Louisville City FC didn’t have to win Sunday to advance itself in the USL Championship’s Central Division race.
On an early evening when the heat index topped 100 in Oklahoma City, the boys in purple played OKC Energy FC to a scoreless draw at Taft Stadium devoid of LouCity’s regular offensive fireworks.
A club tied for the league lead with 39 goals was held scoreless for the second time this season and first since June 6. In turn, however, LouCity defensively registered just its fifth clean sheet of the 2021 campaign.
Given second-place Birmingham Legion FC lost earlier in the day, LouCity’s Central Division lead increased to seven points with coach Danny Cruz’s side now 12-3-4. The club’s 40 points are one off Western Conference member El Paso for the best in the USL Championship.
“There’s certain areas we can get better for sure,” Cruz. “But still, this was a fight. It was a battle. It was a scrap, and my message to (the players) was I’m proud of them. But if we want to accomplish the goals that we’ve set out for each other, we need to make sure we’re looking to improve in the areas that we can.”
LouCity can claim the better of the game, out-shooting OKC Energy 10-6 while holding 63.1% of possession. But it wasn’t until the 62nd minute that one of those attempts landed on target.
The best opportunities came earlier in the evening. In the 14th minute, a turnover in OKC’s half led to an Antoine Hoppenot cross to Jimmy McLaughlin at the back post. McLaughlin collided with the goalkeeper, who narrowly managed a save. Hoppenot played another dangerous cross in during the 18th minute, but his teammates didn’t manage to get on the end of it.
So went a performance out of character for a team that entered having won four straight, scoring multiple goals in each of those victories.
“The wind and the turf and the heat — it was certainly tough to play the style of play we’re looking for, Cruz said. “I still felt we had a lot of the ball. I thought we created enough chances. If we score the goal early — the one with Jimmy — I think that changes the game.”
This draw marked the third meeting of the year between LouCity and the Energy. Both prior results were Louisville wins in July at Lynn Family Stadium as part of a run of 13 unbeaten games from the club’s last 14.
Four lineup changes were made Sunday, and because of the shuffling defender Wes Charpie wound up wearing the captain’s armband to open play. However, he left in the 39th minute after banging knees with an opposing player, and Jonathan Gomez likewise exited favoring his leg in the 64th minute.
“We’re dealing with a lot of injuries at the moment,” Cruz said. “That’s something we’re going to have to work through — picked up another couple tonight. With that being said, while we wanted to leave here with three points, in these conditions I was really, really proud of the group.”
Cruz did gain a piece of his rotation back Sunday as well as outside back Oscar Jimenez subbed on for Gomez. Jimenez — LouCity’s all-time assists leader — last appeared in the April 24 season opener owing to a meniscus injury. In limited minutes, he led LouCity with five crosses and completed a team-high 94.1% of his passes.
“I put a lot of hard work in,” Jimenez said. “It’s nice to be back out there with my teammates. They’ve been pushing me all this time. I’m just glad to get some minutes under me, because we’re in a big part of the season right now when everyone needs to be prepared to contribute.”
LouCity will next look forward to a Saturday trip to play Birmingham in a key Central Division matchup. The boys in purple have an eye on finishing with the USL Championship’s best overall record, but priority is also on winning the division. A top-four finish clinches a playoff spot with clubs to be seeded this fall based on their point totals.
Game Summary: OKC Energy FC vs. Louisville City FC
Venue: Taft Stadium
Kickoff: 6 p.m.
Man of the Match: Parker Siegfried
Scoring
OKC Energy FC (0, 0, 0)
Louisville City FC (0, 0, 0)
Stats Summary: OKC Energy FC / Louisville City FC
Shots: 6 / 10
Shots on Goal: 2 / 2
Fouls: 14 / 16
Offside: 4 / 2
Corner Kicks: 2 / 5
Saves: 2 / 2
Lineups
OKC Energy FC: 1 – CJ Coachran, 20 – Connor Donovan, 4 – Mitchell Osmond, 15 — Lamar Batista, 6 — Brad Dunwell (80’ 19 – Muengnenshime Goshit), 28 – Deklan Wynne, 22 — Zachary Ellis-Hayden, 8 — Hiroki Kurimoto, 21 — Villyan Bijev, 9 — Jamie Chavez (60’ 7 — Seyi Adekoya), 10 — Arun Basuljevic (81’ 18 — Tucker Stephenson)
Subs not used: 12 — Irakoze Donasiyano, 17 — Jonathan Brown, 35 — Kyle Ihn, 24 — Kodai Iida
Louisville City FC: 24 – Parker Siegfried, 6 – Wesley Charpie (39’ 8 – Akil Watts), 66 – Joshua Wynder, 4 – Sean Totsch, 42 – Jonathan Gomez (64’ 19 — Oscar Jimenez), 7 – Napo Matsoso, 20 – Jimmy McLaughlin (46’ 36 — Paolo DelPiccolo), 12 — Tyler Gibson (81’ 21 – Kyle Greig), 9 — Jorge Gonzalez, 29 – Antoine Hoppenot (81’ 3 – Alexis Souahy), 17 – Cameron Lancaster
Subs not used: 1 – Chris Hubbard, 14 Abdou Thiam
Discipline Summary
OKC Energy FC: 45’+ Zachary Ellis-Hayden (yellow)
Louisville City FC: 53’ Josh Wynder (yellow)
Referee: Calin Radosav
