In a rematch of last year’s USL Eastern Conference Semifinals — same time, same place — Louisville City FC will play host to the Charleston Battery at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Slugger Field.
The winner advances to meet either the top-seeded New York Red Bulls II or Rochester Rhinos; those clubs meet at 7 p.m. Friday at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.
Here’s what to watch for with LouCity-Charleston…
Last Time Out / Regular-Season Records
LouCity: 2-0 overtime win Sunday against the Richmond Kickers; 17-4-9 (60 points) in 30 games; No. 2 Eastern Conference seed.
Charleston: 2-1 win Sunday against FC Cincinnati; 13-8-9 (48 points) in 30 games; No. 6 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
- The USL breaks down Saturday’s matchup
- LouCity looking to avoid playoff déjà vu
- Battery aim to press the issue vs. LouCity
- Doublette’s mind on his home country, Haiti
- Know the foe: Charleston Battery
- Despite playoff pressure, LouCity loosens up
- Players show their skills on Great Day Live
By the Numbers
2 – To close the regular season, Charleston gave up two goals in three games, all losses. In its other two games, the Battery scored twice and won. LouCity hasn’t conceded multiple goals since July.
6 – LouCity has played six straight games unbeaten, its second-longest streak of the year following the 17-game spree the club went on from spring into summer.
25 – At the end of the regular season, LouCity’s goal differential of +25 was five times as large as Charleston’s.
Notes
With a win: LouCity will know before its own game whether the New York Red Bulls II (and a road trip to Harrison, N.J.) or the Rochester Rhinos (and another home game) would await in the Eastern Conference Final. Interestingly, while the Red Bulls II tallied a USL-record 69 points during the regular season, the squad has yet to beat its in-state rival, the Rhinos, heading into Friday’s 7 p.m. game at Red Bull Arena.
The wild West: The Swope Park Rangers were the highest surviving seed through opening weekend of the USL Cup Playoffs as the No. 4. The No. 1 Sacramento Republic FC fell to the No. 8 Orange County Blues. The Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 and OKC Energy FC also scored upsets to advance.
Davis, Hoffman break through: With his game-winner Sunday over the Richmond Kickers in overtime, George Davis IV scored his first USL playoff goal after appearing previously in the postseason for Orange County and Richmond. Loucity’s leading scorer, Hoffman, doubled the lead late with his first goal since a July 17 win at Wilmington.
Going the distance: Both Hoffman and Davis came on as substitutes, but some of their teammates will enter the weekend having gone 120-plus minutes. Each of Greg Ranjitsingh, Kyle Smith, Sean Reynolds, Paco Craig, Aodhan Quinn and Guy Abend were on the field for the entirety of the overtime contest — though the defenders had an easier time of it after Richmond went down a man on an early red card, then packed in its own defense.
Rasmussen pulled early: LouCity’s current unbeaten streak coincides with the return of midfielder Magnus Rasmussen to the starting lineup. But Rasmussen didn’t make it long in the club’s playoff opener, substituted out in the 33rd minute for Hoffman. It wasn’t due to injury, though Rasmussen took a shot to the chest early that prompted Richmond’s red card. Coach James O’Connor brought in Hoffman looking for another striker and was eventually rewarded with the overtime goal.
Postseason parallels: In last year’s condensed USL playoff format — six Eastern Conference teams made it in, and LouCity earned a first-round bye — the boys in purple opened against the Battery. That one came down to overtime in the conference semifinals, when league MVP Matt Fondy scored twice to win it. The next week, LouCity fell 1-0 to the eventual champion Rochester Rhinos.
Battery arrive early: With Hurricane Matthew bearing down on the United States, its path expected to include the coast of South Carolina, Charleston moved its flight to Thursday from Friday. The Battery got a training session in at the LouCity ground before their next playoff test.
