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USL Louisville City FC

Louisville City FC Signs Three

December 5, 2014 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (Friday, December 4, 2014) - Louisville City FC has announced today the signing of the first three players in Louisville City FC history. Juan Guzman, Kadeem Dacres and Guy Abend, pending USSF approval, will become the first three to agree to terms and join the club for preseason in February.

Guzman is a veteran midfielder from Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2014 the 28-year-old played in his fifth season for former USL PRO club, the Charlotte Eagles, and scored a pair of goals in 22 appearances.

Head coach James O'Connor is familiar with the skills Guzman can bring to the club, as the Louisville City FC manager played against Guzman while at Orlando City in the 2013 USL PRO Championship final.

"He has very good attributes," O'Connor said. "He's a holding midfielder, so he can play a specific role and he's going to be a very good asset for us."

Midfielder Dacres is the youngest of the three signees but a talented player who has seen international experience with the U.S. U-18 National Team. The 23-year-old Rosedale, New York native is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and was drafted by the Chicago Fire in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft.

However, Dacres was not signed by the Fire and was instead picked up by Arizona United last April. Dacres played in 24 games in his first season in USL PRO, scoring three goals and adding an assist in 974 minutes of play for AZSC.

O'Connor considers Dacres to be an exciting young player who is capable of scoring goals from the midfield position.

"Kadeem is a talented player who is fast, direct and a real threat to opposing teams," the first-year head coach said. "He has great potential and I think he is one that will really excite our fans this upcoming season."

Abend is a holding midfielder who joins the team after appearing in 37 games for Hapoel Rishon LeZion of Liga Leumit in Israel. The 24-year-old holding midfielder scored two goals across all competitions in the 2013-14 season.

He is another signing that O'Connor believes will make an immediate impact on the pitch.

"We're really excited to sign Guy," O'Connor said. "He is a player I've had my eye on for a while. I'm thrilled we could come to terms."

With the team's first players signed, the club will start to build around them with training and exhibitions drawing closer. O'Connor is building his team piece by piece and more player announcements will come before the end of the year.

Louisville City FC will be at Molly Malone's Irish Pub (933 Baxter Avenue) on Sunday at 2:30 P.M. for the Louisville Coopers' annual meeting around the MLS Cup watch party. Fans will have the opportunity to meet O'Connor and purchase season tickets to become Founding Members of the club.

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