Brian Ownby collided with the opposing goalkeeper, hit the ground for tackles more than once and tallied 55 touches — most among the midfielders — trying to get a breakthrough goal Saturday for Louisville City FC.
The veteran player collapsed to the ground after the final whistle and needed help off the field. He in turn earned praise from coach James O’Connor after a scoreless draw with Toronto FC II.
“It’s deeply disappointing when you work as hard as the lads do and you’re in essence falling off the pitch,” O’Connor said. “When you don’t get three points, it’s hard to take. We obviously now have no game next weekend, so it gives us a chance to speak about a few things that we have been mentioning and working on. It gives us more time.”
A rare break in the USL schedule will allow LouCity to rest up, reflect and even enjoy the Kentucky Derby, a perk of playing for the state’s only pro soccer club.
Tactically, LouCity looked in good form Saturday. The boys in purple dominated the stat sheet, placing 11 of 19 shots on goal, and stood defensively when necessary. But what kept LouCity from scoring?
“It’s a great question,” O’Connor said. “If I knew the answer, every week we’d be scoring goals. I think you can get games like that. We’ve hit the post. We’ve hit the bar. Goodness me, we’ve had some chances tonight.”
So it’s the mental side of the game LouCity will work on before next hitting the pitch May 13 at the Tampa Bay Rowdies’ Al Lang Stadium.
“We missed a couple chances early on, and I think that frustration builds up,” said forward Luke Spencer. “You want to put teams away early, and when you get a lot of chances and don’t do that, it builds up. That kind of gets into your head. I think that’s what happened.”
“I think this opens our eyes to — it shows whatever we’re doing in training, maybe we should focus extra on it,” added defender Oscar Jimenez.
The tone was one of disappointment, but LouCity has plenty to celebrate early this season. Dating back to 2016, the side is on a run of 11 straight USL regular-season games unbeaten. Interest is also on the rise, as an average of 8,038 fans have attended three home games — up from 6,190 in 2016 and 5,242 at the same point in 2015.
The next game, at Tampa Bay, will get a high-profile broadcast slot on Louisville’s FOX affiliate, WDRB, and major radio signal 840 WHAS. With 13 points earned, the Rowdies currently sit tied with the USL Eastern Conference-leading Charleston Battery, who have the edge on the table thanks to goal differential. LouCity topped Tampa Bay by a 2-1 score on April 15 in the teams’ only other meeting.
