Louisville City FC, which hasn’t dropped a game since the first week of June, has during a five-match unbeaten streak out-scored opponents 15-7 while netting at least three goals in four games.
One of the several reasons LouCity lays claim to the second-best record in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference is due to the play of forward Brian Ownby.
Since June 12, Ownby has tallied two goals, three assists and a team-high seven successful crosses, contributing to a goal every 68 minutes he’s been on the pitch.
“We’ve talked a lot of confidence,” said LouCity head coach Danny Cruz. “It’s certainly key. He’s playing really well. That’s the expectation for him. He continues to create problems for the opponent.
“…Hopefully he can continue to build on it. I have full faith that he will.”
While Ownby agreed his own mindset has provided a boost, he also credited his counterpart. In Friday’s 4-2 victory at Sporting KC II, the boys in purple shifted to a three-back formation, allowing Ownby to play on the right wing and Jonathan Gomez to assume the left flank.
“For me, being a pacey winger, it puts the defenses in a tough position,” Ownby said. “So having that on the opposite side, regardless if it’s JoGo, (Antoine Hoppenot), Jimmy (McLaughlin), we’ve got some pace out there. So that makes it more difficult because we’re attacking from different angles and positions.”
Given his recent run — two assists in a 3-3 draw June 26 versus Indy Eleven before tacking on another assist at SKC II — the Virginia native is tied for second in the Eastern Conference and fifth in the USL Championship.
Amid the club’s unbeaten streak, LouCity opened June 19 at FC Tulsa by scoring all three of its goals in the opening 10 minutes. Early in the second half Friday, the boys in purple similarly took over in Kansas City, drawing away from a 1-1 score line by racking up three goals in 11 minutes.
Ownby got the flurry started with a curling, 57th-minute shot from just outside the top of the box. Two minutes later, he got down the right side and dished to defender Alexis Souahy. Gomez — evidencing LouCity’s threat on the wings — created the team’s final goal with nifty footwork on the end line before passing off to forward Kyle Greig.
“A lot of it is confidence — excitement from the guys,” Ownby said. “Once it starts going, we’ve talked about finishing them off. Once we get up one, two, don’t take a step off — continue to go and eliminate them from there.”
With a game in hand, LouCity sits two points back of Central Division-leading Birmingham Legion FC at 20 and has a large edge in goal differential at +9. Only the Atlantic Division-leading Tampa Bay Rowdies have numbered more points (24) and a better goal differential (+10) the Eastern Conference.
Clubs are chasing a top-four finish within their divisions to advance to the USL Championship Playoffs.
“Obviously, we want to be on top of the table going into every game,” Ownby said. “…I don’t think we’ve ever won the regular-season championship. That’s a huge goal for us this year, and you can’t slip up in games. If you want to win the regular-season championship, you have to take each game one at a time and put in a good performance.”
As he gears up to become the seventh player in club history to appear in 100 league games, Ownby and the boys in purple will next travel to rematch with FC Tulsa at 8 p.m. Saturday. With LouCity since 2017, Ownby is on 93 games played for LouCity.
