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USL Louisville City FC

What to Watch for as LouCity Hosts North Carolina FC

June 7, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC defender Sean Totsch with possession
Louisville City FC defender Sean Totsch with possession
(Louisville City FC, Credit: Andrew Mascharka)

After winning on the road last weekend to move atop the Eastern Conference table, Louisville City FC returns to the friendly confines of Lynn Family Stadium to host North Carolina FC at 8 p.m. Saturday.

LouCity needed most of the 90 minutes to prevail last out at Miami FC, using a Sean Totsch penalty late on to secure its third result of a busy week packed with three games, two of them away.

A 2-1 win moved LouCity one point ahead of Charleston Battery on the table with a game in hand on the South Carolina outfit. City's 29 points are best overall across the USL Championship and the third-highest number in league history through 12 games.

The width and freedom of Lynn Family Stadium's pitch should be a welcome sight for the boys in purple, who are 6-0 at home this season and boast a +22 goal differential in those games. Whereas LouCity has scored 27 home goals, the Tampa Bay Rowdies' 11 home goals rank second in the league.

North Carolina FC last met City in 2020, one weekend before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down sports across the country. Carolina moved to USL League One for the next three seasons before shifting back to the Championship this year off winning its first title in club history.

Coach John Bradford and eighth-place NCFC will be heading into this fixture following a weekend off, last competing May 25 when they cruised past Miami FC, 4-0, scoring all four goals in the second half.

LouCity will celebrate Pride Night in conjunction with Saturday's game. The first 2,000 fans through the gates will receive a flag giveaway courtesy of U.S. Bank, and all proceeds from a new line of team-branded Pride merchandise benefits Louisville Youth Group, which creates a brave space for LGBTQIA+ Youth and Allies.

Follow along

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

- If streaming, download the free WDRB+ app to watch the local feed in Louisville. ESPN+ or Golazo Network also streams the home feed of all USL Championship games not selected for national TV.

- 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.

Player availability report

Kyle Adams (questionable)

Wilson Harris (questionable)

Brian Ownby (out)

Story lines...

Offensive consistency: LouCity's 35 goals for in just 12 games are best in the league and double those tallied by all but five other USL Championship clubs. At a rate of 2.9 goals per game, the boys in purple are tracking just ahead of the 2.7 goals 2019's Phoenix Rising FC scored in setting the league's single-season record of 89.

Finishing the job: LouCity is not only unbeaten in its last seven matches in the USL Championship, but it is also unbeaten in its last 10 contests when leading at halftime. That streak dates back to a July 23, 2023, draw with Birmingham Legion FC. The other nine results over that span were wins.

Cool from the spot: Dependable. That's exactly what LouCity has been as a team on penalty kicks. Sean Totsch's pinpoint attempt to seal a victory at Miami FC extended LouCity's streak of converted penalties to 24 going back to June 7, 2021. Ten of those shots were made by Totsch, who hasn't missed a penalty in league play.

The double: Totsch both hit 250 regular season appearances and surpassed 20,000 minutes played last week. He's just the fifth player in league history to reach that pair of milestones. Totsch is averaging 80.1 minutes per appearances and has played 89% of available minutes in his regular season games.

Making his mark: Leading goal scorer Wilson Harris earned a well-deserved rest at Miami FC, missing his first game of the season. Harris had three days prior registered a brace in a 5-1 win over Detroit City FC, pushing his goal total for the year to 10, one more than he numbered all of last year. Harris trails only Charleston forward Nick Markanich's 12 goals in the Golden Boot race.

Setting the tone: Elijah Wynder opened the scoring in South Florida on Saturday with a precise header just past the half-hour mark. It was his second headed goal of the season and his third goal in all. Amid a breakout season, the LouCity Academy product is fresh off signing a new multi-year contract last month.

Playing creator: Winger Adrien Perez looped in a cross to Wynder setting up LouCity's first goal at Miami. It brought Perez's assist total to a team-leading five in the USL Championship this season. He's also tied for second on the league's assist charts behind only Indy Eleven's Aedan Stanley with seven.

Lineup newcomers: Sam Gleadle and Niall McCabe made their first starts of the season at Miami FC. Both players amassed better than an 88% pass accuracy in the final third in addition to finishing as two of the seven LouCity players to create at least one chance. Gleadle was inserted into the striker role, replacing Harris, while McCabe spelled Davila in the midfield.

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics




Images from this story

Louisville City FC defender Sean Totsch with possession
Louisville City FC defender Sean Totsch with possession
(Andrew Mascharka)		   

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