News

Louisville City FC downed Bethlehem Steel FC, 3-1, in front of 7,876 at Slugger Field thanks to goals from Cameron Lancaster (2) and Ilija Ilic all inside the opening half hour of play.

For Lancaster, his two goals give him four total on the year and also take him into a tie for second place on the all-time LouCity scoring charts (16) with Chandler Hoffman. The goal is the first of the year for Ilic, while the assist is his second of the season.

What Happened?

Dominating the opening minutes of play, LouCity pounced on early chances as forward Cameron Lancaster netted his 3rd goal of the season just 13 minutes in. As the visitors failed to clear a chance in their penalty area, Lancaster made sure to get a solid foot on what seemed a half chance and saw the ball fly past Steel FC ‘keeper Jake McGuire to open the scoring.

Three minutes later, the “Boys in Purple” capitalized on another chance just outside the Steel FC 18-yard box. As solid buildup play came to fruition, midfielder Kyle Smith ended up dinking a perfectly-weighted pass over the defense to find forward Ilija Ilic. Swinging at it on the first time of asking, Ilic got enough on the effort to beat McGuire and double the advantage.

Before Bethlehem could catch their breath, LouCity added a third again through the feet of Lancaster. Ilic turned scorer to provider as he slipped in the forward, and a snapshot from the Englishman ricocheted off the far post and nestled in the back of the net. 

The visitors would strike back just before halftime as midfielder Marcus Epps turned on a LouCity defender and found the far post, beating LouCity ‘keeper Greg Ranjitsingh for the first time.

At the break, the hosts held a strong 3-1 advantage. 

The second 45 minutes yielded significantly fewer chances for both sides, but the injection of midfielder Brian Ownby and forward Luke Spencer after the break gave the “Boys in Purple” the legs they needed to close out the match. Conceding just one goal, the team’s defensive efforts were just impressive as their attacking output in the end.

The result sees the reigning champions stay atop the table (5W-0L-1D) with 16 points as the unbeaten streak is extended to six this season so far.

The Key Points:

• LouCity opened the scoring in the 13th minute on a Cameron Lancaster strike
• Minutes later, Ilija Ilic doubled the tally on an assist from Kyle Smith
• Lancaster added our third–his second–of the night in the 22nd minute to cap off the home side’s goals
• Steel FC scored their only goal of the night off a Marcus Epps curler in the 44th minute

O’Connor’s Takeaways:

On the team’s performance in the first half versus the second half:
“Yeah, I think obviously great credit to the boys for winning the game. I think some of the definition this week was really, really good, I think really clinical. I think generally for how we played the week before if you look at the quality of the performance at Atlanta, I felt we were actually down on the quality of our performance compared to last week. We were just way more clinical this week.”

On team tactics being up 3-0:
“No, we want to keep going. I think maybe subconsciously we started making, sort of held what we had a little bit rather than going out and keep doing what we were doing. As I said, there were some passages that we can be pleased with, but again there are a lot of passages that I’m frustrated with.”

On Cameron Lancaster’s performance over the last few games:
“He was very clinical tonight. He’s someone who’s got exceptional talent. I think there’s also, for me, when you also look at Paolo (DelPiccolo), Paolo also had a really strong game tonight, showed really good leadership. I think there are individuals that are performing really well, and honestly deserve a chance higher up. I’ve been saying it for a while, I really hope that they do get that opportunity, that they get a chance whether it’s in the MLS or whether it’s a higher division in Europe because there are guys that we have that are more than capable of playing at a higher level.”

Player Point of View – Cameron Lancaster:

On the first goal:
“I got in a little space in the box, I think it was Ilija that played me the ball. I took a quick snapshot and it took a deflection and then it sort of rolled kindly for me so I made sure I hit it low and on target and thankfully it went in the back of the net.”

On the second goal:
“The second was the same sort of thing. All week in training, we’ve been focusing and honing in on hitting the target and hitting it low. That’s what I did!”

On moving up the all-time scoring charts:
“It’s always nice to be recognized individually but the main thing is the team. As long as the team is doing well, I’m happy.”

On building forward momentum: 
“We don’t really want to look too far ahead. We’ll take it game-by-game and we’ll look forward to next weekend and try to get the result again.”

Injury Report:
OUT – Richard Ballard (stress fracture)
OUT – Shaun Francis (hamstring)

Louisville City FC  3 : 1  Bethlehem Steel FC
Saturday, April 28, 2018
Slugger Field – Louisville, KY
62 degrees / sunny
Attendance: 7,876

Scoring Summary:
LOU – Cameron Lancaster 13′
LOU – Ilija Ilic (Kyle Smith) 16′
LOU – Cameron Lancaster (Ilija Ilic) 22′
BST – Marcus Epps 44′

Disciplinary Summary:
BST – Olivier Mbaizo 24′
LOU – Brian Ownby 73′

Starting XI (4-1-4-1): Greg Ranjitsingh (GK); Oscar Jimenez, Sean Totsch, Paco Craig (Magnus Rasmussen 27′), Alexis Souahy; Kyle Smith; Paolo DelPiccolo (c), Devon “Speedy” Williams, George Davis IV Ilija Ilic (Brian Ownby 59′); Cameron Lancaster (Luke Spencer 70′)

Bench: Tim Dobrowolski, Chris Hubbard, Niall McCabe

A penalty in stoppage time from Atlanta United FC 2 midfielder Andrew Carleton was the only thing separating LouCity from another three points and their sixth-straight win. Stepping up, Carleton sent LouCity ‘keeper Greg Ranjitsingh the wrong way and the “Boys in Purple” had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

Onto Bethlehem Steel FC at the weekend, coach James O’Connor noted that last weekend’s result was a good learning opportunity for his side:
“When you’re dealing with such a great group of guys, you have to manage the situation correctly. The easy thing to do is to come in and say ‘okay lads, we’ve been crap today and done this’ and show an emotional response based on what’s happened. I think that’s something we try not to do. We try to be very analytical and break it down and look at why; to look at it from a non-emotional aspect.”

When & Where

LouCity hosts Bethlehem Steel FC in their fourth home game of the season. The match is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Slugger Field. The hosts enter as one of just two remaining unbeaten teams in the Eastern Conference (PGH).

Local station WBNA will air this weekend’s match on the tube while 840 WHAS carries the action over the airwaves. Fans can also follow the match live on Twitter & Instagram.

TV: WBNA
RADIO: 840 WHAS
STREAM: ESPN+

DOWNLOAD: LouCity app for iOS | LouCity app for Android

Last Time Out

Louisville City FC earned a point on the road in a 1-1 draw against Atlanta United FC 2. Forward Cameron Lancaster scored for LouCity (2g, 3gm) while midfielder Andrew Carleton converted a spot kick for the hosts.

After over an hour of scoreless play including a missed penalty from Atlanta, persistence paid off for LouCity in the 66th minute. Streaking down the center, Lancaster settled a pass from Devon “Speedy” Williams before hitting a quick-fire effort past Caraux to open the scoring.

However, again against the run of play, Atlanta was awarded a penalty in stoppage time. Stepping up again, Carleton sent ‘keeper Greg Ranjitsingh the wrong way to level the scoring with just minutes remaining. Despite great efforts from the “Boys in Purple” to find a goal at the death, they settle or a point and remain unbeaten through five games.

Rewind against BSteel FC

These two last met on Saturday, October 20, 2017, in the first round of the USL Playoffs at Slugger Field.

Goals from Tarek Morad (2), Luke Spencer, and Brian Ownby helped LouCity defeat Bethlehem Steel FC, 4-0, en route to their 2017 USL Cup title.

KY Lottery Kees to the Game

Another LouCity home game, another set of KY Lottery Kees to the Game:
1. Bounce back
Saturday night is another chance for the “Boys in Purple” to earn three points, but their first since a draw in Atlanta snapped their four-match win streak. 

2. Finish the chances
LouCity had over 20 attempts in their latest match, showing their ability to create plenty of opportunities moving forward. Finishing what comes is once again key.

3. Stay focused
Coach O’Connor mentioned in his post-Atlanta United FC 2 press conference that a couple of lapses in concentration led to LouCity dropping two points away from home. As always, part of the team’s focus each week is staying sharp and that will be put to the test again on Saturday night.

Lunazul Party by the Pitch

Check out the LouCity Party by the Pitch, presented by Lunazul Tequila, featuring live music and drink specials through kickoff.

This week’s performers: AJ Clements and Ryan Conroy

James O’Connor’s Press Conference:

On the weekend’s result:
“In regards to the performance, I thought it was excellent. I think when you look at the quality of the chances we created and the play… God Almighty, we had some incredible chances and obviously, we’re very frustrated with the last minute and a couple of lapses of concentration which cost us two points. It certainly felt like we lost the game, the way it finished.”

On Bethlehem Steel FC:
“They’re an interesting team. I’ve got a lot of respect for [coach] Brenden [Burke], he’s done a great job and they’ve obviously made the playoffs last year. They’ve got some really good young players. The challenge when you play Bethlehem is—and obviously for Brenden first and foremost—is he’s never quite sure what players he has available. So for us to then try and figure out which players he’s going to have is really, really hard. I think in regards to finding out or getting an understanding of their personnel, we’re never quite sure when we play. Historically, he’s had pretty much a different team every week. For him, it must be really, really hard to manage.”

On defender Alexis Souahy’s debut:
“It was a fantastic, a really strong performance. I think when you look at a young boy like that to come in, it was basically a seamless transition. When you look at how he played, I thought he provided great depth, some good quality on the ball, great cover, was strong in the air. I thought he performed really well and we were all really pleased for Alexis that he was able to go and do that. It didn’t get highlighted as much because of the way the game finished, and that’s probably something that again, we’ve tried to emphasize to the guys. It’s obviously very disappointing when you give up a goal like that, but equally, you don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. You try and understand that we have had a strong performance there.”

On injury news:
“We’re still managing that, to be honest. George [Davis IV] was very unlucky not to start, we erred on the side of caution with a bit of hamstring stiffness. Oscar [Jimenez] cramped up in the game but we think he’ll be okay. Pat [McMahon] is coming back, Luke [Spencer] we’re still trying to manage. So we’re still probably suffering a little bit from those four weeks where the training ground wasn’t right and we were over on the turf. I don’t think people quite understand as much when you’re not consistent in your surfaces and what you train on, the implications that that has. The last three weeks we’ve felt the brunt of that with our guys who have had minor niggles, aches, minor strains, etc. We just need to be mindful of that and hopefully we can be a little more consistent with the areas that we train on.”

Team News

OUT – Richard Ballard (stress fracture, out for foreseeable future)
QUESTIONABLE – Shaun Francis (hamstring)

Louisville City FC and Heaven Hill Distilleries are excited to announce a partnership that makes Lunazul Tequila the official and exclusive tequila sponsor of LouCity.

Founded in 2002, the blue agave tequila brand will also serve as the exclusive sponsor of the club’s pre-game Party by the Pitch. Rotating performers each home match week, Lunazul’s Party the Pitch features live music and food and drink specials, including the River City Rita featuring Lunazul Tequila.

“As a locally-owned brand, Lunazul is proud to sponsor the home team as they gear up for another record-breaking year,” said MaryCrae Guild, Lunazul Tequila Brand Manager. “Whether in the barrel or on the field, Lunazul and Louisville City FC are fierce, determined players paired up for a championship season.”

“We’re thrilled to welcome Lunazul to the LouCity family,” stated Patrick Stewart, Senior VP of Sales & Marketing. “It’s an exciting time for this football club. We’re delighted to partner with a top product and brand in Lunazul Tequila as we continue what is sure to be a great 2018 season.”

For more information, visit LunazulTequila.com. To follow along with Lunazul Tequila’s activation and presence at LouCity games, visit the club’s Facebook page at facebook.com/Lunazul and Instagram at Instagram.com/lunazultequila. 

– LouisvilleCityFC.com | Follow Louisville City FC on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram–

###

About Louisville City FC
Since its launch in 2014, Louisville City FC has been committed to serving the community of Louisville and state of Kentucky as the lone professional soccer team.  The 2017 season marked the third year of play for LouCity in the United Soccer League (USL), a professional soccer league based in the United States and Canada. On October 26, the Louisville Metro Council voted overwhelmingly in favor of a new soccer-specific stadium in the Butchertown neighborhood with a projected opening slated for March 2020.

Finishing in the top five in average attendance in the USL at Slugger Field since 2015, LouCity’s remarkable 2017 campaign included winning the USL Cup in the club’s first appearance in the final. Get the latest news on LouCity FC at LouisvilleCityFC.com and via the club’s  channels on social media, including Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram.­­

TALKING POINTS: #LOUVBST
 

1) RECORD BREAKER?

Louisville City FC midfielder Niall McCabe has the potential to break one of the most cherished records a player can hold on Saturday. Should McCabe start or feature in the weekend’s match against Bethlehem Steel FC, he would earn his 76th appearance in a LouCity shirt, taking over the number one spot on the club’s all-time appearance chart in all competitions.

2) Bring the Noise

Coach James O’Connor was quick to laud the hometown support during his Monday press conference, complimenting the noise and environment LouCity fans create on a matchday at Slugger Field.

“I think the great thing about playing in front of our supporters is the passion that they bring and the noise. It can become a very intimidating place for the opposition, which I think is important,” he said.

“… I think for us, we feel privileged that we’re able to play in front of such passionate supporters and we want to give our best and make the city proud and we continually try to do that.”

Against Bethlehem Steel FC at the weekend, the club is looking for the same gusto from its supporters that it received in games prior. 

TICKETS: LouCity vs. Steel FC | Saturday, April 28 at 7:30 p.m.

3) Bounce Back?

Though LouCity remains unbeaten through its opening five contests, O’Connor noted that because of the way last weekend ended in Atlanta, the result felt worse than a draw.

“In regards to the performance, I thought it was excellent,” said O’Connor.

“I think when you look at the quality of the chances we created and the play… God Almighty, we had some incredible chances and obviously, we’re very frustrated with the last minute and a couple of lapses of concentration which cost us two points.”

4) Last time against Steel FC

Last time Louisville City FC hosted Bethlehem Steel FC at Slugger Field, it was the beginning of the club’s USL Cup run towards the tail end of October. Tarek Morad (x2), Brian Ownby, and Luke Spencer were all on the scoresheet that day as LouCity swept through Steel FC, 4-0.

Though commanding a team with largely the same look, O’Connor’s focus on Steel FC at the weekend is primed off nothing more than the potential for three more points. 

“They’re an interesting team. I’ve got a lot of respect for [coach] Brenden [Burke], he’s done a great job and they’ve obviously made the playoffs last year,” he said. “They’ve got some really good young players. The challenge when you play Bethlehem is—and obviously for Brenden first and foremost—is he’s never quite sure what players he has available.”

5) Ready to hit the road

After multiple home games to open the season, LouCity will face a stretch on the road that includes four games away from Slugger in five weeks following the contest against Steel FC. However, O’Connor preached that consistency in the team’s processes will not be sacrificed by the tests of traveling.

“My focus is on Bethlehem really and truly. We want to try to win whether we’re home or away and we focus on the next game, which is Bethlehem,” he said.

“After Bethlehem, we’ll look to the next one which is Indy, but after that, no. Our whole process at this stage is engrained. If we play on a Saturday, we start our processes on Monday and go right the way through.”

Splitting the points with Atlanta United FC 2 at Coolray Field last Saturday, LouCity (4-0-1; 1st) returns home to Slugger Field to face Bethlehem Steel FC (1-2-2; 10th) for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

After the team’s 1-1 draw the previous weekend, coach James O’Connor noted that although he was pleased overall, the lapse in concentration at the end that resulted in a 90th-minute penalty from ATL midfielder Andrew Carleton was ultimately most frustrating. 

As the focus turns to Bethlehem Steel FC this Saturday, LouCity’s return to Slugger Field marks their fourth home test in seven weeks. On Monday, O’Connor expressed his excitement about playing in front of the home support again.

“I think the great thing about playing in front of our supporters is the passion that they bring and the noise. It can become a very intimidating place for the opposition, which I think is important,” he said.

“… I think for us, we feel privileged that we’re able to play in front of such passionate supporters and we want to give our best and make the city proud and we continually try to do that.”

O’Connor also touched on LouCity team news, including updates on Luke Spencer and Pat McMahon.

“We’re still managing that, to be honest. George [Davis IV] was very unlucky not to start, we erred on the side of caution with a bit of hamstring stiffness. Oscar [Jimenez] cramped up in the game but we think he’ll be okay. Pat [McMahon] is coming back, Luke [Spencer] we’re still trying to manage,” he said.

“So we’re still probably suffering a little bit from those four weeks where the training ground wasn’t right and we were over on the turf. I don’t think people quite understand as much when you’re not consistent in your surfaces and what you train on, the implications that that has.”

The team pushes forward in search of a result that would propel their unbeaten streak to a new record. Once again, though, O’Connor emphasizes that the focus is only on Bethlehem on Saturday night.

“You try to focus on what you can control … What we need to do is make sure our guys have a good training week, that the training load is correct. And that also we have a good understanding of what their overall philosophy is and what they’re trying to do,” he stated.

“Then it’s about how we are doing with our philosophy and our guys having a good understanding of what we’re trying to do.”

Louisville City FC kicks off against Bethlehem Steel FC on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. at Slugger Field. Click here for single game tickets to another Saturday night showdown!