What to Watch for as LouCity Travels to Birmingham

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USL Louisville City FC

What to Watch for as LouCity Travels to Birmingham

March 15, 2025 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC Head Coach Danny Cruz
Louisville City FC Head Coach Danny Cruz
(Louisville City FC)

Louisville City FC will pay a visit to Birmingham Legion FC this weekend - just a bit later than initially planned. The two sides will meet for a 4:30 p.m. ET Sunday opening whistle at Protective Stadium in Alabama.

The game was pushed back from its original Saturday date due to expected inclement weather. At kickoff on Sunday, temperatures are expected to be in the mid-to-low 60s with a slight chance of precipitation.

Moving the game does offer a silver lining: LouCity at Birmingham will have the spotlight as Sunday's only USL Championship game.

Louisville City is coming off of a statement win in its opener, a 2-1 road victory over the Charleston Battery. Ray Serrano and Adrien Perez found the back of the net for the boys in purple in the win, which was aided by a second half red card that cut Charleston down to 10 men.

"The guys have done a great job coming back this week," LouCity head coach Danny Cruz said. "You can tell there's no complacency just because we got a result in Charleston...We're starting to build the understanding that every game matters come the end of the season."

Birmingham is looking to rebound this year after finishing in ninth place in the Eastern Conference in 2024 - three points back of North Carolina FC for the final playoff spot. It was the first time in the club's six-year history that it missed out on the postseason.

However, Birmingham's 2025 season did not begin well, either. Despite taking the lead two minutes in, Legion FC fell 3-1 to Loudoun United FC at home.

Following Saturday's game, LouCity will return to Lynn Family Stadium on Saturday, March 22, to host Loudoun United in its home opener. For tickets and more information, visit loucity.com/opener.

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 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...

Hot starts: In defeating Charleston, Louisville City won its sixth-straight season opener going back to 2020. It's the longest such steak in the USL Championship. Now in its 11th season, LouCity has opened the season with back-to-back wins four times, including each of the last three seasons.

Familiar foe: This will be the 14th all-time meeting between LouCity and Birmingham Legion FC. LouCity leads the series 7-4-2 across all competitions, including a U.S. Open Cup third round meeting in 2019. For Cruz, this will be the 11th game he's coached against Birmingham, the most of any opposing club. Among opposing coaches, Birmingham's head coach Tom Soehn is Cruz's second-most frequently faced opponent, behind Charleston's Ben Pirmann.

A sweeping series: The last two seasons, the series between LouCity and Birmingham ended in a sweep. In 2024, LouCity defeated Legion FC in both meetings by a combined score of 9-1. In 2023, Birmingham bested Louisville twice by a combined score of 4-1.

Newbies: Midfielder Zach Duncan made his LouCity debut in the win over Charleston. The Australian was the lone newcomer to make the starting lineup in the season opener. He played 66 minutes, registered two shots, two tackles and five interceptions. Fellow debutant Kevon Lambert replaced Duncan as a substitute, playing 24 minutes.

The young vet: If he plays 76 minutes on Sunday, Ray Serrano would reach a milestone 5,000 regular season minutes for LouCity. The 22-year-old forward has played in 4,924 minutes of regular season action for the club and would become the 19th player to reach the 5,000 mark in LouCity history. Serrano is coming off of a career-best season in 2024 with eight goals, and he scored Louisville's first goal of 2025.

Cruz control: LouCity held just 36.5% of ball possession in its season-opening win over Charleston. In 2024, LouCity was out-possessed in 25 of its 38 games across all competitions with a record of 17-4-4 (W-L-D) in those games. That included seven games in which Louisville had 40% possession or less, finishing 5-1-1. All time under Danny Cruz, LouCity is 37-8-12 in games in which it was out-possessed.

Hello, Enzo: Birmingham's Enzo Martinez did not play in Legion FC's opening game due to a red card suspension, carried over from the 2024 season finale. A venerable player, the 34-year-old Uruguayan has scored 76 career goals over his nine-year Championship career - sixth-most in league history. In 16 career games against Louisville City, Martinez has scored five goals, including his lone career hat trick in 2017.

New look Legion: After missing the playoffs for the first time in club history in 2024, Birmingham underwent a roster makeover in the offseason. The club added veteran forwards Ronaldo Damus and Danny Trejo, as well as defender Stephen Turnbull, who had two assists against LouCity with Rhode Island FC in 2024. Still, a returning core remains, including Martinez, defender Phanuel Kavita and goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel, who have played in a combined 371 games for Birmingham.

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Louisville City FC Head Coach Danny Cruz
Louisville City FC Head Coach Danny Cruz
   



United Soccer League Championship Stories from March 15, 2025


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