Louisville City FC coach Danny Cruz expressed confidence in his squad throughout a rocky recent run of form. On Saturday night, the boys in purple showed why.
LouCity delivered an emphatic response to a rare three-game losing streak, delivering a 2-0 victory over rival Indy Eleven in front of a Lynn Family Stadium crowd of 13,248 — fourth-largest in club history.
It was a victory that both bumped City to fourth on the table and signaled that it’s too early to county the club out of the Eastern Conference race.
“You could see the mentality of the group was up to the level that we expect of ourselves,” said coach Danny Cruz. “I asked the group before the game to fight. I asked them that when your backs are against the wall, to make sure we don’t lay over. I think it starts there.”
Oscar Jimenez assisted both LouCity goals Saturday — the first tapped in by Elijah Wynder on an early cross before Cameron Lancaster thundered in a header on a second half corner kick.
In turn, City’s defense held Indy Eleven without a shot on target and to five attempts overall. Goalkeeper Oliver Semmle registered his 10th clean sheet on the season, tying the USL Championship’s rookie record.
LouCity excelled in a new-look formation, making the most of a midweek roster addition. Center back Kyle Adams started days after completing a transfer from San Diego Loyal, marking one of Cruz’s six lineup changes.
Adams played on the left side of a three-back line, freeing up Amadou Dia and Jimenez to push up the field. Jimenez tallied assist Nos. 33 and 34 in purple — ranking second on the club’s all-time list — as a result.
“Today I played as a wingback, and when I first got here in 2017 that’s the position I played,” Jimenez said. “I had a lot of joy doing it, so all day today I just said I’m going to go out there and have fun.”
LouCity entered Saturday on just its second three-game league losing streak ever, the other being at the tail end of the 2015 campaign. Offensive production was the main culprit, and this result marked LouCity’s first multi-goal outing since a June 17 draw at Phoenix Rising FC.
Jimenez zipped a grounded cross to Wynder for the opener in the 33rd minute, marking Wynder’s first goal of the year. Minutes prior, Wynder earned a foul in a dangerous spot before Lancaster rocketed a free kick off the cross bar.
“It was a good moment for me and the team,” Wynder said. “I’ve been creating a lot of chances lately — haven’t gotten the goal. I finally put one in…We had a huge crowd tonight. They played a huge part. When we come out flying and they get into it, it helps us even more.”
In the second half Lancaster converted when Jimenez looped in a 65th minute corner kick. The boys in purple nearly scored on another corner in the 71st, but Sean Totsch saw his header cleared off the line.
City numbered eight shots inside the box, generating three big chances as measured by Stats Perform.
“They have a lot to be proud of with the performance tonight, but we have to build on it now,” Cruz said. “It’s not getting complacent. It’s not getting comfortable. It’s building on it and making sure we have that mentality week in and week out — and we control that.”
With the victory, LouCity completed a season sweep of Indy Eleven, adding to a 1-0 away win on May 27. Next, the boys in purple turn around to travel to FC Tulsa on Friday with kickoff at 9 p.m.
Game Summary: Louisville City FC vs. Indy Eleven
Date: July 29, 2023
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
Weather: 90 degrees, mostly clear
Attendance: 13,248
Scoring
Louisville City FC (1, 1, 2)
Indy Eleven (0, 0, 0)
Goals
Louisville City FC:
28’ Elijah Wynder (Oscar Jimenez)
65’ Cameron Lancaster (Oscar Jimenez)
Lineups
Louisville City FC: 28 — Oliver Semmle, 19 — Oscar Jimenez (85’ 15 — Manny Perez), 32 — Kyle Adams, 4 — Sean Totsch, 6 — Wes Charpie, 13 — Amadou Dia, 12 — Tyler Gibson, 23 — Elijah Wynder, 5 — Rasmus Thellufsen (90’ 11 — Niall McCabe), 10 — Brian Ownby (90’ 7 — Ray Serrano), 17 — Cameron Lancaster (84’ 14 — Wilson Harris)
Subs not used: 18 — Danny Faundez, 8 — Carlos Moguel Jr., 90 — Maarten Pouwels
Head coach: Danny Cruz
Indy Eleven: 28 — Yannik Oettl, 22 — Robby Dambrot, 5 — Callum Chapman-Page, 15 — Adrian Diz Pe, 44 — Macauley King, 14 — Aodhan Quinn, 8 — Jack Blake (85’ 21 — Roberto Molina), 7 — Sebastian Velasquez (70’ 20 — Solomon Asante), 13 — Sebastian Guenzatti, 42 — Douglas Martinez, 29 — Stefano Pinho (70’ 23 — Younes Boudadi)
Subs not used: 1 — Tim Trilk, 4 — Mechack Jerome, 10 — Harrison Robledo, 35 — Diego Sanchez
Head coach: Mark Lowry
Stats Summary: Louisville City FC / Indy Eleven
Shots: 14 / 4
Shots on Goal: 5 / 0
Possession: 32.2% / 67.8%
Fouls: 15 / 12
Offside: 5 / 0
Corner Kicks: 8 / 7
Discipline Summary
Indy Eleven:
61’ Robby Dambrot (yellow)
68’ Aodhan Quinn (yellow)
86’ Adrian Diz Pe (yellow)
90’+ Younes Boudadi (yellow)
Referee: Ricardo Fierro
