Louisville City FC coach Danny Cruz ordered up six changes from last weekend’s starting 11 as the boys in purple host FC Kaiserslautern at 8 p.m. Wednesday inside Lynn Family Stadium.
The German club is in town for LouCity’s first-ever international friendly. City, of course, is nearing the halfway point of its 2023 USL Championship season. FCK visits to formally begin preseason preparations for its 2023-2024 campaign starting in late July.
With this the second of three LouCity games in eight days, Cruz assembled a team sheet that accounts for needed rotation, various returns from injury and the opportunity for some first team minutes for youth academy standouts.
Goalkeeper Danny Faundez — who appeared throughout City’s 2022 playoffs run — will get his first nod of this year in goal with defender Ramzi Qawasmy among the back four. Carlos Moguel Jr. returns from injury to take up the holding midfield, while Maarten Pouwels gets his second start in purple at the top of the 4-3-3 formation.
A handful of LouCity pros are listed as substitutes, with minutes anticipated for both Niall McCabe (out since March 25 with a foot injury) and Manny Perez (out since May 27 with a groin injury).
Additionally, City rostered nine members of its youth academy on an expanded team sheet. Cruz intends for some of them to see the pitch Wednesday with substitutions unlimited — though both sides will work to make their changes in a limited number of windows, allowing the game to continue smoothly.
Wednesday’s game will air on WBKI/The CW and ESPN 680/105.7 with streaming coverage on ESPN+.
LouCity enters off a draw last weekend at Phoenix Rising FC and returns to USL Championship play Saturday to host Las Vegas Lights FC at Lynn Family Stadium.
Team Sheet vs. FC Kaiserslautern
18 — Danny Faundez
19 — Oscar Jimenez
4 — Sean Totsch
51 — Ramzi Qawasmy
67 — Owen Damm
8 — Carlos Moguel Jr.
22 — Dylan Mares
36 — Paolo DelPiccolo
77 — Enoch Mushagalusa
7 — Ray Serrano
90 — Maarten Pouwels
Pro substitutes: 5 — Rasmus Thellufsen, 6 — Wes Charpie, 11 — Niall McCabe, 15 — Manny Perez, 28 — Oliver Semmle
Academy players: 71 — Colin Elder, 72 — Travis Smith, 73 — Jabari Rasheed, 74 — Gio Chavez, 75 — Jack Travis, 76 — Nick Harshaw, 78 — Dakota Hart, 79 — James Maxwell, 91 — Alex Kron
