If you couldn’t tell from my “Top Ten LouCity Players” blog, I have a personality quirk that likes to list things. As a glutton for punishment as well, I made myself sit down and filter thru 10 years of highlights, successes, and joy to find the top ten games in Louisville City history. These games could have been chosen for a seminal moment, but the majority were selected for their significance and symbolism to the franchise. I hope you enjoy or disagree, either way let me know!
10. First Playoff Game: October 3, 2015. The inaugural season had unfolded magically with Louisville City FC defying expectations and garnering the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Jeff Milby meets me outside the gate at Slugger with a handshake and one phrase “Playoffs.” The game was a heavyweight bout between USL Blue Blood Charleston and upstart City. City peppered Charleston’s goal, but Goalie Odisnel Cooper kept them out, even though he had to have his defenders take his goal kicks on the turf monster. Regular time ended 0-0, and off to extra time where inaugural season hero, captain, and Golden Boot winner Matt Fondy would score a brace with a header off a corner and poaching a rebound to give LouCity its first playoff victory. This game cemented that LouCity was not just a regular season fluke, but launched their legacy as a team to be feared when the weather turns colder and playoff soccer comes around.
Rewatch/Enjoy here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11z8y58Lt2E
9. CBS Game: April 6, 2024. Louisville City had played previous matches on the various platforms of ESPN, and began life broadcasting games on Youtube, but April 6, 2024 would see their network debut on CBS, and not just any game, but LIPAFC. A rivalry game already would have created a raucous environment, but the 11,000 plus in attendance made it even more of a frenzy. Wilson Harris scored his first professional hat trick in a wild 5-3 track meet that was perfect for a national broadcast crowd. This opportunity communicated how much the league thought of Louisville City FC as the banner product and franchise that they wished to show on national television. This was LouCity’s first chance on national television, but won’t be their last.
View highlights here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHm-cqtCBcw
8. 8-3 Slugger “Finale”: October 12, 2019. This was to be the send off game for Louisville Slugger Field as the host of Louisville City FC. What was supposed to be a celebration of Slugger Field and City’s achievements there turned sour quickly as the Swope Park Rangers poured in 3 goals in 33 minutes to put City down 3-0. I was halfway to my car; shocked, annoyed, and angered at this performance, when Hoppenot laid off a ball to Napo Matsoso at the top of the box, who finished to make it 3-1 and convinced me to stick around a little longer. What transpired next was your garden variety 8 total unanswered goals by Louisville City. Alexis Souahy scores on a corner to pull within one in the 39th. Two minutes later Brian Ownby plays in Antoine Hoppenot who slides and connects for the equalizer, and in 6 minutes the game is tied. The second half saw a Brian Ownby deflection in the 53rd give City the lead, and if Swope Park wasn’t already shell-shocked, they were now. Goals were added by Magnus Rasmussen x2, Richard Ballard, and George Davis 4th to turn what initially appeared to be a funeral at Slugger into one of the most memorable games in franchise history.
Side Note: Sadly this was not the finale. Other results would see City host a first round playoff game where they defeated Tampa 2-1 in the actual finale for Slugger.
Catch the highlights here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfrHIDaX5As
7. First Game: March 28, 2015. Over 6,000 people came to Louisville Slugger Field on this frigid March day to watch the debut of the Louisville City FC. The brainchild of Wayne Estopinal and the result of the hard work of the Louisville soccer community, especially the Coopers, was finally here. This special day would not see just one debut, but two as Saint Louis FC was also beginning, and this was to be the first ever Kings Cup. The scoring opened in the 23rd as Magnus Rasmussen got in behind the Saint Louis backline and slotted home the franchise’s first ever goal. Charlie Adams would secure the result in the second half after Guy Abend laid off a ball to him at the top of the box for the finish. No one back then, especially me standing in the Coopers, could have known what this game was starting.
Watch the highlights here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A-FWNyeGDM
6. Cincy 5: August 12, 2017. Louisville City took on FC Cincinnati at Slugger in front of 13,812 fans, and it was a glorified training session for LouCity. The fun began in the 16th minute as a Sean Totsch lofted ball is headed in by Niall McCabe, yes you read that right, a Niall McCabe header. Cincy’s night got worse as their defender de Wit was given a straight red for taking down Luke Spencer on a break. Spencer would appear again as he doubled City’s lead in first half stoppage time with a corner header. Mark Anthony-Kaye made it 3-0 in the 57th as he played give and go with Spencer and Kaye slotted it home in Cincy’s box. Richie Ballard came on and immediately scored the 4th after another Spencer assist. The fifth, and sadly, final goal was free header for Sean Reynolds on a failed offsides trap by Cincinnati and led to my favorite LouCity goal celebration, and maybe LouCity moment of all-time, as Reynolds then darted past teammates trying to congratulate him to make sure he went over to left field and the traveling FC Cincy fans to let them know that was the 5th goal by holding up 5 fingers the whole time. A win over a rival is one thing, completely destroying one is why this game makes the list.
View the beautiful highlights here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW2TRE6kFRg&t=168s
5. Tampa ECF: November 5, 2022. When Louisville City and Tampa Bay come together for a soccer match, things happen. It is a heavyweight title fight. Coming in to this Eastern Conference Finals, LouCity had lost the last two Conference Finals to Tampa, once at Lynn, and the year before in soul-crushing fashion on the road to Lucky Mkosana’s late brace. This rivalry produces “Match of the Year” contenders and this one would be no different. Through 80 minutes there was nothing but a deadlock. Then the match had its moment: There was a coming together near midfield, off the ball, between Brian Ownby and a Rowdy. In the ensuing scrum, Corben Bone shoved a Tampa player and then put his hands on the player’s face and neck, earning a straight red card and meaning City would be a man down the remainder of the match. Every City fan had to have the same thought, “Here we go again.” The game would end regular time tied at 0-0, which meant 30 minutes of extra time to decide the Eastern Conference. City earned a corner in the early stages of the second half of extra time, which Oscar Jimenez delivered into the box. The ball plinkoe’d around the feet of everyone in the box until it arrived at Elijah Wynder’s feet and he drove it home for the unlikeliest of leads. To this day watching the replay I am not sure that stadium has ever been louder. That bastard Lucky Mkosana almost tied it up in the box in the 113th, but it flew high. Seven minutes later the whistle blew and Louisville City had done it against all odds. They had vanquished Tampa Bay for the Eastern Conference title a man down.
I have a great personal story attached to this game. I was a groomsman in the wedding of two of my closest friends and had mentally prepared myself to watch the game from the reception. I watched the whole first half from my phone, and then a curious thing occurred: people started leaving. It had already been a long day and I was prepared to head home, but on a whim I checked how far the stadium was and it was less than a mile. All I had with me besides my tux was a pair of cargo shorts, so I changed behind a dumpster in the parking lot (no judgment) and drove to the stadium and caught the second half and the history that occurred!
Watch the highlights here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-UeVQvBwXI
4. First Championship: November 13, 2017. City had finally done it. They had finally won an Eastern Conference Final. Their reward was hosting the USL Cup at Louisville Slugger Field against the Swope Park Rangers on a frigid November night, perfect soccer weather! A very back and forth affair commenced with both sides having quality chances, the majority of LouCity’s coming at the feet of Luke Spencer. The action came to the 88th minute and saw Speedy Williams send in a hopeful ball that found the head of Cam Lancaster whose looping header broke the deadlock. After seven minutes of stoppage time, Louisville City finally had its league championship.
Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJkrmhsTvN0
3. Indy ECF: November 9, 2019. City went on the road to Indy and the mighty IUPUI stadium to have a LIPAFC Eastern Conference Finals match-up. Goalie Chris Hubbard stood on his head to deny Indy for the majority of the game, but Tyler Pasher got in behind the City backline and tucked one home in the 67th minute to give Indy the lead. Abdou Mbacke Thiam (spell that 5 times correctly) almost equalized in the 81st off an acrobatic shot with a defender between him and the ball that looped over the goalie and went off the crossbar. The 93rd minute would see City’s last stand as everyone was sent forward for a City corner. Oscar Jimenez (there he is again on a crucial corner), whipped it in and it was headed once before falling to the feet of Antoine Hoppenot who had a pathway to the goal as if Moses had parted the Red Sea (hence why I call the moment “Hoppenot parts the seas”). He finished down that beautiful aisle with Hubbard somehow not infringing or causing an obstruction call. The game was set to go to extra time, but you could see the air deflate out of the Indy players. Extra time saw a Rasmussen toe poke for the lead in the 93rd and for good measure Brian Ownby earned 110th minute penalty that Luke Spencer buried. As the game is ending the Indy Eleven supporters let off their red and blue smoke, for some reason, and it made a beautiful purple.
One of my good friends attended this match as his first LouCity game, and I warned him he wasn’t allowed back if they lost!
Watch the Highlights, or lowlights if you are an Indy Eleven supporter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEwX8a7OMck
2. Second Championship: November 8, 2018. Anybody can win a league title. The 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, the 2019 Toronto Raptors, and a whole list of sports teams that got hot for a single seasons/playoffs and won it all. It is the mark of a great franchise that not only wins it all again, but does it back-to-back, which is what Louisville City was aiming to do at the University of Louisville’s Lynn Stadium on November 8, 2018. In their way was the Western Conference Champions Phoenix Rising led by part-owner, soccer legend, and 40-year old Didier Drogba playing in his last professional game. Drogba announced himself early on with a free kick from just inside the halfway line dipping and dodging and making goalie Greg Ranjitsingh make a last minute save out for a corner. Greg also made a diving save in the 23rd to deny Phoenix. The half would be 0-0. Brian Ownby had a wide open opportunity in the 49th that he inexplicably missed the frame with. City would open the scoring in the 62nd as an Oscar Jimenez corner (there goes that man again) was headed around until it fell to the feet of Luke Spencer who made no mistake and buried it. That would be the deciding goal as Paolo delPiccolo gave a USL Cup MVP performance in the midfield frustrating Drogba and the Phoenix attack (has anyone checked if Paolo ever took Didier out of his back pocket? Guy has to have suffocated by now). Louisville City made history as the first, and so far, only back-to-back USL Cup winners.
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7rqTnVbRaI
#1: Red Bull 2 PK: November 4, 2017. Yes, I put a game #1 that did not win a championship. Hear me out before you smash the caps lock and yell at me virtually. Louisville City was coming off back-to-back highly successful seasons, but seasons which ended in misery in the Eastern Conference Finals. City had proven it could get to the doorstep, but not announce itself as a franchise to be reckoned with. City lost the 2015 ECF at Rochester 1-0 and lost the 2016 ECF at Red Bulls II on penalties 4-3 after having both Paco Craig and Sean Reynolds sent off. This time, City was hosting the ECF and was “welcoming” back proverbial thorn in the ass New York Red Bulls II. City could not figure out the Sugar Free Red Bulls since City’s inception.
City got out to a hot start with a very slow-developing goal by Brian Ownby in the 11th on a twirling effort that snuck past the Red Bulls goalie. Red Bulls II would equalize in the 56th as Junior Flemmings drove thru the entirety of the right side of the City formation and finished off the underside of the crossbar. You could feel the collective breath leave Slugger field and the “here we go again” vibe. Regular time ended 1-1, as did the 30 minutes of extra time, and that left us with the cruelest mistress in sports: Penalty Kicks. NYRB2 won the toss and chose the Scouse House end, aka the end of the field without the Turf Monster. What followed was a mass migration to the right field end of Slugger Field
NYRB2 scores sending Greg the wrong way
Right-Back Kyle Smith sent Evan Louro the wrong way for 1-1
NYRB2 sends it just past a diving Greg, 2-1
Captain Paolo delPiccolo has his PK saved by Louro, 2-1
NYRB2’s Valot sends Greg the wrong way, 3-1
Sean Totsch calmly places it in the right corner for 3-2
Greg Ranjitsingh paws away the NYRB2 effort to keep it 3-2
Oscar Jimenez steps up with a pause and a stutter step (borderline illegal penalty) and slots it home to the right corner for 3-3
Ranjitsingh tips it off the crossbar and claims it on the rebound to keep it 3-3. I still don’t know to this day how that ball did not go in, and from my cramped view in Scouse House I don’t know how it stayed out.
City controlled their destiny. Score and you advance. In that pivotal moment, Coach James O’Connor sent up hometown rookie Richie Ballard…..wait, WHAT??? In one of the ballsiest decisions I have ever seen, Coach JOC entrusted the Eastern Conference to a rookie, who wasted no time in securing the first Eastern Conference Championship.
Watch the whole event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76IMdA0TFTA&t=10708s
This game is my #1 game/moment because City finally got over that hurdle, or hurdles in this case. They finally won the Eastern Conference and they finally slayed the New York Red Bulls II. This was the game that launched Louisville City to back-to-back titles and announced them as more than just a pretty good franchise. This was their defining moment.
Corner Kicks with Cecil 
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