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USL Louisville City FC

Shorthanded LouCity Falls to Detroit City But Clinches Second Place

September 22, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC tests the Detroit City defense
Louisville City FC tests the Detroit City defense
(Louisville City FC, Credit: Adam Dewey)

Louisville City FC played down a man most of Sunday's second half at Detroit City FC en route to a 2-1 loss, just the club's second defeat in 10 games.

But despite a defeat at Keyworth Stadium, the boys in purple received good news this weekend. Thanks to other results around the USL Championship, they locked in a top-two Eastern Conference finish.

City - at 20-6-2 overall - maintains a three-point lead atop the league with six games to go before the playoffs open the weekend of November 1-3.

"I don't think our execution in the final third was of the level that we're capable of," LouCity coach Danny Cruz said of Sunday's game. "We have to learn from it and make sure we push forward and respond next week."

"We talk about critical moments," added defender Sean Totsch, "and there were a couple of those critical moments that we lost tonight - whether it was a set piece, whether it was losing our head a little bit on the red card or the transition to their second goal."

LouCity and Detroit traded first half goals leading up to the game's pivotal moment in the 49th minute. That's when City forward Phillip Goodrum raised an elbow on an aerial challenge and saw his second yellow card for the contact, leaving the visitors shorthanded the rest of the way.

Detroit hit the 10-man boys in purple on a counter to score the game-winning goal in the 67th minute. Connor Rutz slipped in behind the last defender and navigated around goalkeeper Damian Las, who came well off his line to try thwarting the chance.

City's only other recent loss, another 2-1 defeat at Hartford Athletic back on August 21st, similarly came after an early sending off.

"I think the motivation is the understanding that when we've had 11 players on the field, it's been quite a long time since we lost a game," Cruz said. "We've got to be more discipline when the playoffs come. It becomes about discipline. It becomes about making sure that you leave emotion in the locker room."

Before Goodrum's exit, LouCity had conceded the opener off a free kick, with Maxi Rodriguez's 17th-minute header at the back post Detroit's only touch in the box during the first half. In response, Wilson Harris earned a penalty kick that Totsch converted deep into stoppage time, evening the score at the break.

Once down, City continued pushing, generating a handful of chances over the game's final quarter hour. Jake Morris knuckled an 89th-minute shot at the Detroit goalkeeper that he had trouble handling; Ray Serrano rolled a driven shot just wide of the post in the 91st minute; and Carlos Moguel Jr. rifled a shot from the center of the box over the bar in the 94th.

From here, LouCity has a pivotal pair of games next as it makes up two games in hand on the second-place Charleston Battery, who will sit idle next weekend. City hosts Memphis 901 FC this Saturday before welcoming Miami FC on Wednesday, October 2. Both games kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Lynn Family Stadium.

"It's an opportunity to use those games in hand ... and really push out in front of them," Totsch said. "While they're sitting at home, we keep pushing. It's an opportunity for us to take advantage of those games in hand and not squander them."

Game Summary: Detroit City FC vs. Louisville City FC

Date: September 22, 2024

Venue: Keyworth Stadium

Kickoff: 3 p.m. ET

Weather: 82 degrees, cloudy

Scoring

Detroit City FC (1, 1, 2)

Louisville City FC (1, 0, 1)

Goals

Detroit City FC:

17' Maxi Rodriguez (James Murphy)

67' Connor Rutz (Maxi Rodriguez)

Louisville City FC:

45'+4 Sean Totsch

Lineups

Detroit City FC: 91 - Carlos Saldana, 3 - Alex Villanueva, 30 - Devon Amoo-Mensah, 5 - Stephen Carroll, 12 - Michael Bryant (57' 13 - Matt Sheldon), 6 - James Murphy, 8 - Abdoulaye Diop, 21 - Maxi Rodriguez (81' 70 - Laurent Kissiedou), 11 - Connor Rutz (90' 4 - Ryan Williams), 9 - Ben Morris (81' 19 - Elvis Amoh), 2 - Rhys Williams

Subs not used: 1 - Nate Steinwascher, 14 - Daniel Espeleta, 23 - Jeciel Cedeno

Head coach: Danny Dichio

Louisville City FC: 18 - Damian Las, 13 - Amadou Dia (72' 3 - Jake Morris), 32 - Kyle Adams, 5 - Arturo Ordóñez, 4 - Sean Totsch, 15 - Manny Perez (57' 6 - Wes Charpie, 81' 20 - Sam Gleadle), 17 - Taylor Davila, 23 - Elijah Wynder (72' 7 - Ray Serrano), 9 - Phillip Goodrum, 14 - Wilson Harris, 25 - Jansen Wilson (57' 8 - Carlos Moguel Jr.)

Subs not used: 30 - Ryan Troutman, 22 - Dylan Mares

Head coach: Danny Cruz

Stats Summary: Detroit City FC / Louisville City FC

Shots: 12 / 12

Shots on Goal: 6 / 2

Possession: 49.3% / 50.7%

Fouls: 21 / 20

Offside: 1 / 2

Corner Kicks: 3 / 5

Discipline Summary

Detroit City FC:

37' Rhys Williams (yellow)

62' Maxi Rodriguez (yellow)

Louisville City FC:

33' Phillip Goodrum (yellow)

49' Phillip Goodrum (second yellow)

51' Manny Perez (yellow)

73' Arturo Ordóñez (yellow)

Referee: Ricardo Fierro

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics




Images from this story

Louisville City FC tests the Detroit City defense
Louisville City FC tests the Detroit City defense
(Adam Dewey)		   

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