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Louisville City FC goalkeeper, Greg Ranjitsingh, has been named in the Trinidad and Tobago 23-man squad that will prepare to face the US national team in the final round of the upcoming CONCACAF 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

The roster, which includes a number of notable names in American soccer, including three current MLS players (Kevin Molino, Joevin Jones and Mekeil Williams) and two USL stars (Ranjitsingh and Sacramento Republic’s Trevin Caesar) , will take on Mexico in San Luis Potosi on Oct. 6 before hosting the USMNT in Couva on Oct. 10 in the finale of the Hexagonal, the final round to determine CONCACAF’s entrants in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

As a result of the call up, Ranjitsingh will be absent from the LouCity squad to face Charlotte Independence at Slugger Field on October 7.

LouCity head coach, James O’Connor, said: “We are delighted to see Greg get a call up to his national team, he has had a big year and we are all thrilled for him.”

Trinidad and Tobago currently sit in last place of the six teams in the Hex, although they can still qualify for fourth place, which leads to an intercontinental playoff against a team from the Asian Football Confederation. The US currently sit in fourth place, and the Oct. 10 game could determine if they finish in the Top 3 and avoid the playoff or if they have to play in the playoff, or even finish below fourth and miss the World Cup altogether. 

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO ROSTER

GOALKEEPERS (3): Adrian Foncette (Police FC), Greg Ranjitsingh (Louisville City FC/USA), Glenroy Samuel (Morvant Caledonia United)

DEFENDERS (8): Daneil Cyrus (Juticalpa/HON), Kevan George (Jacksonville Armada/USA), Curtis Gonzales (Defence Force), Triston Hodge (DirecTV W Connection), Alvin Jones (DirecTV W Connection), Josiah Trimmingham (Club Sando), Kevon Villaroel (North East Stars), Mekeil Williams (Colorado Rapids/USA)

MIDFIELDERS (9): Neil Benjamin Jr. (W Connection), Levi Garcia (AZ Alkmaar/NED), Khaleem Hyland (Al-Faisaly Harmah/KSA), Joevin Jones (Seattle Sounders/USA), Jared London (Club Sando), Kevin Molino (Minnesota United/USA), Nathan Lewis (San Juan Jabloteh), Leston Paul (Pasaquina FC/SLV), Kathon St. Hillaire (St. Ann’s Rangers)

FORWARDS (3): Trevin Caesar (Sacramento Republic/USA), Akeem Roach (Vida/HON), Shahdon Winchester (Murcielagos/MEX)

It was a frustrating night for a Louisville City FC side in the middle of their three-game road trip. The game showed the visitors dominate the stat sheet against Toronto FC II but ultimately coming up empty-handed.

Having already spent five days on the road, it may be the traveling on top of playing five games in fifteen days that has worn down the Eastern Conference’s first-place team.

“It’s a mentality test,” said head coach James O’Connor. “…when you look at Sunday’s game, it was really important that we made some of the changes with the guys. You make that amount of changes, you’re doing that to keep the energy levels high.”

The squad rotated quite a bit after Sunday’s match against Ottawa, a 2 p.m. kickoff in nearly 90 degree weather. As for midfielder Brian Ownby, the rotation had no effect on the club.

“It’s a lot of games, a lot of minutes in a couple days so obviously we’ve been rotating the squad,” Ownby said. “I don’t think by rotating the squad the levels dropped.”

LouCity wraps up the eight-day road trip with a visit to Rochester where the club will take on the fifth-place Rhinos with a chance to further their lead in the conference.

It would be safe to assume the squad will continue its rotation during Saturday’s match before heading back to Louisville.

“Again, when you have so many games in such a short period, it’s important that you totally utilize the squad,” Coach O’Connor added.

Though the boys in purple didn’t get the results they wanted, a chance for redemption comes just days away.

“Unfortunately tonight, I thought we were not as sharp on the attack. It is what it is sometimes,” continued Ownby. “Hopefully we learn from this and get going for the next one against Rochester.”

Here’s more from the match…

•  After scoring twice in the previous two matches, midfielder George Davis IV began Wednesday’s match on the bench, though that wasn’t the only lineup change from Sunday’s draw. Using four players on the back line against a tall Ottawa front, Louisville City FC went back to the 3-man back line it has seen most often this season against a smaller Toronto side.

• Coming into the match with just 5 wins on the year, Toronto FC II holds the last-place position in the Eastern Conference, though the Canadian club isn’t the first bottom-of-the-barrel team LouiCity has faced this season. The boys in purple dropped another match against the Harrisburg City Islanders in late-June when the Pennsylvania side was then the last in the conference.

•  Heading into Saturday, Louisville City holds the second-most points in the USL (55), tied with Reno 1868 FC and five points behind Real Monarchs. Depending on results around the conference, a win over Rochester could mean more home field advantage in the playoffs for Louisville City.

Louisville City FC missed out on an opportunity to clinch the Eastern Conference Wednesday night, falling to Toronto FC II 1-0. Goalkeepers from both teams had strong performances at the Ontario Soccer Centre.

“It’s very frustrating,” said Coach James O’Connor after the loss.  “It’s happened too often this season with that type of game where we end up losing a game we completely dominated… For all intents and purposes, when you completely dominated the game, you make mistakes, you’ve been the source of your own downfall.”

Despite an uneventful first half, LouCity was dominant in possession, having the ball 59% of the time. Defender Sean Totsch had a strong defensive performance for LouCity, helping keep Toronto scoreless in the first half.

Cameron Lancaster came out of halftime ready to play for his team, taking three shots in a two-minute span. Toronto FC II goalkeeper Angelo Cavalluzzo saved two of the three shots by Lancaster, with the third going wide of the goal.

LouCity’s closest chance to get on the board came in the 59th minute, when a header by Brian Ownby on a kick from Sean Totsch went over the line. The referee called Ownby offsides, therefore disallowing the goal and keeping the game knotted at nil.

Brian Ownby got another chance in the 69th minute, sending a shot high and on the path to going in the net, but Angelo Cavalluzzo made a big save for Toronto FC II to keep the game tied at 0.

Greg Ranjitsingh kept Louisville City FC in the game for as long as he could, making two saves before conceding a goal to Toronto’s Shaan Hundal in the 73rd minute. Despite having six minutes of stoppage time, Louisville City could not find the equalizer before the final whistle.

LouCity remains in first place in the Eastern Conference after tonight’s match. They will look to secure their Eastern Conference crown, as well as home field advantage, Saturday when they take on the Rochester Rhinos.

Game Summary 

Match: Toronto FC II vs. Louisville City FC 

Date: September 27, 2017 

Venue: Ontario Soccer Centre | Ontario, Canada

Kickoff: 7:35pm 

Attendance: 726

LouCity Man of the Match: Brian Ownby

Scoring 

Toronto FC II (0,1,1)

Louisville City FC (0,0,0) 

Goals 

Toronto FC II:

74’ – Shaan Hudal scored the first goal of the match after beating Louisville City FC keeper Greg Ranjitsingh and sneaking the ball into the lower left corner.

Lineups 

Toronto FC II starting lineup: 80 Angelo Cavalluzzo, 52 Julian Dunn-Johnson, 42 Mitchell Taintor (c), 35 Lars Eckenrode (77 Brandon Onkony, 79’), 63 Liam Fraser, 50 Matthew Srbely, 46 Jordan McCrary, 58 Anthony Osorio (54 Ryan Telfer, 62’), 64 Shaan Hundal, 56 Malik Johnson (67 Daniel DaSilva, 61’), 55 Aiden Daniels

Toronto FC II subs: 70 Gianluca Catalano, 45 Luca Uccello, 61 Rocco Romeo, 20 Sergio Camargo

Head coach: Jason Bent

Louisville City starting lineup: 1 Gregory Ranjitsingh, 15 Sean Reynolds, 18 Paco Craig, 4 Sean Totsch, 36 Paolo DelPiccolo (c), 80 Devon Williams, 19 Oscar Jimenez, 24 Kyle Smith, 10 Brian Ownby (23 Richard Ballard, 77’), 9 Cameron Lancaster (12 Luke Spencer, 65’), 11 Niall McCabe (7 Mark-Anthony Kaye, 59’)

Louisville City subs: 22 George Davis IV, 6 Tarek Morad, 8 Guy Abend, 28 Tim Dobrowolski

Head coach: James O’Connor

Discipline 

Toronto FC II:

52’ Liam Fraser, yellow card (foul)

Louisville City FC:

86’ Paco Craig, yellow card (foul)

90’ Paco Craig, red card (second yellow)

Stats

Toronto FC II / Louisville City FC 

Shots: 9/18

Shots on target: 3/4

Possession (%): 43.5/56.5

Passes: 429/549

Corners: 4/8

Fouls: 12/10

Officials

Referee: YUSRI RUDOLF

Assistant referee 1: Peter Pendli

Assistant referee 2: Fabrizio Stasolla

4th official: David Barrie

Louisville City FC midfielder George Davis IV earned a spot on the USL Team of the Week for his performance against Orlando City B, the league announced Tuesday.

Davis IV assisted teammate Cameron Lancaster’s 11th-minute goal before scoring one of his own in the 57th minute on a pass from fellow midfielder Richard Ballard.

The University of Kentucky graduate had a role in goals that, at the time they were scored, both moved LouCity into the lead. Fans voted Davis IV their Man of the Match during the 3-1 victory.

His Team of the Week nod is LouCity’s first of the year on the Starting XI. Ballard made the bench following a scoreless draw with Saint Louis FC in the season opener.

A media panel voted Saint Louis FC forward Christian Volesky, a newcomer who previously starred for the Rochester Rhinos, as the USL Player of the Week. Volesky also had a goal and an assist on his way to receiving 38 percent of the vote.

USL Team of the Week

GK – Kendall McIntosh, Portland Timbers 2: McIntosh recorded 13 saves across two contests, a number of which were highlight-reel material, as T2 visited Swope Park and Seattle.

D – Forrest Lasso, Charleston Battery: Lasso recorded his second goal in as many games, and helped the Battery record their first shutout in a 2-0 win against Charlotte.

D – Brenton Griffiths, Reno 1868 FC: Griffiths scored the first goal in Reno’s history and led the side defensively as it earned its first point in a 1-1 draw with Vancouver.

D – James Musa, Swope Park Rangers: Musa was solid throughout, recording eight clearances and four interceptions, as the Rangers took a 1-0 win against Portland.

M – Michael Nanchoff, Tampa Bay Rowdies – Nanchoff recorded two assists and also hit the crossbar as Tampa Bay defeated Toronto FC II 4-0.

M – Billy Forbes, San Antonio FC – Forbes had a goal and assist as San Antonio took a second consecutive win to start the season by defeating the LA Galaxy II 3-0.

M – George Davis IV, Louisville City FC – Davis had a goal and assist in a strong all-around performance that led Louisville to a victory against Orlando.

M – Chase Minter, Real Monarchs SLC: Minter created two chances and earned the penalty kick that put the Monarchs ahead in a 2-0 victory against Phoenix.

F – Sammy Ochoa, Sacramento Republic FC: Ochoa scored a pair of goals on three shots on goal as Sacramento took a 4-0 victory against Orange County.

F – Christian Volesky, Saint Louis FC: Volesky recorded a goal and assist, and also played a key role in Saint Louis’ late game-winner, in a 3-2 win against Ottawa.

F – Wilson Kneeshaw, Sacramento Republic FC: Kneeshaw had a goal and assist and provided a consistent treat to Orange County’s defense with his speed in a 4-0 win.

Bench: Tyler Miller (SEA), Wal Fall (ROC), Adam Moffat (SAC), Vincent Bezecourt (NY), Djiby Fall (CIN), Romario Williams (CHS), Seyi Adekoya (SEA)

Louisville City FC plays game No. 2 on the road this week against Toronto FC II on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m ET.

Here’s what to watch for…

Tune In

TV: WBNA-TV 58 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

• Davis IV regains his momentum 
• Column: Breaking down George Davis’ goal
• Ranjitsingh’s key saves keeps LouCity on top

Notes

Playoff Picture: Louisville City FC remains in first place in the Eastern Conference with a playoff spot clinched. A win this weekend, combined with favorable results from other matchups, could secure LouCity a top four seed, giving them hosting privileges for the first round of playoffs. Toronto sits in last place in the Eastern Conference and have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Eastern Conference Race: After Sunday’s draw, Louisville extended their lead to seven points in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte has been on a decline lately, winning just one of their last five games, and leading third place Charleston by only one point. LouCity trails the Real Monarchs SLC, who play in the Western Conference, by two points for the overall USL lead. 

Scouting Toronto: Toronto sits last in the Eastern Conference, and second to last in the entire USL. LouCity holds the all-time advantage against Toronto FC II with a 4-0-1 record. Goalkeeper Angelo Cavalluzzo has not allowed more than two goals in each of Toronto’s past five games, despite FC II being on a three game losing streak.

Last time against Toronto FC II: The last meeting between Louisville and Toronto was relatively uneventful, resulting in a 0-0 draw in late April at Slugger Field. It was a battle of the goalkeepers, with a combined 14 saves in the game. Louisville had 19 shots that game, 11 of which were on target. Toronto had 12 shots, three of which were on target.

Davis IV’s hot streak: George Davis IV scored his sixth goal of the season for Louisville City FC Sunday afternoon, making it his second goal in two games since breaking his scoring drought. Davis IV has had 32 shots in 23 appearances for LouCity, 18 of which were on target. 

Ranjitsingh going strong: Greg Ranjitsingh has continued to prove himself as a dominant figure in goal for LouCity, just recently making four saves against Ottawa. In his 18 games played, he has allowed 18 goals and has had seven clean sheets while saving 35 of the 53 shots he’s faced.

Resilient LouCity: The boys in purple rallied from 1-1 and 2-1 scores Wednesday to secure a win against the Rochester Rhinos–with Luke Spencer scoring the winning goal off a penalty kick in stoppage time . Two previous come backs  came  against the Charleston Battery with the June matchup a wild one in which LouCity trailed 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 before taking a point. The club also came back from an early deficit in July to top Saint Louis FC.

Jimenez on the rise: Oscar Jimenez signed with Louisville City after attending an open tryout. From there, he has made sure that his chance in the USL does not go to waste. Jimenez currently leads the entire USL in chances created, a total that is now at 66. He has also started 25 of the 26 games he has played in this season while leading LouCity in minutes played at 2,228. 

Injury Update: Cameron Lancaster (broken toe) continues to be available to play for LouCity. Coach James O’Connor mentioned that a number of other players are playing through minor injuries late in the season, and they continue to be situations he manages.

After scoring in three of Louisville City FC’s first four matches of the season, veteran George Davis IV was off to a brilliant start to the 2017 campaign, leading his club in scoring for a number of weeks.

Davis IV’s next goal would come during the 4-4 shootout with the Charleston Battery on June 3rd, a crucial strike keeping the boys in purple within a goal of the hosts – though he wouldn’t return to the scoring sheet for 18 straight games.

For the former Richmond Kicker, the drought had no effect on his confidence.

“Like I said, I know that I’m capable and I knew I was going to get chances again, so I just tried to stay patient, keep believing and looking towards the next opportunity,” said Davis IV.

His scoring burst continues a trend among the LouCity locker room that has seen all but one field player record a goal this year.

While the scoring has been spread in a seemingly random manner and each player an offensive threat to opposing teams, Coach O’Connor credits his midfielder for his consistent play.

“I think George is one of the more consistent players that we have so you always know what you’re going to get from George,” Coach O’Connor said.

Having scored twice in as many games including the first of the three-game road trip, Davis IV has now recorded six goals on the season, good for second on Louisville City FC.

A graduate from the University of Kentucky, Davis IV was sidelined during the drought with a tweaked knee but says he’s back in full form.

“I’m 100% in shape and feeling confident,” added Davis IV. “So honestly it’s that time of year where you want to be at your best, so hopefully I can stay healthy and keep that up and continue to succeed.”

George Davis IV’s goal in Sunday afternoon’s 1-1 draw at the Ottawa Fury was Louisville City at its best.

The whole move leading up to the goal displayed tactical intelligence, aggressive play, and picture-perfect execution.

And if it looked familiar, that’s because we have seen this play before. Think back to Brian Ownby’s goal at New York Red Bulls II in June, when he beat the offside trap and was one-on-one with the goalkeeper before making an easy finish. That time it was Paolo DelPiccolo playing provider.

Let’s take a closer look at Davis’ goal:

54:57

Ottawa Fury’s Jamar Dixon saves a loose ball from going out of play, which would have given Louisville City a throw in at midfield. Tarek Morad closes Dixon down while Dixon’s teammate Jonathan Barden checks to him as a passing option.

Dixon decides to take a touch to his left to create a new passing angle, and plays a ball forward towards the checking run of 18-year-old Adonijah Reid. But Paco Craig reads the pass all the way and is first to the ball, stabbing it in the direction of Guy Abend.

55:03

With Louisville City in possession, muscle memory begins to activate. Davis begins his run towards goal about 10 yards behind the midfield line. Luke Spencer and Mark-Anthony Kaye are also leaning forward, as if they’re about to start running at the Fury backline. Speedy Williams is moving forward as well into open space in the midfield.

As soon as he receives it, Abend plays a quick one-touch pass forward to Williams, who quickly controls as Louisville City attack Ottawa in transition.

55:06

In the three seconds since Abend received the ball, Davis is already sprinting towards goal, I’m sure he’s noticed that Jamaican international and Fury midfielder Andrae Campbell is too wide, and has allowed Davis to get goal side as the pair are matching stride, step-for-step.

Meanwhile, Williams lets the pass from Abend run across his body as he advances into Ottawa’s half of the field, with multiple teammates to pass to; Richard Ballard is available on the left, while Spencer and Kaye are available on the right, though Kaye’s passing angle appears to be blocked by Dixon, who has quickly moved inside of Williams in a defensive possion.

Williams then plays a sneaky pass with the outside of his right boot to Spencer, who lunges to keep possession and plays it back to Williams in plenty of space, as Dixon has dropped off into the backline.

55:08

In two split seconds, both after Williams’ initial pass to Spencer and then when he is returned the ball again, he takes a quick glance up to survey the field. Williams realizes that Davis has the inside angle on Campbell and plays a lofted ball over the defense with his first touch, releasing Davis into the space behind the backline while Ottawa players can only watch.

55:11

The ball lands just inside the 18-yard box but former University of Kentucky goalkeeper Callum Irving comes off his line to cut off Davis’ angle. Davis however deftly and calmly takes the lofted cross down with his right foot and takes the ball around his fellow Wildcat Irving and Campbell before scoring into an empty net. Davis took advantage of Irving’s mis-timed decision but the quality to take a cross down with one touch on the turf and finish with the next is extraordinary.

In the span of 15 seconds, Louisville City went from defending to seeing the ball cross the line to score, a classic counter-attacking goal that has been a mainstay for James O’Connor’s side.

Here’s a look at the goal from start to finish:

https://youtu.be/RZQRiL7Bt34?t=1h27m52s

After a slow start to Sunday’s match, goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh earned his keep as Ottawa Fury recorded 15 total shots, 7 of which came late in the second half. 

Ranjitsingh added to his 35 total saves on the year – some of which held Fury FC from taking three points from the boys in purple.

“I thought he made a couple of important saves for us,” said coach James O’Conor on his starting keeper. “I think there was one definitely that I thought was a big save.”

The Mercer University graduate added another save when Ottawa’s Sito Seoane nearly tied the match with a left-footed strike outside the box, but Ranjitsingh’s diving stop held the hosts in check.

Ranjitsingh, who left the season opener against Saint Louis FC with a hip flexor injury, has since come on to help his club record 7 of its 11 clean sheets.

“Again, with the goalkeepers that we have, we have tremendous belief in Greg and Tim (Dobrowolski) and Micah (Bledsoe) that have taken on underneath him,” added coach O’Connor. “So for us, it’s an area that we feel very fortunate to have such good goalkeepers and again, Greg is someone that we have tremendous belief in.”

Here’s more from the match…

• After going 18 games without a goal, midfielder George Davis IV scored his second goal in as many games on Sunday. For Davis IV, taking advantage of the opportunities’ has put him back on the scoring sheet.

• As the second half came to a close, it looked like a certain game-winner for Ottawa in the 80th minute when Nicholas DePuy attempted a header in the center of the box, but midfielder Niall McCabe’s clearance prevented Louisville City from dropping points on the road.

• The 1-1 draw with Ottawa Fury was the first of three road games for Louisville City. With four games left in the regular season and a 7 point lead in the Eastern Conference standings, the boys in purple travel to the Ontario Soccer Centre to take on Toronto FC II. Kickoff is set for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.