Among Louisville City FC’s midsummer storylines, the emergence of rookie center back Josh Jones might offer the most intrigue.
The development continues Saturday as the 22-year-old starts for the fourth-straight USL Championship regular season game when LouCity hosts North Carolina FC at 8 p.m. at Lynn Family Stadium.
Standing at 6-foot-5, Jones’ potential leaps off the page. However, the University of Louisville product played just three three regular season minutes over the campaign’s first two months. Since June 25, though, he’s become a fixture, playing 90 minutes in each of the last three City league games.
Veterans Kyle Adams and Sean Totsch will play either side of Jones, with Amadou Dia lining up at left wingback and Aiden McFadden at the right to round out the back five.
Taylor Davila and Kevon Lambert start together in the midfield. Notably, Lambert is coming off a strong performance in Louisville’s last competitive game, a 2-1 win at Lexington SC last weekend in the USL Jägermeister Cup. Lambert won possession seven times without committing a foul.
Phillip Goodrum leads the line with Ray Serrano and Jansen Wilson on the wings.
Damian Las remains in goal, where he’s played every minute this season.
On the bench, Carlos Moguel, Sam Gleadle and Cameron Lancaster have each landed on a scoresheet this season.
A win would see Louisville join the Charleston Battery atop the table ahead of next week’s showdown between the USL Championship’s top-two teams. LouCity is three points back of Charleston with a game in hand, while the Battery sit idle this weekend.
Coverage Saturday will air locally on MyTV 58 and ESPN Louisville’s AM 680/FM 105.7. WDRB+ will carry local streaming coverage, with the national feed streaming on the free CBS Sports Golazo Network.
Team Sheet vs. North Carolina FC
1 – Damian Las
13 – Amadou Dia
32 – Kyle Adams (c)
24 – Josh Jones
4 – Sean Totsch
2 – Aiden McFadden
31 – Kevon Lambert
17 – Taylor Davila
7 – Ray Serrano
25 – Jansen Wilson
9 – Phillip Goodrum
Substitutes: 12 – Danny Faundez; 5 – Arturo Ordóñez, 8 – Carlos Moguel Jr., 11 – Niall McCabe, 23 – Sam Gleadle, 27 – Evan Davila, 53 – Cameron Lancaster, 80 – Hayden Stamps, 83 – Brandon Dayes
