One piece of silver lining to one of the more disappointing matches of 2023 is the fact that Louisville City had little time to dwell on it. After that loss, they hopped onto a plane to the DC area to take on Loudoun United. They won the last encounter with LDN but did not look great in doing so. LouCity was in need of a win in this encounter to remain in the battle for 4th. After dropping points to MIA, there was no margin for error.
Lineup
Match Highlights
74’ – Mares
90+1’ – Harris
By The Numbers
Full-Time Thoughts
It certainly was not stress free, but Louisville City got the job done. Both Dylan Mares and Coach Danny Cruz commented after the match about the impacts of the poor weather (remnants of Tropical Storm Ophelia). “It made things difficult there in the first half,” Coach Cruz commented. With the adverse conditions going directly against Louisville, Loudoun was the team to strike first. Another set-piece goal. The third one out of the last five the squad has conceded. “I’m obviously not happy to concede the way that we did,” Coach Cruz said. “Another set piece, which is something we’ll continue to work on.” After that, LOU woke up and began to generate chances. Wilson Harris was a mere inch or two from equalizing within the following ten minutes, followed by a Carlos Moguel freekick that shook the near post. But it was the second half (when the weather began to die down) when LouCity was their most dangerous. “I was really proud of the second half and the chances we created. Our set pieces, from an attacking standpoint, I thought were excellent, and then we got a couple fantastic finishes to come away with the win.” The two finishes that Coach Cruz spoke of were certainly a treat for the Louisville City fans who made the trip and braved the elements. Bangers from both Mares and Harris.
The only downside to the night was the fact that Memphis managed to beat Tampa. While there is no sympathy for TBR here, LOU needed MEM to drop points. Because of those results, the positioning is the same; LOU is tied with MEM on points, but MEM retains 4th, the last home playoff spot, on goal differential. Only three matches remain, so Louisville City must do everything they can to try to win back that important spot on the table!
Parting Thoughts
Want to do a little more reading on LouCity? I suggest the following:
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