July 5, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release
Louisville City FC in action
(Louisville City FC, Credit: Chris Carter)
Louisville City FC has arguably never been better positioned at a season’s halfway point than now. But a busy month of July, between USL Championship games and a pair of international friendlies, is sure to test the depth of a squad coach Danny Cruz built for this kind of scenario.
LouCity will be without an increasing number of key contributors when traveling to play Oakland Roots SC this Saturday. Kickoff is set for 10 p.m. ET at Pioneer Stadium just as Jorge Gonzalez most recently joined City’s list of unavailable players having suffered a knee injury last out.
Kyle Adams (foot), Adrien Perez (groin) and Brian Ownby (knee) also remain on the mend – each of them starting-caliber when healthy.
“We’ve got a lot of injuries at the moment, and players have opportunity,” said coach Danny Cruz. “For the first, probably, 10, 12 games, there wasn’t a lot of rotation obviously. We stayed healthy. Guys were performing well, so players had to wait for their chance and their opportunities.”
LouCity (12-3-2, 38 points) owns the USL Championship’s best record, sitting five points ahead of the Charleston Battery atop the Eastern Conference and four points clear of Western Conference pacesetter New Mexico United.
City’s 2.24 points per game marks the second-best figure in club history at a season’s midway point. It trails only the prolific 2.67 points per game earned over the first half by 2016’s squad.
That group had to contend with a loaded New York Red Bulls II side featuring future U.S. Men’s National Team captain Tyler Adams and a host of other top prospects. It’s LouCity that hopes to similarly serve as the USL Championship’s bully in 2024 while pursuing the club’s first Players’ Shield for best regular season record.
Oakland Roots (8-8-2, 26 points) poses a tough test, holding a top-four position on the Western Conference table. The Roots have won four of their last five games, including last Saturday’s 2-0 away victory over Orange County SC.
LouCity enters the weekend after a similarly dominant road win, doing all of its scoring in the second half of a 4-1 result over Birmingham Legion FC.
Follow along
– The game will air live locally on WBKI/The CW and ESPN Louisville’s AM 680/FM 105.7.
– If streaming, download the free WDRB+ app to watch the local feed in Louisville. ESPN+ or Golazo Network also…