Louisville City FC asserted its sovereignty in the Commonwealth of Kentucky Thursday night, beating rivals Lexington SC 2-0, behind two second half goals, in the first meeting of the 2025 Commonwealth Cup, presented by Republic Bank.
The home team’s two goals came after the referee rendered judgment with a straight red card in the 50th minute to Lexington’s Forster Ajago for violent conduct. An own goal by Lexington defender Gaël Gibert opened the scoring 17 minutes after the sending off, before Phillip Goodrum came off the bench to convert his first goal of 2025 in the 81st minute, continuing the club’s unbeaten start to the season.
LouCity (5-0-2, 17 points) inches to within one point of first place Loudoun United atop the Eastern Conference standings with its 200th win across USL-sanctioned competitions. However, the boys in purple boast a league-high goal differential (+8) and are the only club still without a defeat through seven matches.
Goalkeeper Damian Las and the defensive unit kept the visitors scoreless for their fourth consecutive match, achieving their third clean sheet of the season, all on home turf. City also tallied double Lexington’s shots, limiting Terry Boss’ Lexington team to just three on target.
Despite the victory, head coach Danny Cruz was displeased with his side’s performance after going a man up early in the second period.
“I thought the first half was pretty good,” said Cruz. “… And then after they get sent off, we get a goal, and then from there, (I’m) nowhere near happy enough with the performance. Actually, really, really frustrated, probably the most frustrated I’ve been this season. I thought it was complacent. I thought it was poor. … It’s going to be the same messaging to them in the locker room.
“If we talk about wanting to win a championship and we talk about our mentality, when it’s 11v11, 11v10, that’s not the standard, and they’re going to hear the same.”
Chances in the first 45 minutes were hard to come by — something you’d expect for the first meeting between rivals.
Louisville, the more threatening team early, created several chances to open the scoring through Jansen Wilson, including a 38th-minute shot that required a save from LSC’s Logan Ketterer.
Despite this being the first iteration of this in-state rivalry, the intensity was ever-present. Just five minutes into the second half, Lexington’s 23-year-old Real Salt Lake loanee Ajago received a straight red card for his actions during a fracus with Aiden McFadden, leaving the visitors down a man the rest of the way.
With the personnel advantage, Cruz’s side attempted to put its rivals under pressure.
Following some sustained attacks, LouCity scored the game’s opening goal in the 67th minute — a set piece that found the back of the net thanks to a redirecting header from Lexington’s Gibert for the own goal.
Goodrum, who was subbed into the match in the 58th minute, doubled City’s lead 14 minutes later, smashing home a brilliant right-footed strike from distance.
“It’s a rivalry game. This is one we had circled on the calendar,” Goodrum said. “What matters is getting the three points in front of a big crowd and showing them who the kings of Kentucky are.”
In a final gambit, two goals down and a player short, the visitors still threatened Louisville late in the match. LSC registered the game’s final four shots, including one on target and another that hit the woodwork from substitute Jacob Greene.
“I thought there were a lot of times in that period when we were down a man that we actually had a little bit more control,” said Boss, Lexington’s head coach. “Certainly created enough chances at the end to make it interesting. I give the guys who stayed on the field a lot of credit.”
“We made it clear to the group: we want them to leave here understanding why we are Louisville City,” Cruz added. “I think the group certainly ended up doing that. It was chippy for sure, but ultimately, I still think coming away with three points is going to be important for the group.”
On tap next for the boys in purple: a matchup with MLS outfit Minnesota United in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup’s Round of 32 at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Lynn Family Stadium. It’ll mark the second time an MLS opponent will pay Louisville a visit, with the first being a 2022 Open Cup meeting with Nashville SC.
To see this significant cup clash, fans can visit LouCity.com/opencup for tickets and more information.
Game Summary: Louisville City FC vs. Lexington SC
Date: May 1, 2025
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium
Kickoff: 8:00 p.m. ET
Weather: 71 degrees, partly cloudy
Attendance: 8,233
Scoring
Louisville City FC (0, 2, 2)
Lexington SC (0, 0, 0)
Goals
Louisville City FC:
67’ Gaël Gibert (own goal)
81’ Phillip Goodrum (Jansen Wilson)
Lineups
Louisville City FC: 1 – Damian Las; 2 – Aidan McFadden (87’ 13 – Amadou Dia), 32 – Kyle Adams (c), 5 – Arturo Ordóñez, 4 – Sean Totsch, 15 – Manny Perez (59’ 3 – Jake Morris), 27 – Evan Davila (72’ 31 – Kevon Lambert), 17 – Taylor Davila, 7 – Ray Serrano, 25 – Jansen Wilson (87’ 16 – Adrien Perez), 23 – Sam Gleadle (59’ 9 – Phillip Goodrum)
Subs not used: 12 – Danny Faundez; 24 – Josh Jones
Head coach: Danny Cruz
Lexington SC: 1 – Logan Ketterer; 24 – Kieran Sargeant, 27 – Gaël Gibert, 5 – Kendall Burks, 6 – Joe Hafferty, 3 – Sofiane Djeffal, 80 – Speedy Williams (c) (83’ 37 – Eliot Goldthorp), 33 – Forster Ajago, 8 – Nick Firmino (73’ 22 – Jacob Greene), 11 – Marcus Epps, 99 – Cory Burke (46’ 17 – Cameron Lancaster)
Subs not used: 31 – Brooks Thompson; 14 – Daniel Barbir, 16 – Edrey Cáceres, 83 – Hugo Mbongue
Head coach: Terry Boss
Stats Summary: Louisville City FC / Lexington SC
Shots: 16 / 9
Shots on Goal: 5 / 3
Expected goals: 1.47 / 0.79
Possession: 43.4% / 56.6%
Fouls: 10 / 8
Offside: 3 / 1
Corner Kicks: 8 / 3
Discipline Summary
Louisville City FC:
50’ Kyle Adams (yellow)
52’ Aiden McFadden (yellow)
Lexington SC:
50’ Forster Ajago (red)
55’ Kieran Sargeant (yellow)
Referee: Jeremy Scheer
