Since Louisville City FC’s inception under the watch of Head Coach James O’Connor, the use of width has been a key component to the club’s attack. Using a similar philosophy that succeeded at O’Connor’s previous stop – Orlando City SC under Head Coach Adrian Heath where he was a player/assistant coach – the club’s first two main fullbacks in Bryan Burke and Enrique Montano finished with a combined 16 assists that season.

That has continued since the departure of both those players, with Kyle Smith taking on the right back role and Oscar Jimenez coming to the fore at left back this season. Between Burke and Smith, Louisville’s right backs have accounted for 18 assists over the past two-plus seasons, or 14 percent of the goals City has scored in the USL regular season over that span.

As the Louisville Courier-Journal’s Daniel Karell points out, that wide play has been brought even more into focus thanks to the club’s recent move to a 3-4-3 formation over the 4-2-3-1 that had previously been in effect. By adding a central defender, Smith and Jimenez have even more opportunity to push up the flank and create one-on-one matchups.

Smith’s goal against the New York Red Bulls II on June 11 provided some illustration of this, as his advanced position allowed him to take advantage of a momentary lapse in concentration from New York’s defense as he continued and finished a great passing move that saw Smith end up in the right side of the Red Bulls II penalty area to finish.

Another indicator of the new formation’s success came this Saturday, when Louisville put in another impressive 3-0 victory against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Both Smith and Jimenez finished with more touches in the opposition half than in their defensive end as City created even-number or even odd-number overloads against the Hounds’ defense.

Louisville's Smith (RWB) & Jimenez (LWB)
Touches vs. Pittsburgh, 6/17/17

The presence of Smith and Jimenez in more advanced positions is also paying dividends for the rest of Louisville’s side. Brian Ownby and Jimenez are tied for the most scoring chances created this season for City with 21, with Smith not far behind on 14. With Ownby looking like one of the offseason’s sharpest additions, Louisville is back on track for a third consecutive regular season where the club will hit the 50-goal mark.  

“It’s always fun when you can outnumber the other team in the attacking half," Ownby told Karell. "We’re able to push high and then we’re able to get around the ball and outnumber them, 3-v-2 or 2-v-1, and I think we’ve seen that a lot the past two games."