Louisville City FC will look to rebound from its only loss this season when hosting Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday. With the ‘Hounds in town, it’s only appropriate that the game also marks LouCity’s annual Pups at the Pitch night, when furry friends are welcome to join fans at Lynn Family Stadium.
A ruff midweek outing saw LouCity shut out for the first time this season in a 1-0 loss to Major League Soccer’s Minnesota United in the U.S. Open Cup. The loss ended a nine-game unbeaten streak across all competitions to being the season.
The (good) boys in purple remain unbeaten in league play, however, with a 5-0-2 record. That adds up to 17 points and a second-place standing behind the current top dog, Loudoun United FC.
Pittsburgh scored the biggest upset of the Open Cup’s Round of 32, defeating MLS side NYCFC in dramatic fashion Wednesday, 1-0. Beto Ydrach headed home the winning goal in the game’s final minute to clinch a place in the Round of 16. A 23-year-old, it was the young pup’s first professional goal.
LouCity and Pittsburgh have a long history in the dog-eat-dog USL Championship. LouCity has collared the ‘Hounds more often than not with an 11-5-6 advantage all time.
As the saying goes, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but in the case of Pittsburgh’s Coach Bob Lilley you wouldn’t need to. The 59-year-old is the winningest coach in USL Championship history and the winningest active head coach in American men’s professional soccer. He registered his 400th professional victory across stops in the Championship, the A-League and the Major Indoor Soccer League.
Despite his relative youth, though, LouCity’s Danny Cruz has proven he can hang with the big dogs. Cruz owns a 4-1-2 advantage in matchups with Lilley.
Pups at the Pitch night raises awareness for the Kentucky Humane Society, which selected the young adoptable husky Choco Chip to lead LouCity onto the field Saturday as honorary captain. Fans that bring their dogs to the game can pick up a complimentary bandana and check out activations including photo ops and the Woof n’ Waggin Dog Bakery Truck.
For tickets and more information, visit LouCity.com/pups.
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…
Best in Butchertown: With a win Saturday, LouCity would equal the USL Championship’s all-time home regular season winning streak originally set by Orlando City SC in 2014. Louisville City has gone 19-1-0 in the Championship’s regular season at home since the start of the 2024 season.
Still unbeaten (in league play): If LouCity avoids defeat Saturday, it would match last year’s record-setting, Players’ Shield-winning squad at eight straight games without a defeat. Going back to 2016, the club’s all-time record for an undefeated run in the regular season stands at a staggering 17 games.
Lockdown: With just four goals conceded in regular season games, LouCity is the stingiest USL Championship team to this point in 2025. Goalkeeper Damian Las has recorded three clean sheets this season, tied for third most in the league. With 12 goals scored, meanwhile, the LouCity attack is tied for eighth-most prolific in the league. LouCity’s goal differential (+8) is the league’s best.
Back-to-back losses: “Here at Louisville, we don’t lose two games in a row. That’s something I learned the first day that I got here,” defender Amadou Dia said after the Minnesota loss. He’s right. LouCity did not lose back-to-back games at any point last season and the club hasn’t lost consecutive games since July 2023. Into the 11th season in club history, LouCity has only lost back-to-back games just 15 times across all competitions. Under Danny Cruz, LouCity is 23-9-2 following a loss.
Since 1778: On Saturday, LouCity will debut its alternate 1778 Kit, an homage to the historic City of Louisville flag. It features a navy blue jersey, yellow accents and white primary sponsorship from Fifth Third Bank. Louisville was founded in 1778.
