LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville City FC continued its impressive 2017 USL campaign with a 2-1 win against the Charlotte Independence at Louisville Slugger Field on Saturday evening. While George Davis IV scored the opening goal of the game for the home side, Kyle Smith recorded the game-winner in the 77th minute to help Louisville improve to 17-6-8 this regular season. Charlotte’s Caleb Calvert scored an eye-opening goal for the road side in the 66th minute, and while the club recorded 13 total shots during the match, it was unable to find an equalizer late. The Independence, who already clinched its spot in the 2017 USL Cup Playoffs alongside Louisville, falls to 13-9-9 this season.

Scoring:
57’ – LOU – George Davis IV (Niall McCabe)
66’ – CLT – Caleb Calvert (Jaime Siaj)
77’ – LOU – Kyle Smith (Brian Ownby)

• #LOUvCLT: Full match and Opta box score

Three Things That Matter:

• 1. The loss will sting for the visiting Independence, who needed a win to try and better their position in the Eastern Conference ahead of the USL Cup Playoffs. Louisville came into Saturday evening’s match having already clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, but that didn’t stop the home side from securing its 17th win of the year. The Independence had also clinched its spot in the playoffs ahead of Saturday’s game, but the loss means the club is stuck in fourth place heading into their final match of the regular season on Oct. 14.
• 2. With the result, Louisville has a better advantage in the series. Louisville now has a 4-2-1 all-time record against the Independence, with Louisville winning the first match 1-0 and Charlotte winning the second 3-1 before tonight’s 2-1 result. Should these two sides meet again in the playoffs, the Independence will want to do something it hasn’t in 2017 – win at Louisville Slugger Field.
• 3. Louisville got the job done on Saturday without three of its many talented options, showing just how good it can be this year. Mark-Anthony Kaye, Greg Ranjitsingh and Speedy Williams all missed Saturday's match due to international duty, but the club still put pressure on Charlotte throughout the 90 minutes and even finished the match with 56.1 percent possession.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match:

Kyle Smith, Louisville City FC – The defender was credited with the game-winner, while he also completed 75.8 percent of his passes and helped Louisville’s back line prevent a talented Independence front line from doing more damage than it could have.

Upcoming Games:
Louisville City FC vs. Richmond Kickers – Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m. ET, Louisville Slugger Field
Charlotte Independence vs. Charleston Battery – Oct. 14, 7 p.m. ET, Sportsplex at Matthews