Louisville City, the Eastern Conference title winners from 2019, returned 17 players from last year’s team. The club added a pair of new players, Corben Bone and Jimmy Ockford, to an already powerful lineup.
“I love the mentality of the group, the work ethic of the group and again I go back to the fact that we have so many players returning that a lot of the things we are doing is refreshing ideas we have done in the past,” Louisville City coach John Hackworth said.
Bone and Ockford appear to be fitting right in, participating in every drill, every session and already working smoothly with longtime LouCity veterans around them.
“Preseason is always tough in the beginning, getting those early miles on your legs, but it gets more fun as you get into more detail,” Bone said. “It is just great to get back out here and get started.”
Hackworth targeted Bone and Ockford to add to the LouCity lineup this off-season. Bone is a competitive, skilled midfielder with six seasons in the MLS, most recently for FC Cincinnati. Hackworth worked with Bone during his time in Philadelphia, and Bone was teammates with LouCity assistant coach Danny Cruz and striker Antoine Hoppenot.
“I know Corben a little bit better and he knows me as a coach so I am not surprised that the adjustment has been easier for him,” Hackworth said. “Corben is a really good soccer player and that is evident from everything we are doing in training. A player like him who understands how valuable it is to have the ball and how we want to move it, he fits in super well with us.”
Bone said the team has welcomed him from Day 1.
“They have made it easy for me,” Bone said. “They are a very cohesive group and now I’ll need to find my place to help the team. They have done a great job of incorporating me into training already.”
Ockford is a strong, physical defender with an eye for headers on set pieces who played in Nashville last season on loan from the San Jose Earthquakes. Ockford liked the intensity in the first few workouts.
“We got after it right away – the guys came out to play right away,” Ockford said. “We went through some fast-paced possession and small-sided and we already threw some fitness in there. We are feeling it already, but it feels great to get off to a fast start.”
After the first few training sessions, Hackworth likes what he sees from Ockford.
“You can tell right away that he fits the group very well,” Hackworth said. “He certainly has a competitive mentality in everything he does. He has a lot of good qualities as a defender and an attacking player so we are looking forward to working with him more and more and getting him more acclimated to our team.”
