LOUISVILLE, Ky. – In a rematch of last year’s United Soccer League Eastern Conference final, Louisville City FC and the Rochester Rhinos meet again Saturday with roles reversed. It’s LouCity the favorite and Rochester the underdog for a 6:05 p.m. matchup at Rhinos Stadium in New York.
Team Records:
LouCity: 8-1-4 (28 points) in 13 matches; first in the USL’s Eastern Conference standings.
Rochester: 5-3-3 (18 points) in 11 matches; sixth in the USL’s East.
Follow Live:
Watch the broadcast live on YouTube.
For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc and @loucityespanol on Twitter, andLouisville City FC on Facebook. Find us at louisvillecityfc on Instagram and loucityfc on Snapchat.
Vote for LouCity’s Modelo Man of the Match near the end of Saturday’s game on Twitter.
Additional links:
Preview: Streaks on the line Saturday
Know the foe: Rochester Rhinos
Official Rochester-LouCity watch party details
LouCity’s Reynolds raises injured teen’s spirits
LouCity players respond with “first class” attitude
Top of the table: LouCity carries into the weekend the best record in the 29-team United Soccer League sporting 28 points, one better than New York Red Bulls II. The Red Bulls, who have played one less match this season than Louisville, are at Orlando City B on Sunday.
Power poll: New York’s recent run of four straight 1-0 victories moved the Red Bulls to No. 1 for the first time this season in the USL’s latest power rankings. LouCity, on an 11-match unbeaten streak in USL play, sits second after its 2-2 draw Saturday against the Wilmington Hammerheads.
New addition: The successor to Harvard Medical School-bound Scott Goodwin was named last week when LouCity signed Tim Dobrowolski, a two-time Missouri Valley Conference Goalkeeper of the Year out of Loyola University Chicago. Dobrowolski posted 11 shutouts in 19 games last season as a senior and boasted a 0.40 goals against average, second best in the nation.
Rasmussen returns: Midfielder Rasmussen came on in the 59th minute of the Wilmington match as a substitute for Mark-Anthony Kaye, sending supporters at Louisville Slugger Field into a frenzy. A player that scored LouCity’s first-ever goal in 2015’s inaugural match — then went on to tally eight in all — has spent months rehabbing after undergoing surgery.
Hoffman on a roll: Striker Chandler Hoffman moved into second in USL scoring June 11 by netting both of LouCity’s goals against Wilmington. With 10 total, he navigated past a drought that saw the forward go five USL matches without a goal. Hoffman has now recorded three multi-goal matches, including one hat trick in an April 16 victory at FC Cincinnati.
Honorable mention: The USL mentioned Hoffman on Tuesday when naming its Team of the Week as a member of the bench team.The league gave its Team of the Week spots at forward to FC Cincinnati’s Sean Okoli (two goals in a 2-1 win) and Swope Park’s Mark Anthony Gonzalez (three goals in two games).
GD4 available: Out against Wilmington after sent off with a red card in LouCity’s June 5 win at Orlando, midfielder George Davis IV can re-enter the lineup after serving a one-game suspension. Defender Ben Newnam will continue to sit Saturday at Rochester, the second game of thee he’s out due to a USL discipline decision. The Rhinos’ Vasileios Apostolopoulos will also sit Saturday due to yellow card accumulation.
Solid road record: LouCity has notched a majority of its victories away from Louisville Slugger Field this year, going 5-0-1 in USL road matches. The club’s schedule is back-loaded with home matches. After traveling to Rochester, Louisville will stay in town for four straight starting Tuesday against Toronto FC II.
Late goals: While transitioning from Scott Goodwin as the starting keeper to Greg Ranjitsingh, LouCity posted five straight shutouts in USL play before allowing goals in its last two matches. Both against Orlando — while playing with 10 men — and versus Wilmington, one of those scores came in stoppage time.
On the air: Louisville City FC has partnered with 790 WKRD and iHeartMedia to launch the area’s first soccer-specific radio show that debuts Saturday from 9-10 a.m. on Louisville’s Sports Station. Listen to “Soccer City,” presented by LouCity, online at louisvillecityfc.com/soccercity.
