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USL Louisville City FC

What to Watch for with LouCity at Detroit City FC

September 21, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC forward Ray Serrano
Louisville City FC forward Ray Serrano
(Louisville City FC, Credit: Drew Hill)

Amid one of the best stretches in club history, Louisville City FC will put itself on display for an ESPN2 audience at 3 p.m. Sunday when playing away to Detroit City FC.

LouCity has won eight of its last nine games. And with one more victory, the boys in purple would match both their 2020 and 2022 counterparts by winning nine games from a span of 10.

City (20-5-2, 62 points) continues to play for some bigger-picture history, too. The squad entered this weekend with a six-point gap to the Charleston Battery for the best record in the USL Championship.

Hold onto the top spot and LouCity will claim its first Players' Shield, the only trophy in the league missing from its case. That would also mean the No. 1 playoff seed and home field advantage throughout the postseason.

The boys in purple have seven regular season games to go before the playoffs open the weekend of November 1-3.

Detroit City (11-8-9, 42 points) will be looking for some revenge at its home Keyworth Stadium this Sunday. Back on May 29, LouCity handed Detroit its most lopsided result of the season, a 5-1 result at Lynn Family Stadium. Going back to 2023's playoffs, City also knocked Detroit out with a 4-0 win.

Detroit has leaned on defense to hold fourth in the Eastern Conference standings, scoring multiple goals in only one of its last 14 games. LouCity boasts one of the league's top attacks but similarly locked down opponents in its most-recent wins, both 1-0 score lines.

Follow along

- The game will air live on ESPN2 and ESPN Louisville's AM 680/FM 105.7.

- 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)

Aiden McFadden (out, concussion protocol)

Brian Ownby (out)

Adrien Perez (out, illness)

Story lines...

Playoff picture: In addition to a six-point cushion over Charleston, LouCity also holds two games in hand over the Battery. The boys in purple have already clinched a top-four finish - meaning they'll host their playoff opener - and can guarantee at least second in the Eastern Conference with a win Sunday. Then the duel is officially on for the top spot.

Players' Shield race: It's looking to come down to the East side of the league. LouCity (62 points in 27 games) and Charleston (56 points in 29) have distanced themselves from Western Conference-leading New Mexico United (51 points in 27 games). Charleston lost last out at Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, while New Mexico also hit a snag when taking a 1-0 loss from its trip to Detroit.

Record pace: LouCity continues to rival the best marks in USL Championship history - both set by Phoenix Rising FC's 2019 team - for points and goals in a single season. Phoenix tallied 78 points (2.29 per game) and scored 89 goals (2.62 per game). In comparison, City is averaging 2.29 points per game while netting 68 goals, or 2.55 goals per match.

Club highs: A trio of LouCity high water marks are in play this season for single season wins (22 in 2022), points (72 in 2022) and goals scored (71 in 2018). City's now at 20 wins, 62 points and 69 goals scored with ample time to surpass its prior record in each category.

Milestone win: LouCity reached 20 victories in a season for the second time ever - following 2022 - with last Saturday's result at FC Tulsa. This City team is the 13th overall to hit 20 wins in a year, while the club joined Phoenix (2019, 2021) and the Tampa Bay Rowdies (2021, 2022) with multiple 20-win seasons. The boys in purple are four wins off the league's single-season record of 24 victories held by Phoenix (2019) and San Antonio FC (2022).

Breakout rookie: Elizabethtown, Kentucky, native Jansen Wilson is off to a flying start in purple. He scored LouCity's game winner last Saturday in a 1-0 win at FC Tulsa to mark nine goals on the season and seven in his last seven appearances across all competitions. The bump in production coincides with Wilson's shift from a wingback to part of the front three.

Locking down: LouCity rose to the top of the standings with its attack. It's staying there with defense. The boys in purple have gone without a shot on target allowed in back-to-back games for the first time in club history. Overall, it's a 194-minute streak dating back to the end of a wacky, 6-4 victory August 31 at North Carolina FC.

Finding goals: LouCity has scored in nine straight games, its joint-longest streak of the season, and has hit the back of the net in 25 of 27 games overall. Eight players have scored at least four goals, something accomplished by only two teams previously in the USL Championship. Portland Timbers 2 had nine four-goal scorers and Reno 1868 eight, both during the 2019 season.

Getting healthy: Coach Danny Cruz often harps on the importance of creating competition for playing time in training. He's in better position now with the club's availability report about as short as it's been this year. Jorge Gonzalez and Brian Ownby remain out with longterm leg injuries, while Aiden McFadden is set to miss Sunday's game having exited the FC Tulsa win as a first half concussion substitute.

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Images from this story

Louisville City FC forward Ray Serrano
Louisville City FC forward Ray Serrano
(Drew Hill)		   

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