Louisville City FC signed defender Brandon Dayes and goalkeeper Crew Hartlage to USL Academy contracts ahead of Friday’s game against Loudoun United FC at Lynn Family Stadium.
The agreements allow Dayes and Hartlage to train with and play for LouCity while maintaining amateur status. Additionally, thanks to a new USL Championship rule this season applying to players under age 17, Dayes will be able to dress for home games without taking a spot on City’s 18-player roster.
Dayes, a sophomore at St. Xavier High School, made his first team debut July 30 when LouCity hosted German powerhouse Eintracht Frankfurt. The son of the University of Louisville’s Women’s Soccer coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes is also a standout basketball player at St. X.
Hartlage, whose contract is pending league and federation approval, is a Louisville Collegiate School senior committed to play next year for Division I University of Massachusetts Amherst. The goalkeeper was also a member of the 2007 Purple LouCity Academy team that advanced to ECNL Boys Finals over the summer.
LouCity kicks off against Loudoun at 7:30 p.m. Friday. With a win or draw, City would become the USL Championship’s first team to clinch a spot in the 2024 playoffs.