USL Soccer News: Louisville City FC Draw Versus Richmond Kickers
LouCity comes out of the weekend with a scoreless draw versus the Richmond Kickers as the Louisville club remains at the top of the Eastern Conference. Louisville City record its fourth straight clean sheet as they prepare to host the Wilmington Hammerheads at Slugger Field on June 11th.
Soccer News: Louisville City FC (6-1-3, 21 points) stole a point in a 0-0 draw against the Richmond Kickers on Saturday night in Richmond, lengthening the team’s unbeaten streak in all competitions to nine.
LouCity coach James O’Connor’s squad was stout defensively, keeping its fourth straight clean sheet in USL action. Center backs Sean Reynolds, Tarek Morad and Conor Shanosky — who came on for Morad in the second half — all kept things straightforward in the middle, while full backs Ben Newnam and Kyle Smith pushed forward all game, making life difficult for Richmond defenders.
Despite the push made by both Newnam and Smith, LouCIty were unable to come away with a goal to earn the three points. O’Connor said his squad’s fatigue after playing three games in a week affected his players’ ability to get that coveted goal.
“I thought we looked really tired and really jaded,” O’Connor said. “I think when you look at our decision making, our passing and our quality, it was really tired. It was a case where we looked really fatigued.”
The LouCity coach made some tactical substitutions at halftime to inject some offensive firepower into the lineup by bringing on assist man Paolo DelPiccolo, an energetic George Davis IV and the awe-inspiring Cameron Lancaster. The three subs all made an impact — DelPiccolo distributed, Davis created and Lancaster was close to scoring the go-ahead goal on a few occasions.
Although LouCity didn’t come home with maximum points, O’Connor said he was pleased his guys dug deep enough to take one home from Virginia after a thrilling Open Cup match that required penalty kicks on Wednesday.
“I need to give the players a lot of credit,” O’Connor said. “A lot of them played a huge amount of minutes on Wednesday and then we went out and pushed hard again. It’s disappointing, but it’s a decent point away from home.”
After returning home from Richmond, Louisville City will head back on the road to face the Charleston Battery on May 28, followed by an Open Cup fixture with Indy Eleven on June 1. O’Connor said it’ll be important for everyone on his team to remain rested and focused through the road streak.
“It looks like we’re going to be driving around the country for the next little bit,” O’Connor said. “It’s just a part of it. We’ve got a few away games coming up, but it’s a chance to show some mental toughness and mental strength. We’re definitely looking forward to those games.”
LouCity returns to Slugger Field on June 11 to host Wilmington Hammerheads.
Source/Photo Credit:Louisville City FC
