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Louisville City FC on Wednesday announced a new ticket and fundraising program, LouCity Give&Go, to benefit deserving causes throughout Kentuckiana.

The “Give” portion of the initiative presents a new fundraising opportunity for local 501(c)3 organizations to get to experience the excitement of a LouCity home game while at the same time raising vital funds for their nonprofits. 

This season, LouCity is making up to 5,000 single-game tickets available to charitable organizations to sell to the public at a nonprofit rate. For each ticket sold in the “Give” part of the program, a $4 contribution will go back to the nonprofit organization.

The program is also open to for-profit companies and individuals who would like to purchase and donate tickets in the “Go” part of the initiative, allowing less fortunate families and groups the opportunity to see pro soccer at Slugger Field.

Additionally, for-profit organizations and individuals can purchase tickets and donate for non-profit use. Any tickets bought through the “Go” portion of the program can be tax deductible.

LouCity is initially making donated tickets available to the following nonprofits:

• Active Heroes

• Big Brothers/Big Sisters

• Jefferson County Public Education Foundation

• U.S. Military Families

• YMCA Safe Shelter Program

Any fans or companies who wish to purchase and donate match tickets should call the Louisville City FC ticket office at (502) 384-8799.

Any non-profits wishing to adopt the program as a fundraising opportunity should contact Zach Darst at zdarst@louisvillecityfc.com.

For more information, visit www.loucity.com/giveandgo.

Both key players in Sunday’s 3-1 away win over Bethlehem Steel FC, Louisville City FC forward Luke Spencer and defender Oscar Jimenez were on Tuesday named to the USL Team of the Week.

Spencer recorded a first half brace with a headed free kick in the 16th minute before he controlled a long ball, finishing off a rebound from the keeper in the 25th.

Spencer’s goals came on passes from Jimenez, listed as a defender but more recently featured on the left wing. While Jimenez wasn’t credited for the assist on Spencer’s second goal, he looped another free kick into Cameron Lancaster in the 85th minute to earn his second of the game.

Spencer’s eight goals lead LouCity, while Jimenez’s five assists are also a team-high. Both players signed with the club this year following impressive showings at an invitation tryout.

Thanks to contributions from the duo, LouCity’s on a two-game winning streak entering the week, which includes two games at Slugger Field: Wednesday against the Harrisburg City Islanders and Saturday against Orlando City B.

With Orlando City B, LouCity will face reigning USL Player of the Week Hadji Barry, who scored three goals in the Lions’ two games last week. 

USL Team of the Week

GK – Cody Mizell, Charlotte Independence: Mizell recorded 13 saves across two contests, including a seven-save shutout in a 1-0 win against Bethlehem Steel FC on Wednesday night, as Charlotte remained on top of the Eastern Conference.

D – Oscar Jimenez, Louisville City FC: Jimenez recorded two assists, played a key role in a third goal and created six scoring chances overall as Louisville took a 3-1 victory against Bethlehem Steel FC.

D – Sola Abolaji, Orange County SC: Abolaji scored a late equalizer as OCSC earned a 1-1 draw against Phoenix Rising FC, as the club officially opened Champions Soccer Stadium before a sellout crowd on Friday night. 

D – Alex Lee, Richmond Kickers: Lee notched the assist on Richmond’s opening goal and put in a solid two-way performance overall, as the Kickers earned a 2-1 victory against Toronto FC II.

M – Nansel Selbol, Swope Park Rangers: Selbol had a major impact coming on as a halftime substitute, as he recorded a goal and was a threat throughout in the Rangers’ 2-2 draw with Real Monarchs SLC.

M – Justin Portillo, Charleston Battery: Portillo scored the only goal as the Battery broke a seven-game winless streak with a 1-0 win against the Rochester Rhinos, while also completing 51 of 56 passes.

M – Chris Wehan, Reno 1868 FC: Wehan scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in Reno’s 2-1 victory against Sacramento Republic FC and was active in wide positions throughout the game.

M – Junior Flemmings, New York Red Bulls II: Flemmings scored twice as the Red Bulls II earned a 4-0 victory against FC Cincinnati and finished the game with five shots overall and two key passes.

F – Luke Spencer, Louisville City FC: Spencer followed his Player of the Week performance in Week 21 with a two-goal outing, as Louisville took a 3-1 victory against Bethlehem Steel FC on Sunday. 

F – Corey Hertzog, Pittsburgh Riverhounds: Hertzog scored both goals as the Riverhounds rallied past Saint Louis to cap a good all-around display that saw him win five of seven duels and finish with five shots total. 

F – Hadji Barry, Orlando City B: Badji scored three goals in two games, as OCB defeated Ottawa Fury FC and drew with the Charlotte Independence to extend its undefeated streak to a club-record 10 games.

Bench: Earl Edwards Jr. (ORL), Taylor Mueller (CHS), Henry Wingo (SEA), Gerardo Bruna (OTT), Enzo Martinez (CLT), Dane Kelly (RNO), Kharlton Belmar (SPR)

The spotlight returns to Slugger Field on Wednesday for the United Soccer League’s Game of the Week between Louisville City FC and the Harrisburg City Islanders.

The boys in purple will test their two-game winning streak and take a shot at returning to first place with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. Show your support with tickets available by calling (502) 384-8799 or online.

Here’s what to watch for…

Tune In

TV: WBNA TV-21 will air the game live and in high definition locally with Mike Watts and Morgan Conklin on the call.

Radio: TJ Walker (play-by-play) and Jeff Milby (color commentary) will voice the action on 1080 WKJK, with pregame coverage starting at 7:15 p.m.

Streaming: Watch live via ESPN3.com, a special online destination for the USL Game of the Week.

Follow Along

For Starting XI information and in-game updates, check us out on social media. It’s @loucityfc on Twitter, Louisville City FC on Facebook and louisvillecityfc on Instagram. Live stats are available at the USL Match Center. Vote for the Modelo Man of the Match on Twitter starting in the 75th minute.

Links

• O’Connor transforming tryout players into stars
• Efficient offense has LouCity in USL title race
• Spencer’s brace leads LouCity past Bethlehem

Notes

Eastern Conference race: LouCity (12-4-5, 41 points) sits second on the table after Sunday’s 3-1 win over Bethlehem Steel FC. While three points back of the No. 1 Charlotte Independence, LouCity has three games in hand with two opportunities to gain ground this week. The boys in purple also host Orlando City B this Saturday. The City Islanders (6-12-6, 24 points) have lost four of their last five games.

Last time they met: The City Islanders scored one the 2017 season’s biggest upsets to date when LouCity traveled to Harrisburg, Penn., for the clubs’ first matchup. Pedro Riberio’s 53rd-minute goal made the difference June 24 in a 1-0 City Islanders victory which, at the time, marked their first win in 12 games and ended a five-game losing streak.

Scouting Harrisburg: As with their form earlier this season, the City Islanders enter without a win over a lengthy stretch, this time going back to July 15. Harrisburg has scored 18 goals this season and conceded 32, though 10 players have found the back of the net. The City Islanders are solid in goal, featuring Brandon Miller, who won a USL championship in 2015 with the Rochester Rhinos. Miller has six clean sheets to his name.

LouCity on the rise: Attendance this season through nine LouCity games at Slugger Field has averaged 9,281, a number bolstered by a capacity crowd of 13,812 on hand last time the boys in purple were home. Amid the growth — attendance is up more than 20 percent over last year — ownership has announced plans to build a soccer-specific stadium in the Butchertown Neighborhood that would open for the 2020 season.

Spencer’s breakout season: Already the reigning USL Player of the Week, Luke Spencer continued his run Sunday by registering a first half brace in Bethlehem. His seventh and eighth goals lead all LouCity players. To add, Spencer assisted two goals in LouCity’s recent win over FC Cincinnati, his hometown and former club, continuing a big year for the former MLS SuperDraft selection.

Set piece specialist: With three assists in LouCity’s last two games, defender Oscar Jimenez has taken the team lead in that category at five on the season. Two of his connections came on set pieces involving Spencer, and another was off a free kick to Cameron Lancaster, who replaced Spencer in the second half of the Bethlehem win. Jimenez has also scored two goals in his first year with LouCity while proving a threat offensively, placing 15 of his 24 shots on target.

Ranjitsingh stands tall in goal: Following a clean sheet against FC Cincinnati — Greg Ranjitsingh’s first start in nearly a month — the goalkeeper willed LouCity to another win Sunday. He recorded four saves on an afternoon Steel FC recorded eight shots in the box. His diving stop just before the half maintained LouCity’s lead, and he stepped in during the second half to thwart a free kick with the club still then only ahead a goal as well

Lineup consistency: For Sunday’s game at Bethlehem, coach James O’Connor elected for no changes in his Starting XI from last week’s 5-0 win over FC Cincinnati. But there was a new name eligible for selection off the bench as George Davis IV traveled to play Steel FC. Davis hasn’t played since July 15 after tweaking his knee in training.

Taking their chances: Over its past two games, LouCity has scored eight goals and tallied 22 shots on target, a significant turnaround from the early days of the 2017 season when the club managed just eight goals in its first eight games. O’Connor has harped on his side maximizing its opportunities. At 39 goals, LouCity sports the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 scoring offense.

Injury/discipline: LouCity’s 20-man roster is all available for Wednesday’s game, though the club will be without its leader in minutes played. Defender Kyle Smith received a red card in stoppage time of Sunday’s win at Bethlehem and will have to sit out against the City Islanders. Smith has missed only one other game this year, that one last month due to yellow card accumulation.

Oscar Jimenez spent last season in the Professional Development League, and Luke Spencer rarely got off the bench as a United Soccer League rookie. By now, Kyle Smith’s underdog story — he made Louisville City FC’s roster out of an open tryout — is well known.

All three illustrate a trend drawing LouCity coach James O’Connor increasing praise: an ability to reload a squad with overlooked talent, to the point where his club is again in the running for a USL championship.

“James has the best eye, and he trusts himself,” Spencer said. “That’s the biggest thing. You get a lot of coaches who might like a player, but they need it to be verified by a lot of other coaches. When James sees a player he likes, whether it’s Kyle, Oscar or me, he doesn’t need the verification from anyone but himself.

“He trusts himself, and we’re making the most of it on the field.”

LouCity’s carrying some of its best form this season into a pair of home games, first Wednesday against the Harrisburg City Islanders and then Saturday against Orlando City B. Both kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Slugger Field.

With Spencer, Jimenez and Smith in the lineup, LouCity posted a 3-1 win last time out over Bethlehem Steel FC. Spencer scored two goals, Jimenez tallied two assists, and Smith wore the captain’s armband.

In all, LouCity’s won four of its last five games. The victories, however, are more than 90 minutes apiece in the making. O’Connor credited his staff, which includes assistant coach Daniel Byrd and goalkeepers coach Thabane Sutu, for helping him discover talent.

“We’ve spent hours and hours and hours looking at players and trying to get the very best players we can,” O’Connor said. “We have a specific criteria for every position. Sometimes the athlete will come in and we’ll think, ‘At the moment he doesn’t check every box, but can he in three months or five months? Will he be able to tick those boxes?’”

Smith and Jimenez both played in the midfield before signing with LouCity and switching to defender. An invitation tryout yielded those two offseason signings along with Richard Ballard, a Louisville native who starred for Indiana University — but didn’t receive an invitation to Major League Soccer’s scouting combine.

“James does a really good job of knowing what he wants,” Jimenez said. “He has a certain style he plays, and he looks for certain qualities in players. He does a really good job of finding that. His roster’s small because everyone on his team can start and play 90 if they have to. It’s a credit to him and the way he goes about finding players.”

Spencer’s nine goals lead all LouCity players, that after he earned selection in the MLS SuperDraft before suffering a knee injury. The Ohio native totaled fewer than 100 minutes played last year for his hometown club, FC Cincinnati.

Jimenez, meanwhile, played for the USL’s Tulsa Roughnecks in 2015 before moving to the PDL in 2016. This year, he has established himself as a go-to on set pieces, leading to the bulk of his LouCity-high five assists.

“In Oscar’s case, he deserves tremendous credit, and the same for Luke,” O’Connor said. “We gave them opportunities, but they’re two guys who, their character has stood out like a shining star. And they’re really good footballers. I think maybe they were just overlooked, because they’re the kind of players who don’t always grab the highlights.

“We were really excited to sign such quality players who we knew were going to go and be part of what we need. For us, it’s been about giving them an opportunity. But it’s been up to them to perform.”

Lately, Louisville City FC has taken its offense to a new level. 

Over the past two games, James O’Connor’s men have scored eight goals and recorded 22 shots on target, which accounts for more than 50 percent of the team’s attempts. 

On Sunday, in Louisville City’s 3-1 win at the Bethlehem Steel, City had five shots in the first half, all of them within the goal posts, a sign of improved efficiency on goal. 

It wasn’t always this way. 

Earlier in the season, Louisville City struggled to convert its countless chances. The team was creating opportunities but scored just eight goals in the first eight games, with numerous shots flying over the bar or wide of the posts. 

Now, however, the team is taking O’Connor’s message of putting shots on-target to heart. 

“When it’s a hot day like this and you’re on an away trip, you have to take your chances and be willing to work,” forward Luke Spencer said following the win in Bethlehem. “When those chances come, you’ve got to be willing to get it on target — have focus.”

Louisville City’s 3-1 defeat earlier this month to the Charlotte Independence may have been the breaking point. 

In that match, Louisville City took 17 shots, but had just five on target. Meanwhile, Charlotte had just seven shots, and converted three of them. It was an important lesson that Louisville City seems to have taken on board. 

Louisville City opened the first half of its fiery rivalry with FC Cincinnati with a barrage of shots. Nine of the team’s 11 were on target, including two goals. City had another six shots on goal in the second half, with three more goals to complete the 5-0 rout.

Against Bethlehem, Louisville City didn’t win the possession battle for one of the few times this season, but it still created enough chances, and the team put them away. Spencer’s two goals were essentially his two chances on goal during his 61 minutes on the pitch, while his replacement, Cameron Lancaster, converted one of his two opportunities on goal with a header off the back of his head. 

“I feel like we’ve been gaining confidence in our attack and on our shots,” Oscar Jimenez, who delivered two assists. “Everyone’s been dialed in during training with that aspect, and it’s been showing the last couple of games. We’re growing in that aspect, and it’s good to see especially now. It’s getting to be crunch time in the season.”

With the defense remaining one of the best in the United Soccer League and the team continuing to create an abundance of goal-scoring chances, the improved efficiency in front of goal bodes well for the stretch run this fall. 

Louisville City is currently in second place in the Eastern Conference but has multiple games-in-hand compared to the rest of the conference. O’Connor’s side will begin to catch up to the rest of the league with midweek games this week and twice in September, which will test the team’s depth and mental grit. 

If Louisville City though can remain as efficient as it has been, the club should continue to pick up wins and move to the top of the Eastern Conference. 

Opinions expressed in this piece were not subject to club approval. For more insights on LouCity, follow Karell on Twitter: @DanKarellPreps.