Louisville City FC failed to score in a game this year for the first time Saturday. But a stout defensive effort in a 0-0 draw at Rhode Island FC — a USL Championship newcomer for 2024 — left LouCity’s unbeaten streak in tact.
City didn’t concede a single shot on target at Beirne Stadium in Smithfield, Rhode Island, where the boys in purple scratched out another result. They’ve gone a season-long five games now without a loss dating back to early April.
LouCity improved to 7-1-2 with its 23 points four off the Eastern Conference-leading Charleston Battery. City also holds a pair of games in hand on Charleston.
“We knew this game, here at this this place against this team was going to be a fight,” said coach Danny Cruz. “When you look at all their games they’ve played up to this point at home, I think three of five have been 0-0 games. The field makes it difficult to play the way we want to play. But zero shots on target — I thought the players definitely put in a shift and left it all on the field.
“We needed to be better in the final third for sure in our decision making and quality technically, but again, you could tell that was the case for both teams.”
LouCity played its way into Saturday’s game after a few frantic moments to open, including a 23rd-minute sequence when the boys in purple lost possession in their own half. Noah Fuson went on to hammer a shot off the post, and City cleared the chance — Rhode Island’s best look of the day.
RIFC became the second LouCity opponent of the season not to generate a shot on frame following City’s dominant, 6-0 win over Hartford Athletic back on April 27.
“We were definitely, after last week, focused on the defensive side of things,” midfielder Taylor Davila said going back to a 2-2 draw at Las Vegas Lights FC. “We all felt we were pretty solid today. They’re a tough team. Those forwards up top present tough challenges, and we dealt with them well. We felt we were tough to break down today and solid defensively.”
However, LouCity’s normally explosive attack didn’t click at the other end. Ray Serrano (seventh minute) and Adrien Perez (28th) both scuffed shots on goal in the first half. And while Wilson Harris hit the back of the net in the second half as Rhode Island failed to clear a corner kick, there was nothing to celebrate. Harris knew he stood a couple yards offside.
City entered the weekend as one of only three USL Championship clubs to have scored in each game this season. The club’s 28 goals tied 2020’s Phoenix Rising FC for most goals through nine games.
“I alluded to it earlier, but there’s a reason three of the five games have ended 0-0 here,” Cruz said. “The field is slow, for lack of a better word, for both teams by the way — not just us. The ball gets caught under players’ feet.
“…It was obviously not the game either team wanted from a score line standpoint. We’re excited to get back home and play at Lynn Family (Stadium).”
LouCity — which has performed dramatically better at home (5-0-0, +18 goal differential) than away (2-1-2, +1) — hosts Detroit City FC on a tight turnaround Wednesday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Game Summary: Rhode Island FC vs. Louisville City FC
Date: May 25, 2024
Venue: Beirne Stadium
Kickoff: 4 p.m. ET
Weather: 80 degrees, partly cloudy
Scoring
Rhode Island FC (0, 0, 0)
Louisville City FC (0, 0, 0)
Lineups
Rhode Island FC: 1 — Koke Vegas, 16 — Gabriel Alves (46’ 4 — Collin Smith), 15 — Frank Nodarse, 24 — Karifa Yao, 3 — Stephen Turnbull, 12 — Clay Holstad, 23 — Marc Ybarra, 8 — Jack Panayotou (74’ 28 — Conor McGlynn), 10 — Albert Dikwa, 11 — Noah Fuson, 9 — JJ Williams (74’ 14 — Mark Doyle)
Subs not used: 21 — Kofi Twumasi, 22 — Jackson Lee, 25 — Kevin Orduy, 80 — Isaac Angking
Head coach: Khano Smith
Louisville City FC: 18 – Damian Las, 25 – Jansen Wilson (62’ 3 – Jake Morris), 32 – Kyle Adams (62’ 6 – Wes Charpie), 5 – Arturo Ordóñez, 4 – Sean Totsch, 2 – Aiden McFadden, 17 – Taylor Davila (85’ 11 – Niall McCabe), 23 – Elijah Wynder, 7– Ray Serrano, 14 – Wilson Harris (73’ 20 – Sam Gleadle), 16– Adrien Perez (62’ 21 – Jorge Gonzalez)
Subs not used: 12 – Danny Faundez, 13 – Amadou Dia
Head coach: Danny Cruz
Stats Summary: Rhode Island FC / Louisville City FC
Shots: 10 / 16
Shots on Goal: 0 / 3
Possession: 52.2% / 47.8%
Fouls: 10 / 10
Offside: 1 / 4
Corner Kicks: 2 / 5
Discipline Summary
Rhode Island FC:
24’ Gabriel Alves (yellow)
50’ Bench (yellow)
55’ Albert Dikwa (yellow)
57’ Collin Smith (yellow)
61’ Karifa Yao (yellow)
Louisville City FC:
45’+1 Bench (yellow)
53’ Sean Totsch (yellow)
Referee: Jeremy Scheer
