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For Louisville City FC head coach John Hackworth, reaching another Eastern Conference Final is an expectation. But that hasn’t diminished just how special Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rowdies will be. 

“You can never take that for granted,” said Hackworth, whose club has made it to the league’s national semifinal six straight seasons, when speaking to reporters to open the week. “You have to appreciate these days and know that when you get down to a final four it’s special.”

And he’s right: Consecutive trips to the conference final is impressive. This year, it comes as part of streaks measuring eight (winning) and 13 (unbeaten) games.

Also not lost on LouCity’s locker room is how important Saturday’s game is to its community. In a year of headlines dominated by a pandemic and social unrest, Hackworth said his team has a chance to uplift Louisville.

“I would tell you that the first thought that I had when I woke up this morning was how grateful I was that I get to come to work again,” the coach said. “It’s been a tough year for all of us and for us to be a little ray of sunlight for our community, or some hope and something to smile about, I think that’s been important for us.”

Here’s more on Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rowdies…

A new foe…

In a normal year, a postseason matchup wouldn’t have marked the first meeting between LouCity and Tampa Bay.

But due to the USL’s shortened and regionalized schedule for 2020, LouCity has played a bulk of its matches against the same three opponents: Indy Eleven, Sporting KC II and Saint Louis FC. A blessing in disguise, however, is that many of those teams play a similar 3-5-2 formation to Tampa Bay, including last weekend’s opponent, Saint Louis FC. 

“Looking back at our game on Saturday, I would be critical of the way that we managed that,” Hackworth said. “We made it to back and forth and there was too much transition where we should’ve controlled more of the possession. That’s something that we’ll look to do against Tampa and Tampa I’m sure will come here and try to press us to take away those opportunities.”

Hackworth also pointed out that on paper, these are the two sides that should be meeting in the Eastern Conference Finals. LouCity finished the regular season with 35 points, two better than Tampa Bay, with both clubs winning their groups.

“If you look at it, we won the east and Tampa was second, so it’s the two teams statistically that should be in the Eastern Conference Final,” Hackworth said.

Coming up clutch… 

It’s absolutely no secret Cameron Lancaster is one of the biggest offensive threats in the entire USL, currently leading in the league in shots (57), ranking third in goals (12) and a boasting a 2018 golden boot to prove it. 

LouCity fans rejoiced on Saturday night when their leading-scorer played a cross from Antoine Hoppenot off his chest and onto his right foot for the winning goal – his 12th of the season – in just the 18th minute of a conference semifinal against Saint Louis.

“It’s what he’s supposed to do, it’s what he’s always done, and it’s what we expect from him,” Hackworth said. “If we can put Cam in those spots, he is so good.”

Yes, Lancaster’s coach has nothing but praise to offer for his star forward. 

“I’ve said it before that I think he is the best goal scorer in this league hands down and that’s what he does,” Hackworth added. “I’ve been blessed to coach incredible players in my career, and I haven’t come across a better pure goal scorer than Cam.”

On the defensive attack…

All season, LouCity’s defense has been formidable for its opponents. Vital to that unit’s success is four-year LouCity veteran Sean Totsch. 

Leading the team in most every defensive category, Totsch is a fixture on LouCity’s defensive line and has come a long way as player since the beginning of the season.  

“He is maturing as a player right now with making better decisions and keeping things a little bit simpler,” Hackworth said. “He always has a knack at making the big play and winning the critical moment.”

Another large reason for Tostch’s – and LouCity’s entire defense – success is the work all of them have put in being a stronger unit together.

“Him and Alexis (Souahy) have a really good relationship, but even Pat McMahon and Oscar Jimenez all have this relationship,” Hackworth said. “Now behind them with Ben, they have formed a really good unit.”

Louisville City FC has received approval from the USL Championship to shift its kickoff time to 7:30 p.m. ET for Saturday’s Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Season ticket members are undergoing an opt-in process to secure their admission to the league’s national semifinal. Remaining tickets will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Tuesday at www.loucity.com/tickets or by calling (502) LOU-CITY, option 2.

This weekend’s start time was initially billed as 7 p.m. to avoid any overlap with the respective Western Conference Final. Phoenix Rising FC is set to host El Paso Locomotive FC at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Both USL games Saturday will air nationally on ESPN+. Locally, LouCity-Tampa Bay can also be watched on WBKI/The CW, listened to on AM 790 WKRD and live streamed via the WDRB Now app.

LouCity hasn’t lost since the calendar turned to August, continuing a run of 13 games unbeaten last weekend when defeating Saint Louis FC by a 2-0 score in the conference semifinal.

The Tampa Bay Rowdies defeated the Charleston Battery, 1-0, in their most-recent playoff game with the winner scored by super sub Lucky Mksona, a former LouCity forward.

Winners of Saturday’s national semifinals will advance to the USL Cup Final — the USL’s first game to air on ESPN — at 8:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 1.

Ben Lundt has said it often this season: Playing goalkeeper for Louisville City FC is a tough gig.

That’s not due to the volume of shots Lundt expects to face between the posts, but rather the lack of them. Most games, his toughest task involves remaining mentally in a 90-minute contest happening mostly on the other side of the pitch, aside from one or two key moments.

In that respect, Lundt had been waiting on the type of opportunity he faced Saturday night, when the University of Akron product on loan from Major League Soccer’s FC Cincinnati saved a season-high nine shots.

“Today I was in the game early on and sometimes that’s good for a goalkeeper — staying engaged,” Lundt said after the final whistle. “Today I couldn’t really take my mind off of the game, and it worked well for me — but that is the challenge in every game.

“So I have to do my job and it doesn’t matter if it is in the 10th minute today, the 90th or if it is in the 120th.”

It’s that final number — 120 — that may have made the performance what it was for Lundt. LouCity hosted Saint Louis FC in an Eastern Conference Final, with extra time and even penalty kicks a distinct possibility.

Goalkeepers coach Scott Budnick drilled Lundt this week on penalties, also studying habits of Saint Louis FC attackers. In the 12th minute, Lundt was predetermined to lunge left when Wal Fall stepped up to the spot after a teammate won a penalty.

Five minutes after Lundt turned the shot away, LouCity scored in a game it went on to win 2-0, advancing to an Eastern Conference Final matchup against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

“He’s been amazing,” midfielder Antoine Hoppenot said of Lundt. “His second year he has grown a lot as a player and a lot as a person. I think he is opening up a lot in the locker room as well, so I think that’s helping. He’s feeling more comfortable with us as a team on and off of the field.

“It is really showing on the field. He is making some big saves and obviously that PK save makes the entire game. Without that, we’re down 1-0 early on and they can kind of get in a shell and make it a lot harder on us.”

The game remained an open one with Saint Louis FC chasing goals. The opposition out-shot LouCity, with the majority of its tries on target.

Lundt upped his season clean sheet total to nine, leading the USL Championship. To his earlier point, however, even with nine saves added Saturday he ranks seventh in the league in saves with 43.

“Sometimes you only get one or two shots on goal and you have to be there,” Lundt said. “Sometimes they’ll go in, especially earlier this season.”

LouCity went 1-3 upon the USL’s restart in July. While stumbling back from a break forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, LouCity’s coaches rotated in goal, giving a start to Chris Hubbard.

Lundt won the job back by the time the calendar turned to August. Since then, the boys in purple haven’t lost, nor have they allowed more than one goal in a game.

The penalty try presented a new challenge for Lundt. It marked the first penalty either awarded to LouCity or one of its opponents in 18 games this year.

“I was just focused on the moment and luckily it worked out,” said Lundt, who said he didn’t quite enjoy that sort of pressure.

But…

“Every goalkeeper has a special mentality,” he added. “You have to be a little bit crazy sometimes, some people say, and sometimes the pressure can’t affect you at all. So for me as a goalkeeper and every goalkeeper you have to be focused for 90 minutes.”

“One of these years, Louisville City FC won’t make the Conference Final,” I told myself in 2017. And in 2018, 2019 and yet again at the beginning of this year’s playoffs.

I may be right at some point with the USL Championship ever expanding, but I am happy to be wrong again this time. LouCity won Saturday’s game, and that was the ultimate goal of the evening, but I would like to take a deeper dive into what we learned about this team from a hectic, 2-0 conference semifinal victory over Saint Louis FC at Lynn Family Stadium.

The Good

Another shutout, another win, another Eastern Conference Final

I will touch on the stellar performance of goalkeeper Ben Lundt in a moment, but the sheer amount of times that Louisville City has appeared in the Eastern Conference Final is quite literally unmatched. They are not only the hottest team in American soccer right now but also the most dominant in American soccer over the last half decade. Although the game against Saint Louis left a little room for improvement, the object of the exercise was to win, and that they did. 

The way that LouCIty plays is not a “win at all costs” kind of style, where they abandon their interpretation of soccer for any route-one nonsense. The boys in purple know their strengths and play to them. The pace and passing ability of the wide players, the finishing ability of striker Cameron Lancaster, and the resiliency of the defense all showed up again for coach John Hackworth — albeit some elements were leaned on more heavily than others.

Ben Lundt, seriously

Sometimes defense wins games. Sometimes offense wins games. This time, put the win on the goalkeeper’s shoulders.

On no fewer than 10 occasions was Lundt subjected to a Saint Louis FC shot, and every single time he saved the effort. We knew that Lundt was quality, but he frankly has not had many times to show off his shot-stopping ability. 

Lundt had a variety of saves to make, too — some from point-blank range, some after being screened by one of his defenders, and one most impressively from the penalty spot. He even had to call on his back line for a goal clearance late on in the game.

Was this the best game of his pro career? For sure. To the 122 people that did not vote for Lundt as the man of the match on the LouCity Twitter page, I have but one word: “Nuts!” 

Scored early, responded to an insane few minutes

Something went gravely wrong in the Saint Louis FC defense to give Lancaster so much time and space inside the six-yard box. A Brian Ownby run, plus a well-rehearsed Antoine Hoppenot-Lancaster connection, was what yielded the goal, but it was created in training.

“We do finishing drills and we do crossing drills, so that is something that he knows that as soon as it happens,” Hoppenot said. “(Lancaster) peels off of the back post and I try to find him out there.”

An insane 10-minute period that included the missed penalty for Saint Louis, a non-decision for a challenge on Brian Ownby and a goal chalked off for the visitors also happened to have the eventual game-winning goal for Louisville.

Heads were spinning all around the ground, surely — but not on the pitch. It would be very easy to be jarred by any one of these, plus a couple City players also had early bookings. To come out of that specific passage of play not only without conceding, but to also find a goal in among the insanity is a testament to the sheer determination of the team.

The Bad

Gave away a penalty that could have shaped the game

Sean Totsch can count his lucky stars that he saw the 12th minute of this fixture. Strictly speaking, he very easily could have been shown red for his challenge on Tyler Blackwood in the first half, and that would have made the script for the balance of the game very different from the one that played out on Saturday night.

Totsch’s challenge was necessary, although given that Lundt was in goal and the angle taken, would not have been a sure thing for the attacker. In the end, the referee deemed that either there was a play on the ball by Totsch, or that Oscar Jimenez was in a position to cover the goal for City.

Saint Louis FC was awarded a penalty, and Totsch saw a yellow card rather than a red. 

Statistically, penalty kicks have about an 80 percent chance of going in, and had the ensuing seconds played out differently, or had Totsch made an early exit, a number of things would have changed in this game. In all likelihood, an attacking player would have been sacrificed for a defensive substitute, taking off a weapon for Hackworth. It would have invited even more pressure from the visitors, all without considering the change of game plan if the penalty had been scored.

In the end, all of that is luckily a theoretical situation that did not play out on the pitch at Lynn Family Stadium. 

Slightly off pace

“We were late by that half second that you can’t be late,” Hackworth said in describing the defensive performance from his club on Saturday night. “That caused us some problems. Our reactions in cover positions weren’t good.”

While Lundt covered himself in glory between the sticks, his defense could equally be blamed for allowing as many chances as it did. I also found myself holding my breath a few more times than normal, as Saint Louis FC spent an inordinate amount of time in the Louisville box compared with most opponents.

LouCity looked just that step behind, with a few too many misplaced passes, and a couple of unsupported and unproductive runs. Luckily it did not cost the boys in purple as much as even a goal this game, but relying on one element of your team to support the rest is a dangerous habit to form in the sharp end of the season. 

In Conclusion

This might not have been the most convincing win of their last eight wins, but it is the most important. All in all, the game hinged on a few very big moments, and they nearly all happened at the beginning of the game, and they mostly went in our favor. That is not to say that that was by chance, because you certainly do not find yourself in a sixth consecutive Conference Final by coincidence. They have their next week of training cut out for them, and if all goes to plan, they will have another game to prepare for this time next week. 

During a year in which seemingly everything has changed, there remains this constant: Louisville City FC is going to the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference Final.

The boys in purple — who have visited the league’s national semifinal round every season since launching in 2015 — dealt a final blow to rival Saint Louis FC on Saturday at Lynn Family Stadium to advance.

They only prevailed by a 2-0 score after a wacky first half sequence that saw a Saint Louis FC penalty turned away, a LouCity goal, and a subsequent score disallowed for the visitors — all in a 10-minute span.

Ultimately, forward Cameron Lancaster’s 18th-minute goal proved enough, and LouCity doubled its lead in the 83rd on a set piece goal accidentally directed into the net by a Saint Louis FC defender.

LouCity as a result will host the Tampa Bay Rowdies, a 1-0 winner Saturday over the Charleston Battery, at 7 p.m. Oct. 24. Season ticket members have been notified via email of how to opt into tickets; what remains will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

“That was a ridiculous sequence of emotions,” said LouCity coach John Hackworth, looking back at Saturday’s minutes 11 through 21. “…It was a strange game to start that way, but give our guys a ton of credit for finding that first goal, for staying after it, for in the face of what could’ve turned into some crazy emotions cooler heads were prevailing.

“That was just inductive of the whole match. It was going to be hard, it was going to be a fight, and it was going to be emotional.”

LouCity upped its unbeaten streak to 13 games and winning streak to eight, both the longest of any pro soccer clubs this year in America, by knocking off Saint Louis FC in its Kings’ Cup rival’s final game. The club is folding as Major League Soccer enters its home market.

Another LouCity streak paved the way for the result. Lancaster has now scored seven goals in as many games after Antoine Hoppenot looped in a cross, the striker used one touch to gather it and then another to finish.

Voted Man of the Match having made nine saves, goalkeeper Ben Lunt also made a massive impact Saturday. He was called into action most notably for a 12th-minute penalty kick after LouCity defender Sean Totsch took down Saint Louis FC’s Tyler Blackwood in the area.

Wal Fall stepped up to try the penalty for the visitors, and Lundt lunged to his left to preserve his USL Championship-leading ninth shutout.

“Scott Budnick, my goalkeeper coach, has been doing a really good job of scouting other teams and I watched a couple of penalties from a couple guys before the game,” Lundt said. “…We discussed it as a group, and we decided before the game if he is coming up for a penalty that I would be going to my left.”

Meanwhile, Saint Louis FC did see two shots hit the back of the net. Neither, however counted, as a 21st-minute free kick and 87th-minute goal were both disallowed due to offside.

Lundt was a wall when it came to most other opposing chances. He got a massive lift, too, when defender Oscar Jimenez cleared a would-be goal off the line in the 85th minute. Lundt had already made a save earlier that possession, the story of the night for the native of Germany on loan from Major League Soccer’s FC Cincinnati.

LouCity tied a bow on its Saint Louis FC series with three consecutive shutouts — score lines of 3-0, 1-0 and now 2-0. The clubs kicked off their inaugural game against one another with a LouCity win in March of 2015 that set the rivalry’s tone.

In this final meeting, LouCity controlled 54% of possession and absorbed a motivated Saint Louis FC side’s offense — 17 shots, 13 inside the box and 10 of them on target.

“Every time we play them I think that they make it really tough on us,” said the LouCity midfielder Hoppenot. “I thought we came out here trying to use the bigger grass field to our advantage to try to tire them out a little bit and kind of use their excess energy against them. Honestly, to their credit they didn’t really tire out. Even at the end they’re still flooding, working hard and still making our lives miserable.

“Unbelievable club by them. They have had a great year and honestly, we’re glad that we won obviously. It was a tough game and was not an easy one and I think the celebration in the locker room a little bit exemplifies that — the fact that it wasn’t easy at all today.”

After the final whistle, a group of green- and blue-clad supporters in the west corner of Lynn Family Stadium celebrated their players on last time. It was an inevitable result when up against a LouCity side that never falls short of the Eastern Conference Final.

“There are not many sports that you can look at around the globe where a franchise is as successful as Louisville City has been,” Hackworth said. “It’s not easy, and you can see that from tonight. It’s an impressive stat, and I’m so happy for the players in that locker room.

“Most of them have been here for multiple trips to the Eastern Conference Final. Niall (McCabe) has been to all six and also thinks that it’s just normal and that’s what we do. I guess he’s right. It’s not easy, and I know that there’s a couple teams that have done it in other sports, but it’s extremely tough, especially in soccer.”

Game Summary: Louisville City FC vs. Saint Louis FC

Date: Oct. 17, 2020

Venue: Lynn Family Stadium

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.

Weather: 59 degrees, clear

Man of the Match: Ben Lundt

Attendance: 4,900

Scoring

Louisville City: 1, 1, 2

Saint Louis: 0, 0, 0

Goals

Louisville City:

18’ Cameron Lancaster right footed shot from the right side of the six-yard box to the center of the goal. Assisted by Antoine Hoppenot with a cross.

83’ Own Goal directed in by Tobi Adewole off a LouCity set piece.

Lineups

Louisville City: 39-Ben Lundt, 19-Oscar Jimenez, 3-Alexis Souahy, 4-Sean Totsch, 15-Pat McMahon (62’ 6-Wesley Charpie), 80-Devon Williams, 36-Paolo DelPiccolo 13-Corben Bone, 29-Antoine Hoppenot, 10-Brian Ownby (62’ 27-Napo Matsoso), 17-Cameron Lancaster (74’ 9-Luke Spencer)

Subs not used: 1-Chris Hubbard, 11-Niall McCabe, 8-Akil Watts, 5-Jimmy Ockford

Head Coach: John Hackworth

Saint Louis: 1-Kyle Morton, 4-Sam Fink, 21-Tobi Adewole, 3-Phanuel Kavita, 8-Guy Abend (59’ 11-Joaquin Rivas), 7-Todd Wharton, 2-Paris Gee (69’ 10-Mour Samb), 9-Russell Cicerone, 14-Tyler Blackwood (87’ 13-Kadeem Dacres), 22-Kyle Greig, 5-Wal Fall

Subs not used: 6-Daniel Fischer, 28-Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé, 23-Richard Bryan, 18-John Berner

Head Coach: Steve Trittschuh                                                   

Discipline

Louisville City:

11’ Sean Totsch (yellow card)

20’ Speedy Williams (yellow card)

75’ Ben Lundt (yellow card)

Saint Louis:

25’ Paris Gee (yellow card)

82’ Sam Fink (yellow card)

90’+ Mour Samb (yellow card)

Stats Summary: Louisville City vs. Saint Louis

Shots: 11/17

Shots on Goal: 6/10

Saves: 10/5

Corner Kicks: 4/5

Fouls: 13/14

Offsides: 0/3

Possession: 51.5%/48.5%

Louisville City FC coach John Hackworth sums up Saturday’s matchup with Saint Louis FC as a six-point opportunity.

A win, and the boys in purple would both earn three points and deny its “Group E” rival three more. Such will be the case in most remaining games on the schedule with Indy Eleven and Sporting KC II other members of the regional pod of clubs.

Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. at Lynn Family Stadium in the first game there that will end under the stadium’s unique light fixtures.

Those with limited tickets can run down a full guide to safely attending amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including when it’s best to enter the stadium staggering to avoid crowds at the gate.

For the many more watching from home, there are numerous ways to tune in, including locally on WBKI (The CW) and News Radio 840 WHAS as well as nationally on ESPN+.

For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc on Twitter (or check out the feed below) and like Louisville City FC on Facebook. Also find us at louisvillecityfc on Instagram.

On the call for TV/streaming: Josh Easter (play by play) and Devon Kerr (color).

And for radio: Jeff Greer (play by play) and Casey Whitfield (color).

Live stats, a game summary and league-wide scoreboard are available at the USL’s Match Center.