Editor’s Note: Louisville City FC’s last-ever (probably) match at Louisville Slugger Field is on Saturday. To celebrate City’s time on the ball diamond, Andrew Oost, author and longtime dedicated LouCity fan, put together this daily countdown ofthe best six games ever played on a combination of grass and green carpet laid over dirt with a retractable pitchers’ mound. Enjoy!

Previously: No. 6 – 2015 Conference Semifinal vs. Charleston Battery; No. 5 – 2018 Conference Final vs. New York Red Bulls II

Slugger’s Greatest Hits, #4

Louisville City 2, St. Louis FC 0

USL (Pro) Regular Season, March 28, 2015

On a cool and sunny March afternoon in 2015, Louisville City played the first official game in club history. The day wasn’t particularly noteworthy for anything that happened on the pitch, but the significance of the date cannot be understated. Louisville City looked like a quality side, cruising to a 2-0 victory through goals by Magnus Rasmussen and Charlie Adams, but the result isn’t why March 28, 2015 stands out in the annals of LCFC history.

The date is memorable because it is a sort of signpost, Year 0 in Louisville City’s existence. Prior to that day, professional soccer was just an idea, a passion project speared on by the earliest Coopers, and willed into existence by Wayne Estopinal. A mere 14 months prior, at a hastily assembled meeting in an Irish pub, many of us had first been made aware that the possibility of professional soccer coming to Louisville. Since then, the team had been announced, James O’Connor had been hired, players had been assembled, and Slugger Field had been made ready to host the first soccer game in its history.

The pace at which the idea turned into reality was impressive. Although personally I was incredibly excited at the prospect of Louisville City FC, there were doubts in the months leading up to the first match. My primary concern was whether anybody else would bother to show up. I had a recurring fear in the months leading into the first match, where only a few hundred people were at the game. It was understood that there was a core group of soccer fans in Louisville, but nothing indicated that it was more than just a couple thousand people. Who knew how many of those folks would be ready to get on board with a brand new team playing in a league most people had never heard of, which was classified as a “Third Division” league at that time?

Upon arrival in the Preston Street parking lot, my doubts began to ease. There was scattering of tailgaters drinking beers, some folks kicking balls around, and people milling about in the few items of LouCity gear that were available at the time. There were even a couple dozen St. Louis FC fans, who had made the trip to witness the first match in their team’s history as well. 

Once we walked into the stadium, and saw that it wasn’t a few hundred in attendance, but rather a few thousand, fears began to melt away. There were other people that cared about the game, and they were here! We stood in the Supporters Section, and did our best to create some atmosphere, but it was comically disorganized in comparison to what exists today. There were a few people acting as impromptu capos, a drum or two, one memorable guy with a flag, and a couple of generic chants. And it was fun, lots of fun, and I suspect that most people in attendance that day have been back many, many times over the past five seasons.

Not one of the 6,067 people in attendance that day could imagine that over the next five years, the club would post the best record in USL, win two USL Cup championships, and be on the verge of moving into one of the finest soccer stadiums in the United States. Those were dreams that would unfold over the coming years. 

On March 28, 2015, our dreams were much simpler, and much more humble. We were all just happy to be there, from the beginning.