Fresh off his first call-up to the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team, Louisville City FC defender Brandon Dayes will return to the starting lineup for his club Saturday, as LouCity hosts the Charleston Battery at 4 p.m. at Lynn Family Stadium.
Dayes, a 17-year-old Louisville native, spent the last week in Portugal participating in the Torneio Internacional de Lisboa with the U.S. squad. He saw action in the tournament. It was his first opportunity to represent the United States at any age level.
He returns to start as the middle of three center backs, with captain Kyle Adams — the reigning USL Championship Defender of the Year — to his left, and USL Championship all-time appearances leader Sean Totsch to his right.
Jake Morris and Manny Perez start at the wingback positions, left and right respectively. In regular-season play, Morris ranks fourth on the team in clearances (11), behind Totsch, Adams and Dayes. Perez leads the team with eight tackles in league play.
In the midfield, Taylor Davila and Zach Duncan start. Davila leads the team with nine chances created. Duncan has contributed a goal this season.
The front three — Ray Serrano, Jansen Wilson and center forward Chris Donovan — have combined for four goals and six assists in the USL Championship this season.
Hugo Fauroux makes his fifth straight start in goal, across all competitions. He has recorded three clean sheets, including last week’s 1-0 league win at Brooklyn FC.
On the bench, five players who started Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup win over Lexington SC are available, including Babacar Niang, who put in a man of the match performance in which he scored his first goal for the club. Also among them is Tola Showunmi, who also scored in the 2-0 Open Cup win and has three goals in the tournament, but has yet to score in league play.
Team sheet vs. Charleston Battery
1 – Hugo Fauroux
3 – Jake Morris
32 – Kyle Adams (c)
5 – Brandon Dayes
4 – Sean Totsch
15 – Manny Perez
8 – Taylor Davila
6 – Zach Duncan
7 – Ray Serrano
25 – Jansen Wilson
9 – Chris Donovan
Substitutes: 30 – Ryan Troutman; 13 – Amadou Dia, 14 – Tola Showunmi, 16 – Carlos Moguel Jr., 19 – Babacar Niang, 23 – Sam Gleadle, 27 – Evan Davila, 47 – Mukwelle Akale, 97 – Thomas Weinrich
