Just one player in Louisville City FC’s lineup Wednesday night had fully fresh legs. Pat McMahon certainly made the most of them.
According to Opta statistics, the defender led LouCity in passes (50), completed passes (39) and passes in the opponent’s half of the pitch (34) as the boys in purple defeated rival Indy Eleven by a 2-0 score at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“It’s been crazy,” said McMahon, who was away from the team last Saturday when LouCity beat Saint Louis FC by a 3-0 score — for good reason. The 33-year-old married his wife, Brianna.
“Obviously the weekend was amazing. It flew by quick,” McMahon added. “I was so excited that we got the three points on the weekend and then being able to come back into the lineup when you miss a game is nice knowing the coaches have that confidence.”
McMahon’s return marked the only change on coach John Hackworth’s lineup card from Saturday to Wednesday. Inserting the right back meant LouCity rolled out the same starting 11 as it used in a 3-1 rout of Indy Eleven back on Sept. 5.
McMahon registered 76 total touches, often pushing up to become part of his side’s attack.
“Pat’s such a good pro,” Hackworth said, “and he has that warrior mentality that we look for. He’s smart. He’s intelligent. His soccer is good. Our guys joke about his quality often, but the reality is that he is a really good soccer player.
“He’s a fantastic professional, and we need him. He provides a lot of composure in there for us, defends like a warrior and gets the mentality right, so I’m really proud of him tonight.”
McMahon went 90 minutes before subbed off in favor of fellow defender Wes Charpie late in the going.
“He always puts in the work, and he’s got a ton of fight in him,” said midfielder Corben Bone, who also played with McMahon at FC Cincinnati. “He mades good decisions. It seems like he’s always in the right place at the right time, and you want a guy like that on your team.
“He has a championship mentality, and you know he’s going to get the job done. He puts in a shift every game — puts it all on the field — and that’s all you can really ask.”
McMahon has established himself since the USL Championship restarted play mid-July, working from reserve to regular starter. Despite missing a game for his wedding ceremony, his 808 minutes played rank seventh-most on LouCity’s roster.
A USL Cup winner dating back to his 2015 season with the Rochester Rhinos, McMahon was already preaching recovery for his club’s next outing minutes after the Indy win. LouCity faces another quick turnaround for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday against Memphis 901 FC at Lynn Family Stadium.
“Starting now, you just kind of prepare your body — do what you can to get your body right for (Thursday’s) re-gen,” McMahon said. “We’ll go back to training, and the guys who have knocks maybe rotate. We’ll get a fresh pair of legs in there. We’ll prepare the best we can, and it’s up to the coaches to make those hard decisions.”
