By Caden Charpentier
Louisville City FC opens a new season Saturday with sights set on building from a record-setting 2024 campaign.
Last year, LouCity captured the club’s first-ever Players’ Shield and tied the USL Championship single-season wins record (24). It also set new club records for points obtained (76) and goals scored (86). On the back of that success, expectations remain high. The team returns the majority of its roster while adding accomplished newcomers who bring experience from both the collegiate and professional ranks.
Head coach Danny Cruz and the boys in purple open the 2025 USL Championship campaign away to the Charleston Battery, who finished second in last year’s Eastern Conference standings. Before Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff in South Carolina, let’s take a look at five keys to LouCity’s upcoming campaign as the club pursues its third title.
Goodrum’s goal-scoring prowess
Months prior to the departure of forward Wilson Harris to Maccabi Petah Tikva of the Israeli first division, LouCity acquired one of the league’s most potent finishers — Phillip Goodrum from FC Tulsa. Goodrum arrived in Aguust, and he quickly endeared himself to the LouCity faithful, scoring 26 minutes into his debut in a crucial two-goal home win vs. Charleston.
Even in a reserve role, Goodrum’s finishing was on full display in 2024. He concluded the regular season with a flurry, bagging three goals in his last five league matches.
The Nashville native is one of six players with at least 40 USL Championship goals over the last two campaigns. Throw in 13 assists, and his goal contributions rank third in the league in the period, just behind Rhode Island’s JJ Williams and new Battery striker Cal Jennings.
With Harris turning to a new chapter in his career, Goodrum’s ability to consistently convert chances becomes that much more crucial.
Continued emergence of Wilson and Serrano up front
Two of LouCity’s young attackers, Jansen Wilson and Ray Serrano, took the league by storm in 2024.
Wilson, a rookie from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, excelled as both a wingback and forward, scoring nine goals after earning a contract from a successful preseason trial. The Washington native Serrano broke out in his third season in Louisville. He finished with eight goals and six assists en route to being named a USL Championship Young Player of the Year finalist.
From how preseason has unfolded, it looks like the duo is well on its way to following up on impressive seasons in purple. Wilson scored a highlight-reel goal in the preseason opener against Major League Soccer opposition, Austin FC. Additionally, Serrano recorded a brace to propel City past in-state rivals Lexington SC.
And there’s more good news: Both Wilson and Serrano signed multi-year contract extensions in the offseason.
Maintaining excellence at Lynn Family Stadium
Relentless and formidable: two words that perfectly sum up LouCity’s form in front of its home fans last season. No team in league history had previously managed to eclipse 15 wins on home soil. LouCity tallied 16 victories at Lynn Family Stadium in 2024 — 17 including the postseason —with a +35 goal differential.
Cruz and his Louisville team emphasized the need to make Lynn Family Stadium “a fortress” all season, and they successfully did. LouCity’s 58 goals scored at home were 10 more than the next most efficient USL Championship side, Charleston. Spearheaded by Damian Las between the sticks, City also pitched five home shutouts — two of which occurred in the final five weeks of the league season.
The team will look to continue this trend of superiority at home, beginning Saturday, March 22, against the Virginia-based Loudoun United FC. Visit LouCity.com/opener for tickets and more information.
The return of the dynamic Brian Ownby
LouCity pieced together a Players’ Shield-winning campaign without the presence of its all-time assists leader, Brian Ownby. The University of Virginia product was absent for the entirety of 2024 due to a leg injury suffered in the club’s final preseason game. In January, the star forward put pen to paper on a new contract with aims to make an impact on the pitch after making a full recovery.
The versatile attacker, now 34, showed no signs of slowing down when he last took the pitch. Despite his age, Ownby has compiled some of his most efficient seasons in recent years, including back-to-back campaigns with 13-plus goal involvements in 2021 and 2022. While his threat out wide is well documented, the two-time league champion has consistently shown the capacity to act as an effective target man in central areas.
Ownby sits at the top of the Louisville charts in multiple statistical categories. He ranks second in goal contributions (69) and chances created (283), and first in dribbles completed (213). When combined with the return of four forwards who each scored at least three goals in 2024, his return to the LouCity lineup could prove potent.
Newcomers strengthening the midfield
Louisville’s midfield will look a bit different from last year after Elijah Wynder made a record move to join the reigning MLS champion Los Angeles Galaxy. LouCity introduced two new signings into its engine room — Zach Duncan and Kevon Lambert — to accompany All-League First Teamer Taylor Davila, 11-year veteran Niall McCabe and Academy graduate Carlos Moguel Jr.
The newcomers bring extensive experience from the senior international game, MLS, Australian A-League and the USL Championship to Cruz’s team.
Lambert, who joined City on loan from Real Salt Lake, is Phoenix Rising’s all-time appearance leader (155). He spent last season on loan in the USL Championship with San Antonio FC, displaying his versatility in multiple midfield roles as well as center back on a few occasions. One of his three goals came against LouCity — an October equalizer at Toyota Field.
The Australian defensive-minded midfielder Duncan was a regular for the now defunct Memphis 901 FC last year. He recorded 32 starts across 33 league matches during his first USL Championship campaign, moving over last offseason following four years in Denmark.
The 24-year-old — the same age as Davila — was one of the league’s most effective ball winners in 2024, winning 47 tackles, which ranked fifth among Championship players. That destructive nature to his game should allow Davila more freedom to contribute much higher up the pitch — something that can only benefit City’s chance generation.
