Corben Bone had previous looks on goal similar to those he saw Wednesday night at Lynn Family Stadium, but it came as a source of frustration to the Louisville City FC midfielder that he hadn’t yet finished them.
The veteran found his groove in a 4-1 win over Sporting KC II, burying a pair of first half shots to become the first LouCity player this season with multiple goals in a game.
Afterward, Bone, who came to Louisville from former rival FC Cincinnati in Major League Soccer, described the feeling as “relief and happiness.”
“I’ve been wanting to get one, and it finally happened today,” Bone said.
“They’re huge for him,” added coach and sporting director John Hackworth. “We joke with Corben a lot because he’s an old pro. But you can’t ever feel like you’re in the right place, doing the right thing, until some of the goals happen or the assists happen.
“Tonight, he gets two beautiful goals and very composed on both of them off of turnovers. I’m really happy for him.”
Bone, a Texas native taken as the 13th pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, arrived to a crowded, experienced LouCity midfield this season. But the challenges of COVID-19 thinned out his main No. 10 position when 2019’s leading scorer Magnus Rasmussen remained home with his family in Denmark at the USL Championship’s restart.
The pressure to produce — Rasmussen scored 13 goals last season, then added four in the playoffs — then fell to Bone.
“I think in those moments you have to stay patient and believe in yourself and when the moment comes, try to do what you know you can,” Bone said. “I got some good moments tonight, and luckily I finished them off.”
Bone, who played collegiately for Wake Forest, then put in a stint with Hackworth at the Philadelphia Union, made the transition from USL to MLS with FC Cincinnati as one of just three players to make that cut.
The 34-year-old then signed with LouCity last November. So far, he has started seven of eight games and logged 617 minutes.
With big shoes to fill in Rasmussen’s absence, he entered Wednesday with eight shots taken and an assist. The breakthrough moment arrived in the 29th minute when he dodged an opponent’s tackle and buried a shot right of the Sporting KC II goalkeeper. Seven minutes later, his right foot was on the receiving end of a deft cross from winger Napo Matsoso, who split defenders out wide before delivering a perfect ball into the box.
Thanks to Bone’s contributions Wednesday, LouCity extended a three-game unbeaten streak, strung together back-to-back wins and jumped to second — a playoff spot — in the USL’s Group E standings. The boys in purple have tallied the same number of points as third-place Saint Louis FC but own a better goal differential to break the tie.
“I think we have been playing pretty well throughout,” Bone said. “I thought tonight there were some special moments from people – I mean Napo and the assist to me was fantastic and a special moment and we converted it. I think in those instances it is important and maybe we haven’t been getting those in the first couple of games, so now with that momentum and the belief it is starting to happen, so we have got to continue to believe.
“…You want that kind of momentum and I think it has been building for sure, so we got two important victories now and important points and we continue to build on that. It is a condensed season and every game is important so we can use that momentum and honestly hope to continue to push to Indy.
“This is a special group, so early on it was tough on us, but as long as we continue to believe in ourselves and play well on the field, I think the results are coming and we have seen that in the last two games.”
