Louisville City FC coach James O’Connor was asked Saturday night if his team’s performance in a 3-0 loss to Orlando City B could be written off, at least considering the boys in purple remained atop the USL Eastern Conference standings thanks to other results around the league.
O’Connor was quick to respond.
“That’s the type attitude that will see you drop down the league,” the coach said. “That’s not what we’re about here. That’s not what I look at at all. I didn’t think we got away with anything. There’s a very valuable lesson there for us.”
The defeat rang similar to the two that preceded it, July 15 against FC Cincinnati and Aug. 5 against the Charlotte Independence. LouCity dominated the stat sheet and created more chances than its opponent — but the Lions capitalized when given opportunities, and the boys in purple struggled to find the back of the net.
LouCity controlled 67 percent of possession, out-shot Orlando 19-8 and tried 16 corner kicks. But it was the Lions who scored off their first corner of the night, plus got a first half brace from forward Michael Cox.
“Our mindset is, we have expectations of each other,” O’Connor said. “We like to learn from as many aspects and as many experiences as we possibly can. It’s a really rough experience to try and sit and learn from but, again, that’s how you get better.
“I think that’s how you strive for the standards that we have here. That’s what we keep doing, so that’s exactly what we’ll be doing again.”
Here’s more from the match…
• The aforementioned other results around the league: The Charlotte Independence, who have earned 44 points, same as LouCity, fell by a 3-2 score to Toronto FC II. LouCity remains in fist via a better goal differential. The Charleston Battery, third on the table and just three points back, lost 3-1 to the Richmond Kickers.
• Reigning USL Player of the Week Hadji Barry and goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. did not make the trip with Orlando City B, instead made available as the club’s senior team was in action at the Major League Soccer Level. Barry has eight goals in USL play while Edwards Jr. has nine clean sheets to his name in 2017.
• The 3-0 loss marked just the second time in 11 games this season LouCity failed to earn a point in a home game. The club is 7-2-2 at Slugger Field, however, already surpassing last year’s win total. LouCity went 6-2-7 at home in 2016.
