Louisville City FC hits the road for the second straight time in USL play for their first league match in June this weekend. City enters fresh off a bye week last week but still recovering legs from the club’s 3-2 win over the New England Revolution (MLS) on Tuesday.
When & Where
City travels to Goodman Stadium for the first time since 2017 when they face Steel FC at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday night. In the team’s last visit in August, they knocked off the hosts, 1-3, with goals from Luke Spencer (2) and Cameron Lancaster (1).
WDRB carries the match on the tube while 840 WHAS will broadcast the match live over the airwaves. Fans can also follow #BSTvLOU on Twitter & Instagram.
TV: WDRB
RADIO: 840 WHAS
STREAM: ESPN+
DOWNLOAD: LouCity app for iOS | LouCity app for Android
Last Time Out
In front of over 5,000 fans at Lynn Stadium, Louisville City FC dominated the New England Revolution in the club’s first-ever competitive meeting with Major League Soccer opposition.
Two goals from the Revs inside 30 minutes and one for City via Oscar Jimenez saw City methodically work their way back into the match. Minutes before the half, the hosts would again equalize via forward Cameron Lancaster.
At the break, the sides were tied up with two goals on the board.
In the 63rd minute, Brian Ownby produced a world-class effort to put City ahead for good. Turning inside off a pass from Davis IV, Ownby darted around potential challenges before ripping an effort that found its way inside the top left corner of the goal. City wasn’t done, either, as substitutes Luke Spencer and Niall McCabe both had chances fall at their feet, though neither one managed to hit the net.
U.S. OPEN CUP: LouCity hosts Nashville SC in USOC Round of 16
Rewind against BETHLEHEM STEEL FC
Louisville City FC downed Bethlehem Steel FC, 3-1, in front of 7,876 at Slugger Field thanks to goals from Cameron Lancaster (2) and Ilija Ilic all inside the opening half hour of play.
Dominating the opening minutes of play, LouCity pounced on early chances as forward Cameron Lancaster netted his 3rd goal of the season just 13 minutes in. As the visitors failed to clear a chance in their penalty area, Lancaster made sure to get a solid foot on what seemed a half chance and saw the ball fly past Steel FC ‘keeper Jake McGuire to open the scoring.
Three minutes later, the “Boys in Purple” capitalized on another chance just outside the Steel FC 18-yard box. As solid buildup play came to fruition, midfielder Kyle Smith ended up dinking a perfectly-weighted pass over the defense to find forward Ilija Ilic. Swinging at it on the first time of asking, Ilic got enough on the effort to beat McGuire and double the advantage.
Before Bethlehem could catch their breath, LouCity added a third again through the feet of Lancaster. Ilic turned scorer to provider as he slipped in the forward, and a snapshot from the Englishman ricocheted off the far post and nestled in the back of the net.
The second 45 minutes yielded significantly fewer chances for both sides, but the injection of midfielder Brian Ownby and forward Luke Spencer after the break gave the “Boys in Purple” the legs they needed to close out the match. Conceding just one goal, the team’s defensive efforts were just as impressive as their attacking output in the end.
The result saw the reigning champions stay atop the table (5W-0L-1D) with 16 points and the unbeaten streak extended to six at that point in time.
KY Lottery Kees to the Game
Our Kees to the Game presented by Kentucky Lottery:
1. Take advantage of momentum built
2. Be aware of the home threat
3. Play your game
James O’Connor’s pre-match press conference:
On being able to focus on the next game and not get stuck on that high of winning:
“I mean, again, we’ve started to show clips of Bethlehem, so I think the process doesn’t really change for us, it’s just making sure that there’s understanding of what we’re trying to do. I think the expectation from all of us is to make sure that we’re set because we know Bethlehem is going to be a very good team and a very tough opponent. So, for us, it’s making sure you’re ready for what’s coming.”
On playing a team for the second time and how the preparation changes:
“I think it can be, depending on what personnel they play. I think the challenge for Brendan is that there’s so many players. Is he getting the MLS players, is he getting the academy players, is he getting a mixture? I think that’s the challenge always when you play an MLS II team, but especially Bethlehem because they’ve got quite a big array of players to be able to get through. So, I feel for Brendan in that case because it’s difficult for him. But for us then, trying to figure out who may play, who may not play, what are their strengths what are their weaknesses, yeah it becomes a challenge.”
On whether the lineups change based on the competition:
“Again, dependent on, you know, the internationals. I think with the Open Cup we’re only allowed to play five, Greg gets classed as an international so that makes it eight, so three miss out. So, squad of 20, we’re down to 17, of which three are keepers, so for us again its managing the games, managing the restrictions as regards to the Open Cup, and then how are people feeling? Are they feeling tired, or where are they? So, again, there’s a lot that goes into it.”
On how the team is playing right now:
“I think we can be very pleased. I think we’re playing very well, I think it’s maintaining that level of performance and trying to increase it. To be honest with you, I still think there are some areas we can be sharper at, we can be crisper and have a better understanding. So I think for us when you look at it, I mean we obviously have to be really pleased with the win and the level of the performance of not just Tuesday night but the game previous as well.”
Team News
OUT – Richard Ballard (stress fracture)
OUT – Luke Spencer (hamstring)
