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Louisville City FC

What to Watch for with LouCity vs. Charleston

August 5, 2022 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC midfielder Niall McCabe
Louisville City FC midfielder Niall McCabe
(Louisville City FC, Credit: Connor Cunningham)

Louisville City FC will look to keep its unbeaten streak alive this Saturday when Charleston Battery visits Lynn Family Stadium for an 8 p.m. kickoff.

An in-form LouCity hasn't lost since early June - a run of seven straight games - to boast a 14-3-4 record. Its 46 points are good enough to sit atop the USL Championship's Eastern Conference standings.

Charleston comes to Louisville with a nearly opposite record at 3-15-4, or 13 points. The Battery, well outside the playoff picture, haven't won yet on the road this season.

Saturday's meeting marks a rematch from a 1-1 draw April 23 in South Carolina. That day, LouCity played its third game in a week combined with some cross-country travel. This go around, the boys in purple have rested since last weekend's 1-0 victory at El Paso Locomotive FC.

Follow along

The game will air live locally on WBKI and ESPN Louisville's 680/105.7, with streaming via ESPN+ and the WDRB Now app.

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.

Injury report

Cameron Lancaster (Out)

Ian Soler (Out)

Josh Wynder (Out)

Story lines...

First-place races: LouCity enters the weekend a point ahead of the Tampa Bay Rowdies those those two sides - who played for the Eastern Conference Final the past two seasons - set to meet Aug. 13 in a major midseason showdown at Lynn Family Stadium. San Antonio FC is setting a historic pace atop the Western Conference for the USL Championship's best overall total, equaling the league record for fewest games (21) to reach 50 points.

Bigger picture: Riding a seven-game unbeaten streak, LouCity boasts a USL Championship-best +28 goal differential, plus shares the league lead in clean sheets (11) and fewest goals conceded (15). The boys in purple are off to their best-ever start through 21 games, with 46 bettering the 2016 team's 43 points.

In the stands: The boys in purple are gearing up for back-to-back weekends at Lynn Family Stadium, where they've been nearly unbeatable since capacities limits were dashed midway through the 2021 campaign. City went on to lose just one 100% capacity game last season and is 7-1-2 on its home turf in 2022.

Bagel factory: Kyle Morton registered his ninth clean sheet with last Saturday's 1-0 victory at El Paso Locomotive FC. Despite missing five games earlier this summer while in concussion protocol, the LouCity goalkeeper continues to lead the Golden Glove race. Morton's next shutout will mark his 30th in the USL Championship.

Man of the Match: Jorge Gonzalez's lone shot Saturday made all the difference at El Paso. The forward slotted home the game-winner in the 52nd minute when he directed a corner kick from Niall McCabe into the back of the net. Gonzalez signed a permanent deal with City in the offseason after spending the 2021 season in Louisville on loan from Major League Soccer's Portland Timbers.

Like a fine wine: At 31 years old, an argument could be made that the midfielder McCabe is piecing together one of his best seasons in purple yet. The Irishman's upped his assist total to five last weekend, matching his regular season career highs achieved in 2018 and 2019. McCabe - who's often worn the captain's armband this season - has also scored three goals of his own on the year.

Assist kings: Forward Brian Ownby - whose four assists rank second to McCabe this year - has moved into a tie atop the club's all-time list, equaling defender Oscar Jimenez's 32. McCabe sits on 29 assists, continuing to creep toward the lead.

Threats aplenty: LouCity has seen strikers Cameron Lancaster and Wilson Harris limited recently, but that hardly slowed the club's attack. Four players have scored at least five goals with Enoch Mushagalusa (six), Ownby (five) and Sean Totsch (five) nipping at the heels of Harris' eight.

Wynderful moment: Having missed all of last season due to a leg injury, Saturday's 82nd-minute sub on by Elijah Wynder marked his first minutes in purple since he became the first LouCity Academy player to sign a professional deal. Wynder overcame a pair of surgeries and opened 2022 on loan to USL League One's FC Tucson before getting back on the pitch with City.

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Images from this story

Louisville City FC midfielder Niall McCabe
Louisville City FC midfielder Niall McCabe
(Connor Cunningham)		   

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