Twice in 26 days, Louisville City FC ventured down I-64 into hostile territory — and twice the boys in purple left winners.
LouCity left little to doubt Wednesday night in a 2-0 victory at Lexington SC, both advancing out of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup’s Second Round and improving its all-time record against the rival club to 5-0.
In contrast to LouCity’s first trip to Lexington on opening weekend, Louisville didn’t need to rally for its result. Outside of a few early moments, the visitors controlled the game, using goals from Babacar Niang and Tola Showunmi on either side of the halftime whistle en route to the win.
U.S. Soccer will draw the Open Cup’s Round of 32 — to be played April 15-16 as Major League Soccer clubs enter the tournament — at 9 a.m. Thursday.
“I think overall we probably absorbed a little bit more pressure than we wanted,” said interim head coach Simon Bird. “I think when we won the ball and connected that first pass, we were exceptional. I thought (this was) one of our better games with the ball in possession. We moved it at a high tempo.
“Obviously, getting the goal when we did, I think, helped because we were under a little bit of pressure in that first half. The goal settled us down. … Really pleased with the performance. Really pleased with the mentality, the work rate, so a good day for us.”
The boys in purple are 6-0 so far this season across all competitions, with Wednesday marking their third clean sheet in four games. The club is also 4-0 since former coach Danny Cruz left for the MLS ranks, handing the managerial reins to Bird.
Niang, a midfielder on loan from MLS’ Minnesota United, scored his first LouCity goal in the 23rd minute, finding himself in the right place at the right time to finish off a scrap in the box set up by Jansen Wilson’s inswinging free kick.
The strike, as Bird mentioned, allowed City to click into gear. Showunmi, who netted both goals in a First Round Open Cup win over Southern Indiana FC, registered another six minutes into the second half. The forward set the goalkeeper off by redirecting a shot from Mukwelle Akale into the back of the net.
Reflecting on the finish, Showunmi said, “I had a sense (of) where I was. The ball was coming toward me (and) I’m thinking if I redirect it, the keeper’s got no chance. … (I thought) just get a little flick onto it, and it’s gone in.”
City, like the top side it is, gave up little to nothing to the hosts following Showunmi’s goal. Louisville has now outscored opponents 9-2 under Bird.
“We haven’t missed a beat,” Akale said of the coaching change. “It was a smooth transition. We come in, we’re doing the same things. We have the same values, same mentality: We’re going to go out there and win.”
Louisville will look to maintain this positive momentum in USL Championship play, facing the Charleston Battery on Saturday at Lynn Family Stadium. It’s a matchup between clubs that finished 1-2 in the Players’ Shield both of the last two years.
Game Summary: Lexington SC vs. Louisville City FC
Date: April 1, 2026
Venue: Lexington SC Stadium
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Weather: 75 degrees, cloudy
Scoring
Lexington SC (0, 0, 0)
Louisville City FC (1, 1, 2)
Goals
Louisville City FC:
23’ Babacar Niang
51’ Tola Showunmi (Mukwelle Akale)
Lineups
Lexington SC: 17 – Oliver Semmle; 22 – Joe Hafferty, 5 – Kendall Burks (84’ 23 – Javain Brown), 4 – Arturo Ordóñez, 2 – Jacob Greene (81’ 18 – Malik Henry-Scott), 6 – Aaron Molloy (c), 7 – Marcus Epps (62’ 12 – Xavier Zengue), 11 – Alfredo Midence, 16 – Blaine Ferri, 9 – Phillip Goodrum, 8 – Nick Firmino (62’ 10 – Michael Adedokun)
Subs not used: 40 – Garrett Addams; 19 – Tarik Scott, 26 – Jonathan Stout
Head Coach: Masaki Hemmi
Louisville City FC: 1 – Hugo Fauroux; 3 – Jake Morris (61’ 13 – Amadou Dia), 16 – Carlos Moguel Jr., 32 – Kyle Adams (c), 4 – Sean Totsch, 23 – Sam Gleadle (61’ 15 – Manny Perez), 19 – Babacar Niang, 8 – Taylor Davila (78’ 6 – Zach Duncan), 25 – Jansen Wilson (61’ 7 – Ray Serrano), 47 – Mukwelle Akale (81’ 27 – Evan Davila), 14 – Tola Showunmi
Subs not used: 30 – Ryan Troutman; 9 – Chris Donovan
Interim Head Coach: Simon Bird
Stats Summary: Lexington SC / Louisville City FC
Shots: 10 / 14
Shots on Goal: 4 / 6
Expected goals: 0.36 / 1.80
Possession: 62.6% / 37.4%
Fouls: 8 / 8
Offside: 3 / 0
Corner Kicks: 4 / 2
Referee: Amin Hadzic
