What to Watch for with LouCity vs. Detroit City FC
October 4, 2022 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Louisville City FC News Release
Louisville City FC goalkeeper Kyle Morton
(Louisville City FC, Credit: Rio Grande Valley FC)
A competitive series between Louisville City FC and Detroit City FC will continue at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday as both clubs look to position themselves ahead of the USL Championship Playoffs.
Back on May 10, LouCity defeated Detroit in penalty kicks to advance in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Then on Aug. 20, it was a City penalty in regulation that made the difference in another victory for the boys in purple.
Both of those prior meetings came at Keyworth Stadium in Michigan. This time, LouCity will claim home-field advantage, and the club rarely loses at Lynn Family Stadium.
City (20-6-6, 66 points) moved five points clear of second-place Memphis 901 FC in the Eastern Conference standings with a victory over the weekend at Rio Grande Valley FC. Following Wednesday’s game, only an Oct. 15 regular season finale remains before the playoffs.
The “magic number” is four points to the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed and a bye to the conference semifinal round. Should Memphis surpass LouCity over the season’s final two weeks, the boys in purple would open the playoffs in the conference quarterfinals.
New to the USL Championship this year, Detroit City (14-6-12, 54 points) has also locked itself into the playoffs. An improvement on Detroit’s current fifth-place standing would also result in a home beginning to the postseason.
While Detroit has scored at a below-average rate compared to its peers on the table, Wednesday’s visitors are stingy, with their 27 goals allowed second to only LouCity in the Eastern Conference. Goalkeeper Nate Steinwasher is to thank, as he ranks third in the league with 85 saves and has managed 12 clean sheets, also tied for third.
Here’s more of what to watch for Wednesday…
Follow along
The game will air locally on My58 TV and ESPN Louisville’s 680/105.7, with streaming via ESPN+ and the WDRB Now app.
For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc on Twitter and Louisville City FC on Facebook. Also find the club at louisvillecityfc on Instagram.
Injury report
Jorge Gonzalez (Out)
Niall McCabe (Out)
Story lines…
Scoreboard watching: Memphis hosts RGV FC on Wednesday. Should 901 FC lose and LouCity win, that would be enough to cement the top playoff seed for the boys in purple. The postseason will start at Lynn Family Stadium on either Oct. 22 (conference quarterfinal) or Oct. 29 (conference semifinal).
Friendly confines: The east’s top finisher will be guaranteed home-field advantage through the conference final round the weekend of Nov. 4-6. But Western Conference leader San Antonio FC has already earned itself enough points to host through the league final, should it reach that round. The west’s second-place club, San Diego, sits more than two games back of LouCity.
Milestones met: With its victory last Saturday at RGV FC, LouCity reached 20 wins in a season for the first time. On 66 points, squad has matched 2018’s record total with two games to go. That 2018 team remains City’s most-recent to win the league title, making it back-to-back championships after the first in 2017.
Wilson wows: No. 14 scored his career-high 14th goal Saturday to help LouCity defeat RGV. After City recovered possession in the final third, midfielder Paolo DelPiccolo quickly played an aerial pass into the box. Harris glanced a header off the bottom of the cross bar and in. Just three other players – Matt Fondy, Chandler Hoffman and Cameron Lancaster – have scored 14 or more goals in a single season in purple.
Baker’s dozen: Kyle Morton faced only two shots on target Saturday, but his 95th-minute kick save required the goalkeeper’s best. The clean sheet marked Morton’s 13th of the year, a new club record eclipsing Greg Ranjitsingh’s 12 from the 2018 season. Notably, both Morton and Harris arrived as key offseason signings leading into 2022.
Defensive duties: Morton has long since trended toward setting the shutout record. But as of late, LouCity struggled to keep clean sheets with Saturday’s result the second in eight games dating back to August’s Detroit win. Against RGV, City limited the opposition to 10 touches in the box and didn’t allow a single “big chance” to score per Stats Perform.
Back in the fold: LouCity played over the weekend without a pair of key midfielders as Tyler Gibson served a red card suspension and Corben Bone sat for a game for a ban handed out in the wake of a Sept. 26 loss to Memphis. Both will be available Wednesday, while midfielder Napo Matsoso also returns from an excused absence.
Injury update: One of LouCity’s key creators, winger Brian Ownby, remains day to day having missed the club’s last two games. Coach Danny Cruz offered a less positive update on Jorge Gonzalez following the RGV victory, saying the forward is “likely out the remainder of the year.” The good news: Lancaster logged his first minutes Saturday night since June.
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