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Meeting for the fourth time across all competitions in the 2018 season, Louisville City FC hosts Indy Eleven in the First Round of the USL Playoffs with ‘win or stay home’ stakes on the line.

City got the better of Indy Eleven in their third meeting last Saturday, closing out the regular season with a sixth straight win in total after a 1-0 win against the “Boys in Blue”.

Ending the night in 5th place, Indy then sunk to the 7th seed ahead of Saturday’s playoff race after wins by Bethlehem Steel FC and New York Red Bulls II on the following Sunday.

When & Where
The match is set to take place on Saturday, October 20 at Slugger Field with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

The match will be aired on WBNA as well as streamed on ESPN+. Fans can listen to the match on 790 WKRD. Fans can also follow #LOUvIND on Twitter & Instagram.

TV: WBNA TV-21
RADIO: 790 WKRD 
STREAM: ESPN+

DOWNLOAD: LouCity app for iOS | LouCity app for Android

Where They Stand
#2 Louisville City FC:
18-6-9, 66 points – 2nd in EC 

#7 Indy Eleven:
12-11-10, 49 points – 7th in EC

Last Time Out
A chilly night in Louisville saw Louisville City FC host fellow playoff team Indy Eleven in front of a packed house of just over 10,500 fans at Slugger Field.

With captain Paolo DelPiccolo back in the line-up after missing out on Tuesday’s match due to yellow card accumulation, coach John Hackworth made no other changes to his starting XI.

Indy was closest to opening the scoring from a set-piece in the 17th minute, but City midfielder Niall McCabe was alert to the threat and produced a spectacular goalline clearance to preserve the clean sheet at that point. 

The match turned in City’s favor when, in the 33rd minute, forward Ilija Ilic was clipped in the box and the hosts were awarded a penalty. Stepping up to take, forward Cameron Lancaster—who had just broken the all-time USL single-season goalscoring record on Tuesday—buried the effort to put City ahead.

That would be the lone action of the rest of the first half as LouCity took a narrow advantage into the break, up 1-0.

Into the second half, Hack opted to replace Cameron Lancaster and Ilija Ilic with Luke Spencer and Magnus Rasmussen, who made his return to the pitch for the first time since August 10 against New York Red Bulls II.

Pushing Indy until the end, LouCity wrapped up the 2018 regular season with another home win to move to 66 points, again beating their best total in its four-year history.

Coach John Hackworth’s pre-IND assessment
On expecting any new challenges from Indy on Saturday:
“Look, they’re going to maybe change up their personnel… they might change up their formation. I would expect that they’re doing the same thing that we’re doing. They’re looking at game film and they’re critiquing it and they’re trying to say ‘okay, this is an area where we think we can get at Louisville’. I don’t know exactly, but I’m expecting changes and we’ve gone through a number of different scenarios where we potentially could be doing the exact same thing in trying to be critical of ourselves where if we were in their shoes, we’d say ‘hey, attack us in this way’.”

On any potential changes for City this weekend:
“Yeah, but I think I would give away some things if I said those (laughs). It comes down to this: there is room for improvement for both teams. Both teams did things against each other last Saturday and didn’t execute and it really comes down to execution now and who can do it more. There were moments for us, and a good example is us hitting the post three times and we need to finish those. We had too many chances and too many looks where we didn’t get on the scoreboard from the run of play and we think that’s an area where we can do a much better job in.”

On sacrificing style for the result:
“Yes, no question. I think you’ll see a little bit of that reflected in our play. At the same time, we are what we are and we’ve been in a good run of form because we’ve been playing a certain style and because we practice it and because we all believe it. We’re going to have to be careful about what we show them and be careful about maybe going for some style points versus just the pure desire to say ‘hey, we’ve got to win this game’.

On Cameron Lancaster showing up on Saturday:
“I think you put it best that he’s part of a team that is firing on all cylinders right now. Cam has a job to do but it’s not only his job to put the ball in the back of the net. He’s been the best in the league at that, no question, and we hope he does that on Saturday but he just does the job of being dangerous and pulling opponents out of position. There are other guys on our team that are willing to step up and have the same kind of quality to find the back of the net.”

KY Lottery Kees to the Game
It’s playoff time in the City and Indy is the first test in the way of another Cup run for Los Morados. Take a look at the KEES to the Game ahead of another blistering playoff battle:

1. Execute, execute, execute
2. Win the mental battle
3. Match physicality with physicality

Team News
None

After taking down the visitors from just up I-65 in a 1-0 victory on Saturday night, Louisville City will host Indy Eleven once again for the opening round of the USL Cup Playoffs at Slugger Field on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Louisville’s win on Saturday gave the club their sixth consecutive win to close out the regular season.

Last Saturday Against Indy Eleven
A Cameron Lancaster penalty kick was the only goal Louisville needed to claim three points at the weekend. Greg Ranjitsingh once again notched a clean sheet for City to finish out the regular season. The win brought the 2018 season series to a 1-1-1 record.

Scouting Indy
Indy finished the USL regular season in seventh place. Goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams brought his season total saves to 91 after Saturday’s performance, placing him fourth in the USL. On the other end, Jack McInerney leads Indy’s scoring efforts with 10 goals on the season. 

Clean Sheets to Open the Playoffs
In each of the club’s first three seasons, Louisville City FC has won their opening round playoff matches with a clean sheet (knocks on wood). In 2015, it was a 2-0 victory over Charleston, a 2-0 victory over Richmond in 2016, and a 4-0 victory over Bethlehem in 2017. 

A 34-game season consisting of midweek matches and long stretches of play on the road is destined to enhance the chances of injury, but Louisville City FC spent a large portion of their season with nicks in their lineup.

From goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh having to be sidelined for several matches in September to Louisville-native Richard Ballard missing the first several months of the 2018 campaign, the “Boys in Purple” are no stranger to injury.

Forced to fill in gaps in City’s lineup, head coach John Hackworth says the culture around the locker room allowed for an easy transition between newcomers and the rest of the roster.

“The stronger the culture is in the locker room and the clearer the standards can be explained to a guy that’s walking in – not only verbally, ‘This is what we do’ but by example – it makes it so much easier,” said Hackworth.

With a strong culture already intact, Louisville City welcomed the likes of Jose Carranza, Napo Matsoso, as well as NYCFC loanees James Sands and Jonathan Lewis, over the course of the second half of the season.

The youngest of the signees, 19-year-old Jose Carranza, agrees with his head coach on City’s culture.

“The team – well, they’ve been very welcoming since day one. Very nice to me and very helpful on and off the field so it’s been a good experience so far,” said Carranza.

Not only has the club’s midseason additions provided talent on the field, but the newcomers have also given the club well-needed rest for some its players.

Including this season’s Open Cup run, Louisville City spent 12 weeks of its 31-week season playing multiple matches over a seven-day period, the most in club history.

“We’ve had three different times since I’ve been here where we’ve had three games in a week,” Hackworth said. “That’s crazy.”

As Louisville City head towards the Eastern Conference playoffs first-round matchup with Indy Eleven on Saturday, the remaining signees on the roster can add great help to Coach Hackworth’s side.

“Whenever Coach wants to put me in and play or maybe rest some guys or he just wants to play me, I’m always going to give him one hundred percent,” said Carranza. “Just working hard every day.”

Louisville City FC forward Cameron Lancaster has been voted the USL Player of the Week for Week 31 of the 2018 season. Lancaster scored three goals over two games as Louisville took victories against North Carolina FC and Indy Eleven to claim the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference for the 2018 USL Cup Playoffs.

Lancaster received 70 percent of the poll conducted by a national panel of independent media representing every USL market. Nashville SC’s Brandon Allen finished in second place with 20 percent after recording two goals and one assist as NSC clinched its berth in the 2018 USL Cup Playoffs.

Also in the Team of the Week, defender Paco Craig rightly earned another appearance among the week’s best XI after a pair of stellar showings against North Carolina FC and Indy Eleven, in which he made multiple last-ditch tackles to assist in conceding just one goal across the two games.

See below for the full USL Team of the Week.

USL Team of the Week
GK – Andrew Putna, Real Monarchs SLC: Putna recorded a six-save shutout in the Monarchs’ 1-0 win against Fresno FC that sealed the No. 4-seed in the Western Conference on Saturday night at Chukchansi Park.

D – Paco Craig, Louisville City FC: Craig won 18 of 25 duels and recorded 13 clearances, three tackles, and one assist as Louisville swept to a pair of victories against North Carolina FC and Indy Eleven.

D – Sean Reynolds, Saint Louis FC: Reynolds recorded four interceptions, 11 clearances and won 9 of 10 duels to help STLFC record a pair of shutouts and clinch its first trip to the USL Cup Playoffs with four points over two games. 

D – Adrian Diz Pe, Portland Timbers 2: Diz Pe recorded four tackles, three interceptions and nine clearances while winning 14 of 15 duels overall in T2’s 1-0 victory on the road against Phoenix Rising FC on Saturday night.

D – Carter Manley, Las Vegas Lights FC: Manley recorded nine interceptions, eight clearances and 7 of 10 duels across two contests and won a penalty kick in Las Vegas’ midweek victory against Phoenix Rising FC at Cashman Field.

M – Jared Stroud, New York Red Bulls II: Stroud scored in both the Red Bulls II’s victories over the week against Penn FC and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC that secured a fourth consecutive postseason berth.

M – Corben Bone, FC Cincinnati: Bone recorded a pair of goals to reach double-digits for the season in Cincinnati’s 3-3 draw with Nashville SC on Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. 

M – Matthew Harding, Sacramento Republic FC: The Make-A-Wish signing became the youngest goal-scorer in Republic FC history when he found the net in the first minute against Las Vegas Lights FC on Saturday night.

M – Wan Kuzain, Swope Park Rangers: Kuzain scored the opening goal in SPR’s 5-1 victory against the LA Galaxy II and completed 29 of 33 passes while winning five of seven duels as the Rangers sealed their place in the postseason.  

F – Cameron Lancaster, Louisville City FC: Lancaster recorded three goals in two games to lift Louisville to a pair of victories and set the USL single-season scoring record as he concluded the regular season with 25 goals.

F – Daniel Rios, North Carolina FC: Rios scored three goals in two games as North Carolina claimed the Southern Derby with its victory against the Charlotte Independence on Saturday only to just miss out on a place in the 2018 USL Cup Playoffs.

F – Brandon Allen, Nashville SC: Allen recorded two goals and one assist across two contests as Nashville clinched a place in the USL Cup Playoffs in its first professional season.

Bench: Caleb Patterson-Sewell (TOR), Neveal Hackshaw (CHS), Giuseppe Gentile (RIC), Antoine Hoppenot (RNO), Alec Diaz (SEA), Lagos Kunga (ATL), Sammy Ochoa (LV)

The United Soccer League announced on Monday its first official awards for 2018 after a record-setting season that saw the league’s single-season goalscoring and assists records both surpassed, with Louisville City FC’s Cameron Lancaster claiming the 2018 USL Golden Boot and FC Cincinnati’s Emmanuel Ledesma being named the 2018 USL Assists Champion after their outstanding campaigns.

FC Cincinnati’s Evan Newton was also honored as the winner of the 2018 USL Golden Glove as the veteran shot-stopper ended the regular season with the lowest goals-against average of qualifying goalkeepers for the award.

The scorer of the game-winning goal in Louisville’s 2017 USL Cup triumph, Lancaster had a superlative 2018 campaign that saw him record 25 goals in the regular season at a scoring rate of a goal every 80.8 minutes. Lancaster’s 25 goals surpassed the USL single-season record held by former Louisville teammate Matt Fondy of 22 goals in the 2015 season and placed the English forward five goals clear of Orange County SC’s Thomas Enevoldsen and North Carolina FC’s Daniel Rios in the race for this season’s Golden Boot.

The 2018 USL Golden Boot, Golden Glove and Assists Champion are the opening three awards that will be presented by the league this year. The USL’s Most Valuable Player, Young Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Defender of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year and USL All-League Teams will be announced in November. 

IT’S OFFICIAL

Following Bethlehem Steel FC’s win over the Tampa Bay Rowdies and a victory by New York Red Bulls II over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Sunday, Louisville City FC now knows their fate heading into the USL Playoffs for the fourth year running…

On Saturday, October 20 at 7:30 p.m., LouCity welcomes back Indy Eleven to Slugger Field in the First Round of the 2018 USL Eastern Conference Playoffs!

The fourth time the pair will across all competitions, City will be more than familiar with the “Boys in Blue” after hosting–and defeating–their rivals to the north in the regular season finale.

Playoff tickets start at just $16 as we prepare our USL Cup defense right here in OUR CITY!

FIRST ROUND PLAYOFFS: CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

Another incredible regular season campaign for Louisville City FC came to an end after Los Morados defeated Indy Eleven, 1-0, on Saturday, October 13.

A look back at some of the record-setting numbers from the 2018 season:

POINTS: Earning 66 points over the course of 34 games, LouCity accrued more than ever before. The club’s average of 1.94 points per game narrowly defeated last year’s tally of 1.93 but came just shy of the 2016 total of 2.00 points per game.

GOALS: Finishing one goal behind FC Cincinnati (72) in this stat column, LouCity’s 71 goals bested their previous high of 58 in 2017. City’s six-game win streak to end the season saw them outscore their opposition, 17-3.

City’s goals per game tally also hit a new high, with the 2018 total of 2.08 beating a 2015 total of 1.96 (55 goals, 28 games).

GOAL DIFFERENTIAL: Again with the benefit of two more matches played (34) than the year prior (32), LouCity’s +33 differential beat out the 2017 differential of +27.

Louisville City FC Pep Rally for the Playoffs

Who:              Louisville City Football Club players, coaches, and fans
What:            Pep rally for playoffs
Where:          Copper and Kings Distillery, 1121 E. Washington St
When:           Thursday, October 18 | 6-8 p.m.
Why:              Because the “Boys in Purple” are defending their championship

This weekend, LouCity FC begins the quest for a second straight championship as the USL playoffs begin. But first, it’s time to get fired up. A pep rally will be held Thursday evening at Copper and Kings in Butchertown and the public is invited. Copper & Kings will be serving from a cash bar with fellow friends of LouCity, Hometown Pizza, making slices available for purchase.

Players and coaches will mingle with the crowd. LouCity PA announcer Lance McGarvey will emcee the event. Everyone is encouraged to wear purple and cheer on the USL defending champions, whose match at Slugger Field is Saturday at 7:30 against I-65 rival Indy Eleven, a team LouCity beat this past weekend 1-0. Tickets for the match will be on sale at the pep rally.

CLICK HERE TO RSVP

On ending the season with a win: 
“That’s what we wanted to do. We wanted to end the season on a positive note. Continue to try to keep a little bit of the momentum going. And honestly, we wanted to improve on our last performance. A little bit of a strange game but I’m happy with the team and the results and the way we try to play. A little bit of an odd game but can’t complain about three points. The crowd tonight was fantastic so looking forward to next game.” 

On his thoughts on the game’s aggression from both sides: 
“Yeah, but it’s a rivalry too so these games end up being a little more chippy, a little more physical. And credit to the players. I don’t think the players lost their head. There were some interesting decisions that went both ways or both teams. Really hard though, for players and coaches, to try to figure out what is going to happen next. I’m being a little cagey and I’ll leave it at that.” 

On Brian Ownby and if coach needed to see his performance before the playoffs: 
“It’s not that I needed to see it, but I wanted to get him to a position where he was one hundred percent, where he is comfortable, where he is dangerous. So I think from a fitness standpoint, he is there one hundred percent. I guess when he scores the first goal in the playoffs or when he gets that first assist, then we can say he’s back all the way. But really happy for him.” 

On if the whole performance was what he wanted to see: 
“Yeah, absolutely. We get a shutout. We get a victory. We certainly created a ton of chances and felt like we should’ve scored a couple more to be fair. But, it was a great performance and any time you can play a rival like that – and they’re a very good team – keep them off the scoreboard and do what you have to do to get a victory. It’s what we needed.” 

On not knowing at the moment who the club will host in the first round of the playoffs: 
“I don’t think so. This is now a win or go home. So we’re just trying to win every game. It’s not about style, it’s not about how we play. It’s strictly to just win. And those guys in the locker room know that better than anybody in this league. They’re defending champions and they’re playing like it. So hopefully any team coming here will have to understand that and deal with us.” 

On if having a healthy roster gives the club momentum heading into the playoffs: 
“Yeah, it makes my job hard a little bit. Our staff has some tough decisions to make going forward because we have literally everybody healthy and ready. I hope Speedy [Devon Williams] and Frano [Shaun Francis] come back from international duty and are ready to go. But in that locker room right now, everyone is one hundred percent healthy.” 

On getting Magnus Rasmussen back in the lineup: 
“Yeah, it’s so important. Like Brian [Ownby], I don’t think he’s likely at his best but just getting him minutes was so important before we go into that critical phase of the playoffs. And hopefully we can get him stronger and more prepared and if we call upon him, he’s ready to do it. I was joking with him all week that I’d never seen him play live. And probably not true because I did see him play live when I was just a fan a couple years ago. The reality is I’d seen him in training a lot and looking forward to seeing him on the field and in that purple.” 

On the reaction to Magnus Rasmussen nearly scoring: 
“Our whole bench was pretty excited when that happened so I think it would’ve erupted if that had gone in.” 

On the last time he had coached a team and was one hundred percent healthy heading into the playoffs: 
“To get to the end of the season, I would credit our medical staff and our staff in general. We’ve managed guys that were hurt and brought them back at the appropriate pace. Guys have stayed healthy through a tough stretch – a really tough stretch. So full credit to the medical staff. They’ve done a wonderful job and now we have the privilege of having 23 guys ready to go.”

On wrapping up the season and looking ahead to the playoffs:
“It feels good. Going into the game, we knew we were going to be the two-seed. For us, we have the mentality that there’s not a game that doesn’t mean anything. Every game is important and for us, we went out there and did what we could to win tonight.” 

On what the new points and win record this year say about the team compared to previous teams:
“That might be a bit misleading, I think we’ve had more games this season. The points per game, no, we’re a good group. We’re just really committed group and you saw it last year, this year, we’re just here every week to play as hard as we can show it all year.” 

On whether the team talks about repeating as USL Cup Champions:
“We don’t talk about it too much. I mean again for us it’s just we know what we have to do. We had to worry about Indy, and now we’ll see how the table plays out. It might be Indy again next week. We’re just preparing for the next game. You think about in your head and just try not to talk about it.” 

On having a full week of preparation before the playoffs start:
“It’s been a long season and we’ve played a lot of midweek games this year. So for us to- I mean for me personally, I got the whole week off. For us as a team, we have a whole week off. The guys need it. It’s the time of the year to play so many games back to back to back. It’s good to have a full week of preparation.