What to Watch for with LouCity vs. Loudoun United FC

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Louisville City FC

What to Watch for with LouCity vs. Loudoun United FC

September 5, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC returns to Lynn Family Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Friday, hosting Loudoun United FC in a game that carries bigger-picture implications.

With a win or draw, LouCity would become the first team to clinch its spot in the 2024 USL Championship Playoffs. Should the boys in purple lose Friday, a loss or draw by North Carolina FC on Saturday would also lock them into the postseason.

City is bidding to become just the second club in USL Championship history to make the playoffs for a 10th straight season following the Charleston Battery from 2011 to 2020.

The league champion in 2017 and 2018, LouCity (18-5-2, 56 points) also enters the weekend with a three-point lead over Charleston in the race for its first Players' Shield awarded to the club with the best regular season record. The Players' Shield winner receives a trophy and the No. 1 overall playoff seed, guaranteeing home field advantage throughout postseason.

Coach Danny Cruz returns from a one-game red card suspension, as will Adrien Perez, when City meets Loudoun (9-9-7, 34 points) in the return game of a 1-0 away victory back on April 20. Last out the boys in purple were part of a wild, 6-4 victory at North Carolina FC, where they trailed at three points before pulling away over the game's final half hour.

Friday also marks College Night at Lynn Family Stadium. Student tickets are just $8 online or at the box office with student ID. In addition to a pregame happy hour opening at 6 p.m., alcohol sales will continue after the final whistle in the BlueOval SK Fan Zone with a free silent disco and other entertainment on offer.

Follow along

- The game will air live locally on MyTV 58 and ESPN Louisville's 93.9 The Ville.

- 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

Wes Charpie (out)

Sam Gleadle (out)

Jorge Gonzalez (out)

Carlos Moguel Jr. (questionable)

Brian Ownby (out)

Adrien Perez (questionable)

Jansen Wilson (out)

Story lines...

Scoreboard watching: LouCity's a full win ahead of Charleston atop the Eastern Conference table, plus holds a pair of games in hand on the Battery, who host Sacramento Republic FC on Saturday. Western Conference leader New Mexico United sits eight points back of City in the Players' Shield race and is set to host Miami FC on Friday night. Louisville has nine regular season games to go.

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 2.24 points per game while netting 67 goals, or 2.68 goals per match.

Home fortress: LouCity is 11-0-1 this season at Lynn Family Stadium while boasting a +26 goal in those games. With average attendance above 10,000, the boys in purple are two victories for matching the USL Championship record for home wins and seven goals from the record 51 in a single season. City has five regular season home games left to play.

Comeback City: With last weekend's win in North Carolina, Louisville's record improved to 3-3-0 on the season in the rare instances when the boys in purple concede first. LouCity trailed by score lines of 1-0, 2-1 and 4-3 on the road before scoring the final three goals of a 10-goal thriller.

Career mark: Wilson Harris registered a second half brace against North Carolina, upping his goal total for the season to a career-high 16. Harris scored 15 back in 2022 during his debut campaign in purple before injury troubles limited his productivity in 2023. The striker is second to Charleston's Nick Markanich and his 24 goals in the league's Golden Boot race.

Breakout rookie: The description more than fits for Jansen Wilson, an Elizabethtown, Kentucky, native who finished his collegiate career at Belmont University. Wilson scored twice against North Carolina to boost his goal tally to eight on the season. That's the most ever for a LouCity rookie with Wilson having hit the back of the net in four of the last five games.

Fresh faces: Forward Phillip Goodrum has made three substitute appearances since completing a high-profile transfer from FC Tulsa last month. LouCity could also see a return to the pitch this Friday by Manny Perez, a defender who left the club on a European transfer in the offseason before returning last week on a new multi-year contract. Perez made the bench for the North Carolina win but didn't appear.

Pinpoint Perez: Adrien Perez is like another new weapon for LouCity having returned from an injury dating back to early June. The forward stepped back on the pitch as a sub on August 17, numbering his team-high sixth assist. Perez was dismissed minutes into his first start back on August 24 but will be available for selection against Loudoun.

Quick turnaround: LouCity plays midweek soccer next Tuesday when second division Mexican champion Cancún FC visits Lynn Family Stadium for an international friendly. The game day will feature elements of Mexican culture including food, drink, music and a pregame performance from Ohio Valley Wrestling's luchadores in the BlueOval SK Fan Zone.

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