Louisville City FC capped a landmark week off the pitch Saturday when the boys in purple did what they always do on it: advance to the United Soccer League’s Eastern Conference Final.
Midfielder Brian Ownby — brought on as a halftime substitute — helped his side overcome a frustrating start, scoring in the 78th minute of a 1-0 playoff win over the Rochester Rhinos at Slugger Field.
Coach James O’Connor’s club advanced to the USL’s version of the final four for a third straight year since starting play in 2015, with the victory just days after Louisville’s Metro Council approved a stadium plan to cement the club’s long-term future.
“It’s very difficult to get here,” O’Connor said. “…To get to the Eastern Conference (Final) is great but, equally, we’ve been there twice and we haven’t won. There’s no point in getting there if you aren’t going to win.”
LouCity set up a rematch of 2016’s postseason game against the New York Red Bulls II, who knocked off the Tampa Bay Rowdies by a 2-1 score Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. next Saturday, also at Slugger Field, with tickets available at LouisvilleCityFC.com.
Ownby had threatened minutes before his goal when a touch pass found striker Luke Spencer at the face of goal. That time, Rhinos goalkeeper Tomas Gomez made the save.
When it came to a nifty give-and-go sequence between Ownby and Smith, the keeper wasn’t so fortunate. Smith one-touched it back to Ownby, who slotted his shot by Gomez for the go-ahead strike.
It sent 7,117 fans into a frenzy on a chilly night at Slugger.
“I told Kyle before the game, if I’m in there with you just look for me running behind. I’m going to try and beat them with my speed,” Ownby said. “He put in a good ball, the keeper came out, I just tried to get it on frame, and it worked out.”
Named LouCity’s Man of the Match, Greg Ranjitsingh remained busy after the goal, making his third save of night in the 90th minute. A fourth came just before the final whistle via an on-target free kick from the Rhinos’ Julian Buscher.
“We know Rochester’s a tough opponent,” Ranjitsingh said. “It’s going to be a gritty game. They like to fight, and I’m just happy that all the guys were able to just fight through it and grind out a result.”
The boys in purple nearly doubled their lead three minutes into stoppage time when — guess who? — Ownby led a counter, then laid off a pass to Mark-Anthony Kaye. It took a diving stop to prevent another goal.
Kaye also came on out of the half following a stagnant opening 45 minutes for LouCity. While the home side controlled 57 percent of possession, it didn’t lead to attacks, with Rochester out-shooting LouCity 9-2. The Rhinos also totaled 21 crosses to LouCity’s three.
“I was really disappointed with how we played first half, but I think second half we were great,” O’Connor said. “Rochester deserves enormous credit. I think first half they played really well. I thought they really did. But again, the impact that Mark-Anthony and Brian were able to make epitomizes what we’ve been able to do over the course of the season where we’ve had guys who can step in and impact the game.
“It was great to see that.”
In 2015, LouCity fell to eventual champion Rochester 1-0 in the Eastern Conference Final. Last year, the New York Red Bulls II defeated the boys in purple in penalty kicks. Now, O’Connor’s squad has a another chance to take its season a step further.
Game Recap
Match: Louisville City FC vs Rochester Rhinos
Date: October 28, 2017
Venue: Louisville Slugger Field | Louisville, KY
Kickoff: 7:35 pm
Weather: 40 degrees, partly cloudy
Attendance: 7,117
Man of the Match: Greg Ranjitsingh
Scoring
Louisville City FC (0,1,1)
Rochester (0,0,0)
Goals
Louisville City:
78’ – Brian Ownby took the late lead after slipping the ball past the Rochester goalkeeper off an assist from Kyle Smith
Lineups
Louisville City starting lineup: 1 Greg Ranjitsingh, 24 Kyle Smith, 6 Tarek Morad, 4 Sean Totsch, 18 Paco Craig, 19 Oscar Jimenez, 36 Paolo DelPiccolo, 80 Devon Williams, 12 Luke Spencer, 11 Niall McCabe (7 Mark-Anthony Kaye – 45’), 22 George Davis IV (10 Brian Ownby – 45’)
Louisville City sub: 28 Tim Dobrowolski, 14 Ilija Ilic, 9 Cameron Lancaster, 8 Guy Abend, 23 Richard Ballard
Head coach: James O’Connor
Rochester starting lineup: 23 Tomas Gomez, 20 Todd Pratzner, 15 Joe Farrell, 3 Ryan Felix (25 Sergio Campbell – 78’), 5 Jordan Dover (27 Julian Buescher – 83’), 2 Ray Lee, 7 Ryan James, 6 Christiano Francois, 11 Kenardo Forbes, 17 Wal Fall (10 Sofiane Tergou – 82’), 12 Jochen Graf
Rochester starting subs: 33 Dan Lynd, 8 Brandon Beresford, 13 Mike Garzi, 9 Stefan Defregger
Head coach: Bob Lilley
Discipline
Louisville City:
52’ – Oscar Jimenez, yellow
90’+2 – Greg Ranjitsingh, yellow
Rochester:
55’ – Ryan Felix, yellow
Stats
Louisville City FC/Rochester Rhinos
Shots: 12/13
Shots on target: 6/4
Possession (%): 55.9/44.1
Passes: 530/389
Corners: 2/3
Fouls: 15/12
Officials
Referee: VICTOR RIVAS
Assistant referee 1: Jeffrey Swartzel
Assistant referee 2: Benjamin Hall-Volpenhein
4th official: Evan Sizemore
