September 6, 2022 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Louisville City FC News Release
Louisville City FC with possession
(Louisville City FC, Credit: EM Dash Photography)
When Louisville City FC coach Danny Cruz set out to prepare his squad for the 2022 season, he did so with the current stretch of games in mind.
LouCity will continue a run of five matches in 15 days – with four of those to be played away from Lynn Family Stadium – at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday when visiting FC Tulsa’s ONEOK Field.
Going back to the winter, Cruz set up a preseason schedule that saw the boys in purple play exclusively outside of Louisville. The aim: improve upon last year’s 6-5-5 away record.
So far, mostly good. City was 8-2-2 outside of Lynn Family Stadium until recently suffering back-to-back road losses at Miami FC and Indy Eleven. Following the trip to Tulsa, it’s a quick turnaround to Saturday’s game at Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.
LouCity (18-5-4, 58 points)) broke out of its funk over the weekend when defeating Sacramento Republic FC by a 3-1 score in that lone home game of late. Despite some recent struggles, the boys in purple continue to lead the Eastern Conference table and remain in play for the USL Championship’s best overall record.
FC Tulsa (10-14-4, 34 points) can consider every point imperative down the stretch of the campaign. The club sits in eighth place, one position out of the playoff cut line, and needs to claw back from a nine-point deficit.
Here’s more of what to watch for Wednesday night…
Follow along
The game will air live locally on My58 TV and ESPN Louisville’s 680/105.7, with streaming via ESPN+ and the WDRB Now app.
For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc on Twitter and Louisville City FC on Facebook. Also find the club at louisvillecityfc on Instagram.
Injury report
Cameron Lancaster (Out)
Niall McCabe (Out)
Story lines…
Playoffs clinched: As the boys in purple waited out a weather delay of more than an hour Saturday night, FC Tulsa dropped points to guarantee City a spot in the 2022 USL Championship playoff. City has both made the postseason and advanced to at least the Eastern Conference Final in its seven prior campaigns.
Postseason format: The top-seven teams in the Eastern and Western conferences qualify for the single-elimination playoffs, which begin the weekend of Oct. 21-23 for all but the top seeds, which receive a bye to the conference semifinals. The USL Championship Final will be played on a date to be determined…