Louisville City FC goalkeeper Hugo Fauroux saved a penalty kick, while five of his teammates buried their tries, as LouCity advanced past the Tampa Bay Rowdies in a penalty shootout Wednesday in a Prinx Tires USL Cup quarterfinal at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The game ended 0-0 in regular time, with LouCity winning the shootout 5-3 to advance.
The boys in purple move on to the tournament’s semifinal round, to be held on Sept. 8 or Sept. 9. The club will learn the details of its semifinal matchup, including location and opponent, in a draw at 3 p.m. ET Thursday.
The shootout win also gave LouCity a taste of revenge, after the team lost to the Rowdies 5-4 at Al Lang Stadium in a regular season game on Aug. 1, just 11 days prior.
“The challenge today was to react from that moment, to face adversity and tackle it head-on, look it in the eyes and go,” Bird said, referencing the loss. “And I thought we did a really good job from a mentality standpoint.”
If that nine-goal thriller was electric, Wednesday’s USL Cup quarterfinal was a power outage — but that is thanks in large part to LouCity’s defensive effort.
LouCity limited Tampa Bay to just three shots on target, all saved by Fauroux, and 13 total attempts over the regulation 90 minutes.
“That’s what we’ve been asking the team for. That’s what we’ve been working on to respond, to learn from our losses this year because the only failure is if you fail to learn from them,” midfielder Taylor Davila said. “So I felt like we learned tonight. I felt like we were good on the defensive side tonight.”
Fauroux, in a Man of the Match performance, made three saves in regular time — including a highlight stop in the first half — before denying Tampa Bay’s Gennaro Nigro in the shootout, diving to his right to parry the shot away.
“I had a couple of saves in the game, but that’s what I’m here for,” Fauroux said. “That’s what we need from the goalkeepers. And then in the shootout, all the guys scored a goal. They did their job, and then I made the one save that was needed.”
Bird credited his team’s defensive focus the last two weeks following that loss earlier this month. LouCity has limited its last two opponents, San Antonio FC on Saturday and Tampa Bay on Wednesday, each to just three shots on target and an expected goals value of less than one.
“(The team is) more compact, organized, choosing the right moments to go, to press the ball, being committed when we go or committed when we stay, being collected in our approach defensively,” Bird said of his team’s improved performance, later adding, “It’s really pleasing that we’ve shown progress (defensively). By no means is that the end. We need to continue to work on areas defensively. We need to continue to be sharp in those moments.”
The shutout is LouCity’s first since a 1-0 win over Hartford Athletic on July 4, and the eighth of the season across all competitions, including five for Fauroux.
The game marked the second time this season LouCity was victorious in a penalty shootout. Louisville defeated Detroit City FC in penalties earlier in the Prinx Tires USL Cup, also following a 0-0 draw, to earn an extra point in the group stage.
“Like I always say, when we went into the penalties, it’s about body language and character, it’s not a flip of the coin,” LouCity interim head coach Simon Bird said. “We have to be strong mentally and the boys did that.”
Sean Totsch, Chris Donovan, Evan Davila and Quenzi Huerman each scored from the spot in the shootout, before Taylor Davila buried his chance for the decisive kick.
Bird acknowledged that there were “areas of the game that we can tactically be better,” specifically noting that his team needed to be more decisive in possession and move the ball at a higher pace offensively — LouCity had just eight shots in the game with none on target — but he said the performance “shows character, and that’s what this club is built on, and we want to continue to build on it.”
With positive momentum behind them, LouCity will make a cross-country trip to Irvine, Calif., for a Saturday meeting with Orange County SC, in league play. Orange County leads the USL Championship’s Western Conference and is second in the Players’ Shield race.
Kickoff is set for 10 p.m. ET on Saturday at Championship Soccer Stadium. The game will air in Louisville on MyTV 58, with streaming coverage available on ESPN+ and WDRB+. Local radio coverage will air on ESPN Louisville’s 680 AM and 105.7 FM.
“We need to continue marching forward. We’re a good team. We’ve got a group of guys that really care, a staff that really cares,” Bird said. “We’re going to keep marching forward. We’re ready to go.”
Game Summary: Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Louisville City FC (Quarterfinal – USL Cup)
Date: August 12, 2026
Venue: Al Lang Stadium — St. Petersburg, Fla.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Weather: 88 degrees, sunny
Scoring
Tampa Bay Rowdies (0, 0, 0 – 3 PK)
Louisville City FC (0, 0, 0 – 5 PK)
Lineups
Tampa Bay Rowdies: 1 – Jahmali Waite, 20 – Charlie Ostrem, 62 – Nathan Dossantos (c), 23 – Max Schneider, 2 – Conner Antley (45′ 8 – Pedro Dolabella), 30 – Sebastian Cruz, 10 – Russell Cicerone (80′ 7 – Evan Conway), 13 – Louis Perez (45′ 16 – Marco Micaletto), 27 – Laurence Wyke (71′ 33 – Gennaro Nigro), 9 – M.D. Myers (71′ 14 – Karsen Henderlong)
Unused substitutes: 24 – Austin Pack; 21 – Ethan Bartlow, 36 – Alexander Rodriguez
Head coach: Dominic Casciato
Louisville City FC: 1 – Hugo Fauroux, 3 – Jake Morris (69′ 13 – Amadou Dia), 32 – Kyle Adams (c), 4 – Sean Totsch, 2 – Aiden McFadden, 15 – Manny Perez (82′ 23 – Sam Gleadle), 8 – Taylor Davila, 6 – Zach Duncan (69′ 27 – Evan Davila), 25 – Jansen Wilson (69′ 7 – Ray Serrano), 47 – Mukwelle Akale (80′ 21 – Quenzi Huerman), 9 – Chris Donovan
Unused substitutes: 12 – Danny Faundez; 14 – Tola Showunmi
Interim head coach: Simon Bird
Stats Summary: Tampa Bay Rowdies / Louisville City FC
Shots: 13 / 8
Shots on Goal: 3 / 0
Expected goals: 0.83 / 0.37
Possession: 44.7% / 55.3%
Fouls: 7 / 7
Offside: 0 / 3
Corner Kicks: 7 / 6
Discipline Summary:
Tampa Bay Rowdies:
51′ Laurence Wyke (yellow card)
Louisville City FC:
20′ Taylor Davila (yellow card)
59′ Jansen Wilson (yellow card)
81′ Evan Davila (yellow card)
Referee: Joshua Encarnacion
