“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”
Not the likeliest way to start off a sports preview (quoting Charles Dickens on the French Revolution, in case you weren’t aware) but it seems à propos.
If there was ever a good time to face Louisville City (tonight, 7:00pm, CBS Sports Golazo Network), it would be when they are on their worst-ever 4-game losing streak. On the other hand, it’s a bad time as they will be desperate to get back on track and will be highly motivated to perform. The question is: which Lou City shows up?
To be strictly accurate, it’s only a 2-game losing streak, as Louisville did beat Union Omaha 5-1 in the USL Cup in the middle of this miserable run in league play. Omaha are hardly a weak squad; they lead League One by a healthy 7-point margin currently. Oddly enough, Omaha are on a 4-game winning streak that was interrupted by the USL Cup game.
The season started off quite normally for the 502. They won 4 straight, scoring 11 goals and allowing just 4. But then the wheels fell off. Just 1 win in the 7 games since, a 1-0 decision over Sporting JAX right before the current streak. And only 1 draw as well, 3-3 at Loudoun United. They have scored 8 and allowed 15, including 4 by The Miami FC in a wild 3-4 loss. They’ve been shut out 3 times.
Lou City’s other USL Cup game was a 3-1 win over Fort Wayne FC, who are 6th in League One. So the team has not entirely lost its ability to score and should be considered just as dangerous as ever. Nevertheless, what is happening in northwest Kentucky is a head-scratcher.
Right as the team ended its opening win streak, the Louisville Kings of the UFL started play at Lynn Family Stadium, with, as it happens, a 13-15 loss to the Birmingham Stallions. The Kings made the playoffs, the Stallions didn’t, in similar positions as the two Championship teams currently occupy. Was that a curse? Perhaps. But would a game against the Legion signal an end to the curse? It hadn’t better.
A more likely explanation, but equally strange coincidence, is the departure of long-time head coach Danny Cruz. In March of this year he joined Minnesota United of MLS as an assistant coach at the same time as former Legion head coach Tommy Soehn. It shouldn’t have made much of a difference. Stepping up to lead the team were assistants Simon Bird and Paolo DelPiccolo. Both have been with the club a long time. DelPiccolo in fact was a member of the famous “triumvirate” of player-managers that led the team back in 2018 for a month during a championship-winning season (Luke Spencer, currently managing FC Tulsa, was also a member; the third, George Davis IV, currently runs Lou City’s charitable foundation).
The early success can be attributed to a holdover from Cruz’s leadership style. As his influence waned – and a few injury issues emerged – the team began to falter. The squad has also struggled defensively all season. Bird’s leadership is being questioned and this could be a do-or-die situation for him. He has been with the club a long time, and played at the University of Louisville before that too, but the 42-year-old Englishman has never been a head coach until now, so it’s possible he finds himself out of his depth at this latish point in his career.
Also in the Legion’s favor is the fact that Lou City played Saturday. Granted, it was a home game, but it was against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. That was a 0-2 loss and the Rowdies completely dominated the game. They should be tired, whereas the Legion has not played in 11 days.
Lou City has been doggedly playing out of a 3-4-3, the back line being mostly Kyle Adams, Josh Jones and Sean Totsch, who have a wealth of experience, so their troubles remain baffling. That’s also a formation the Legion has a hard time penetrating. In attack, the leading scorer in league play is right wing Jansen Wilson with 4 goals, closely followed by center forward Chris Donovan with 3. Both have scored the same numbers in the USL Cup.
The other question is, of course, which Legion team will show up? The 0-2 loss in Monterey Bay was, to say the least, disappointing. The Three Sparks have had quite a while to chew that over and need to take the opportunity to right their own ship against an old rival that itself looks to be sinking like the Titanic. 11 days is surely enough time to take stock, and, hopefully, continue with the recovery from various injuries. One problem will be the absence of Ramiz Hamouda. His long-awaited transfer to Werder Bremen has been inked and even though they are not in action right now, Raz is off with the US U-19 team and has played his last game in black and gold. That does leave a hole in defense that, to be honest, has not been filled well by Keegan Hughes and A.J. Paterson appears still to be out.
This should be a huge chance for the Legion to start on a run of positive results. 5 of the next 6 games are at home. The team also has, until tonight, a game in hand on the entire league and will have a game or two in hand on 13 teams even after tonight. The upcoming stretch includes a USL Cup game but the league opponents are all vulnerable, with the current exception of Detroit City, who are the last team to be played.
