LOUISVILLE CITY FC
A LITTLE BEFORE MIDNIGHT on Nov . 13 , Louisville City captain Paolo del Piccolo and the rest of the 20-strong squad hoisted their third trophy of the season : the United Soccer League ( USL ) Cup .
Rewind back a long nine months to the day the club began their preseason regiment of strength training and conditioning at the IMG Academy in Bradenton , Fla . There , LouCity spent two weeks at the world-class 500-plus acre athletic facility , each day punctuated by two-aday conditioning workouts , training , and injury prevention programs , an investment that held the squad in good stead throughout the campaign . It was here that team leader del Piccolo first noticed the squad had the potential to be contenders . On the team ’ s mindset in preseason training , he offered , “ We were looking around and thinking ‘ oh my goodness , we ’ ve got a team here .’ ” It ’ s a sentiment that most other players have echoed , not only in the immediate moments after the championship , but all season .
After falling short their first two seasons , the 2017 iteration of LouCity marched all the way to the top of the Eastern Conference , finishing the regular season 8 points above the second placed Charleston Battery , a team with whom they shared a couple of exciting draws and bested once in three regular season matchups . Everyone knew that it was important for this team to secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs , not only for a competitive advantage , but to build support for the team moving forward , as Coach O ’ Connor noted in the press conference leading up to the USL Cup Final . “ It ’ s very important to be able to host the game . We ’ ve come pretty close the last couple of years and were able to get there this year … . When you look at the growth of Louisville City and you look at our attendance figures … it shows the passion the supporters have for Louisville City .”
Coming into the 2017 season , the team revamped the roster . Having lost keys like Kadeem Dacres and Aodhan Quinn to upriver rivals FC Cincinnati , the team signed strong players with USL experience in Brian Ownby , George Davis IV , Oscar Jiminez and Devon ‘ Speedy ’ Williams – all of whom have made an impact on the squad and in games . Coach O ’ Connor found an electrifying player in Louisville native and Indiana University product Richard Ballard , someone who has proven himself as an invaluable late-game substitute throughout the season .
Then there was Luke Spencer .
While there was much made , mainly on social media , of the swoop from FC Cincinnati to come in and snatch up Dacres and Quinn , LouCity quietly unearthed a gem in Luke Spencer . Having played his college ball at Xavier , Luke was drafted by the New England Revolution before he injured his knee prior to signing on with the MLS side . He returned to Cincy where he played in the amateur Premier Development League and coached at his alma mater . He signed on with FC Cincinatti ahead of the 2016 season , playing just 64 minutes and registering four shots in the entire season .
Fast forward to the end of this season , Spencer led the champions in goals scored , registered 19 league starts , five assists and was named USL Player of the Week after he tallied a goal and a pair of assists in the 5-0 thrashing of his former team . While Quinn and Dacres featured in more matches than Spencer , they share two goals and no assists between them .
As the team announce they ’ re returning an astounding 16 players from the championship squad , it seems as if this team has as much potential as ever . Among the departing are threeyear starters Sean Reynolds , Tarek Morad , and Guy Abend , with Morad likely to move on and Abend possibly signing a new contract with the team for the 2018 campaign . For next season , O ’ Conner is likely to replace Morad and Reynolds – both defenders – with a strong , yet agile player . Returning players Sean Totsch and USL Team of the Year member Paco Craig both possess these characteristics , which lend themselves to a three-defender back line , something Coach experimented with and adopted during the season , thanks to a staunch pair of goalkeepers in Ranjitsingh and Dobrowolski . That transformation freed up wingbacks Oscar Jiminez and Kyle Smith to use their pace to get up and down the sides of the field , to great effect , netting nine assists between them .
With a change in ownership , club leadership and front office expansion , and a stadium change soon to come , one thing has remained the same – a stalwart manager in James O ’ Connor . He is extolled by players , supporters and owners alike . The pragmatic , stoic and determined Irishman has made Louisville home for his wife and children and earlier this season , much to the delight of the Purple faithful , signed a contract extension with his coaching staff Daniel Byrd and Thabane Sutu through 2020 .
The team this year has looked a step better . In previous years , they could become frustrating to
28 EXTOL SPORTS / DECEMBER 2017