RIFC fell 4-2 at Lynn Family Stadium today. It was a game that on paper looked like it would be a must watch, even for a neutral fan. It played out that way and there is so much to talk about. So let’s just get right into it
Starting 11
As is tradition, RIFC fans were glued to their phones an hour before kickoff hoping to see the team’s lineup post on social media. Unfortunately, it didn’t arrive until 20 minutes later. It’s become a trend early this season but hopefully it doesn’t last. On top of just our general interest in who is starting, we need to know so we can properly set our Club Collector lineups. Perhaps there’s a new conspiracy here that will rival Big Chicken.
Once the lineup did come out, I thought it would look something like this and ended up being correct:
It was pretty similar to what we saw last weekend against Sporting Jax, with the differences being Hugo staring over an injured Zach Herivaux, and Aldair Sanchez starting over Nick Scardina after Scardina came off with a knock midweek against Faialense.
The significant change here was Jojea Kwizera moving over to RWB. I was a bit concerned seeing him there coming into the game but I don’t know if there was a better option there if Scardina couldn’t go. Dani Rovira looked really good midweek, but that was against amateur opposition. Noah Fuson could play there but he didn’t make the squad at all. And we definitely didn’t want to see Clay out there. So overall, I was pretty happy about the setup
Parked Bus and Dangerous Counters
I wrote in the Prematch Lookout that I was fascinated to see how this played out from a possession standpoint. I expected Lou City to have more of the ball but was curious about how much, given that RIFC were really on the front foot in the opener last weekend. In the first half, Lou City had 66% possession and the eye test made it look like it was even more. They were able to pin RIFC back, which is the key that I pointed out for them ahead of the game.
Despite Lou City’s on the ball dominance, it was RIFC who would go ahead after 20 minutes with this unbelievable strike:
As concerned as I was about Jojea at RWB, you have to give him credit for this beauty. Incredible goal into the top corner.
Lou City would make their dominance count however with an instant response to Jojea’s goal:
Morris ran right between Jojea and Hugo there, who both turned to look at the ball. Not a great look for either player, who should have at least put Morris under more pressure for the shot
Eventful Second Half
Lou City got what was a half full of big moments started just a couple minutes in:
I’d say it was equally poor defending from RIFC and good passing from Lou City on this one. Most of all, a really disappointing way to start the half.
RIFC would respond less than 10 minutes later with this Clay Holstad goal:
It certainly wasn’t a patented Clay banger, but he was in the right place at the right time to finish this one off. Nice shot from Jojea and great reaction from JJ to put it in a dangerous area.
However, poor marking on a set piece 20 minutes later would restore Lou City’s lead:
Not much to say about this one other than that Louisville looked a dangerous from set pieces all game and they finally made it count here.
The game would the be marred by an incident in the 88th minute that resulted in both JJ and Khano getting red cards:
You don’t see it at the end of the clip but referee Jeremy Scheer gave Khano two yellows there. Honestly, I think it’s a bit ridiculous that Dayes only gets a yellow for Louisville. He started the incident by shoving Logan Dorsey into the net. JJ did make contact with Kyle Adams up high, so I can see why he got carded. And as for Khano, I’m not surprised he lost his cool there and got the two yellows. It was a wild incident that didn’t affect the outcome, but was really frustrating.
Lou City would go on to seal this one in extra time via this Jansen Wilson goal:
Honestly, I don’t have anything to say about this one. The game was over at this point as far as I’m concerned.
Final Thoughts
Losing 4-2 is always a frustrating result. But I think if you take a step back, there were some positives to take away from this one. The biggest was that RIFC look like they can score when they get the ball into the final third. After last season’s struggles, that’s a welcome development. Playing at Lynn Family Stadium is always a monumental task and I think our past two results there show how remarkable our first two were in 2024.
I will be back later in the week for a preview of RIFC’s trip to Miami. As always, player ratings and the podcast will be here tomorrow. With so much to talk about from this one, the pod is guaranteed to be a must watch/listen. Until next time, UP THE TIDE!
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