Louisville City FC coach John Hackworth first went to his bench in the 56th minute of Wednesday night’s rivalry matchup with Indy Eleven. Just a few ticks of the clock later, his substitution proved to be a winning move in a 1-0 victory.
Hackworth, while taking off forward Luke Spencer for midfielder Brian Ownby, also shifted Antoine Hoppenot to his attack’s point. Hoppenot got in behind, settled a through ball and guided it to Paolo DelPiccolo for a 61st-minute game-winner.
“He gave us a herculean effort there,” Hackworth said of Hoppenot, whose time playing for the coach dates back to his stint with Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union. “He made some great runs that were huge to open them up. I should mention that Paolo getting into the box, on Antoine’s run and ball, was phenomenal. Really professional win and very important.”
This latest outcome in what’s known as the Louisville-Indianapolis Proximity Association Football Contest officially made a race out of the USL Championship’s Group E. Now, LouCity (5-3-1, 16 points) is just three points behind Indy Eleven (6-3-1, 19 points) with a game in hand.
At conclusion of a 16-game regular season, the top-two from the group advance to the to the USL playoffs.
“We are the defending Eastern Conference champions. We’re the ones that have two stars over our crest,” Hackworth said. “It’s exactly what these guys expect. Despite our early restart woes, we never lost confidence in each other. We feel like we are right back where we belong.”
DelPiccolo broke the stalemate in an otherwise scoreless matchup, crashing the box after midfielder Napo Matsoso played in to Hoppenot.
“I have a little bit more, in these last couple of games, freedom to go forward so I’m hoping to try to help the team out a little bit on the attacking side as well,” DelPiccolo said.
Having drawn Indy with a 1-1 scoreline when the Eleven last visited, LouCity just as importantly managed to keep star forward Tyler Pasher quiet. Pasher entered Wednesday with eight goals in nine games and received a trio of solid looks — in the 33rd, 56th and 80th minutes — all pushed wide of the right post.
In all, LouCity limited Indy Eleven to just one shot on target. The boys in purple had five tries of their own, including a 66th-minute sequence that nearly doubled the lead. Holding up play at the top of the box, DelPiccolo dished to a cutting midfielder Corben Bone, who had his one-on-one attempt turned away.
The late offensive outburst was thanks in part to 55 minutes and change from Spencer, the veteran forward making his first start of the season. A large, bullying striker, he received credit from Hoppenot for wearing down Indy Eleven’s back line, two-thirds of which ended the game with yellow cards.
“Luke put in 60 minutes before I went in up there and kind of gave that center back a lot of work and a lot of physical work,” Hoppenot said, “so once I came in there, he wasn’t quite prepared for what I was going to bring.”
Wednesday’s result continued a hot month of August for LouCity, which is unbeaten in four games with the last three of those wins. The boys in purple next hit the road for the first time since the USL restarted play, meeting third-place Saint Louis FC at. 8 p.m. Saturday. The game will air on WBKI/The CW and News Radio 840 WHAS.
Game Summary: Louisville City FC vs Indy Eleven
Date: Aug. 26, 2020
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium
Kickoff: 8 p.m.
Weather: 90 degrees, partly cloudy
Man of the Match: Paolo DelPiccolo
Attendance: 4,851
Scoring
Louisville City: (0,1,1)
Indy Eleven: (0,0,0)
Goals
Louisville City FC: 62’- Paolo DelPiccolo left footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Antoine Hoppenot.
Lineups
Louisville City FC: 39- Ben Lundt, 15- Pat McMahon, 4- Sean Totsch, 3- Alexis Souahy, 19- Oscar Jimenez, 80- Devon Williams, 36- Paolo DelPiccolo (78’ 6- Wes Charpie), 13- Corben Bone (88’ 42- Jonathan Gomez), 27- Napo Matsoso, 29- Antoine Hoppenot (88’ 17- Cameron Lancaster), 9- Luke Spencer (56’ 10- Brian Ownby)
Subs not used: 1- Chris Hubbard, 5- Jimmy Ockford, 77- Jason Johnson
Head Coach: John Hackworth
Indy Eleven: 1- Evan Newton, 20- Karl Ouimette, 5- Mitchell Osmond, 15- Neveal Hackshaw, 9- Carl Haworth (77’ 2- Conner Antley), 6- Drew Conner (77’ 19- Kenney Walker), 4- Tyler Gibson, 22- Cameron Lindley (87’ 18- Jeremy Rafanello), 30- Andrew Carleton (77’ 14- Ilija Ilic), 23- Tyler Pasher, 17- Nick Moon
Subs not used: 0- Jordan Farr, 8- Matt Watson, 16- Felicien Dumas
Head Coach: Rennie Martin
Discipline:
Indy Eleven: 37’- Tyler Gibson yellow card, 75’- Karl Ouimette yellow card, 90+4 Neveal Hackshaw yellow card
Stats Summary: Louisville City FC/Indy Eleven
Shots: 9/7
Shots on Goal: 5/1
Saves: 1/4
Corner Kicks: 3/0
Fouls: 7/10
Offside: 2/3
