Louisville City FC’s league-best defense earned the clean sheet in a 0-0 preseason tie with the Colorado Springs Switchbacks on a windy afternoon at Kino North Stadium in Tucson, Ariz., Thursday.
Just two days after a 4-1 win over New Mexico United, LouCity head coach Danny Cruz rotated his lineup heavily, making six changes to his starting group, as his team battled heavy legs and fatigue to close out the opening stage of their preseason preparations. In all, 24 Louisville players took the field in the game.
“It was a difficult task. These guys played two games in three days, but it’s something we felt we could push ourselves physically,” Cruz said of the game. “I felt really good about where the group was at. There was a commitment defensively. We created a lot of chances, we just needed to do a better job of putting them in the back of the net.”
LouCity controlled the run of play in the first half, including a flurry of early chances. Tola Showunmi nearly opened the scoring in the half’s late stages, but his shot was cleared off the line by a Colorado Springs defender.
The second half saw an entirely new group take the field for LouCity, as Cruz rotated his squad. Colorado Springs asked more of the questions in the period. LouCity’s defense, though, contained the opposition, seeing off chances and forcing Colorado Springs into hopeful efforts from long distance.
LouCity’s best chances came on the counterattack, but the boys in purple failed to find the back of the net.
In the end, the game finished in a stalemate.
“We put a huge emphasis on that phase of the game, obviously,” Cruz said of his team’s defensive performance. “We limited opportunities and we want to make sure that we build off that.”
Louisville boasted the USL Championship’s top defense in 2025, conceding just 19 goals in the regular campaign. Louisville was the first team in a decade to allow fewer than 20 goals over a full regular season.
Louisville and Colorado Springs are not scheduled to meet in the regular season.
Colorado Springs is under the leadership of a new coaching staff, led by Alan McCann, following an eighth-place finish in the Western Conference in 2025. That staff includes recently retired LouCity player Niall McCabe.
The draw completed LouCity’s run at the 2026 Desert Showcase. The boys in purple will return home to Louisville for a week of training before traveling cross-country to face the Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer on Saturday, Feb. 15.
“We’ve been working on ideas with the ball and I talked to the group after the game. We’re really happy with the progression in those ideas, the execution from the players, the bravery from the players,” Cruz said. “At the same time making sure we don’t lose the bite and the mentality that’s made us what we are.
“There’s been a lot of growth in areas with the ball and I think that’s something we’re really happy with,” Cruz added.
LouCity is working toward the regular-season opener on Friday, March 6, at rival Lexington SC. The club’s home opener will take place Saturday, March 14, against Miami FC at Lynn Family Stadium.
For tickets, visit LouCity.com/tickets or call (502) LOU-CITY.
