What to Watch for as LouCity Hosts Las Vegas Lights FC
USL Louisville City FC

What to Watch for as LouCity Hosts Las Vegas Lights FC

Published on September 19, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


The countdown is on for Louisville City FC fans - and not just for the USL Championship playoffs. The boys in purple return home Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff against the Las Vegas Lights at Lynn Family Stadium.

Two significant milestones are within reach.

With his next win, LouCity head coach Danny Cruz would reach 100 career USL Championship wins, across the regular season and playoffs. At 35, he would be the youngest coach in league history to hit the mark, and also the fastest at 168 games.

Longtime defender Sean Totsch, meanwhile, is one appearance away from equaling Kenardo Forbes' all-time league record of 295.

More importantly for LouCity's players, though, is the chance to move closer to clinching the Players' Shield for a second-consecutive season, earning home field advantage throughout the USL Championship playoffs.

Louisville City (17-1-6, 57 points) leads the Charleston Battery by six points in the race, and also owns the head-to-head tiebreaker, should Charleston make up the gap. Right now, LouCity's magic number to clinch the Shield is 12.

Standing in LouCity's way Saturday night is Las Vegas Lights FC. Owned by former Toronto Blue Jays slugger José Bautista, the Lights sit second-from-bottom in the Western Conference, 11th place.

Notably, however, Las Vegas has improved under new leadership. Former Charleston Battery assistant Devin Rensing took the helm of the club in early August. Ben Pirmann's former top assistant has suffered just one loss since moving to Sin City with a 1-1-4 record.

The improvement has come from a tightened defense. Las Vegas conceded 14 goals over the final six games under interim head coach Giovanni Troise, including 4-0 and 6-0 losses in his final two games. They've conceded just five goals in the six games since Rensing took the job, including posting three straight shutouts - the last two ending 0-0.

The game is Noche Latina at Lynn Family Stadium, a celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. LouCity players will wear special warmup tops, designed by local artist and Colombia native Daniel Nausa. Concessions for the game will also include specialty food items representing cuisine from Mexico, Argentina, Guatemala and Cuba.

For tickets and more information, visit LouCity.com/nochelatina.

Follow Along

- The game will air live locally on MyTV 58 and ESPN Louisville's AM 680/FM 105.7.

- If streaming, download the free WDRB+ app to watch the local feed in Louisville or ESPN+ for national coverage.

- For starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc on Twitter. Also, find the club at louisvillecityfc on Instagram and Louisville City FC on Facebook.

Story Lines...

Record pace: If LouCity keeps winning, this season could go down in the league record books for winning efficiency. With 57 points in 24 games, LouCity's rate of 2.38 points per game equals the USL Championship record set by Orlando City in 2012. To pass Orlando for that record, Louisville would need to earn 15 of the final 18 available points, for a total of 72.

Generosity: Louisville City's scoring prowess rightfully gets lots of attention, with the boys in purple bagging 48 goals this year, the second-most in the USL Championship. Less discussed is that Louisville leads the league in assists with 39, eight more than the next highest Phoenix Rising (31) and nine more than the league's top scorers, Charleston (30).

Home Sweet Home: There are just six games remaining in the regular season for Louisville City, with four of the six at home, including Saturday. Louisville City is unbeaten at home in league play this year, at 8-0-3. Additionally, the club is unbeaten over its last 24 regular season games in Butchertown.

Jekyll and Hyde: Defensively, it's been lights on or lights out this season for Las Vegas - the team leads the USL Championship in shutouts (11) but has conceded the fifth-most goals (39). The Lights have conceded three or more goals in seven games, including a 5-0 loss to the Sacramento Republic and a 6-0 thumping against El Paso Locomotive.

Play ball: Bautista isn't the only baseball connection for Las Vegas. Goalkeeper Raiko Arozarena is the younger brother of two-time big league all-star Randy Arozarena, currently with the Seattle Mariners. He ranks second in the league in clean sheets (10) and 10th in saves (52).

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from September 19, 2025


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