What better solution for a losing streak than welcoming one of the USL Championship’s most prolific strikers back to the score sheet?
Making his first start of the year, Cameron Lancaster helped reverse Louisville City FC’s fortunes Saturday afternoon by registering goals on either side of the halftime whistle in a 4-1 victory over FC Tulsa.
As a crowd of 9,326 roared at Lynn Family Stadium, LouCity ended a rare three-game skid across all competitions — two USL Championship defeats, plus a midweek loss to Major League Soccer’s Nashville SC in the U.S. Open Cup.
“I think when you look at it holistically, when you this stretch we’ve been on with so many games in such a short amount of time, I was really happy to see the response from the group,” said coach Danny Cruz.
“…We showed tonight that we can put the ball on the back of the net, and we’ve done it a lot this year. We’ve just certainly missed some opportunities the last few weeks, but this is was a well-earned win.”
Lancaster — who suffered a hamstring injury late into LouCity’s preseason, delaying his 2022 debut — converted a penalty kick late into first half stoppage time to equalize. He then moved the boys in purple ahead for good on a 53rd-minute tap in from an Amadou Dia cross.
With the result, LouCity improved to 8-2-3, its 27 points good for top spot on the Eastern Conference table.
“It was an emotional time there,” Lancaster said of his first goal from the spot, deflected in to the goalkeeper’s left. “It wasn’t the greatest penalty. I was a bit pissed off with myself that it didn’t just fly into the net. But I was able to get off the mark, and the second one followed, so I was pleased.”
LouCity got heroics from Lancaster, and it needed them after FC Tulsa netted the opener, using a flicked free kick over the top to stun Lynn Family Stadium in the 34th minute. Brian Ownby also drew a stoppage time penalty before the halftime whistle and set up a 65th-minute own goal, crossing to Jorge Gonzalez for a saved point-blank try deflected back in by the Tulsa defense.
In a show of depth, offseason signing Wilson Harris — who played the bulk of the minutes up top for the club as Lancaster recovered from injury — sealed the deal with a twirling 93rd-minute strike.
“The two of them are doing a really good job of pushing one another,” Cruz said of his strikers. “Wilson has put in a lot of minutes over the course of this season so far, and I wanted to get Cam a start. Obviously he takes advantage of that with two goals, but I was really proud of Wilson as well come in defensively, doing the work that we need and get a goal as well.
“This is how this team can be so dangerous when you see the depth and the players able to come in to make a difference.”
LouCity made this its first comeback victory of the season after the club entered Saturday 0-2-1 when conceding first.
“When we go down a goal, we can’t get in our heads,” said defender Josh Wynder. “We’ve got to move on and know we’re going to get a goal and just keep going like we did today.”
On an individual level, Lancaster scored goals 72 and 73 of his USL Championship career, moving to third on the league’s all-time scoring list.
With a healthy Lancaster and Harris challenging for selection, LouCity will look next to a rematch of the 2020 and 2021 Eastern Conference Final, traveling to play the Tampa Bay Rowdies at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 4.
Game Summary: Louisville City FC vs. FC Tulsa
Date: May 28, 2022
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium
Kickoff: 2 p.m. ET
Weather: 74 degrees, partly cloudy
Player of the Match: Cameron Lancaster
Attendance: 9,326
Scoring
Louisville City FC (1, 3, 4)
Monterey Bay FC (1, 0, 1)
Goals
Louisville City FC:
45+3’ Cameron Lancaster
53’ Cameron Lancaster (Amadou Dia)
65’ Own goal
90+3’ Wilson Harris (Enoch Mushagalusa)
FC Tulsa:
34’ Brian Brown (J.J. Williams)
Lineups
Louisville City FC (4-2-3): 1 – Kyle Morton, 3 – Amadiu Dia, 4 – Sean Totsch, 66 – Josh Wynder, 19 – Oscar Jimenez (45’ 15 – Manny Perez, 87’ 6 – Wes Charpie), 12 – Tyler Gibson, 13 – Corben Bone, 36 – Paolo DelPiccolo (77’ 7 – Napo Matsoso), 9 – Jorge Gonzalez (77’ 77 – Enoch Mushagalusa), 10 – Brian Ownby, 17 – Cameron Lancaster (77’ 14 – Wilson Harris)
Subs not used: 18 – Danny Faundez, 11 – Niall McCabe, 32 – Ian Soler
Head Coach: Danny Cruz
FC Tulsa (3-4-3): 1 – Sean Lewis, 22 – Bradley Bourgeois, 5 – Johnny Fenwick, 13 – Jorge Corrales (73’ 12 – Matheus Silva), 16 – Gabi Torres (84’ 8 – Petar Cuic), 44 – Eric Bird, 21 – Kembo Kibato, 11 – Joaquín Rivas, 17 – Abuchi Obinwa (70’ 4 – Ronald Rodríguez) , 9 – Brian Brown, 7 – J.J. Williams (69’ 92 – Darío Suárez)
Subs not used: 31 – Austin Wormell, 20 – Ciaran Winters, 19 – Aimar Membrila
Head Coach: Michael Nsien
Stats Summary: Louisville City FC / FC Tulsa
Shots: 13 / 10
Shots on Goal: 7 /3
Possession: 57.3% / 42.7%
Fouls: 14 / 17
Offside: 1/4
Corner Kicks: 3/3
Discipline Summary
Louisville City FC:
34’ Jorge Gonzalez (Yellow)
45+5’ Cameron Lancaster (Yellow)
FC Tulsa:
18’ J.J. Williams (Yellow)
32’ Johnny Fenwick (Yellow)
85’ Brian Brown (Yellow)
Referee: Thomas Snyder
