Louisville City Update: Club Adds Midfielders McCabe and Rasmussen; Burke Speaks

As the season in the newly dubbed USL approaches, the roster of Orlando City SC’s affiliate continues to grow. Louisville City FC announced the signing of two midfielders on Thursday, in Irishman Niall McCabe and Dane Magnus Rasmussen. Both players play attack-minded midfield positions, which is a spot that hadn’t been addressed on Louisville’s roster outside Kadeem Dacres.

In the left-footed Rasmussen, Louisville signs a player with experience in the Danish second division with Boldklubben Søllerød-Vedbæk (say that 10 times fast). To boot, he was also the captain of his U-19 youth side while coming up with Danish club FC North Zealand.

"Magnus is very technical player with great receiving skills," Louisville head coach James O'Connor said. "He is overall a very talented footballer and we look forward to his contributions to our attack this season."

As for McCabe, the Dublin native has been stateside for a few years, playing college soccer at Division II Young Harris College, where he was a star. He is second all time on the Mountain Lions' scoring list with 32 career goals, with 26 of those coming in his last two seasons.

To go with his scoring prowess out of midfield, he is also a prolific goal creator. McCabe registered 31 assists over his career, which is good for the all-time Young Harris College lead. The biggest highlight of his career undoubtedly came in his senior season, when he scored four goals and registered one assist in a single game to clinch the regular season Peach Bell Conference title.

"Niall has great vision and awareness," O'Connor said. "He has very good game understanding and a tremendous work ethic. We know what he's capable of and we are thrilled to have him join us in Louisville."

McCabe's Highlights:

Rasmussen's Highlights:

Bryan Burke Excited to Join LCFC

If you missed the news last week, former Orlando City Lion Bryan Burke hasn’t fallen far from the nest. Needless to say, the new Louisville City right back is excited about the opportunity to play in the Derby City.

"I can't wait to get there, meet my teammates and get started!" Burke said. "I know we're going to have a successful season ahead of us and expect to see great support from the community."

Burke should fit in with his new team rather quickly, having been a teammate of his new coach, James O'Connor, in Orlando.

"After playing with James the last two years at Orlando, I know what he expects day in day out," Burke continued. "He's intense, passionate and has had a great playing career. I know I will learn a lot under his direction."

As for his former Orlando home, Burke is glad that his new club has adopted the colors of his old one.

"I learned a lot from my time in Orlando and I know I will continue to grow in Louisville. I've been told purple compliments my skin tone too."

Louisville Third in USL in Season Ticket Sales

LCFC held a town hall meeting on Thursday to introduce some of the players fans.

The biggest news to come out of the meeting was Louisville’s place in the USL season ticket race. Currently Louisville has sold the third most season tickets in the league, behind MLS hopefuls Sacramento Republic and LA Galaxy II.

That's it for this week's Louisville City update. As the MLS preseason winds down we can hope to see some news on which players the Lions will loan out to their Louisville sister club soon. See you next week.