Louisville City FC’s attack continued humming Tuesday to the tune of a 3-1 victory over Greenville Triumph SC, advancing the boys in purple out of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup’s Third Round.
Sean Totsch headed in a second-minute corner, Wilson Harris tapped in another goal in the 60th minute, and Jorge Gonzalez added some stoppage-time insurance at Lynn Family Stadium.
LouCity also avoided some hairy moments late, once Greenville trimmed the deficit to a goal despite an otherwise dominant performance by the home side. Coach Danny Cruz huddled his squad on the field after the final whistle to offer a reminder about closing strong.
“I thought we created a ton of chances, but this is football,” Cruz said. “You leave a team in it, they get an opportunity, they finish it, and now you’re trying to make sure we finish the game out. I thought it was about being better in the final third and more clinical.
“…This is a historic tournament. It’s about making sure you’re doing everything you can to advance.”
LouCity, from the second-division USL Championship, held on to prevail over third-division Greenville from USL League One. Next up, the Open Cup’s Round of 32 will see Major League Soccer clubs enter the competition with the draw to be live streamed on watch.usopencup.com at 1 p.m. Thursday.
City has now won five games and lost only one across all competitions to open 2024. Tuesday’s victory marked a bounce back from that lone defeat — and a much more comprehensive performance. The boys in purple racked up 3.13 expected goals, tried 15 of their 18 shots from inside the box and numbered six big chances, according to Stats Perform.
“We’ve seen the quality already this season when we’re on, so when we do fall short in this times, we have professional pride,” said Niall McCabe, who assisted Totsch’s opener on an early corner. “It’s not what we expect. We expect 98 minutes of great effort, great football and hard work.”
Harris tapped in a 49th-minute cross from Jansen Wilson, and Gonzalez knocked in a powerful shot seven minutes into stoppage time to seal the win. Between those strikes, Greenville scored its loan goal when Hayden Anderson got a piece of Ben Zakowski’s 93rd-minute free kick from distance.
It could have been tied without some heroics from Ryan Troutman, called on in relief for starting goalkeeper Danny Faundez after a collision in the second half. Troutman’s first bit of action saw him make a double save in the 85th minute before Arturo Ordóñez cleared Greenville’s third attempt off the line.
“I got a little emotional after the game,” said Troutman, a Louisville native who made his pro debut. “I’ve been coming to these games for a long time — 10 years now — and to make my debut, my whole family was here. It was really something special, and I’m glad I have the support from all the guys, all the fans, my family. It’s something really, really special. I’ll remember this the rest of my life.”
Game Summary: Louisville City FC vs. Greenville Triumph SC
Date:April 16, 2023
Venue:Lynn Family Stadium
Kickoff:7 p.m.
Attendance: 4,373
Weather: 82 degrees, partly cloudy
Scoring
Louisville City FC (1, 2, 3)
Greenville Triumph SC (0, 1, 1)
Goals
Louisville City FC:
2’ Sean Totsch (Niall McCabe)
49’ Wilson Harris (Jansen Wilson)
90’+7 Jorge Gonzalez
Greenville Triumph SC:
90’+3 Hayden Anderson (Ben Zakowski)
Lineups
Louisville City FC: 12 — Danny Faundez (75’ 30 — Ryan Troutman), 13 — Amadou Dia, 32 — Kyle Adams, 5 — Arturo Ordóñez, 4 — Sean Totsch, 25 —Jansen Wilson, 11 — Niall McCabe (71’ 17 — Taylor Davila), 23 — Elijah Wynder (71’ 22 — Dylan Mares), 7 — Ray Serrano, 16 — Adrien Perez (87’ 20 — Sam Gleadle), 14 — Wilson Harris (87’ 21 — Jorge Gonzalez)
Subs not used: 2 — Aiden McFadden, 6 — Wes Charpie
Head coach: Danny Cruz
Greenville Triumph SC: 1 — Gunther Rankenburg, 3 — Tyler Polak (76’ 15 — Oliver Hald), 4 — Jamie Smith, 12 — Evan Lee, 7 — Ben Zakowski, 16 — Pascal Corvino (81’ 2 — Daniel Wu), 8 — Chapa Herrera, 6 — Carlos Anguiano (69’ 20 — Hayden Anderson), 22 — Nate Shultz, 9 — Lyam MacKinnon (69’ 17 — Zion Scarlett), 25 — Leo Castro
Subs not used: 5 — Brandon Fricke, 19 — Hassan Gabo, 23 — Christian Garner
Head coach: Rick Wright
Stats Summary: Louisville City FC / Greenville Triumph SC
Shots: 18 / 13
Shots on Goal: 8 / 6
Possession: 51.6% / 48.4%
Fouls: 17 / 9
Offside: 7 / 2
Corner Kicks: 3 / 2
Discipline Summary
Louisville City FC:
50’ Wilson Harris (yellow)
90’ Amadou Dia (yellow)
Greenville Triumph SC
60’ Ben Zakowski (yellow)
70’ Chapa Herrera (yellow)
73’ Leo Castro (yellow)
Referee:Izlen Peksenar
