CINCINNATI — Louisville City FC’s 17-game unbeaten streak came to an end Saturday, but the club’s first-place standing remained after a 2-0 loss to FC Cincinnati.
In front of an announced 20,151 fans on a balmy afternoon at Nippert Stadium, goals by Cincinnati’s Andrew Wiedeman (39th minute) and Sean Okoli (59th-minute) propelled the host club.
Further East, however, the Charleston Battery ended the league’s second-longest unbeaten streak, upeneding the second-place New York Red Bulls II after 12 straight games without a loss. It was a major day of play in the USL’s Eastern Conference, as teams Nos. 1 and 3 faced off along with those Nos. 2 and 4 in the standings.
“The only thing we’re looking forward to is the game at the end of the week, and after that, it’s where we’re going to be on the table at the end of the year,” said LouCity defender Sean Reynolds.
“Those are the only two things — no matter where you play — that you should concentrate on.”
Before Wiedeman took control of a 50-50 ball in the box, evaded a pair of LouCity defenders and fired for the first goal, Louisville opened up on the attack. Captain Aodhan Quinn nearly chipped in a shot, while midfielder Kadeem Dacres worked the right side for multiple chances.
But of LouCity’s seven shots in the first half, only one went on goal.
Okoli, Cincinnati’s leading scorer, doubled the lead out of the locker room by heading in Corben Bone’s corner kick on the far post. A second goal provided breathing room and sealed the three-game River Cities Cup season series for FC Cincinnati, which fell 3-2 at home April 16 and played to a 0-0 draw June 25 at Louisville Slugger Field.
“Our play has been tremendous all season,” said LouCity coach James O’Connor. “…I couldn’t be prouder of our guys. I think they’ve been brilliant all season. I think the fight they’ve shown, the quality they’ve shown, for them to play the way they have, I can be really, really proud.
“Even today — we weren’t our best today — but we still had 15, 16 shots. We still had opportunities to go and score. I think our guys deserve a lot of credit.”
LouCity received plenty of energy from its substitutes Saturday, including a major effort from midfielder Magnus Rasmussen, who fans voted Man of the Match. Rasmussen came on for Niall McCabe in the 54th minute and took two shots. One from distance bounced off the post in the 57th minute.
Midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye entered for Andrew Lubahn at the same time and made a similar impact. He corralled possession straightaway from the goal in the 75th minute, turned and fired another chance that grazed the crossbar.
Nothing made its way past FC Cincinnati’s Mitch Hildebrandt. The USL’s Midseason Goalkeeper of the Year cemented a clean sheet, closing the afternoon with a final, leaping save in stoppage time.
“We had a lot of opportunities in the game — hit the post, hit the crossbar,” O’Connor said. “Obviously from our point of view, it’s disappointing to give up two goals like that. Credit to Cincinnati. At times they showed great quality and they capitalized on the opportunities that they got.”
Two-thirds the way through its 30-game season, LouCity (12-2-6, 42 points) will look to start a new streak in a week as it hosts Orlando City B.
Game Info
Match: FC Cincinnati vs. Louisville City FC
Date: July 23, 2016
Venue: Nippert Stadium
Kickoff: 4 p.m.
Weather: Partly cloudy, 91 degrees
Attendance: 20,151
Man of the Match: Magnus Rasmussen
Scoring Summary
FC Cincinnati (1 , 1, 2)
LouCity (0, 0, 0)
Lineups
Louisville City FC: 13-Greg Ranjitsingh, 24-Kyle Smith, 15-Sean Reynolds, 18-Paco Craig, 2-Ben Newnam, 4-Aodhan Quinn, 8-Guy Abend (64′ 36-Paolo DelPiccolo), 11-Niall McCabe (54′ 10-Magnus Rasmussen), 7-Kadeem Dacres (64′ 24-George Davis IV), 77-Andrew Lubahn (54′ 12-Mark-Anthony Kaye), 17-Chandler Hoffman (73′ 14-Ilija Ilic).
Subs not used: 28-Tim Dobrowolski, 5-Conor Shanosky.
Head coach: James O’Connor
FC Cincinnati: 1-Mitch Hildebrandt, 3-Tyler Polak, 4-Harrison Delbridge, 9-Sean Okoli (63′ 18-Omar Mohamed), 10-Eric Stevenson (71′ 13-Francisco Narbon), 14-Omar Cummings (87′ 7-Luke Spencer), 15-Pat McMahon (46′ 24-Derek Luke), 19-Corben Bone, 20-Jimmy McLaughlin, 22-Austin Berry (81′ 12-Evan Lee), 23-Andrew Wiedeman.
Subs not used: 30-Dallas Jaye, 5-Ross Tomaselli.
Head coach: John Harkes
Stats Summary: FC Cincinnati / LouCity
Shots: 10 / 15
Saves: 3 / 5
Corner Kicks: 4 / 8
Fouls: 12 / 10
Offside: 0 / 1
Officials
Referee: Alex Chilowicz
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Fotia
Assistant Referee 2: William Gaither III
4th Official: Luke Sobota
