After winning the most important game of its season last week, Louisville City FC is headed to South Beach — but not for a vacation.
Having seized sole possession of first place with a dominant 4-1 win over the Charleston Battery before a season-high crowd of 13,611 at Lynn Family Stadium, LouCity (13-1-5, 44 points) travels to Florida to face Miami FC (5-9-5, 20 points) at Pitbull Stadium Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
For Louisville, Saturday’s contest poses the threat of an emotional letdown. Last week’s home tilt with Charleston was by far the biggest game of the year — two teams tied on points atop the standings before a packed house in Butchertown, the second-largest crowd in stadium history.
Saturday’s game, meanwhile, will pose a stark contrast. Miami FC averages just 1,114 fans per game, turning the 20,000-seat Pitbull Stadium — home of the FIU Panthers football program — into a librarian’s paradise.
Throw in the expected 90-degree temperatures, chance of precipitation and the artificial turf and it’s clear: LouCity is going from an ideal environment in which to play its best to one that’s clearly less than that.
LouCity coach Danny Cruz, though, has has built a ‘no excuses’ team culture, and his team echoed that mentality in their pregame comments regarding the turf: “Both teams have to play on it.”
And despite last week’s triumph, which gave Louisville the leg up for the Players’ Shield and the No. 1 overall playoff seed, a slip-up in the season’s final weeks against a team outside the Eastern Conference playoff picture would be like the vacationers’ sunburn — a reminder that not all trips to South Florida are purely for fun and games.
Follow Along
• The match 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…
Do it again, Davila: With a goal and an assist in last week’s 4-1 win over Charleston, the USL Championship named LouCity midfielder Taylor Davila as its Player of the Week. It was the first time the league bestowed the honor on the 25-year-old Californian. Forward Jansen Wilson joined him on the Team of the Week after depositing two goals into the back of Charleston’s net last week.
The ‘stache is in (form): The aforementioned Wilson is in fine form right now. He’s scored four goals in his last five league games. Throw in a goal against both CD Leganés and Eintracht Frankfurt in international club friendlies, and Wilson has scored six goals since June 25.
One-sided: Like most matchups in the USL Championship, LouCity has owned the series with Miami FC. In seven all-time meetings, Louisville holds a 5-2-0 record.
The possession game: Louisville City FC dominated the scoreline against Charleston last week, but did not dominate the ball. LouCity had just 29.5% possession in the win, the second-lowest mark of the season. The club defeated Loudoun United 4-1 on June 25, a game in which the boys in purple had just 24% possession.
Messi’s not alone in South Beach: There’s no doubt that Miami’s most famous soccer resident is Lionel Messi, of Inter Miami CF in Major League Soccer — but he’s not the only Argentine that calls South Florida home. Miami FC, not to be confused with Messi’s pink-clad club, features nine players from Argentina on its roster, as well as an Argentinian coach, Gastόn Maddoni.
Old heads: Critics view Major League Soccer as a retirement league for European stars of yesteryear. Miami FC is a retirement club for the retirement league. Their roster features former MLS stars Bill Hamid, Sebastián Blanco and Lucas Melano. Miami has the second-oldest team in the USL Championship at an average age of 28.7.
