
After Louisville City’s comeback win over Memphis 901, their chances for the Players Shield were beginning to shift more from “likely” to “inevitable”. However, locking up that first overall spot on the table isn’t over quite yet. The more they win (and the more the Charleston Battery drop points), the further they get towards that elusive piece of silverware. The schedule couldn’t have been kinder with the timing of getting to play Miami FC. With only three wins all season and a goal differential of -46, Miami is historically bad and it probably wouldn’t be inaccurate to call them the worst team in USL history. This matchup reeked of a bloodbath.

Despite the two squads being on complete opposite ends of the quality spectrum, a 3-0 loss for MIA at Lynn Family Stadium wasn’t bad at all. But when you dig into the details and see how it unfolded, it was clear it could have been a much more lopsided scoreline. The xG values of 3.16 to 0.11 felt like it accurately highlighted Miami’s lack of offense/LouCity’s defense but could be viewed as low in terms of how much damage Louisville almost did to Miami. The home side fired off 24 shots will 11 being on target. A total of 13 shots were taken inside the box and 5 big chances were created with three turning out to be misses. 46% of passes were in Miami’s final third and 44% were in the middle of the field. Louisville City firmly controlled the match, and it showed in about every measure.

Goals and assists came from all over, which has become the norm during this campaign. Sean Totsch got his 6th of the year at 11’, Phillip Goodrum scored his 7th at 73’, and Ray Serrano also got his 7th at 83’. Ray had a few close calls in the match but thankfully broke his goal drought that dated back to their trip to Birmingham in late June. Taylor Davila, Aiden McFadden, and Sam Gleadle all provided assists. The diversity in attacking threats across the pitch continues to impress. Louisville has many strengths, but that component may be one of their more important traits.


It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Manny Perez, who had only rejoined the team in late August, was forced to exit the match at 37’. He put in a tremendous effort to stop a breakaway scoring chance; However, it was at a great personal cost. While it thankfully has turned out to not be a break or a ligament tear, the severe ankle sprain he suffered will see him out of action for a month. While his regular season may have been cut short, there is a possibility he could see the pitch again in the playoffs.

Mission accomplished for Louisville City. Three points were earned and with it being their 14th win at home, a new USL record was earned. 3.46 GF/G and a +33 GD at LFS. For the squad, it was just another match in their march towards collecting all the trophies. “We’ve focused since preseason knowing that every game matters,” Serrano said post-match. “And every game, we’re going to get one step closer to achieving that goal — winning the (Players’) Shield and then hopefully the Eastern Conference championship and USL final.”




Parting Thoughts
Want more reading on LouCity? Check out the following:
Be sure to check out the Vamos Morados Podcast featuring myself, Benton, and Zach Allen-Kelly. It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Audible, and Spotify. Everything you need to listen can be found on the Podcast page. Subscribe so you don’t miss an episode!
The podcast is now also available in video format! Make sure to subscribe to The State of Louisville YouTube channel to catch the latest episodes along with a number of other quality shows!
Comments