TUCSON, Ariz. — After opening its preseason with back-to-back draws against Major League Soccer foes, Louisville City FC routed USL Championship competition Monday, defeating Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC by a 3-0 score.
Star winger Brian Ownby scored in the opening half before LouCity Academy grad Owen Damm and offseason signing Rasmus Thellufsen registered their first club goals in the second half.
Played behind closed doors in Tucson, Ariz., the match represented City’s first victory of the year following its draws with MLS’ Nashville SC and Sporting KC.
"We were really happy with the result," said LouCity's head coach, Danny Cruz. "To put three goals in the back of the net was important for us. When you look at the approach to the game, we had to manage minutes on the quick turnaround after Sporting. We wanted to come out of this game without injuries, and we did.
"Then when you look at the quality of football we played on the day, there were some really good opportunities created through rhythm and movement."
The boys in purple led Colorado Springs from the outset once forward Wilson Harris’ long throw resulted in a 13th-minute headed goal by Ownby.
Soon after, LouCity had an opportunity to double its advantage when Manny Perez earned a penalty kick. However, the normally sure-footed Sean Totsch missed his try high. Totsch figures to save his best for the regular season after going perfect from the spot in 2022.
Early in the second half, the outside back Damm corralled a loose ball and finished to make it 2-0. Minutes later, the midfielder Thellufsen benefitted from service by Ray Serrano, boosting LouCity’s lead to 3-0.
City rolled out a mix of veteran pros, academy forward Issac Cano and a pair of trialists in its starting lineup. The 11 on the field grew younger as the game went on, with Damm playing the majority of the way as a substitute and academy forward Colin Elder logging the final 20 minutes at striker.
"We're creating a lot of opportunities and, more importantly, finishing some of those opportunities," Cruz said. "We have to continue to improve and grow in that area. I've got a group of guys that is constantly looking to get better in the final third. Looking forward to opening day, we've got to make sure we do whatever we can to keep the progression going."
LouCity met Colorado Springs in the first of its two closed-door friendlies this week at USL League One side FC Tucson’s annual Desert Showcase. The boys in purple face another club from the USL Championship’s Western Conference, New Mexico United, on Thursday in Arizona.
Preseason play leads up to a 2023 campaign kicking off March 11.
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, or visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.