Penn FC Steals Crucial Result at Louisville City FC
June 16, 2018 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Penn FC News Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Penn FC (4-4-6) scored two goals in the second half to come back and steal a 3-3 draw at Louisville City FC (7-2-3) Saturday night.
Prince Baffoe continued the streak of opening Penn FC accounts as his first goal for the club served as the equalizer against the USL's defending champions. The second half substitute used his fresh legs to his advantage against a Louisville back line fatigued by the 90 degree weather.
As Louisville tried to play out of the back, Baffoe pounced on an errant pass just outside the box. The midfielder blew by the defenders and slotted away the equalizing effort between the legs of the Louisville goalkeeper.
Baffoe's equalizer provided the exclamation point for Lucky Mkosana's brace that fueled Rush Soccer's First Team's epic comeback.
Mkosana -- who did not feature for much of the last month -- did not need any time to shake off the rust and return to form. At the opening kickoff, Harri Hawkins sent a bouncing long ball upfield that troubled the Louisville defenders. Mkosana exploited the confusion and sped up the middle of the field and rounded the keeper. He slid the ball into the goal only 14 seconds into the match.
Mkosana's quick strike marks the fastest goal in the league this season.
Despite scoring the opening goal, Penn FC entered the half down 3-1, but Mkosana sparked the comeback with a skillful finish in the 63rd minute. Substitute Aaron Dennis held up the ball on the right wing, finding Marco Franco on the run. Franco whipped in a low cross to the near post, where Mkosana threaded an eloquent backheel into the net to cut Louisville's lead to one.
Before the individual brilliance from Mkosana and Baffoe, the match seemed headed toward a much different result.
A Louisville counter attack in the 9th minute neutralized Mkosana's opening goal. Forwards Brian Ownby and Ilija Ilic sprung the counter that was initially thwarted by captain Ken Tribbett in the box. However, midfielder Paolo DelPiccolo fired the rebounded clearance from the top of the box into the side netting.
Four minutes later, Louisville rode the wave of momentum to take the lead. Pressure up the right wing resulted in Sean Totsch's cross headed into the bottom right corner of the net by Ilic.
The game seemed to be all but iced just before half when Louisville increased its lead. A long ball over the top found the head of Kyle Smith whose flick was latched onto by Ilic. The forward completed his brace by slotting the ball in past a slipping Sean Lewis.
Penn FC extended its unbeaten streak to three matches with the result. Even more encouraging, the Blue and White scored two or more goals in every match of the streak. The match against Louisville was the first match Penn FC scored multiple goals on the road. It was also the first time Penn FC earned at least a point while conceding three goals in a match. Additionally, Saturday ruined Louisville's 5-0-0 home record on the year.
Head Coach Raoul Voss' squad showed its grit and will take that momentum against Voss' old club next. Penn FC returns to action on Friday, June 22nd to face the Tampa Bay Rowdies at Al Lang Stadium. The meeting is the second of the season. Previously, Penn FC earned a 3-0 victory over the Rowdies at FNB Field on May 4. The match will be stream live on ESPN+.
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