Sean Totsch drilled a late penalty kick Saturday at Miami FC, sending Louisville City FC to a 2-1 away victory and to the top of the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference table.
LouCity had already hit the cross bar twice in the second half while chasing a game-winner at FIU Stadium in Florida. Ray Serrano eventually earned the penalty in the 81st minute, absorbing heavy contact in the box that set up Totsch to tuck away his goal from the spot.
City (9-1-2, 29 points) remained unbeaten in seven straight games, a run that has moved the boys in purple ahead of the Charleston Battery for first place. They in turn dealt Miami FC (2-10-1, 7 points) a fifth straight loss.
“These players have been though it this month — no question about it,” said coach Danny Cruz, noting LouCity has spent 16 of the last 28 days away from home and played six games over that stretch. That includes a three games over the last eight days.
“…I thought we started the game really well,” Cruz added. “The first half was pretty good, and in the second half it was pretty clear we fatigued — tired out. We grinded, we fought, and we defended the box. We made some mistakes, yes, but there’s a lot to be proud of with everything these players have been through the past month.”
Ever reliable on penalties, Totsch made it 12-for-12 in his career across all competitions when he elevated his 83rd-minute spot kick to the opposing keeper’s left. LouCity had to defend its way to a win from there — and receive some good fortune, too. Rocco Genzano’s blasted shot deep into six minutes of stoppage time went off the underside of the bar and fortuitously stayed out.
Leading up to Totsch’s goal, Jake Morris launched a 64th-minute free kick off the woodwork, and Jorge Gonzalez likewise hit the bar when heading a long throw goal-ward in the 69th minute. Serrano keyed LouCity’s breakthrough chance as he got to a cross before Miami’s Alejandro Mitrano, who met him with contact in the box.
“We dominated the first half, I thought,” Wynder said. “The second half, we came out and we were under it. We couldn’t really keep the ball — they had a lot of it — and it’s not really what we want to do, but we dropped off. They were picking up a lot of second balls. We waited for our moment, got the PK and saw the win out.”
LouCity persevered to a victory despite conceding its only second half road goal of the season so far. Frank Lopez headed in a Nicolas Cardona cross in the 61st minute, capping a sequence that looked much like City’s opener. Elijah Wynder had earlier flicked back an Adrien Perez service from the same right flank to move the boys in purple ahead in the 31st minute.
LouCity improved to 6-0 this season when leading at the half. Wynder scored his third league goal, Totsch tallied his second, and Perez now sits on a team-leading five assists.
“I don’t think the schedule has been kind to us,” Cruz said, “but we’ve come out of it, and I’m really proud of how the players handled tonight and continued to fight until the end.”
LouCity gets a full week to prepare for its match next Saturday against North Carolina FC. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. at Lynn Family Stadium.
Game Summary: Miami FC vs. Louisville City FC
Date:June 1, 2024
Venue:FIU Stadium
Kickoff:7 p.m. ET
Weather: 83 degrees, partly cloudy
Scoring
Miami FC (0, 1, 1)
Louisville City FC (1, 1, 2)
Goals
Miami FC:
61’ Frank Lopez (Nicolas Cardona)
Louisville City FC:
31’ Elijah Wynder (Adrien Perez)
83’ Sean Totsch
Lineups
Miami FC: 31 — Felipe Rodriguez, 3 — Jordan Ayimbila (37’ 99 — Allen Gavilanes), 29 — Alejandro Mitrano, 13 — Daltyn Knutson, 4 — Nicolas Cardona, 6 — Samuel Biek, 15 — Mujeeb Murana (85’ 16 — Manuel Botta), 19 — Michael Lawrence, 80 — Andrew Booth (56’ 8 — Gabriel Cabral), 23 — Rocco Genzano, 11 — Frank Lopez
Subs not used: 1 — Khadim Ndiaye, 7 — Luisinho, 30 — Chris Jean-Francois, 33 — Lucas De Paula, 50 — Roberto Molina
Head coach:Antonio Nocerino
Louisville City FC: 18 – Damian Las, 3 – Jake Morris, 5 – Arturo Ordóñez, 6 – Wes Charpie, 4 – Sean Totsch, 2 – Aiden McFadden (73’ 25 – Jansen Wilson), 11 – Niall McCabe (63’ 17 – Taylor Davila), 23 – Elijah Wynder, 21 – Jorge Gonzalez (83’ 22 – Dylan Mares), 20 – Sam Gleadle (63’ 24 – Tola Showunmi), 16 – Adrien Perez (63’ 7 – Ray Serrano)
Subs not used: 12 – Danny Faundez, 13 – Amadou Dia
Head coach: Danny Cruz
Stats Summary: Miami FC / Louisville City FC
Shots: 15 / 14
Shots on Goal: 4 / 5
Possession: 52.3% / 47.7%
Fouls: 18 / 17
Offside: 1 / 1
Corner Kicks: 6 / 6
Discipline Summary
Miami FC:
17’ Antonio Nocerino (yellow)
27’ Daltyn Knutson (yellow)
30’ Andrew Booth (yellow)
34’ Bench (yellow)
42’ Nicolas Cardona (yellow)
71’ Michael Lawrence (yellow)
81’ Alejandro Mitrano (yellow)
Louisville City FC:
38’ Adrien Perez (yellow)
59’ Wes Charpie (yellow)
59’ Danny Cruz (yellow)
90’+2 Damian Las (yellow)
Referee:Alejo Calume
