Louisville City FC
File:Louisville City FC.png | ||||
Full name | Louisville City Football Club | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Founded | 2014 | |||
Ground | Louisville Slugger Field, Kentucky[1] | |||
Capacity | Soccer: 8,000 / 13,131 (maximum) | |||
Coordinates | 38°15′22.27″N 85°44′40.75″W / 38.2561861°N 85.7446528°W | |||
Owner | Wayne Estopinal | |||
Head Coach | James O'Connor | |||
League | USL | |||
Website | http://www.louisvillecityfc.com | |||
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Louisville City FC is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the United Soccer League, which is currently the third tier of the American soccer pyramid.
Louisville City FC principle owner Wayne Estopinal acquired the USL license previously held by Orlando City when the latter began play in the 2014-2015 MLS as an expansion side.[2] Orlando City SC holds a minority ownership stake in Louisville City FC.
The team maintained the colors of the Orlando City franchise, and installed former Orlando City player-coach James O'Connor as its first manager.[3]
Home games are played at Louisville Slugger Field, a multi-use facility that serves as the primary home of the Louisville Bats, Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Though Slugger Field officially seats 13,131 for baseball games, an attendance of 8,000 is considered a soccer sellout due to limited viewing in the stadium's current baseball diamond configuration.[4]
The pitcher's mound at Slugger Field was retrofitted with a retractable jack to allow a level playing surface for soccer games prior to the start of the inaugural season.[5]
History
In 2013, a group of soccer fans in Louisville formed a supporters group, The Coopers, to build support for professional soccer in Louisville.[6] The Coopers take their name from Louisville's bourbon distilling tradition, where coopers make barrels that are used to age bourbon and give it a distinct flavor.[7]
In January 2014, a potential local ownership group invited the owners of Orlando City Soccer Club to Louisville to meet with The Coopers. After the meeting, Orlando City owner Phil Rawlins noted that The Coopers were already a "great supporters group" and predicted that a professional team would be successful in Louisville.[8]
The Coopers occupy a supporter zone in sections 121-123 of Slugger Field behind the Preston Street goal.[9]
Beginning with the 2016 season, Orlando City SC will end its affiliation with LCFC and operate an Orlando-based USL franchise. LCFC announced that while it has no immediate plans to seek an affiliation, it most likely will partner with an international franchise over an MLS one. Despite this move, Orlando City SC plans to maintain ties with Louisville.[10]
Players
Current roster
As of February 12, 2015 [11][12]
No. | Position | Player | Nation |
---|---|---|---|
1 | GK | Scott Goodwin | United States |
2 | DF | Bryan Burke | United States |
3 | DF | Adam West | United States |
4 | MF | Aodhan Quinn | United States |
5 | MF | Conor Shanosky | United States |
6 | MF | Tarek Morad | United States |
7 | MF | Kadeem Dacres | United States |
8 | MF | Juan Guzman | United States |
9 | FW | Matt Fondy | United States |
10 | MF | Magnus Rasmussen | Denmark |
11 | MF | Niall McCabe | Ireland |
13 | GK | Greg Ranjitsingh | Canada |
14 | FW | Ilija Ilic | Serbia |
15 | DF | Sean Reynolds | United States |
16 | FW | Nate Polak | United States |
18 | FW | Cameron Lancaster | England |
19 | MF | Guy Abend | Israel |
20 | MF | Enrique Montano | United States |
26 | MF | Kevin Cossette | Canada |
94 | MF | Charlie Adams | England |
Staff
Coaching staff
- James O'Connor - Head Coach
- Daniel Byrd - Assistant Coach[13]
- Thabane Sutu - Assistant Coach[13]
Team records
Year-by-year
- As of August 20, 2015[14]
Season | United Soccer League | Play-offs | US Open Cup | Top Scorer | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | W | L | D | GF | GA | Pts | Pos | Player | Goals | |||||
2015 | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 45 | 25 | 42 | 2nd, East | TBD | 4R | Matthew Fondy | 16 |
Head coaches
- Includes USL Regular season, USL Play-offs and U.S. Open Cup
Coach | Nationality | Start | End | Games | Win | Loss | Draw | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
James O'Connor | Ireland | 2014 | Present | 17 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 47.06 |
Average attendences
Regular Season/Play-offs
- 2015: 6,251/TBD
U.S. Open Cup
On May 13, 2015, Louisville City FC competed in the second round of the 102nd Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup , versus Lansing United, a member of the fourth tier NPSL. Lou City beat Lansing United 1-0 on an own goal.[15] On May 27, 2015, Louisville City defeated Indy Eleven of the second-tier NASL 2-0 in added time to advance to the fourth round, where they would lose 1-0 AET to MLS side Chicago Fire, its first ever match against an MLS side.[16]
See also
References
- ^ Leonard, Connie (June 3, 2014). "Scheduling problems fixed for pro soccer at Slugger Field". WorldNow and WAVE TV. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- ^ Lintner, Jonathan (June 3, 2014). "Louisville pro soccer club to be unveiled Wednesday". Louisville Courier-Journal. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- ^ http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/soccer/blog/os-orlando-city-usl-franchise-transfer-louisville-20140603,0,476606.post
- ^ Lintner, Jonathan (March 27, 2015). "Supporters ready for first Louisville City game". Louisville Courier-Journal. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
- ^ Lintner, Jonathan (February 26, 2015). "Retractable mound saves Louisville City FC". Louisville Courier-Journal. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
- ^ Main, Dalton (January 8, 2014). "Louisville could soon host pro soccer team". WDRB TV. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
- ^ "About The Coopers". Retrieved February 13, 2015.
- ^ Main, Dalton (January 14, 2014). "Louisville soccer fans rally around possible pro team". WDRB TV. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
- ^ "Louisville City FC - Season Tickets". Louisville City Football Club. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
- ^ Tenorio, Paul (June 30, 2015). "Orlando City to own, operate USL franchise in 2016". Orlando Sentinel.
- ^ "Louisville City FC signs first three players". Jonathan Lintner. Louisville Courier-Journal. December 5, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
- ^ Sorrels, Taylor (February 12, 2015). "LCFC signs Magnus Rasmussen and Niall McCabe". Louisville Coopers.
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(help) - ^ a b "Byrd & Sutu join coaching staff". Louisville City FC. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
- ^ "Louisville City FC Official 2015 Statistics". Louisville City FC. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
- ^ "Louisville City FC vs. Lansing United - 2015 U.S. Open Cup - Second Round". www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- ^ "USL Squads Dominate U.S. Open Cup Third Round as Dream Runs End for Nearly All Amateur Clubs". www.ussoccer.com. May 28, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2015.