News

Louisville City FC and The Wine Group have today announced a sponsorship to make the brand an official wine sponsor of Louisville City FC, owning the pre-match coin toss coined the “Flip of the Night,” before all LouCity home games.

Flip Flop Wines was founded as part of The Wine Group brand, an American company founded in 1981 in Livermore, California. Flip Flop Wines products can be found in a number of stores local to the Louisville area, and now, at LouCity’s Party by the Pitch on gamedays at Slugger Field.

“We are excited to be an official wine sponsor of the USL Champions, Louisville City FC, and are honored that their home stadium will be serving our premium, fun and innovative wines to the fans, including our new package, ‘flipflop cans’,” said Shaun McKendry, area sales manager with The Wine Group. 

An emotional night at Slugger Field resulted in Louisville City FC earning a point following a 3-3 draw with New York Red Bulls II for James O’Connor’s final match in charge. 

O’Connor and assistant coach Daniel Byrd depart for Major League Soccer’s Orlando City SC, leaving a triumvirate of co-coaches George Davis IV, Paolo DelPiccolo, and Luke Spencer at the helm. 

What Happened?
One of the greatest goals ever scored in Louisville came by way of forward Cameron Lancaster to open the scoring after just nine minutes. 

Spotting the ‘keeper off his line, Lancaster didn’t think twice before bombing an effort that flew over the head of the Red Bulls’ ‘keeper and into the back of the night from just inside the halfway line. After trading chances, Lancaster was at it again in the 36th minute when he took a headed pass from Kyle Smith down before producing a calm finish at the far post to put City up two to the good. 

However, after the half, Red Bulls II were determined to spoil the sendoff and worked their way back into the match through goals from Brian White, Christian Casseres from the penalty spot, and what looked to be an 87th-minute winner from midfielder Tom Barlow.

Fighting to the death, though, City refused to let the Red Bulls’ charge stand and late in stoppage time, produced a goal that all but guaranteed a point. Pressing higher and higher up the pitch, midfielder Oscar Jimenez—who has been among the league leaders in chances created since signing ahead of the 2017 season—put a pass on a plate for fellow midfielder Magnus Rasmussen. The Dane fired home a finish that was impossible to stop from the second it left his foot, helping City to earn a 3-3 draw against their 2017 Eastern Conference finalist opponents.

Louisville City FC has a full week’s rest period for the first time since May in preparing for their next match. City travels to the home of the Tampa Bay Rowdies next Saturday, July 7, with kickoff in St. Petersburg, FL set for 7:30 p.m. ET. City’s next home match is against the Charlotte Independence on Saturday, July 21, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. ET at Slugger Field. Tickets are available for as low as $16 by calling (502) 384-8799, option 2, or online at www.loucity.com.

James O’Connor post-match press conference

How hard was that for you just now?
“Obviously really difficult. We’ve got tremendous players and I think when you look at the quality of the group that’s here, when you look at the relationships we built here, it’s obviously really hard. Very difficult. We’ve got a tremendous group. Even the fight there at the end and coming back and getting the draw, it shows the focus of the group that we have. Great, great, great young men.”

Do you think you left this place in a good place?
“I think so. I think when you look at where we started, I think when you look at where we are – we’ve won a championship. We’ve got a brand new stadium. From where we started June 4th, 2014 in that space of time to go to the championship, to go to the Eastern Conference final every year, to have a 65-million-dollar stadium in three-and-a-half years, it’s pretty exceptional. The owners, the players, the supporters. I’d like to apologize to everyone in Scouse’s House. I didn’t get a chance to get down there. I came to the Coopers and by the time I finished there, there wasn’t a chance to go back. Genuinely want to tip my hat to all the supporters. They’ve been incredible.”

James, just an opportunity you couldn’t pass up?
“Yeah, I think when you look at – it’s not just the MLS. I think it’s a lot more for me. Orlando has such a special place in my heart. It’s where I first came to – Orlando. It’s not MLS.”

How quickly did it all come together? Some of the players indicated to us that it was pretty quick.
“It was exceptionally quick. Really, it was really quick. I don’t think tonight’s a night to talk about Orlando. I think tonight’s the night to celebrate the players of Louisville City. I think when you look at the players that have been here throughout the years, you look at the quality they’ve got, they’ve got a quarterfinal now against Chicago in the Open Cup. They’ve got excitement with the new stadium. It’s a huge platform to be able to build off and spring forward. My hope is that they go on and excel as they have done at times here and go on to better things as I’m sure they will.”

What are some of the biggest differences you’ve seen between now and when you first got here?
“I think we did pretty well the first year with the Eastern Conference final. I think that going and winning a championship last year, I think you can definitely see there are a lot more teams that are good in first which is to be expected. But I think when you look at the quality of players each year, we try to increase the level of quality. We try to increase the culture. We try to increase the quality of the relationships and we’ve been able to do that. That’s what makes it so hard.”

How emotional did you get when you were addressing the crowd?
“I was trying hard not to cry to be honest with you. I had to press myself doing the best that I could. It was just a very emotional time for myself and for Amy and Ollie and Masie. It’s the hardest thing I’ve done in my life.”

Before you came here today, what were you doing at home and was it difficult to not think of this as the final farewell?
“Yeah, I was saying to myself, ‘Just make sure you don’t cry like a baby’. That’s what I was saying to myself all day. I’m going to make sure I don’t. It’s hard. It’s really difficult. The players and the program mean a lot to me but the club I’m going to also means a lot as well. It’s just something that felt right.”

Do you have any mixed feelings leaving in the middle of the season?
“Of course. That’s what makes it even harder. I spoke to a lot of people and I think the consensus view is there’s never a perfect timing. Never a perfect timing for something like this. Obviously, it’s something that’s way ahead as well. When you go through professional sports when you go through the years of having the game you see a lot of things happen. Situations like this – it’s my first real experience as a coach. As a player obviously it’s slightly different. It’s something that when I look back at my time at Louisville, I have immense pride. I look where we started from. I look at all the players that have come through, the owners and Wayne Estopinal deserve a lot of credit because he was the first one that brought it here. It would be remissive of me not to mention the other day at the opening of the stadium because he was the first one that started this. And then obviously John, John Neace. Whoever comes in here is coming into a special man in John Neace. He’s a great guy.”

The Key Points:

• A Cameron Lancaster double had City up two-nil at the halftime interval
• Three unanswered goals from New York Red Bulls II temporarily put them in front
• Magnus Rasmussen’s first goal of the 2018 campaign earned City a point

Injury Report:
OUT – Richard Ballard (stress fracture)
OUT – Luke Spencer (knee)

Louisville City FC 3 : 3 New York Red Bulls II
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Slugger Field | Louisville, KY
96 degrees / sunny
Attendance: 7,689

Scoring Summary:
LOU – Cameron Lancaster 9’
LOU – Cameron Lancaster (Kyle Smith) 36’
NY – Brian White (Andrew Tinari) 49’
NY – Christian Casseres (p) 64’
NY – Tom Barlow (Jose Aguinaga) 87’
LOU – Magnus Rasmussen (Oscar Jimenez) 90+3’

Disciplinary Summary:
NY – Hassan Noam 20’
LOU – Alexis Souahy 28’
LOU – Brian Ownby 40’
LOU – Paolo DelPiccolo 45+3’
LOU – Greg Ranjitsingh 64’
LOU – Niall McCabe 67’

Starting XI (4-1-4-1): Greg Ranjitsingh (GK); Oscar Jimenez, Sean Totsch, Alexis Souahy, Pat McMahon (Shaun Francis 79’); Paolo DelPiccolo; Kyle Smith, Devon “Speedy” Williams, Brian Ownby (Magnus Rasmussen 58’), George Davis IV (Niall McCabe 58’); Cameron Lancaster 

Bench: Chris Hubbard, Tim Dobrowolski, Ilija Ilic

After dropping their home contest in the 2018 season, LouCity is looking to bounce back against New York Red Bulls II as the Eastern Conference intensifies.

Tonight will be coaches James O’Connor and Daniel Byrd’s final match in charge after City announced yesterday it had agreed to a deal in principle for the pair to leave for Orlando City SC.

When & Where
LouCity hosts New York Red Bulls II for Faith & Family Night at Slugger Field; kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

The match will be aired on WBNA-TV 21, as well as streamed on ESPN+. Fans can listen to the match on 840 WHAS. Fans can also follow #LOUvNY on Twitter & Instagram.

TV: WBNA-TV 21
RADIO: 840 WHAS
STREAM: ESPN+

DOWNLOAD: LouCity app for iOS | LouCity app for Android

Last Time Out
Louisville City FC hosted Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Wednesday night, dropping their first contest at Slugger Field in the USL Regular Season in a 0-1 loss. Riverhounds SC midfielder Kenardo Forbes scored the lone goal on the night in the 79th minute to hand his side the win.

The match was the team’s fourth in 11 days in all competitions. 

– U.S. OPEN CUP: CITY TO TRAVEL TO CHICAGO FOR QUARTERFINAL CLASH AT TOYOTA PARK –

Rewind against Red Bulls II
This is the first time in the 2018 regular season that LouCity and New York Red Bulls II will cross paths. However, having met in both the 2016 & 2017 Eastern Conference finals, City and Red Bulls II have a bit of history to rehash.

Kentucky Lottery Kees to the Game
As LouCity looks to bounce back from their first league defeat at home this year, here are a few KY Lottery Kees to the Game for #LOUvNY:

• It’s all about balance
• Keep it fluid
• Stay patient

James O’Connor’s pre-match quotes:

On not letting frustration boil over:
“It shows you how much the lads care. It’s really annoying when you do that because, for all of us, we want to win. We feel as if we had chances to win it and then equally, we’ve been caught really with a poor goal. I think it’s even ended up deflecting off [defender] Paco [Craig] and going in, which you get nights like that and you start to think, well, not our night.”

On if this is a tough time to keep a narrow focus:
“For me, I don’t think so. I don’t think anything is piling up and we’re in a great position. We’re in the Quarterfinal of the Open Cup and have a strong position in the league, so it’s all about mentality. You either approach life or you approach the game and your glass is either half-empty or half-full and I always make sure it’s in the right position and that you take things for what they are. We’ve had enough chances to win the game and, on another night, you do win the game. But equally, you need to make sure that doesn’t happen and the frustrating thing for us is, in the last few games, we’ve conceded late goals when we’ve had winning positions—2-1 up to 2-2–similar at home with 3-1 up to 3-3. So we’ve been caught a little bit and just need to be a little bit smarter collectively to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Team News
OUT – Luke Spencer (knee)
OUT – Richard Ballard (stress fracture)

Louisville City Football Club agrees TO A deal in principle with Orlando City SC

Coaches James O’Connor, Daniel Byrd to take charge in Orlando; Players George Davis IV, Paolo DelPiccolo, and Luke Spencer named joint interim head coaches

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville City FC officials were informed this morning that head coach James O’Connor, who has led the team to the USL Championship and the Round of Eight in the US Open Cup, as well as assistant coach Daniel Byrd, have agreed to a deal in principle to accept the coaching position with Major League Soccer’s Orlando City SC.

The coaching change will in no way slow or alter the construction of the 11,000+ seat stadium expected to open in 2020.

“While we are obviously disappointed to see Coach O’Connor go, we are confident in the short and long-term success of Louisville City FC in our city,” said LouCity chairman John Neace. “No one in the USL is doing what we’re doing – building a state-of-the-art dedicated soccer stadium, turning out hundreds of fans on the hottest day of the year for a groundbreaking, and winning against MLS opponents in the US Open Cup. We are looking forward to continuing the growth of this club.”

Louisville City FC is prepared to proceed with players George Davis IV, Paolo DelPiccolo, and Luke Spencer carrying in place as joint interim head coaches. O’Connor will be in charge of LouCity’s match against New York Red Bulls II on Saturday night at Slugger Field. O’Connor will be returning to Orlando for the first time since his playing days with his first American club team.

“This has been a difficult decision for myself and my family and in such a short space of time. While I will be forever grateful for my time here with Louisville City FC, the opportunity to coach in Major League Soccer is simply one I cannot pass up,” said James O’Connor. “To be able to build a club from the ground up and to experience the successes we’ve had in just over three years is something I am very proud of. I would like to thank John Neace, the players, the supporters, the entire Louisville City ownership group, my agent Gary Mellor, and the incredible support I have received here.”

Visit LouisvilleCityFC.com for more details.

# # #

Louisville City Football Club is excited to extend today an invite to the public for LouCity’s groundbreaking ceremony to be held at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 28 at the Butchertown stadium development site.

The groundbreaking ceremony comes off the back of LouCity receiving the final TIF from the Commonwealth earlier in the month of June. The ceremony will be held the day after LouCity hosts Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC before welcoming New York Red Bulls II to town on Saturday night.

Public interested in attending are encouraged to arrive by 2:30 p.m. with parking available in the construction lot and along Cabel Street. Come celebrate this incredible achievement by our ownership group on a remarkable afternoon with Louisville City FC. This Thursday, we take a vital step in shaping our future!

See below for more information.

WHAT: Louisville City Football Club will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for its new 11,300-seat stadium.

WHERE: Stadium site in Butchertown at Cabel and Adams streets.

• For GPS mapping and directions, use 200 Cabel Street.
• Parking is available in the construction zone lot and on the side of Cabel St 

WHEN: Thursday, June 28, 2018

• 2:15 p.m.: Public is invited and asked to arrive at this time and then use #WeDigLouCity in any social media posts.
• 3:00 p.m.: Ceremony begins.

WHO:      

• Barbara Sexton Smith, Metro Councilperson, 4th District (Stadium Site) – Emcee
• Ryan Gedney, HOK 
• David James, Metro Council President
• Greg Fischer, Louisville Mayor
• Matt Bevin, Governor of Kentucky
• James O’Connor, Head Coach of Louisville City Football Club

Breaking of ground:

• Metro Council Members
• Louisville City FC Board Members, Owners, Coaches and Players

SUMMARY: Louisville City FC will hold a groundbreaking ceremony June 28 at 3 p.m. at the site of its new stadium. Dignitaries and the public will be invited and asked to wear purple and arrive no later than 2:15 p.m. Metro Council member Barbara Sexton Smith, whose 4th District includes the stadium site, will emcee the event. Speakers will be Governor Matt Bevin, Mayor Greg Fischer, Metro Council President David James and LouCity head coach James O’Connor. Metro Council members, LouCity board members, LouCity owners and other invited dignitaries will participate in the turning of dirt. #WeDigLouCity.