A pair of early weekend substitutions stuck for coach Danny Cruz, who’s keeping both midfielder Carlos Moguel Jr. and forward Ray Serrano in the lineup for Louisville City FC’s Wednesday night clash with Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.
Moguel Jr. (for Tyler Gibson) and Serrano (for Rasmus Thellufsen) entered last Saturday against Loudoun United FC as first half subs. Cruz said LouCity was “overrun” by its opposition, and he sought to change the game with his bench. City went on to defeat Loudoun United, which didn’t register a shot on target in the second half.
There’s only one change to note beyond the LouCity Academy graduate Moguel Jr. and Serrano as defender Manny Perez gets the start at right back after playing the second half versus Loudoun. From left to right, Amadou Dia, Wes Charpie, Sean Totsch and Perez make up the defensive line.
Moguel Jr. fills into the holding midfield with Niall McCabe and Elijah Wynder expected to have attacking roles. Enoch Mushagalusa, Cameron Lancaster and Serrano make up the front three with Lancaster starting again having netted Saturday’s game-winning goal.
Goalkeeper Oliver Semmle remains between the posts. On nine clean sheets, he’s one away from matching the USL Championship rookie record for shutouts set in 2014 by John McCarthy, then of the Rochester Rhinos and now with Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer.
Impact forward Brian Ownby will have the opportunity to come off the bench for his second appearance in the last month as he regains fitness following a muscle strain. Striker Maarten Pouwels is also available as a sub with Wilson Harris missing out after picking up a knock in training this week.
LouCity and Pittsburgh — rematching from a scoreless draw back on July 1 — kick off at 8 p.m. inside Lynn Family Stadium. Wednesday’s game will air locally on WBKI/The CW and ESPN Louisville’s 680/105.7 with live streaming coverage via ESPN+.
Team Sheet vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
28 — Oliver Semmle
13 — Amadou Dia
6 — Wes Charpie
4 — Sean Totsch (C)
15 — Manny Perez
8 — Carlos Moguel Jr.
11 — Niall McCabe
23 — Elijah Wynder
77 — Enoch Mushagalusa
7 — Ray Serrano
17 — Cameron Lancaster
Substitutes: 18 — Danny Faundez, 19 — Oscar Jimenez, 12 — Tyler Gibson, 22 — Dylan Mares, 5 — Rasmus Thellufsen, 10 — Brian Ownby, 90 — Maarten Pouwels
