New season, same ol’ truth: Louisville City FC is Kentucky’s men’s soccer team to beat.

Down a goal in Friday night’s season opener, LouCity rallied to defeat Lexington SC by a 2-1 score with goals from second half substitutes Mukwelle Akale and Aiden McFadden.

City trailed at half in front of a record Lexington SC Stadium crowd before reversing its fortunes over the final 45 minutes. First, the newcomer Akale canceled out Lexington captain Aaron Molloy’s earlier strike. Then McFadden smashed home an 85th-minute rebound to move the boys in purple to 4-0 all-time against their cross-state rivals.

LouCity — which won its seventh straight season opener — also took an early advantage in the season series with Lexington: the Commonwealth Cup, presented by Republic Bank. The second leg will be played July 11 in Louisville.

“We were not happy with the first half,” said head coach Danny Cruz. “Don’t think we had anywhere near enough quality on the ball. I thought defensively we were a bit all over the place. … We were losing every second ball. The mentality wasn’t where we wanted it to be. I still think there’s so much room for improvement. That wasn’t a great performance in the grand scheme of things.

“But this is a group that is resilient, that finds a way to win. The biggest issue, I think, is clear as day — should be to everybody — is transition. Every time we turned the ball over, it ended up near our box. … But really, really proud of the three points for sure.”

Lifted by a stunner from offseason addition Molloy 16 minutes in, host Lexington took control of the match early. LouCity, with an array of set-piece chances, couldn’t muster a shot on target in the first half.

Cruz made three halftime substitutions that shifted the game’s momentum. Among them was Akale, who leveled the score with a rolling shot after a solo run in the box.

With both teams seeking a winning moment, it was McFadden — wearing a mask to stabilize a broken nose after surgery Thursday — who delivered.

“Pain is not going to control me. Emotions won’t stop me,” McFadden said. “You’ve got to be peaceful in your mind, intentional with your actions. I do this for the little kid in me that had a dream and for all the little kids everywhere who look up. You don’t want to let them down. … I love my job. I love my people. … I love this city.”

Lexington nearly nullified City’s go-ahead finish moments after McFadden’s strike, but a handball pulled a would-be equalizer off the board.

“We just tried to stay calm (after going down),” said 17-year-old Brandon Dayes, a LouCity Academy product who started at center back. “We know our ability, we know our quality. We just try to stay as calm as we can and know we’re good enough to beat this team. That’s what we came out in the second half and did.”

Equipped with momentum, the boys in purple now head back down I-64 for their 2026 home opener set for 4 p.m. next Saturday against Miami FC at Lynn Family Stadium. Festivities include a pregame concert, giveaway and Zambelli Fireworks at player walkout. Fans can visit LouCity.com/opener for tickets and more information.

Game Summary: Lexington SC vs. Louisville City FC

Date: March 6, 2026

Venue: Lexington SC Stadium

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET

Weather: 69 degrees, mostly cloudy

Scoring

Lexington SC (1, 0, 1)

Louisville City FC (0, 2, 2)

Goals

Lexington SC:

16’ Aaron Molloy

Louisville City FC:

52’ Mukwelle Akale (Sean Totsch)

85’ Aiden McFadden

Lineups

Lexington SC: 17 – Oliver Semmle; 22 – Joe Hafferty, 5 – Kendall Burks, 4 – Arturo Ordóñez (72’ 23 – Javain Brown), 2 – Jacob Greene, 6 – Aaron Molloy (c), 8 – Nick Firmino (73’ 77 – Jonathan Lewis), 10 – Michael Adedokun (65’ 11 – Alfredo Midence), 7 – Marcus Epps, 16 – Blaine Ferri (88’ 18 – Malik Henry-Scott), 9 – Phillip Goodrum

Subs not used: 40 – Garrett Addams; 12 – Xavier Zengue, 14 – Andrew Caborn, 19 – Tarik Scott, 30 – Latif Blessing

Head coach: Masaki Hemmi

Louisville City FC: 30 – Ryan Troutman; 3 – Jake Morris, 32 – Kyle Adams (c), 5 – Brandon Dayes (79’ 24 – Josh Jones), 4 – Sean Totsch, 15 – Manny Perez (65’ 2 – Aiden McFadden), 8 – Taylor Davila, 6 – Zach Duncan (46’ 31 – Kevon Lambert), 25 – Jansen Wilson, 21 – Quenzi Huerman (46’ 47 – Mukwelle Akale), 14 – Tola Showunmi (46’ 9 – Chris Donovan)

Subs not used: 12 – Danny Faundez; 7 – Ray Serrano, 23 – Sam Gleadle, 97 – Thomas Weinrich

Head coach: Danny Cruz

Stats Summary: Lexington SC / Louisville City FC

Shots: 11 / 15

Shots on Goal: 2 / 4

Expected goals: 1.00 / 0.94

Possession: 47.4% / 52.6%

Fouls: 13 / 12

Offside: 1 / 1

Corner Kicks: 1 / 7

Discipline Summary

Lexington SC:

90’ Joe Hafferty (yellow)

Louisville City FC:

15’ Zach Duncan (yellow)

Referee: Elton Garcia

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LouCity rallies to knock off Lexington SC — again — in season opener