Every day this week, we’re looking back at memorable moments from Louisville City FC’s 2016 season. Weigh in with your own stories on our Facebook page.
Louisville City FC defender Tarek Morad remembers that the club was “just in a zone.” Team captain Aodhan Quinn said his side “had a good vibe” about it.
For coach James O’Connor, the makings of LouCity’s 17-game unbeaten streak were in unrelenting focus on the next game — and only the next game.
“We didn’t veer off that,” O’Connor recently said, reflecting on an undefeated USL run that started April 9 and ran until July 25. By the end of it, the boys in purple found themselves atop the United Soccer League standings while sporting the USL’s Midseason Rookie of the Year (Kyle Smith) and Most Valuable Player (Chandler Hoffman).
There wasn’t a single defining moment, but rather many worth mentioning over a span of three-plus months.
- On April 16, LouCity defeated FC Cincinnati in front of a then-USL record 20,497 fans at Nippert Stadium in the first meeting between the River Cities Cup rivals.
- From May 1 through May 28, goalkeeper Greg Ranjitisngh made his first five starts — all of them clean sheets — in relief of Scott Goodwin.
- On June 5, LouCity went down a man in the first half at Orlando City B and trailed before rallying for a 4-3 victory over its former affiliate.
- A June 17 tilt with the Rochester Rhinos resulted in a 1-0 LouCity victory, its first over the defending USL champion while snapping Rochester’s 24-game home unbeaten streak.
- Goodwin said his goodbyes July 4 in his final game before leaving for Harvard Medical School, making three clutch saves in a win over FC Montreal.
“Now looking back at it, it was a great achievement,” Quinn, a midfielder, said of the streak. “We weren’t really focused on it at the time, and I think that’s what helped us get to that many games unbeaten.”
Added Morad: “I think we did a good job between balancing confidence and working hard. Even though we’d go down a goal or something, we had the belief that we’d come back.”
The run finally ended with a 2-0 defeat July 25 at FC Cincinnati. Next time out, on July 30, Orlando City B scored twice in extra time to score a shocking upset at Slugger Field. But from there, LouCity lost just twice more the rest of the year, to the eventual USL champion New York Red Bulls II in the regular season and again in the Eastern Conference Final.
“I think teams started to maybe watch us a little more, figure out what we like to do — our strengths and weaknesses,” Quinn said. “Then after that, we just had to adjust. Once we got over that little hump, we were back in good form going into the playoffs.”
