Louisville City FC is on the brink of history.
If the club advances past San Antonio FC on Tuesday, LouCity would reach just its fifth final in club history and first since 2022.
Kickoff in the Prinx Tires USL Cup semifinal between LouCity and San Antonio is set for 8:30 p.m. ET at Toyota Field in Texas.
The final will be played Sunday, Oct. 4, at 3 p.m. ET, airing nationally on ESPN2. The USL will determine the host of the final in a draw on Wednesday.
The stakes of reaching the final are clear, but there’s more than just club history on the line in this tournament.
Winning the tournament would give LouCity its third trophy in three years, adding the USL Cup to the club’s Players’ Shield titles from the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
That would put Louisville in rarefied air — LouCity would become just the second club in United Soccer League history to win three or more trophies over a three-year span while also winning one trophy in three consecutive seasons.
Orlando City SC won five trophies from 2011 to 2014 — three Players’ Shields and two USL Championship Playoff titles — lifting at least one trophy each season during the four-year fun.
Add in the USL’s other professional league, the third-division League One, and LouCity would be just the third professional club in United Soccer League history to win three or more trophies in a three-year span.
Union Omaha won five trophies in a four-year window from 2021 to 2024, though the club did not manage trophies in three consecutive years — Omaha went without a title in 2022.
When it comes to the matchup with San Antonio, LouCity will use history — more recent history — to help prepare. Tuesday will mark exactly one month since the last meeting between the two clubs, a 1-1 tie in Louisville.
Since then, Louisville has gone 1-1-3, while San Antonio has gone 3-2-1, in all competitions.
Most recently, both sides are coming off a tie — LouCity took a point at Rhode Island FC Saturday, 1-1, while San Antonio hosted FC Tulsa in a 0-0 stalemate.
“I think if you speak to anyone in the league, any coach in the league, they’ll tell you that San Antonio, in possession, are the best team from a rotation and movement standpoint,” LouCity interim head coach Simon Bird said. “I think we can cause them a lot of problems ourselves with the game plan that we’re working on. We posed them problems when we played them at our place, so we’re confident going in.”
Follow Along
• The game will air locally on WBKI/The CW, with local radio coverage on ESPN Louisville’s 680 AM and 105.7 FM.
• To watch streaming coverage of the game, log on to ESPN+ or WDRB+WAVE.
• For starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc on Twitter. Also, find the club at louisvillecityfc on Instagram and Louisville City FC on Facebook.
Storylines…
2022 rematch: Tuesday won’t be the first time LouCity and San Antonio have met deep in the heart of Texas with high stakes on the line. The two sides met in the USL Championship Final in 2022, a 3-1 San Antonio win at Toyota Field.
Penalty kings: Should Tuesday’s game go to penalty kicks, LouCity has enjoyed lots of success in shootouts in its history. LouCity has participated in nine penalty shootouts all-time, winning seven. That includes two in this season’s Prinx Tires USL Cup, at Detroit City FC in the group stage and at the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the quarterfinal.
Totsch from the spot: Sean Totsch scored from the penalty spot in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Rhode Island FC. He has now converted 16 of the 17 penalty kicks he has attempted in his career, all coming with Louisville City FC. If you include penalty shootouts, Totsch is 20 for 22 from the spot in his career.
Schewe steps in: Saturday’s 1-1 draw saw the debut of new LouCity goalkeeper Ryan Schewe, who joined the club on loan from Sporting Kansas City last week. Schewe came on in the 68th minute, replacing Danny Faundez after an injury, making one save. Asked afterward about the potential for penalties Tuesday, Schewe said, “I’m confident. You have to be to make it to this level, I believe, as a goalkeeper. So, yeah, no, I back myself completely.”
