Everything to know as Louisville City FC begins its USL title defense

Justin Sayers | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Louisville City FC soccer rolling through 2018 season Louisville City FC has one goal for its 2018 season - defend its USL title.

After posting a sixth-straight win in the team's regular-season finale last Saturday, Louisville City FC head coach John Hackworth said it succinctly — "This is now a win or go home."

In what's been a season full of up and downs, the defending United Soccer League champions will finally get a chance to defend their title starting this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Slugger Field.

The team set a franchise record with 19 regular-season wins, and its players set a number of individual records along the way. But Louisville City also experienced the loss of its longtime coach, James O'Connor, who left midseason for Major League Soccer.

Its first-round opponent is USL newcomer, Indy Eleven. The matchup will mark the fourth installment of what fans have affectionately (and sarcastically) nicknamed the "Louisville-Indianapolis Proximity Association Football Contest."

Hackworth, who took over midseason and led Louisville City to a 8-2-3 record to close out the regular season, said, "we're just trying to win every game."

"It’s not about style, it’s not about how we play. It’s strictly to just win," he said. "And those guys in the locker room know that better than anybody in this league. They’re defending champions and they’re playing like it. So hopefully any team coming here will have to understand that and deal with us.”

See also: Louisville City FC coach John Hackworth explains why he took the job

Now onto the questions you submitted via Twitter...

The USL east is a tough bracket where anybody can beat anybody. Do you think LouCity will face FC Cincy in the East final? (@sportsblogfc)

Since Louisville City joined the USL in 2015, the No. 1 and No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference have advanced to the conference final two out of three years. And the No. 1 seed has advanced to the USL Cup final all three years.

With that being said, Louisville City has not exactly dominated against the team it faces in the quarterfinal (Indy Eleven) and the two teams it could potentially face in the semifinal (Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and Bethlehem Steel FC). The Boys in Purple have a combined 2-2-3 record against those three teams.

I think FC Cincinnati, which ended its season with 23 games without a loss and hasn't lost a game since May 26, is a near-lock to make it. For Louisville City FC, it's pretty close to a toss-up. But based on past history, I'll say yes.

Honest question: What are #LouCity’s chances of making it back to eastern conference finals? 20%? 10%? (@DanKarellTLH)

Perfect follow-up, and I'll try to do math here, so bear with me. There are eight teams in the Eastern Conference that qualify for the playoffs, so each team has a 12.5 chance of making the finals. Louisville City and FC Cincinnati were far and away the two best teams in the East, so I'll give them a higher chance. And FiveThirtyEight gives both teams a more than 50 percent chance to make the Eastern Conference Finals.

So if you add that all toge– ah, forget it, my head hurts. I'll go higher and say Louisville City has a 55 percent of returning to the Eastern Conference Final for the fourth-straight year.

Read more: Jeffersonville architect invents retractable pitching mound

With everyone healthy, what are your opinions on who's best to start vs sub on attack (@tomfoolree)

Louisville City employed a 4-2-3-1 formation over its streak of seven games without a loss to finish the season, so let's roll with that.

Cameron Lancaster, who scored a USL-record 25 goals this season, is the easy choice for striker. Then I'll go Brian Ownby on the left, Ilija Ilic in the middle, and George Davis IV on the right. Ilic produced double-digit goals and assists this season, Davis IV is a stabilizing veteran who also scored double-digit goals, and Ownby is arguably Louisville City's most talented player, despite his up-and-down year.

That leaves you with Luke Spencer, Magnus Rasmussen, Niall McCabe and Richard Ballard on the bench. That's a good mix of possession guys, speed guys, playmakers and vertical threats.

Is Lewis back with NYCFC or did his loan include playoffs? (@ZachWAllen)

Jonathan Lewis, who spent time with Louisville City on loan from Major League Soccer Club New York City FC, is gone. On that note, midfielder Jose Carranza, who signed with Louisville City FC in August and produced a goal and assist as a defensive midfielder, is eligible for the playoffs. Late-season signing Napo Matsoso is not eligible.

Was JOC overrated? Is Hack underappreciated? Do stats lie?? (@cmkj35)

No. OK, phew, we got the easy answer out of the way.

To expand on that, it's fair to say that O'Connor is the main reason for Louisville City's success in its first four seasons. The former coach built a system that prioritized personalities, in some cases more than talent, and he sought out particular players to fit that mold.

On the other hand, Hackworth said when he took over midseason that he didn't want to shake the tree too much. Outside of a couple signings to improve depth, he did exactly that. Louisville City didn't miss a beat with him on the bench, so it speaks lengths to his coaching ability that he was able to continue that success despite learning the system on the fly.

In summary, neither coach is overrated or underappreciated.

Check out: Louisville City FC vs. Indy Eleven: How to watch, stream, buy tickets

What’s your favorite #LIPAFC memory from October 2018? (@DanKarellTLH)

If I expand this outside of 2018, it's an easy one. Definitely when Mel "Bootsy" Bingham scored a hat-trick in a 3-2 Louisville City win back in 1922. Wearing cardboard for cleats, he produced the go-ahead goal in extra time on a free kick from halfway to midfield. It flew just past the outstretched oven-mitt laden hand of legendary Indy Eleven goalie, Archibald Wilson III. You can't go an Oct. 12 without hearing of Bootsy's accomplishments up, down and around Interstate 65.

Three storylines you may have missed

1. Lancaster sets USL single-season goal-scoring record: The London native scored 25 goals this season, surpassing former Louisville City FC teammate, Matt Fondy, who set the record with 22 goals in 2015. That prompted this hilarious video from Fondy, who mocked Peyton Manning's congratulatory message to Drew Brees after the latter broke his NFL record for career passing yards.

Well records are meant to be broken. Good thing is it’s staying in @loucityfc. Thanks to Peyton for the wedge salad and congrats to @CameronPL!!! pic.twitter.com/pAyQApVdhk — Matthew Fondy (@mfondy) October 11, 2018

2. Hackworth takes over for O'Connor: The former U.S. men's team coach joined Louisville City midseason after O'Connor, the only coach in Louisville City's four-year history, left for MLS club Orlando City SC. During the search for Hackworth, three players served as player-coaches, and led Louisville City to a 4-2-1 record. Hackworth took over Aug. 18.

3. Record year: Year four was a year of milestones for Louisville City. Davis IV became just the fourth player to reach 50 goals in the USL's modern era, or since 2011. McCabe became the first Louisville City player to reach 100 appearances. The team also set a franchise record with 19 wins in a season and 66 points. Its plus-33 goal differential was also a franchise record.

Related: Here's a timeline of the Louisville City FC soccer stadium project

Three things to know about Indy Eleven

1. Making the most of its move: Founded in 2013, Indy Eleven played its first four seasons in the North American Soccer League before moving over to the USL for 2018. Of the six teams to join the USL this season, it's one of only two to qualify for the 16-team playoffs. Indy Eleven has had some playoff success, reaching the NASL finals in 2016.

2. Well-regarded striker up front: Indy Eleven is led on offense by striker Jack McInerney, who tallied a team-high 10 goals this season. The 26-year-old Tennessee native was a youth star and turned professional out of high school. He was drafted seventh overall in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft. He played 175 MLS games for the Philadelphia Union, Montreal Impact, Columbus Crew SC, Portland Timbers and LA Galaxy, scoring 43 goals before joining Indy Eleven this season.

3. Another MLS connection: The man behind the bench, Martin Rennie, also has an MLS connection. He led Vancouver Whitecaps FC from 2011-2013, posting a 24-25-19 record and one playoff appearance before he was fired. That postseason appearance marked the first time in MLS history that a Canadian team made the playoffs. The Scotland native joined Indy Eleven this season.

Previously: Louisville City FC beats Toronto FC II to make it four in a row

Impress your friends with these notes

1. LIPAFC: In the first three meetings of the newly formed rivalry, the teams have each won, lost and tied a game. Louisville City took the most-recent matchup, 1-0, in the regular-season finale last Saturday.

2. Experience: Eleven of the 13 players who appeared for Louisville City in the 2017 USL Cup Final are still with the team.

3. Trouble on the road: Indy Eleven didn't win any of its last seven road outings, dropping its last four road contests.

4. Another clean sheet? In its first three seasons, Louisville City opened the playoffs with a shutout victory, outscoring opponents by a combined 8-0 score.

5. 77 percent: That's the chance Louisville City advances to the Eastern Conference semifinal, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Justin Sayers: 502-582-4252; jsayers@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @_JustinSayers. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/justins.