Given his history with the club, it’s no surprise current Miami FC defender Paco Craig loves returning to face Louisville City FC.

“This game is always special to me, for sure,” Craig said this week. “I really do enjoy the occasion. There’s a couple other environments that are really enjoyable to be in, but the level of atmosphere is the most enjoyable part. I do love returning to Louisville, I reflect on it fondly.”

On Saturday night, the 30-year-old will return to Lynn Family Stadium as Miami faces LouCity in the debut of this season’s USL on ESPN slate on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. ET, a marquee game between two teams with big expectations this USL Championship season.

Craig’s professional career began with LouCity seven years ago when he joined the club after a standout college career at Young Harris College. The English center back quickly made himself a mainstay in the club’s lineup, and helped it earn its two USL Championship titles in 2017 and 2018 before departing after four seasons at the end of the 2019 campaign.

Over that span, he led the club with 9,479 minutes played across the regular season and playoffs, tied for the most starts with 105 alongside fellow defender Oscar Jimenez, and tied for third in overall appearances with 110, trailing only fellow club legends George Davis IV and Paolo DelPiccolo. Players like DelPiccolo and Brian Ownby are among those Craig is looking forward to not only seeing again as longtime friends, but also as competitors he gets the chance to go up against.

“I like seeing Ownby out there,” he said. “He’s a good player, and you want to play against the most challenging people on a weekly basis.”

Craig is now in his third season with Miami, where he’s set similar benchmarks in terms of on-field consistency and performance. He ranks second to fellow veteran Bolu Akinyode in appearances (69) and minutes played (5,993) for the club since the start of the 2021 season. He’s also maintained his individual reputation as one of the best center backs in the league with two Championship All-League selections in the past two campaigns, adding to the three he earned in Louisville.

Miami, though, is still looking to find the level LouCity has in setting the pace for clubs in the Eastern Conference over the years. While Miami has reached the postseason in the past two seasons it has yet to advance out of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, falling to LouCity in 2021 and in-state rival the Tampa Bay Rowdies last year. 

This season has seen 13 players return, with Craig signing a new deal with the club this preseason, as Head Coach Anthony Pulis looks to raise the level of success for a team with high expectations. Miami is in good form of late, heading to Louisville on a four-game undefeated streak. The run includes a 3-1 victory against Birmingham Legion FC last time out that saw the side put in a strong display against one of the teams also vying to finish near the top of the Eastern Conference standings this campaign.

Results like that are the type which Craig believes Miami needs to get into the habit of to become a serious challenger, with the club’s trip to Louisville a chance to maintain its current rise.

“These are the wins that we have to get if we want to take ourselves seriously,” he said. “For us, [the Birmingham win] was business as usual. What also helped us out was we had a lot of games in quick succession, so we were like, as long as you got your recovery right and you’re feeling good to go for the next game, you start to get on a roll. We’re definitely starting to feel good, so we just want to continue that momentum.”