Louisville City FC coach James O’Connor didn’t view the signing of Luke Spencer as a risk, though Spencer played little as a United Soccer League rookie and wasn’t long removed from multiple knee injuries.
O’Connor instead saw a player who’s “very coachable, listens, has a lot of hunger, a lot of desire to get better” — all traits Spencer credits in part to his upbringing. The forward was born on a military base in Augsburg, Germany, and both his father and grandfather served in the U.S. Army.
“It built and provided security in my family for a long time and I’m able to reap the rewards for that, so it’s definitely very important to me and my family,” said Spencer, who holds close to his heart Saturday’s LouCity game theme.
As part of the club’s “Salute to Heroes” at Slugger Field, military and first responders with ID get in free to Slugger Field a 5 p.m. game against the Charleston Battery. Service members will perform, the Army will feature a halftime enlistment ceremony, and the club will recognize a hometown hero before kickoff.
Spencer will be there amid a season when he’s broken out to lead LouCity in scoring with eight goals — that after clocking just 64 minutes all of last season for FC Cincinnati.
“Someone that not just myself and the coaching staff, but everybody — all the players — have such tremendous respect for him because of the way he handles himself,” O’Connor said.
At 6-foot-3, Spencer scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season June 20 in a win over Bethlehem Steel FC. Rested for a midweek contest against the Harrisburg City Islanders, the big man returned in a 3-0 loss last Saturday to Orlando City B, going without a shot but serving as a key holdup player near the goal,
“Every season has its ups and downs,” Spencer said. “You’re going to go through some times when you’re hurt, injured and it’s just being mentally tough, battling through it Taking the wins and the losses is part of it.
“(I try to) just kind of stay in the middle — not get too high or too low.”
Awarded USL Player of the Week earlier this month after registering a goal and two assists against Cincinnati, his former club, Spencer has tallied 33 shots this season, with 20 of them on goal. He’s scoring a goal once every 111.5 minutes on the pitch, best on the team.
He could prove key in LouCity’s third meeting with the Battery, who sit third in the USL Eastern Conference standings. Spencer didn’t appear in the two previous meetings, both draws in matchups near the top of the table.
“It may be a special time to recognize what those type of people can do for the community and help out,” said midfielder George Davis IV, whose father is a firefighter. “Much respect to everybody who’s coming and hopefully they can enjoy it and we can put on a good show and respect to those.”
Added O’Connor: “We have huge respect for the armed forces and for the military for the job they do and the discipline they bring, and we’ve referenced the military over the course of the season — some of the things they do. You look at the Navy SEALS, you look at the special forces — you look at the mentality that those people have. I mean, hats off.
“So we’ve got the utmost respect for all the armed forces and equally, when you get somebody like that who’s come from an environment that shows those characteristics, it’s a joy to work with. It really is.”
