Second-Half Blitz Propels LouCity to First USL Jägermeister Cup Win

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USL Louisville City FC

Second-Half Blitz Propels LouCity to First USL Jägermeister Cup Win

April 26, 2025 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


Louisville City FC on game night
Louisville City FC on game night
(Louisville City FC, Credit: Chris Carter)

A dominant second half powered Louisville City FC to a convincing 4-1 victory over the Richmond Kickers in the group stage of the 2025 USL Jägermeister Cup Saturday night at Lynn Family Stadium.

LouCity tallied three second half goals - each by a different player - after opening the scoring just before halftime through Manny Perez. Richmond, from USL League One, denied the home team a clean sheet thanks to a Nils Seufert free kick minutes after City's second goal.

Louisville (1-0-0, 3 points) captures all three points with the result and moves up into first position on goal differential in Group Five of the USL Jägermeister Cup, ahead of Charlotte Independence and Loudoun United FC, who also recorded three points to begin the competition.

"I thought in the first half, we needed to be a lot better than we were," said head coach Danny Cruz. "We started the first 15 minutes really, really well ... managed the territory, we were happy about that. Then, I think we fell off, lost a lot of second balls. (We) made a few tactical changes in the second half. Thought the guys did a great job executing and ultimately to score goals in this tournament - obviously it's one of the tiebreakers - so happy with the result."

Even with less possession, the home side produced more than double the number of shots Richmond managed. The boys in purple held the visitors to just two shots on target - tied for their lowest total in a game across all competitions this season.

The Kickers, who last met Louisville in 2018, kept Cruz's team at bay for the majority of the first half. Though City created chances, including a big one in the sixth minute involving Sam Gleadle, it took until the third minute of first half stoppage time for a breakthrough to occur.

Ray Serrano sent in a corner kick - Louisville's eighth of the night to that point - which Sean Totsch headed off the post before Perez tucked away the rebound to make it 1-0 after his initial shot was blocked.

Using that momentum from the Perez goal, LouCity doubled its lead 10 minutes into the second half courtesy of a Ray Serrano finish. Taylor Davila delivered a perfectly weighted pass into the feet of Serrano, who dispatched it into the back of the net.

"I had plenty of time at the top of the box, so I'm sure they know I can shoot it from distance," Davila added. "And Ray (Serrano) was wide open, put a little deception on it, gave him a little more time. It was a good finish."

Richmond would respond immediately, scoring from Seufert's direct free kick three minutes later in the 58th minute.

LouCity restored its two-goal lead by way of a Gleadle goal, his third in as many games, as he also used a Davila pass to continue his hot streak in the final third.

For good measure, the boys in purple added a fourth in the 87th minute when Adrien Perez brilliantly beat the keeper with a clever chip from close range.

With City up three late on, it allowed for the long-awaited return of a club legend to the pitch. Brian Ownby, the club's all-time assists leader, subbed on in the 88th minute for his first minutes since the 2023 Eastern Conference Final, 539 days ago.

"I can't really put it into words," Ownby said. "... I'm just grateful to be back out here, to step on this field, (in) this stadium, (with) these fans. It meant a lot."

The boys in purple will now shift their focus back to USL Championship regular season action when they face in-state rivals Lexington SC to begin Kentucky Derby Weekend. An official Kentucky Derby Festival event, the kicks off at 8 p.m. Thursday at Lynn Family Stadium.

It will be the first of two head-to-head meetings in the league's newest rivalry series - the Commonwealth Cup presented by Republic Bank. For tickets and more information, fans can visit LouCity.com/lexington.

Game Summary: Louisville City FC vs. Richmond Kickers

Date: April 26, 2025

Venue: Lynn Family Stadium

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET

Weather: 60 degrees, mostly sunny

Attendance: 8,922

Scoring

Louisville City FC (1, 3, 4)

Richmond Kickers (0, 1, 1)

Goals

Louisville City FC:

45'+3 Manny Perez

55' Ray Serrano (Taylor Davila)

62' Sam Gleadle (Taylor Davila)

87' Adrien Perez (Phillip Goodrum)

Richmond Kickers:

58' Nils Seufert

Lineups

Louisville City FC: 1 - Damian Las; 13 - Amadou Dia (63' 3 - Jake Morris), 32 - Kyle Adams (c), 24 - Josh Jones, 4 - Sean Totsch, 15 - Manny Perez (72' 16 - Adrien Perez), 17 - Taylor Davila, 27 - Evan Davila (63' 31 - Kevon Lambert), 7 - Ray Serrano (88' 10 - Brian Ownby), 25 - Jansen Wilson, 23 - Sam Gleadle (72' 9 - Phillip Goodrum)

Subs not used: 12 - Danny Faundez; 8 - Carlos Moguel Jr.

Head coach: Danny Cruz

Richmond Kickers: 1 - Pablo Jara; 34 - Beckett Howell, 14 - Gui França, 38 - Griffin Garnett, 4 - Simon Fitch, 3 - Hayden Anderson (46' 32 - Emiliano Terzaghi), 2 - Dakota Barnathan, 19 - Darwin Espinal (59' 20 - Adrian Billhardt), 27 - Chandler O'Dwyer (76' 17 - James Vaughan), 10 - Nils Seufert, 9 - Joshua Kirkland

Subs not used: 35 - James Sneddon; 5 - Maximiliano Schenfeld, 16 - Klaidi Çela, 33 - Matt Bolduc

Head coach: Darren Sawatzky

Stats Summary: Louisville City FC / Richmond Kickers

Shots: 18 / 7

Shots on Goal: 6 / 2

Expected goals: 2.28 / 0.33

Possession: 43.3% / 56.7%

Fouls: 14 / 10

Offside: 3 / 2

Corner Kicks: 10 / 5

Discipline Summary

Louisville City FC:

77' Ray Serrano (yellow)

Richmond Kickers:

42' Darwin Espinal (yellow)

45'+1 Simon Fitch (yellow)

77' James Vaughan (yellow)

Referee: Drew Klemp

Check out the Louisville City FC Statistics




Images from this story

Louisville City FC on game night
Louisville City FC on game night
(Chris Carter)		   

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