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Tickets for Louisville City’s USL Championship Final showdown with Real Monarchs go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Thursday. Fans may purchase tickets through the ticket link on SeatGeek.com or by calling 502-LOU-CITY. 

The USL Championship Final pits Louisville City, the Eastern Conference Title-Winner, vs. Real Monarchs, the winners of the West in a battle for the USL Championship Trophy, 7:30 Sunday night at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium. 

Louisville City earned an opportunity to host the final by virtue of its strong regular-season performance as the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference. Once LouCity eliminated top-seeded Pittsburgh and third-seeded Indy Eleven in the playoffs, the Boys in Purple were the highest seed in the East. In the East, the top three seeds were also eliminated.  

Louisville City typically plays its home games at Slugger Field, but the venue, a baseball stadium in downtown Louisville, is being used for another event this weekend. The club returns to the soccer-specific Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium at the University of Louisville for Sunday night’s Final. 

Prior to today, Louisville City Season Tickets Members for 2019 and 2020 had an opportunity to purchase their seats via pre-sale links. 

Louisville City FC defender Oscar Jimenez was honored by the United Soccer League Wednesday as one of three finalists for the USL Championship Defender of the Year award. 

On Tuesday, Jimenez was named to the USL Championship First Team, joining teammate Magnus Rasmussen on the top list. 

“That’s actually a very sweet reward for me personally,” Jimenez said. “It makes me very, very happy that I got that, but as I was telling the boys in the locker room – because they all got up and gave us a clap – I don’t go into a season trying to get a reward for myself. I try to go and do my job and my part for the team so that the whole group can be successful.”

Jimenez has been crucial to LouCity’s success this season, creating a team-high 90 chances during the regular season while starting 33 games this season. An expert at ball placement, Jimenez was Louisville City’s go-to player in dead ball situations. His stellar corner kicks and free kicks resulted in seven assists and several more goals scored without an assist. 

“The fact that I get rewarded for what I’ve done all season is wonderful,” Jimenez said. “But there’s a lot of players on this team – and in this league – that were left out of that group but we can only pick 11. So I’m thankful that I got in the top 11 and it’s great.”

The team leader with a remarkable 3,251 minutes this season, Oscar had 58 clearances, 38 interceptions, and two blocks. 

The other two finalists, Pittsburgh’s Joe Greenspan and Indy Eleven’s Neveal Hackshaw, also had tremendous seasons. The 2019 USL Championship Awards were voted on by team management and a league-wide media panel that included representation from every USL market.

Jimenez and Louisville City will take on the Real Monarchs Sunday night in the USL Championship Final at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium on the campus of the University of Louisville. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes. 

Three Louisville City players were named to All-League Teams by the United Soccer League Tuesday. Defender Oscar Jimenez and midfielder Magnus Rasmussen were named to the USL Championship First-Team and defender Paco Craig was named to the USL Championship Second-Team. 

The regular-season awards were announced by the USL league office. Regular-season conference champions Phoenix Rising and Pittsburgh Riverhounds led the way with four selections each while four clubs – Louisville City, Nashville SC, Phoenix, and Pittsburgh had multiple First-team honors.  
 
The 2019 USL Championship All-League Team was voted on by club management and a league-wide media panel that included representation from every USL market.
 
The 2019 USL Championship Final, which will air live on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes in the United States on Sunday, November 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET as Louisville City FC of the Eastern Conference and Real Monarchs SLC of the Western Conference meet at Lynn Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.

2019 USL Championship All-League First Team
GK – Matt Pickens, Nashville SC: Pickens claimed the Championship’s Golden Glove with a 0.64 goals-against average and posted a league-high 14 shutouts during the regular season on a 79.8 save percentage.
 
D – Neveal Hackshaw, Indy Eleven: Hackshaw ranked in the top 10 among outfield players with 231 recoveries, won 65.8 of duels – 10th in the league among players to win at least 175 duels in the regular season – and won 29 of 39 tackles.
 
D – Joe Greenspan, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: Greenspan led a defensive line that recorded a league-best 17 shutouts as he finished fourth in the league in clearances with 151, made 44 interceptions, won 69.4 percent of duels and 75 percent of aerials while also chipping in four goals and two assists.
 
D – Forrest Lasso, Nashville SC: Lasso provided a major boost to Nashville’s defense after his midseason arrival as he recorded 60 clearances and 61 recoveries while NSC posted a 0.43 goals-against average with him on the field over the second half of the season.
 
D – Oscar Jimenez, Louisville City FC: Jimenez finished tied for second in the league with 90 chances created, posted seven assists and made 191 recoveries while completing 1,498 passes at an accuracy rate of 81.6 percent.
 
M – Jared Stroud, New York Red Bulls II: Stroud recorded 15 goals and nine assists to lead the Red Bulls II back to the postseason for a fifth consecutive year, and finished tied for second in the league with 90 chances created and tied for third with 18 Big Chances Created.
 
M – Magnus Rasmussen, Louisville City FC: Rasmussen led Louisville with 13 goals, including three tallies from outside the penalty area, while also completing 1,003 passes at an accuracy rate of 80 percent and recording three assists and 33 chances created.
 
M – Kenardo Forbes, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: Forbes recorded nine assists on 74 chances created, led outfield players with 291 recoveries and completed 1,513 passes at an accuracy rate of 82.8 percent to sit in the upper echelon of the league’s playmakers.
 
F – Daniel Rios, Nashville SC: Rios became the first player in Championship history to record back-to-back 20-goal seasons as he averaged a goal every 123.5 minutes to provide attacking punch as NSC finished second in the Eastern Conference.
 
F – Adam Jahn, Phoenix Rising FC: Jahn recorded 17 goals and five assists on 35 chances created as he helped Phoenix’s attack set a new Championship record for goals in a regular-season while also posting a 70.4 passing accuracy rate leading the Rising FC line.
 
F – Solomon Asante, Phoenix Rising FC: The Ghanaian standout set Championship records for assists in a regular season (17) and combined goals and assists in a regular season (39) as he helped drive Phoenix to a league-record streak of 20 consecutive wins and the regular-season title.

2019 USL Championship All-League Second Team
GK – Zac Lubin, Phoenix Rising FC: Lubin recorded 79 saves and a save percentage of 75.7 on the way to posting 13 shutouts and a goals-against-average of 0.86 during Rising FC’s run to the regular-season title.
 
D – Thomas Vancaeyezeele, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: Vancaeyezeele ranked seventh in the Championship with 62 interceptions, made 160 recoveries and won 52 tackles at a success rate of 71.2 percent in a stout Hounds defense.

D – Pape Diakite, Tampa Bay Rowdies: Diakite ranked fifth in the league with 149 clearances, won 65.5 percent of duels and made 162 recoveries as he helped the Rowdies record 11 shutouts to earn a return to the USL Championship Playoffs.
 
D – Paco Craig, Louisville City FC: Craig recorded 108 clearances, 192 recoveries and 47 interceptions, had a tackle success rate of 80.7 percent and a passing accuracy rate of 81.7 on 1,267 completed passes, and notched a pair of goals. 
 
D – A.J. Cochran, Phoenix Rising FC: Cochran won 66.2 percent of duels, won 71.9 percent of tackles and made 33 interceptions and 116 recoveries defensively, and also recorded four assists for Rising FC in the attacking end.
 
M – Santi Moar, New Mexico United: Moar recorded 11 goals and five assists for the first-year club, tied for third in the league with 93 completed dribbles at a success rate of 60.4 percent and recorded 51 chances created, 45 shots on goal and 14 Big Chances Created.
 
M – Chris Lema, New York Red Bulls II: Lema led the Championship with 94 chances created in the regular season, while also finishing third among outfield players with 263 recoveries, as he notched five goals and six assists in the middle of New York’s attacking lineup.
 
M – Rodrigo Da Costa, Tulsa Roughnecks FC: Da Costa ranked second in the Championship with 13 assists and also notched nine goals as the former Florida Soccer Soldiers player broke into the league impressively, also notching 78 chances created.
 
F – Sebastian Guenzatti, Tampa Bay Rowdies: Guenzatti set a modern-era Rowdies record with 18 goals to finish tied for third in the league and notched six assists on 31 chances created while captaining the side to a return to the postseason.
 
F – Corey Hertzog, Reno 1868 FC: Hertzog earned the fourth All-League selection of his career, posting a single-season best 18 goals to move into fourth place all-time on the league’s scoring chart while also notching six assists in Reno’s attack.
 
F – Neco Brett, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: Brett recorded 13 goals and five assists on a shot conversion rate of 22 percent while recording 36 shots on target and 33 chances created for the first-place Hounds.

After Louisville City advanced to another Eastern Conference Final by beating Pittsburgh Saturday, midfielder Magnus Rasmussen looked back on the incredible success of the club. 

“I think the culture we have in the locker room has played a huge part in how we have been able to be in five consecutive finals,” Rasmussen said. “Everyone in that locker room knows when they step in there for the first time, there are certain expectations of you being super-professional. We have to live up to the high standards we have in the locker room. So even when guys leave and new guys come in, people like me return and new faces have shown up, the standard stays high.”

Rasmussen is the leading scorer for the Boys in Purple, an area of concern following the loss of last year’s Golden Boot winner in Cameron Lancaster. He has 15 goals this season and is second-leading scorer left in the USL Championship Playoffs behind only Douglas Martinez of the Real Monarchs (17). 

However, it wasn’t always shooting and scoring for the Dane. After a successful 2015 season with the Boys in Purple in his first year as a professional in the United States, Rasmussen was forced out with an offseason hip surgery that left him sidelined for quite a while.

“That took most of my 2016 year and at that time I was a little unsure if that was going to stop my career there,” Rasmussen said. “I thought about going home. I had some personal issues.”

With the 2016 USL season spent recovering from his surgery, Rasmussen decided to step away from the game. A year away from soccer was a year too long and he ended up changing that decision after the 2017 campaign.

“I was still following the team a little bit and I couldn’t really put football behind me so I decided to come back during ’18,” Rasmussen said. “Because I took that year off, I think my body wasn’t quite ready for it so I ran into some small injuries. This year has been really positive for me.”

Now, a mentally prepared Rasmussen has tallied a club-leading 15 goals in 34 appearances for Louisville City in 2019 and reasserted himself as a skilled professional worthy of leading a USL club back to the playoffs.

“I definitely had a motivation to make my mark again because having almost three years with a very low number of games because of injuries, I felt like if I could stay healthy, I wanted to leave my mark,” Rasmussen said.

CHALLENGES START IN TRAINING

Rasmussen has certainly made his mark this season. He and Louisville City are just two wins away from a third-straight USL Championship Title. 

“It really starts every Monday with all of our guys challenging each other on the training pitch,” Rasmussen said. “It’s not just the first 11, but the next 11 as well. We are all encouraged to challenge each other because we know that challenge will make us a better team when we play another club.”

Rasmussen and Louisville City will square off against rival Indy Eleven Saturday in Indianapolis at Carroll Stadium. The Eastern Conference Final will kick off at 3 p.m. 

CONTINUING TO BUILD

Rasmussen isn’t ready to hang it up any time soon, but he has also been working on his future career after soccer.  While soccer has led Rasmussen to a world of traveling – something he set as a goal when deciding to come to the US – another hobby of his has nothing to do with athletics and maybe in his future following retirement from the game.

“When I went back to school in ’17, I went into architecture,” Rasmussen said. “After soccer, if I’m not going into coaching I think I’ll go into that type of subject – architecture and building structures.”

Whether it be building construction or being a part of a championship-winning soccer club, Rasmussen leaves one thing for certain – being the best he can be every day.

After completely selling out a 57-passenger bus to Pittsburgh last weekend, Louisville City supporters will be heading to Indianapolis in a caravan of buses and cars for Saturday’s Eastern Conference Final. 

Working in conjunction with our partners at Toyota and the Supporter Groups, the club announced a pair of Supporter Buses will be heading north Saturday morning. 

100 spots are available through the following link: LouCity vs. Indy Eleven Supporters Bus

The match, pitting Louisville City with rival Indy Eleven, will be played at Carroll Stadium on the campus of IUPUI in downtown Indianapolis.

With the aid of Toyota, $47 includes a round-trip motorcoach to Indy AND a ticket to Saturday’s Eastern Conference Final on a LouCity Supporters Bus.

The bus will leave Slugger Field Saturday morning at 9:30 and should arrive in Indianapolis around noon so that our fans can tailgate prior to Saturday’s match. Then after the game, the buses will return to Louisville, arriving back in town at approximately 7-8. 

Louisville City supporters will be in Section 207 at Carroll Stadium. If you’d prefer to purchase a ticket and drive up to Indianapolis on your own, use this link: