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USL Louisville City FC

What to Watch for with LouCity vs. Memphis 901 FC

September 27, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC on defense
Louisville City FC on defense
(Louisville City FC, Credit: Connor Cunningham)

Having guaranteed at least a top-two Eastern Conference finish, first-place Louisville City FC returns to Lynn Family Stadium for a home stand rife with opportunity.

LouCity hosts Memphis 901 FC on Saturday before welcoming Miami FC on Wednesday - both games kick off at 7:30 p.m. inside Lynn Family Stadium - as its closest pursuer on the table sits idle.

These matches make up City's games in hand on the second-place Charleston Battery amid a stretch run to the Players' Shield. The trophy, awarded for the USL Championship's best regular season record, also grants home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Despite falling by a 2-1 score last weekend at Detroit City FC, LouCity (20-6-2, 62 points) owns a three-point lead over Charleston with a month to go before the playoffs. Notably, coach Danny Cruz's men have yet to lose consecutive games across all competitions in 2024, outscoring opponents 20-7 in matches following defeats.

The boys in purple face Memphis for the only time this season, as Saturday's foe shifted to the Western Conference this year. The clubs most recently met in the 2023 playoffs, when LouCity prevailed in a penalty kick shootout in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal round.

Memphis (12-10-7, 43 points) began the season with five defeats from its first six games. Since then, coach Stephen Glass and company have rebounded on the back of the West's most potent offense. 901 FC's 45 goals lead the conference, while its plus-11 goal differential is tied for the best mark out West along with Sacramento Republic FC.

LouCity has won eight of its last 10, while Memphis is unbeaten in five of its last six games, most recently registering a convincing, 3-0 victory over North Carolina FC.

All-time, LouCity is 6-3-3 against 901 FC and 4-2-0 on home soil.

Follow along

- The game will air live locally on MyTV 58 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

Phillip Goodrum (out)

Jorge Gonzalez (out)

Brian Ownby (out)

Story lines...

Home fortress: LouCity has been a force so far this season at Lynn Family Stadium, where the boys in purple are 12-1-0 and boast a +28 goal differential. City is also one victory away from matching the USL Championship's single-season record for home wins (13) and six goals from the league record (51). The club has four regular season home games left in the campaign after this weekend.

Playoff picture: LouCity will start its 2024 USL Championship Playoffs run with an Eastern Conference Quarterfinal on Saturday, November 2, at Lynn Family Stadium. With a win, the boys in purple would be home again the weekend of November 8-10 in the conference semifinal round. Right to host the conference final could come down to the Players' Shield race with Charleston.

Record pace: LouCity continues to challenge 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 recorded 78 points (2.29 per game) and totaled 89 goals (2.62 per game). Comparatively, City is averaging 2.21 points per game while netting its 70 goals, or 2.5 goals per match.

Club highs: A trio of LouCity high water marks are also in play this season for single season wins (22 in 2022), points (72 in 2022) and goals scored (71 in 2018). City's now at 20 wins, 62 points and 70 goals scored with six games remaining to set a new season high in any of the categories.

Hunting goals: LouCity has scored in 26 of its 28 games this season, making for the league's most consistent attack. Wilson Harris (16 goals), Jansen Wilson (9), Ray Serrano (6), Sean Totsch (5) Elijah Wynder (5) top the list individually. Those are career-high numbers for all on the list but Totsch.

Reliable from the spot: Totsch made his 12th straight USL Championship penalty at Detroit, drilling an equalizer in the fifth minute of first half stoppage time. It was his first attempt from the spot since the June 8 win over North Carolina. That finish also made him the only defender in league history to find the back of the net 25 times in his career - six more than the next player on the list.

Narrow defeats: Five of Louisville's six losses this year were by a one goal margin away from home. LouCity fell victim to an opposition's match winner in the final 30 minutes in four of those five contests. A 5-2 rout by Rhode Island FC - the only game City has lost at home this season - remains the outlier.

Back in the fold: Manny Perez, who recently re-joined LouCity after a European transfer last offseason, made his first start back in the Detroit game. Perez played 56 minutes to mark his first appearance in the USL Championship since last year's conference final. He officially made his comeback back on September 10 when City defeated Cancún FC in an international friendly.

Seeing red: Newcomer Phillip Goodrum will miss out on a chance to compete against his former team this Saturday after being sent off for two yellow cards at Detroit. In 2022, the forward earned a place on the All-League First Team as a member of 901 FC, notching a club-record 21 goals and five assists in regular season play.

Familiar face: Former LouCity standout Oscar Jimenez newly features for Memphis. The wide player was here for both of City's USL Championship title runs in 2017 and 2018 and ranks second on the club's all-time assists list with 34. Jimenez started at right back in his most-recent Memphis appearance, leading the team in crosses.

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics




Images from this story

Louisville City FC on defense
Louisville City FC on defense
(Connor Cunningham)		   

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