Louisville City FC will carry in its 16-game unbeaten streak Sunday to a 6 p.m. road match against the Wilmington Hammerheads. As good as LouCity has been at home, the club has yet to lose away from Louisville Slugger Field this season.
Now, for more about the Hammerheads…
Record: 6-5-5 (23 points) in 17matches
Conference: Eastern
Standings: 9th
Coach: Mark Briggs
History: Started in 1996, the Hammerheads quickly established winning tradition. They claimed a league title in 2003, made some deep U.S. Open Cup runs and played the Charleston Battery in the 2012 USL championship game. The Hammerheads have recently established affiliations with Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC and New York FC.
Stadium: Wilmington plays at 6,000-seat Legion Stadium, a historic venue opened in the 1930s and renovated in 2011. The surface is artificial turf.
Series with LouCity: Louisville won both the clubs’ meetings during its inaugural season last year before playing to a 2-2 draw on June 11 at Slugger Field. The Hammerheads scored the equalizer in stoppage time, but LouCity continued on its unbeaten streak that still stands at 16 games.
Current form: Wilmington entered its previous fixture with LouCity on a two-game winning streak for the first time all season. The Hammerheads pieced together a pair of wins once again before falling 3-0 Thursday at Bethlehem Steel. Now comes a quick turnaround to Sunday.
What to know: The Hammerheads have missed the playoffs two out of the last three years, but under Briggs, hired in 2015, the club is just one spot out of the postseason picture. “We’d ideally like to end the season as the fifth seed,” Briggs recently said. “We have the opportunity to secure that, we just need to play hard, and play smart for the rest of the season.”
Player to watch: Wilmington spreads around its scoring, as 10 players have at least one goal and Bruno Caldini Perone a team-high four. But it’s Austin Martz, who scored the game-winner at Charlotte, who has attempted a team-high 19 shots for the Hammerheads. Martz, a Georgetown University product, started his pro career in Europe’s Malta before signing with Wilmington. He scored his other goal this season two games back in a win over Toronto FC II.
Another to know: In a 2-1 win Saturday over in-state rival Charlotte Independence, Hammerheads goalkeeper Eric Ati served as the standout, racking up seven saves. He was named to the USL’s Team of the Week for his performance.
