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USL Louisville City FC

LouCity Thrills with Late Win Over Tampa Bay, Lifts Players' Shield

October 12, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC celebrates win
Louisville City FC celebrates win
(Louisville City FC, Credit: Chris Carter)

Louisville City FC rallied from a goal down in the second half Saturday to defeat the rival Tampa Bay Rowdies with a 2-1 victory at Lynn Family Stadium emblematic of the club's campaign.

After the final whistle, the boys in purple lifted their 2024 Players' Shield in recognition of a regular season title earned thanks to a handful of victories just like this one. LouCity has now numbered a league-high 20 of its points from losing positions during a never-say-die season.

Making the most of a last-gasp corner, Arturo Ordóñez scissor-kicked in the winning goal five minutes into second half stoppage time, sending a crowd of 9,940 into a frenzy.

"There's not a question in my mind that when we went a goal down here that the group felt we were going to win the game," said coach Danny Cruz. "That's a powerful thing to have going into the playoffs - believing that no matter what's thrown at you that you that you can put yourself in position to win the game. I'm extremely proud of that stat.

"Ideally, I wouldn't want to be down in that many games to come back. But it shows the resilience of the group."

LouCity improved to 23-6-3 on the season with this victory. There's nothing left to gain in terms of the regular season, but the boys in purple will use their final two games to sharpen up for the USL Championship Playoffs opening November 2 at Lynn Family Stadium.

Saturday's win marked City's club-record 23rd in a season. Louisville also continues to add onto its team-high 81 goals and counting and has won a league-record 15 home games in a single season.

"The message Danny's been telling us all year is resiliency and playing until the final whistle," said defender Amadou Dia. "Even at practice, you hear, 'Play to the whistle.' That's the culture they've instilled in us this year, and that's what we keep doing. We don't like to keep coming back from losing positions, but we do what we need to get the W."

City opened Saturday's second half by conceding a 61st-minute laser of a Tampa Bay goal from the top of the box, where Lewis Hilton stepped into a bending shot to open scoring.

From there, Cruz's side woke up. Dia earned a penalty kick seven minutes later, setting of a tumultuous sequence that saw three yellows shown to Rowdies personnel in addition to a red for the visiting side's head coach, Robbie Neilson.

Sean Totsch buried the penalty - making him 13-for-13 from the spot in USL Championship games - before LouCity went hunting for a winner. Jake Morris smashed a 95th-minute shot off the cross bar, but Ordóñez was able to hit the back of the net on a corner not long after.

"There's a level of confidence in this team that we know if we stick to our principles and our play," Ordóñez said, "we know that no matter the circumstances we're going to get through. There's a resilience in this team, and I think that confidence translates into winning a lot of games from losing positions for sure."

LouCity plays twice more before its playoff opener, traveling to San Antonio FC next Saturday before hosting Phoenix Rising FC in an October 26 regular season finale.

Game Summary: Louisville City FC vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies

Date: October 12, 2024

Venue: Lynn Family Stadium

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET

Weather: 70 degrees, clear

Attendance: 9,940

Scoring

Louisville City FC (0, 2, 2)

Tampa Bay Rowdies (0, 1, 1)

Goals

Louisville City FC:

71' Sean Totsch

90'+6 Arturo Ordóñez

Tampa Bay Rowdies:

61' Lewis Hilton (Ben Bender)

Lineups

Louisville City FC: 18 - Damian Las, 13 - Amadou Dia (77' 3 - Jake Morris), 32 - Kyle Adams, 5 - Arturo Ordóñez, 4 - Sean Totsch, 2 - Aiden McFadden, 17 - Taylor Davila, 23 - Elijah Wynder, 7 - Ray Serrano (77' 20 - Sam Gleadle), 14 - Wilson Harris (60' 9 - Phillip Goodrum), 16 - Adrien Perez (60' 25 - Jansen Wilson)

Subs not used: 30 - Ryan Troutman, 6 - Wes Charpie, 11 - Niall McCabe

Head coach: Danny Cruz

Tampa Bay Rowdies: 15 - Phil Breno, 33 - Aaron Guillen, 19 - Freddy Kleemann, 22 - Jordan Doherty, 11 - Blake Bodily (90' 20 - Nick Moon), 13 - Ben Bender (67' 10 - Leo Fernandes), 4 - Lewis Hilton, 27 - Pacifique Niyongabire (87' 23 - Eddie Munjoma), 98 - Joshua Perez (67' 17 - Danny Crisostomo), 26 - Cal Jennings (88' 8 - Damian Rivera), 9 - Manuel Arteaga

Subs not used: 1 - Jordan Farr, 21 - Endri Mustali

Head coach: Robbie Neilson

Stats Summary: Louisville City FC / Tampa Bay Rowdies

Shots: 18 / 13

Shots on Goal: 8 / 3

Possession: 47.6% / 52.4%

Fouls: 9 / 13

Offside: 4 / 1

Corner Kicks: 5 / 3

Discipline Summary

Louisville City FC:

74' Phillip Goodrum (yellow)

Tampa Bay Rowdies:

20' Lewis Hilton (yellow)

68' Pacifique Niyongabire (yellow)

68' Manuel Arteaga (yellow)

69' Robbie Neilson (red)

69' Bench (yellow)

90'+4 Leo Fernandes (yellow)

Referee: Elijio Arreguin

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics




Images from this story

Louisville City FC celebrates win
Louisville City FC celebrates win
(Chris Carter)		   

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