After more than a week between games, Louisville City FC returns to the pitch Sunday for its USL Cup Playoffs opener. Game time against the Richmond Kickers is set for 7 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets remain on sale, with more information at www.loucity.com/playoffs; also, college students with their school ID can buy for just $5 at the door.
Team Records
LouCity: 17-4-9 (60 points) in 30 games; No. 2 Eastern Conference seed.
Richmond: 12-9-9 (45 points) in 30 games; No. 7 Eastern Conference seed.
Follow Along
Saturday’s game will air, as with other LouCity games, live on Youtube with Jim Wombwell on play-by-play duty and commentary from Bob Valvano.
For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc on Twitter and Louisville City FC on Facebook. Find us at louisvillecityfc on Instagram.
Vote for LouCity’s Modelo Man of the Match starting at the 75th minute on Twitter.
Links
- LouCity players expecting raucous atmosphere
- Know the foe: Read up on the Richmond Kickers
- Video: LouCity coach O’Connor’s playoff preview
- Videos: LouCity players Reynolds, Dacres speak
- A glance at every Eastern Conference matchup
- O’Connor puts emphasis on training in postseason
By the Numbers
0 – In their two previous trips to Slugger FIeld, the Kickers were unable to get a goal past LouCity keepers. In all games against Richmond, LouCity has out-scored the Kickers 6-1.
2 – The Kickers have yet to beat or draw with an opponent this season that scores at least 2 goals.
3 – Richmond has yet to score 3 goals in a game this season, a mark LouCity has reached five times and allowed just once.
Notes
Playoff history: LouCity heads into the postseason with the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed behind only the No. 1 New York Red Bulls II, who over 30 games have earned a USL record 69 points. Louisville also earned the second seed in 2015, advancing to the league semifinals before falling to the eventual champion Rochester Rhinos.
With a win: LouCity would advance to play the winner of another Sunday game between No. 3 seed FC Cincinnati and the No. 6 seed Charleston Battery, with Slugger Field again the host site for a 7:30 p.m. game on Saturday, Oct. 8, in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
With a loss: LouCity would move to 1-1 at Slugger Field in the postseason. Last year, USL MVP Matt Fondy scored twice in overtime to push the boys in purple past the Battery in front of more than 8,000 supporters.
Hot and cold: LouCity has returned to its summer form, when the club played 17 straight games unbeaten. The club closed the regular season with a five-game streak; four of them were victories. The Kickers haven’t yet recaptured the form that made for six straight wins in July and August. Richmond closed the regular season with back-to-back losses.
LouCity’s edge: Having allowed only 27 goals this season, Louisville’s defense is nearly as stingy as Richmond’s, which conceded just 26. But LouCity fields a more formidable offense, one that tallied 52 goals, 155 shots on frame and 377 shots overall. The Kickers’ same numbers: 31/150/302.
Rasmussen’s role: LouCity started its unbeaten streak the same night as midfielder Magnus Rasmussen made his first start of the season, fully back from hip surgery in late 2015. Coach James O’Connor considers it more than coincidence. Rasmussen went on to score his first goal Sept. 10 against the Kickers before netting two of them Sept. 17 at Saint Louis FC.
Shanosky returns: Defender Conor Shanosky, released by LouCity in September and subsequently picked up by the Kickers, didn’t play Sept. 10 the last time Richmond traveled to Louisville. But he’ll be eligible Sunday and could become the first former LouCity player to suit up for another club at Slugger.
Crowds growing: The USL this week reported total season attendance of almost 1.5 million for its 29 teams, a 33 percent increase from 2015. LouCity helped, totaling 108,269 in attendance for an average of 7,218 this season, a 6.6 percent increase over 2015’s inaugural season.
