Louisville City FC continues the busiest stretch of its season Wednesday with a rematch of high-profile USL Championship clubs.
Fourth in the Eastern Conference, LouCity hosts second-place Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC for an 8 p.m. kickoff at Lynn Family Stadium.
More goals should be in the offing than when these sides last met July 1 for a scoreless draw in Pittsburgh thanks to Louisville’s larger grass pitch. The boys in purple will also have to be cognizant of fatigue, though, off a weekend victory over Loudoun United FC and ahead of Saturday’s international friendly with Mexico’s Atlante FC.
The scheduled congestion will continue through mid-July totaling five games over 15 days — a repeating pattern of Saturdays followed by short turnarounds to midweek fixtures.
LouCity (8-4-5, 29 points) is amid a run of four USL Championship games unbeaten dating back to June 17. The boys in purple continue to hunt the league’s best overall record, sitting five points off the pace with a game in hand over both conference leaders exactly halfway into its season.
Pittsburgh (8-2-8, 32 points) hasn’t lost since April 22 — going 11 games undefeated — but has failed to score in three of its last four matches. In a signature of Bob Lilley-coached teams, the Riverhounds lean heavily on their defense with 12 goals against this year six fewer than the Eastern Conference’s next-stingiest squad.
Ticket holders can take advantage of a $2 beer and hot dog happy hour from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Lynn Family Stadium’s Fan Zone. Free LouCity bucket hats, courtesy of game sponsor Kentucky Kingdom, will also be available in the Fan Zone while supplies last.
Follow along
• The game will air live locally on WBKI/The CW and ESPN Louisville’s 680/105.7.
• If streaming, download the free WDRB Now app to watch the local feed in Louisville. ESPN+ also streams the home feed of all USL Championship games not selected for national TV.
• 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.
Player availability report
Jorge Gonzalez (out)
Kyle Morton (out)
Enoch Mushagalusa (questionable)
Brian Ownby (questionable)
Jordan Scarlett (out)
Story lines…
Milestone man: Fans are encouraged to be in their seats early for a pre-kickoff recognition of Sean Totsch. Over the weekend the defender became the second LouCity player to reach 200 USL Championship appearances for the club following Paolo DelPiccolo. The two veteran presences have rotated wearing the captain’s armband this season.
Record pace: Rookie goalkeeper Oliver Semmle kept his ninth clean sheet of the season against Loudoun United. The USL Championship’s record of 15 shutouts was set in the 2018 campaign by current Los Angeles FC and Canadian Men’s National Team goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau; San Antonio FC’s Jordan Farr matched it in 2022.
Shutout streak: LouCity last conceded a goal in its 2-2 draw June 17 at Phoenix Rising SC — a run of 315 consecutive minutes as of the end of the Loudoun victory. A fourth straight clean sheet against Pittsburgh would rank as the second-longest streak in club history behind a string of five games from May 1-May 28 of 2016.
It’s a date: Wednesday’s game will mark the third anniversary of Lynn Family Stadium’s first-ever game — a July 12, 2020, contest also against Pittsburgh. The Butchertown neighborhood venue opened with an ESPN2 broadcast and to a limited capacity crowd of 4,850 that was, at the time, the largest to see a team sporting event amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Niall, the Creator: Still regaining fitness from an early season injury, Niall McCabe made his first start in the Loudoun win since LouCity’s March 11 season opener. The midfielder nearly went the distance, in 85 minutes leading all players with four chances created. McCabe also completed all 10 of his passes in the final third, looking like a key figure moving forward for the boys in purple.
Cam can: LouCity’s all-time leading scorer got back on the sheet Saturday when punching in a rebound at the back post in the 53rd minute against Loudoun. It marked the second goal of the season for Lancaster, who has been riddled by injuries in recent years but continues to rank as one of the USL Championship’s top strikers. His 76 regular season league goals position him third on the league’s all-time list.
Ownby update: Coach Danny Cruz said he’s “hopeful (Brian Ownby) will be back on Wednesday in some capacity.” The game-changing winger has appeared once since June 3, first missing time due to a hamstring pull before more recently slowed by a calf strain. In his one outing, Ownby came off the bench to get the game-winning assist June 24 against Las Vegas Lights FC.
Up next: A unique opportunity awaits LouCity fans over the weekend with the club’s second international friendly. Atlante FC, from Mexico’s second division, visits for a Saturday game that will also represent a celebration of Latin culture at Lynn Family Stadium including live pregame entertainment, food and drink. Visit LouCity.com/Atlante for more information.
