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Louisville City won the 2020 Wasatch Cup with a total of seven points during the three-match event. Louisville City beat the Colorado Springs Switchbacks and Real Monarchs and drew a point vs Union Omaha. Check out highlights from LouCity’s trip to Utah.
HERRIMAN, UTAH – Louisville City FC is bringing home hardware from its preseason trip to Utah. LouCity beat the host Real Monarchs 3-1 in the final match of the round-robin event to win the 2020 Wasatch Cup Saturday morning at the Zions Bank Real Academy.
“I’m really pleased with the performance,” Louisville City coach John Hackworth said. “We really executed in all phases. It was a great way to end a long trip like this. I really felt good about our preparation and then when you have those ideas and then your players go out and implement it, it’s a really nice thing.”
Louisville City held a two-point lead on the Monarchs and Union Omaha in the Wasatch Cup table heading into Saturday morning’s rematch of the 2019 USL Championship Final. The Boys in Purple had four points after beating the Colorado Springs Switchbacks and notching a point for a draw vs. Union Omaha.
With Saturday’s 3-1 win, LouCity finished the event with seven points, clinching the Wasatch Cup trophy.
Louisville City started the match with a lineup full of attacking talent with 2018 Golden Boot winner Cameron Lancaster up top along with Abdou Thiam, Brian Ownby, and Magnus Rasmussen, who led the team in goals in 2019. Corben Bone and Speedy Williams joined Rasmussen in the middle with Oscar Jimenez, Alexis Souahy, Jimmy Ockford, and Pat McMahon along the back four. Ben Lundt started the match in goal for LouCity.
Louisville City started the match strong, getting a goal on a beautifully-placed shot by Thiam in the 7′ with an assist to Ownby. Then Louisville City pushed the lead to 2-0 when Lancaster scored on a corner kick from Jimenez in the 25′. The corner was deflected by Rasmussen to Lancaster who quickly put it into the back of the net.
Just over two minutes later, Louisville City went ahead 3-0 on a goal by Ownby with an assist to Rasmussen. After giving up a goal in the 34′, Louisville City went into halftime with a 3-1 lead.
City started the second half with a similar lineup to the first half, but started making substitutions in the 61′. Chris Hubbard came in as goalkeeper with Jimenez joined by Sean Totsch, Wesley Charpie and Akil Watts on the back line. Napo Matsoso, Paolo DelPiccolo, and Niall McCabe were in the middle with George Davis IV, Antoine Hoppenot and Cameron Lancaster up top.
LouCity’s current roster, listed alphabetically by position:
Goalkeepers (3): Chris Hubbard, Ben Lundt, Muamer Ugarak
Defenders (6): Oscar Jimenez, Pat McMahon, Jimmy Ockford, Alexis Souahy, Sean Totsch, Akil Watts
Midfielders (7): Corben Bone, Paolo DelPiccolo, Napo Matsoso, Niall McCabe, Magnus Rasmussen, Speedy Williams, Elijah Wynder
Forwards (6): George Davis IV, Antoine Hoppenot, Cameron Lancaster, Brian Ownby, Luke Spencer, Abdou Thiam
PRESEASON SCHEDULE
After returning home from Utah, Louisville City will have a pair of preseason matches left before opening its USL Championship schedule on March 7 at North Carolina FC. The Boys in Purple will open Lynn Family Stadium on Saturday, April 11 vs. Birmingham Legion in a nationally televised match on ESPN News.
WASATCH CUP SCHEDULE:
February 16 – Real Monarchs – 0, Union Omaha – 0
Louisville City FC – 3, Switchbacks FC – 0,
February 19 – Real Monarchs – 0, Switchbacks FC – 0
Louisville City – 1, Union Omaha – 1
February 22 – Real Monarchs – 1. Louisville City FC – 3
Union Omaha v. Switchbacks FC – 1:30p ET
HERRIMAN, UTAH – Louisville City FC is at the top of the 2020 Wasatch Cup standings with one match to play. The Boys in Purple will square off against the Real Monarchs in a rematch of the 2019 USL Championship Final Saturday morning at 11 a.m.
With a two-point lead in the standings, a win vs. Real Monarchs secures the 2020 Wasatch Cup. The match will be broadcast on Real Salt Lake’s Youtube channel here: Real Monarchs vs. Louisville City
In the event of a tie, Louisville City has a three-goal lead in the tie-breaking goal differential. That means if LouCity draws vs. Real Monarchs Saturday, the Boys in Purple would win the Wasatch Cup as long as Union Omaha either draws, loses or wins by fewer than three goals over the Switchbacks.
Saturday is Louisville City’s final match of the Utah trip which began with a 3-0 win over the Colorado Springs Switchbacks on Sunday night. A brace in the first 22 minutes from Cameron Lancaster and a goal by Thiam helped Louisville City roll to three points and the top of the table.
Louisville City FC remained at the top of the 2020 Wasatch Cup standings with a 1-1 draw vs. Union Omaha Wednesday in Herriman, Utah.
LouCity’s current roster, listed alphabetically by position:
Goalkeepers (3): Chris Hubbard, Ben Lundt, Muamer Ugarak
Defenders (6): Oscar Jimenez, Pat McMahon, Jimmy Ockford, Alexis Souahy, Sean Totsch, Akil Watts
Midfielders (7): Corben Bone, Paolo DelPiccolo, Napo Matsoso, Niall McCabe, Magnus Rasmussen, Speedy Williams, Elijah Wynder
Forwards (6): George Davis IV, Antoine Hoppenot, Cameron Lancaster, Brian Ownby, Luke Spencer, Abdou Thiam
PRESEASON SCHEDULE
After returning home from Utah, Louisville City will have a pair of preseason matches left before opening its USL Championship schedule on March 7 at North Carolina FC. The Boys in Purple will open Lynn Family Stadium on Saturday, April 11 vs. Birmingham Legion in a nationally televised match.
WASATCH CUP SCHEDULE:
February 16 – Real Monarchs – 0, Union Omaha – 0
Louisville City FC – 3, Switchbacks FC – 0,
February 19 – Real Monarchs – 0, Switchbacks FC – 0
Louisville City – 1, Union Omaha – 1
February 22 – Real Monarchs v. Louisville City FC – 11:00a ET (streamed)
Union Omaha v. Switchbacks FC – 1:30p ET
Louisville City FC’s 17-man Academy Cup team is back from Florida after a successful run at the USL Academy Eastern Conference Event. An all-star group from high schools and clubs around the region, the LouCity Academy Cup team was 2-1 during the event, notching impressive wins over Pittsburgh Riverhounds and FC Miami City.
“Overall, it was fantastic,” Louisville City FC Director of Development Mario Sanchez said. “Everyone got the opportunity to compete, everyone got a chance to start a match, and, most importantly, everyone got a taste of the level of soccer we are hoping to achieve with our Academy program. For our guys to get a taste of professional football was great. I thought the USL did a tremendous job with the facilities and managing the event which gave a great opportunity for these players.”
Louisville City’s team for the U17 event featured teens from Louisville, Shelbyville, Versailles, and Bowling Green. The group came together to train weekly as a team while also training with their club and high school teams.
Louisville City opened the competition with an impressive 7-2 win over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
“We were flying at the start. It was pretty amazing the start we got off to,” Sanchez said. “Our boys came out on fire. The ball movement, the passing, it was everything you would want to see from your First Team and I thought our kids replicated that. It was awesome to see.”
Louisville City got goals from Anthony Cano, Eyob McFarland, Carlos Moguel, Eldin Velic, Nate Traughber, Damir Beganovic, and Zach Schonwetter.
“The best for us is that we got the goals and then stayed relentless,” Sanchez said. “We just never stopped, and I loved seeing that mentality.”
Moguel’s free kick goal in the first half draw high praise from tournament officials and his coaches.
“That free kick is as good of a goal as you will see anywhere in the world,” Sanchez said.
On Saturday night, players, coaches, and families from many clubs made the trip to historic Al Lang Stadium in downtown St. Petersburg to watch two professional preseason matches. Attendees saw Inter Miami’s first-ever public match as the new MLS side faced Philadelphia Union, followed by the Championship’s Tampa Bay Rowdies against Thierry Henry’s Montreal Impact.
Louisville City returned to the field Sunday morning and got off to a fast start as Josh Wynder scored a laser in the first minute against South Georgia Tormenta FC.
“It was the goal of the tournament from Joshua Wynder, who was probably the youngest kid in the tournament,” Sanchez said. “It was from 30 to 35 out and for him to take a half-volley and put it in the upper-V? Wow, you just don’t see that very often.”
But Tormenta stormed back with three goals in the first half and Louisville City’s Academy Cup team couldn’t claw their way back into it in the second half during a 1-3 loss.
“We continued to play well, but we were unfortunate to give up a goal after some mistakes were made and, honestly, it’d be good to credit Tormenta for being a good team,” Sanchez said. “They were a good team, very technical, and they were well-coached. On the flip side for us, we just made a couple of errors on the goals that our kids just have to learn from. We were proud of our response in the second half.”
Louisville City woke up early the next morning to prepare for its match, an 8-0 route of FC Miami City.
Owen Damm opened the scoring for LouCity in the 21′ and Elijah Wynder and Dino Hodzic helped push LouCity to a 3-0 halftime lead. Louisville City scored five goals in the second half with strikes by Eyob McFarland and Carlos Moguel and a hat-trick by Zach Schonwetter, who scored back-to-back-to-back goals to close out the match.
“Miami tied Tormenta and played Pittsburgh well so we were expecting a tough game, but our kids came out flying,” Sanchez said. “We never let down and to me that says a lot about how these kids respect the game and respect their opponent. I thought that was an accumulation of everyone putting it all together.”
To stay up to date with all things USL Academy ahead of the National Event, visit usl-academy.com or search #USLAcademy on social media.
THURSDAY, FEB. 20, 2020 – Louisville City Football Club is pleased to announce a renewed partnership with WDRB Media as its local TV partner for the 2020 USL Championship season. Every Louisville City FC game will be televised with the vast majority of games on WBKI for the 2020 season.
“We are excited our fans will be able to follow our games on the road and at home on WDRB stations,” Louisville City FC President Brad Estes said. “We feel an incredible amount of excitement around the city as we prepare to open our new stadium and having a broadcast partner who can provide access to our growing fan base was crucial.”
The vast majority of LouCity matches – 28 of 34 – will be broadcast on WBKI starting with the first four matches of the season, March 7 at North Carolina, March 15 at Atlanta United 2, March 21 at Pittsburgh and April 4 at Indy Eleven. Louisville City FC will host a pair of nationally televised matches on ESPN networks this season, April 11 vs. Birmingham Legion and July 1 vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Of the remaining 32 matches, four will be shown on MY58tv this season.
New for 2020, Louisville City FC and WDRB Media also teamed up to offer fans local streaming access through the free WDRB NOW Digital App.
“This is an exciting time for both Louisville City FC and WDRB Media,” says Dale R. Woods, WDRB President, and General Manager. “Expansion is the theme for 2020 with the new state-of-the-art stadium for fans to experience, as well as televised games and adding live streaming for all 32 games on the WDRB NOW Digital App. This gives our fans the flexibility to be able to watch each game this season live in-stadium, on the big screen or on the go by phone.”
“Giving our fans the ability to stream the matches through the app was crucial for us this season,” said Mitch Ried, Louisville City FC’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “We want to continue to advocate for our fans to get more access to our club, whether that be through our web site, www.loucity.com, our social channels, or the ability to stream our matches locally.”
In addition to the local stream on the free WDRB NOW App, all LouCity games will be streamed nationally on ESPN+.
After five seasons of playing its home games at Louisville Slugger Field, Louisville City FC will open Lynn Family Stadium, the club’s new soccer-specific stadium, on April 11 vs. Birmingham Legion. The stadium has optimized sightlines for fans in the stadium as well as prime locations for cameras to make the broadcast as compelling as possible.
Less than 1,000 season tickets with seats remain for Louisville City FC’s 2020 season. Single-game tickets for LouCity’s April 11 home opener go on sale to the public Thursday, Feb. 27, at 10 a.m. with single-game tickets for the rest of the schedule going on sale Friday, Feb. 28, at 10 a.m. Fans interested in season tickets can secure seats at www.loucity.com or by calling 502-LOU-CITY.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 19 — Louisville City FC remained at the top of the 2020 Wasatch Cup standings with a 1-1 draw vs. Union Omaha Wednesday in Herriman, Utah.
The Boys in Purple started the match with a lineup of BenLundt in goal and Pat McMahon, Alexis Souahy, Wesley Charpie, and Cory Thomas on the back line. Speedy Williams, Paolo DelPiccolo, and Niall McCabe started in the midfield with Antoine Hoppenot, Abdou Thiam and George Davis IV up front.
LouCity got on the board in the 38′ when Abdou Thiam converted on a penalty kick. In the 44′ a great ball from Niall McCabe to George Davis IV gave City another opportunity, but Davis’ shot went just wide of the goal.
Union Omaha, which had threatened in the 23′, didn’t match Louisville City’s score before the half and the Boys in Purple went into halftime up 1-0.
LouCity replaced its entire lineup in the 60′, bringing in Chris Hubbard in goal, Oscar Jimenez , Sean Totsch, Jimmy Ockford and Akil Watts on the back line, Magnus Rasmussen, Napo Matsoso, and Corben Bone in the midfield and Brian Ownby, Cameron Lancaster and Antoine Hoppenot up front.
In the 72′ Hubbard grabbed a Union Omaha corner kick to keep LouCity in the lead, but Omaha found an equalizer in the 80′ on a penalty kick.
Louisville City opened the 2020 Wasatch Cup with a 3-0 win over the Colorado Springs Switchbacks on Sunday night. A brace in the first 22 minutes from Cameron Lancaster and a goal by Thiam helped Louisville City roll to three points and the top of the table.
The Wasatch Cup uses a group table format to determine the champion. Teams are awarded three points for a win and one point for a draw. With a win and a draw, LouCity has four points. Real Monarchs and Union Omaha are in second with two points with Colorado Springs Switchbacks in third with one point.
UP NEXT
Louisville City’s final game in Utah will be Saturday at 11 a.m. vs. the host Real Monarchs. The match will be streamed on the RSL Youtube Channel.
SCENARIOS
With a two-point lead in the standings, if Louisville City wins vs. Real Monarchs Saturday they’ll secure the 2020 Wasatch Cup.
Louisville City has a three-goal lead in the tie-breaking goal differential. That means if LouCity draws vs. Real Monarchs Saturday, the Boys in Purple would win the Cup as long as Union Omaha either draws, loses or wins by fewer than three goals over the Switchbacks.
PRESEASON SCHEDULE
After returning home from Utah, Louisville City will have a pair of preseason matches left before opening its USL Championship schedule on March 7 at North Carolina FC. The Boys in Purple will open Lynn Family Stadium on Saturday, April 11 vs. Birmingham Legion in a nationally televised match.
LouCity’s current roster, listed alphabetically by position:
Goalkeepers (3): Chris Hubbard, Ben Lundt, Muamer Ugarak
Defenders (6): Oscar Jimenez, Pat McMahon, Jimmy Ockford, Alexis Souahy, Sean Totsch, Akil Watts
Midfielders (7): Corben Bone, Paolo DelPiccolo, Napo Matsoso, Niall McCabe, Magnus Rasmussen, Speedy Williams, Elijah Wynder
Forwards (6): George Davis IV, Antoine Hoppenot, Cameron Lancaster, Brian Ownby, Luke Spencer, Abdou Thiam
WASATCH CUP SCHEDULE:
February 16 – Real Monarchs – 0, Union Omaha – 0
Louisville City FC – 3, Switchbacks FC – 0,
February 19 – Real Monarchs – 0, Switchbacks FC – 0
Louisville City – 1, Union Omaha – 1
February 22 – Real Monarchs v. Louisville City FC – 11:00a ET (streamed)
Union Omaha v. Switchbacks FC – 1:30p ET
Louisville City FC has arrived in Utah for the next leg of its 2020 preseason training tour. LouCity is one of four teams participating in the second-annual Wasatch Cup hosted by Zions Bank Real Academy in Herriman, Utah.
The 2020 Wasatch Cup will consist of the final two teams in the USL Championship Playoffs: Louisville City and Real Monarchs, as well as the Colorado Springs Switchbacks from USL Championship and Union Omaha of USL League One.
“The training center for Real Salt Lake and the Monarchs is fantastic, but the most important aspect of our Utah trip will be playing USL opponents in meaningful matches,” Louisville City coach John Hackworth said. “It’s still preseason, but anytime you can play in a competition with a trophy and title on the line, it adds another level of importance to the competition”
The event runs Sunday through Saturday with each club playing three matches. Louisville City will face the Switchbacks on Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. ET (7 p.m. MT) and Union Omaha on Feb. 19 at 3 p.m. ET (1 p.m. MT). The match with the Monarchs, a rematch of the 2019 USL Championship Title game, will be played at 11 a.m. ET (9 a.m. MT) on Feb. 22.
The Wasatch Cup will use a group table format to determine the champion. Teams will be awarded three points for a win and one point for a draw. Goal differential and then greatest number of total goals will be used as the tiebreaker in the event of two or more teams having the same amount of points. All matchdays will be double-headers and are scheduled to be played inside the Zions Bank Training Center which boasts over 200,000 sq. feet of playing surface across two fields.
Teams will be allowed unlimited substitutions with no re-entry in each match. LouCity will bring 23 players to Utah for the Wasatch Cup. Academy signee Elijah Wynder is in Florida for the USL Academy Cup, and the club will be evaluating a pair of trialists – defender Cory Thomas, a star at Indiana University from Corydon, Indiana, and Wesley Charpie, a 27-year-old defender from Tarpon Springs, Fla., who played last season at Memphis 901 FC. Coach’s son, Larsen Hackworth, also joined the team for the trip to Utah.
Louisville City began its 2020 preseason schedule with a week of training in Louisville before departing for IMG Academy in Florida. The club played a pair of matches against MLS clubs D.C. United and Nashville SC, before coming back to Louisville on Monday.
Louisville City will open its USL Championship schedule on March 7 at North Carolina FC. The Boys in Purple will open Lynn Family Stadium on Saturday, April 11 vs. Birmingham Legion in a nationally televised match.
LouCity’s current roster, listed alphabetically by position:
Goalkeepers (3): Chris Hubbard, Ben Lundt, Muamer Ugarak
Defenders (6): Oscar Jimenez, Pat McMahon, Jimmy Ockford, Alexis Souahy, Sean Totsch, Akil Watts
Midfielders (7): Corben Bone, Paolo DelPiccolo, Napo Matsoso, Niall McCabe, Magnus Rasmussen, Speedy Williams, Elijah Wynder
Forwards (6): George Davis IV, Antoine Hoppenot, Cameron Lancaster, Brian Ownby, Luke Spencer, Abdou Thiam
WASATCH CUP SCHEDULE:
February 16 – Real Monarchs v. Union Omaha – 7:00p ET
Switchbacks FC v. Louisville City FC – 9:00p ET
February 19 – Real Monarchs v. Switchbacks FC – Noon ET
Union Omaha v. Louisville City FC – 3:00p ET
February 22 – Real Monarchs v. Louisville City FC – 11:00a ET (streamed)
Union Omaha v. Switchbacks FC – 1:30p ET
FRIDAY, FEB. 14, 2020 – Louisville City Football Club’s U17 Academy Cup team won its first-ever match Friday night, crushing the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy 7-2 at the Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
“This was a great team win,” Louisville City Director of Youth Development Mario Sanchez said on Soccer City Radio on 790 KRD. “We didn’t really know what to expect given this was our first game and the weather conditions, but we were really happy with our performance. Once we got our footing and starting to play our game, we played at a high level.”
Anthony Cano goes down in the history books as the first official goal scorer for Louisville City’s Academy Cup team after he scored in the 20′. Pittsburgh struck back with an equalizer fairly quickly, but LouCity pulled ahead 2-1 on a 37′ goal by Eyob McFarland.
Louisville City pushed the lead to 3-1 on a goal by Carlos Moguel and then 4-1 on a goal by Eldin Velic in the 53′. Moguel’s free kick goal drew rave reviews when the video was posted on the @LouCityAcademy Twitter account.
“Carlos’ goal on the free kick was really impressive, but we almost expect that from him at this point,” Sanchez said. “I have known Carlos for a long time and his talent on those kinds of kicks. He’s a tremendously talented young man who works hard and loves the game of soccer.
But the scoring didn’t stop there. Nate Traughber scored in the 65′ to put Louisville City up 5-1, and Damir Beganovic picked up a goal on a deflection in the 69′. Louisville City’s final goal came from Zach Schonwetter in the 82′, and Pittsburgh netted a second goal in the final minutes.
The Louisville City Academy Cup roster consists of 17 young players from all over Kentucky. Louisville City’s first Academy Cup roster features teens from Louisville, Shelbyville, Versailles, and Bowling Green.
“Saturday we get to see the Union play Inter Miami and then we’ll play Tormenta Sunday afternoon,” Sanchez said. “Tormenta and Miami were playing on the field behind us so I was trying to get a glimpse of their game while ours was going on.”
Tormenta and FC Miami City tied 2-2 Friday night. LouCity will play Tormenta Sunday and FC Miami City Monday night.
The USL Academy program was founded in 2019 specifically for the 2020 USL Academy Cup. All of the young men on the Academy Cup roster train independently with their club and high school teams and have come together to train weekly as a team for Louisville City as well.
LouCity’s Academy Cup team, listed alphabetically by position:
Goalkeepers (2): Clayton Brooks, John Jeffus
Defenders (6): Anthony Cano, Owen Damm, Kuker Nodler, Sebastian Sanchez, Patrick Walz, Josh Wynder
Midfielders (5): Damir Beganovic, Carlos Moguel Jr, Brendan Schonwetter, Nate Traughber, Elijah Wynder
Forwards (4): Dino Hodzic, Eyob McFarland, Zach Schonwetter, Eldin Velic
Louisville City wrapped up its 10-day trip to IMG Academy with a preseason scrimmage vs. a second MLS club Sunday. LouCity coach John Hackworth reviewed his team’s performance in Florida as they prepare for the 2020 season.
“We played two MLS opponents who both played really contrasting styles,” Hackworth said after Sunday’s match vs. Nashville SC. “I think that is very good for us. We definitely corrected some aspects of what we did against D.C. United here today and that showed, specifically our re-press. Some of our reactions today were excellent at the end of the first and beginning of the second half. And those are some things we can build on.”
Hackworth would have liked to collect wins over the MLS teams they played in Florida, but the focus was preparing for the season. Hackworth and the LouCity players will return to Louisville Monday.
“Outside of the results I feel good about it,” Hackworth said. “Guys are taking to our game and how we want to play, that’s been excellent. At the same time, it’s tough to lose a game on the last day you are down here because you have a bitter taste in your mouth.”
Louisville City had a very different lineup to start the match against Nashville than it did vs. D.C. United. Ben Lundt started in goal with Oscar Jimenez, Alexis Souahy, Jimmy Ockford, and Akil Watts along the back. Corben Bone, Speedy Williams, and Napo Matsoso started in midfield and Brian Ownby, Abdou Mbacke Thiam, and George Davis IV started at forward. Only Jimenez, Ockford, and Williams started both matches for LouCity.
“We started nine new players today so nearly every player we brought to camp was able to start a game down here,” Hackworth said. “I feel like the group as a whole has the ability to play at a really high level. Camp has been great in that regard because we have had a lot of competition. That makes it tough on the coaching staff, but as we go into these next couple of weeks we’ll need to make sure we understand everybody’s role. We need to start getting a little more collective about ideas. We are going to Utah to play in a tournament so we want to not only play well but also get the result.”
Hackworth termed Sunday’s result 1-4 frustrating. Louisville City gave up a goal in the 3’ by Randall Leal and another 12 minutes later from Daniel Rios. LouCity’s Abdou Mbacke Thiam scored LouCity’s first goal of the 2020 season in the 30’ of the first half, and LouCity trailed 2-1 at the half.
“It was an interesting performance,” Louisville City coach John Hackworth said. “We gave up the two goals early, but we were playing pretty well. You just can’t give any team in any league a two-goal lead. I loved our response, we played some beautiful football.”
“We got one back as a direct result of our pressure. We took advantage of a mistake by Nashville. We went into halftime at 2-1 and I felt like we had played excellently at times. The second half started the same way and I really thought we were going to find a second goal, and yet we never really put them in danger in that second half.”
Louisville City will be in Louisville for a few days before flying to Utah for the Wasatch Cup, a three-game round-robin tournament vs. the Colorado Springs Switchbacks, Union Omaha, and Real Monarchs.
SUNDAY, FEB. 9, 2020 – LouCity will take on its second preseason opponent today, playing Nashville SC from the MLS at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
For Louisville City, Sunday’s match will be its second preseason test and it’s second against MLS competition. LouCity fell 1-0 to D.C. United on Thursday. Louisville City coach John Hackworth was encouraged by much of what he saw vs. D.C., but he’d like to see Louisville City finish more chances.
“Overall, I was pleased with the way we tried to play,” Hackworth said. “I felt like we created some good opportunities there, but we probably should have finished a couple of chances. We certainly have some things to work on, but, again, from a perspective of this being our first opponent, the first time you are going against somebody? I’m pretty pleased.”
Sunday will be an interesting match for new LouCity forward Cameron Lancaster who is on loan from Nashville SC this season. Lancaster won the USL Championship’s Golden Boot in 2018 and then signed with Nashville MLS after that season. He was loaned to Louisville City on Thursday.
Nashville moved to the MLS after playing USL Championship last season. Nashville was second in the Eastern Conference in the regular season last year but fell 1-0 to third-place Indy Eleven in the Conference Semifinals. Indy was eliminated in the next round by Louisville City.
After the 2019 season, Nashville SC head coach Gary Smith appointed added assistants Steve Guppy and Brett Jacobs along with goalkeeper coach Matt Pickens to his technical staff.
This will be Nashville SC’s third preseason game after the club fell 2-3 to the Chicago Fire on Thursday at the Tournament Sportsplex of Tampa Bay. On February 1, Nashville SC played a preseason scrimmage against the Swedish side IF Elfsborg at IMG. The game ended with a scoreless draw.
General Manager Mike Jacobs is excited about the season to come.
“I can tell you I’m very happy to hand this group over to [Head Coach] Gary [Smith] and have him now manage them and put them on the field together,” Jacobs said. “We’ve talked all along about not trying to build this for January preseason; we’re trying to build this as a sustainable model that’s going to keep going. I do feel that the group of guys we have now not only can contribute in the MLS but a goal for our group is to be comparable to other teams in our league. Whether it’s different than other expansion teams recently or any other team you compare to, I’d like to think our group right now is comparable to other teams you’ll see in MLS.”
Returning from the 2019 campaign are six players: Daniel Ríos, Cameron Lancaster, Ken Tribbett, Taylor Washington, Matt LaGrassa, Alan Winn,
Gaining a total of 18 new players for the 2020 roster, Nashville acquired 13 new players from other teams: Derrick Jones (Philadelphia Union), David Accam (Columbus Crew), Aníbal Godoy (San Jose Earthquakes), Dax McCarty (Chicago Fire), Brayan Beckeles (CD Olimpia), Miguel Nazarit (Once Caldes), Dave Romney (LA Galaxy), Adrían Zendejas (Sporting Kansas City), Daniel Lovitz (Montreal Impact), Tah Brian Anuga (Charleston Battery), Randall Leal (Deportivo Saprissa), Dominique Badji (FC Dallas) and Hany Mukhtar (Brøndby IF). Nashville also received four more players from the 2019 MLS Expansion Draft: Jimmy Medranda (Sporting Kansas City), Joe Willis (Houston Dynamo), Abu Danladi (Minnesota United), and Jalil Anibaba (New England Revolution). Eric Miller also joined the roster from New York City FC after being selected in Stage 1 of the 2019 MLS Re-Entry Draft.
In the 2020 MLS SuperDraft, Nashville SC selected six college players: defender Jack Maher, defender Alistair Johnston, goalkeeper Elliot Panicco, midfielder Tanner Dieterich, forward Shak Adams, and midfielder Luke Haakenson.
The predicted starting line up for LouCitys match against Nashville SC is GK Joe Willis, D Eric Miller, D Dave Romney, D Jalil Anibaba, D Dan Lovitz, M Hany Mukhtar, M Aníbal Godoy, M Alan Winn, M Dax McCarty, M Abu Danladi, F Dominique Badji
LouCity’s 2020 roster, listed alphabetically by position:
Goalkeepers (3): Chris Hubbard, Ben Lundt, Muamer Ugarak
Defenders (6): Oscar Jimenez, Pat McMahon, Jimmy Ockford, Alexis Souahy, Sean Totsch, Akil Watts
Midfielders (7): Corben Bone, Paolo DelPiccolo, Napo Matsoso, Niall McCabe, Magnus Rasmussen, Speedy Williams, Elijah Wynder
Forwards (6): George Davis IV, Antoine Hoppenot, Cameron Lancaster, Brian Ownby, Luke Spencer, Abdou Thiam
