The top of the table in the Eastern Conference will be decided at 8:30 p.m. Saturday with first-place Louisville City FC taking on second-place Memphis 901 FC at AutoZone Park in the Bluff City.
LouCity (12-3-3, 39 points) holds a one-point lead over Memphis 901 (12-4-2, 38 points) just past the midway point of the USL Championship season. Both teams enter the weekend in form, with City riding a four-game winning streak and Memphis 901 unbeaten in four of its last five matches.
This recent run for boys in purple turned back a rough patch of three losses in four games, pushing City back into the top spot in the standings. The club has outscored opponents 13-2 during the current run, most recently blasting New York Red Bulls II by a 6-0 score last Saturday.
Led by coach Ben Pirmann, Memphis 901 FC has surprised this season after the club earned its first-ever playoff spot last year. New additions, including former Atlanta United 2 forward Phillip Goodrum (10 goals) and midfielder Aaron Molloy (31 chances created), have brought significant quality to the Memphis attack.
City has dominated the series between the teams, with five wins and one draw against just one defeat.
Follow along
- The game will air live locally on My58 TV and ESPN Louisville’s 680/105.7, with streaming via ESPN+ and the WDRB Now app.
- For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc on Twitter and Louisville City FC on Facebook. Also find the club at louisvillecityfc on Instagram.
Injury report
- Wilson Harris (Questionable)
- Cameron Lancaster (Out)
- Kyle Morton (Questionable)
Story lines…
Winning ways: LouCity’s current winning streak is the club’s longest string of consecutive victories since it closed out the 2021 season with four in a row on its way to the Eastern Conference final. It would take two more results to match the club’s longest regular season winning streak of six games accomplished both at the end of the 2018 and 2020 seasons.
Goals aplenty: The boys in purple top the league with a plus-26 goal differential and rank in the top two in goals (40) and goals per match (2.2). Those numbers are even more impressive considering the absence of injured striker Cameron Lancaster for much of the season. Lancaster is the club’s all-time leading scorer who netted 22 goals a season ago.
Lockdown defense: Don’t forget about City’s potent defense, either. The 14 goals conceded by City rank as the best in the Eastern Conference. Only top-four Western Conference teams New Mexico United and San Antonio FC have better defensive records. Against Red Bulls II last out, the boys in purple allowed only a single shot on target.
Hat trick hero: Winger Enoch “Matiti” Mushagalusa wrote himself into the LouCity record books on Saturday, becoming the fourth LouCity player in club history to score a hat trick. He joined center forwards Chandler Hoffman, Matt Fondy and Cameron Lancaster. On top of the first three-goal game of his career, Mushagalusa also assisted Jorge Gonzalez’s 23rd–minute strike on his way to earning USL Championship Player of the Week honors.
Ownby-ing defenses: Veteran forward Brian Ownby also had a career night against Red Bulls II, registering two goals and two assists . The Virginia native — who has filled in at center forward of late in the absence of Lancaster and Wilson Harris — became the second LouCity player to register a pair of goals and assists in the same game. Magnus Rasmussen first did it on June 27, 2015, in a 6-2 win over OKC Energy FC.
Delivery man: Ownby’s two assists from Saturday tied him for LouCity’s all-time lead in the category, sharing the top spot with teammate Oscar Jimenez. The pair, who both signed with the club ahead of the 2017 season, have both tallied 32 assists over their five years in purple.
Living legend: The only player to have stayed with LouCity since its launch in 2015, midfielder Niall McCabe is still shining in his eighth professional season. After missing the start of the season with an illness, McCabe has tallied three goals and three assists in 12 appearances to open 2022.
