USL Week 16: Club-Record Crowd Sees Louisville Reign

July 6, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL) News Release

TAMPA, Fla. - Louisville City FC continued its remarkable inaugural season on and off the field on Saturday, as another club-record crowd saw the host take victory against the Richmond Kickers at Slugger Field. Meanwhile, the playoff races in both conferences continued to heat up, with six points separating five teams in the East in the race for the final two playoff berths, and four points separating five teams in the West looking to find their way into the postseason.

FEATURED GAMES

Louisville City FC 3, Richmond Kickers 0

Another club-record crowd of 8,254 was on hand as Louisville moved past the Kickers into third place in the USL's Eastern Conference at Slugger Field. Matt Fondy's 10th goal of the season put the host team on its way, and he added an assist in the second half on Magnus Rasmussen's third goal in the past two games. Those two goals bookended Tarek Morad's second goal of the season, while Scott Goodwin's three saves extended Richmond's scoreless streak to 316 minutes as the Kickers' winless streak reached five contests.

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 2, Austin Aztex 0

The Switchbacks moved back to the top of the Western Conference as they took victory at Sand Creek Stadium behind a pair of goals by Miguel Gonzalez. After bad weather delayed kickoff, neither side was able to find the breakthrough in heavy first half conditions. Colorado Springs took the lead nine minutes into the second half through Gonzalez, however, and the former Kitsap Pumas standout added his team-leading eighth goal of the season with 10 minutes to go to lead the Switchbacks to their sixth consecutive victory in the league.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 3, Seattle Sounders FC 2 1

Victor Blasco scored two goals in two minutes to lift WFC2 to its fourth home win of the season, and give its playoff hopes a major boost against S2. Blasco came on with 14 minutes to go and provided a decisive impact with goals in the 89th and 90th minutes to earn Vancouver victory. WFC2 took the lead late in the first half as Christian Dean scored his first professional goal, but Seattle hit back in a back-and-forth second half when Sergio Mota sent home a beautiful curled finish in the 67th minute. Blasco's brace - both off assists by Billy Schuler - proved the difference, however, as WFC2 moved into ninth place, three points out of a top-six spot.

Saint Louis FC 2, Charlotte Independence 1

Kingsley Bryce scored in the 89th minute to lift Saint Louis to its third road victory of the season and hand the Independence their first loss at home since their inaugural game on March 27. The visiting side took an early lead when Parker Maher scored in the sixth minute, but the Independence grew into the game and found an equalizer midway through the second half when Daniel Jackson scored his first goal for the club. Both sides pushed for a late winner, but it was Saint Louis that found it as the Chicago Fire loanee athletically volleyed home a rebound from the right side of the six-yard area to move STL FC to 3-1-3 on the road this season.

QUOTABLE

"It was pretty tough. We came in ready to go from the beginning but we had that little delay. But we talked about it as a group and with the coaches. We wanted to stay sharp and stay focused and not let that affect us. We were ready to go and luckily we got the win." - Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC forward Miguel Gonzalez, whose two goals led his side to a weather-affected win against Austin

"It seems to have happened a couple of times this year. I'm confident that I can at least hit the target and wreck the goalkeeper, so as long as the teams keep giving me the space, I'll gladly keep having a rip from there." - Pittsburgh's Rob Vincent on the first of his two goals against the New York Red Bulls II on Saturday night

"He just has such a deep voice. It's kind of like if we're in the Marines, he's screaming at you so you have to pay attention because he can get at you. He's a great figure, and I just feel super comfortable with him back there." - Louisville City FC's Enrique Montano on goalkeeper Scott Goodwin, who recorded his sixth shutout of the season on Saturday night

"We knew they were going to come out quick. We didn't give up a goal, so from the stat sheet we did well. But we all know that we need to bring a little bit more energy and start to play our game. We let the game get away from us a little bit." Arizona United SC Coach Michael Dellorusso after his side's 2-0 win against Orange County Blues FC on Sunday night

BY THE NUMBERS

500 - Kingsley Bryce's game-winning goal for Saint Louis FC on Saturday against the Charlotte Independence was the 500th goal in the USL this season.

103 - Louisville City FC became the first side to earn 100 corner kicks in the USL this season, as it won six against the Richmond Kickers on Saturday.

14 - Fourteen current and former USL players were selected by their respective national teams for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, which opens on Tuesday night.

13 - Carl Woszczynski set a new USL season-high with 13 saves for Arizona United SC in his side's 2-0 victory against Orange County on Sunday.

STANDINGS

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Team GP W L T GF GA Pts

Rochester Rhinos 15 9 0 6 18 5 33

Charleston Battery 16 7 2 7 26 17 28

Louisville City FC 15 7 3 5 29 14 26

Richmond Kickers 17 6 3 8 22 18 26

Pittsburgh Riverhounds 15 6 5 4 31 24 22

New York Red Bulls II 16 6 6 4 24 25 22

Harrisburg City Islanders 13 5 4 4 22 22 19

Saint Louis FC 15 4 5 6 16 19 18

Charlotte Independence 13 4 5 4 15 17 16

Toronto FC II 11 3 5 3 10 19 12

Wilmington Hammerheads FC 17 2 9 6 11 23 12

FC Montreal 13 1 10 2 8 21 5

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Team GP W L T GF GA Pts

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 15 10 5 0 33 16 30

Sacramento Republic FC 18 9 6 3 29 20 30

Seattle Sounders FC 2 17 9 6 2 30 26 29

LA Galaxy II 16 9 5 2 25 17 29

OKC Energy FC 16 7 5 4 24 23 25

Arizona United SC 15 7 7 1 19 27 22

Orange County Blues FC 15 7 7 1 20 22 22

Portland Timbers 2 16 6 8 2 22 26 20

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 17 5 8 4 22 30 19

Austin Aztex 16 5 8 3 16 21 18

Tulsa Roughnecks FC 15 4 8 3 18 27 15

Real Monarchs SLC 16 1 9 6 15 26 9

RESULTS

Monday, June 29

Seattle Sounders FC 2 2, Portland Timbers 2 0

Wednesday, July 1

Wilmington Hammerheads FC 0, Saint Louis FC 0

Real Monarchs SLC 1, Sacramento Republic FC 1

Orange County Blues FC 1, OKC Energy FC 0

Thursday, July 2

Portland Timbers 2 3, Arizona United SC 1

Friday, July 3

Charleston Battery 0, Rochester Rhinos 0

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 2, Austin Aztex 0

Saturday, July 4

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 3, Seattle Sounders FC 2 1

Pittsburgh Riverhounds 3, New York Red Bulls II 0

Saint Louis FC 2, Charlotte Independence 1

Harrisburg City Islanders 1, Wilmington Hammerheads FC 0

Louisville City FC 3, Richmond Kickers 0

Sunday, July 5

LA Galaxy II 1, OKC Energy FC 1

Arizona United SC 2, Orange County Blues FC 0

SCHEDULE

Wednesday, July 8

Harrisburg City Islanders vs. Charleston Battery, 7 p.m. ET

Rochester Rhinos vs. FC Montreal, 7:05 p.m. ET

Toronto FC II vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds, 8 p.m. ET

Thursday, July 9

Tulsa Roughnecks FC vs. Orange County Blues FC, 8:30 p.m. ET

Friday, July 10

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 vs. Portland Timbers 2, 10 p.m. ET

Saturday, July 11

Toronto FC II vs. Rochester Rhinos, 3 p.m. ET

Louisville City FC vs. Charlotte Independence, 7:30 p.m. ET

OKC Energy FC vs. Orange County Blues FC, 8 p.m. ET

Tulsa Roughnecks FC vs. Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, 8:30 p.m. ET

Saint Louis FC vs. Richmond Kickers, 8:30 p.m. ET

Real Monarchs SLC vs. Austin Aztex, 9 p.m. ET

Sacramento Republic FC vs. LA Galaxy II, 11 p.m. ET

Sunday, July 12

FC Montreal vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds, 4 p.m. ET

New York Red Bulls II vs. Harrisburg City Islanders, 5 p.m. ET

Seattle Sounders FC 2 vs. Arizona United SC, 8 p.m. ET

HOW TO FOLLOW

Every game of the 2015 USL season can be seen live, free and in HD on YouTube (www.Youtube.com/USL), with updates from across the league also available via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Louisville City FC Celebration

United Soccer League Championship Stories from July 6, 2015

• Preview: Charleston at Harrisburg in 2015 Series Finale - Charleston Battery
• USL Week 16: Club-Record Crowd Sees Louisville Reign - USL
• OC Blues FC Falls on the Road at Arizona United, 2-0 - Orange County SC

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