November 4, 2022 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Louisville City FC News Release
Louisville City FC midfielder Carlos Moguel
(Louisville City FC, Credit: EM Dash Photography)
For the eighth consecutive year – every season of its existence – Louisville City FC is back in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference Final. A win would give the boys in purple the chance to claim a third championship trophy following back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018.
To get there, LouCity first must go through a familiar foe, hosting the Tampa Bay Rowdies at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Lynn Family Stadium. This marks the third straight year City and Tampa Bay have met in the Eastern Conference Final, and the hosts hope the third time is a charm after the Rowdies took the past two meetings.
City survived and advanced to this point in the playoffs thanks to a furious rally last weekend, topping Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in a penalty shootout after coming back from a 2-0 deficit in the final seven minutes of regulation. Reserve goalkeeper Danny Faundez made a key stop in the shootout, and midfielder Carlos Moguel Jr. converted the game-winning penalty.
Tampa Bay edged host Memphis 901 FC, 1-0, with a Leo Fernandes penalty in the ninth minute of stoppage time in last weekend’s other Eastern Conference semifinal. The Rowdies are chasing a different outcome in this year’s USL Championship Playoffs as well after the 2020 final was canceled due to a COVID-19 breakout before Tampa Bay lost the 2021 edition.
Follow along
The game will air live locally on WBKI 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
Jorge Gonzalez (Out)
Cameron Lancaster (Questionable)
Niall McCabe (Out)
Kyle Morton (Out)
Brian Ownby (Questionable)
Manny Perez (Questionable)
Ian Soler (Out)
Story lines…
What’re the odds: FiveThirtyEight.com projects a LouCity win on Saturday, with the statistical analysis website giving the boys in purple a 60% chance of advancing to the USL Championship Final. With the playoffs down to a final four of teams, FiveThirtyEight also gives City a 30% chance to win the final, the second-best number behind Western Conference top seed San Antonio FC.
Up next: With a win Saturday, the boys in purple will have to do some waiting given Sunday evening’s Western Conference Final will determine…