After a full week between games, Louisville City FC will resume United Soccer League play on Monday, celebrating the July 4 holiday against a club from north of the border. FC Montreal enters at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, while LouCity remains in first place, but Montreal has proven to be a team Louisville can’t take lightly.
Record: 2-12-1 (7 points) in 15 matches
Conference: Eastern
Standings: 14th
Coach: Philippe Eullaffroy
History: Saying a USL side “will serve as the final step and transition for our youth before the MLS,” the Montreal Impact started play with FC Montreal in 2015, featuring mostly young players from Quebec on the major-league club’s U18 and U23 rosters. FC Montreal went 8-4-16 in its first season.
Series with LouCity: Both the clubs’ prevous meetings have ended in shutouts, with the results split. LouCity won 2-0 in Canada last year before FC Montreal dealt Louisville perhaps its most surprising defeat of the season, a 4-0 loss Aug. 5 at Slugger Field when the home team entered on a six-game winning streak.
Current form: While at the bottom of the Eastern Conference table, FC Montreal has played its best lately, aided by depth of players returning from injury at the MLS level. Two matches back, Montreal scored a 3-2 road win over the Harrisburg City Islanders, only its second victory of the season, though the club hasn’t won or drawn yet in back-to-back fixtures.
What to know: Through the first 10 games of its season, FC Montreal failed to score goals in consecutive matches, lacking a true striker on its roster. It was anticipated Eullaffroy’s side would use one of the Impact’s backups, but injuries left the MLS club shorthanded. More recently, forward Anthony Jackson-Hamel has returned fit, netting his three goals in the last four matches.
Player to watch: In the only recent FC Montreal match Jackson-Hamel didn’t score, a familiar name, Alessandro Riggi, found the back of the net in the club’s 3-1 loss Sunday to Orlando City B. Riggi secured a brace last season against LouCity, scoring in the fourth and 19th minutes at Slugger. A Canadian native, Riggi has 10 goals in his season and a half with FC Montreal.
