Louisville City FC has a chance to secure its longest unbeaten streak of the season as the stretch run to the USL Championship Playoffs begins.
LouCity on Saturday travels to play Birmingham Legion FC, with kickoff set for 5:30 p.m. ET at Protective Stadium in Alabama.
City (10-7-7, 37 points) hasn’t lost in its last four games since switching to a new-look, three-back formation. The boys in purple are positioned fifth on the Eastern Conference table and looking to improve their standing with 10 regular season games to go.
Birmingham (9-11-3, 30 points) also sits in a playoff position, seventh in the East, but enters in amid a poorer run of form. The Legion haven’t won in four games, last taking all three points July 22 in an initial meeting with LouCity at Lynn Family Stadium.
The 2023 regular season runs through mid-October to set up the 16-team playoffs including the top eight teams from the East and Western Conference. Top-four seeds from both sides earn hosting rights.
LouCity has had a comparably down season after recent finishes of first (2020), second (2021) and first (2022) in the East. The boys in purple maintain a streak of never missing the Eastern Conference Final, even when finishing as low as fourth in 2019.
City could be peaking at the right time, matching its prior four-game unbeaten streak that stretched from June into July. A victory Saturday could also move the boys in purple back into fourth and in play for a climb up the table.
Follow along
• The game will air live locally on MyTV 58 and ESPN Louisville’s 680/105.7.
• If streaming, download the free WDRB Now app to watch the local feed in Louisville. ESPN+ also streams the home feed of all USL Championship games not selected for national TV.
• For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc on Twitter. Also find the club at louisvillecityfc on Instagram and Louisville City FC on Facebook.
Player availability report
Owen Damm (out)
Jorge Gonzalez (questionable)
Kyle Morton (out)
Brian Ownby (out)
Jordan Scarlett (out)
Story lines…
Scoring threats: Suddenly, LouCity has plenty of them. Since its formation change four games ago, City boasts a +5 goal differential and has seen five different players hit the back of the net. The latest to add his name to the list was Dylan Mares, who scored the opener in last Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Rio Grande Valley FC. The newcomer in the attacking midfield has four goals on the year, good for second on the team.
Wynder-ful run: Academy graduate Elijah Wynder is starting to carve his niche for LouCity’s first team. Wynder — 2022’s USL Championship Comeback Player of the Year — has started each of the last four games and contributed to a goal in three of those, most recently hammering in City’s second against RGV. On the year, Wynder’s 913 minutes have nearly tripled last year’s 314 as he returned from a season-long injury in 2021.
The Cam of old: Cameron Lancaster has turned the clock back as of late, finally looking over a series of injuries that slowed LouCity’s all-time leading scorer the past two seasons. Lancaster scored in three straight games until the RGV draw, plus registered his first assist since 2020 in city’s Aug. 4 win at FC Tulsa. Lancaster sits on 79 goals, holding sole possession of second on the USL Championship’s scoring list behind Dane Kelly’s 106.
Set piece shortcomings: When LouCity last lost, by a 2-1 score to Birmingham back in July, the boys in purple rued a pair of opposing goals scored off corner kicks. Those issues returned last out against RGV, which converted a pair of corners to twice rally from losing positions at Lynn Family Stadium. Aside from those two games, City has conceded only a pair of corners all season.
Shutout trend: LouCity leads the USL Championship with its 11 clean sheets this year, something that stems from strong starts. The boys in purple have stopped their opponents from scoring first half goals in 17 of 24 games this season, also a league-high. City will look to improve on a record of 4-2-1 when leading at the break.
Adams’ addition: In a potential turning point to the season, LouCity acquired defender Kyle Adams from San Diego Loyal SC via a mid-July transfer that allowed coach Danny Cruz to switch from a regular 4-3-3 formation to a 3-4-3. The combination of Adams, Wes Charpie and Sean Totsch — from left to right — have slotted in at center back in each game since during City’s unbeaten run.
Gonzalez a go: Cruz opted for only two lineup changes over the last four games, offering consistency his squad has lacked this season due to injuries and congested scheduling. Reinforcements could be on their way, too, with Jorge Gonzalez upgraded to questionable having not appeared since early June due to injury. The third-year City man has scored seven goals in purple, bringing an attacking threat to the wing or the attacking midfield.
