Owing to a request from the USL Championship, Louisville City FC has reverted its kickoff time to 7:30 p.m. ET for Saturday’s regular-season finale against Sporting KC II.
The game at Lynn Family Stadium had been previously announced as an 8 p.m. start, putting it in line with Indy Eleven’s matchup at Saint Louis FC in a tight playoff race. Those two clubs are now expected to begin at 7:30 as well, negating any competitive advantage gained by a later opening whistle.
While this weekend’s results won’t impact LouCity’s seeding — the boys in purple have already locked up the No. 1 spot in the USL’s Group E — there is still much to play for. Beyond the first round of the 16-team playoffs, home field advantage will be determined by better record.
At 10-3-2, LouCity’s 32 points are second-most in the USL’s Eastern Conference, which will encompass one side of the bracket. The Group H-leading Tampa Bay Rowdies (33 points) and Group F’s Pittsburgh Riverhounds (31 points) are also in play for the East’s best finish.
Regardless of how the points play out, LouCity has experienced quite the resurgence after finding itself last of four in Group E exiting July on a 1-3 beginning to the USL’s restart.
“I think that we played in the hardest group in the whole USL Championship, and the fact that we won it, after being at the bottom of the table three weeks into it, is incredibly impressive,” said coach John Hackworth, with the Indy Eleven and Saint Louis FC the pod’s other members.
“I just can’t say enough about the group of men in there. Their resolve and their character to fight back and perform at well at a high level and do it consistently through this stretch, that’s really hard to do in our sport. Huge credit goes to the players in that locker room.”
The Sporting KC II game will air live WBKI/The CW and AM 790 WKRD with streaming options ESPN+ and the WDRB Now app.
Date, time and ticketing details for LouCity playoff games will be announced later.
USL Championship Playoffs
Oct. 8-11: Conference Quarterfinals
Oct. 15-18: Conference Semifinals
Oct. 22-25: Conference Finals
TBD: USL Championship Final
