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After making the last two Eastern Conference Finals in its first two seasons, Louisville City FC now gets a shot at hosting the match for the first time, this Saturday night at Slugger Field, kickoff 7:30pm.

It’s also a chance for the club to put right the result that did not go their way last season when they lost out to New York Red Bulls II in penalties to fall just short of reaching the USL Cup Final.

One thing the team is looking forward to is playing at Slugger and having a big support come out to back the boys in purple and provide that unique Slugger home field advantage.

Following Saturday’s hard-fought victory over Rochester, LouCity goalkeeper, Greg Ranjitsingh, said: “It’s great to be finally hosting, but we need everyone to come out and get behind the team again this Saturday.

“Playing at Slugger is awesome because the fan support we get is unreal. They rally us until the end every week and keep pushing us and pushing us. That’s what we need again this Saturday. We’re so happy to be able to play the Conference Final in front of our own fans in that special atmosphere.”

LouCity has been perfect through the playoffs at home, and has not conceded a goal in postseason play, defining Slugger as something of a playoff fortress. A crowd of 6,378 was on hand during the conference final on a Friday evening and another of 7,117 when LouCity overcame Rochester on a cold Saturday night this past weekend. The club has averaged just over 8,600 fans throughout the 2017 regular season.

Now the team is hoping to go one better for the first time and are looking for a big turnout to back their efforts on Saturday night.

Tickets are available for the Conference Final starting at just $12 by calling the LouCity ticket office on (502)-384-8799, option 2 or by clicking here.

A new trend has emerged for Louisville City FC over the last four games; second-half goals. In the final two matches of the regular season and the first two in the United Soccer League Cup Playoffs, Louisville City has scored seven of its 10 goals in that span in the second half.

The trend continued on Saturday as substitute Brian Ownby latched on to right wing back Kyle Smith’s through ball and chipped Rochester Rhinos goalkeeper Tomas Gomez to give LouCity a 1-0 lead it wouldn’t relinquish. It marked the fourth goal of the seven second-half goals scored by a substitute, and you can make an argument that Kyle Smith’s re-directed game-winner against the Charlotte Independence was created by Ownby. 

Ownby and fellow midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye came on at halftime against Rochester and immediately injected a new energy and sense of urgency into the game, resulting in a goal. Ownby was second on the team with three goal-scoring chances created and both he and Kaye had two shots on target. 

 It shows that LouCity and coach James O’Connor are making the right adjustments at halftime. 

“Half time becomes a really important time for us,” O’Connor noted Saturday. 

Midfielder George Davis and Smith, via Ownby, scored in the second half to secure a victory over the Independence followed by a pair of goals off the bench in the final 10 minutes of the match by Cameron Lancaster and a beautiful individual effort from Kaye to comfortably win over the Richmond Kickers in the season finale. 

In the first round of the USL Cup playoffs, Tarek Morad’s brace put LouCity up 2-0 at the break but it wasn’t until second half strikes from Luke Spencer and Ownby truly put the game out of reach. And last Saturday, it was the inclusion of Ownby and Kaye after the halftime break that made the difference, leading to another return to the USL Eastern Conference final. 

Even more than talking at halftime, O’Connor has trusted his bench players to be watching the game carefully during the first half, picking up on what the opposition is doing and how to exploit it should they get on the pitch. 

“When the guys who aren’t starting – obviously everyone wants to play and we have the talent on the team, but James (O’Connor) always pulls us to the side,” Ownby said. “The guys who aren’t playing, (he tells us to) keep an eye on the players and what they’re doing in your position while you’re on the bench. I tried keeping that in mind tonight and I saw the space was out wide and in behind their backs, and I think that’s where we got a lot of our success in the second half.”

It’s a good sign for Louisville City this late in the season that even if the starters for a particular game are wearing down, the players coming off the bench can make the needed impact to secure a victory. With the boys in purple now just one game away from potentially hosting a USL Cup, they’ll hope that this trend can continue. 

“With this group, the way the season’s gone, we always know we’re going to have that chance (to score),” Ownby said. “Even if it’s one or twenty (on the roster). I think as the season’s gone on, we’ve matured a lot as a group, and we have each other’s back and we know there’s always going to be a chance. Regardless if it’s zero-zero or we’re down one, we’ve just got to keep fighting and we know we’ll get that opportunity and we’ve just got to put it on frame.”

Opinions expressed in this piece were not subject to club approval. For more insights on LouCity, follow former Courier-Journal reporter Dan Karell on Twitter: @DanKarellPreps. 

Louisville City FC capped a landmark week off the pitch Saturday when the boys in purple did what they always do on it: advance to the United Soccer League’s Eastern Conference Final.

Midfielder Brian Ownby — brought on as a halftime substitute — helped his side overcome a frustrating start, scoring in the 78th minute of a 1-0 playoff win over the Rochester Rhinos at Slugger Field.

Coach James O’Connor’s club advanced to the USL’s version of the final four for a third straight year since starting play in 2015, with the victory just days after Louisville’s Metro Council approved a stadium plan to cement the club’s long-term future.

“It’s very difficult to get here,” O’Connor said. “…To get to the Eastern Conference (Final) is great but, equally, we’ve been there twice and we haven’t won. There’s no point in getting there if you aren’t going to win.”

LouCity set up a rematch of 2016’s postseason game against the New York Red Bulls II, who knocked off the Tampa Bay Rowdies by a 2-1 score Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. next Saturday, also at Slugger Field, with tickets available at LouisvilleCityFC.com.

Ownby had threatened minutes before his goal when a touch pass found striker Luke Spencer at the face of goal. That time, Rhinos goalkeeper Tomas Gomez made the save.

When it came to a nifty give-and-go sequence between Ownby and Smith, the keeper wasn’t so fortunate. Smith one-touched it back to Ownby, who slotted his shot by Gomez for the go-ahead strike.

It sent 7,117 fans into a frenzy on a chilly night at Slugger.

“I told Kyle before the game, if I’m in there with you just look for me running behind. I’m going to try and beat them with my speed,” Ownby said. “He put in a good ball, the keeper came out, I just tried to get it on frame, and it worked out.”

Named LouCity’s Man of the Match, Greg Ranjitsingh remained busy after the goal, making his third save of night in the 90th minute. A fourth came just before the final whistle via an on-target free kick from the Rhinos’ Julian Buscher. 

“We know Rochester’s a tough opponent,” Ranjitsingh said. “It’s going to be a gritty game. They like to fight, and I’m just happy that all the guys were able to just fight through it and grind out a result.”

The boys in purple nearly doubled their lead three minutes into stoppage time when — guess who? — Ownby led a counter, then laid off a pass to Mark-Anthony Kaye. It took a diving stop to prevent another goal.

Kaye also came on out of the half following a stagnant opening 45 minutes for LouCity. While the home side controlled 57 percent of possession, it didn’t lead to attacks, with Rochester out-shooting LouCity 9-2. The Rhinos also totaled 21 crosses to LouCity’s three.

“I was really disappointed with how we played first half, but I think second half we were great,” O’Connor said. “Rochester deserves enormous credit. I think first half they played really well. I thought they really did. But again, the impact that Mark-Anthony and Brian were able to make epitomizes what we’ve been able to do over the course of the season where we’ve had guys who can step in and impact the game.

“It was great to see that.”

In 2015, LouCity fell to eventual champion Rochester 1-0 in the Eastern Conference Final. Last year, the New York Red Bulls II defeated the boys in purple in penalty kicks. Now, O’Connor’s squad has a another chance to take its season a step further.

Game Recap

Match: Louisville City FC vs Rochester Rhinos

Date: October 28, 2017 

Venue: Louisville Slugger Field | Louisville, KY

Kickoff: 7:35 pm 

Weather: 40 degrees, partly cloudy

Attendance: 7,117

Man of the Match: Greg Ranjitsingh

Scoring 

Louisville City FC (0,1,1) 

Rochester (0,0,0)

Goals

Louisville City:

78’ – Brian Ownby took the late lead after slipping the ball past the Rochester goalkeeper off an assist from Kyle Smith

Lineups 

Louisville City starting lineup: 1 Greg Ranjitsingh, 24 Kyle Smith, 6 Tarek Morad, 4 Sean Totsch, 18 Paco Craig, 19 Oscar Jimenez, 36 Paolo DelPiccolo, 80 Devon Williams, 12 Luke Spencer, 11 Niall McCabe (7 Mark-Anthony Kaye – 45’), 22 George Davis IV (10 Brian Ownby – 45’)

Louisville City sub: 28 Tim Dobrowolski, 14 Ilija Ilic, 9 Cameron Lancaster, 8 Guy Abend, 23 Richard Ballard

Head coach: James O’Connor

Rochester starting lineup: 23 Tomas Gomez, 20 Todd Pratzner, 15 Joe Farrell, 3 Ryan Felix (25 Sergio Campbell – 78’), 5 Jordan Dover (27 Julian Buescher – 83’), 2 Ray Lee, 7 Ryan James, 6 Christiano Francois, 11 Kenardo Forbes, 17 Wal Fall (10 Sofiane Tergou – 82’), 12 Jochen Graf

Rochester starting subs: 33 Dan Lynd, 8 Brandon Beresford, 13 Mike Garzi, 9 Stefan Defregger

Head coach: Bob Lilley

Discipline 

Louisville City:

52’ – Oscar Jimenez, yellow

90’+2 – Greg Ranjitsingh, yellow

Rochester:

55’ – Ryan Felix, yellow

Stats

Louisville City FC/Rochester Rhinos

Shots: 12/13

Shots on target: 6/4

Possession (%): 55.9/44.1

Passes: 530/389

Corners: 2/3

Fouls: 15/12

Officials

Referee: VICTOR RIVAS

Assistant referee 1: Jeffrey Swartzel

Assistant referee 2: Benjamin Hall-Volpenhein

4th official: Evan Sizemore

THE purple-clad faithful who packed Louisville City Hall on Thursday night had to wait much longer than any injury time, extra time or penalties previously endured in any nail-biting match-up, but in the end got the result they had been longing for almost two years.

Considering the development of a soccer-specific stadium and mixed-use development, Louisville Metro Council voted 20-4 in favor of a $30 million bond to kickoff regeneration of brownfield sites in the Butchertown district of the city which will eventually result in a state-of-the art, 10,000-seat home for Louisville City FC.

“I’m pleased that the Metro Council voted to approve this public-private partnership that takes an underused, very visible swath of land and creates a vibrant new soccer stadium district that builds on the city’s momentum and creates over 1,700 jobs,” said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer in a statement following the vote. Mayor Fischer had championed the development from its earliest stages. “This is a smart opportunity, and when smart opportunities to move our city forward come up, we grab them.”

Two more resolutions also passed to wild applause after a five-and-half hour marathon Metro Council session in deliberation attended by not only the scores of LouCity supporters but also club ownership, board, staff and the entire player and coaching squad.

The wait was worth it though as the council approved issuing bonds totaling some $30 million to assist in the purchase of close to 40 acres in Butchertown at a cost of $24.2 million. Up to $200,000 was cleared for any work needed to clean up the site environmentally, with $5 million earmarked for development of infrastructure for the site.

The deal passed calls for LouCity FC to purchase the land and pay back $14.5 million in lease payments over the next 20 years. LouCity ownership will also guarantee spending at least $45 million on the stadium development and have pledged to generate an additional $85 million in private investment to the project in the form of office, hotel, parking and retail developments.

In addition to the lease payments, the city is expected to recoup tens of millions of dollars in property taxes – a win-win for the city and truly a positive private/public partnership which will result in a beautiful 10,000-seat showpiece stadium, bringing LouCity compliant with USL requirements by the year 2020 and worthy of the club’s incredible, loyal support.

Councilperson Barbara Sexton Smith, whose downtown-area district includes the stadium site described the deal as a “great agreement.”

“If for some reason that development number is not hit, then there is going to be language that guarantees that the city’s money is repaid –and how and when that money is repaid,” she said. 

In addition to developing brownfield sites around Butchertown, the development is also expected to create additional private developments while creating thousands of local jobs.

The club has worked tirelessly and campaigned hard through it ownership, sponsors, partners, staff and most importantly supporters over the last two seasons to reach this plateau. Many are to be commended, but much work still has to be done.

And while it took some extra time, in this case even AFTER the 11th hour – 11:30pm on Thursday, October 26, 2017, will go down in club history as the moment when a dream became reality.

A proud moment for LouCity and its supporters indeed.

LouCity hosts Rochester Rhinos for the USL Cup Playoffs  Semifinals this Saturday, Oct. 28th at 7:30 p.m E.T.

Here’s what to watch for…

Tune In

TV:  WBKI-TV  will air the game live and in high definition locally.

Radio: TJ Walker (play-by-play) and Jeff Milby (color commentary) will voice the action on Radio 790 WKRD with pregame coverage starting at 7:15 p.m.

Streaming: Watch at www.loucity.com.

Follow Along

For Starting XI information and in-game updates, check us out on social media. It’s @loucityfc on Twitter, Louisville City FC on Facebook and louisvillecityfc on Instagram. Live stats are available at the USL Match Center. Vote for the Modelo Man of the Match on Twitter starting in the 75th minute.

Links

•Morad steps up for USL Cup Playoffs
• Takeways: Trusting the process advances LouCity to Eastern Conference Semifinals

Notes

Scouting Rochester: Rochester travels to face Louisville City for the third time in less than six weeks. Rochester comes in on a four-game unbeaten streak, which includes an Eastern Conference quarterfinals victory in extra time last Saturday. Jochen Graf and Wal Fall lead the scoring for the Rhinos, at 11 and 9 goals, respectively. 

Last time against Rochester: Louisville has matched up against Rochester twice in the regular season, both matches occurring in a ten-day span in September. Their first meeting resulted in a LouCity victory at home when Luke Spencer took a penalty kick in stoppage time. The second meeting occurred in Rochester that resulted in a 0-0 draw with a strong defensive performance from the boys in purple. 

Playoff picture: The Tampa Bay Rowdies prevailed over FC Cincinnati and the New York Red Bulls II defeated the Charleston Battery in the remaining Eastern Conference quarterfinal matches last Saturday. The winner of Louisville/Rochester will play the winner of Tampa Bay/New York in the Eastern Conference finals.

Home field advantage: Clinching the top spot in the Eastern Conference came with its perks, as Louisville is guaranteed to host all Eastern Conference match rounds. With the fall of Real Monarchs SLC in the Western Conference playoffs, LouCity could also host the USL Cup final on November 13th.

Goals in the playoffs: After opening the season with seven goals in seven games, LouCity opened their third playoff appearance with a four-goal performance at Slugger Field. Four goals are the most Louisville has tallied in a playoff match in club history. 

Morad on fire: Midfielder Tarek Morad has been performing well for Louisville all year, but in only the last two weeks has he gotten recognition for it. He became the final LouCity field player to score a goal in 2017, earning him a USL Team of the Week honor. Morad followed his goal-scoring performance by earning a brace in LouCity’s Eastern Conference quarterfinal match against Bethlehem. 

Jimenez finding his niche: Oscar Jimenez finished the regular season tied with Tulsa’s Juan Caffa for most chances created, at 73. Jimenez, who has three goals on the season, leads the team in minutes played at 2,678. He has also started 30 of 31 games played, showcasing what a valuable addition he has been to the team since signing before the 2017 season. 

LouCity playoff history: In the club’s third season of playing in the USL, Louisville has captured the Eastern Conference title for the first time. In both prior seasons, Louisville has made it to the Eastern Conference finals. Both 2015 and 2016 seasons saw Louisville enter the playoff bracket as the two-seed.

Ranjitsingh between the pipes: Starting keeper Greg Ranjitsingh posted another clean sheet in the opening match of the USL cup playoffs against Bethlehem, bringing his total clean sheets in 2017 to nine. In a season that has seen Ranjitsingh called up for International Duty, the keeper has posted a 65.5% save rate, and conceded 20 goals in 22 appearances. 

Having grown up in sunbaked Los Angeles, California, a 40 degree and rainy forecast for Saturday’s game may seem a bit foreign to Louisville City defender Tarek Morad.

Signing with the club before its inaugural season, Morad has already experienced three years of the arbitrary Louisville climate that saw a 75 degree kickoff just a week ago.

“I mean obviously, the weather back home is much different than it is out here,” chuckled Morad, a Chino Hills High School alum. “I’ve been here long enough to get acclimated to the type of different weather changes we go through here in Louisville. You never know what you’re going to get.”

After graduating from Chino Hills, Morad continued his soccer career in California where he eventually landed a spot on the UC Irvine roster, taking charge of an Anteaters backline that recorded ten shutouts his senior year.

His role as a defender has carried on to his professional career with the boys in purple, though Morad saw a number of minutes playing left back early in the year as head coach James O’Connor rotated players and formations.

“For me, being comfortable with a position just has to do with understanding your role,” said Morad. “I’ve done my best in trying to understand different roles that I’ve had to take on within the team, and that all comes with preparation in training throughout the week.”

That mentality came into play in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Just 11 minutes into the match against Bethlehem, Morad was on the receiving end of a Paco Craig header and rocketed the game’s first strike into the back of the net.

Another chance would come just twenty minutes later after Sean Totsch’s strike deflected off the cross bar and landed right in front of Morad.

With possession of the ball and just the goalkeeper to beat, another strike from the Californian doubled the Louisville City lead before the half.

Morad became the last of the Louisville City field players to record a goal in 2017 with his first coming in the regular season finale against Richmond, though his playoff-opening performance seemed anonymous to the previous 32 games.

“I think it’s just been a long time coming for me,” Morad added after Friday’s match. “I’m just glad to be able to put two in the back of the net tonight. Hopefully, keep it going.”