United States international and FC Kaiserslautern forward Terence Boyd praised the quality and poise of Louisville City FC’s players and staff on a memorable night for the USL Championship club as it hosted international opposition for the first time in its history.

Facing the historic German club at Lynn Family Stadium on Wednesday night, LouCity took an early lead through Enoch Mushagalusa before Boyd helped the visitors rally with a remarkable finish as one of his two goals on the night to take a 2-1 win, but the overall experience of a well-fought contest impressed the USMNT veteran.

“I thought it was a tough opponent,” said Boyd, who has recorded three assists in 14 appearances for USMNT in his career. “We didn’t know what to expect. I told the guys, there are guys here who can play ball in the U.S. They might not have the biggest names, but they can ball.

“They showed it, not just from a technical standpoint but the way [LouCity Head Coach] Danny Cruz is letting his players play from a tactical view, it’s comparable to Germany — German football.”

Mushagalusa opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a precise low finish from outside the penalty area that picked out the bottom-left corner of the net. Boyd produced the highlight of the night just before the half-hour mark, however, as he headed home from his belly despite slipping in the penalty area before the cross arrived. The 32-year-old bagged a second shortly before halftime to put Kaiserslautern ahead before a scoreless second half.

While the result didn’t go LouCity’s way, that was secondary to the experience for the club, which not only saw Niall McCabe and Manny Perez return to action after recent stints on the sidelines due to injury but also saw five LouCity Academy players make their first appearances for the First Team.

“It was a fantastic evening, I thought, for everybody,” said LouCity Head Coach Danny Cruz. “Our hope was that it was going to be a solid game for the fans. Hopefully everybody walked out of here thinking two good teams performed well on the night.

“They obviously had chances. We had chances. But all in all, I think it’s a special moment, and a huge credit for them for the travel that they’ve had. We’re happy to have them here.”