After starting yet another season with consecutive matches on the road, tomorrow we return home to Nippert Stadium.
An undefeated FC Cincinnati will open their 2018 regular season schedule tomorrow, Saturday, April 7th, with a 7pm kickoff against downriver rivals Louisville City FC. As with every USL match this campaign, the match will air live on local television -- Star 64 (WSTR) has the honor this weekend -- and via stream here. But with this being our first home match of the season, you can also tune in on your radio on ESPN 1530, on a radio stream or the iHeart Radio app, too!
Meanwhile, tickets for the highly anticipated rivalry match have been flying out the door. As such, the club is not only in a position to break its home opener attendance record of 23,144 set last year against Saint Louis FC... but to potentially smash it. The general admission section is already sold out, along with season-long sellouts of The Bailey and Club Sections.
So if you haven't picked up your tickets for it yet, we highly recommend doing so right now.
A LITTLE BACKGROUND
As if the return of the "River Cities Rivalry" wasn't enough to stoke the storylines prior to this match, both the Orange & Blue and the visiting purple guys enter this weekend's match sporting identical, undefeated 2-0-0 records. That's not unexpected given the visitors are reigning USL champions and the investment in our squad in the offseason, but it does dial the intensity up a notch or two.
Not that the rivalry needed any additional boost.
In seven total meetings in all competitions, the spoils have been nearly evenly split. We hold a slight advantage in the overall series with a 3-2-2 record all-time against Elsie, though they have us edged in goals scored 9-10.
Interestingly, that Louisville goal tally includes a 0-5 drubbing in our last meeting in Slugger Field in August last year. If you're doing the math at home, that means we've actually held a side that's normally potent in attack fairly well in those seven previous meetings -- including holding them scoreless on three separate occasions.
That's a promising statistic, particularly when you consider that in the four previous meetings between the clubs at Nippert, FCC has won twice and only lost once. That last loss came way back in Louisville's first-ever trip to Cincinnati in April of 2016.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Despite not being very active with offseason player moves, Louisville are once again one of the USL favorites this season. And in 2018, they're mostly sticking with the same formula that lead them to silverware in 2017.
Thus far in 2018, LCFC have rolled with a 3-2-4-1 formation that emphasizes loads of pace on the wings from returners like George Davis IV, Oscar Jiminez, and Shaun Francis. Their attack itself has been spearheaded again by former FCC forward Luke Spencer, who has already netted once this season after pacing Louisville with 11 goals in 2017. At the back, FCC supporters will recognize former fan-favorite Pat McMahon anchoring the right side of Louisville's stingy back three that has yet to concede a goal in two matches this season.
On our side of the pitch, there was a clear improvement from the boys from their Week 1 win in Charleston to their Week 2 victory at Indy Eleven.
That improvement was most evident at the back, where the defensive quartet of Smith, Lasso, Keinan, and Hoyte have also held two clean sheets in two matches while still nurturing an understanding between themselves.
But even more help has come in the form of truly stellar goalkeeping from Evan Newton. After earning USL Save of the Week honors for a magnificent stop in Week 1, he repeated the feat in Week 3 following a penalty save and follow-up block.
Offensively, the Orange & Blue are also still trying to form partnerships. But we saw glimpses of that last week, particularly with Emmanuel Ledesma's perfect teeing up of Emery Welshman for his first of the year against Indy.
It's in midfield, however, where we're most likely to see a change. With Kenney Walker on the receiving end of a mauling challenge in Indianapolis last weekend, his participation is in doubt. Will Seymore came on early and did a great job deputizing, but whether head coach Alan Koch intends to stick with him remains to be seen.
Regardless of who gets picked, one thing is certain. The 2018 home opener is a match not to be missed. Make sure you're there for it.
