First-place Louisville City FC will meet one of the hottest teams in the United Soccer League on Saturday when hosting the Charleston Battery, winners of three straight games and four of five overall since defeated in May by LouCity.
Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Louisville Slugger Field. Tickets remain available.
Team Records
LouCity: 10-1-5 (35 points) in 16 matches; 1st in the USL’s Eastern Conference standings.
Charleston Battery: 9-4-3 (30 points) in 16 matches; 4th in the USL’s East.
Follow Live
Saturday’s game will air, as with other regular-season LouCity matches, live on Youtube. Jim Wombwell (play by play) and Bob Valvano (color commentary) have the call.
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 starting at the 75th minute of Saturday’s game on Twitter.
Notes
Top of the table: LouCity has for the last month sat atop the Eastern Conference standings, boosted by its unbeaten streak and frequency of games. But a victory Monday over FC Montreal pushed the club six points ahead of second-place New York Red Bulls II, which have two games in hand but would need to win them both to remain on track to catch Louisville.
Playoffs rematch: The last time LouCity and Charleston met at Slugger Field, a trip to the USL semifinals was at stake. Eventual league MVP Matt Fondy scored his 23rd and 24th goals of the season — both in overtime — to propel LouCity in front of 8,517 fans. The clubs have played once this season, when on May 28 a 2-0 Louisville win ended the Battery’s two-year home unbeaten run.
Game giveaways: Two hours before kickoff, LouCity’s el Jimador Tequila Pitch Party will feature a number of free items for fans, including purple cups featuring the team logo and Coopers’ Craft, a new bourbon made by Brown-Forman. Limited supplies of el Jimador sunglasses, soccer balls, lip balm and other items will be handed in the lot West of Slugger Field as well.
Long way until a record: While at 15 straight games unbeaten in USL play, LouCity has a ways to go before setting a new league record. The Richmond Kickers opened the 2013 season by going undefeated for 22 matches before knocked off by the Battery.
Creating chances: LouCity fired a season-high 25 shots Monday in a 2-0 win over FC Montreal at Slugger Field. While only six were on goal, multiple attempts bounced off the posts and crossbar. George Davis IV, who scored his third goal on the season in the 11th minute, led the attack with six shots.
A new name: With Scott Goodwin off to Harvard Medical School, his replacement on the roster, Tim Dobrowolski, is expected to make his first appearance on the lineup card as a professional player on Saturday. The backup to Greg Ranjitsingh is a Loyola University of Chicago product twice named Missouri Valley Conference Goalkeeper of the Year.
Midseason awards: The USL on Thursday put striker Chandler Hoffman and right back Kyle Smith on its fan vote ballots for Midseason MVP and Rookie of the Year, respectively. Hoffman is the league’s active leading scorer with 11 goals, while Smith is tied for the assists lead at 5.
The ESPYs, too: At ESPNLouisville.com, the online home of AM 680 and FM 105.7, voting started Wednesday for the local ESPYs. The club is up for Best Team (LouCity), Best Coach (James O’Connor) and Best Male Athlete (Matt Fondy).