By Nate Bryan

@NateInSports

[Ed. Note: Thanks, seriously, to Nate for helping us out with the recap! We look forward to more actual journalism from him, as opposed to the conjecture and invective you usually get from yours truly. TS.]

ELIZABETHTOWN — No snow-cold stunner this time for Louisville City.

Danish midfielder Magnus Rasmussen had two goals and midfielder George Davis IV had one goal and one assist Wednesday night as the reigning United Soccer League champions atoned for last year’s 1-0 preseason loss to NCAA Division-I Lipscomb with a dominating 3-0 victory over the Bison at the Elizabethtown Sports Park.

“I thought we played well tonight and I thought there was a good understanding of what we we were trying to do,” said LouCity coach James O’Connor, whose club is 3-0 in the preseason with two consecutive shutouts with previous exhibitions wins being 3-1 against Young Harris College and 4-0 against Northern Kentucky University. “We can be pleased. I thought the mentality was strong tonight.”

That mentality might as well have been an offensive one.

LouCity outshot Lipscomb heavily and didn’t need too long to get on the board as Rasmussen scored in the 17th minute on a left-footed shot from the right wing by Rasmussen, who re-signed with LouCity a little more than two months ago after spending 2017 playing back in his home country

Rasmussen struck again just before halftime on an assist from Davis IV, who is in his third season with the club and was among the team’s leading scorers at last season’s midway point.

LouCity, which lost to Lipscomb last year despite outshooting the Bison 17-4, could have been up more at the break. The boys in purple missed a wide-open goal in the 22nd minute with the Lipscomb keeper far off his line.

“We were pleased (with the offense). I think for us, there was good understanding of movement and the timing of runs,” O’Connor said. “I think finishing could have been a little bit stronger.”

Lipscomb was coming off a 2-0 loss last week to the Music City’s newest professional team, Nashville SC — LouCity’s regular-season opening opponent at 3 p.m. March 17 at Slugger Field.

“I’d like to also thank Lipscomb because for them, this is a decent trip to make in the mid week as well,” O’Connor said. “So we’re very grateful for them making the journey up. We’re building a nice relationship with a lot of respect for the guys and the coaches at Lipscomb. They had a very good year last year and we hope they go on and have a strong year this year.”

Davis capped off the scoring early in the second half with a hard-driven shot. The temperature dropped shortly thereafter, with noticeable snow coming before the final whistle.

“When the snow started coming down, we were laughing,” O’Connor said. “We were like, ‘Wow. This is interesting.’ But great credit to the crowd because it was an enjoyable night.”

LouCity has been dominant defensively in its exhibitions, outscoring its three foes 10-1.

“It was good (against Lipscomb) and I think there was a lot of rotation,” O’Connor said. “We ended up swapping quite a few in and out there as the game wore on. There was a decent understanding and there are a couple of things that we need to be sharper and crisper at, but overall, we can be pleased.

LouCity finishes the preseason Saturday with a 5 p.m. Eastern match against Saint Louis FC at Arad McCutchan Stadium in Evansville, Indiana.

“That will be a tough game. Saint Louis will be strong,” O’Connor said. “Anthony (Pulis) is a very good coach and he signed some new players. So there’s a lot of ambition there for them. It will be a good test for us and it will be a really great game for us going into the league opener.”