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USL Louisville City FC

What to Watch for with LouCity vs. Miami FC

May 12, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC forward Colin Elder
Louisville City FC forward Colin Elder
(Louisville City FC, Credit: EM Dash Photography)

After a weekend off, Louisville City FC and Miami FC meet Saturday for a - dare we say it - doggone big game at Lynn Family Stadium.

Both sides enter the 7 p.m. fixture holding top-five spots in the Eastern Conference, with this the USL Championship's first matchup of the year to feature nationally on an ESPN2 broadcast.

Saturday also marks "Pups at the Pitch" night at Lynn Family Stadium, where fans are welcome to bring their furry friends. The first 500 in with their dogs will receive a collapsable water bowl courtesy of Feeders Pet Supply; ticket proceeds benefit the Kentucky Humane Society; and a pet food drive will take place at Gate 4 run by local news anchor Dawne Gee's nonprofit, A Recipe to End Hunger.

Last season, 307 dogs attended LouCity's first Pups at the Pitch game along with 11,093 fans. Visit LouCity.com/pups for more tickets and information as the club pushes for even bigger numbers this weekend.

City (4-2-2, 14 points) has gone three league games unbeaten since dropping back-to-back contests from late March into early April. The boys in purple sit third on the Eastern Conference table with games in hands on the clubs ahead of them.

Miami FC (2-2-5, 11 points) hasn't lost in four league games, most recently registering a statement win over second-place Birmingham Legion FC back on May 3. Miami sits fifth, above the playoff cut line near the season's quarter mark.

Follow along

- Selected for national broadcast, Saturday's game will air exclusively on ESPN2. Fans can listen live on ESPN Louisville's 680/105.7.

- 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

Cameron Lancaster (Out)

Kyle Morton (Out)

Manny Perez (Out)

Jordan Scarlett (Questionable)

Story lines

Form reversal: LouCity has lost just once in its last five games, a feat matched in the Eastern Conference only by the first-place Charleston Battery. This comes after a 3-0 home-opening loss March 25 to El Paso Locomotive FC and a club-record 5-0 defeat April 1 at Sacramento Republic FC. City holds a -3 goal differential as a result but continues to answer its losing skid with results.

Strength of schedule: There's reason to believe LouCity's best days are ahead. This year's format sees each USL Championship team play all Eastern Conference sides home and away and all Western Conference clubs once. The boys in purple have already faced six teams in playoff positions - four from the West and two from the East. Only two of City's prior opponents aren't in their respective conference's top eight.

Shutout streak: Rookie goalkeeper Oliver Semmle went 501 minutes across USL Championship and U.S. Open Cup play - more than five full games - before conceding his first goal as a pro last out in a 1-1 draw April 29 at Memphis 901 FC. Semmle appears to have a hold on the starting job while competing with Kyle Morton, the 2022 USL Championship Golden Glove winner.

Hunting goals: The boys in purple have their defense to thank for this unbeaten streak with the goal at Memphis their only one allowed since the Sacramento loss. In the meantime, LouCity has failed to generate much offense. Eight games into the 2022 season City had scored 14 goals. This year, it's 7, though recent signing Maarten Pouwels - a 6-foot-7 Dutch forward - will add a new element to the attack upon his debut.

Miami's main man: Defender Paco Craig, an all-league performer in five of the last six USL Championship seasons, will return to Lynn Family Stadium on Saturday. With Miami FC since 2021, Craig signed his first professional deal with LouCity, where he played four seasons and was pivotal in the club's 2017 and 2018 league titles. Craig now serves as Miami's team captain.

A higher calling: LouCity will be without star defender Josh Wynder starting Saturday as he joins the U.S. Youth National Team for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina, which starts May 20. The 18-year-old from Louisville became the first active LouCity player to receive a World Cup call-up and will be joined in camp by former teammate Jonathan Gomez, now with Spanish power Real Sociedad.

Injury woes: Coach Danny Cruz has already used 22 field players while waiting out injuries from back to front of his formation. Of late, however, Cruz found some consistency in his lineup, making only one change across LouCity's last three games. Key returners have included Harris (concussion), midfielder Jorge Gonzalez (knee) and defender Wes Charpie (hip).

The bigger picture: Numbers-driven FiveThirtyEight.com continues to rank LouCity as a heavy USL Championship favorite, giving the boys in purple a 30% chance of making the league final and a 16% chance of winning it. Sacramento is next on the list (19%/11%) followed by defending champion San Antonio FC (18%/11%) and San Diego Loyal (16%/9%).

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics




Images from this story

Louisville City FC forward Colin Elder
Louisville City FC forward Colin Elder
(EM Dash Photography)		   

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