March 28th, 2015 is a notable day in Louisville City history. For the first time, a team was fielded for regular season USL play. The match up against regional rivals, St Louis FC, ended up being a 2-0 win setting the tone for the success the club would have for the next several years. You can catch the match online here. The starting eleven that Coach James O’Conner selected is quite a bit different than the team we have today (although not entirely). I wanted to take a look back at the squad and see how their careers had progressed since that first match.
Scott Goodwin (#1) – Scott Goodwin was Lou City’s first man between the sticks and subsequently earning the clubs first clean sheet with the 2-0 win over St Louis. Scott would go on to record 35 total appearances with the club during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Scott ended his professional soccer career early after having been accepted into Harvard Medical School. He did, however, make an encore appearance on the pitch late in the 2016 season. Jason Ence did a nice peace on the end of Scott’s professional soccer career. Check out some of his best saves in purple here.
Niall McCabe (#11) – Little could he know at the time, but Niall’s appearance on the pitch for the first match at Slugger was the first of many to come. Since the 2015 season, Niall has remained with Louisville City. He has made over 135 appearances and has scored 18 goals and helped to earn the 2017 and 2018 championships. At the age of 29, it seems that he is likely to continue to be seen on the pitch for the next several years (hopefully still sporting our purple). Given the Irishman’s long tenure at the club, he has become one of the faces of the franchise and has likely already solidified his place as a club legend. Here is a little profile put out on him by the club.
Juan Guzmán (#8) – Juan Guzmán is a Colombian midfielder who was a part of JOC’s first season at Louisville City. He was, along with Guy Abend and Kadeem Dacres, was one of the first 3 signings in club history (announcement video here). Juan made 27 appearances for the club during the 2015 season scoring one goal that April against the future title winning side, the Rochester Rhinos. After the 2015 season, he left the league and join Colombian side Boyacá Patriotas FC. In 2017, he would return to the USL with Oklahoma City Energy FC seeing 29 appearances and 2 goals over 2 seasons. As of 2019, Juan has been with New Mexico United notching up 28 appearances with the club.
Guy Abend (#19) – Guy Abend found himself apart of the inaugural side and would stay with the club through the 2016 and 2017 season ending his time with City as a champion. He totaled 63 appearances and 6 goals. Since leaving Louisville, the Israeli player has seen himself feature with Reno 1868 in 2018 and with St Louis FC from 2019 to present. While now a part of a rival club, Guy still receives a positive reception from the Louisville City fanbase. He was featured in a club produced “get to know” video found here.
Kadeem Dacres (#7) – Kadeem was one of our starting eleven in our first ever match up against St Louis FC, a club he would later end up playing on. Kadeem spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons with the club making 49 appearances and scoring 8 goals. He would later sign with FC Cincinnati (ugh) for the 2017 season making 22 appearances. In 2018, Kadeem would rejoin his old teammate, Guy Abend, in St Louis and has since made 60 appearances and 5 goals. Like Guy, many fans still remember and appreciate his time with our club. Check out his top moments from the 2015 season here.
Magnus Rasmussen (#10) – Magnus not only started in that first match but ended up become Louisville City’s first goal scorer. His name will forever be etched into the club's history. The Danish playmaker made 40 appearances for Los Morados and scoring 11 goals. After 2016, however, Magnus left the league to return home and play for BK Frem where he saw only 7 appearances. In 2018, Maggie returned to rack up an additional 52 appearances and 14 goals. With the onset of the global pandemic and the birth of his first daughter back in Europe, Magnus and Lou City mutually terminated his contract with the doors still open for his much needed return for the 2021 season. I am sure I’m not alone in hoping the he does in fact return. Here is a little throwback highlight reel of Magnus in action in 2015.
Bryan Burke (#2) – Bryan Burke was included as part of the defensive setup during that first match. Bryan made 28 appearances and scored one goal during the 2015 season. He earned several accolade during the season including All League First Team, Assists Champion, and Defender of the Year. In 2016, Bryan left Louisville to join the Jacksonville Armada FC in the NPSL. After only 15 appearances, he then spent the 2017 season with San Francisco Deltas in the NASL where he made 13 appearances, scored 13 goals, and helped his team to secure Soccer Bowl 2017 beating the New York Cosmos 2-0. Unfortunately, the club folded less than 2 weeks after that victory. Bryan then hung up his boots and called it a career. Here is a 2015 highlight reel of him providing service to Matt Fondy and the rest of the squad.
Conor Shanosky (#5) – The DC United product was featured in City’s original starting eleven and would see himself total 41 appearances and 4 goals over the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Conor then joined the USL Championship side Richmond Kickers who he was loaned to earlier in his career. The Kickers would later drop to the 3rd tier USL League One in 2019. Since joining them in 2016, he has made 67 appearances and has score twice. He was with Richmond until August 2020. Conor has earned his USSF C Coaching License so perhaps Lou City will play a side managed by him in the future. Check out his signing video here.
Adam West (#3) – Adam West was also selected for James’s O’Conner’s first team. Adam only made 13 appearances for the club in the 2015 season. In 2016, he join Arizona United (now Phoenix Rising) where he had 12 appearances. Since 2015, he has also been with the Tacoma Stars in his home state of Washington, who are part of the Major Arena Soccer League, where he has made 37 appearances and 29 goals. At the age of 34, he is still currently on their roster.
Tarek Morad (#6) – Tarek was another defensive fixture of the original squad. From 2015 through 2017, Tarek made 72 appearances for the club and netted 4 goals. After helping to take down Swope Park Rangers (now Sporting Kansas City 2) to secure the clubs first star above the crest, Tarek was not resigned and ended up with the Tampa Bay Rowdies. He would go on to make 46 appearances in the yellow and green in 2018 and 2019. Currently, Tarek is without a club. You can get to know him a little better here with this short interview.
Matthew Fondy (#9) – Matt Fondy found himself on the pitch for the first match in what would become a historic season. In 2015, Matt made 28 appearances and scored a record-breaking 22 goals. Earning All-League First Team, Scoring Champion, the Golden Boot, and Most Valuable Player honors. It was a performance to remember. Matt did not stay with Lou City and split his 2016 season between Jacksonville Armada FC and the Carolina RailHawks (now North Carolina FC). While only seeing the pitch 8 times in Jacksonville between 2016 and 2017, he made 40 appearances and scored 13 times. In 2018, he was with the Oakland Leopards. His 2019 season was split between San Francisco City FC and Olympic Club. As of 2020, he is with NISA side Oakland Roots SC. You can catch all 22 goals of his 2015 campaign here.
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