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USL Louisville City FC

What to Watch for with LouCity at Charleston Battery

April 21, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC forward Brian Ownby (left) eyes the ball
Louisville City FC forward Brian Ownby (left) eyes the ball
(Louisville City FC, Credit: One Shot Sports)

Louisville City FC and the Charleston Battery will meet Saturday in a matchup of the Eastern Conference's No. 1 and 2 teams - both of them looking in peak form.

With kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. at Patriots Point in South Carolina, the host Battery have quickly risen to the top of the table after failing to qualify for the USL Championship Playoffs the last two seasons. Coach Ben Pirmann - formerly of Memphis 901 FC - made a splashy offseason move to Charleston, which is an unbeaten 4-0-2 (14 points) near the season's quarter point.

LouCity, second in the East at 4-2-0 (12 points), looks to be over a puzzling early season hiccup that saw the boys in purple lose back-to-back games by a combined 8-0 score. Since then, they've reeled off three straight 1-0 wins across league play and the U.S. Open Cup, most recently knocking off San Antonio FC in a high-profile rematch of the 2022 USL Championship Final.

Saturday's game will air across the regular array of networks. Fans also have the opportunity to see it on the big screen at Lynn Family Stadium, an official watch site for the Kentucky Derby season's opening event, Thunder Over Louisville. Following the fireworks show is Racing Louisville FC's 10:30 p.m. game at Portland Thorns FC. Visit LynnFamilyStadium.com for tickets and more information.

Follow along

- Saturday's game will air live locally on WBKI and ESPN Louisville's 680/105.7.

- If streaming, download the free WDRB Now app to watch the local feed in Louisville. ESPN+ 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 and Louisville City FC on Facebook. Also find the club at louisvillecityfc on Instagram.

Player availability report

Wes Charpie (Questionable)

Jorge Gonzalez (Questionable)

Cameron Lancaster (Questionable)

Niall McCabe (Out)

Ray Serrano (Questionable)

Story lines

Winning traditions: In recent weeks, LouCity (launched in 2015) surpassed the Battery (founded in 1993) as the modern-era USL Championship's winningest club. However, Charleston caught back up thanks to a midweek victory last week over the Tampa Bay Rowdies before a weekend win over FC Tulsa. The clubs enter Saturday locked at 140 regular season wins apiece.

Playoff implications: Numbers-driven FiveThirtyEight.com bumped LouCity's chances of making the 2023 league final to 32% and winning it to 17% following the San Antonio victory. The boys in purple have been considered the favorite from the onset having returned 21 players from last year's squad that racked up a record number of points (72) and wins (22) en route to winning the Eastern Conference title.

Tough stretch: LouCity returned to form with three wins at Lynn Family Stadium. Over the next week, the boys in purple will have to keep it going away from home. They travel to FC Cincinnati on Wednesday for an Open Cup tilt against Major League Soccer competition before finishing a run of three games in eight days on the weekend at Memphis 901 FC. City pauses on Derby weekend following this spree of games.

Harris gets hot: Last year's club-leading scorer, Wilson Harris poured in 15 goals in his first season in purple. A head injury suffered in LouCity's final 2023 preseason game briefly sidelined Harris, who's now looking back to his regular self. He has scored in consecutive weeks to defeat Detroit City FC and San Antonio, finding the back of the net in both league games he has started.

Red, white and blue: Defender Josh Wynder attended the U.S. Men's National Team's brief April camp and was on the bench for Wednesday's Continental Clásico game against Mexico. While he didn't see the field, the 17-year-old figures to be better for the experience. He returns to club soccer this weekend off a stellar performance against San Antonio, leading LouCity with 10 duels won, 3 fouls won and 3 tackles.

Shutout streak: LouCity returned 2022 Golden Glove winner Kyle Morton, but it's rookie goalkeeper Oliver Semmle who has the job between the posts for now. Semmle has yet to concede a goal in four appearances - three in league play, plus the club's Open Cup victory over Lexington SC. Semmle signed with City after trialing for MLS' Colorado Rapids. The Marshall University product won the 2020 NCAA title.

The right change: LouCity coach Danny Cruz made just one lineup change for the San Antonio game, inserting Enoch Mushagalusa for the injured Jorge Gonzalez. It proved a smart decision as Mushagalusa registered his first assist of the year, looping in a 23rd-minute cross to Harris for the game-winning goal. Mushagalusa, in his second season with the club, has aims of improving on his 10-goal, 3-assist campaign last year.

Looking for more: LouCity managed to beat San Antonio despite trying a season-low four shots. That was in stark contrast to the prior victories over Lexington and Detroit - both games the boys in purple could have netted more than their single goal. Finishing touch will be key as the season moves forward with City so far scoring at a rate of one goal per 90 minutes, tied for 13th of the USL Championship's 24 teams.

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics




Images from this story

Louisville City FC forward Brian Ownby (left) eyes the ball
Louisville City FC forward Brian Ownby (left) eyes the ball
(One Shot Sports)		   

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