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Oscar Jimenez spent last season in the Professional Development League, and Luke Spencer rarely got off the bench as a United Soccer League rookie. By now, Kyle Smith’s underdog story — he made Louisville City FC’s roster out of an open tryout — is well known.

All three illustrate a trend drawing LouCity coach James O’Connor increasing praise: an ability to reload a squad with overlooked talent, to the point where his club is again in the running for a USL championship.

“James has the best eye, and he trusts himself,” Spencer said. “That’s the biggest thing. You get a lot of coaches who might like a player, but they need it to be verified by a lot of other coaches. When James sees a player he likes, whether it’s Kyle, Oscar or me, he doesn’t need the verification from anyone but himself.

“He trusts himself, and we’re making the most of it on the field.”

LouCity’s carrying some of its best form this season into a pair of home games, first Wednesday against the Harrisburg City Islanders and then Saturday against Orlando City B. Both kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Slugger Field.

With Spencer, Jimenez and Smith in the lineup, LouCity posted a 3-1 win last time out over Bethlehem Steel FC. Spencer scored two goals, Jimenez tallied two assists, and Smith wore the captain’s armband.

In all, LouCity’s won four of its last five games. The victories, however, are more than 90 minutes apiece in the making. O’Connor credited his staff, which includes assistant coach Daniel Byrd and goalkeepers coach Thabane Sutu, for helping him discover talent.

“We’ve spent hours and hours and hours looking at players and trying to get the very best players we can,” O’Connor said. “We have a specific criteria for every position. Sometimes the athlete will come in and we’ll think, ‘At the moment he doesn’t check every box, but can he in three months or five months? Will he be able to tick those boxes?’”

Smith and Jimenez both played in the midfield before signing with LouCity and switching to defender. An invitation tryout yielded those two offseason signings along with Richard Ballard, a Louisville native who starred for Indiana University — but didn’t receive an invitation to Major League Soccer’s scouting combine.

“James does a really good job of knowing what he wants,” Jimenez said. “He has a certain style he plays, and he looks for certain qualities in players. He does a really good job of finding that. His roster’s small because everyone on his team can start and play 90 if they have to. It’s a credit to him and the way he goes about finding players.”

Spencer’s nine goals lead all LouCity players, that after he earned selection in the MLS SuperDraft before suffering a knee injury. The Ohio native totaled fewer than 100 minutes played last year for his hometown club, FC Cincinnati.

Jimenez, meanwhile, played for the USL’s Tulsa Roughnecks in 2015 before moving to the PDL in 2016. This year, he has established himself as a go-to on set pieces, leading to the bulk of his LouCity-high five assists.

“In Oscar’s case, he deserves tremendous credit, and the same for Luke,” O’Connor said. “We gave them opportunities, but they’re two guys who, their character has stood out like a shining star. And they’re really good footballers. I think maybe they were just overlooked, because they’re the kind of players who don’t always grab the highlights.

“We were really excited to sign such quality players who we knew were going to go and be part of what we need. For us, it’s been about giving them an opportunity. But it’s been up to them to perform.”

Lately, Louisville City FC has taken its offense to a new level. 

Over the past two games, James O’Connor’s men have scored eight goals and recorded 22 shots on target, which accounts for more than 50 percent of the team’s attempts. 

On Sunday, in Louisville City’s 3-1 win at the Bethlehem Steel, City had five shots in the first half, all of them within the goal posts, a sign of improved efficiency on goal. 

It wasn’t always this way. 

Earlier in the season, Louisville City struggled to convert its countless chances. The team was creating opportunities but scored just eight goals in the first eight games, with numerous shots flying over the bar or wide of the posts. 

Now, however, the team is taking O’Connor’s message of putting shots on-target to heart. 

“When it’s a hot day like this and you’re on an away trip, you have to take your chances and be willing to work,” forward Luke Spencer said following the win in Bethlehem. “When those chances come, you’ve got to be willing to get it on target — have focus.”

Louisville City’s 3-1 defeat earlier this month to the Charlotte Independence may have been the breaking point. 

In that match, Louisville City took 17 shots, but had just five on target. Meanwhile, Charlotte had just seven shots, and converted three of them. It was an important lesson that Louisville City seems to have taken on board. 

Louisville City opened the first half of its fiery rivalry with FC Cincinnati with a barrage of shots. Nine of the team’s 11 were on target, including two goals. City had another six shots on goal in the second half, with three more goals to complete the 5-0 rout.

Against Bethlehem, Louisville City didn’t win the possession battle for one of the few times this season, but it still created enough chances, and the team put them away. Spencer’s two goals were essentially his two chances on goal during his 61 minutes on the pitch, while his replacement, Cameron Lancaster, converted one of his two opportunities on goal with a header off the back of his head. 

“I feel like we’ve been gaining confidence in our attack and on our shots,” Oscar Jimenez, who delivered two assists. “Everyone’s been dialed in during training with that aspect, and it’s been showing the last couple of games. We’re growing in that aspect, and it’s good to see especially now. It’s getting to be crunch time in the season.”

With the defense remaining one of the best in the United Soccer League and the team continuing to create an abundance of goal-scoring chances, the improved efficiency in front of goal bodes well for the stretch run this fall. 

Louisville City is currently in second place in the Eastern Conference but has multiple games-in-hand compared to the rest of the conference. O’Connor’s side will begin to catch up to the rest of the league with midweek games this week and twice in September, which will test the team’s depth and mental grit. 

If Louisville City though can remain as efficient as it has been, the club should continue to pick up wins and move to the top of the Eastern Conference. 

Opinions expressed in this piece were not subject to club approval. For more insights on LouCity, follow Karell on Twitter: @DanKarellPreps.

Luke Spencer scored his team-leading seventh and eighth goals of the season in the first half before Greg Ranjitsingh shut down his net over the final 45 minutes, leading Louisville City FC past Bethlehem Steel FC on Sunday by a 3-1 score.

Both of Spencer’s goals at Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem, Penn., came on passes from teammate Oscar Jimenez. The defender Jimenez also looped in a free kick late to Cameron Lancaster to solidify LouCity’s second straight win.

“He’s such a threat in the air,” coach James O’Connor said of Spencer, already the reigning USL Player of the Week. “He took his goals exceptionally well. I thought he looked tired late, and we got him off to get some rest. We had multiple players that looked a little bit tired.

“I’m surprised with how tired we looked but, again, that’s where that mental aspect and toughness comes in with how they were able to push through and score a third goal.”

A victory moved LouCity to within three points of USL Eastern Conference No. 1 Charlotte Independence, and that’s with three games in hand. The boys in purple could make up more ground this week with games both Wednesday and Saturday at Slugger Field.

While the game started slow for LouCity, Spencer shifted momentum to his side in the 17th minute by skying for a headed finish on the set piece from Jimenez. Spencer put himself in the running for more USL accolades with another goal on a second-chance effort in the 26th.

“Each week I’m really confident in the service I’m going to get, and I just go out there and attack,” Spencer said. “Oscar had a great delivery again today, and I was able to get on the end of it.”

Ranjitsingh came up just as big, tallying four saves, including a full extension in first half stoppage time that preserved the lead. In all, Steel FC tried eight shots in the box to keep Ranjitsingh busy.

LouCity possessed well below its average, at just 43 percent, but came away with the better of the game’s final 15 minutes, eventually positioning for Lancaster’s goal. On as a sub for Spencer, the striker turned in mid-air to score on a no-look header, marking the game’s final goal in the 85th minute.

Even before that strike, Jimenez put a ball in the back of the net before the assistant referee deemed him offside. Defender Sean Totsch saw a try go just over the bar, and midfielder Richard Ballard had a one-touch chance fly wide.

“I feel like we’ve been gaining confidence in our attack and on our shots,” Jimenez said. “Everyone’s been dialed in during training with that aspect, and it’s been showing the last couple of games. We’re growing in that aspect, and it’s good to see especially now. It’s getting to be crunch time in the season.”

A 41st-minute goal by Bethlehem’s Richie Marquez wasn’t enough for the host side. The game’s only other negative moment for LouCity came late, when defender Kyle Smith — the club’s leader in minutes played — was shown a red card in stoppage time for stepping into the scuffle following a Steel FC foul.

The final whistle blew with Ballard, the shifty rookie from Louisville, past Bethlehem’s 18-yard box, ready to perhaps add a fourth goal. Regardless, LouCity improved its record to 12-4-5 through 21 games, this time out using the same lineup that a week ago produced a 5-0 win over rival FC Cincinnati.

LouCity hosts the Harrisburg City Islanders at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Orlando City B at 7:30 p.m. Saturday to complete a stretch of three games in seven days.

Game Summary

Teams: Bethlehem Steel FC vs. Louisville City FC

Date: Aug. 20, 2017

Venue: Goodman Stadium | Bethlehem, Penn.

Kickoff: 5:08 p.m.

Weather: 84 degrees, sunny

LouCity Man of the Match: Luke Spencer

Scoring

Bethlehem Steel FC (1,0,1)

Louisville City FC (2,1,3)

Goals

Louisville City FC:

Luke Spencer, assist to Oscar Jimenez (16’)

Luke Spencer (25’)

Cameron Lancaster, assist to Oscar Jimenez (85’)

Bethlehem Steel: 

Richie Marquez, assist to Aaron Jones (41’)

Lineups

Bethlehem Steel FC: 41 Cory Burke (49 Yosef Samuel – 89’), 38 Santi Moar (26 Seku Conneh – 70’), 45 James Chambers, 37 Chris Nanco, 21 Derrick Jones, 8 Maurice Edu (59 Anthony Fontana – 32’), 47 Matthew Real, 26 Auston Trusty, 64 Tomas Romero, 16 Richie Marquez, 19 Aaron Jones

Subs not used: 40 Josh Heard, 62 Kristopher Shakes, 48 Matthew Mahoney, 42 Hugh Roberts

Head Coach: Brendan Burke

Louisville City FC: 7 Mark-Anthony Kaye (36 Paolo DelPiccolo – 84’), 12 Luke Spencer (9 Cameron Lancaster – 61’), 11 Niall McCabe (23 Richard Ballard – 55’), 19 Oscar Jimenez, 80 Devon Speedy Williams, 8 Guy Abend, 24 Kyle Smith, 15 Sean Reynolds, 18 Paco Craig, 4 Sean Totsch, 1 Greg Ranjitsingh

Subs not used: 22 George Davis IV, 14 Ilija Ilic, 28 Tim Dobrowolski, 6 Tarek Morad

Head Coach: James O’Connor

Discipline

Bethlehem Steel FC 

Richie Marquez, yellow (60’)

Yosef Samuel, yellow (90’+3)

Louisville City FC

Guy Abend, yellow (64’)

Kyle Smith, red (90’+3)

Stats

Bethlehem Steel FC/Louisville City FC

Shots: 11/12

Shots on target: 6/7

Possession: 56.7/43.3

Passes: 428/328

Corners: 3/6

Fouls: 11/15

Officials

Referee: Luis Arroyo

Assistant Referee 1: Ryan Dos Reis

Assistant Referee 2: Michael Grello

4th Official: Melvin Holmes II

In his second start since winning the goalkeeping job back from Tim Dobrowolski, Louisville City FC’s Greg Ranjitsingh looked Sunday as if he’d never left between the posts.

Ranjitsingh recorded four saves during LouCity’s 3-1 win over Bethlehem Steel FC with a performance that earned him praise not just from teammates — but also the opposition.

“Greg was incredible,” said defender Oscar Jimenez. “This game, he had a few great saves. Even the other team, when they’d run past me and stuff, would be like, ‘This guy’s an animal. I can’t believe he saved that.’ And I’m like, ‘He does that every day.’”

Ranjitsingh and Dobrowolski have split time at goalkeeper this season, with coach James O’Connor saying both deserve to one day play at the Major League Soccer level. From Toronto, Canada, Ranjitsingh stated his case again Sunday.

An early save and subsequent punch-out started things, with LouCity and Bethlehem scoreless then. Then in stoppage time, Steel FC’s Santi Moar put a shot on frame that deserved to score. But diving the opposite way, Ranjitsingh reached for a one-handed stop.

Moar opened the second half with another great look, only to be denied once again on one of eight Bethlehem shots in the box.

“Sometimes we have the ball all the time, and he just needs to be connected with us,” Jimenez said of his goalkeeper. But it wasn’t that sort of day for LouCity, which controlled only 43 percent of possession. Added Jimenez: “He’s been there to back us up when we need it.”

Here’s more  of what we learned from Sunday’s game:

• Maurice Edu, the No. 1 pick in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft and 46 times capped to the U.S. National Team, made a brief rehab appearance for Steel FC in the midfield for his first game back from injury. The former Philadelphia Union captain completed all 17 of his passes before substituted in the 32nd minute.

• Statistically, Luke Spencer’s brace moved him to a team-leading nine goals on the season. Cameron Lancaster, who also scored Sunday, sits at six. Jimenez delivered passes that led to each and nearly scored a goal himself, but the referee raised his flag on a 66th-minute strike that hit the back of the net.

• Coach James O’Connor elected for no changes from last week’s starting lineup, which posted a 5-0 win over rival FC Cincinnati. But there was a new name eligible for selection off the bench as George Davis IV traveled to Bethlehem. Davis hasn’t played since July 15 after tweaking his knee in training.

Mark-Anthony Kaye further proved his staying power on the international level Saturday as Canada Soccer announced another call up for the Louisville City FC midfielder.

He’s among the 24 players selected to Canada’s squad for a Sept. 2 friendly against Jamaica. Toronto, Kaye’s hometown, is the game’s host city with kickoff set for 7 p.m.

“It’s about dedication to hard work,” said Kaye, who will report following LouCity’s Aug. 26 game against Orlando City B. “I really need to thank all the players here at Louisville City FC and the coaches for putting me in the best position to be able to do that when I go to camp.

“This kind of tops off my year with the national team — to be able to go home and play in front of friends and family in my home city. This one just feels good.”

The upcoming meeting will mark the sixth international game between Canada and Jamaica in Toronto. Canada posted a 3-1 win on Sept. 9, 2014, last time they met there. More recently, Jamaica beat Canada 2-1 on July 20 in a CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal.

Canada Soccer coach Octavio Zambrano said that “when we play at home, we want to play good football and we want to pick up from where we left off at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.”

“We’re delighted for Mark,” LouCity coach James O’Connor said of the midfielder’s call up. “He has made big strides this season, and it’s a testament to his hard work.”

Kaye earned his first cap June 13, appearing in another international friendly, a 1-0 Canada Soccer win over Curacao played as a warmup for this summer’s Gold Cup. The midfielder saw the pitch in two Gold Cup games — one of them a start and 90-minute performance — before returning to LouCity in solid form.

With his club short on available personnel, Kaye went the distance July 22 in a 4-1 win at Saint Louis FC fewer than 48 hours after Canada’s exit from the Gold Cup. And entering Sunday’s LouCity game at Bethlehem Steel FC, Kaye has scored in consecutive games, last weekend helping put the finish on a 5-0 win over rival FC Cincinnati.

Kaye, in his second year with LouCity, signed after stints with Toronto FC’s academy and a season at Toronto FC II, another United Soccer League side. He has appeared in nine games this season having also missed time while playing for Canada’s U-23 squad. Kaye’s 78.7 percent passing accuracy is on par with LouCity’s other wingers and, on the attack, he has placed six of 11 shots on target.

FULL CANADA SOCCER SQUAD FOR JAMAICA FRIENDLY

1- GK- Simon Thomas | NOR / FK Bodø/Glimt
2- FB- Nik Ledgerwood | CAN / FC Edmonton
3- CB- Manjrekar James | HUN / Vasas Budapest
4- FB- Michael Petrasso | ENG / Queens Park Rangers
5- CB- Dejan Jaković | USA / New York Cosmos
6- M- Samuel Piette | CAN / Impact Montréal FC
7- FB- Samuel Adekugbe | SWE / IFK Göteborg (on loan from Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
8- M- Will Johnson | USA / Orlando City SC
9- F- Tosaint Ricketts | CAN / Toronto FC
10- M- David Junior Hoilett | WAL / Cardiff City FC
11- F- Cyle Larin | USA / Orlando City SC
12- M- Alphonso Davies | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
13- M- Atiba Hutchinson | TUR / Beşiktaş JK
14- M- Mark-Anthony Kaye | USA / Louisville City FC
15- CB- Amer Didic | USA / Sporting Kansas City
16- F- Anthony Jackson-Hamel | CAN / Impact Montréal FC
17- FB- Marcel de Jong | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
18- GK- Jayson Leutwiler | ENG / Blackburn Rovers
20- M- Raheem Edwards | CAN / Toronto FC
21- M- Jonathan Osorio | CAN / Toronto FC
22- GK- James Pantemis | CAN / Impact Montréal FC
23- M- Tesho Akindele | USA / FC Dallas
24- M- David Choinière | CAN / Impact Montréal FC
25- M- Jay Chapman | CAN / Toronto FC

With Louisville City FC from the beginning, James O’Connor noticed skepticism about professional soccer’s place in town dating back to his appointment as coach in 2014. Basketball, hockey, arena football and other soccer clubs had come and gone in Louisville over the years, after all.

But O’Connor felt after LouCity’s first season — when the club averaged more than 6,000 fans at games and made a run to the USL’s Eastern Conference Final — his team “showed that we were going to be around.” The boys in purple proved it again last Saturday, knocking off rival FC Cincinnati by a 5-0 score and in front of LouCity’s first sellout crowd.

Attendance has risen each year, the club has plans to build a stadium in the Butchertown Neighborhood, and O’Connor again has his side in contention for a USL championship.

“Not only that — just to speak to people who are from here, you speak about Louisville City and you get a certain pride and passion,” O’Connor said Monday at his weekly meeting with local media. “You can tell it means a hell of a lot to people, which is great. That’s exactly what we’re hoping for, and we’re delighted to get that.

“But our work is not done. We need to get our head down and keep driving forward, which we will do.”

O’Connor said that within 48 hours of the FC Cincinnati victory, LouCity’s players and staff moved their focus to what’s next, a trip to play Bethlehem Steel FC at 5 p.m. Sunday. WMYO-TV, NewsRadio 840 WHAS and USL Soccer’s YouTube channel will broadcast the game.

“It was very enjoyable. It was great. It was a really strong performance,” O’Connor said of last weekend. “But we’re not going to spend the week patting ourselves on the back. You move on.”

Here’s more from O’Connor’s Monday press conference: 

On Saturday’s support: “I think for us as an organization, to see so many people come out to support the team, it’s another highlight and another glowing example of how far the football club has come and just what the club means to everybody in the city. To see that amount of people — that amount of passion — I’ve never seen so many people smile after a game, honestly. So many people were delighted, not just with the performance but the crowd, seeing so many people supporting the team and coming out to enjoy it.”

Analyzing Bethlehem: “They had a good win (Sunday) against Toronto. They play Charlotte on Wednesday. Look, they’ve got very good players. They have a lot of pace in the team. They’ve got (Cory) Burke and (Seku) Conneh up front. They’ve got players who are very capable, so again, we’ve got to be mindful of that. We need to make sure we’re prepared, because they’re on a good run themselves. They’ve got some good, quick, attack players and obviously with an MLS 2 team you’re never sure what the lineup will be.”

Managing the week with a Sunday game: “I think we’re a little inconvenienced, as we’ve got a game on the (following) Wednesday as well. It ends up going Sunday-Wednesday-Saturday for us next week, so we’ve got a lot of games coming up in a short period of time. We need to make sure we manage the training load and try to make sure everyone’s fit and healthy and available for selection.”