Louisville City FC coach James O’Connor often notes that people tend to look at the final piece of an attack — the scorer — when doling out credit on goals.
“But they miss the buildup to it,” O’Connor said, “or they miss the hard work, or they miss the pressure.”
Against Orlando City B on Saturday, LouCity will have to go without a player whose knack for doing all of the above earned him captaincy. Aodhan Quinn picked up his fifth yellow card last weekend in a 2-0 loss at FC Cincinnati and must sit out a game due to the USL’s rules on accumulation.
But, O’Connor said, “We feel as if we’ve got three really good center midfielders.”
The absence of Quinn, a stalwart who used to play for Orlando’s USL organization, figures to open up the center midfield to starts for both Guy Abend and Paolo DelPiccolo. It’s a roster spot where O’Connor has plenty of depth, though typically Abend and DelPiccolo log minutes rotating alongside of Quinn.
“He’s a great player, great captain, and it’s tough to play without him,” DelPiccolo said.
“Obviously, Quinnie’s a great player and a good leader,” added forward Chandler Hoffman. “But our midfielders, Paolo and Guy, are phenominal players. So they’ll step in, and we won’t miss a beat.”
DelPiccolo, a University of Louisville product, is a former MLS SuperDraft pick signed this offseason by LouCity. Still U of L’s career assists leader, he has tallied 4 of them this season in 17 appearances.
Abend, a second-year Louisville standout, has bounced back from an injury-riddled 2015. He’s tied for second in scoring to Hoffman on LouCity’s roster with 3 goals in 15 games.
What LouCity will miss from Quinn, in addition to his direction on the pitch, is a keen ability to drill free kicks. Both his goals this year came on set pieces, including one the last time Louisville played Orlando City B.
The Lions haven’t lost since a 4-3 defeat June 5 to LouCity, putting together seven games unbeaten. Louisville saw its franchise-best 17-game undefeated run end in Cincinnati.
“Over the course of 20 games, we’ve played some really good football,” O’Connor said. “For us, it’s making sure other people understand their roles and touch up on some things. We feel as if we’ve had a good week of training. We’ve spoken about the things we needed to speak about.
“I think at this point, everybody just wants to get out and play Saturday.”
Before then, the coach has a decision to make. Who other than Quinn will wear the captain’s armband?
“We’ll have to see,” O’Connor said. “It’s a tough decision, because a couple of them are in real contention. For us, it’s something we’ll place a lot of thought into, but we feel as if we have quite a few guys that can wear the arm band. But equally, just because you’re not wearing an arm band doesn’t excuse you from not acting like a leader.”
