A trio of Louisville City FC forwards tallied goals Saturday as the boys in purple opened their preseason with a 3-0 victory against Major League Soccer’s FC Cincinnati.
Abdou Thiam netted a 37th-minute penalty, Brian Ownby finished a one-on-one opportunity in the 63rd, and George Davis IV rounded out the scoring in the 85th.
The exhibition, played at the former USL Championship rival FC Cincinnati’s training grounds, allowed LouCity to rotate through its roster, with coach John Hackworth making 10 changes at the break.
Whereas the boys in purple are more than a month into their preseason, the orange and blue just opened camp this week. The clubs are scheduled to meet again on April 7, also in Cincinnati.
“Pleased with the performance overall today,” Hackworth said. “We put out two different lineups to try to maximize a good first 45 minutes-plus for every player, and that was excellent. I feel like both groups played well and tried to implement the things we had been working so far in preseason, and to do it against a quality opponent is really important.”
Both sides remained even in the first half until Thiam’s penalty kick, while midfielder Paolo DelPiccolo and Ownby both got looks of their own on goal. Ownby converted in the second half when taking advantage of a backwards pass by an FC Cincinnati defender. Davis’ goal came courtesy of an assist by LouCity newcomer Jay Tee Kamara.
Also notable, 15-year-old Joshua Wynder, playing on a USL Academy contract this season, made his first team debut against professional competition.
“It was a good test for us and for me as a player,” Thiam said. “The first half was really tough, but we focused on us and had good success.”
LouCity’s preseason continues March 20 with a trip to play another MLS opponent, Nashville SC, before a swing through Texas against Austin FC and the Houston Dynamo. Each game against MLS competition will be played behind closed doors.
The 32-game USL Championship regular season begins on or around May 1.
