Louisville City FC found itself mere minutes away from upsetting another Major League Soccer opponent Wednesday night.

Ultimately, LouCity couldn’t quite hang on en route to a tight defeat to the Houston Dynamo FC, ending the club’s U.S. Open Cup run in the Round of 16.

Two substitutes — Ray Serrano and Chris Donovan — combined to give Louisville the lead seconds after subbing on in the second half at Shell Energy Stadium. LouCity held that advantage for 22 minutes before Erik Sviatchenko’s diving header forced extra time. Ezequiel Ponce found the net for the Dynamo to deny the boys in purple a trip to the quarterfinals, which would have matched their longest-ever Open Cup run.

A close call against Houston followed City’s Round of 32 victory over Austin FC, also from MLS.

“I’m proud of the players’ performance and the staff,” said interim head coach Simon Bird. “It goes without saying (that we’re) really disappointed to lose the game, certainly in the way we lost the game. From an effort and character and mentality standpoint, I thought we were excellent.

“… I think the first 10 or 15 minutes, where we looked a little disorganized defensively, we were trying to figure a few things out. Outside of that, I thought we matched them, defended well, created opportunities. (We) didn’t bury a couple of opportunities when we were 1-0 up late in the game.”

As was perhaps expected when facing a club a level above in the professional soccer pyramid, Louisville was challenged early. A superb effort in goal by Danny Faundez, who made eight saves on the night, kept LouCity in it. That included Faundez’s denial of a penalty chance by the Dynamo’s Jack McGlynn inside the first 10 minutes.

Reflecting on a standout display — in just his second appearance of 2026 — Faundez said, “Obviously, it’s hard to come across games where LouCity faces that many shots. But I know all three (goalkeepers) in that locker room are capable of showing up when our number is called.”

The penalty save, though, was a turning point that allowed LouCity to get to the half with the score knotted, 0-0. Louisville continued to grow in confidence as the match remained level.

The opener arrived in the 67th minute as two pieces of a double substitution connected. Donovan cut across a defender, played a perfectly weighted ball to the back post, and Serrano took care of the rest. It marked back-to-back games with a goal for the 23-year-old forward.

“We knew there was a lot of space in behind once we came into the game because they were pushing for the win,” Serrano said. “Good timing. Good movement. Really good work to play the ball across the goal for me to ultimately finish it in the back of the net. (Donovan) did really well there.”

LouCity held the lead until an 89th-minute Houston chance went against the run of play. Héctor Herrera found Sviatchenko for the equalizer. Ponce then converted in the first half of extra time to rally the Dynamo.

The boys in purple will stay on the road, turning around to USL Championship play this weekend. Kickoff at Detroit City FC is set for 6 p.m. Saturday with coverage on CBS Sports Network.

Game Summary: Houston Dynamo FC vs. Louisville City FC

Date: April 29, 2026

Venue: Shell Energy Stadium

Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET

Weather: 80 degrees, partly cloudy

Scoring

Houston Dynamo FC (0, 1, 1, 0, 2)

Louisville City FC (0, 1, 0, 0, 1)

Goals

Houston Dynamo FC:

89’ Erik Sviatchenko (Héctor Herrera)

101’ Ezequiel Ponce (Héctor Herrera)

Louisville City FC:

67’ Ray Serrano (Chris Donovan)

Lineups

Houston Dynamo FC: 1 – Jimmy Maurer (46’ 31 – Jonathan Bond); 21 – Franco Negri (81’ 36 – Felipe Andrade), 3 – Antônio Carlos (c), 28 – Erik Sviatchenko (91’ 34 – Agustin Resch), 24 – Ibrahim Aliyu, 8 – Jack McGlynn (46’ 11 – Lawrence Ennali), 30 – Agustín Bouzat (69’ 16 – Héctor Herrera), 18 – Diadié Samassékou (59’ 6 – Artur), 14 – Duane Holmes, 19 – Mateusz Bogusz (59’ 10 – Ezequiel Ponce), 9 – Ondrej Lingr

Head coach: Ben Olsen

Louisville City FC: 12 – Danny Faundez; 13 – Amadou Dia, 32 – Kyle Adams (c), 5 – Brandon Dayes, 16 – Carlos Moguel Jr. (58’ 23 – Sam Gleadle), 15 – Manny Perez (75’ 24 – Josh Jones), 8 – Taylor Davila, 6 – Zach Duncan (86’ 28 – Cameron Duke), 25 – Jansen Wilson (66’ 7 – Ray Serrano), 27 – Evan Davila (75’ 47 – Mukwelle Akale), 14 – Tola Showunmi (66’ 9 – Chris Donovan)

Subs not used: 30 – Ryan Troutman

Interim Head Coach: Simon Bird

Stats Summary: Houston Dynamo FC / Louisville City FC

Shots: 22 / 12

Shots on Goal: 10 / 4

Expected goals: 2.49 / 1.46

Possession: 71.3% / 28.7%

Fouls: 12 / 17

Offsides: 1 / 4

Corner Kicks: 10 / 3

Discipline Summary:

Houston Dynamo FC:

78’ Ondrej Lingr (yellow)

112’ Ezequiel Ponce (yellow)

Louisville City FC:

40’ Brandon Dayes (yellow)

117’ Cameron Duke (yellow)

120’+1 Ray Serrano (yellow)

Referee: Marcos de Oliveira

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LouCity bows out of Open Cup after pushing Houston Dynamo to the brink