Holding an early lead in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference standings, Louisville City FC travels to play traditional Western Conference powerhouse Sacramento Republic FC at 10 p.m. Saturday from Heart Health Park in California.
LouCity hits the road after a successful first home stand of 2025. The boys in purple bested Loudoun United FC and Detroit City FC, both by 2-0 scores, the past two weekends at Lynn Family Stadium.
Those results vaulted LouCity (3-0-1, 10 points) into sole possession of first place with coach Danny Cruz’s side having dropped points just once in its first four games.
Into its 11th season, City can accomplish a rare first Saturday. The club has never won at Sacramento, where it fell by a 5-0 score back in 2023 — the most lopsided defeat in team history. Louisville, however, won both of its home games against the Republic in 2022 and 2024.
High-scoring games were a recurring theme in previous meetings with LouCity and Sacramento combining to average 5.33 goals per game.
The Republic lifted the USL Championship’s Players’ Shield two seasons back and finished atop the West’s regular season standings last year. Under direction of new coach Neill Collins — formerly of the Tampa Bay Rowdies — Sacramento is off to an uncharacteristically slow start at 1-1-1.
Collins’ side suffered its first defeat of the season last Friday, when FC Tulsa used an 87th-minute winner in a 1-0 result. The Republic put a single shot on target on the night.
Follow Along
• The game will air live locally on WBKI/The CW and ESPN Louisville’s AM 680/FM 105.7.
• If streaming, download the free WDRB+ app to watch the local feed in Louisville or ESPN+ for national coverage.
• 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.
Story Lines…
One of one: Veteran LouCity defender Sean Totsch enters Saturday on the cusp of becoming the USL Championship’s all-time regular season minutes leader. The 33-year-old, who joined Louisville back in 2017, sits at 22,169 minutes played — 55 short of the recently retired Kenardo Forbes. Totsch is one of three City players to have played every minute of the 2025 season so far.
Sizzling Serrano: Wide attacker Ray Serrano has so far carried over momentum from his standout 2024 season. A USL Championship Young Player of the Year finalist, Serrano has scored in three of LouCity’s four games, including the opener versus Detroit last weekend. Still only 22 years old, Serrano is a senior member of City’s squad having first played professionally for his home Seattle Sounders FC organization in 2018.
Home ground: LouCity coach Danny Cruz set out to make Lynn Family Stadium a “fortress” last year, when City went 16-1 on home turf during a Players’ Shield-winning regular season. Adding on 2025’s wins in Butchertown, Louisville has now won 11 straight regular season home games, marking the third-longest streak in league history. Cruz’s squad is two victories short of matching 2014’s Orlando City SC team.
Midfield magician: Fresh off a USL Championship Team of the Week selection, Taylor Davila functioned as a key midfield spark in LouCity’s win over Detroit. The 2024 Player of the Year finalist was one of the most impactful players in attack, leading the boys in purple in chances created (3), passes into the final third (18) and completed passes (31). He has now created 85 total chances since the beginning of last season, 23 more than any Louisville player over that span.
The local hero: In a substitute role versus Detroit, the versatile Jansen Wilson notched his first goal of the campaign. The Kentucky native ensured the three points for the home side, doubling its advantage in the 77th minute with a calm right-footed finish. It marked Wilson’s 10th goal since he signed his first professional contract ahead of the 2024 season.
Lights out Las: Goalkeeper Damian Las, an Austin FC loanee, has been a force between the sticks for LouCity during its hot start. Las, who is in his second year on loan with the club, logged four saves en route to a second straight clean sheet against Detroit, which entered last weekend first in the East with multiple goals scored in each of its games. His 83.3 percent save percentage ranks third among USL Championship goalkeepers.
Well-known threat: Sacramento’s attack includes one of the league’s most formidable goal scorers: Russell Cicerone. Cicerone, a Michigan native, has recorded 63 goals and 24 assists in more than 15,500 league minutes played. He has a track record of scoring against this weekend’s visitors, particularly in big moments. Cicerone has netted four shots against Louisville — two of them in a 2022 conference semifinal meeting.
Fitting right in: Despite the defeat last time out, Republic FC’s Freddy Kleemann was historically dominant from a defensive perspective. Kleemann, a newcomer who signed with the club this past offseason following two seasons in Tampa Bay, earned his first career Team of the Week selection for his display at Tulsa. The 26-year-old won an astounding 19 duels, including 16 in the air, which is tied for the second-most in a single game in league history. The center back also tallied 13 clearances to lead the team.
