Experience, execution fueled Louisville City's USL playoff-opening win

Justin Sayers | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption John Hackworth talks after LouCity win against Indy Eleven Louisville City FC head coach John Hackworth talks after his team's 4-1 victory against Indy Eleven to open the 2018 postseason.

For Louisville City FC, its win against Indy Eleven on Saturday could be described with two words starting with the letter "E" — experience and execution.

In its first playoff game since winning the United Soccer League championship, Louisville City used three set-piece goals to beat an Indy Eleven team making its USL playoff debut. The final score was 4-1.

That experience was on full display from the get-go on Saturday in front of 6,763 fans at Slugger Field.

Louisville City used 11 of the 14 players that played in last year's USL Cup Final, and they didn't hesitate as Indy Eleven came out firing, creating a pair of goal-scoring chances and corner kicks in the game's first 10 minutes.

The Boys in Purple took control halfway through the first half and never let up. It got goals from three players, all of whom have been with the team since its inception in 2015 and either played in or were on the bench during last year's final.

"We know what it takes. We’ve been here before," said Louisville City midfielder Niall McCabe, who scored twice on Saturday. "Experience counts for a lot at this stage so hopefully, it continues."

Louisville City has now played 11 postseason games since 2015. It's tied with New York Red Bulls II for most playoff wins over that span with eight. Counting last year's four-game championship run, Louisville City's playoff winning streak is at five.

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Head coach John Hackworth, who joined Louisville City midseason this year, said he used that past success as a motivational tactic before the game.

"I told the guys in the locker room before the game they're incredible at what they do and they've done this before and they've been good at it year after year after year," he said. "I think they're the best in the business this time of year."

The dominating win could also be chalked up to the second "E" word — execution.

Louisville City scored three goals on set pieces. Midfielder Oscar Jimenez assisted McCabe on a corner kick in the 29th minute and a free kick in the 48th minute. Cameron Lancaster scored on a free kick in the 73rd minute.

Both Hackworth and McCabe credited assistant coach Danny Cruz for identifying a weakness in Indy Eleven's set-piece defense during his pre-game scouting.

"He does a lot of work on that analysis side of things and he’s part of an area that we could exploit on corners," McCabe said. "The original plan was to try the first one and see how it went and it went pretty good so we said let’s see if it’s there again."

On the line for Louisville City its next time out is a potential fourth-straight trip to the Eastern Conference finals. Its opponent is Bethlehem Steel FC, which advanced to the semifinals with a win in penalty kicks Saturday against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.

The two teams will face off next Saturday, Oct. 27 at Slugger Field. The time still has not yet been announced.

After a successful opening round, Hackworth was asked how to avoid a letdown in the next game. He said he doesn't even "think about it with this group."

"Their aspirations is not to reach the playoffs, their aspirations is not to just win one game," he said. "We stay focused on the process, and we every single day come to work, and next week it'll just be whoever we play."

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