The shots flew in Saturday night from set pieces and half volleys, on headers and via one-touch plays. Goalkeepers from both Louisville City FC (Tim Dobrowolski) and Toronto FC II (Angelo Cavalluzzo) stood firm, with the latter registering 11 saves on an impressive night at Slugger Field.
Cavalluzo— and his ability to stop everything coming his way — was largely the reason LouCity walked away with fewer than three points, the result of a scoreless draw.
Dobrowolski had his moments as well, led by an 84th minute save. A teammate played a ball through to Toronto’s Jordan Hamilton, who had only a diving Dobrowolski in his way of a game-winner. The LouCity keeper managed to deflect the show away and record his second clean sheet of the season.
Aside from some spectacular goalkeeping, here’s what we learned from the game.
• LouCity had won its four previous meetings with Toronto FC II, with this game marking the oppositions first points earned on the boys in purple. Still, by coming away with something LouCity remained in the race for the top spot in the USL Eastern Conference, now just a point behind the Charleston Battery and Tampa Bay Rowdies.
• A move to insert Paco Craig on the back line last week against FC Cincinnati was tactical. Oscar Jimenez returned Saturday at left back and went the full 90 minutes. Craig’s size matched the height of Cincinnati’s attackers, while Jimenez’s speed was needed against Toronto.
• LouCity continued to see large fan support Saturday with 8,282 in attendance at Slugger. Through three games, an average of 8,038 have showed up to support the boys in purple, up from 6,190 in 2016 and 5,242 over the same span in 2015.
• Forward Luke Spencer found himself starting at forward and made the most of the opportunity, at least as much as a striker can in a scoreless game. He put five of six shots on target, with his second half lunge to connect on a cross in front of the goal among LouCity’s top scoring threats.
