Where Louisville City FC and FC Cincinnati play, big crowds tend to follow. The latest — and for 2016, final — edition of the River Cities Cup rivalry is set for 4 p.m. Saturday at Nippert Stadium, the 35,061-seat stadium on the University of Cincinnati’s campus.
Here’s what to watch for as a pair of clubs at the top of the USL’s Eastern Conference table meet.
Team Records
LouCity: 12-1-6 (42 points) in 19 matches; 1st in the USL’s Eastern Conference standings.
FC Cincinnati: 10-4-4 (34 points) in 18 matches; 3rd in the USL’s East.
Follow Along
Saturday’s game will air on WLKY Channel 32 in Louisville with Jim Wombwell at the microphone and Bob Valvano providing commentary. A live stream will also be available on YouTube.
For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc 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 Sunday’s game on Twitter.
Links
- LouCity-FC Cincinnati heavy on star power
- Wear purple, score deals at LouCity watch party
- LouCity’s Smith caught in middle of rivalry
- Video: Coach O’Connor wants ‘half of Louisville’ in Cincy
- Know the foe: FC Cincinnati
- Q&A: Get to know LouCity’s Mark-Anthony Kaye
Notes
Championship chase: A pair of late goals Wednesday pushed New York Red Bulls II past FC Cincinnati and to within a point of LouCity. While the Red Bulls have a game in hand, Louisville can maintain first place with a victory of its own over Cincinnati. Red Bulls II won’t even with LouCity in games played until after the two clubs meet Aug. 19 in New York.
Power rankings: With a 4-1 win Sunday over the Wilmington Hammerheads, “Louisville looked back to its normal self,” wrote the USL’s Nicholas Murray in the league’s weekly power rankings. There, LouCity came in at No. 2 behind New York. In numerical-based Eastern Conference power rankings assembled by Indomitable City Soccer, an SB Nation blog, LouCity holds the top spot.
River Cities Cup: The newly dubbed rivalry series between Louisville and Cincinnati will be decided Saturday. While there’s no physical Cup, LouCity would claim bragging rights either with a victory, a draw or on goal differential. Louisville won 3-2 April 16 in Cincinnati before the clubs played to a 0-0 tie June 25 at Slugger Field.
WLKY broadcast: A Louisville City FC game will for the first time Saturday air on a local network affiliate, as official club partner WLKY Channel 32 has picked up the broadcast of LouCity at FC Cincinnati. The CBS affiliate’s sister station, MeTV, earlier this season aired LouCity’s draw with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds as well as the first River Cities Cup game in Cincinnati.
Record streak: While at 17 straight games without a loss 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. Louisville’s only defeat this season came by a 2-0 score in its April 2 home opener against New York. LouCity’s longest unbeaten streak last year was six games.
League leaders: Striker Chandler Hoffman scored twice Sunday at Wilmington, and right back Kyle Smith assisted on the second goal, moving the pair into a tie for the USL lead in goals (14) and assists (6), respectively. Last year, LouCity’s Matt Fondy (22 goals) and Bryan Burke (10 assists) also topped the league on their way to winning MVP and Defender of the Year.
Team of the Week: After burying Wilmington Hammerheads FC with a trio of second half goals on Sunday, Chandler Hoffman made the 11-member USL Team of the Week at forward, while Aodhan Quinn earned a spot on the bench for his efforts. Quinn, the captain and central midfielder, scored his second free kick of the season in the 69th minute.
Spreading the scoring: With 14 LouCity players having netted a goal so far this season, the club has already passed last year’s total. Behind Chandler Hoffman, each of Guy Abend, Andrew Lubahn and George Davis IV have three apiece; Cameron Lancaster and Niall McCabe have two; and eight other players have finished at least one chance. After Smith in the assists column is also McCabe, with 4, tied for the third-highest total in the league.
