LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Lexington Sporting Club fell by a 1-0 final at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Ky., against Louisville City FC in the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Wednesday.
The loss saw Lexington SC bow out in its cup debut while Louisville City advanced into the third round to face an opponent that has yet to be determined.
Starting things off with a weather delay due to severe thunderstorms in the area, both teams took the pitch on a chilly and wet night in Louisville.
With the rain pouring down, neither team was able to record a shot until 25 minutes into the game, and the first shot on target, which was saved by Austin Causey in impressive diving fashion, didn’t come until 11 minutes later.
With the weather and strong defense keeping shots to a minimum, both teams entered the halftime locked in a 0-0 tie.
The visitors nearly took the lead early in the second half when Terique Mohammed sent one at Louisville City goalkeeper Oliver Semmle, but the German keeper was able to make the save.
Louisville City managed to break the tie in the 69th minute off a header by Sean Totsch that was sent into the box by Paolo DelPiccolo. The score would go on to stand as the only goal of the match, despite the best efforts of Lexington SC.
“I thought it was a really positive performance against a top quality team who have been very successful over a number of years,” said head coach Sam Stockley. “We keep saying we’re very close, but we’ve just got to tidy up those dead ball situations and really focus on moving forward.”
Louisville City controlled the possession in the match, holding the ball 58% of the time and finishing with a 1.34 to 0.14 advantage in expected goals.
“We haven’t got time to dwell on it (the loss),” Stockley added. “We will debrief it, we’ll analyze it like we do and we’ll set the team up for success on Saturday. It’s another huge game but the boys are getting used to that now. Now, we’re coming together for our home opener.”
Next up for Lexington SC is the club’s home opener against Forward Madison on Saturday, April 8, at Toyota Stadium in Georgetown, Ky.
Fans can purchase tickets to the home opener through the link here.
About Lexington Sporting Club
Lexington Sporting Club is a U.S. Soccer professional soccer club competing in USL League One (U.S. Soccer third division men’s professional soccer). Launching its inaugural professional season in 2023, the men’s first team is the pinnacle of the soccer ecosystem in Lexington that features more than 1,400 players within its youth and academy systems, a pre-professional women’s team beginning in 2023 in the USL W League and is in the process of building the club’s formal stadium, performance center and training fields.
