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USL Louisville City FC

Louisville City Draws with Charlotte, Heads into Playoffs

September 24, 2016 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


In a game Louisville City FC trailed at the half Saturday, coach James O'Connor opted for mass substitutions out of the locker room, saving some of his top attacking players for what's ahead.

While LouCity's four-game winning streak ended, the club still legged out a 1-1 draw in the regular-season finale.

"I was always going to make changes," said coach James O'Connor. "For me, my focus was making sure we got through with no injuries. I think when you have a game like that, and we've had as many games as we've had, I think my focus is always going to be trying to get some players some minutes - try to get some players off that I felt needed to be off. The changes were always going to happen at halftime regardless of the score."

The draw prevented the Independence from locking up a top-four United Soccer League postseason seed. Entering Saturday, LouCity had already clinched the No. 2 spot and will play the Richmond Kickers at 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2.

Top-four seeds in the Eastern and Western conferences host first-round USL playoff games.

A 73rd-minute goal -- Chandler Hoffman's shot was saved, then bounced off a defender and in -- equalized for LouCity, which finished the regular season with 60 points overall in 30 games. That came in response to a strike by Charlotte's Brian Brown, who originally gave his side the lead with a 43rd-minute goal.

"Obviously, we already have a spot in the playoffs, so it's just being able to manage players - manage their time," said Ben Newnam, who, as with Hoffman, was among O'Connor's four halftime substitutes. "So I don't think that there was any reason necessarily for those changes other than a little spark for the rest of the game.

"Going into the playoffs, it's a team effort every time we step out on the field. No matter who's out there, we feel like we've got the best chance to win."

In addition to goals that counted, a pair were disallowed late. First, another would-be Hoffman score was whistled dead for offside in the 90th minute. At the other end, the flag also went up in stoppage time as the Independence put a ball into the back of the net, still fighting late for a top-four seed.

In goal, LouCity keeper Greg Ranjitsingh finished with five saves and stepped in to grab a number of crosses in the box on his way to being voted Man of the Match.

"We're just looking forward to a good week of training and going into the playoffs on the right foot," Ranjitsingh said.

LouCity took the seasons series with the Independence after opening in Charlotte. Cameron Lancaster hit a free kick at the final whistle of a 1-0 win. Saturday's draw came in front of 8,301 fans at Slugger Field as Louisville improved its record to 17-4-9.

Game Summary

Match: Louisville City FC vs. Charlotte Independence

Date: Sept. 24, 2016

Venue: Slugger Field

Kickoff: 7:33 p.m.

Weather: Clear, 85 degree

Attendance: 8,301

Man of the Match: Greg Ranjitsingh

Louisville City FC (0,1, 1)

Charlotte Independence (1, 0, 1)

Lineups

Louisville City FC: 13-Greg Ranjitsingh, 24-Kyle Smith, 15-Sean Reynolds, 18-Tarek Morad, 20-Enrique Montano (46' 2-Ben Newnam), 36-Paolo DelPiccolo (67' 8-Guy Abend), 4-Aodhan Quinn, 7-Kadeem Dacres (77-Andrew Lubahn), 10-Magnus Rasmussen (46' 14-Ilija Ilic), 22-George Davis IV, 9-Cameron Lancaster (46' 17-Chandler Hoffman).

Subs not used: 28-Tim Dobrowolski, 12-Mark-Anthony Kaye.

Head coach: James O'Connor

Charlotte Independence: 12-John Berner, 3-Bilal Duckett, 4-Patrick Slogic (78' 2-Jack Metcalf), 22-Joel Johnson, 25-Henry Kalungi (86' 17-Joseph Greenspan), 6-Jun Marques Davidson (78' 20-Aly Hassan), 14-Lewis Hilton (68' 7-Yann Ekra), 19-Enzo Martinez, 23-Alex Martinez (68' 10-Jorge Herrera), 9-Brian Brown, 11-David Estrada.

Subs not used: 1-Cody Mizell, 5-Paul Clowes.

Head coach: Mike Jeffries

Stats - LouCity / Charlotte

Shots: 13 / 14

Saves: 5 / 4

Corner Kicks: 7 / 9

Offside: 3 / 5

Officials

Referee: Danielle Chesky

Assistant Referee 1: Ben Hall-Volpenhein

Assistant Referee 2: Ronald Stuver

4th Official: Tony Crush

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics

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