USL Louisville City FC

What to Watch for with LouCity vs. Memphis 901 FC

Published on June 9, 2023 under 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)

Louisville City FC hosts Memphis 901 FC at 8 p.m. Saturday with a chance to take control of the USL Championship's Eastern Conference table.

LouCity (6-3-3, 21 points) enters the weekend fourth in the standings but holds at least a game in hand over the clubs it's chasing. If the boys in purple use those extra matches to their advantage, they'll pull even with first place. That's a big if, however, given the form of this weekend's opponent.

Memphis 901 FC (5-2-3, 18 points) visits Lynn Family Stadium having climbed to fifth on the table, succeeding after a pair of key personnel moved on from last year's conference semifinalist squad. Coach Ben Pirmann now leads the first-place Charleston Battery, and All-League forward Phillip Goodrum recently moved to FC Tulsa via a trade.

Stephen Glass, who briefly managed Aberdeen FC in the Scottish Premiership after coaching Atlanta United 2, is back in the USL Championship with Memphis. His 901 FC side is on the East's longest winning streak - four straight games - and sits tied for the Eastern Conference's best goal differential at +7.

LouCity will look to buck those trends and continue a run that has seen the boys in purple go unbeaten in seven of their last eight league games. Memphis hasn't lost a regular season game since March 18. The undefeated streak includes a 1-1 home draw April 29 when LouCity and 901 FC first met this year.

Follow along

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

Player availability report

Niall McCabe (questionable)

Carlos Moguel Jr. (out)

Kyle Morton (out)

Manny Perez (out)

Brian Ownby (out)

Jordan Scarlett (out)

Story lines...

Money man: LouCity heads into Saturday off major midweek news with the transfer of Josh Wynder - an 18-year-old youth academy graduate - officially announced to Portuguese powerhouse Benfica. The center back became the first USL Championship player to command a seven-figure transfer fee. Wynder is fresh off representing the U.S. at the FIFA U-20 World Cup and also in recent weeks earned his first U.S. Men's National Team call-up.

The brick wall: Goalkeeper Oliver Semmle didn't enter the season as LouCity's starter. But he has taken full control of the role since debuting back in March, numbering six clean sheets. That's tied for the USL Championship lead for shutouts with Sacramento Republic FC's Danny Vitiello and Oakland Roots' Paul Blanchette. The rookie out of Marshall University has faced 22 shots and conceded only four goals so far as a pro.

Possession-minded: LouCity didn't break through for a goal in last weekend's scoreless draw at Hartford Athletic. That, however, doesn't speak to City's dominance. The boys in purple held 60.7% of the possession, attempted a season-high 532 passes and entered the final third 75 times - doubling Hartford's number. The performance included Sean Totsch's 114 passes, most of a single player in a City game this year.

Scoring slump: LouCity's 12 goals for are the fewest netted through 12 games in club history, but coach Danny Cruz has routinely voiced confidence that the attack will pick up. Four players on the roster - Wilson Harris, Brian Ownby, Enoch Mushagalusa and Dylan Mares - scored double-digit goals in the USL Championship last year. City also features Cameron Lancaster, whose 81 regular season goals rank third all-time in the league.

Stellar support: LouCity's an impressive 27-5-2 at Lynn Family Stadium since capacity limits lifted in June of 2021, and the boys in purple figure to keep improving that mark given their home-field advantage. Attendance has averaged 10,946 through five league games, a 14% year-over-year increase. A club-record regular season weeknight crowd of 11,434 saw the boys in purple host FC Tulsa on May 24 in their last game at Lynn Family Stadium.

Last time out: LouCity and Memphis traded goals in their prior meeting this season at AutoZone Park, a purpose-built baseball stadium converted for soccer. Sean Totsch opened scoring by heading in a corner kick, and 901 FC's Luiz Fernando equalized on a rebounding try in the second half. City, of course, is always eligible for improved results at Lynn Family Stadium over its soccer-specific pitch.

Seeing red: Memphis is tied for the USL Championship lead in red cards at three this season. Saturday's visitors saw their most-recent sending off late in last weekend's 5-1 win over Miami FC. Memphis as a result will face LouCity without Trinidad and Tobago international defender Jelani Peters, who received two yellow cards in the Miami game.

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 June 9, 2023


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