Miami FC sunk by late penalty despite strong performance in 1-2 loss to Louisville
MIAMI — A penalty in the final minutes and a late shot off the crossbar spoiled what was an extremely impressive performance by Miami FC against Louisville City FC on Saturday night in Miami.
Combined with several close chances including a late Genzano shot off the crossbar had the Aqua and Orange faithful feeling they were deserving of a better result.
Miami started strong in the first half having the majority of possession. Mikey Lawrence, fresh off of receiving a full-season contract that extended his 25-day stint, was dangerous in attack all night and almost found his second goal of the season in the 18th minute.
The local product took a through ball from Ayimbila and sprinted into the box, making a beautiful cut on his defender before firing a rocket towards the near post. However, the Louisville keeper made an incredible save to keep things scoreless.
Despite Miami's strong play and possession, it was Louisville City FC that drew first blood in the 30th minute. On a restart off a foul, Elijah Wynder received a cross from the right and put his header perfectly in the far post leaving Miami's Pipe Rodriguez no chance to save.
Miami continued to press the remainder of the half but went into halftime down 0-1.
As the second half began, Allen Gavilanes almost brought an immediate equalizer in the 46th minute but again Louisville's keeper made an excellent save. It was clear Miami had every intention of taking the game to the visiting Louisville squad, as the Lawrence, Lopez, and Gavilanes continued to press and attack the LCFC defense.
The persistence finally paid off in the 61st minute as Nico Cardona put in an incredible bending cross to the near post where Frank Lopez was making his run. Lopez took Cardona's cross out of the air and put his header right past the keeper to bring the score to 1-1.
Both teams then began to put together attacks back and forth through the next 20 minutes. Then in the 82nd-minute controversy, Alejandro Mitrano made contact with a Louisville player as he was clearing a cross. The two collided as the ball was cleared, but ultimately the official pointed to the penalty spot. Sean Totsch stepped up and put the visitors ahead 1-2.
The next 10 minutes including stoppage time showed that Miami was not done as they dominated possession hitting several dangerous balls into the area. But as time wound down, the hosts still could not find the equalizer even after dominating play. That included an incredible sequence at the end as Mikey Lawrence made a great move on his defender and put the cross in. The ball bounced and fell perfectly to Rocco Genzano. Genzano appeared certain to score but his shot hit off the bottom of the crossbar and Louisville was able to clear as the official blew the final whistle.
It was a valiant effort and impressive performance for Miami FC, who felt unlucky to not grab points from a great Saturday night match in Miami.
Miami will return home to FIU Football Stadium to host Loudon United on Saturday, June 22. Kickoff will be at 7:00 p.m. ET. Tickets for the match are on sale now at www.MiamiFC.com.
For the full season schedule, go to miamifc.com/2024-schedule.
CBS News Miami is the official broadcast partner for Miami FC. This story was reprinted with permission from Miami FC.