Louisville City FC continues its historic run in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a fourth-round matchup against MLS side New England Revolution. This is just the second time Lou City will take on an MLS club in a competitive match, and the first time an MLS club has traveled to Louisville. New England Revolution won the 2007 U.S. Open Cup.
City is looking to continue its four-match unbeaten streak, which most recently includes a 1-0 victory over Saint Louis FC in the third round and a massive 2-0 victory on the road against FC Cincinnati which saw the boys in purple go top of the USL Eastern Conference table.
When & Where
The match will take place on Tuesday, June 5 at 7:00 p.m. at the University of Louisville’s Lynn Stadium.
LouCity will air the match live on Bounce TV as well as stream on WAVE3.com and via Facebook Live on WAVE3’s official page. City fans can enjoy the stylings of Mike Watts and Dylan Terry on the call.
Over the airwaves, iHeart’s 1080 WKJK has the action with Jeff Greer and Kevin Kernen on the call. Fans can also stay up-to-date on all things LouCity by following the club on Twitter & Instagram.
TV: Bounce TV
RADIO: 1080 WKJK
STREAM: WAVE3.com
DOWNLOAD: LouCity app for iOS | LouCity app for Android
Last Time Out
Louisville City FC leapfrogged FC Cincinnati atop the USL Eastern Conference thanks to a dominating 0-2 victory at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, May 26.
City opened the scoring in the 15th minute when forward Cameron Lancaster earned a free kick in an excellent position just outside the FC Cincy penalty area. The sharpshooter then slotted a free kick underneath the wall and past the keeper to give Lou City the lead. Midfielder George Davis IV doubled the visitors’ lead in the 73rd minute when George Davis IV, having been on the field just seven minutes, took a strike from outside the box that deflected off two Cincinnati defenders and looped over the keeper’s diving figure and into the back of the net.
– U.S. OPEN CUP: LouCity hosts MLS side New England Revolution Fourth Round –
Rewind against MLS competition
Louisville City FC has only ever faced two MLS sides in the club’s history. In a 2015 friendly match before the club began its inaugural season, City defeated Orlando City SC 3-1 in front of an electric crowd at Louisville Slugger Field. Goals from Matt Fondy, Juan Guzman, and Charlie Adams sealed the win for Lou City.
That same season, in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup, City traveled to Chicago to take on Chicago Fire. The two clubs fought tooth and nail into extra, but a late winner from Chicago Fire sent Louisville City FC home with a 1-0 defeat.
James O’Connor’s pre-match press conference
On his biggest takeaways from the win against FCC:
“I think we’re very pleased with the level of control we had in the game. I thought we gave a very strong performance. I think, great credit to the players who put in that amount of effort, and I think when you look at the spirit that we showed, it was fantastic. It was the last game of a big run of games in a very short period. I think we can be very pleased with the players’ mentality and obviously their level of performance”
On the mentality going into this rest period:
“Well, this period I think we need to maximize the time. We need to try and get some recovery, it obviously gives us a chance to see where we are with [Shaun] Franno, see where we are with Richard [Ballard], Speedy [Williams] picked up a little bit of a niggle in his groin, so hopefully, we can get that tidied up. Obviously, we don’t play now until Tuesday against New England, so it gives us a little bit of time to try and manage the training load, which I think is important. And I think for us the guys have got such a huge desire to be successful, so I think for us its always approaching the game with the right mentality and then as teachers and coaches trying to make sure we give enough information that allows them to be able to build upon the foundation for success.”
On the players’ mindsets:
“I think for us, again, it’s a process. We follow the process. We’re very strict with it. Generally, for us the week is Monday: analysis, Tuesday: we start dropping information in on the opposition. So, you know whether you win or whether you lose, obviously you want to win, but I think for us we try to be very consistent in our approach. I think when you lose its an opportunity to learn. So, try and figure out why you lost and then try and position that so there’s a better understanding. And when you win, try to make sure that you understand why you won, and then equally try and make sure your preparation is akin to the last Saturday that you’ve won from. It’s always trying to deliver our messages in a way that’s productive to the players.”
On the confidence level staying high during the break:
“I think for us, with the amount of injuries that we’ve had, we need to try and utilize this as a little rest period. But we’ll get the rest, but particularly when we’re training, we’ll be training. The guys know when we’re training we’re training hard, so I think our head is always down and we’re always driving forward.”
Team News
Questionable – Richard Ballard (stress fracture)
Questionable – Shaun Francis (hamstring)
