After tallying seven combined goal contributions in Saturday’s 4-1 win over Indy Eleven, Louisville City FC forwards Ray Serrano and Chris Donovan will once again lead the line as the boys in purple visit Sporting JAX on Wednesday night.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The game will air locally on WBKI/The CW, with local radio coverage on ESPN Louisville’s 680 AM and 105.7 FM. For streaming, log on to the WDRB+WAVE app or the CBS Sports Golazo Network.
Serrano tallied his first career hat trick on Saturday, while Donovan registered a USL Championship single-game record four assists.
The lone change to the lineup will join Serrano and Donovan in the attack, as Mukwelle Akale replaces Quenzi Huerman on the wing opposite Serrano. Akale scored in his last start, a 2-0 win at the Charleston Battery on Oct. 10.
Otherwise, interim head coach Simon Bird will leave his team intact amid a three-game winning streak.
Taylor Davila and Babacar Niang will combine in the midfield for the fifth-straight game. LouCity is unbeaten in that span. Over the season as a whole, LouCity is 12-2-4 in games in which Niang appears.
The five-man backline sees Amadou Dia and Manny Perez as wingbacks, with captain Kyle Adams, Kevon Lambert and Aiden McFadden as center backs. Lambert joined Serrano on the scoresheet in last week’s win, also assisted by Donovan.
Goalkeeper Ryan Schewe, who boasts a team-best 72.7% save percentage in league play, remains in goal.
Huerman drops to the bench, where he, Sam Gleadle and Academy signee Cooper Conley — who made his competitive debut with LouCity last week — offer potential attacking support. Jake Morris, Sean Totsch and Brandon Dayes will bolster the backline, while Zach Duncan and Evan Davila can spell either Taylor Davila or Niang in the midfield. Ryan Troutman will serve as backup goalkeeper.
Forward Jansen Wilson, now tied with Serrano for the team scoring lead in league play, is unavailable once again with an injury.
Team sheet at Sporting JAX
29 – Ryan Schewe
13 – Amadou Dia
32 – Kyle Adams (c)
31 – Kevon Lambert
2 – Aiden McFadden
15 – Manny Perez
8 – Taylor Davila
19 – Babacar Niang
7 – Ray Serrano
47 – Mukwelle Akale
9 – Chris Donovan
Available substitutes: 30 – Ryan Troutman; 3 – Jake Morris, 4 – Sean Totsch, 5 – Brandon Dayes, 6 – Zach Duncan, 21 – Quenzi Huerman, 23 – Sam Gleadle, 27 – Evan Davila, 99 – Cooper Conley
