Louisville City entered Saturday’s home opener with four points from its opening two games, but for Head Coach Danny Cruz the manner of the side’s draw against Birmingham Legion FC in Week 2 didn’t make for pleasant viewing.

That meant a few hard truths were established early in the week building up to the clash with Loudoun United FC at Lynn Family Stadium.

“We started off the week with a not-so-pretty video [session], and the guys took all the information Danny gave us and showed it tonight,” said LouCity forward Ray Serrano. “We came out, we knew we had to bring that fire because we knew we were back home and get the crowd involved, so I think it showed.”

Behind Serrano’s inventive first-half finish and Taylor Davila’s first goal of the season, it resulted in a 2-0 victory against Loudoun that saw the side find the combination of quality and competitiveness that Cruz was looking for.

Really, really pleased with the mentality of the group tonight,” said Cruz. “It’s hard not to have that in front of such an incredible atmosphere again on opening day. We’re really proud of that, and our fans should be proud as well for filling the stadium the way that they did.

“The guys did what we asked them to do, and most importantly I thought the response from last week with the lack of intensity and energy – it was there tonight. The guys have a lot to be proud of.”

Without question, LouCity is one of the most talented squads in the USL Championship, but a key reason why the club has had its long-term success is matching that talent with the right mentality.

On Saturday, while Loudoun had almost 60 percent of the ball, Louisville was the more incisive of the two in and out of possession. The hosts won possession nine times in United’s defensive third and doubled the number of touches (36-18) in the penalty area despite having the teams posting the same number of final third entries (54).

When LouCity’s producing those sorts of numbers, it’s indicative of a side that is on its game and ready to build on the remarkable home record it produced a season ago.

Winners of its opening two games, this was a measuring stick game for Loudoun, and while the side continues to make progress – Abdellatif Aboukoura continued to look lively in his bright start to the season – there’s still another level United needs to find before it can match a LouCity side that’s in full flow.

“They are always a difficult opponent, and it took us a bit too long to get into the game than we would have liked,” said Loudoun Head Coach Ryan Martin. “We need to be better at putting in tackles, put in second balls quicker, and be more aggressive and assertive.”

After a week of introspection, on the other hand, Louisville City got the reward they and their almost 10,000 fans were looking for.

“With our group, you don’t really every see it coming,” said Cruz. “That’s where sometimes it becomes a little bit harder, but what you want is to make sure you see a response from the group.

“Last week, it was a credit to Birmingham and how they performed, so it wasn’t taking anything away from them, it was just, ultimately, we didn’t have the level that we’re capable of. Tonight, I felt from start to finish we did an excellent job in some of those areas.”