FRIDAY, FEB. 14, 2020 – Louisville City Football Club’s U17 Academy Cup team won its first-ever match Friday night, crushing the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy 7-2 at the Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
“This was a great team win,” Louisville City Director of Youth Development Mario Sanchez said on Soccer City Radio on 790 KRD. “We didn’t really know what to expect given this was our first game and the weather conditions, but we were really happy with our performance. Once we got our footing and starting to play our game, we played at a high level.”
Anthony Cano goes down in the history books as the first official goal scorer for Louisville City’s Academy Cup team after he scored in the 20′. Pittsburgh struck back with an equalizer fairly quickly, but LouCity pulled ahead 2-1 on a 37′ goal by Eyob McFarland.
Louisville City pushed the lead to 3-1 on a goal by Carlos Moguel and then 4-1 on a goal by Eldin Velic in the 53′. Moguel’s free kick goal drew rave reviews when the video was posted on the @LouCityAcademy Twitter account.
“Carlos’ goal on the free kick was really impressive, but we almost expect that from him at this point,” Sanchez said. “I have known Carlos for a long time and his talent on those kinds of kicks. He’s a tremendously talented young man who works hard and loves the game of soccer.
But the scoring didn’t stop there. Nate Traughber scored in the 65′ to put Louisville City up 5-1, and Damir Beganovic picked up a goal on a deflection in the 69′. Louisville City’s final goal came from Zach Schonwetter in the 82′, and Pittsburgh netted a second goal in the final minutes.
The Louisville City Academy Cup roster consists of 17 young players from all over Kentucky. Louisville City’s first Academy Cup roster features teens from Louisville, Shelbyville, Versailles, and Bowling Green.
“Saturday we get to see the Union play Inter Miami and then we’ll play Tormenta Sunday afternoon,” Sanchez said. “Tormenta and Miami were playing on the field behind us so I was trying to get a glimpse of their game while ours was going on.”
Tormenta and FC Miami City tied 2-2 Friday night. LouCity will play Tormenta Sunday and FC Miami City Monday night.
The USL Academy program was founded in 2019 specifically for the 2020 USL Academy Cup. All of the young men on the Academy Cup roster train independently with their club and high school teams and have come together to train weekly as a team for Louisville City as well.
LouCity’s Academy Cup team, listed alphabetically by position:
Goalkeepers (2): Clayton Brooks, John Jeffus
Defenders (6): Anthony Cano, Owen Damm, Kuker Nodler, Sebastian Sanchez, Patrick Walz, Josh Wynder
Midfielders (5): Damir Beganovic, Carlos Moguel Jr, Brendan Schonwetter, Nate Traughber, Elijah Wynder
Forwards (4): Dino Hodzic, Eyob McFarland, Zach Schonwetter, Eldin Velic
