If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try, try, try, try again.
Behind a brace from Jansen Wilson and buoyed by a red card to Lexington’s Phillip Goodrum, Louisville City FC came from behind to hand Lexington SC a 4-2 defeat Saturday, extending a run of purple supremacy over its upstart, in-state rival.
The win was Louisville’s third against Lexington just this season, across three different competitions. LouCity is 6-0-0 all-time versus Lexington, with a 13-4 scoring advantage. As the result, LouCity maintains possession of the Commonwealth Cup rivalry trophy, presented by Republic Bank.
The win also secured first place for LouCity in Group Four of the Prinx Tires USL Cup, earning a bid to the tournament’s knockout round for the first time in club history.
“We talked before the game a lot about this being kind of a playoff game, like a must-win for Lexington,” said LouCity interim head coach Simon Bird. Lexington needed to win Saturday to advance in the tournament. “We (needed) to get a result as well. So it felt like a playoff game.”
In Kentucky’s premier soccer rivalry, a Kentuckian made the biggest impact. Elizabethtown, Ky., native Jansen Wilson tallied two goals and an assist, leading Louisville out of an early deficit in a Man of the Match performance.
Wilson finished the night with a game-high nine shots, including three on target. He also rattled the woodwork in the 59th minute, just before notching his second — and the winning — goal.
“It’s amazing to be a Kentucky kid and to be able to have this where we have an in-state rivalry and it’s competitive with two good teams,” Wilson said.
A 32nd minute red card to one of the rivalry’s central figures, Lexington’s Phillip Goodrum, changed the game’s trajectory. The 29-year-old forward moved from Louisville to Lexington in the offseason in a high-profile, six-figure deal.
In his first game back at Lynn Family Stadium as a former LouCity player, Goodrum earned a yellow card in the 24th minute for a late challenge, and was then shown the door just eight minutes later for another late tackle.
With a player advantage, LouCity asserted control in the second half, limiting Lexington to just two touches in Louisville’s box. Louisville outshot Lexington 10-3 after halftime and 20-9 for the game.
“We knew that we have a good group and that we’re capable of big things this year,” LouCity defender Sean Totsch said. “And we don’t doubt that.”
Lexington was confident coming in. The club was on a five-game unbeaten run.
But on a night in which the upstarts in green hoped to finally stand up to their more established neighbors in purple, Lexington fell flat.
The coup de grâce came in the 73rd minute, when Lexington’s Javain Brown overhit a backpass. Goalkeeper Oliver Semmle, another former LouCity player, didn’t reach the ball in time to clear it before it crossed the line — an own goal that provided Lexington’s final humiliation.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg was on hand to present the rivalry trophy to the victorious home team, giving LouCity bragging rights in a rivalry pitting teams from Kentucky’s two largest cities.
LouCity will learn the details of its quarterfinal game in the Prinx Tires USL Cup — including date, time and opponent — in a draw held Monday afternoon that will stream live on the Prinx Tires USL Cup YouTube page.
Lexington had hopes of advancing in the tournament Saturday, but the loss marks the fourth time in the rivalry’s short history that Louisville directly knocked Lexington out of a competition.
Louisville now turns its attention to next weekend’s trip to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, a nationally televised matchup pitting teams that lifted trophies last season — the regular-season Players’ Shield title for Louisville and the overall league championship for Pittsburgh.
Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. ET Saturday at F.N.B. Stadium. The game will air nationally on CBS.
Game Summary: Louisville City FC vs. Lexington SC
Date: July 11, 2026
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium — Louisville, Ky.
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
Weather: 79 degrees, partly cloudy
Attendance: 9,487
Scoring
Louisville City FC (2, 2, 4)
Lexington SC (2, 0, 2)
Goals
Louisville City FC:
28′ Jansen Wilson (Sam Gleadle)
34′ Chris Donovan (Jansen Wilson)
60′ Jansen Wilson
73′ Javian Brown (own goal)
Lexington SC:
12′ Braudílio Rodrigues (Aaron Molloy)
43′ Xavier Zengue (Aaron Molloy)
Lineups
Louisville City FC: 12 – Danny Faundez, 3 – Jake Morris, 32 – Kyle Adams (c), 5 – Brandon Dayes, 4 – Sean Totsch, 23 – Sam Gleadle (70′ 15 – Manny Perez), 8 – Taylor Davila, 31 – Kevon Lambert (70′ 27 – Evan Davila), 25 – Jansen Wilson (80′ 21 – Quenzi Huerman), 47 – Mukwelle Akale (45′ 6 – Zach Duncan), 9 – Chris Donovan (70′ 14 – Tola Showunmi)
Unused substitutes: 1 – Hugo Fauroux; 7 – Ray Serrano, 13 – Amadou Dia, 97 – Thomas Weinrich
Interim head coach: Simon Bird
Lexington SC: 17 – Oliver Semmle, 2 – Jacob Greene, 23 – Javain Brown, 4 – Arturo Ordóñez (66′ 22 – Joe Hafferty), 12 – Xavier Zengue (88′ 21 – Marqes Muir), 6 – Aaron Molloy (c), 16 – Blaine Ferri (54′ 10 – Michael Adedokun), 7 – Marcus Epps (66′ 18 – Malik Henry-Scott), 27 – Braudílio Rodrigues (66′ 19 – Tarik Scott), 8 – Nick Firmino, 9 – Phillip Goodrum
Unused substitutes: 24 – Brooks Thompson, 14 – Andrew Caborn
Head coach: Masaki Hemmi
Stats Summary: Louisville City FC / Lexington SC
Shots: 20 / 9
Shots on Goal: 8 / 4
Expected goals: 2.27 / 0.83
Possession: 52.2% / 47.8%
Fouls: 10 / 13
Offside: 4 / 1
Corner Kicks: 3 / 5
Discipline Summary:
Louisville City FC:
41′ Chris Donovan (yellow card)
66′ Kevon Lambert (yellow card)
89′ Evan Davila (yellow card)
90′ Tola Showunmi (yellow card)
Lexington SC:
24′ Phillip Goodrum (yellow card)
32′ Phillip Goodrum (yellow card/red card)
Referee: Joshua Encarnación
