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Streaming LINK: ESPN+ Louisville City at Atlanta United 2

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Photos: @loucityfc

KENNESAW, GA. – Louisville City FC traveled to Atlanta Thursday for tonight’s showdown with Atlanta United 2 in Kennesaw State’s Fifth Third Stadium. Louisville City FC coach John Hackworth knows his squad needs to be better than they showed last week. 

“The fact is we have to get better in both boxes,” Hackworth said. “We were really good in between and we even dominated for stretches of that game, but we have to be better in both boxes.”

LouCity had more time of possession than North Carolina FC, had a better passing percentage, had more corners and more shots, but lost on the scoreboard 4-1. 

“We are very specific about the things we need to improve,” Hackworth said. “We want to play a specific style of soccer and we are confident in our team’s ability to execute and play the way we want to play.”

Louisville City returns a veteran lineup in 2019 filled with a number of players who were part of the 2017 and 2018 USL Cup title teams. The club is facing an Atlanta team that is typically more youthful, but certainly talented.

Atlanta United 2 beat expansion team Hartford Athletic 2-0 in its opener last week. The two clubs have faced each other three previous times, with Louisville City holding a 2-0-1 edge. LouCity beat Atlanta United 2 4-1 on Sept. 29 in their last meeting.

Louisville City arrived in Atlanta Thursday and worked out on the Atlanta United Training Grounds Thursday night. Game time Friday night is 7:30 with the game streaming on ESPN+ and shown locally on WBKI-CW Louisville.

Louisville City players Shaun Francis (left), Sunny Jane (Lesotho) and Speedy Williams (right) will play for their nation’s national teams next week.

March 14, 2019 — Louisville City players Shaun Francis and Devon “Speedy” Williams will once again join the Jamaican National Team in international competition next week. 

“When you get called up to represent your country it is a great honor,” Williams said. “I love representing my country, it is very honoring.”

Francis said, “It’s always a pleasure and it is always an honor. It is always a great feeling to be around your Jamaican counterparts. When you go home, it is a chance to reflect on your career and enjoy being around other great Jamaican players.”

The pair of LouCity players will help The Reggae Boyz in a friendly vs. El Salvador next week. 

“This is a new tournament called the Cup of Nations, but this is for the CONCACAF side of it,” Francis said. “There is two parts to it. If we win that game we qualify for the Gold Cup which is in the summer, and also we could qualify for the higher division for the Cup of Nations which are the top 16 teams, most of which qualified for the last World Cup.”

Williams and Francis have been a part of The Reggae Boyz before, being called up to the Jamaican National Team several times. 

“I remember the first time, I was still in high school the first time I got to play for Jamaica,” Williams said. “I had always dreamed of wearing my country’s jersey and standing on the field as the anthem played. To get to experience that is special.”

“It is so special every time I put my country’s colors on, I want to act like it is the first time,” Francis said. “And every time I get to wear my country’s colors I want to make sure we win. We want to keep our fans and family happy so we want to win.”

Williams and Francis join Sunny Jane (Lesotho) among Louisville City players who have been called up to their national teams for international competition next week. All three players will rejoin Louisville City’s available roster when their international competition is complete.

Louisville City’s first home game is Saturday, March 23 at Slugger Field. City will take on Hartford Athletic at 7 p.m. that night. 

CARY, NC — Louisville City FC fell 4-1 in disappointing fashion on the road Saturday at North Carolina FC.

“First and foremost, I’d like to congratulate to North Carolina and Dave Sarachan,” Louisville City FC coach John Hackworth said. “Their gameplan was obviously very effective and they did what they had to in the boxes and unfortunately we didn’t do that so it was a tough night for us.”

Despite controlling possession for most of the game, LouCity got behind 4-0 on the strength of NC FC’s effective counter attacks. 

Louisville City captain Paolo DelPiccolo: “I think it was an extremely disappointing night from front to back. I thought we had chances to score early in the game and we didn’t take them. How we gave up four counter attacks and let them score four goals is disappointing. It was embarrassing for us to lose a game in this fashion. I think everyone has to step it up, all of us, because this was completely unacceptable.”

North Carolina FC, under new coach Dave Sarachan, had a joyful home opener, with four goals scored against the defending USL Cup champions. Louisville City outshot NC FC 6-1 in the first half, but North Carolina’s one shot, a low burner by Marios Lomis, found the back of the net. 

In the second half Louisville City had more trouble finding the net. The Boys in Purple had 21 shots on the day, but only forced North Carolina goalkeeper Alex Tambakis to have one save. 

“When you had the ball as much as we did and when you had opportunities as much as we did in that first 30 minutes you would think we would have put them under a little bit more pressure with our attack,” Hackworth said. “Unfortunately we didn’t really make them ask too many questions of themselves the rest of the day.”

City finally found the back of the net in stoppage time when Sunny Jane got a nifty goal to prevent North Carolina from earning a shutout. 

Louisville City has one more game on the road, next Friday night at Atlanta United 2, before returning home for the home opener on March 23 vs. Hartford Athletic. 

Louisville City’s GameDay Preview is sponsored by Kroger

CARY, NC – March 9, 2018 — Louisville City FC opens its 2019 season Saturday in North Carolina, taking on North Carolina FC at the WakeMed Park in Cary. For Louisville City coach John Hackworth, it’ll be a familiar foe. 

Hackworth and NC FC coach Dave Sarachan have known each other for years and have each worked for each other during various points of their careers. 

“We are facing a Coach and a group of players that have quality, and it is always tough to open your season on the road,” Hackworth said. ” … I’ll be honest, we started our prep a long way out.”

Sarachan, who is in his first season with North Carolina FC after serving as the interim coach for the United States Men’s National Team, is hoping to get North Carolina FC to the playoffs.

“We’ve had a great three weeks of preseason,” Sarachan said. “We have a group that is extremely eager to prove themselves when we open up on the 9th. We are extremely young, but we think we have a quality club… and we have a talented group this year.”

Louisville City is the back-to-back defending champions and North Carolina didn’t make the playoffs last season, but the two teams are very different this season than they were last year. 

Gone are goal scorers Cameron Lancaster, the Golden Boot award winner in 2018, and Ilja Ilic, a dangerous second option last season, so Louisville City is looking to Luke Spencer, Brian Ownby, Niall McCabe and others to provide more scoring punch this season. 

As for North Carolina, the club had one of the worst defenses in the league last season, but Sarachan hopes to change that. 

“This team gave up a lot of goals in the past,” Sarachan said. “When you give up that many goals it is hard to win many games. We want to start having a lot more of what we call team sheets,  we need more shutouts.”

City returns 18 players from the 2018 USL Cup team, and North Carolina is a largely new squad. 

“We’ve pieced together a roster, somewhat creatively,” Sarachan said. “You start finding ways to get quality players within a budget. All of a sudden, we’ve pretty much got our roster … I know a lot of players who I could have gone after, but I’ve tempered that. I’ve realized, OK, here’s what I gotta work with.”

Louisville City and North Carolina FC kickoff Saturday at 4 p.m. The game will be televised in Louisville on WBKI-CW Louisville and broadcast on 1080 WKJK.

The official Louisville City GameWatch party is at Against the Grain Brewery on Main Street at Slugger Field. 

Louisville City arrived in North Carolina Thursday in preparation for the season-opening match vs. North Carolina FC. Here are some photos of the team’s first workout in North Carolina.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 7, 2019 – New championship, new beer: After the incredible success of Falls City Brewing Co.’s Louisville City Golden Ale in stores and taps around the city and the incredible success of Louisville City on the pitch, Falls City and Louisville City Football Club have teamed up again in 2019.

“We’re thrilled once again to be partnering with our hometown squad,” Falls City Brewing Co. Marketing Manager Brian U’Sellis said. “The excitement coming off a second USL cup allowed us to not only redesign the can to add a second star, but also gave us the opportunity to tweak the recipe just a bit.  We love being able to collaborate with the team and help them grow in any way we can.”

Louisville City and Falls City will celebrate the new brew – and its newly launched cans with two-stars on the logo signifying Louisville City’s two USL Cup wins – at a kickoff party at Falls City Taproom on Wednesday, March 20. 

“Our partnership with Falls City has been great,” Louisville City FC President Brad Estes said. “And it’s great to see that second star on the can and we hope the new Golden Ale will be a part of many post-match celebrations this season.”

Fans are invited to join Louisville City coach John Hackworth and other Lou City personalities at the taproom March 20 for beer and bracketology as Louisville City will be gearing up for its first home game vs. Hartford Athletic on March 23 at Slugger Field. Fans can pick up new two-star Louisville City gear and new Falls City “Beer, Soccer, Louisville” t-shirts at the event. The event will also be fans’ first chance to see the new 2018 USL Cup Championship rings. 

Beginning next week fans can find the beer on tap and in 6-packs to go at Falls City Brewing Co.’s Taproom, at 901 E. Liberty Street in NuLu, and in stores and select bars and restaurants around the Louisville region.

Louisville City Golden Ale is brewed with rye malt and citrus hops and is a light, easy-drinking brew perfect for a summer cookout or a pre-match tailgate. The beer joins a lineup of Falls City Brewing Co. beverages that include their Classic Pilsner, English Style Pale Ale, Hipster Repellant IPA, and Streetlamp Porter.

The new Golden Ale will also be available all season during Louisville City home games at Slugger Field.

Louisville City Football Club has announced the signing of Geoffrey Dee, a trialist from the University of Louisville, to the club’s official 2019 roster. 

“We identified Geoff as a potential pro player when we scouted him playing for UofL last Fall,” Louisville City coach John Hackworth said. “Since being with us from the beginning of preseason, he has shown his qualities on and off the field. We look forward to seeing him continue his playing career here in the ‘Ville with us.”

Dee, an All-ACC performer under Ken Lolla at Louisville, is a native of Germantown, Tn. He will be a defender/midfielder for Louisville City and wear No. 16. 

“I’m very excited to continue to represent this city and be a part of such a respected and accomplished team,” Dee said.  “Everyone here loves to compete every day to be their best and I can’t wait to get the season going. I’ll do my best to help the team win another championship.”

An elite prep recruit out of Shattuck St. Mary’s Soccer Academy, Dee trained with Werder Bremen in Germany in 2013 before joining the University of Tulsa program. An All-American Conference honoree, Dee started all 41 games of his Tulsa career before moving to the University of Louisville in 2016 where he was an All-ACC Third Team selection. He scored a pair of goals and had four assists that first season at UofL. 

Louisville City FC is the first back-to-back USL Cup winner in modern USL history, winning the USL Cup in 2017 and 2018. Now starting its fifth season, Louisville City will begin its 2019 season Saturday at 4 p.m. vs. North Carolina FC.

Name: Geoffrey Dee

Year: Rookie

Position: Defender/Midfielder

DOB: November 10, 1995

College: University of Louisville

Three second-half goals pushed Louisville City past the University of Louisville 3-1 in the final preseason match before the season starts next Saturday. 

“I want a good game,” Louisville City coach John Hackworth said. “I want the other team to fight like crazy to try to make it hard on us. I thought they did a wonderful job of that. They did it physically and they did it tactically. They took away a lot of our space and made it really hard for us, and that was challenging. We had to problem solve and make sure that sure that we broke them down and it took us a while to do that. I’m happy with the match. That’s exactly what we were looking for.”

The match, dubbed the 502 Derby,  was created to help promote local soccer. Louisville City played several games in Lynn Stadium last season during the U.S. Open Cup and won the 2018 USL Cup at Lynn. 

“I would like to thank the University of Louisville and the men’s soccer program specifically,” Hackworth said. “It is a fantastic opportunity to play a meaningful match in this city, and I hope we can continue to build this relationship.”

Louisville City had its first chance in the 2nd minute as Brian Ownby got free on the left side and sent a shot across the frame, but Louisville goalkeeper Jake Gelnovatch grabbed it before another City player could get to it. 

The Louisville Cardinals had a run in the 5th minute as Elijah Amo got behind the Louisville City defense, but Louisville City goalkeeper Tim Dobrovolski grabbed it outside the 6 yard box. A shot by Brian Ownby in the 13th minute was knocked away for a Louisville City corner, but Gelnovatch caught the corner kick try. 

In the 15th minute, Oscar Jimenez sent a shot on the left side of the frame, but Gelnovatch dove on it for the first save of the match by either team. Just two minutes later, a lofted pass was headed toward the goal by Ownby, but it was saved by Gelnovatch. 

In the 26th minute George Davis sneaked a clever pass into the box to Niall McCabe who put a shot on frame that was saved by Gelnovatch. 

In the 32nd minute, LouCity got a pair of shots, the first from Paolo DelPiccolo was blocked and the rebound follow by Abdou Thiam sailed above the goal. A minute later a shot by George Davis IV was knocked away for a corner kick. 

The Louisville Cardinals caught a break in the 35th minute as a foul was called in the box which resulted in a penalty kick from Pedro Fonseca. The Louisville striker stutter stepped and then sent a shot into the left side of the net past the out-stretched arms of LouCity goalkeeper Tim Dobrowolski. 

A shot by Ownby in the 47th minute sailed high of the goal and into the supporter’s section on the berm. A header from Paco Craig just missed the frame in the 49th minute as Louisville City tried to find the equalizer. 

Louisville City’s Niall McCabe notched the equalizer in the 52nd minute on a header from a long pass across the box by George Davis IV.  The Louisville Cardinals almost pushed back ahead when a shot by Pedro Fonseca hit the crossbar and caromed away. 

Another shot by McCabe, this one in the 57th minute from inside the box, was blocked by UofL keeper Will Meyer. A header by Devon Williams was caught by Meyer resulting in UofL’s seventh save. 

In the 64th minute, Ownby was taken down in the box resulting in a penalty kick. Speedy Williams’ penalty kick saved by Louisville goalkeeper Will Meyer in the middle of the goal. In the 68th minute a header by Abdou Thiam sailed wide of the frame. 

In the 77th minute, McCabe stopped a ball from going out the end line with a nifty pass to Speedy Williams who buried it into the back of the net for the go-ahead goal. 

Just a short time later, Louisville City’s third goal came on a corner kick from Oscar Jimenez to Alexis Souahy for a header. 

Louisville City will begin its regular-season Saturday in Cary, NC, vs. North Carolina FC. The team will conduct Media Day Wednesday at Louisville Slugger Field.