LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – This was a bit unusual, but you figured it was bound to happen. The Louisville City Football Club, which has been dominant at Lynn Family Stadium all season, got off to a slow start at home against Detroit City on Wednesday night.
They can’t all be blowouts, right?
Well, maybe they can.
Arturo Ordoñez evened the score at 1-1 with just three minutes left in regular time in the first half, and in the second, as has tended to be the case at The Fam this season, the floodgates opened.
And it was a purple flood. Adrien Perez scored just three minutes into the second half, and the Boys in Purple were off like (literal) clockwork. Wilson Harris scored a goal 13 minutes after Perez. Jake Morris found the back of the net 13 minutes after that. And, finally, just a few minutes ahead of schedule, a Harris penalty kick in the 84th minute completed the carnage before a crowd of 10,385 that included hometown rap star Jack Harlow.
LouCity 5, Detroit City 1.
LouCity improved to 6-0 at home in league play, outscoring opponents by a total of 22 goals in those games. It scored at least five goals at home for the fourth time this season, matching a USL record with 11 home games yet to play. And while the first half may not have been its usual, the second-half swarm more than made up for it.
“We were pretty frustrated about how the first half went,” Louisville City manager Danny Cruz said afterward. “I thought we were sloppy with the ball. I didn’t think we were good enough in the final third again as far as getting our numbers in the box. I think tactically we needed to be a little bit better. But I was really proud of how we responded in the second half. We obviously put ourselves in position to create a lot of opportunities. That’s a very good Detroit team. They’re going to win a lot of games this year there’s no question. So, it’s a very positive result, but I think the performance still left a little bit to work on.”
After a season in which it went just 8-6-3, winning at home was a priority for this season, not just to create an imposing atmosphere, but to put itself in position to win its conference. Wednesday’s win draws LouCity within two points of first-place Charleston in the Eastern Conference, though it has played two fewer games. LouCity’s plus-23 goal differential is the largest in the USL.
Cruz talked before the season about making Lynn Family Stadium into “a fortress.” It has lived up to that aspiration early in 2024.
“The players have taken that message on board,” Cruz said. “The performances at home, for the most part, have been excellent. And then on the road, as I’ve said, it’s a grind. Different environments, different type fields. But again, we need to put on performances like that here at home, and it gives us the best chance to progress in this season and finish in the table where we want to be.”
Wilson Harris, who wore the captain’s armband in place of the injured Kyle Adams, delivered a pair of goals, including a penalty kick earned by Sam Gleadle in the 84th minute to complete the scoring. It was his 10th goal of the season, already moving past his total from last season.
Despite the sluggish start, Harris said, he felt it was only a matter of time before things started moving his team’s way.
“The way we play right now, and the field suits us so well, once the game opens up, teams hang with us for a while but once we get in our groove and really connecting passes and being creative up the field, we really hurt teams,” he said. “. . . This game just really opened up for us. Once we get one (goal), the mindset is we’re going to get another three. That’s just how it is at home, and we’ve got to keep that.”
Jake Morris, who came to LouCity from Louden United, where he spent the last half of last season on loan from the Columbus Crew, says playing home games in Louisville has been a revelation.
“For me, when I come out here and I see all these fans, it just hypes me up so much,” he said. “I want to do everything I can. They come out here every week and support us and to me that’s amazing. I just want to give that energy that I feel on the field back to them. . . . I think this team is the most resilient in the USL. When we go down, there’s no doubt in our minds that we’re going to come back.”
He said the game turned when the club went to the locker room at halftime and settled itself back into its objectives and tactical approach.
“Going inside, talking about the things we weren’t doing well, and then coming out and applying those things,” he said. “We were sloppy, a little, still. But a quarter of the way into the season, we’re figuring things out and going to the training ground and seeing what we can do to fix those things and try to do better.”
The club again faces a quick travel turnaround. It will fly out of Louisville tomorrow for a 7 p.m. Saturday matchup at Miami. Riding a six-match unbeaten streak, LouCity is nonetheless 2-1-2 away from home.
“When we go away, we need to find that edge,” Morris said. “We have it at home. But we need to find it away. Two games away we came away with ties when we should have done more. So I’m excited to see what we do Saturday.”
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