April 6, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release
Louisville City FC celebrates a goal
(Louisville City FC, Credit: Connor Cunningham)
In front of 11,330 fans at Lynn Family Stadium and many more watching on CBS, Louisville City FC lived out a storybook afternoon Saturday while defeating rival Indy Eleven by a 5-3 score.
Wilson Harris registered his first hat trick, Kentucky native Jansen Wilson scored his first career goal, and Louisvillian Elijah Wynder tacked on another as LouCity moved its record to 4-0, matching the club’s best-ever start.
Last time City won four straight to open a season, the boys in purple went on to win the 2018 USL Championship title. Consider this a statement of intent made during the league’s network television debut.
“It was an incredible night as far as entertaining, I’m sure, for everyone who was here and watching on CBS,” Cruz said. “I would have liked it to be a little bit less goals against and a little bit more for us, but all in all the atmosphere was fantastic. It was an incredible evening, and I’m really proud of the group and how they handled the moment.”
Harris scored in the 16th, 62nd and 71st minutes, hitting the back of the net in a multitude of ways. First, he clanged in a hard-angle shot off the back post. Next, he took a solo dribble through the final third, juked the goalkeeper and scored on an open net. Lastly, Harris timed up a run behind the enemy back line to cap LouCity’s scoring.
Harris has now tallied seven goals in four games – best so far in the USL Championship. He claimed the first LouCity hat trick since Enoch Mushagalusa in a July 9, 2022, victory over New York Red Bulls II.
“You take it all in at once,” Harris said of his afternoon. “You’re not in your head so much. You’re just playing free. It’s super loud, and you can’t really think. All the hard work you put in during the week hopefully shows, and it did today.”
Jansen Wilson made the word of the afternoon was “resiliency” for a LouCity team that defensively will want a few moments back.
Indy Eleven’s Jack Blake converted a 34th-minute penalty kick, then made it a brace in the 59th. But LouCity kept answering, with Wilson curling in a 41st-minute shot and Wynder heading in a pinballing effort in the right out of the half.
By the time an 82nd-minute Indy Eleven shot bounced off Niall McCabe and in – it was ruled an own goal – the game was out of reach for the visitors.
“We have a fighting mentality, and we just keep…