USL Louisville City FC

LouCity Storms Back, Buries Detroit City in Shootout

May 18, 2016 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville City FC came away with a 2-1 (3-1 penalty kick shootout) victory over Detroit City FC in a dramatic contest that required penalty kicks to determine who was able to advance to the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on June 1 at NASL-side Indy Eleven.

The affair was intense throughout - the referee showed eight yellow cards, with two resulting in red cards - but LouCity kept its cool when it counted. After 90 scoreless minutes full of heavy Louisville City possession and 27 shots to Detroit City's three, the game went to extra time.

Detroit City defender Sebastian Harris finally opened the scoring in the 104th minute and things looked bleak. Chances kept coming LouCity's way, but the ball would not go in. Midfielder George Davis IV said he knew that frustration would not endure the full match.

"We just had to keep going," Davis said. "You can't sit and dwell on it. You have to worry about the next ball. It's tough sometimes but it's what we have to do."

Striker Ilija Ilic, who came on for Chandler Hoffman in the 64th minute, scored the coveted equalizer through a curling effort from the left side of the box that kept LouCity's Open Cup hopes alive. LouCity coach James O'Connor said he was quite pleased with Ilic's goal.

"He's come in and worked really really hard," O'Connor said. "He's a great team player and I just thought it was a reward for his performance."

Ilic said receiving the ball through a Paolo DelPiccolo through ball and an Aodhan Quinn dummy made it easy for him to slot the goal home.

"It was an amazing move from Quinny," Ilic said. "No one expected that; not even me. So, I was just focused on taking the shot. I was thinking for 45 minutes all I needed was one shot, and one shot was enough."

LouCity kept pushing after the equalizer, but didn't find a go-ahead goal, which sent the match to a penalty shootout. O'Connor selected five men to take the penalties: Quinn, DelPiccolo, Ilic, Davis IV and Cameron Lancaster.

Quinn's effort was saved by Detroit goalkeeper Nathan Steinwascher, who also had a massive save in regular time when Lancaster saw his effort from the penalty spot saved. Sebastian Harris then put Detroit's first effort past Goodwin.

The tide then turned in LouCity's favor. Both DelPiccolo and Ilic beat Steinwascher, while Ali Al-Gashamy missed and Scott Goodwin saved Tyler Channell's shot. The save turned out to be crucial, as Lancaster found redemption and scored the game-winning penalty kick. Goodwin, who was named Man of the Match, said he tried to remain calm during the shootout.

"It's just trying to take care of your job and take it one penalty at a time," Goodwin said. "You can't get wrapped up in the count or the atmosphere. It's really just trying to stay focused and concentrate on each penalty, one at a time."

LouCity showed a great deal of resiliency throughout the game despite a lack of scoring and with Detroit scoring the first goal in extra time. O'Connor said he was proud of how his team fight amid some difficult circumstances.

"Most teams would have buckled and wouldn't have won the game," O'Connor said. "I thought the character we showed epitomizes what we have here."

Louisville City (6-1-2, 20 points) will continue USL play on May 21 at Richmond Kickers to initiate a three-match road stint before returning to Slugger Field on June 11 to host Wilmington Hammerheads (7:30 p.m. | TICKETS).

Fans can stay up to date with all of Louisville City's breaking news, roster updates and ticketing information by following the Club on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Season tickets are available for Louisville City's historic second season via the Club's official website.

Additional Notes

Today's match is LouCity's first in the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Detroit City FC competes in the National Premier Soccer League. LouCity defeated NPSL side Lansing United last season in the Open Cup by a score of 1-0 in Lansing.

In addition to the victory over Lansing, LouCity defeated the NASL's Indy Eleven in the Open Cup last season by a score of 2-0 in extra time. The Club took its first Open Cup defeat against Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire 1-0 in extra time.

After scoring his first LouCity goal on Saturday, midfielder George Davis IV was named to the USL Team of the Week. Striker Cameron Lancaster was put on the bench for the Team of the Week after his game-sealing strike from the penalty spot.

LouCity have gone 287 minutes without conceding a goal and have kept three straight clean sheets.

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics



United Soccer League Championship Stories from May 18, 2016


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