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Already home of professional franchises Louisville City FC and Racing Louisville FC, Lynn Family Stadium will also soon play host to college soccer’s most prestigious championship.

The NCAA announced Wednesday that the 2023 College Cup — the semifinal and final rounds of Division I men’s soccer — is coming to Louisville, with the University of Louisville serving as the host school.

The bid was awarded in conjunction with more than 450 sites for preliminary rounds and finals of predetermined championships in Divisions I, II and III through 2026.

“We consider Louisville a city of champions, and it will be a thrill to see one crowned on our home turf,” said Brad Estes, president of Soccer Holdings, LLC, which operates LouCity and Racing Louisville. “Along with serving as a showcase for Lynn Family Stadium, the College Cup adds to our vision of bringing high-caliber events to Louisville.”

The NCAA received more than 3,000 bid submissions from member schools, conferences, sports commissions and cities vying to host predetermined rounds for 86 of the NCAA’s 90 championships. Sites were selected by the respective NCAA sports committees and approved by the divisional competition oversight and championships committees.

“We are very pleased that the NCAA has chosen Lynn Family Stadium for the 2023 College Cup,” said Eric Granger, general manager of Lynn Family Stadium’s operator, ASM Global. “We are very appreciative of our partners at LouCity, Racing Louisville, the University of Louisville and the Louisville Sports Commission.  We look forward to showcasing the best hospitality to the student-athletes, staff and fans.”

Traditionally held over three days in mid-December, the College Cup consists of two single-elimination national semifinals before the championship game. It’s the culmination of a weeks-long NCAA tournament that in recent years has encompassed 48 teams from more than 200 eligible programs.

Opened in July, Lynn Family Stadium, located in the Butchertown Neighborhood just east of downtown Louisville, boasts a capacity of 15,304. The facility is outfitted with WiFi throughout, contains plentiful concession options and unique club and suite areas.

Louisville City FC, a two-time USL Championship-winning men’s side, currently competes at Lynn Family Stadium. The building will in 2021 also newly serve as home of the National Women’s Soccer League expansion franchise Racing Louisville FC.

Louisville City FC’s John Hackworth has been voted the USL Championship’s Coach of the Month for September/October, earning the award after leading his side to a perfect run in the final weeks of the regular season to finish with the best record in the Eastern Conference. 

Hackworth’s side claimed victory in its last six games of the regular season, earning a pair of victories apiece against rivals Indy Eleven and Saint Louis FC to surge to the top of Group E. The side’s defensive record was stellar, conceding only three goals across the six games while notching 15 goals as it found its best form of the season ahead of the 2020 USL Championship Playoffs.

“While I appreciate the recognition, the players and our entire staff deserve this,” said Hackworth. “When you’re working well collectively and things are going right, it’s a reflection of the whole group.”

LouCity will host Saint Louis FC in the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2020 Championship Playoffs on Saturday night at Lynn Family Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET with the game on WBKI/The CW, AM 840 WHAS and ESPN+.

The USL Championship’s Coach of the Month award is voted upon by the USL Championship National Media Panel and the USL Championship Technical Committee, with both groups responsible for 50 percent of the overall vote.

Hackworth received 67 percent of the vote to earn this monthly award for the first time since taking the helm at LouCity during the 2018 Championship season. San Diego Loyal SC’s Landon Donovan finished second on 20 percent after leading his side to an undefeated record on the field in the expansion side’s final month of its inaugural season, while FC Tulsa’s Michael Nsien finished third on 10 percent after his side went undefeated and won its final three games of the regular season to earn a first playoff berth since 2017.

While discussing Monday with reporters Louisville City FC’s Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup against Saint Louis FC, coach John Hackworth was also presented with this statistic dug up by USL Championship play-by-play ace Mike Watts.

LouCity’s winning (seven games) and unbeaten (12 games) streaks are both the longest of any pro soccer club this season in the United States. That’s across all leagues, including Major League Soccer, the National Women’s Soccer League and other branches of the USL.

“I think our players and staff deserve credit because in this sport it is not easy to go on the streak that we’re on right now,” Hackworth said. “It’s just not that kind of sport.”

To boot, LouCity ended the regular season with the Eastern Conference’s best record having emerged from a group containing the well-respected Saint Louis FC and Indy Eleven. Most recently, the boys in purple handed a red-hot Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC side a 2-0 postseason defeat last Saturday.

“We have the potential to play three more games,” Hackworth said. “This is a new season for us, and that’s all that we’re focused on. If we don’t do our job on Saturday night, none of that matters. We can only think about this next game, and if we take care of business then we only have two games left. That’s our objective.”

Here’s more of what we learned from Hackworth’s conversation ahead of a 7:30 p.m. Saturday kickoff at Lynn Family Stadium…

It’s a unique scenario

Hackworth polled his players: Have any of them met the same opponent five times in one season? They all said no.

LouCity won the last of the Kings’ Cup rivalry series by winning twice, drawing once and losing once to Saint Louis FC during the 16-game regular season. Saint Louis FC, of course, is ceasing operations at the end of this season as a Major League Soccer franchise enters its market.

“I would say it’s a disadvantage at this point because we know each other really well,” Hackworth said of repeated meetings. “We have had more success than they have had, but it’s been really close.

“…I don’t think we have any tricks left up either of our sleeves. Saint Louis knows their best lineup and their best formation, and I think we do to. Maybe we have a little bit more flexibility in that regard, but it’s definitely going to be an interesting case of two teams who know each other really well and just competing and trying to execute.”

Long live the Kings’ Cup

A 1-0 LouCity victory on Sept. 26 marked the most-recent meeting between these two. At the time, it was expected to be the final one as well.

The boys in purple guaranteed themselves a No. 1 playoff seed along with the season Kings’ Cup series. Meanwhile, Saint Louis FC’s postseason hopes were dealt a severe blow.

“It was almost like a playoff game, and you saw that intensity from the start all the way through the final whistle,” Hackworth said. “I think it’s going to be the same on Saturday night here. You’re going to have a Saint Louis team who is highly motivated and doesn’t want to end their club.”

Saint Louis went on to defeat the Indy Eleven in both teams’ regular-season finale, improbably putting them into the playoffs. A 1-0 victory Saturday over Hartford Athletic then advanced Saint Louis FC to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Different phases

Hackworth also touched on both his offense and defense Monday, starting with execution around the goal.

LouCity could have headed into the half with a 2-0 advantage as Antoine Hoppenot found himself on the break. A would-be tap in, however, wasn’t to be had when a final pass was pushed just wide of Brian Ownby.

“When you look at our body of work since the start of August, I would say that we have balanced out those two things really well,” Hackworth said. “When we didn’t finish the goal that we were supposed to, we defended like warriors and didn’t let our opponent have an opportunity. We did that on Saturday against Pittsburgh.

“…I was really impressed with the way we defended. We didn’t give Pittsburgh many chances and we played really good team defense. We’re going to need to do that Saturday night against Saint Louis and hopefully we can execute at a little higher level. If we do that, we probably would’ve been up two or three goals in the first half instead of 1-0.”

Before this year, Cameron Lancaster reminded Saturday, he had played roughly a half season for coach John Hackworth. But the Englishman hadn’t yet spent a full campaign within the system of play now used by Louisville City FC.

Hackworth succeeded James O’Connor midway through a 2018 season in which Lancaster raised a second USL Cup for LouCity and won the league’s Golden Boot award. After a year spent with Nashville SC, where he earned a Major League Soccer contract, Lancaster found himself back in Louisville for 2020 on loan.

While many of his teammates had the entirety 2019 to adjust to Hackworth’s coaching, it was still relatively new to Lancaster when the USL restarted play on July 12, and the forward’s contributions were marginal in a 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

“It took a couple of games to get used to that,” Lancaster said. “Thankfully it has come to fruition and we’re playing with a lot of confidence.”

With Pittsburgh back in town Saturday for a first-round playoff game, Lanaster’s season came full circle. He bagged an early game-winning goal to mark his sixth scoring strike in as many games of another standout season.

Hackworth called it “Cam doing what Cam does well.”

“We brought him here to score goals, and that’s exactly what he does,” the coach added. “That was a wonderful strike.”

In the 17th minute, Lancaster redirected a cross from left back Oscar Jimenez out wide with seemingly no effort. For the first time, smoke billowed at Lynn Family Stadium during the playoffs.

“He went for two (goals) on almost the same (type of shot) but didn’t quite catch the second one,” Hackworth said, looking to a moment later in Saturday’s game. “I’m happy for Cam. He gets the game winner in a huge game. You got to have some kind of special play like that to break a game like this open.

“It’s awfully nice to have the best goal scorer in the league on our team.”

Lancaster reached 50 USL goals as the regular season wound down, hitting the mark as arguably the most efficient forward in league history by netting a goal every 114.8 minutes. Next closest among those at 50 goals is Dane Kelly at 153.3 minutes per score.

Saturday’s tally marked Lancaster’s 12th this year across the regular season and playoffs, putting a target squarely on his back for opposing defenses.

“I’m not too focused about how they’re coming at me or if they’re coming at me at all,” he said. “We play our game and don’t worry about them too much and thankfully it paid off today.”

Lancaster has scored in a multitude of ways, from free kicks at distance to powerful, precise strikes inside the 18-yard box. It’s the variety of goal he produced Saturday, however, that sets the 27-year-old apart with talent beyond his peers.

“I think it’s spur of the moment. It’s muscle memory, almost,” Lancaster said. “You go over different finishes in training and then you come out here. If you train well, it comes off.”

What a win. It was a nervy evening for many on Saturday as Louisville City FC sank Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC to move on in its quest for another USL Cup. Although the reputation of Pittsburgh preceded the notorious Bob Lilley-coached team, there ultimately proved to be no reason to fear the ‘Hounds as the playoffs began. LouCity continued its tear of form with a 2-0 victory, but beyond any runs or momentum they showed that they can deliver against any team. 

Here’s what we learned at Lynn Family Stadium…

The Good

Won the game

It’s plain and simple. Avoiding the obvious “survive and advance” platitude, City thrived in this game given how close contests between these two sides have been in the past, including a playoff meeting last year determined by one goal. This team has the belief that it is the best in the USL, and the boys in purple have the silverware to back that up. It is not about trying to simply negotiate the way to a final for LouCity. When playing as it did Saturday, everyone can recognize the team to beat.

Met Pittsburgh on its own terms

We all know the talking points on the Riverhounds: solid, strong defenders and a counter attacking style. More than just size in defense, though, they have cohesion. Despite that, City straight up beat Pittsburgh at its own game. In particular, the opening Cameron Lancaster goal was a work of art.

First, the assist from Oscar Jiminez was driven into the box, not lofted where it could have been easily headed away. Lancaster was also well placed in front of goal and was first to react to the ball, redirecting it right into the bottom corner of the Riverhounds’ goal. At every point, that play had a minuscule margin for error, and yet it was administered perfectly.

That goal aside, City won nearly all statistical areas of the game, and remarkably limited the guests to a single shot on target, one hastily dealt with by Ben Lundt in the 13th minute. City exploited the ‘Hounds on the counterattack too, and should have doubled their lead in the first half on more than one occasion. More on that to come, but also to be able to move on from the missed chances and come back to make an impact was something that this team accomplished on both a personal and collective level. 

LouCity fabricated a catalog of chances against a Pittsburgh team that is notable for limiting them. They scored twice on a Golden Glove winner who was shipping half a goal per game on average. LouCity also limited a team that has scored 39 goals this season to a single, low quality shot on target. They just flat out beat them. Beyond the statistics, they continued their stride right though into the next round of the playoffs. 

The Bad

Allowed frustration to show, at times

There were more than a couple of obstacles to overcome on Saturday night, and it was not always done in the most graceful fashion. With a few head-scratching calls being handed down throughout the evening, the home team had more than a stingy visiting side to overcome. A few situations where a City player earns a soft yellow here, a missed call there, and we could have seen a red card issued at Lynn Family Stadium. 

Although he may have exerted more energy and might have covered more ground than anyone else on the pitch, Brian Ownby also was just too aggressive at times when it came to winning the ball back for his side. Earlier on, after a Pittsburgh player failed to get booked for an eminently bookable challenge, Antoine Hoppenot also talked his way into a yellow card himself. It is just a few small things that took a slight sheen off of the otherwise peerless performance. 

Left some chances on the table

Although City ended up with a two-goal win, for most of the game Pittsburgh was an effective counterattack away from leveling the game. Now, whether the City defense would yield in such a way is debatable, but there were some very promising chances left on the table by the home side, particularly in the first half.

Some were a result of a significant defensive intervention on the part of a Pittsburgh defender or goalie. Some were just flat-out missed passes. But all of them should have been scored.

Coach John Hackworth agreed in his postgame press conference, noting that although his team was strong in defense, the attacking phase lacked at moments. As with most things I end up writing about in this section amid what’s now a 12-game unbeaten streak, it did not ultimately impact the game, although it may have come into play if Pittsburgh brought some more heat onto the CIty defense. 

In Conclusion

Throughout the last week, I was concerned about the matchup against Pittsburgh. They were the toughest out LouCity had on paper until the Eastern Conference Final, and the boys in purple still ran out clear winners.

Saint Louis FC continues to be difficult, however, especially given the club’s prolonged and public wake that has turned into a scene from Night of the Living Dead. That being said, as long as CIty performs to its standard, I continue maintain that the only thing stopping them is running out of teams to play this postseason.

At the first half hydration break Saturday night of a USL Championship Playoffs opener, Louisville City FC defender Oscar Jimenez approached coach John Hackworth and said, “‘Coach, it’s just going to be a grind the rest of the way.”

“And I was like, ‘Hell yeah, it’s going to be a grind, so keep doing it,'” Hackworth replied.

The boys in purple preserved their lead en route to a 2-0 victory over Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC at Lynn Family Stadium.

With the win, LouCity advanced to host rival Saint Louis FC at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 17. Season ticket holders will attend, with a very limited number of tickets going on sale to the public Tuesday.

“Playing Pittsburgh, it’s always going to be a very physical and hard-fought game,” Hackworth said. “A lot of little moments where you have to get a nick of the ball and that next touch in. It was that way from the start…But that’s what it is — playoff soccer.”

With his sixth goal in as many games, striker Cameron Lancaster nicked in a cross from outside back Oscar Jimenez to put LouCity ahead for good in the game’s 18th minute. Following a number of other easier chances, a bit of luck doubled the lead in the 87th when a Corben Bone shot from distance skipped off the hands of Pittsburgh keeper Danny Vitiello and spun across the line for a goal.

As a result, LouCity got a bit of revenge. Back on July 12, when the USL Championship resumed play amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Riverhounds spoiled Lynn Family Stadium’s debut game by a 3-1 score.

“The loss helped up learn a lot from our performance,” Lancaster said. “In a sense you want that loss to come at the beginning of the season so we can learn from it. You saw it out there. We played a lot better than we did the first game of the season.” 

Regionalized scheduling and playoff structure led to this rematch. LouCity entered on a run of 11 games unbeaten, while Pittsburgh appeared the league’s strongest No. 2 seed, riding in with wins in six of its last seven.

The boys in purple held the ‘Hounds to just one shot on target — a 13th-minute moment when Albert Dikwa crept behind the home team’s back line for a point-black look. LouCity keeper Ben Lundt cleared it off, and Steevan Dos Santos’ try off the ensuing rebound flew wide.

The recently named Golden Glove winner Vitiello stopped what could have been the go-ahead goal in the 15th minute when turning away LouCity’s first shot on goal by Brian Ownby. Three minutes after that, Lancaster’s talent in redirecting the Jimenez cross instead did the trick.

“In the moment, it happened so fast,” Lancaster said. “I saw the defenders drop, OJ put in a great ball and I was focusing on just getting it on target, hitting it low, and thankfully it went in.”

LouCity out-shot Pittsburgh 7-3, with seven of its attempts from inside the box, and controlled 51.7% of the possession. In a physical game, the sides combined for 11 fouls, including three yellow cards.

It could have been 2-0 going into the half, but Antoine Hoppenot, on a breakaway toward Pittsburgh’s goal, pushed a pass just by Brian Ownby, who could have tapped in to finish. No matter, as Bone struck late to cement a win and Lundt turned in a league-leading eighth shutout performance.

LouCity went into the postseason as Group E’s No. 1 seed with Pittsburgh second in Group F. The corresponding game between No. 1 Hartford Athletic and No. 2 Saint Louis FC was determined Saturday by a stoppage-time winner.

Previously, LouCity claimed the final edition of what’s known as the Kings’ Cup rivalry with Saint Louis FC, winning two, drawing one and losing one of their regular-season meetings.

“I personally thought that Saint Louis was going to beat Hartford. They’re too good of a team,” Hackworth said of a side that’s wrapping up its final season of play, making way for Major League Soccer in the St. Louis market. “You talk about a team that battles and competes for everything. That’s what they are. They also try and play good soccer. They’re well-coached. They’re organized, and there’s a lot of character.

“We have another game next Saturday, here at Lynn Family Stadium, where we have to do the same thing. Hopefully we can dictate the terms a little bit more, but it’s not easy playing Saint Louis for a fifth time in a very small amount of time.”

Game Summary: LouCity vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

Date: Oct. 10, 2020

Venue: Lynn Family Stadium

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.

Weather: 74 degrees, mostly cloudy

Man of the Match: Cameron Lancaster

Attendance: 4,900

Scoring

Louisville City: 2, 0, 2

Pittsburgh Riverhounds: 0, 0, 0

Goals

Louisville City:

17’ Cameron Lancaster left-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom-right corner. Assisted by Oscar Jimenez with a cross.

87’ Corben Bone right-footed shot from outside the box to the center of the goal. Assisted by Jason Johnson.

Lineups

Louisville City: 39-Ben Lundt, 19-Oscar Jimenez, 3-Alexis Souahy, 4-Sean Totsch, 15-Pat McMahon, 80-Devon Williams, 36-Paolo DelPiccolo (89’ 5-Jimmy Ockford), 13-Corben Bone, 29-Antoine Hoppenot (66’ 27-Napo Matsoso), 10-Brian Ownby (74’ 77-Jason Johnson), 17-Cameron Lancaster (66’ 9-Luke Spencer)

Subs not used: 1-Chris Hubbard, 6-Wesley Charpie, 8-Akil Watts

Head Coach: John Hackworth

Pittsburgh Riverhounds: 1-Daniel Vitiello, 34-Skylar Thomas (63’ 21-Patrick Bunk-Andersen), 17-Thomas Vancaeyezeele, 5-Jordan Dover (87’ 16-Mark Forrest), 7-Ryan James, 11-Kenardo Forbes, 12-Daniel Griffin, 14-Robbie Mertz, 23-Raymond Lee (74’ 15-Anthony Velarde), 9-Albert Dikwa, 10-Steevan Dos Santos (74’ 3-Ropapa Mensah)

Subs not used: 4-Daniel Rovira, 2-Mark Da Silva Lindstrom, 18-Tomás Gómez

Head Coach: Bob Lilley                                                      

Discipline

Louisville City:

26’ Alexis Souahy (yellow)

30’ Antoine Hoppenot (yellow)

53’ Oscar Jimenez (yellow)

Pittsburgh Riverhounds:

45’ Skylar Thomas (yellow)

Stats Summary: LouCity vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds

Shots: 10/11

Shots on Goal: 5/1

Saves: 1/3

Corner Kicks: 6/2

Fouls: 18/11

Offsides: 2/1

Possession: 47.6%/52.4%