Louisville City FC and Nashville SC square off in the final of three meetings in the 2018 regular season this weekend as head coach John Hackworth takes charge for the first time.
When & Where
The match will take place on Saturday, August 18 at Slugger Field in Louisville, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.
The match will be aired on WBKI-CW as well as streamed on ESPN+. Fans can listen to the match on 840 WHAS. Fans can also follow #LOUvNSH on Twitter & Instagram.
TV: WBKI
RADIO: 840 WHAS
STREAM: ESPN+
DOWNLOAD: LouCity app for iOS | LouCity app for Android
Where They Stand
Louisville City FC:
11-4-6, 39 points – 4th in EC
Nashville SC:
9-6-7, 34 points – 9th in EC
Last Time Out
Louisville City FC beat New York Red Bulls II, 4-6, in a ten-goal thriller at Pittser Field in Montclair, N.J. last Friday night.
Red Bulls II got off to an early 2-0 lead, but an overhead kick from Ilija Ilic in the 18th minute pulled one back for City. Just beore the halftime break, Cameron Lancaster shrugged off a NYRBII defender and put another past ‘keeper Evan Louro to level the scoring.
After the half, City scored three goals in fifteen minutes to go up 2-5 with just under a half hour to go. George Davis IV fired home an Ilija Ilic backheel to the far post before Ilic grabbed a brace off an Oscar Jimenez free kick. Ten minutes later, Lancaster added his second off a Jimenez corner.
In the 79th minute, Red Bulls II midfielder Jose Aguinaga made things interesting when he cut City’s lead to two, beating Ranjitsingh for the third time in total. However, when forward Cameron Lancaster completed his hat-trick in the 88th minute, he put the game to bed. Lancaster took a pass from Spencer and went 1v1 with a defender, eventually ghosting the pressure and beating Louro for a record sixth LouCity goal.
A penalty from defender Hassan Ndam in the 90th minute saw Red Bulls II find a fourth but it would not matter as City settled the score, 4-6.
WATCH: Hackworth previews #LOUvNSH
Rewind against Nashville SC
Louisville City FC and Nashville SC last met in the U.S. Open Cup, when City came away 2-1 victors at Lynn Stadium to progress to the quarterfinals of the competition.
Goals from Paco Craig and Paolo DelPiccolo helped lift the hosts above the “Music City” club in the only non-USL meeting between the two sides.
KY Lottery Kees to the Game
The fourth installment of the “Sour Mash Soccer Bash” takes place on Saturday as City looks to contain Nashville once again.
Here are the KY Lottery Kees to the Game for #LOUvNSH:
- Cut off service to Moloto
- Play our brand of soccer
- Limit the counter attacking options
Coach John Hackworth’s pre-match press conference:
On the Triumvirate rolling back into player roles:
“Yeah, look: I try to tell them that I’m here now, so you focus on being a player. I’m going to still lean on you for help, I still need leadership. I expect leadership within any team. The good news about that what they were responsible over the last six weeks is that they have that, it’s built in. Then I look around and you can see other guys who are a part of that leadership as well. Again, it’s a positive I think. I think they’re happy being players again.”
On any nerves for the weekend:
“Well, sure. On gameday, I will be restless. I will be agitated from the minute I wake up until kickoff because that’s just how it is. But at the same time, I’m confident. I now know this group personally. I’ve worked with them for a few days and I can see everything that I used to see on tape but now in person. My impression is that they’ll be ready to go and especially at home, and hopefully in front of a packed house. That’s key that we get the support we need from the fan base and even those who haven’t been to a game yet. We want fans to come out.”
On facing Nashville this weekend:
“I think they are a very talented team. They are well coached, very well organized, and they make it extremely hard defensively to break them down. We’ll have to be patient in how we build up and how we unbalance them because they are okay with that. They are going to look to try and catch us on the counter or look for restart opportunities and we need to be really focused to try and prevent those situations from happening.”
On injury updates:
“Yeah, we’re struggling to get a couple of guys back from last weekend and so that’s hard. Magnus [Rasmussen] is one that, the knee injury is going to keep him out for several weeks. That’s an unfortunate loss for us, but at the same time, that means there’s an opportunity for somebody else in that locker room to step up.”
Team News
QUESTIONABLE – Ilija Ilic (Groin)
OUT – Magnus Rasmussen (Knee Sprain)
OUT – Richard Ballard (Stress Fracture)
