After back-to-back 1-0 wins, Louisville City returned to Louisville Slugger field Saturday night and opened up its offense against the Richmond Kickers, a club that entered on a 10-game unbeaten streak.
With a 2-0 victory, LouCity secured a foothold on second place in the USL’s Eastern Conference and secured home field advantage to open the playoffs. Here’s how they did it.
Opening: It would be safe to call the first half a dominant one for LouCity, which out-shot Richmond 9-1 and held possession for a vast portion of the first 45 minutes. Kickers goalpeer Andrew Dykstra made two key saves to keep the game in reach, but Cameron Lancaster’s penalty kick goal in the 19th minute created separation at the half.
Closing: Despite some effective crosses from Richmond, LouCity continued adding to its possession stats. On a counter — Magnus Rasmussen played it to Aodhan Quinn, who dished back — Rasmussen closed the door with an absolute laser from distance.
BOOM: Magnus Rasmussen took one big step and lined up an absolute 55th-minute dart with his left foot from outside the box. Rasmussen knew he’d struck it well — it was his first goal of the season — and caught the Kickers’ back four playing deep. He also echoed head coach James O’Connor after the win, noting that Richmond wasn’t “really dangerous at all” throughout Saturday’s game.
Man of the Match: Before subbed out in the 80th minute, Rasmussen was all over the place for LouCity’s attack Saturday. The Dane tallied three shots and kept Louisville dangerous moving forward. He also managed multiple moves along the end line to set up corners, where LouCity has scored most of its goals lately.
Turning Point: After a Kickers foul on Kadeem Dacres in the box. LouCity lined up a penalty kick.by Richmond. The striker Lancaster confidently stepped into the shot with a stutter step and drove it into the right corner of the net as the Kickers’ keeper dove the opposite direction.
What it Means: With the regular-season title already awarded to New York Red Bulls II, LouCity’s victory Saturday provided the club a larger cushion to third place, where the Charlotte Independence are eight points back. The win also clinched home field advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. Another victory would cement a No. 2 seed.
What’s Next: With just two games remaining in the regular season, the postseason is in eight. Next weekend, LouCity travels out of conference to battle Saint Louis FC at 8:30 p.m. After defeating its King’s Cup rival in May at Slugger Field, a road victory, draw or decision on goal differential would award Louisville the season series. Then comes the regular-season finale Sept. 24 against the Charlotte Independence at Slugger Field.
