After Saturday’s 4-1 Louisville City FC win over FC Tulsa, coach Danny Cruz didn’t commit to a formation that would employ a pair of strikers up top. But he didn’t out trying, either.
“I’m sure it’s a decent headache for Danny to have,” said forward Lancaster, who in his first start of 2022 scored twice, netting a penalty in first half stoppage time before tapping in a 53rd-minute game winner as the product of solid buildup along the left side.
Lancaster later exited in favor of Wilson Harris, an offseason LouCity signing who had played the bulk of the minutes entering Saturday while Lancaster healed from a hamstring injury. The 2020 USL Championship Young Player of the Year also scored in the 93rd minute to give himself seven goals on the season, one off the league lead.
“When you look at how the two of them have pushed each other, worked with each other, it shows that you have two really, really good 9s,” Cruz said. “What we’ll continue to do is evaluate them — evaluate the opponent.
“I’ve said it before: I’m confident in both of them. Whoever starts, I’m confident they’ll get the job done.”
Cruz’s other option, of course, would be to start them both. LouCity has rolled out a 4-3-3 formation in the majority of its games this season. But the likes of Amadou Dia and Manny Harris have the versatility to turn from outside backs to wing backs, and a strong core of central defenders could anchor a 3-5-2 look.
Over time, that might eliminate one of Lancaster’s concerns: watching from the bench in the event Harris plays too well.
“I hate it. He’s scoring too much. How am I going to get in the team?” Lancaster said.
But then he cracked a smile.
“Nah, he’s a great lad,” Lancaster added. “I love working with him. He’s doing great. He’s pushing me. I’m pushing him. That’s what you want in a team. You want two decent strikers scoring goals.”
Yes, these are good problems to have when a club is 8-2-3 past the campaign’s one-third mark. LouCity’s 27 points top the Eastern Conference table. Despite rare back-to-back league losses entering Saturday’s rebound victory, the boys in purple are also level on points with Western Conference leader San Antonio FC.
“This is how this team can be so dangerous when you see the depth,” Cruz said.
Lancaster, a 29-year-old Tottenham Hotspur academy product, netted his 72nd and 73rd career regular-season goals Saturday, moving him into third on the USL Championship’s all-time list. The Englishman has played all but one season in Louisville since moving to the United States in 2015, leading the boys in purple in scoring in 2018, 2020 and 2021.
In recent years, however, City hasn’t had a Harris type of player to turn to as another option. The 22-year-old from Los Angeles joined the Sporting Kansas City academy in 2017 before, coincidentally, committing to play college soccer at the University of Louisville. He eventually spurned that opportunity in favor of a pro career, breaking out to the tune of eight goals in 16 games during a 2020 season shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cruz signed Harris expecting to have to juggle playing time with Lancaster. But due to Lancaster’s injury, the scenario hasn’t become a reality until now.
“Me and Cam have been playing up top together,” Harris had said earlier this year, after scoring in LouCity’s season-opening win. “Working off each other, I’ve just been trying to pick up things off him as a consistent goal scorer in the league. I’m trying to always learn from him and learn from Danny and just take what I can.
“I think it’s a championship team, and you need depth like any team you see around the world.”
