Two home matches, two new franchises for two-time defending champion Louisville City FC. The Boys in Purple opened their home schedule last weekend with a 2-1 win over USL Championship newcomer Hartford Athletic. This Saturday Louisville City welcomes newcomer Birmingham Legion FC to Slugger Field.
Although the club is new, the names are very familiar to LouCity coach John Hackworth.
“I know Tommy well and so I know they will be well coached,” Hackworth said of Birmingham Legion coach Tom Soehn. “I have known him for years, and then Jay Heaps, their President and GM, was on our teams with the U.S. National Team. I also coached against him in the MLS. He’s another one I have known for years. … They have good people in the organization, and I know they’ll be a challenge for us.”
Soehn was an assistant coach with DC United when they won the MLS Cup and he was the head coach when DC United won the U.S. Open Cup. Heaps was the head coach of the New England Revolution for six seasons, crossing paths with Hackworth there.
“They are going to be a challenge for us because they have talented players,” Hackworth said. “They are obviously new at it, still starting out, but they have talent and good coaching so they will be a good team.”
Louisville City is currently tied for third in the Eastern Conference with six points in its first three matches. Birmingham Legion lost its first two matches of the season, 0-2 to Bethlehem Steel in Week 1 and 0-1 to Ottawa Fury in Week 2 before having an off week last week.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Slugger Field. The game will be televised on WBKI-CW locally and ESPN+ nationally and broadcast on radio via the iHeartRadio app.
