Sports stats

USL Louisville City FC

What to Watch for with LouCity vs. San Antonio FC

April 14, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC midfielder Elijah Wynder
Louisville City FC midfielder Elijah Wynder
(Louisville City FC, Credit: EM Dash Photography)

Louisville City FC hosts San Antonio FC on Saturday in a game widely anticipated across the USL Championship since the schedule was set.

It's both a rematch of the 2022 league final and meeting between the two 2023 favorites kicking off at 7:30 p.m. at Lynn Family Stadium.

LouCity-San Antonio is expected to be a hot ticket with the National Weather Service forecasting temperatures in the 70s and promotions aplenty. Saturday's game is a "Purple Out," as T-shirts will be distributed to the first 1,000 fans. It's also "College Night" featuring $5 student tickets and a postgame silent disco.

Numbers-driven FiveThirtyEight.com considers Eastern Conference power LouCity the USL Championship pick to win it all this year with a 17% chance. San Antonio FC is next in line with a 12% chance.

The only other time the clubs have met was in that 2022 final won 3-1 by San Antonio over an injury-riddled LouCity side to end last season.

The boys in purple have an opportunity Saturday to exact some revenge, plus continue to distance themselves from a rough patch on Match Days 3 and 4 of the season when defeated by a combined 8-0 score across two games. Since then, LouCity bounced back to win a Second Round Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup game over neighboring Lexington SC before notching a league victory last weekend against Detroit City FC.

Follow along

- Saturday's game will air live on WBKI 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

Wes Charpie (Questionable)

Jorge Gonzalez (Questionable)

Cameron Lancaster (Questionable)

Niall McCabe (Out)

Ray Serrano (Questionable)

Story lines...

Chart toppers: Now eight-plus years into its existence, LouCity reached No. 1 on the USL Championship's all-time wins last weekend with the Detroit victory. City claims 139 regular season victories, one more than Orange County SC and the Charleston Battery. Of course, the boys in purple have added a number of postseason wins as well on their way to league titles in 2017 and 2018. The boys in purple have advanced to at least the Eastern Conference Final in each of their campaigns.

Strong showings: LouCity's positioning itself to sit at or near the top of the USL Championship's attendance charts in 2023. Two matches into the season the boys in purple are playing to 10,214 fans per game at Lynn Family Stadium - well above average given the club's largest attendances are often seen in the summer. City typically plays well at home, boasting a 25-4-2 record in regular season games since capacity limits lifted in June of 2021.

Locking down: After losses by scores of 3-0 (March 25 to El Paso Locomotive FC) and 5-0 (April 1 to Sacramento Republic FC), LouCity returned to its defensive principles with a pair of clean sheets. City didn't concede a single shot on target in last weekend's victory over Detroit City FC - something the boys in purple also did once last season when shutting out the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Aug. 13, 2022.

Wynder's impact: It's likely not a coincidence that LouCity shut down Detroit as star defender Josh Wynder put in his first 90-minute shift of the season in purple. Wynder, who missed time early in the campaign on international duty with the U.S. U-20 squad, led LouCity with 10/10 duels and 4 fouls won against Detroit. Only 17, the LouCity Academy received his first U.S. Men's National Team call-up this week. He leaves for camp after the San Antonio game.

Keeping it clean: LouCity returned the USL Championship's 2022 Golden Glove winner, Kyle Morton but still has an ongoing battle between the posts thanks to inspired play by rookie Oliver Semmle. The shot stopper out of Marshall University hasn't allowed a goal in three starts across all competitions - two in USL Championship play along with City's Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup win over Lexington SC.

Adding to the attack: Midfielder Jorge Gonzalez missed the tail end of 2022 with a knee injury, then the start of 2023 having hurt his other knee. Gonzalez worked himself back into Man of the Match-winning form against Detroit as he made his first start of the season, pacing LouCity with 4 chances created and 3 shots on target. The Spaniard is in his third season in purple having originally arrived on loan from Major League Soccer's Portland Timbers.

The right touch: Later than he would have liked, Wilson Harris is back on the score sheet. LouCity's leading scorer from the 2022 season found himself in dangerous spots against Detroit. He finally got the finishing touch on an 80th-minute game winner. Harris, who netted a career-high 15 goals last year, made his first league start of the campaign versus Detroit on the comeback from a preseason head injury.

Mares magic: Offseason signing Dylan Mares, on the return from a thumb injury, assisted Harris' goal on a recycled corner kick from the left wing to mark his first LouCity goal contribution. The veteran midfielder arrived from El Paso Locomotive FC and has also played professionally for Indy Eleven. Collegiately, Mares played alongside LouCity captain Paolo DelPiccolo on the University of Louisville's 2010 NCAA College Cup squad.

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics




Images from this story

Louisville City FC midfielder Elijah Wynder
Louisville City FC midfielder Elijah Wynder
(EM Dash Photography)		   



United Soccer League Championship Stories from April 14, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Louisville City FC Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central