Ray Serrano scored twice — including the 90th-minute winner — and Manny Perez registered both a goal and an assist as Louisville City FC claimed a 3-2 preseason victory Sunday over Lexington SC at the Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center.
The game featured rivalry flair between the two Kentucky clubs, now both members of the USL Championship separated by roughly 83 miles. They meet for the first time in league play on Thursday, May 1, at Lynn Family Stadium on the heels of this feisty friendly.
On Sunday, Lexington mounted a second half comeback only to be thwarted by Serrano’s decisive late goal.
“These games matter,” LouCity coach Danny Cruz said afterward. “We talked about it before (the game). We talked about Louisville-Lexington, and when my players walked off the field, I wanted to be able to tell that it mattered to my group, and I could tell that it did.”
Louisville City was on the front foot early. The boys in purple put a shot on target in the second minute leading up to Serrano’s opener in the seventh. Carlos Moguel Jr. played the ball forward, down the LouCity right, connecting with Manny Perez outside the Lexington box. Perez’s cross found Serrano at the back post and, after a tidy, settling touch, Serrano curled the ball into the back of the net.
City nearly doubled the lead just a minute later when Jansen Wilson and Perez both forced saves of the Lexington goalkeeper. The 1-0 lead remained in place through the halftime break.
Louisville did find its second in the 52nd minute, when Perez played a ball toward the back post. His looping delivery caught the Lexington goalkeeper flat footed, and the ball — perhaps an intended cross, but ultimately a shot — slotted into the top corner.
From there, the visitors answered on enemy turf. In the 72nd minute, Lexington’s Nick Firmino bent a right-footed effort from near the top of the Louisville penalty area past City goalkeeper Damian Las, halving the lead.
Then in the 86th minute, Lexington’s Eliot Goldthorp made a darting run in to the Louisville City box with the ball at his feet. Rounding Louisville defenders, Goldthorp bent the ball past an oncoming Las from around six yards away to level the score.
LouCity, however, had the final word. Academy product Isaac Cano — who appeared in 17 games last season for Lexington in USL League One while on loan from Louisville — rolled a ball to Serrano’s path late in the going. Serrano tucked his finish neatly into the Lexington goal for a victory.
“I think it just is a testament to the group’s resiliency, and that is something we certainly had last year,” Cruz said, calling back to LouCity’s record-setting 2024 season, which earned the club its first Players’ Shield. “I thought there were really a lot of good individual performances, as well as the collective. If we have that mentality going into week on, we’re going to be in a good spot.”
Louisville City’s preseason will conclude on Saturday against League One’s Knoxville SC. The regular season kicks off away to the Charleston Battery on Saturday, March 8.
LouCity’s home opener is set for Saturday, March 22, as the boys in purple host Loudoun United at Lynn Family Stadium. Tickets are on sale now at LouCity.com/opener or by calling (502) LOU-CITY.
2025 Louisville City FC Preseason Schedule
February 1 at Austin FC (L, 3-1)
February 5 vs. New Mexico United (D, 0-0)
February 9 vs. Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (D, 2-2)
February 12 at Seattle Sounders FC (L, 4-0)
February 22 vs. Lexington SC (W, 3-2)
March 1 vs. Knoxville SC
