What to Watch for as LouCity Hosts Rhode Island FC

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Louisville City FC

What to Watch for as LouCity Hosts Rhode Island FC

November 8, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC forward Adrian Perez
Louisville City FC forward Adrian Perez
(Louisville City FC, Credit: EM Dash Photography)

Before the 2024 season, coach Danny Cruz said his Louisville City FC team was out to make Lynn Family Stadium a "fortress."

The boys in purple followed through, entering Saturday's Eastern Conference Semifinal round of the USL Championship Playoffs with an 17-1 home record and +38 goal differential.

Next, the one team to beat LouCity at Lynn Family Stadium - Rhode Island FC - returns for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff in a must-win situation.

City defeated North Carolina FC, 3-2, in the conference quarterfinal round, again rallying from an early deficit behind its high-powered offense. The boys in purple carry the playoffs' No. 1 overall seed after raising the Players' Shield for a regular season title. They're in pursuit of a third championship, following up on trophies earned in 2017 and 2018.

Rhode Island can consider itself one of the 2024 season's feel-good stories. The club launched as an expansion team, moves into a soccer-specific stadium next year, and already parlayed that investment into a playoff spot. The club defeated Indy Eleven by a 3-2 score on the road to book this trip to Louisville.

LouCity played Rhode Island to a scoreless away draw back on May 25 in their first meeting. It was in the June 22 return game that Rhode Island shocked City with a 5-2 victory at Lynn Family Stadium. The boys in purple have been flawless other than that on home soil this season.

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. 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

Jorge Gonzalez (out)

Dylan Mares (questionable)

Arturo Ordóñez (questionable)

Brian Ownby (out)

Ryan Troutman (out)

Story lines...

Playoffs format: The 2024 USL Championship Playoffs are a single-elimination, fixed-bracket competition that saw the top-eight teams from the Eastern and Western conferences qualify. The postseason culminates with the conference final round the weekend of November 15-17 before the USL Championship Final is played at noon Saturday, November 23, on CBS.

Next up: The winner of LouCity-Rhode Island will move on to meet either the second-seeded Charleston Battery or sixth-seeded Tampa Bay Rowdies in the conference final round. Charleston and Tampa Bay clash at 3 p.m. Sunday in their conference semifinal. Thanks to its top seed, City would host should it continue advancing.

The streak: It's a trophy-or-bust sort of postseason for LouCity, but before silverware is on the line, City will look to extend its run of consecutive conference final appearances to 10. It's a mark unprecedented across professional sports, with the boys in purple among the USL Championship's final four teams each season of its existence so far.

One for the books: LouCity entered the playoffs after setting a record-setting regular season. City's 24 wins tied the most ever in a USL Championship season, while 16 home wins set a new league mark. Louisville's wins, points earned (76) and goals scored (86) all set new single-season highs for the club.

Volume scoring: LouCity ended the regular season on a 16-game scoring streak, longest in club history dating back to a July 6 defeat at Oakland Roots SC, and extended that run in the win over North Carolina to 17 games. Overall, the boys in purple hit the back of the net in 32 of their 34 regular season games to field the USL Championship's top attack.

Comeback City: LouCity, which claimed a league-leading 23 of its 76 points from losing positions in the regular season, found itself trailing early to open the playoffs as well with North Carolina netting the opener in the 11th minute. The boys in purple rallied again, scoring the game's next three goals. Four of their last five results were picked up in comeback fashion.

Davila's dynamite: An All-League First Team selection last season, Taylor Davila looks the part again. He assisted LouCity's first goal against North Carolina, scored the second and delivered a key pass to set up the third in a standout game for the midfielder. The 24-year-old ranks second in the league with 77 chances created and has appeared in all but one City game this year.

He's got goals: Amadou Dia, who arrived to LouCity ahead of the 2022 season, took until an October 5 at rival Indy Eleven to register his first goal in purple. The wingback then doubled his scoring output last Saturday against North Carolina, heading in Davila's 20th-minute cross to equalize.

Assist leader: Adrien Perez played a 24th-minute ball through to Davila, who finished with a go-ahead goal against North Carolina to mark Perez's team-leading eighth assist of the season. That's despite the first-year LouCity forward missing most of the summer due to injury. Perez also scored a goal of his own in the 54th minute, upping his total on the season to three.

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics




Images from this story

Louisville City FC forward Adrian Perez
Louisville City FC forward Adrian Perez
(EM Dash Photography)		   

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