Louisville City FC’s 1-0 win Wednesday night over Chattanooga Red Wolves SC at Lynn Family Stadium took a little persistence and whole lot of patience. But the reward — advancing to the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup — was worth the effort.
That City’s lone goal came from hard work was fitting, with Corben Bone’s defensive block of an attempted clearance landing at the feet of striker Wilson Harris, who coolly collected the loose ball and slotted home the winner in the 75th minute.
“I felt we were aggressive for 90 minutes,” LouCity coach Danny Cruz said. “We started again a little on the back foot. That’s an area we will continue to speak to the players about. I thought we were aggressive. I thought we fought for one another. I thought we pressed as best as we could. A lot of players got their first minutes tonight. I’m really proud of that. We talk to the group all the time that we need every player in that locker room.”
LouCity has enjoyed success in its six years competing in the U.S. Open Cup, with two fourth-round appearances and a trip to the quarterfinals in 2018. The boys in purple have never lost their opening match in the tournament.
Friday’s draw will reveal City’s next opponent, which will be selected from a group of teams narrowed down by geography. Home sides for each round are determined by random selection among those who apply to host. Clubs whose venue meets minimum tournament standards are given the priority.
There is a chance of drawing an MLS club, and LouCity has a venue that can host such an event.
“I’ve made it clear: This is an important tournament,” Cruz said. “It’s a tournament that I want to get after. When you look at the momentum that is built after another shutout, the players feel that. There’s areas that we need to improve in the attack. That will come. At the end of the day, I know we have the quality in the locker room. The relationships will continue to be built. I am confident in that.”
Wednesday’s victory required a team effort. LouCity comfortably held possession for more than 54 percent of the match and took 15 shots, including 14 in the box.
Veteran wide forward Brian Ownby twice had hard-hit shots cleared off the goal line by Chattanooga defenders. One of his blocked shots, a rifled effort in the 65th minute, came back to midfielder Napo Matsoso, whose follow-up effort sailed over the crossbar.
Jan-Erik Leinhos, a preseason trialist who signed with the team in March, nearly gave City the lead in the 14th minute in his debut start, fizzing a one-time shot just wide of the near post after a crisp, low-ball delivery from Enoch Mushagalusa.
The best chance for Chattanooga, which plays USL League One, came in the 52nd minute, when midfielder Jimmie Villalobos hit a low shot through traffic that required a reaction save from City goalkeeper Kyle Morton.
“A lot of teams come in and they want to beat us and I get that,” said Harris, who scored his third goal of the season with his new club. “But we have to match their aggression and have that hunger always so we can keep up with that but also so we can outplay them.”
Game Summary: Louisville City FC vs. Chattanooga Red Wolves
Date: April 6, 2022
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
Weather: 54 degrees, sunny
Man of the Match: Wilson Harris
Attendance: 4,520
Scoring
Louisville City FC (0, 1, 1)
Chattanooga Red Wolves (0, 0, 0)
Goals
Louisville City FC:
75’ Wilson Harris (Corben Bone)
Lineups
Louisville City FC: 1 – Kyle Morton; 30 – Jan-Erik Leinhos (63’ 15 – Manny Perez), 32 – Ian Soler, 4 – Sean Totsch, 3 – Amadou Dia; 8 – Carlos Moguel, Jr. (76’ 11 – Niall McCabe), 7 – Napo Matsoso, 36 – Paolo DelPiccolo (c) (46’ 13 – Corben Bone); 77 – Enoch Mushagalusa (63’ 9 – Jorge Gonzalez), 14 – Wilson Harris, 21 – Ray Serrano (46’ 10 – Brian Ownby)
Subs not used: 24 – Parker Siegfried; 6 – Wes Charpie
Head Coach: Danny Cruz
Chattanooga Red Wolves: 12 – Carlos Avilez; 18 – Devin Benton, 23 – Sebastian Capozucchi, 2 – Jorge Luna, 22 – Aaron Lombardi; 6 – Jimmie Villalobos (79’ 17 – Josue Cartagena), 10 – Jose Carrera (c), 99 – Ernesto Espinoza (68’ 7 – Rafael Mentzingen); 14 – Pedro Hernandez (68’ 13 – Rey Ortiz), 41 – Brian Bement, 11 – Josue España (85’ 3 – Jonny Guadarrama)
Subs not used: 25 – Tor Saunders; 4 – Nicolas Cardona; 9 – David Texeira
Head Coach: Jimmy Obleda
Stats Summary: Louisville City FC / Chattanooga Red Wolves
Shots: 15 / 6
Shots on Goal: 4 / 3
Possession: 54.3% / 45.7%
Fouls: 22 / 12
Offside: 1 / 7
Corner Kicks: 11 / 3
Discipline Summary
Louisville City: 24’ Paolo DelPiccolo (yellow)
Chattanooga: 43’ Brian Bement (yellow)
Chattanooga: 59’ Pedro Hernandez (yellow)
Louisville City: 87’ Wilson Harris (yellow)
Referee: Nabil Bensalah
