For Louisville City FC, it’s simple: Win and you’re in — at home.
LouCity visits Sporting JAX on Wednesday in the penultimate game of the 2026 regular season. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Hodges Stadium on the campus of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.
After claiming a 4-1 win over Indy Eleven on Saturday, LouCity (12-9-7, 43 points) is in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. A win on Wednesday would cement a finish in the top four and a home playoff game.
In fact, a win in either of LouCity’s final two regular-season games would guarantee the Lynn Family Stadium faithful see playoff soccer this season.
JAX (3-20-5, 14 points) is in last place in the USL Championship. The expansion team has lost five straight games and nine of its last 11.
This will be LouCity’s first visit to Sporting JAX — officially known as Sporting Club Jacksonville. The two sides have met once before, a 1-0 LouCity victory at home on April 18.
Jacksonville has survived a tumultuous year. Aside from the on-field results, the club has had to deal with several schedule adjustments, including their most recent outing, a 1-0 loss to the Birmingham Legion FC played behind closed doors on a weeknight, postponed due to inclement weather.
Sporting JAX has altered its schedule nine times this season for a myriad of reasons, including three adjustments for the matchup with LouCity alone. Originally scheduled for Oct. 3, the game was shifted to Oct. 2, then Oct. 4 and finally to Wednesday after LouCity reached the Prinx Tires USL Cup Final, played on Oct. 4.
Sporting JAX was not in action over the weekend.
Follow Along
• Wednesday’s game will air live on on WBKI/The CW, with radio coverage on ESPN Louisville’s 680 AM and 105.7 FM.
• For streaming, log on to WDRB+WAVE or the CBS Sports Golazo Network.
• 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.
Storylines…
Award season: After last week’s win, LouCity cleaned up in the USL Championship’s weekly awards. Ray Serrano, Kevon Lambert and Chris Donovan all earned places on the Team of the Week, with interim coach Simon Bird winning Coach of the Week.
Hat trick hero: In scoring his first career hat trick last week, Ray Serrano became the seventh LouCity player to score three or more goals in a game. He joins Matt Fondy (2015), Chandler Hoffman (2016), Cameron Lancaster (2016, 2021), Enoch Mushagalusa (2022) and Phillip Goodrum (2025). It was the 10th regular-season hat trick in LouCity history.
Helping hand: Chris Donovan’s three assists last week equaled the USL Championship single-game record. It was the 30th time a player had tallied three assists in a USL Championship game. No one has tallied four. Donovan joins Taylor Davila (2025) and Enrique Montano (2015) among LouCity players to register three assists in a game.
Streaking: LouCity has won three-straight games in all competitions. It is the club’s first three-game winning streak since April 25.
