Mired in a midseason slump, Louisville City FC will look for a return to its usual self in front of the club’s largest crowd yet this season.
LouCity hosts Indy Eleven at 8 p.m. Saturday on 2023’s “Fill the Fam” night at Lynn Family Stadium. A host of promotions — including pregame giveaways and postgame fireworks — will pair with a feisty on-field rivalry.
Last year, City defeated the Tampa Bay Rowdies in front of a record 14,673 in its first Fill the Fam game. The forecast looks warm but dry for the weekend in Louisville with a similar showing expected this go around.
Fans can visit LouCity.com/FilltheFam for tickets and more information.
Amid a rare three-game losing streak, LouCity (8-7-5, 29 points) has slipped to sixth on the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference table. That’s still more than two games to the good in terms of the overall playoff picture, but East-leading Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC has distanced nine points ahead of the boys in purple.
Indy Eleven (6-7-7, 25 points) enters off its biggest win of the season, upsetting Pittsburgh by a 3-1 score in a midweek away game. The victory bumped Indy to eighth on the table and back into an Eastern Conference playoff position.
Saturday marks a return meeting from a May 27 LouCity victory at Indy Eleven. Ray Serrano served up an early corner kick finished by Wilson Harris for a 1-0 victory. City is looking to take the rivalry series after Indy claimed it last year for the first time since entering the USL Championship in 2018.
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. Also find the club at louisvillecityfc on Instagram and Louisville City FC on Facebook.
Player availability report
Owen Damm (out)
Jorge Gonzalez (out)
Wilson Harris (questionable)
Dylan Mares (questionable)
Kyle Morton (out)
Ramzi Qawasmy (questionable)
Jordan Scarlett (out)
Story lines…
Mr. LouCity: Fans are encouraged to be to their seats before kickoff Saturday as the club honors midfielder Niall McCabe. Having spent the duration of his professional career in purple, the Irishman became the third LouCity player to hit 200 USL Championship appearances with a start in last Saturday’s game against Birmingham Legion FC. McCabe joined teammates Paolo DelPiccolo and Sean Totsch in reaching the milestone.
Counting crowds: LouCity-Indy will rank highly on LouCity’s single-game attendance list currently topped by last year’s Fill the Fam game. Following 14,673, the rest of City’s top crowds are: 14,456 (vs. Swope Park Rangers in the 2017 USL Championship Final); 13,812 (vs. FC Cincinnati on on Aug. 12, 2017); 12,188 (vs. Swope Park on Oct. 12, 2019); and 12,115 (vs. Memphis 901 FC on June 12, 2021).
A stunning streak: While three-game losing skids aren’t all too uncommon in the USL Championship, they are exceedingly rare for LouCity. This has happened just once prior in club history, over the final three regular season games of City’s inaugural season from Sept. 5-19 of 2015. The boys in purple also dropped three straight in the spring of 2022, but that was across all competitions, including a U.S. Open Cup defeat to Major League Soccer’s Nashville SC.
San Diego swap: LouCity will have a new roster addition available for selection this weekend with center back Kyle Adams having arrived on a transfer from San Diego Loyal SC. Adams, San Diego’s 2023 minutes leader, moved to Louisville with City forward Enoch Mushagalusa heading out west on loan in a corresponding move. The New Zealand native Adams is making his first foray into the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference.
Busy stretch: As recent losses piled up, LouCity had little time to rectify issues in training amid a run of five games in 15 days. That included two Wednesday games mixed in next to a trio of Saturday kickoffs. Finally, the boys in purple will get a full week between games leading up to the Indy matchup. Just two midweek fixtures remain on the 2023 schedule with 14 regular season games to go.
Corner conundrum: LouCity didn’t allow a goal from open play against Birmingham Legion, but a pair of second half corner kicks undid the boys in purple last out. The second of them — the game-winner — came two minutes into stoppage time in the type of situation where City had excelled this season. Prior to the Birmingham game, the club had conceded only twice on corners in 19 games.
Bucking trends: LouCity staked itself to a 1-0 lead thanks to Dylan Mares’ 34th-minute opener last Saturday against Birmingham, and the boys in purple figured to take points from the game given this season’s trends. They entered the Birmingham game 8-1-1 overall and 5-1-0 at home in games when they scored first. The other defeat was a similar 2-1 loss May 24 against FC Tulsa when the visitors rallied from 1-0 down to get their winner in the 89th minute.
Hunting goals: Recent outings aside, LouCity has fielded one of the top defenses in the USL Championship having conceded multiple goals seven times in 20 games. However, the boys in purple continue to struggle in their own final third, putting together just three multi-goal games themselves. Double-digit scorers from 2022, both Wilson Harris and Brian Ownby have missed significant time due to injury but are on the return.
Semmle’s shutouts: Goalkeeper Oliver Semmle’s nine clean sheets continue to lead the USL Championship and are one off the league’s rookie record of 10 set in 2014 by the Rochester Rhinos’ John McCarthy. Semmle is also in play to reach the overall Championship record of 15 first set in 2018 by Maxime Crepeau, then of the Ottawa Fury, and matched last year by San Antonio FC’s Jordan Farr.
