USL Louisville City FC

What to Watch for with LouCity at Rhode Island FC

May 24, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC will continue a well-traveled month at 4 p.m. Saturday when kicking off for the first time against USL Championship expansion club Rhode Island FC.

LouCity already visited the Pacific Time Zone twice in May, making the roughly 4,600-mile round trip to Seattle for U.S. Open Cup play before last weekend's 3,800-mile jaunt to and from Las Vegas for a league game.

It will be another 1,900 or so miles there and back, this time to the East Coast. Rhode Island hosts its home games at Beirne Stadium, originally built as the home of Bryant University's football team.

To complicate matters for coach Danny Cruz, there's a quick turnaround to consider. Following Saturday's game, LouCity hosts Detroit City FC on Wednesday night at Lynn Family Stadium. Then it's back on the road for a weekend trip to play Miami FC.

City (7-1-1, 22 points) holds second on the Eastern Conference table, five points back of the Charleston Battery. However, Charleston has played two more games than the boys in purple.

Rhode Island (1-3-6, 9 points) is getting results early in its first season, including a scoreless tie with the Battery. But a high number of draws has the club 11th of 12 in the East.

Rhode Island's lone win came back on April 20 at, coincidentally, Las Vegas Lights FC, which LouCity played to a 2-2 draw last out. RIFC is still in search of its first home victory.

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

Brian Ownby (out)

Story lines...

Potent offense: With another pair of goals at Las Vegas, LouCity pushed its season total to a USL Championship-leading 28. City is also one of three clubs around the league to have hit the back of the net in each of its games this year along with the Indy Eleven and Sacramento Republic FC.

Shutout streak ends: LouCity went more than three games - 384 minutes - without conceding a goal before Las Vegas' Valentin Noel scored 16 minutes into last weekend's game. The boys in purple have allowed just nine goals against this season in as many games and totaled five clean sheets, second in the league behind Charleston's six.

Serrano stays hot: Ray Serrano's in the form of his career having come off the bench at Las Vegas to equalize for LouCity. It marked his third straight game with a goal and puts the 22-year-old in position to join rare company should he score again at Rhode Island. Only teammate Wilson Harris and former City striker Chandler Hoffman have scored in four consecutive regular season games in purple.

Starting strong: Midfielder Taylor Davila continues to make an impact in his first season in purple, striking the opener at Las Vegas for his third goal of the season. A key distributor for LouCity, Davila also led his side in touches taken, passes completed and tackles won. The Californian created a chance, too, bringing his 2024 total to 23, fifth-most across the league.

To the point: Defender Sean Totsch became LouCity's all-time appearances leader last Saturday with a 90-minute performance against Las Vegas. He's played in 228 USL Championship games across the regular season and playoffs - one more than former club captain Paolo DelPiccolo, who retired this past offseason to begin a coaching career. Totsch joined City in 2017.

First half woes: If LouCity's shown a weakness this season, it's the opening 45 minutes of games on the road. City recovered from a 2-1 halftime deficit at Las Vegas, but that score at the break added to a trend coach Danny Cruz hopes to address. The boys in purple haven't led at the half of an away game in five tries across all competitions.

Home sweet home: Whereas LouCity's looking for improvement away, the club is perfect at Lynn Family Stadium, which the squad has vowed to build into a "fortress." The boys in purple are 5-0 with a +18 goal differential, and crowds have ranged up to the 11,330 that saw City defeat Indy Eleven back on April 6. The club has scored at least three goals in each of its home games.

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics



United Soccer League Championship Stories from May 24, 2024


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