Louisville City FC coach James O’Connor pieced together 2016’s first-place roster only after studying hundreds of hours of film. He then got an early start with players, spending two weeks during the preseason training in Florida.
“I think anything in life worth having is not easy,” O’Connor said.
And so the work continues with LouCity riding a 15-match United Soccer League unbeaten streak into Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. game against Eastern Conference rival Charleston Battery, a club Louisville knocked off at home in last year’s playoffs.
LouCity sits six points — two wins — ahead of the New York Red Bulls II and could further distance from third-place FC Cincinnati, which earlier this week saw its own lengthy unbeaten streak snapped by the Rochester Rhinos.
“We still have 13 games to go,” O’Connor cautioned, “so let’s not pat ourselves on the back and get carried away with ourselves.”
A solid foundation exists to equal or better 2015’s inaugural run to a second-place finish, however, thanks to the coach’s possession-based scheme.
After forward Matt Fondy led the USL with a record 22 goals and Bryan Burke with 10 assists, Chandler Hoffman is in the running for the Golden Boot with 11 goals as the club’s lone striker and Kyle Smith — as with Burke, a right back — tied for the league lead at 5 assists.
“Our system allows me to get space and opportunities to fire balls in there,” said Smith, a Cincinnati native who made LouCity’s roster through an open tryout. “…I push up high. I get to join in the attack, so it helps with the assists. I just try to fire a good ball in there for Chandler. He’s done a good job making runs and finishing off opportunities.”
The two connected on a 12th-minute header Monday during LouCity’s 2-0 victory over FC Montreal. Dating back to the first time the clubs met this season, a May 28 road victory for Louisville, Smith scored his first professional goal and assisted on another.
The Battery have won four of their five matches since then, including three straight while jumping to fourth in the Eastern Conference standings.
“They’ve had a lot of good results recently, and so they’re trying to close the space at the top of the table,” Hoffman said. “For us, it’s a huge chance to get three points and kind of separate ourselves from the rest of the pack.
“…I think the main thing is just staying hungry. This group, they want to achieve things. Last year the team lost in the Eastern Conference finals, and so this year the championship is the goal. We know every game is important to get to where we want to be.”
How LouCity might get there isn’t the easiest route.
When O’Connor’s players lose possession, they don’t retreat, switching quickly to defense, but rather try to immediately win the ball back. Outside defenders play up, meaning they cover hundreds of yards extra a game by working the attack, too.
“For us, obviously, you have to be very respectful of the opposition and be mindful of their threats — what they’re good at,” O’Connor said. “Then equally, you need to have belief in your own team and your own players. That’s something that we do. We have tremendous belief in our guys.”
“I love it, personally,” Hoffman added of O’Connor’s system. “…It is a lot of hard work. We worked hard in the preseason and even into the season we’re working really hard. I think the important thing is just to keep that high tempo up and keep making it hard for teams to play against us.”
