Tomorrow it will have been ten days since the very disappointing loss to Indy Eleven; a trip up to Louisville (Saturday, 7:00pm, ESPN+) will test the team’s mettle and mindset considerably.
The most important part
Lou City has the league’s best record at 28 points from 12 games. They have not been beaten in any of those games and in fact you have to go back 7 games into last year’s regular season to find a loss. The 18-game unbeaten streak is a club regular season record and 5 short of the league’s record (held by FC Cincinnati).
That being said, they are not unbeatable and in fact have lost a game this year. They went down 1-2 to Loudoun United in the Jägermeister Cup (interestingly, they beat Loudoun by the same score in the Open Cup). Other than that, they have 4 draws: with the Legion, Sacramento Republic, Pittsburgh Riverhounds and Hartford Athletic. Three of those were 1-1 results; Pittsburgh is the only team this year to have kept Lou City scoreless in the 0-0 draw.
They have scored 19 goals in league play and allowed just 7, and never more than 1 in a game. And the most recent of those goals can probably be discounted as it was a very unfortunate own goal by Kyle Adams who was hit right in front of goal by a cross from Rhode Island’s Joe Brito that would have reached absolutely nobody. The list of teams that have actively scored on Louisville is also interesting: the Legion, the Tampa Bay Rowdies (twice), Hartford, Sacramento and the Charleston Battery. The Battery is hardly surprising but the other four include the bottom 3 in the East and the 8th in the West.
That own goal, by the way, was scored this past Wednesday night in a 2-1 home win. That is perhaps most significant in that Louisville, although they did not have to travel, will be playing with just 2 days’ rest. They also played just a week ago so this will be the 3rd game for them in 8 days. The Three Sparks themselves are looking at the same thing as Sacramento visits Wednesday and the Oakland Roots next Saturday. If you are looking down the barrel of a compressed schedule you want the hardest game out of the way first, but still.
Lou City is coached by Danny Cruz. He’s been on staff there since late 2018 and as head coach since 2021. Given that he’s only 35 that’s an impressive tenure. Before that he was an assistant in 2018 at Real Monarchs under a certain Mark Briggs. That was after joining the team as a player in late 2017. Briggs and Cruz remain close friends, so much so that Danny is godfather to Mark’s son. Even so, Briggs said “we”ll be friends before it [the game] and we’ll be friends after it. But in those 90 minutes we’ll probably have a go at one another a couple of times.”
With the exception of the last game, Lou City has stuck pretty consistently to a 3-4-3. At striker is Phillip Goodrum, with typically Ray Serrano and Jansen Wilson on either side although the team has several choices to support him. Serrano is the team’s top scorer in league play with 5; Goodrum has 3. At the back in front of keeper Damian Las are usually Sean Totsch, Arturo Ordoñez and Kyle Adams. Both groups are extremely solid. In the Rhode Island game the team went very defensive with a 5-4-1. Aiden McFadden and Amadou Dia, who usually play in midfield, were added as fullbacks. Goodrum remained up top. However, the team played more as a 4-2-3-1. The strategy limited Rhode Island to just 4 shots and only 2 on target.
As for the Legion, the team has had a good rest but the back line line is still under some pressure. Moses Mensah may still be out, Stephen Turnbull—who, it turns out, was out because he had some illness that caused significant weight loss—is still working back to full fitness despite going the full 90 last time out. Ramix Hamouda returned from international duty in Europe late Wednesday and Phanuel Kavita returned from Algeria and his first Rwanda national team cap (they lost 0-2) Tuesday. Asked how this will impact him for the upcoming busy schedule, he said, “Yeah, 100%. I really have to make sure I’m paying attention to how I hydrate, how I rest, how I’m doing training…I think it’s just being a professional and making sure you’re taking care of your body.” But he’s ready for the game Saturday. Asked again if he thinks the chance to get the first win this year against Louisville on their home field, he said simply, “100%.”
Briggs was a bit more cautious and said that the team needs to be smart in how they utilize the defenders over the coming 8 days. On the importance of the back line this weekend in general, he laughed and said, “Massively important, massively important. But again, I think when you look at defending, you automatically got to the back line, which is fine. But if you want to play for me and you want to represent this club as we move forward, every single position on the field has to defend. It’s the only way you win. You see the best teams in the world. You look at Manchester City [as a United fan, I’d rather not], Real Madrid, they all defend. All 11 players have to be willing to sacrifice for the team.” Hmm; shades of Total Football perhaps? Then again, of the 16 blocks recorded in the Tulsa game, only 10 were by the back line so this is not entirely new.
Prediction: Beyond the unbeaten streak, of the 4 draws this season only 1 (with Pittsburgh) was at home. The Jäger Cup loss was at Loudoun. There were two draws in the streak back in 2024 and those were both away. Moreover, Lou City dropped points at home just once last year, not quite a year when Rhode Island trounced them 5-2. Rhody also beat them at home in the playoffs 3-0 (this past Wednesday was thus something of a revenge game). All told, Lynn Family Stadium is a fortress. Getting points out of this one is going to be a monumental task. I don’t think it’s going to happen.
Best of the rest
In addition to Wednesday’s game there are 12 more games this week—all on Saturday—so every Championship team is in action this weekend and both Lou City and Rhode Island have double-game weeks. Moreover, they are all evening kickoffs so many of the games will overlap with the Legion game. With that in mind, here are our picks for essential viewing:
Loudoun United v. Detroit City (5:00pm, ESPN+)
Loudoun needs the win to keep pace with Lou City and the Charleston Battery. Detroit City has hit a brick wall and is winless in the last 5 games. They have dropped out of the home playoff spots and have suddenly become eminently catchable. With numerous teams closing in on them, they need to right the boat.
Rhode Island FC v. North Carolina FC (6:00pm, ESPN+)
Rhody is on a 3-game losing streak and short rest. They also have yet to win at their new home. Moreover, Indy Eleven and the Legion are biting at their heels. Conversely, North Carolina shares the league’s best winning streak at 4 games and can consolidate its home playoff spot here.
FC Tulsa v. Phoenix Rising (7:30pm, ESPN+)
Not a game that would have been picked out as a must-see before the season started. But Tulsa are 2nd in the West (albeit tied on points with San Antonio and El Paso Locomotive). The Rising is the other team on 4 straight wins. They are 5th but in reach of the top spot in the West (the top 6 are separated by just 3 points). This could be huge.
Sacramento Republic v. San Antonio FC (10:00pm, ESPN+)
SacRep is of course Mark Briggs’ former team and coming to town this Wednesday. They hold the final playoff spot in the West. San Antonio are 3rd. San Antonio started off hot but has become somewhat erratic lately; SacRep has been that way most of the season so far. Important for scouting, clearly.
