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USL Louisville City FC

Ownby Scores, LouCity Survives Shorthanded in Win at Monterey Bay FC

March 18, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC's Brian Ownby in action
Louisville City FC's Brian Ownby in action
(Louisville City FC, Credit: Monterey Bay FC)

A week after Louisville City FC and Monterey Bay FC combined to score eight goals in their 2023 season openers, Saturday's meeting between them came down to a single strike.

Brian Ownby squeezed a 48th-minute shot through a trio of Monterey Bay defenders, creating a 1-0 advantage LouCity had to desperately defend after head referee Elton Garcia sent Ownby off in the 67th minute on a second yellow card foul.

The boys in purple preserved a clean sheet at Cardinale Stadium in Seaside, California, with rookie goalkeeper Oliver Semmle between the posts. They now sit 2-0 heading into next weekend's home opener at Lynn Family Stadium.

"I thought the staff did a really good job of making the moves we needed to make to get into the shape we wanted, which was a 5-3-1," coach Danny Cruz said of the response to red card. "The players had worked on it in the preseason, so they know the shape. They know what we're looking to accomplish in those moments.

"...It's not easy to make those changes in the middle of a game, but to see everybody on the same page - to see them work extremely hard to grind out a result - I think that shows the caliber of group we have."

LouCity controlled the balance of possession through a scoreless opening half leading up to Ownby's goal. After a half clearance by the Monterey Bay defense, Amadou Dia crossed back into the box and found Ownby, who managed to finish at the near post while well covered.

City stopped pressing for a another goal following a what can only be described as a harsh second yellow shown to Ownby. The No. 10 was dribbling near the area when he collided with a Monterey Bay defender. Garcia whistled the foul on Ownby, and from there the boys in purple played shorthanded.

"That's what we do here at Louisville: We grind it out no matter what," Dia said. "We're going to figure out how to get three points, and if we have to play down a man for 25 minutes, that's what we'll do."

Pressure ratcheted up on LouCity's back line after Ownby's dismissal. The boys in purple played the second half with U.S. youth international Josh Wynder as the 17-year-old making his first appearance of the year. The recently signed goalkeeper Semmle also proved serviceable with reigning USL Championship Golden Glove winner Kyle Morton sidelined.

Monterey Bay attempted only one more shot over the final 23 minutes and stoppage time after Ownby's exit.

"It's games like this that have a different type of feeling - even a better feeling that when you beat a team three or four-nil," said midfielder Paolo DelPiccolo. "One-nil, 10 men, just grinding - it took 16 different guys today, and to see everyone out there giving everything they had to get that win, it means a lot to the team.

"It's a mentality that has to carry on throughout the whole year."

The hosts entered Saturday off a 5-3 victory over Hartford Athletic on Match Day 1. Alex Dixon netted a first half hat trick, and the win vaulted Monterey Bay to the top of the Western Conference table.

LouCity, which notched a 3-1 victory last weekend at Orange County SC. remained in California to acclimate leading into another late-night kickoff on the west coast. It worked, as the boys in purple limited Monterey Bay to a single shot on target for the game.

"I said to the group at the end of the game," Cruz said, "when you look at all the players and the effort that was put in and the commitment to what we were trying to do, six points in two games on the road is a huge credit to the guys."

Next Saturday, LouCity will play its first home game since the club raised the USL Championship's 2022 Eastern Conference trophy last November. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. against El Paso Locomotive FC at Lynn Family Stadium.

Game Summary: Monterey Bay FC vs. Louisville City FC

Date: March 18, 2023

Venue: Cardinale Stadium

Kickoff: 10 p.m. ET

Weather: 55 degrees, partly cloudy

Scoring

Monterey Bay FC (0, 0, 0)

Louisville City FC (0, 1, 1)

Goals

Louisville City FC:

48' Brian Ownby (Amadou Dia assist)

Lineups

Monterey Bay FC: 16 - Antony Siaha, 24 - Max Glasser (75' 4 - Alex Lara), 2 - Hugh Roberts, 33 - Kai Greene, 3 - Morey Doner, 23 - Sam Gleadle (87' 19 - Jesus Enriquez), 13 - Mobi Fehr, 6 - James Murphy (75' 7 - Adrian Rebollar), 31 - Chase Boone (88' 14 - Jason Johnson), 15 - Alex Dixon, 11 - Walmer Martinez

Subs not used: 21 - Carlos Herrera, 10 - Christian Volesky, 17 - Arun Basuljevic

Head coach: Frank Yallop

Louisville City FC: 28 - Oliver Semmle, 15 - Manny Perez, 30 - Jordan Scarlett (46' 66 - Josh Wynder), 4 - Sean Totsch, 13 - Amadou Dia, 12 - Tyler Gibson (92' 11 Niall McCabe), 36 - Paolo DelPiccolo (70' 8 - Carlos Moguel Jr.), 5 - Rasmus Thellufsen, 77 - Enoch Mushagalusa (70' 19 - Oscar Jimenez), 10 - Brian Ownby, 17 - Cameron Lancaster (85' 66 - Elijah Wynder)

Subs not used: 18 - Danny Faundez, 22 - Dylan Mares

Head coach: Danny Cruz

Stats Summary: Monterey Bay FC / Louisville City FC

Shots: 7 / 10

Shots on Goal: 1 / 3

Possession: 48.4% / 51.6%

Fouls: 14 / 10

Offside: 2 / 1

Corner Kicks: 1 / 6

Discipline Summary

Monterey Bay FC:

22' Chase Boone (yellow)

34' Alex Dixon (yellow)

65' James Murphy (yellow)

Louisville City FC:

33' Manny Perez (yellow)

55' Brian Ownby (yellow)

67' Brian Ownby (second yellow)

68' Paolo DelPiccolo (yellow)

Referee: Elton Garcia

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics




Images from this story

Louisville City FC's Brian Ownby in action
Louisville City FC's Brian Ownby in action
(Monterey Bay FC)		   



United Soccer League Championship Stories from March 18, 2023


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