Stumbles this time of year seem like clockwork for Louisville City FC, a club that has consistently rebounded to advance to the Eastern Conference Final in all seven of its prior seasons. That applies even to LouCity’s hallmark campaigns.
In 2017, the boys in purple won just one of five games from Sept. 15-30 before closing the regular season with back-to-back wins en route to a first USL Championship crown. In 2018, there were four straight games without a victory as August changed to September before LouCity went on to become the league’s first repeat title winner.
Heading into Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. meeting with Sacramento Republic FC at Lynn Family Stadium, history tells us it’s far too early to hit the panic button. That’s even with City limping in off back-to-back defeats at Miami FC last weekend and at Indy Eleven in the midweek.
“I felt that we’ve had a lot of the ball and done a lot of good things and just haven’t executed,” said coach Danny Cruz. “If I walk off the field and feel like I’ve been completely outplayed by an opponent, I think that’s a moment when you might start questioning some things.”
Miami FC scored in the game’s opening minutes, then settled into a low block LouCity couldn’t stymie. City managed the early goal against Indy Eleven, but the rival club capitalized on a pair of errors at the back to score on either side of the half.
In both contests, the boys in purple controlled more possession, took more shots and overwhelmingly spent more time in the opposition’s final third.
“Certainly, you need to reflect, but I’m not questioning the quality of the group,” Cruz continued. “We are where we are on the table for a reason. We’ve had some injuries. We need to get everybody healthy so we have a full group to select from. That’s when this group is at their best — when they’re challenging each other in training every day for spots.
“Ultimately, I’m 100% confident in the group. I’m confident we’ll turn things around Saturday. We certainly have the players to do that, and the rest of the season and where we end up is still in our control.”
Here’s more of what to watch for with LouCity vs. Sacramento…
Follow along
- The game will air live locally on WBKI 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
- Cameron Lancaster (Out)
- Niall McCabe (Out)
Story lines…
Schedule congestion: LouCity will make the Sacramento game its third of five over 15 days with the boys in purple also set to play next week at FC Tulsa on Wednesday and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Saturday. Cruz made five changes midweek, with the lineup a mystery heading into the matchup with Republic FC.
Trophy hunters: But will Sacramento have available a first-choice 11, either? Republic FC will travel ahead of the biggest game in club history when it meets Major League Soccer’s Orlando City SC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday. No USL Championship side has won American soccer’s oldest knockout tournament, and Sacramento couldn’t be blamed for resting up ahead of the opportunity.
The overall race: LouCity has accomplished just about everything in the USL Championship ranks aside from finishing with the league’s best regular-season record, conferences aside. The boys in purple are just two points back of Western Conference leader San Antonio FC in that battle entering the weekend.
A common foe: In one of the shocking results of the season, Indy Eleven — which hadn’t won since June 4, a run of 12 straight games — beat the West’s best in San Antonio (1-0) last weekend before dealing LouCity a defeat (2-1) four days later.
Standing pat: LouCity’s peers on the table haven’t maximized on the club’s downturn.Second-place Memphis 901 FC also dropped back-to-back games on Saturday (to Birmingham Legion FC and Wednesday (to Loudoun United). A four-point buffer remains back to Memphis and the Tampa Bay Rowdies with eight games to.
Coincidence 1: LouCity has lost consecutive games only twice this season. The first stumble, back in May, followed a 10-game unbeaten streak to open the season. City likewise went 10 games without a defeat before this current losing streak.
Coincidence 2: On Wednesday, LouCity dropped to 13-2-0 in games when it scores first. Forward Ray Serrano netted the eighth-minute opener at Indy Eleven and also scored in the second minute back on May 13 in that other loss — also part of City’s only prior two-game skid.
Harris’ influence: While it didn’t amount to a goal, forward Wilson Harris’ work rate was evident Wednesday. The striker led LouCity in expected goals created (0.91) according to Stats Perform and touches in the opposing box (seven). All that was missing from City’s leading scorer — he has 10 goals in his debut season for the club — was the final touch. Harris managed to complete one of six attempted dribbles.
Impact subs: Lineup changes for midweek games can have their benefits, such as City bringing a pair of All-League talents off the bench at Indy. Manny Perez completed 23 of his 25 passes while often moving forward, also tying for the team lead with three completed dribbles. Brian Ownby managed 20 touches in limited time and completed all six of his passes in the final third.
