain on the Battery's otherwise pristine home record.

Game Summary: Louisville City FC vs. North Carolina FC

Date: August 2, 2025

Venue: Lynn Family Stadium

Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET

Weather: 75 degrees, mostly sunny

Attendance: 9,756

Scoring

Louisville City FC (1, 3, 4)

North Carolina FC (1, 0, 1)

Goals

Louisville City FC:

5' Kevon Lambert (Aiden McFadden)

50' Phillip Goodrum (Sam Gleadle)

62' Jansen Wilson (Sam Gleadle)

88' Evan Davila (Ray Serrano)

North Carolina FC:

18' Oalex Anderson

Lineups

Louisville City FC: 1 - Damian Las; 13 - Amadou Dia, 32 - Kyle Adams (c), 24 - Josh Jones, 4 - Sean Totsch (46' 23 - Sam Gleadle), 2 - Aiden McFadden (89' 83 - Brandon Dayes), 31 - Kevon Lambert, 17 - Taylor Davila, 7 - Ray Serrano (90' 11 - Niall McCabe), 25 - Jansen Wilson (81' 27 - Evan Davila), 9 - Phillip Goodrum (81' 53 - Cameron Lancaster)

Substitutes: 12 - Danny Faundez; 5 - Arturo Ordóñez, 8 - Carlos Moguel Jr., 80 - Hayden Stamps

Head coach: Danny Cruz

North Carolina FC: 24 - Trevor Mulqueen; 66 - Finn Sundstrom, 20 - Conor Donovan, 5 - Paco Craig (c) (76' 55 - Triston Hodge), 11 - Patrick Burner (76' 10 - Jaden Servania), 14 - Rafa Mentzingen, 13 - Louis Perez, 15 - Mikey Maldonado, 7 - Evan Conway, 8 - Pedro Dolabella (82' 19 - Ahmad Al-Qaq), 9 - Oalex Anderson (87' 26 - Adam Luckhurst)

Subs not used: 1 - Jake McGuire, 25 - Akira Fitzgerald; 71 - Jayson Quintanilla

Head coach: John Bradford

Stats: Louisville City FC / North Carolina FC

Shots: 13 / 13

Shots on Goal: 7 / 7

Expected goals: 1.83 / 1.11

Possession: 59.4% / 40.6%

Fouls: 9 / 9

Offside: 4 / 4

Corner Kicks: 3 / 4

Discipline Summary

Louisville City FC:

32' Aiden McFadden (yellow)

69' Kyle Adams (yellow)

85' Danny Cruz (yellow)

North Carolina FC:

38' Mikey Maldonado (yellow)

47' Finn Sundstrom (yellow)

69' Pedro Dolabella (yellow)

Referee: Gerald Flores

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics

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Images from this story

Louisville City FC's Kevon Lambert on game night
Louisville City FC's Kevon Lambert on game night
(Connor Cunningham)		   



United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 2, 2025


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