USL Louisville City FC

What to Watch for with LouCity vs. Charleston Battery

August 8, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC in action
Louisville City FC in action
(Louisville City FC, Credit: EM Dash Photography)

Scoreboard watching season has kicked in across the USL Championship, and Louisville City FC is a key player again having rattled off consecutive wins.

The boys in purple will look to further improve their Eastern Conference hopes this week with a pair of games at Lynn Family Stadium, first hosting the Charleston Battery at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

It'll be a battle of two clubs fighting to remain in the East's top four - the threshold to host a playoff opener - but also eyeing a climb higher up the table as the regular season hits its final stretch.

Fourth-place LouCity (10-7-5, 35 points) has looked more dangerous over its past two games than at any point this season. The boys in purple are thriving in a new-look formation, defeating Indy Eleven by a 2-0 score on July 29 before knocking off FC Tulsa, 3-0, last Friday.

Second-place Charleston (11-6-6, 39 points) meanwhile took points from five straight games before stumbling last Friday to one of the Western Conference's top sides, Oakland Roots SC, in a 1-0 home loss. The Battery and LouCity played to a scoreless draw April 22 in their prior meeting this season in South Carolina.

Among Charleston's players to watch, veteran striker Augustine Williams remains a threat, entering with nine goals on the year. Louisville native Trey Muse starts in goal, where he's among the league leaders in saves this season with 62.

Following the Charleston game, City turns around to host Rio Grande Valley FC from the Western Conference on Saturday night.

Follow along

- The game will air live locally on MyTV 58 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. Also find the club at louisvillecityfc on Instagram and Louisville City FC on Facebook.

Player availability report

Owen Damm (out)

Jorge Gonzalez (questionable)

Oscar Jimenez (questionable)

Kyle Morton (out)

Jordan Scarlett (out)

Story lines...

Support soars: LouCity returns home this week boasting the largest attendance numbers this season across the USL Championship. The boys in purple have played to average crowds of 10,683 in their 11 league home games so far. Last time at Lynn Family Stadium, a "Fill the Fam" night 13,248 - the fourth-largest number in club history - witnessed that rivalry win over Indy Eleven.

Home record: Now, LouCity will look to pair growing crowds with a record to match. City entered 2023 at 24-4-2 inside Lynn Family Stadium and a +45 goal differential there since attendance restrictions were lifted amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This season, though, the boys in purple are 6-5-0 at home but have lost just twice away.

Shape shifters: LouCity's back-to-back wins can be attributed in part to a tactical change. The uptick in form coincided with the arrival of Kyle Adams on transfer from San Diego Loyal, with Adams' arrival allowing City to play with a three-back formation. The sample size remains small, but LouCity has scored more goals (5) in two games than it has seen opposing shots on target (2).

Winging it: Oscar Jimenez benefited from the formation change in the Indy win, tallying two assists as he pushed up from outside back in LouCity's regular 4-3-3 to a wing back role in a 3-4-3. His counterpart, Amadou Dia, got in on the action at FC Tulsa, delivering his joint-team-leading third assist of the season on an 80th-minute ball over the top to Harris. Dia has also been solid defensively for City, leading in duels won (109), interceptions (34) and tackles (27).

Striker pairing: LouCity's top center forwards - Cameron Lancaster and Wilson Harris - contributed to all three goals Friday at FC Tulsa in a reminder of the club's class at that position. The two strikers don't often play together, but they give coach Danny Cruz options when both healthy. A 3-0 scoreline represented City's largest margin of victory this year, and the boys in purple have registered consecutive multi-goal games for the first time.

Youth served: Now more than a year since returning from a devastating leg injury, Elijah Wynder is carving out a role on LouCity's first team. The 20-year-old youth academy product has started back-to-back games in the front three, scoring the opener against Indy Eleven two games ago. At FC Tulsa, he was then involved in a high press that led to Lancaster's goal, marking Wynder's first assist in purple.

Bagel boy: Oliver Semmle wasn't particularly busy between the posts against Tulsa, but shutouts all count the same. A clean sheet marked his 11th on the year, moving him into sole possession of the USL Championship's rookie record for clean sheets. With 12 games to play, Semmle can now eye the overall shutout record of 15 for a single season. It was first set in 2018 by former Ottawa Fury keeper Maxime Crepeau and matched last year by San Antonio FC's Jordan Farr.

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics




Images from this story

Louisville City FC in action
Louisville City FC in action
(EM Dash Photography)		   



United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 8, 2023


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