For the first time this season, reigning champion Louisville City FC (7-2-4) will challenge Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (6-1-7) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 27 at Louisville Slugger Field.
With a 7-2-4 record, Louisville City FC currently sits in second place in the Eastern Conference. The club has not won a match since May 26, with its three most recent games ending in ties. Louisville’s past two matches, in particular, have featured second-half leads being blown in the final 10 minutes of play. So far this year, Louisville has not dropped a match at home, picking up five of its seven wins to date at Slugger Field (5-0-1). Additionally, in head-to-head action, Lou City has yet to lose a game to the Hounds since 2015.
Defender Kyle Smith has been a consistent presence on the backline, starting all 13 matches for Louisville and going the full-90 in each. He’s been strong distributing in his own half of the field with a 84.3 percent passing accuracy rate. The Cincinnati, Ohio native’s defensive play has also resulted in 32 clearances, 19 interceptions and two blocks.
Strengths:
Distribution: Louisville has excelled in distribution to date, currently placing seventh in the East with a total of 6,201 passes and a 76 percent passing accuracy.
Fouls: In 2018, Lou City has been one of the most well-disciplined clubs in the conference, with the least amount of yellow cards (19) and second-lowest total of fouls conceded (150).
Weaknesses:
Conversion rate: Despite ranking fourth in the conference with 199 shots recorded, Louisville has struggled to cash in, with its 13 percent conversion rate placing them in the bottom half of the East (11th).
