The code has now been cracked. Facing a tight turnaround, Louisville City FC came out with added fuel as it earned its first-ever win over Rhode Island FC, 2-1 on Wednesday night at Lynn Family Stadium, avenging two home losses from last season.
The result not only extends LouCity’s best unbeaten start to a league campaign to 12 games, but it also gives the club exclusive control of first place in the Eastern Conference on 28 points — three points ahead of the Charleston Battery. The Battery, however, do have a game in hand.
The boys in purple recorded goals in each half Wednesday, with the first coming from the head of Aiden McFadden 20 minutes in — his first of 2025 — followed by Ray Serrano in the 63rd minute.
The only time Rhode Island found its way through the Louisville defense was by way of an unfortunate Kyle Adams own goal minutes after McFadden’s opener. Other than that, the City defense did to RIFC what it has been doing all season: keep attacks quiet.
“Honestly, we talked about making sure that we tried to put together a complete performance, and I thought tonight was just that,” said head coach Danny Cruz. “… I thought we were excellent on both sides of the ball. I thought our mentality was excellent. … I can single out 11 guys in 11 different moments, so all in all thought it was a complete 90 minutes. A performance we should be proud of and we need to continue to build on it.”
It was one of those fixtures that the boys in purple eyed since the start of 2025, with Khano Smith’s team being the one to end its record-breaking 2024 run. That certainly created extra juice inside the packed Lynn Family Stadium of 9,183 fans.
“It was amazing to play here and with these fans, everything is easier,” said defender Arturo Ordóñez. “We feed off them.”
Louisville, which was forced to adjust after an early injury to midfielder Kevon Lambert, controlled the majority of the opening period. It registered double Rhode Island’s number of touches inside the opposition’s box during that span. The 20th minute saw City take the lead, as McFadden met Adrien Perez’s cross and headed it home to give Louisville the early edge.
It didn’t last long, though, with RIFC equalizing from an own goal by Adams in the 27th minute — a situation created by the work of Joe Brito in the front line.
Even with less possession in the second half, City maintained the same control they showed in the first, staying firmly in the driver’s seat throughout.
The hosts rightfully regained their lead midway through the second half when Serrano scored in the 63rd minute, assisted by Jansen Wilson’s slip pass.
Frustration mounted for the visitors from then on as they attempted to level the match for a second time. Rhode Island combined for four yellow cards in the final 20 minutes plus stoppage time. Two of which were won by Jojea Kwizera.
“We knew coming into this match it was going to be a war,” Serrano said. “We wanted to make a statement from last year. Obviously, they beat us in league play and knocked us out of the playoffs, so we definitely had something to prove tonight. We came out organized and fought really hard and came out with the ‘W’ thankfully.”
The boys in purple are back at Lynn Family Stadium Saturday night for their third game in seven days when Birmingham Legion FC rolls into town for an 8 p.m. kickoff. The Father’s Day weekend matchup is Nonprofit Night in Louisville, where local organizations are set to be honored throughout the match. To see the meeting between two Eastern Conference foes, head over to LouCity.com/nonprofit/ for tickets and further information.
Game Summary: Louisville City FC vs. Rhode Island FC
Date: June 11, 2025
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium
Kickoff: 8:00 p.m. ET
Weather: 81 degrees, partly cloudy
Attendance: 9,183
Scoring
Louisville City FC (1, 1, 2)
Rhode Island FC (1, 0, 1)
Goals
Louisville City FC:
20’ Aiden McFadden (Adrien Perez)
Rhode Island FC:
27’ Kyle Adams (own goal)
63’ Ray Serrano (Jansen Wilson)
Lineups
Louisville City FC: 1 – Damian Las; 13 – Amadou Dia (59’ 15 – Manny Perez), 32 – Kyle Adams (c), 5 – Arturo Ordóñez, 4 – Sean Totsch, 2 – Aiden McFadden, 17 – Taylor Davila, 31 – Kevon Lambert (8’ 27 – Evan Davila), 7 – Ray Serrano, 16 – Adrien Perez (62’ 25 – Jansen Wilson), 9 – Phillip Goodrum (59’ 23 – Sam Gleadle)
Subs not used: 12 – Danny Faundez; 3 – Jake Morris, 53 – Cameron Lancaster, 80 – Hayden Stamps, 83 – Brandon Dayes
Head coach: Danny Cruz
Rhode Island FC: 22 – Jackson Lee; 5 – Grant Stoneman (c), 15 – Frank Nodarse (62’ 17 – Jojea Kwizera), 24 – Karifa Yao (61’ 6 – Aimé Mabika), 14 – Rio Hope-Gund, 12 – Clay Holstad, 3 – Aldair Sanchez (82’ 80 – Isaac Angking), 77 – Amos Shapiro-Thompson, 20 – Zach Herivaux (81’ 8 – Taimu Okiyoshi), 18 – Joe Brito (68’ 11 – Noah Fuson), 10 – Albert Dikwa (68’ 21 – Maxi Rodriguez)
Subs not used: 13 – Will Meyer
Head coach: Khano Smith
Stats Summary: Louisville City FC / Rhode Island FC
Shots: 13 / 4
Shots on Goal: 4 / 2
Expected goals: 0.76 / 0.32
Possession: 43% / 57%
Fouls: 13 / 11
Offside: 10 / 1
Corner Kicks: 8 / 0
Discipline Summary
Louisville City FC:
17’ Evan Davila (yellow)
56’ Sean Totsch (yellow)
Rhode Island FC:
5’ Frank Nodarse (yellow)
40’ Khano Smith (yellow)
71’ Jojea Kwizera (yellow)
83’ Bench (yellow)
90’ Noah Fuson (yellow)
90’+5 Jojea Kwizera (second yellow)
Referee: Elton Garcia
