Saturday’s showdown with Phoenix Rising FC isn’t a must-win game for Louisville City FC, but the boys in purple will treat it as one.
LouCity and Phoenix are set for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Lynn Family Stadium in their regular season finale as City gets a finale tuneup for the 2024 USL Championship playoffs.
Weeks ago named the Players’ Shield winner and No. 1 overall playoff seed, City will host the Eastern Conference’s eighth-place finisher in an opening-round game next weekend. And Phoenix should be a proper test in that respect, as the club enters Saturday eighth on the Western Conference table.
LouCity (23-6-4, 73 points) should be back to a first-choice lineup after coach Danny Cruz made a season-high eight changes last time out in a 1-1 draw at San Antonio FC. Cruz rested his midfield while ensuring defender Kyle Adams, his captain, would get his regular minutes this weekend while sitting on the edge of yellow card accumulation.
Phoenix (11-13-9, 42 points) heads to Louisville having just locked up a playoff spot — in part thanks to Louisville, which knocked San Antonio out of contention with last week’s result. Rising FC surprised last season as a No. 4 seed, going on to win the USL Championship title. Phoenix is within striking distance of sixth going into the final weekend of play.
Gates open at 6 p.m. Saturday, and fans — especially the young ones — are encouraged to arrive in their Halloween costumes for a complimentary pregame trick-or-treat in the BlueOval SK Fan Zone. Bags will be provided on site.
Follow along
• The game will air live locally on WBKI/The CW and ESPN Louisville’s AM 680/FM 105.7.
• If streaming, download the free WDRB+ app to watch the local feed in Louisville. ESPN+ or Golazo Network also streams the home feed of all USL Championship games not selected for national TV.
• For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc on Twitter. Also, find the club at louisvillecityfc on Instagram and Louisville City FC on Facebook.
Player availability report
Jorge Gonzalez (out)
Dylan Mares (out)
Arturo Ordóñez (out)
Brian Ownby (out)
Ryan Troutman (out)
Story lines…
Who’s next: Depending on Saturday’s results around the league, LouCity could see any of a number of teams to start the playoffs. It’s a cluster on the Eastern Conference table with seventh-place Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC only three points of 11th-place Birmingham Legion FC. City’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinal is set for Saturday, November 2, with tickets available at LouCity.com/playoffs.
Rewriting the books: LouCity’s record-breaking season continued in San Antonio when a draw pushed the boys in purple to 73 points, surpassing the 2022 squad’s total for most in club history. This team has also won a club-record number of games (23), scored more goals than any prior City team (82) and made league history with its home win total so far (15).
One mark left: Should Louisville win Saturday, a 24th victory would match 2022’s San Antonio FC squad for most wins in a single season in USL Championship history. That San Antonio team won the Western Conference title and defeated the season’s Eastern Conference champion, LouCity, in the league final.
Adding to the case: LouCity clinched the Players’ Shield back on October 5, securing the regular season championship with three games to play. That was the final USL Championship trophy missing from the club’s case that has grown over the years to feature two league titles (2017, 2018) and two more Eastern Conference championships (2019, 2022).
Goal streak: Phillip Goodrum headed down a corner kick in first half stoppage time to make it 15 straight games in which LouCity has scored a goal. That’s the longest such streak in a single regular season in club history, bettering the 13 consecutive games with a goal from June 12-August 14 of 2021. Overall, City has scored in 31 of its 33 games this year.
Climbing the charts: Goodrum, who arrived to Louisville in August on a midseason transfer from FC Tulsa, made the goal at San Antonio his third of the season in purple. He joins 10 City teammates with three or more goals this season and is one away from making the boys in purple just the second USL Championship team to have nine four-goal scorers.
Top distributors: As much as LouCity has spread its scoring, a variety of players are setting up those goals. Jake Morris, who served up a pinpoint corner kick to Goodrum last weekend, registered his sixth assist, joining a four-way tie for the team lead in that category alongside Adrien Perez, Aiden McFadden and Taylor Davila.
Winning ways: Goodrum’s goal at San Antonio came in first half stoppage time, and LouCity went on to concede an equalizer on the other side of the break. That was a rare instance in which City let a halftime lead slip away, with the boys in purple 14-1-1 now when leading at half. They’ve also recovered a league-high 20 points from losing positions this season.
