Louisville City FC returned to its winning ways Wednesday night, defeating Lexington SC by a 1-0 score in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Second Round game at Lynn Family Stadium.
LouCity, from the second-division USL Championship, dominated most statistical categories against its third-division USL League One foe. But only one shot hit the back of the net, when Sean Totsch skied for a 69th-minute header off a Paolo DelPiccolo free kick from the right side.
The victory both ended City’s two-game losing skid across all competitions and advanced the boys in purple to the Open Cup’s April 25-26 Third Round, which sees Major League Soccer clubs enter the competition. The Third Round draw will air live at 6:30 p.m. Thursday on B/R Football’s YouTube channel.
“First and foremost, you get a shutout on the night after the last couple of weeks we have had,” said coach Danny Cruz. “The messaging over the course of the last couple days was to make sure we do a good job defensively, we’re tight in our block and not running around all over the place.
“I’m really, really proud of the group. It was a result where we created a lot in the first half. We need to be better in the final third, but ultimately we’re creating the chances and I’m confident (the goals) will come.”
Going back to 2018, LouCity advanced as far as the Open Cup’s Quarterfinal round. Last year under coach Danny Cruz the club made it to the Round of 16.
That City would move on from Wednesday’s game only looked like a matter of time in a game where the hosts out-shot Lexington, 13-5, and didn’t allow an opposing shot at all until the 48th minute when Terique Mohammed rifled a try from distance.
The goal came after shifty forward Ray Serrano earned a foul on the wing, a theme on the night as LouCity out-paced its opposition down the sides.
“It was a little bit of a relief,” Totsch said of his game winner, “but we know what we’re capable of. Even with it being a 1-0 game, there’s a lot that we need to take away and do better still.”
Only two games into its history, Lexington battled to the last kick of Wednesday’s game. The visitors nearly equalized at the death on a free kick of their own, sending everyone forward for a 93rd-minute set piece. City defender Amadou Dia cleared the chance off the line to seal a win.
Going back to last Saturday’s 5-0 defeat at Sacramento Republic FC — a club-record margin of defeat — LouCity made seven lineup changes, including in goal. Rookie Oliver Semmle registered a clean sheet, while forward Wilson Harris (concussion) and midfielder Dylan Mares (thumb) returned from injuries to make their first starts of the year.
Cruz will have decisions to make on another quick turnaround to Saturday, when LouCity welcomes USL Championship rival Detroit City FC in for a 3 p.m. league game at Lynn Family Stadium.
Game Summary: Louisville City FC vs. Lexington SC
Date: April 5, 2023
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: 75 degrees, isolated storms
Scoring
Louisville City FC (0, 1, 1)
Lexington SC (0, 0, 0)
Goals
Louisville City FC:
69’ Sean Totsch (Paolo DelPiccolo)
Lineups
Louisville City FC: 28 — Oliver Semmle, 13 — Amadou Dia, 51 — Ramzi Qawasmy, 4 — Sean Totsch, 15 — Manny Perez (60’ 19 — Oscar Jimenez), 12 — Tyler Gibson, 22 — Dylan Mares (60’ 9 — Jorge Gonzalez), 36 — Paolo DelPiccolo (79’ 8 — Carlos Moguel Jr.), 77 — Enoch Mushagalusa (60’ 10 — Brian Ownby), 7 — Ray Serrano, 14 — Wilson Harris (85’ 23 — Elijah Wynder)
Subs not used: 1 — Kyle Morton, 67 — Owen Damm
Head coach: Danny Cruz
Lexington SC: 1 — Austin Causey, 5 — Kaelon Fox, 4 — Kimball Jackson (46’ 3 — Owen Green), 57 — Terique Mohammed (74’ 7 — Jalen James), 2 — Tate Robertson, 22 — Phil Dlamini (84’ 26 — Cesar Murillo), 33 — Franky Martinez, 8 — Charlie Machell, 32 — Ates Diouf (46’ 77 — Nico Brown), 9 — Will Baynham, 14 — Khalid Baloguin (70’ 10 — Don Smart)
Subs not used: 13 — Amal Knight, 17 — Erick Ceja Gonzalez
Head coach: Sam Stockley
Stats Summary: Louisville City FC / Lexington SC
Shots: 13 / 5
Shots on Goal: 3 / 3
Possession: 57.3% / 42.7%
Fouls: 14 / 12
Offside: 2 / 1
Corner Kicks: 6 / 3
Discipline Summary
Louisville City FC:
71’ Paolo DelPiccolo (yellow)
Lexington SC:
39’ Phil Dliamini (yellow)
67’ Terique Mohammed (yellow)
80’ Jalen James (yellow)
90’+ Tate Robertson (yellow)
Referee: Nabil Bensalah
