LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The United Soccer League announced its 2016 regular season schedule on Tuesday, offering a road map to the USL Championship for Louisville City FC as it enters its second season. LouCity, again playing all 15 home games at Louisville Slugger Field in downtown Louisville, will open the regular season on the road — at Charlotte Independence — on March 26 with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Louisville City will then play a pair of home matches in front of their supporters, against New York Red Bulls II — with a special 3 p.m. kickoff on April 2 — and first-year club Orlando City B on April 9. All Louisville City home games will kick off at 7:30 p.m., excluding the home opener.
“We are excited about the schedule being officially released,” Louisville City coach James O’Connor said. “We are just ready to get our players back in here and get back to work after a long offseason, but it’s always nice to know a date, place and opponent that you are working to compete against.
“Its important for the supporters to be ready for an exciting second season; I know they’ve been on the lookout for the schedule for some time. There’s no other way to describe this year’s schedule than as exciting.”
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Just months removed from a historic first season that ended in the Eastern Conference final, LouCity will face each Eastern Conference club a minimum of two times (home/away) — with a trio of matchups against first-year clubs FC Cincinnati and Orlando City B.
“The new teams coming into USL are just a testament to the great work the league has done,” O’Connor said. “The level of competition is being raised and it’s not stopping.”
Louisville City will also play a pair of cross-conference match ups against Western Conference newcomer Saint Louis FC. Louisville City will host Saint Louis FC on May 14 and visit them on Sept. 17. In 2015 — both Clubs’ inaugural season — LouCity and Saint Louis FC split the series with a win apiece and two draws.
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Former MLS-affiliate Orlando City will send new affiliate Orlando City B into three head-to-head match ups with Louisville City — in Louisville on April 9 and July 30, and in Orlando on June 5. In a friendly in 2015, Louisville City downed Orlando’s MLS side, 3-1, at Slugger Field.
Louisville City faces a 2015 postseason rematch on May 28 when Charleston Battery comes to Louisville, and again when LouCity visits Charleston on July 9. An Eastern Conference final rematch between Rochester Rhinos and LouCity will be played in Rochester on June 18 and in Louisville on Aug. 13.
Season tickets for Louisville City’s second season are available now.
USL will continue in a two-conference format, with 14 teams making up the Eastern Conference and 15 teams making up the Western Conference. The 30-game regular season will be conducted over 27 weeks, concluding on Sept. 25.
The team with the best record across both conferences will earn the 2016 USL Regular Season trophy. The top eight teams in each conference will then advance to the 2016 USL Playoffs, which will see a single-elimination bracket crown two conference champions. The two conference champions will advance to the 2016 USL Championship, to be hosted by the conference champion with the better regular-season record.
Fans can stay up to date with all of Louisville City’s breaking news, roster updates and ticketing information by following the Club on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Season tickets are available for Louisville City’s historic second season via the Club’s official website.
