Louisville City will be turning heads with their first new signing of the offseason. The 2023 USL Defender of the Year, Arturo Ordoñez (Twitter/Insta) is trading in his yellow and black stripes for LouCity purple. Roster news has been slower than usual for the boys in purple with the departures Gibson, Jimenez, Morton, Thellufsen, and Qawasmy announced in mid-November and the first batch of officially returning players coming in early December (with Harris’ re-signing shortly following). Ordóñez, whose deal pends league and federation approval, joins LouCity after a breakout year for Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, where he anchored a back line that conceded an Eastern Conference-fewest 29 goals in 34 games.
The 26-year-old Spaniard was part of CF Pobla de Mafumet and Gimnàstic’s youth setup before attending Pitt in 2019.
“Ordoñez started in every single match he played in, totaling 57 games played with over 5,100 minutes played. He finished with six goals, four assists, and 42 shots and tallied three goals and one assist this past season. His 6-2 frame made him dangerous inside the box off corner kicks as he scored three game-winning goals in his career off headers.”
“A 2021 fall graduate, Ordoñez earned a plethora of accolades throughout his time in Pittsburgh, including 2021 United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-Region. He is a three-time All-ACC recipient, earning Second Team (2021), Third Team (2020-21), and Freshman (2019), and is a two-time All-ACC Tournament player (2019, 2020).”
He was selected in the Second Round (39th overall) of the 2021 Major League Soccer SuperDraft by Houston Dynamo FC before ultimately joining the Riverhounds in 2022. This past season, Ordóñez numbered 239 recoveries and 106 aerial duels won — both ranking second in the league. He also chipped in five goals en route to the Defender of the Year vote and a spot on the All-League First Team.
With Charpie, Adams, and Scarlett still unaccounted for on the 2024 roster, this not only fills a current need but elevates an already strong defensive core. Coach Danny Cruz has placed a particularly strong emphasis on the defensive side of the ball and what better way to bolster that half of the pitch than to bring in the reigning DotY (at a prime age in his career nonetheless). There are still a number of remaining holes in the roster (as to be expected mid-offseason) but this is a nice signal of intent for 2024. 2023 was rockier than most would have liked but should the signing quality remain this high as the rest of the roster comes together, 2024 could be one to remember for Morados.
Parting Thoughts
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