INDIANAPOLIS – Louisville City FC won the USL Championship Players’ Shield for the first time in club history as Jake Morris scored a dramatic stoppage-time equalizer to earn the visitors a 2-2 draw against rival Indy Eleven at Michael A. Carroll Stadium.

The result moved LouCity clear of current Western Conference leader New Mexico United and Eastern Conference rival the Charleston Battery on 69 points after the Battery were also held to a 2-2 draw earlier on Saturday night by Detroit City FC at Patriots Point, with Louisville holding head-to-head tiebreakers over both sides from their regular season series.

Louisville took an early lead as a cross from the right by Elijah Wynder was flicked on by Sam Gleadle to Amadou Dia at the back post, where the veteran wingback put home his first goal in LouCity colors. Indy hit back just before the break on an outstanding turn and finish by Augustine Williams, and the Sierra Leone international struck again midway through the second half for his 10th goal of the season to put the hosts in the driver’s seat.

LouCity pressed late to earn the point they needed, and it arrived in the 94th minute. A cross into the left side of the penalty area was kept alive by Dylan Mares and sent to the top of the six-yard area, where Wynder shielded a defender giving space for Morris to fire home from eight yards.

“It’s a never-say-die attitude,” said Dia. “Like [Head Coach] Danny [Cruz has] been talking about all season, always believe until the last, final whistle.

“Honestly, Danny never mentioned the Players’ Shield once this week. All this week was about was beating our rival across the river, and that’s it. It’s a big rivalry. Fans get into it. We get into it. We know it’s going to be intense.

“We wanted three points. The whole goal this week was nine points from those three games, but we’ll settle with seven and the Players’ Shield.”

Louisville has claimed the USL Championship title twice in its 10-season history and the Eastern Conference title on four occasions, but while it has finish in first place in the Eastern Conference regular season standings twice before in 2017 and 2020 it missed out to a Western Conference rival for the best record in the regular season and the Players’ Shield.

Now, LouCity will head to its final three games of the season with a chance to equal the USL Championship’s record for most points in a regular season and set a new mark for regular season wins should it win out at home to the Tampa Bay Rowdies next Saturday, away at San Antonio FC on October 19, and at home to Phoenix Rising FC on the final day of the season.