For the second time in club history, Louisville City FC has defeated an opponent from Major League Soccer in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Louisville used an overwhelming first-half performance to upend Austin FC 2-1 Tuesday night at Lynn Family Stadium, advancing to the Round of 16 of the 111th edition of the annual tournament.
LouCity advances to face either the Houston Dynamo (MLS) or El Paso Locomotive FC (USL Championship) on the road. The two Texas clubs meet Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston. LouCity will be the visiting team in the next round, regardless of the opponent.
“You could see what it meant to the locker room, by the effort that was put out there,” LouCity veteran Sean Totsch said. “I mean, I think it goes without saying that anyone who watched the game tonight knew that we wanted it and we wanted it the whole time.”
Louisville overran Austin for a roughly 15-minute stretch in the first half, scoring two goals. Five of Louisville’s nine shots in the first period were on target. Totsch headed in a Taylor Davila corner kick to open the scoring in the 26th minute.
Then, six minutes later, Tola Showunmi overpowered an Austin defender, muscling through him to finish a Manny Perez cross in the 32nd minute.
Louisville played with confidence, flair and energy — and in the second half, it survived.
The MLS side, with a reported roster payroll of nearly $11 million, flipped the switch after halftime, controlling the game. In the second period, Austin kept a whopping 74.4% of the possession, generating eight shots including five on target.
Austin got a goal back in the 70th minute, when Joseph Rosales whipped a tantalizing ball into the Louisville box from a dead ball, leading to a CJ Fodrey header past Louisville’s Hugo Fauroux.
From there, Louisville’s grit and determination carried the boys in purple to the win.
Despite having little of the ball, Louisville maximized its opportunities on the break. When the chance wasn’t there, they took the ball to the corner to milk time from the clock.
“The second half was a grind, and we knew it would be,” LouCity interim head coach Simon Bird said. “We talked about it at halftime, and the subs came on and finished the game out well.”
In the end, it was a landmark win for Louisville and Bird, who was an assistant coach for four matchups against MLS opponents in this tournament, all losses.
Now, as the head coach, he’s led the club to its first victory over an MLS club in nearly eight years.
“We talked all week about standards, expectations, accountability,” Bird said. “I thought the guys came out and really did a good job from a character standpoint, mentality standpoint, against a very, very good team who caused us problems. We defended, we grinded for each other, and I was really proud.”
In a tournament that sees many MLS teams rotate lineups, Austin’s lineup Tuesday was strong: two of Austin’s three designated players, Facundo Torres and Myrto Uzuni, started. Still, LouCity put on a performance to be proud of.
“I thought we were the better team,” LouCity midfielder Taylor Davila said. “Obviously, at the end of the game, they were going for it, but it was a better performance for us after the last two games.”
Boosted by the win, Louisville returns to USL Championship play on Saturday with another big occasion on the books, Thunder Over Louisville Day, hoping to end a two-game winless run in the league.
It marks the first time Louisville City FC has hosted a home game coinciding with the annual fireworks and air show, and the club is expecting a season-high crowd.
Gates open at 12 p.m. for the 5 p.m. kickoff and Lynn Family Stadium will remain open through the night for the fireworks. For tickets and more information, visit LouCity.com/Thunder.
Game Summary: Louisville City FC vs. Austin FC
Date: April 14, 2026
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Weather: 82 degrees, clear
Attendance: 6,023
Scoring
Louisville City FC (2, 0, 2)
Austin FC (0, 1, 1)
Goals
Louisville City FC:
26′ Sean Totsch (Taylor Davila)
32′ Tola Showunmi (Manny Perez)
Austin FC:
70′ CJ Fodrey (Joseph Rosales)
Lineups
Louisville City FC: 1 – Hugo Fauroux, 3 – Jake Morris (85′ 13 – Amadou Dia), 32 – Kyle Adams (c), 5 – Brandon Dayes, 4 – Sean Totsch, 15 – Manny Perez (51′ 25 – Jansen Wilson), 8 – Taylor Davila, 6 – Zach Duncan (85′ 19 – Babacar Niang), 7 – Ray Serrano, 27 – Evan Davila (63′ 47 – Mukwelle Akale), 14 – Tola Showunmi (63′ 9 – Chris Donovan)
Subs not used: 12 – Danny Faundez; 16 – Carlos Moguel Jr.
Interim Head Coach: Simon Bird
Austin FC: 12 – Damian Las; 15 – Jon Bell, 4 – Brendan Hines-Ike (c), 35 – Mateja Djordevic (45′ 30 – Joseph Rosales), 29 – Guilherme Biro, 8 – Dani Pereira (11′ 14 – Besard Sabovic), 20 – Nicolás Dubersarsky (64′ 19 – CJ Fodrey), 3 – Mikkel Desler (78′ 23 – Zan Kolmanic), 7 – Jayden Nelson (64′ 16 – Robert Taylor), 10 – Myrto Uzuni, 11 – Facundo Torres
Subs not used: 1 – Brad Stuver, 5 – Oleksandr Svatok
Head coach: Nico Estévez
Stats Summary: Louisville City FC / Austin FC
Shots: 14 / 16
Shots on Goal: 7 / 3
Expected goals: 1.44 / 1.43
Possession: 29.4% / 70.6%
Fouls: 13 / 10
Offsides: 3 / 1
Corner Kicks: 9 / 7
Discipline Summary:
Louisville City FC:
11′ Manny Perez (yellow)
52′ Taylor Davila (yellow)
90’+4 Hugo Fauroux (yellow)
Austin FC:
64′ Jon Bell (yellow)
67′ Brendan Hines-Ike (yellow)
Referee: Calin Radosav
