April 21, 2023 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Louisville City FC News Release
Louisville City FC forward Brian Ownby (left) eyes the ball
(Louisville City FC, Credit: One Shot Sports)
Louisville City FC and the Charleston Battery will meet Saturday in a matchup of the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 and 2 teams – both of them looking in peak form.
With kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. at Patriots Point in South Carolina, the host Battery have quickly risen to the top of the table after failing to qualify for the USL Championship Playoffs the last two seasons. Coach Ben Pirmann – formerly of Memphis 901 FC – made a splashy offseason move to Charleston, which is an unbeaten 4-0-2 (14 points) near the season’s quarter point.
LouCity, second in the East at 4-2-0 (12 points), looks to be over a puzzling early season hiccup that saw the boys in purple lose back-to-back games by a combined 8-0 score. Since then, they’ve reeled off three straight 1-0 wins across league play and the U.S. Open Cup, most recently knocking off San Antonio FC in a high-profile rematch of the 2022 USL Championship Final.
Saturday’s game will air across the regular array of networks. Fans also have the opportunity to see it on the big screen at Lynn Family Stadium, an official watch site for the Kentucky Derby season’s opening event, Thunder Over Louisville. Following the fireworks show is Racing Louisville FC’s 10:30 p.m. game at Portland Thorns FC. Visit LynnFamilyStadium.com for tickets and more information.
Follow along
– Saturday’s game will air live locally on WBKI and ESPN Louisville’s 680/105.7.
– If streaming, download the free WDRB Now app to watch the local feed in Louisville. ESPN+ 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 and Louisville City FC on Facebook. Also find the club at louisvillecityfc on Instagram.
Player availability report
Wes Charpie (Questionable)
Jorge Gonzalez (Questionable)
Cameron Lancaster (Questionable)
Niall McCabe (Out)
Ray Serrano (Questionable)
Story lines
Winning traditions: In recent weeks, LouCity (launched in 2015) surpassed the Battery (founded in 1993) as the modern-era USL Championship’s winningest club. However, Charleston caught back up thanks to a midweek victory last week over the Tampa Bay Rowdies before a weekend win over FC Tulsa. The clubs enter Saturday locked at 140 regular season wins apiece.
Playoff implications:…