By Andrew Bell
Louisville City FC defeated regional rival Indy Eleven by a 5-3 score Saturday in a chippy eight-goal thriller featuring a Wilson Harris hat trick and CBS coverage from Lynn Family stadium.
Harris scored his first goal in the 16th minute when wingback Jake Morris received the ball in the box and played a fantastic ball to Harris, who was waiting on the edge of the six-yard box. Harris took a touch and slammed it past the Indy goalkeeper from a tough angle with his weak foot.
Indy Eleven evened things in the 34th minute when Morris got tangled up with Younes Boudadi, resulting in a penalty. Indy Eleven midfielder Jack Blake converted to the left side of the goal.
Morris made up for it though when he and Harris linked up again to create LouCity’s second goal and retake the lead in the 41st minute with Harris getting on the end of a perfect through ball from the wingback. Harris then slid a low cross through everyone to a waiting Jansen Wilson, who opened his hips and scored on the back post.
City academy product Elijah Wynder scored his team’s third in the 50th minute when Adrien Perez’s cross popped up to Ray Serrano on the endline. Serrano nodded the ball back into the middle where Wynder finished the job with a powerful header from close up.
Indy put the game back within one in the 59th minute after a counter attack led to a cut-back cross where Blake slotted low it past LouCity’s defense to make it 3-2.
Just three minutes later, Harris scored LouCity’s fourth and his second of the night in fantastic fashion. Perez put Harris through around the midfield mark and Harris did the rest with a powerful run, touch around the goalkeeper, and finish to give his team the 4-2 lead.
Harris completed his hat trick in the 71st minute after his perfectly timed run led him to receive the ball from Serrano in prime position. Harris then opened his body and curled the ball with his left foot around the Indy goalkeeper.
Indy Eleven scored a consolation goal in the 82nd minute when a corner popped out to an Indy player, who fired a shot that took a deflection on the way to goal, sending City goalkeeper Damian Las the wrong way.
“The atmosphere was fantastic. It was an incredible evening and I’m really proud of the group and how they handled the moment,” LouCity head coach Danny Cruz said after the game. “This is what’s great about it — there’s still plenty of areas where we need to be better. There’s a lot to take from the game.”
The win means LouCity is now 4-0, its best start since 2018 — the last time City won the USL Championship title. City has also now scored five goals in consecutive games, and the boys in purple sit first in the Eastern Conference. LouCity is flying on both sides of the ball with the best goal differential (+10) by a long shot.
A knack for scoring
Harris is on fire up top for LouCity. He entered the game with four goals in three games, and after his first-ever hat trick, the 24-year-old has seven in four. Harris, who penned a multi-year deal with City this past offseason, is moving at a historic clip and is in the form of his life. Not only does the California native lead the league in scoring, he’s doing it at an extremely efficient rate, having only shot the ball on target 14 times this season.
His efficiency likely comes from his positional awareness. Against Indy Eleven on Saturday, Harris had 12 touches in the opponent’s box, seven shots, all from within the box, with four landing on target — all of those statistics being the most out of any player on the field Saturday. Harris’s ability to latch onto the ball in dangerous areas makes his finishing and composure even more frightening for defenses.
Not only can Harris be a target man, he can drop deep and make plays or runs. His goal in the 62nd minute saw Harris drop deep, make a curling run, and drive the ball through the opponent’s half.
LouCity legend Cameron Lancaster, who now plays for Lexington SC in USL League One, still holds the regular season scoring record with 25. If Harris continues at this rate, he has a shot at surpassing his former teammate.
“This is a kid who came in this offseason with a point to prove,” Cruz said about Harris’s mentality. “He’s a part of our leadership group for a reason because he’s shown me the growth he’s had in the offseason. Last year, the injuries made it difficult for him to get into a rhythm. He’s clearly in a rhythm now. I think as he continues to grow and gain more experience he starts to find different ways to put himself in a position to be at his best every weekend.”
Everything in balance
For LouCity’s first four games of the season, Cruz hasn’t made any changes to the starting lineup. In the offseason, however, big changes were made, which featured six newcomers added to the starting 11. Despite this, Cruz’s team looks like it’s been playing together for years as LouCity looks smooth in transition and in all aspects of the game.
Starting from the back, the experience and dominance that City has at center back gives its wingbacks, Morris and Wilson, assurance to go forward and create chances. On Saturday, City held Indy Eleven to just three shots on target. Center backs Sean Totsch, Arturo Ordóñez and Kyle Adams combined for four tackles (100% win rate), nine interceptions, and 11 clearances. This dominance allowed Morris and Wilson to get forward and combine for five crosses and two chances created against Indy.
Clearly, City’s wingbacks have instructions to crash the box, and it has paid off. Last weekend, Morris scored his first goal in purple from point-blank range after getting on the end of a Taylor Davila cross. On Saturday, Wilson scored his first LouCity goal after finishing a cross from Harris around the penalty spot.
“The grounds crew probably hates me,” Wilson said jokingly about his attempted knee slide celebration after his goal. “The goal is great, but it’s even more important to get the win. To win with a crowd like this really takes this club to the next level.”
Wilson, an Elizabethtown native, grew up watching LouCity.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Wilson said. “This club is special. “I was at both of the (USL Championship Finals) that we won at UofL and Slugger (Field). To see how the club has progressed and continues to grow and win. It’s awesome.”
Moving up the field in Cruz’s 5-2-3 formation, Davila and Wynder work perfectly in tandem in the midfield.
When asked what’s making the difference in the midfield, Cruz said, “When you look at Taylor Davila last week and tonight, it’s his ability to control the game with the ball, and when you look at Elijah Wynder and his ability to cover the ground, break things up in transition, and obviously get on the end of things in the box—it’s a good combination there.”
On the night, Davila recorded a team-high four chances created and 84% passing accuracy — the highest among non-substitutes on Saturday. Against Indy, Wynder put up three shots, with two landing on target, 3/3 successful dribbles, and a goal.
In front of Davila and Wynder are Perez, who joined City in the offseason, and Serrano, who is performing exceptionally in the absence of Brian Ownby, who’s out with a long-term injury. Both Perez and Serrano are lightning quick and can skip past defenders with ease. On Saturday, Serrano went 2/2 on dribbles and Perez 4/5. Additionally, the two forwards had a combined three assists, five shots, and 45 passes into the final third.
“He’s a kid that’s constantly pushing himself to be better,” Cruz said about Serrano and his recent performances. “When you look at (Serrano and Harris) working off one another, it’s very clear that the relationship is blossoming over the first four games. When you throw Adrien Perez in the mix, you have a combination of guys right now that are in good form.”
LouCity is firing on all cylinders, and league-wide numbers show that. Notably, besides Harris leading the league in scoring, Serrano is tied for first in the USL Championship for assists (3), with Perez tied for third not far behind (2). Serrano and Davila are tied for second in the league for chances created (11). Lastly, City as a team is tied for second in the league for clean sheets with two on the season so far.
LouCity will have a short turnaround and will travel to play Charleston Battery on Tuesday. In City’s next home game, the boys in purple will host USL League One’s Greenville Triumph FC for the first round of the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday, April 16. LouCity will then return to USL Championship play on April 20 away to Loudoun United.
