In a town famous for a 500-mile race, Louisville City FC showed it can go the distance on Saturday night — all the way to the USL Championship Playoffs.
LouCity (15-1-6, 51 points) clinched its place in the postseason for the 11th straight season — each season in club history — with a 3-1 come-from-behind win over rival Indy Eleven (6-10-5, 23 points) at Michael A. Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis.
Although LouCity wasn’t downing the celebratory bottle of milk afterward for the achievement, as is the custom after big wins in Indianapolis. Clinching a playoff berth simply means LouCity is on course.
“I didn’t talk about it with the players at all, honestly,” LouCity head coach Danny Cruz said of the playoff berth. “That’s not the goal for us.”
“What it tells me is that we’re going to have a chance to do what we set out to do,” defender Aiden McFadden added. “It’s nice, but our mind’s on next Saturday.”
If it had been a short sprint, Indy might have seen the checkered flag first. The hosts scored in the second minute through Romario Williams.
LouCity, though, had more gas in the tank.
Aiden McFadden unfurled a beauty of a curler to tie the game just before halftime, and then Louisville revved its engine for a pair of headers from Kevon Lambert and Sean Totsch in the second half to take a commanding lead.
“We all came out second half willing to do whatever the game was asking of us,” Lambert said.
“I found myself isolated, so I drove inside, found a little bit of a window, figured I’d have a go. (I) had a go — happy it went in,” McFadden said of his goal, his third of the season in the league. “Brought me back to the winger days.”
Despite having fewer shots on target (seven to four), LouCity was the more clinical of the two teams Saturday, utilizing set pieces — long throw-ins from Josh Jones — to capitalize.
“We obviously know on a field like this, set pieces become even more critical,” Cruz said of the artificial turf at Carroll Stadium. “The players did a great job executing. Simon deserves a ton of credit. He takes a lot of time to work on those and work through different schemes, and tonight it paid off.”
“I like soccer. There’s a lot of different ways to score,” McFadden said.
It wasn’t just attacking set pieces. Cruz was especially proud of the defensive effort his team produced, defending against an Indy squad known for its set piece prowess.
“I can’t emphasize enough, (Indy) is one of the best if not the best team in the league in their attacking set pieces,” Cruz said, noting that Indy has scored 38% of its goals from set pieces. “Our group were absolute monsters in that phase.”
The only flat tire for the night was an injury to leading scorer Phillip Goodrum, which forced him out of the game in the 40th minute.
With the win, Louisville City is assured to play into November. The Eastern Conference Quarterfinals being held on Nov. 1-2. For more information, head to LouCity.com/playoffs.
The victory also extends LouCity’s lead in the Players’ Shield race to four points over the Charleston Battery, who fell Saturday 1-0 to Rhode Island FC, LouCity’s next opponent.
That game will come at the new Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket in Louisville’s first trip to Rhode Island’s new home. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6.
Game Summary: Indy Eleven vs. Louisville City FC
Date: August 30, 2025
Venue: Michael A. Carroll Stadium
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Weather: 70 degrees, clear
Scoring
Indy Eleven (1, 0, 1)
Louisville City FC (1, 2, 3)
Goals
Indy Eleven:
2′ Indy Eleven: Romario Williams (Aodhan Quinn)
Louisville City FC:
45′ Aiden McFadden (Jansen Wilson)
49′ Kevon Lambert (Niall McCabe)
56′ Sean Totsch (Josh Jones)
Lineups
Indy Eleven: 23 – Reice Charles-Cook; 41 – James Musa, 2 – Josh O’Brien, 30 – Ben Ofeimu, 14 – Aodhan Quinn (c), 6 – Cam Lindley, 5 – James Murphy, 27 – Bruno Rendón, 8 – Jack Blake, 99 – Maalique Foster, 9 – Romario Williams
Substitutes: 0 – Hunter Sulte; 4 – Finn McRobb, 18 – Elliot Collier, 19 – Edward Kizza, 21 – Oliver Brynéus, 22 – Elvis Amoh, 32 – Brem Soumaoro
Head coach: Sean McAuley
Louisville City FC: 12 – Danny Faundez; 2 – Aiden McFadden, 32 – Kyle Adams (c), 5 – Arturo Ordóñez, 24 – Josh Jones, 83 – Brandon Dayes, 17 – Taylor Davila, 31 – Kevon Lambert, 11 – Niall McCabe, 9 – Phillip Goodrum, 25 – Jansen Wilson
Subs not used: 30 – Ryan Troutman; 3 – Jake Morris, 4 – Sean Totsch, 7 – Ray Serrano, 13 – Amadou Dia, 27 – Evan Davila, 53 – Cameron Lancaster, 80 – Hayden Stamps
Head coach: Danny Cruz
Stats Summary: Indy Eleven / Louisville City FC
Shots: 14 / 14
Shots on Goal: 7 / 4
Expected goals: 0.87 / 0.45
Possession: 48.8% / 51.2%
Fouls: 17 / 10
Offside: 3 / 2
Corner Kicks: 5 / 3
Discipline Summary
Indy Eleven:
74′ Maalique Foster (yellow)
Louisville City FC:
65′ Kevon Lambert (yellow)
Referee: Greg Dopka
