It’s safe to say the 9,009 in attendance Saturday at Lynn Family Stadium enjoyed the show.
Behind a three-goal first half, Louisville City FC coasted to a comfortable, 4-1 victory over Miami FC in the club’s 2026 home opener.
Four different players found the back of the net for the hosts, and three goal scorers — Ray Serrano, Chris Donovan and Jansen Wilson — also tallied an assist. As a result, LouCity extended its unbeaten run in regular season home games to 25 matches.
City wasted no time Saturday as Aiden McFadden registered an eighth-minute opener. Louisville controlled the match from there, with only an Alessandro Milesi strike just before halftime threatening its grip on the three points.
“I thought we started the game, obviously, really, really well,” head coach Danny Cruz said. “On the front foot, we talked about setting the intensity here at home. We continue to try to make this place a fortress, as we have over the last couple of years.
“I thought at halftime, we had to get into them a little bit with how we finished the half, but ultimately, I thought it was a pretty dominant performance. I think most importantly, actually, we grew from the game against Lexington, which is really what we were looking for.”
After McFadden’s goal, Ray Serrano doubled the lead 20 minutes later on a curling shot from range. Chris Donovan followed suit soon after, logging his first LouCity goal with a header off a corner from Jansen Wilson.
“(The) first goal is always special. You want to get out of the blocks early,” said Donovan, who joined LouCity from the Philadelphia Union. “… Very happy to get one today. It was a great ball in from Janney (Jansen Wilson). Just found some space, ball met my head, and got it to the back of the net.”
Milesi gave the visitors some slight hope by way of a goal two minutes before halftime. But Wilson put the game out of reach in the 68th minute courtesy of efficient two-man play with Serrano.
LouCity finished with a 2.28 to 0.35 expected goals advantage. Louisville also tripled Miami’s shot total and numbered 20 more touches inside the opposition’s box.
City’s off to a 2-0 start now after rallying to defeat rival Lexington SC in last weekend’s opener.
“(This result) gives us a lot of confidence going into the rest of the season,” Serrano said. “We’re all excited to take on the rest of the season. We know it’s going to be a long one, but we’re all brothers. It’s a strong brotherhood in the locker room, and we’re really excited for it.”
The boys in purple will shift their attention from here to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. America’s knockout national championship tournament opens Wednesday with a 7 p.m. matchup against Southern Indiana FC at Lynn Family Stadium. General admission tickets are just $10 at LouCity.com/opencup.
The cup match is one of two for City at home next week, with Rhode Island FC coming to town on Saturday afternoon in USL Championship play.
Game Summary: Louisville City FC vs. Miami FC
Date: March 14, 2025
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium
Kickoff: 4 p.m. ET
Weather: 60 degrees, sunny
Attendance: 9,009
Scoring
Louisville City FC (3, 1, 4)
Miami FC (1, 0, 1)
Goals
Louisville City FC:
8’ Aiden McFadden (Chris Donovan)
28’ Ray Serrano (Taylor Davila)
30’ Chris Donovan (Jansen Wilson)
68’ Jansen Wilson (Ray Serrano)
Miami FC:
43’ Alessandro Milesi
Lineups
Louisville City FC: 30 – Ryan Troutman; 3 – Jake Morris, 32 – Kyle Adams (c) (75’ 15 – Manny Perez), 5 – Brandon Dayes, 4 – Sean Totsch, 2 – Aiden McFadden (86’ 16 – Carlos Moguel Jr.), 8 – Taylor Davila (90’+1 19 – Babacar Niang), 31 – Kevon Lambert (46’ 6 – Zach Duncan), 7 – Ray Serrano (75’ 21 – Quenzi Huerman), 25 – Jansen Wilson, 9 – Chris Donovan
Subs not used: 12 – Danny Faundez; 14 – Tola Showunmi
Head Coach: Danny Cruz
Miami FC: 1 – Eloy Room (c); 21 – Alessandro Milesi, 6 – Tulu (62’ 3 – Preston Kilwien), 4 – Angelo Calfo, 8 – Matías Romero, 23 – Tommy Musto (76’ 5 – Riyon Tori), 16 – Gerald Díaz (46’ 12 – Bachir Ndiaye), 27 – Mathieu Ndongo (76’ 35 – Brandon Bent), 26 – Arney Rocha (61’ 7 – Mason Tunbridge), 9 – Joel Soñora, 10 – Jürgen Locadia
Subs not used: 31 – Felipe Rodriguez; 37 – Diego Mello
Head Coach: Gastón Maddoni
Stats: Louisville City FC / Miami FC
Shots: 25 / 7
Shots on Goal: 9 / 2
Expected goals: 2.28 / 0.35
Possession: 53.1% / 46.9%
Fouls: 9 / 9
Offside: 3 / 1
Corner Kicks: 12 / 0
Discipline Summary
Louisville City FC:
80’ Jansen Wilson (yellow)
Referee: Joshua Encarnación
