PITTSBURGH — Louisville City FC will play Friday for a return to first place in the USL’s Eastern Conference standings when it meets the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at Highmark Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Team Records
LouCity: 12-3-6 (42 points) in 21 matches; 2nd in the USL’s Eastern Conference standings.
Pittsburgh Riverhounds: 3-12-4 (13 points) in 19 matches; 13th in the USL’s East.
Follow Along
Friday’s game will air, as with other LouCity games, live on Youtube.
For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc on Twitter and Louisville City FC on Facebook. Find us at louisvillecityfc on Instagram.
Vote for LouCity’s Modelo Man of the Match starting at the 75th minute of Sunday’s game on Twitter.
Links
- LouCity “doubling down” effort for Riverhounds game
- Video: James O’Connor, Kadeem Dacres and Paco Craig
- LouCity to appeal USL fines, suspension
- Know the foe: Pittsburgh Riverhounds
- Morad reaches out, wins over new LouCity fan
- USL season expands in 2017; three conferences on the way
- LouCity working to “get past” two losses
Notes
Scoreboard watching: With LouCity and New York Red Bulls II now even in games played, the Red Bulls sit two points up on the Eastern Conference table. Louisville can regain the lead Friday with a victory before New York plays again Aug. 12 against Orlando City B. Two wins in three games also pulled FC Cincinnati to within a point of LouCity in third.
Caution counts: After serving a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation, captain Aodhan Quinn will again be available Friday in LouCity’s midfield. He figures to start aside of Paolo DelPiccolo as Guy Abend sits out a game for receiving his fifth caution of the season. LouCity’s DelPiccolo and Sean Reynolds are both sitting on four yellows, one away from the USL threshold.
Stats leaders: USL Midseason MVP Chandler Hoffman (14 goals) and Midseason Rookie of the Year Kyle Smith (6 assists) are both one off the league lead in their respective categories. Hoffman is chasing the LA Galaxy II’s Jack McBean, who has 15 goals, while the right back Smith is one assist from equaling Sacramento Republic FC’s Daniel Barrera.
Smith gets a rest: The rookie out of Lexington, Ky.’s Transylvania University didn’t appear in Saturday’s loss to Orlando until subbing in for Enrique Montano in stoppage time. It was by design, coach James O’Connor said this week, to proactively prevent injury or other breakdowns caused by a player’s first professional season. Smith’s 1,670 minutes this season at right back are most on the roster.
Injury report: Enrique Montano left the Orlando game after contacted on the head defending a late corner kick. Montano will miss the trip to Pittsburgh while recovering from a concussion. Midfielder Andrew Lubahn, meanwhile, returned to training this week after sitting out due to burn blisters on his feet suffered on 95-degree day July 23 at Cincinnati.
The streak ends: LouCity went into its July 23 game at FC Cincinnati riding a string of 17 straight games unbeaten, five off the USL record set by the 2013 Richmond Kickers. While the roll ended, the club has tallied only three losses this season and remains in contention for a USL title. LouCity’s previous franchise-best undefeated streak was six games in 2015.
Stalwart returns: Since missing more than a month’s worth of games, midfielder Kadeem Dacres is back to playing significant time on the right side of the field. While the effort hasn’t shown up on the stat sheet — he’s without a goal or assist since April 27 — one of LouCity’s leading scorers from a season ago has led a number of attacks and showcased skill with the ball at his feet.
