In the ever-expanding United Soccer League, many franchises use affiliations with Major League Soccer clubs to strengthen their rosters, while a more recent movement led to the MLS creating its own USL sides for development.
Louisville City FC took first place in the USL’s Eastern Conference in May and held it through June with the aid of neither. The club has witnessed both the benefits and challenges, however, of having to face opponents such as the one LouCity meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Slugger Field.
The last time Louisville and Toronto FC II met, on May 4, the hosts from Canada loaded their roster with eight players loaned from the MLS level. It’s next-level talent, but it doesn’t always mesh with the same success as a USL club with significant practice time together.
LouCity won that meeting by a 2-0 score and will look for a similar result in the rematch. The club enters with a 12-match unbeaten streak and off a 1-0 victory Saturday at Rochester, which hadn’t lost at home since August of 2014.
Team Records:
LouCity: 9-1-4 (31 points) in 14 matches; first in the USL’s Eastern Conference standings.
Toronto: 3-8-4 (13 points) in 15 matches; 12th in the USL’s East.
Follow Live:
Watch the broadcast on YouTube with play-by-play by Jim Wombwell and commentary from Bob Valvano.
For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc and @loucityespanol on Twitter, and Louisville 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:
New LouCity goalie a ‘really good’ lefty
Know the foe: Toronto FC II
LouCity topples Rochester, ends streak
Debut edition of the ‘Soccer City’ radio show
Time change: With the United States set to play at 9 p.m. Tuesday in the Copa America semifinals, Louisville City FC adjusted the start time for the Toronto FC II match to accommodate fans wanting to watch both. The start is now set for 7 p.m. at Slugger Field rather than 7:30 p.m.
Top of the table: An 87th-minute goal Sunday by Orlando City B against New York Red Bulls II forced a 2-2 draw with the club closest to LouCity in the USL’s Eastern Conference standings. While New York has a game in hand, Louisville is now a full three points ahead of the Red Bulls. LouCity will play the first of four straight home games against Toronto.
Quick turnaround: Only one other time this season has Louisville City FC played back-to-back USL matches with just two full days between them. Then, the second game also came against Toronto following a scoreless draw with the Bethlehem Steel. Tuesday’s match also measures up as the third in 10 days for LouCity, which is well on pace to make the USL playoffs and potentially host games at Louisville Slugger Field.
Toronto represented: Two players on LouCity’s roster, midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye and goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh, were born in the visitors’ city. Kaye has an especially close connection to Toronto FC II having come up through the academy before playing there last season. In May, Kaye also made a pair of appearances for Canada’s U23 national team.
Hoffman on a roll: Striker Chandler Hoffman enters the week tied for second in the USL in scoring with 10 goals. He’s in the running for the league’s golden boot along with LA Galaxy II’s Jack McBean (12 goals) and Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2’s Kyle Greig. Hoffman has three multi-goal matches this season, including a hat trick April 16 at FC Cincinnati.
Familiar faces back: As an 84th-minute substitute, Kadeem Dacres entered Saturday’s 1-0 victory over the Rochester Rhinos and in the process logged his first minutes in USL play since a May 14 match against Saint Louis FC. A game earlier, on June 11 against the Wilmington Hammerheads, Magnus Rasmussen made his season debut on the comeback from a hip injury. Rasmussen scored 8 goals for LouCity in 2015 and Dacres 6.
Lubahn padding stats: Midfielder Andrew Lubahn, who scored the decisive goal against Rochester, notched his third of the year. He’s second to Hoffman on LouCity’s roster having converted nearly half of his eight shots. The Wake Forest product played last year for the Harrisburg City Islanders.
Another clean sheet: Upon making his first start of the season May 1 at Bethlehem Steel, goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh strung together five straight shutout efforts. He returned to form Saturday at Rochester after LouCity allowed three goals at Orlando City B and two against the Wilmington Hammerheads. Ranjitsingh had help from two fresh faces on the back line, as defender Paco Craig made his first pro start and Enrique Montano his second of 2016.
Recent 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.
