Louisville City FC coach James O’Connor announced Thursday that both he and the core of a roster that advanced to the USL Eastern Conference Final will return next year for another run at the title.
In a press conference to wrap up the 2016 season, O’Connor said discussions have already started with players about their futures. The coach expects a number of deals to be finalized in the next seven to 10 days.
As for O’Connor himself, “I’ve got 12 months left on my contract, so yeah, I’m definitely going to be here,” he said. “I just want to make sure the players we want are here, and we get some good players as well.
“It’s an important period, the offseason. I like to get our work done early. I like to know which players are coming back and then make sure the ones coming in are a good fit for us. We’ve got a busy few weeks ahead of us, that’s for sure.”
So, no, O’Connor and assistant coach Daniel Byrd haven’t planned any upcoming vacations. Rather, they’ll hole up in the club’s locker room and office at Slugger Field, pouring over film to find the next set of LouCity stars.
“I can relax then,” O’Connor said. “But for the next couple weeks, it’s head down.”
The transition has been quick since LouCity’s season ended Sunday with a loss in penalty kicks to the New York Red Bulls II, the Eastern Conference champion. New York will host the Swope Park Rangers at 8 p.m. Sunday in the USL Cup Final airing on ESPNU.
In 2015, O’Connor also wound down after the season as the Rochester Rhinos claimed a USL title a week after knocking off LouCity in a close Eastern Conference Final.
“It’s always difficult,” he said. “It’s like last year when you sit and watch it and think, ‘Well, what might have been?’ It’s something that, again, when you look at New York, you look at the quality they have — the season they’ve had. They’ve been really consistent throughout the course of the year.
“They’re a really good team, and I really enjoyed their battles. We had some tremendous battles with them.”
In five meetings with the Red Bulls II, however, LouCity has been unable to come away with a point. The Nos. 1 and 2 Eastern Conference playoff seeds played to a 1-1 draw through 120 minutes of soccer Sunday, including a pair of overtime sessions.
Defender Paco Craig headed in an early goal off an Aodhan Quinn free kick and had a late chance for a game-winner on another set piece. George Davis IV also lined up a shot in the box as the final whistle neared, only to see if spurt out of bounds at the near post.
New York went on to prevail, 4-3, in the penalty shootout.
“When you put so much effort into something, and it ends like that, it’s pretty tough to take,” O’Connor said. “…There’s some valuable lessons in there we can take from those experiences and use them to fuel us for next year. We’ve got to the final twice and, unfortunately, come up short. We need to make sure that next year we go all the way.”
Part of O’Connor’s exit interviews with players included offseason conditioning plans. For all of them, he prescribed time in the gym. And for most, there are additional drills to boost soccer technique.
First, he wants players like Kyle Smith, a rookie defender who had only previously played the length of a college season, to rest. Smith saw more action in LouCity’s 33 USL games than any of his teammates.
O’Connor will be back to work in the meantime, and with plenty of motivation after coming close to championships in both his first two seasons as a head coach.
“It just makes me and all the guys even more determined to go a step further next year,” he said. “I can assure you.”
