This time, Luke Spencer took the ball for a Louisville City FC penalty kick — and the decision to let him keep it led to a victory Wednesday night for the boys in purple.
Four days removed from coach James O’Connor asking Spencer give up a penalty chance in favor of teammate Kyle Smith, Spencer drove home a stoppage-time strike to cap a 2-1 victory at Slugger Field.
A handball on a free kick led to the opportunity. That had Spencer’s mind racing.
“At first I thought, ‘Is he really calling that?’” Spencer said. “The second thought was ‘OK, find the ball.’ Find the ball because last week, coach gave Kyle the shot, so I was saying hopefully this week I’ll get it.”
Spencer rocketed a strike to the lower right corner of the goal while Rochester goalkeeper Tomas Gomez dove to the left seconds before the final whistle. It marked the team-leading 10th goal of the year for Spencer.
O’Connor said he wasn’t pleased last Friday when the opposing Bethlehem Steel FC delayed play leading to a penalty kick. That’s why he went with Smith.
“I don’t like where people distract it, and if I’m looking at it, I think the same sort of thing happened again tonight,” O’Connor said. “…But I think Luke was determined to take it, so great credit to him.”
Here’s more from the match…
• In the first half Wednesday, midfielder George Davis IV’s strike between two Rhinos defenders resulted in his first goal in 18 games — since LouCity’s 4-4 draw June 3 at Charleston. Davis IV had opened the year on a scoring tear, leading the team in goals before the drought.
• Forward Ilija Ilic left Wednesday’s game in the 12th minute with what appeared a muscle strain in his leg. Cameron Lancaster, who O’Connor said has played through a broken toe, spelled the striker until the 70th minute, when Spencer came on to finish things up top.
• With the win, LouCity’s now two points shy of USL Western Conference leader Real Monarchs SLC for the league’s best overall record. Both sides have five games left to play. The boys in purple have already clinched a playoff spot, and now they’re in play for both the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed and the overall regular-season title.
