LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The big storyline at Lynn Family Stadium in Saturday night’s 7:30 p.m. USL Eastern Conference semifinal is the visiting team – which happens to be the only visiting team that has won in the facility this season.
We’ll get to that.
But first, at least here, let’s talk about another storyline. If Louisville City FC can win at home for the 18th time this season on Saturday, it will earn its 10th consecutive conference final berth. Every year in its history, it has made it to the conference championship.
The feat has no equal in modern professional sports in the United States. So, yeah, it’s kind of a big deal.
You have to go back to the NBA’s Boston Celtics, which went to 13 straight Eastern Conference Finals from 1957 to ’69, to find anything like the consistency LouCity has managed.
A Rare Feat of Consistency
Last January, the Kansas City Chiefs were hailed for tying an NFL record by making a sixth straight conference championship game. The Atlanta Braves hold the Major League Baseball record for consecutive league championship series appearances with eight. In recent NBA history, the Los Angeles Lakers had an eight-season streak from 1982 to ’89. The NHL record for consecutive conference finals appearances is four.
What has been the secret? After reaching the franchise’s ninth straight conference final last season, longtime captain Paolo DelPiccolo (now director of the LouCity Academy) said, “The reason that we’ve reached it for nine straight years is because it’s never been the objective. The objective is always to win two more games after we reach this game… For us, the goal is always the top, the top, the top.”
Got it. The secret is not even trying. That’ll make everyone feel better.
A Fortress at Home: Dominance at Lynn Family Stadium
Though it is instructive when assessing the team’s approach to Saturday’s conference semifinal against expansion club Rhode Island FC. LouCity’s only Lynn Family Stadium blemish is a 5-2 setback back on June 22. The teams played to a draw in an earlier meeting in Rhode Island.
Outside of that one night, Louisville has been a beast on its home field. Coach Danny Cruz talked before the season about making Lynn Family Stadium a “fortress,” and that’s a good word for what his team has done. With a record of 17-1 on the home pitch and a 38-goal differential to the positive, the Boys in Purple have been virtually untouchable.
That home dominance set LouCity on a course for a USL-record-tying 24 wins and club records of 76 points and 86 goals. It comes into tonight’s game having scored in its past 17 games.
It's one thing to say you want your home pitch to be a fortress. It’s another to make it one. Cruz said the involvement of the home fans makes it possible.
“I think there's quite a few things. Obviously the fans are a huge piece of it,” Cruz said. “I've said it all season, that the guys feel that in the environment. They feel it when things are going well. They help when things aren't going well, from a momentum standpoint. And then there’s the familiarity here, right? You're not having to travel, you're able to sleep in your own bed, eat the same meals that you're used to. All those things play a play a huge role in it. But again, the atmosphere here at Lynn Family Stadium is second to none. And you know that that has played a massive, massive role.”
Cruz's Focus: Staying in the Moment
Ask Cruz about the challenge of the one team to unlock the key in Louisville this season, though, and you’ll get a predictable answer. He’s not thinking about that aspect of the matchup.
“I choose to continue to focus on the things that we have all year, whether we've beat a team once and we're playing them again, whether we've lost to a team and we're playing them again, the process doesn't change,” Cruz said. “I think the important thing is the players understand what we wanted to get out of the week leading into the game, you know? The second time we played them -- here at home -- very different circumstances. We had been on the road for six days. We had to make sure we were protecting some guys from a physical standpoint. But at this point, it's now or never, right? That's the reality. And we're making sure that the players are, as I've said, as prepared as they can be for a difficult, well-coached team, for sure.”
Davila: Midfield Catalyst
Taylor Davila, who had a role in all three goals in LouCity’s 3-2 playoff win over North Carolina last week, said the conditions on the field and in the stands are conducive to the team winning. He leads the team and is second in the USL in chances created with 77 after coming to Louisville following an All-USL season at Rio Grande Valley.
“At home, I think definitely the size of our field, our fans, the way it plays, how smooth it plays, it fits how we want to play,” he said. “It gives us a lot of space to run in transition. And yeah, just the speed of play that our field allows definitely helps a lot. And you know, when we go away -- to turf fields especially -- the speed of play slows down a lot because of the field.”
Rhode Island earned its third match against LouCity with a 3-2 win last week over Indy Eleven. Their playoff run in the club’s first season has been the stuff of history. In Louisville, they will need to make more to keep it going.
The game will be televised by MyTV 58 and is streamed locally by WDRB+.
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