Louisville City FC extended its unbeaten streak to open the season to six games, and Toronto FC II played to a third straight scoreless draw on Saturday night. Both were true to form while tying 0-0 in front of 8,282 fans at Louisville Slugger Field.
LouCity came away with just a point in the standings due in part to a huge effort by Toronto goalkeeper Angelo Cavalluzzo, who recorded 11 saves. The boys in purple generated plenty of offense – 19 shots in all – but failed to put one in the back of the net.
“I think we could’ve won it,” said coach James O’Connor. “We obviously had a lot of chances — probably the most frustrating game we’ve had.
“…You can’t fault the lads for their efforts. We just need to take our chances, and that’s what makes it really frustrating.
Only LouCity’s second game this season without a goal, the result still advanced the club in the standings, where coach James O’Connor’s side sits one point off the Charleston Battery and Tampa Bay Rowdies for first place in the USL Eastern Conference.
A victory would have vaulted LouCity back into first, and often Saturday, that looked like the expected result — starting in the opening minute when midfielder George Davis IV ran up the center of the field and fired a shot. Cavalluzzo came up big as he did often throughout 90-plus minutes.
Starting forward Luke Spencer put five of his shots on goal. Defender Oscar Jimenez placed all three of his attempts on frame, and Brian Ownby forced Cavalluzzo to save two of his three strikes.
“Yeah, we had a ton of chances, and I feel like it’s a mental thing,” Jimenez said. “When things aren’t going our way people just tend to drop their heads and say, ‘Oh, next one’s not gonna go in,’ or, ‘I don’t want to shoot this one because it’s not a clean shot’ or something.
“…But I think it’s just a mental thing, which I think we kind of got past a little bit and just kept going. It just didn’t help us.”
It wasn’t a night all about LouCity’s offense. Toronto FC II had few chances but seemed to make the most of them. In the 83rd minute, LouCity goalkeeper Tim Dobrowolski made a 1-on-1 save to snuff out a run of serious set piece attempts by the visitors.
LouCity’s best chance for offense – other than on its chances – came when a defender tripped up Davis IV in the box in the 52nd minute. He didn’t get the whistle for a penalty, much to the crowd’s chagrin.
The crowd reached its loudest in stoppage time. LouCity lined up for a pair of corner kicks, including one at the death. Both of them Toronto FC II managed to clear.
“It was definitely a frustrating game,” Spencer said. “You get a chance. Credit to the keeper. He made some great saves.”
“You’ve got to put your chances away. This is a classic game where you don’t put your chances away, and the team doesn’t win.”
Dating back to 2016, LouCity has now played 11 straight USL regular-season games without a defeat. The club has its first break in the 2017 schedule next week before traveling to play May 13 against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Game Summary
Match: Louisville City FC vs. Toronto FC II
Date: April 29, 2017
Venue: Slugger Field
Kickoff: 7:35 p.m.
Weather: 85 degrees, partly cloudy
Attendance: 8,282
Man of the Match: Luke Spencer
Scoring
Louisville City FC (0,0,0)
Toronto FC II (0,0,0)
Lineups
Louisville City FC: 28- Tim Dobrowolski, 24- Kyle Smith, 19- Oscar Jimenez, 4- Sean Totsch, 6- Tarek Morad, 8- Guy Abend (45’ 80- Speedy Williams), 11- Niall McCabe (60’ 23- Richard Ballard), 36- Paolo DelPiccolo, 22- George Davis IV, 10- Brian Ownby, 12- Luke Spencer (68’ 14- Ilija Ilic)
Subs not used: 13- Micah Bledsoe, 18- Paco Craig, 15- Sean Reynolds, 12- Mark-Anthony Kaye
Head coach: James O’Connor
Toronto FC II: 80- Angelo Cavalluzzo, 27- Oyvino Alseth, 32- Brandon Aubrey, 42- Mitchell Taintor, 36- Brian James, 45- Luca Uccello (60’ 63- Liam Fraser), 20- Sergio Camargo, 58- Anthony Osorio (77’ 54- Ryan Telfer), 46- Jordan McCrary, 64- Shaan Hundal (69’ 43- Aikim Andrews), 22- Jordan Hamilton
Subs not used: 90- Brogan Engbers, 77- Brandon Onkony, 56- Malik Johnson, 55- Aidan Daniels
Head coach: Jason Bent
Discipline
Louisville City FC: 61’ yellow card to Luke Spencer, 80’ yellow card to Richard Ballard
Toronto FC II: 29’ yellow card to Brian James
Officials
Referee: Ismir Pekmic
Assistant Referee 1: Cory Richardson
Assistant Referee 2: Benjamin Hall-Volpenhein
4th Official: Johann Pedolzky
