October 1, 2022 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Louisville City FC News Release
Louisville City FC’S Wilson Harris in action
(Louisville City FC)
While Louisville City FC has aims of raising its third USL Championship trophy at this season’s end, the boys in purple also continue to enjoy the journey along the way.
A 1-0 away victory Saturday over Rio Grande Valley FC both gave LouCity its first 20-win campaign and set a club record for points in a season at 66 – and counting. Those figures bettered marks previously set in 2018, when City won its second straight title.
“It’s been fun 20 times this year, and then it’s been not so fun the other however many draws and losses we have,” quipped team captain Paolo DelPiccolo. “That’s part of the process. It’s all great, and it’s something the guys should be proud of. But for me personally, I’ve been happy at the end of two seasons in my life. There’s still work to be done.”
Speaking of that, Saturday’s result put LouCity back in the driver’s seat for a No. 1 playoff seed as well. A Memphis 901 FC defeat earlier in the season helped the boys in purple move five points clear of the Eastern Conference’s second-place side with two weeks left in the regular season.
Should City stay atop the table, it would earn a bye to the conference semifinal round Oct. 29 at Lynn Family Stadium. Otherwise, the postseason will start with an Oct. 22 conference quarterfinal, also at home.
A combination of injuries (Brian Ownby, Jorge Gonzalez) and red card suspensions (Tyler Gibson, Corben Bone) left LouCity shorthanded to the point that its bench wasn’t full Saturday. But the visitors managed to control proceedings against Rio Grande Valley FC, which entered the night seventh in the Western Conference, holding the final playoff spot.
“I know I’ve said it before, but I couldn’t be prouder of the group,” said head coach Danny Cruz. “We changed our shape. We’ve had a lot of injuries and suspensions, obviously. To go out there and do exactly as we’ve worked on all week was fantastic. I thought the intensity and mentality from the group was exactly where it needed to be.”
On a cross from Manny Perez, the midfielder DelPiccolo headed a 24th-minute try off the cross bar. DelPiccolo in turn set up LouCity’s goal, playing a 33rd-minute aerial ball to Wilson Harris, whose header grazed the bottom of the bar and went in. Harris notched his team-leading 14th goal of the year as a result.
City went on to attempt four other shots on…