LouCity will start its most prolific front line in Saturday’s USL Championship playoff game with Miami FC.
The two clubs will face off in the Eastern Conference Semifinal at 7 p.m. at Lynn Family Stadium.
Chris Donovan, Ray Serrano and Jansen Wilson will start together in the front three for Louisville. The trio have combined for 33 goals across all competitions, one-third of LouCity’s total goals scored this season. They have also combined for 18 assists.
They are the only three players with 10 or more goals this season for LouCity. For assists, they rank second, third and fifth on the team, respectively.
Saturday’s game marks the first time since June 3 that the three have started together — though Wilson slotted in at wingback that night in a 1-1 draw at Birmingham Legion FC. The last time Donovan, Serrano and Wilson started together as a front three was May 23, a 4-3 loss at Miami FC.
Notably, the trio started together in both previous meetings with Miami this season.
Overall, LouCity is 3-3-1 in in which all three start, outscoring the opposition 14-12. In those seven games, they have combined for six goals and nine assists.
The trio have linked up four times this season, with one providing the assist on another’s goal — both Donovan and Serrano set up Wilson for goals on March 14 versus Miami, Serrano assisted Wilson on March 21 versus Rhode Island and Serrano facilitated Donovan on May 23 at Miami.
Wilson’s selection for the starting lineup is the only change for interim head coach Simon Bird.
LouCity’s backline sticks together after earning the clean sheet in last week’s 1-0 extra-time win over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Amadou Dia and Manny Perez will play at the wingback places, with captain Kyle Adams, Kevon Lambert and Aiden McFadden in the middle.
That group has started together in five of the last seven games, posting three clean sheets in leading LouCity to a 4-0-1 record.
Notably, Dia tallied the assist in last week’s 1-0 extra-time win over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
Behind them, Ryan Schewe makes his 10th straight start. Last week’s clean sheet was his sixth of the season, a team high. He made one save in the game, increasing his team-high save percentage to 78.5% (22 saves on 28 shots faced).
Taylor Davila and Babacar Niang pair together in the midfield for the seventh time in the last eight games. LouCity is unbeaten in that span, with a 6-0-2 record.
Louisville is unbeaten in Niang’s 14 starts this season with a 9-0-5 record. Overall, Louisville is 14-2-5 this season in games in which Niang appears.
Tola Showunmi, who scored last week’s winner, is among the nine options on the bench. Zach Duncan and Brandon Dayes also came off the bench last week and are available once again. Evan Davila, who started last weeks game and finished tied for the team lead with two shots, joins them.
Jake Morris, Sean Totsch, Mukwelle Akale and Cooper Conley round out the field-player options, with Ryan Troutman serving as backup goalkeeper.
Team sheet vs. Miami FC (USL Championship Playoffs – Eastern Conference Semifinal)
29 – Ryan Schewe
13 – Amadou Dia
32 – Kyle Adams (c)
31 – Kevon Lambert
2 – Aiden McFadden
15 – Manny Perez
8 – Taylor Davila
19 – Babacar Niang
7 – Ray Serrano
25 – Jansen Wilson
9 – Chris Donovan
Available substitutes: 30 – Ryan Troutman; 3 – Jake Morris, 4 – Sean Totsch, 5 – Brandon Dayes, 6 – Zach Duncan, 14 – Tola Showunmi, 27 – Evan Davila, 47 – Mukwelle Akale, 99 – Cooper Conley
