Luke Spencer (born November 28, 1990) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

coach and former player. He is currently the head coach for FC Tulsa in the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

Early life

Personal

Spencer was born in Augsburg, Germany to Willie and Amy Spencer and has one brother and two sisters. When he was 15 years old his mother died and he turned to soccer as an outlet for dealing with grief. He played academy soccer for Cincinnati United Premier and attended high school at Winton Woods High School. While at Winton Woods he played soccer for four years. He was named the Team MVP during his final three years and was named to both the All-League and All-city first teams as a senior. He left Winton Woods scoring 24 goals with thirteen assists.

College and youth

Spencer played four years of

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...

between 2009 and 2012. As a

Freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

Spencer became a starter, scored three goals, and be named to the

Atlantic 10 The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located mostly on the East Coast and Midwest of the ...

All Freshman team. As a

Sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

he became Xavier's primary striker and despite missing the first eight games of the season would lead the team with 14 points. Spencer was named to the NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Second Team as a

and was given the honor again as a Junior. Spencer again led the team as a Junior with 20 points and also contributed a team high seven goals. Xavier and Spencer went on to win the

Tournament that year with Spencer being named to the Atlantic 10 All-Tournament team as well as the All Atlantic 10 Second Team. As a

Senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

again led the team in points and goals with 36 and 14 respectively. Xavier and Spencer would repeat as

Tournament champions with Spencer being named to the Atlantic 10 All-Tournament team, the All Atlantic 10 First Team, and NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic First Team. He left Xavier having appeared in 70 matches with 29 goals and 21 assists. While at college, Spencer played for

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

side Cincinnati Kings during their 2012 season scoring two goals in eleven appearances.

Club career

New England Revolution

Spencer left Xavier before graduating and was selected 23rd overall in the

2013 MLS SuperDraft The 2013 MLS SuperDraft was the fourteenth SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The draft took place on January 17, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Indiana Convention Center. The Colorado Rapids enjoyed returns from the 2013 draf ...

by the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

; becoming the first Xavier soccer player to be taken in the draft. Four days into training camp with New England he tore the ACL in his right

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

and subsequently was not signed by New England. Seven months later he attempted to return to New England but was again sidelined when he tore his meniscus. This would require multiple surgeries.

FC Cincinnati

On February 15, 2016, Spencer signed his first professional contract with

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

expansion side

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was first announced on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer Leag ...

and made his professional debut on March 27 against Charleston. He played in 11 of Cincinnati's 30 league matches and 1 of their 2 U.S. Open Cup matches going goalless in all competitions.

Louisville City FC

After seeing little playing time in Cincinnati, Spencer went on trial with

USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...

side

Louisville City FC Louisville City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the USL Championship, which is currently the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club was founded in 2014 after O ...

and signed with them on February 9, 2017. He made his season debut on March 25 against

Saint Louis FC Saint Louis FC was an American professional soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded in May 2014, and competed in the USL Championship. The team played their matches at West Community Stadium, a venue inside the World Wide ...

and went on to appear in 26 of Louisville's 32 league matches. He led the team in league play in both goals and points with 10 and 23 respectively and along with Cameron Lancaster was one of only two Louisville players with double digit goals across all competitions. He also appeared in one of Louisville's two U.S. Open Cup matches as well as all four of Louisville's

USL Cup The USL Cup is an annual soccer competition in men's domestic American soccer. The USL Cup is currently known as the USL Jägermeister Cup after its title sponsor, Jägermeister. The competition is open to all clubs in USL Championship and US ...

matches, scoring one goal. Spencer and Louisville went on to win the USL Cup Final against

Swope Park Swope Park is a city park in Kansas City, Missouri. At , it is the 51st-largest municipal park in the United States, and the largest park in Kansas City. It is named in honor of Colonel Thomas H. Swope, a philanthropist who donated the land to ...

In 2018, Spencer had his contract renewed with Louisville and he made his season debut on March 17 against USL expansion side

Nashville SC Nashville Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Nashville, Tennessee. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team spent two seasons in the USL Championship before joining ...

where he scored the first goal of Louisville's season. In early June he had surgery on his right

which caused him to miss significant time. He only appeared in 19 of Louisville's 34 league matches primarily as a substitute while scoring five goals. He also appeared in three of Louisville's five U.S. Open Cup matches scoring one goal as Louisville reached the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time in its history. This included a 3–2 victory over the

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

; Louisville's first victory over an MLS side. Spencer also appeared in all four of Louisville's

playoff matches. Starting both the Eastern Conference Final and

Final matches in place of the injured Cameron Lancaster. He scored two goals in the playoffs including the sole goal of the USL Cup final match as Spencer and Louisville went on to win the USL Cup Final against Phoenix. Where he was named USL Final

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

Spencer along with fellow forwards Cameron Lancaster and Ilija Ilić were the only Louisville players to score a goal in all competitions. On October 29, 2020, Spencer announced his retirement from playing professional soccer. Spencer moved to the new role of Louisville's youth academy assistant boys director and college recruitment coordinator.

Managerial career

Xavier University

Spencer joined Xavier's coaching staff as Director of Soccer Operations for the 2015 season.

Louisville City FC

On July 1, 2018, was Spencer appointed Joint Interim Manager of Louisville City FC as a

player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

along with teammates

George Davis IV George Davis IV (born August 5, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player who previously played for Louisville City FC in the USL Championship. Currently, he is the Director of the LouCity & Racing Foundation. Early life Personal D ...

and Paolo DelPiccolo following the departure of James O'Connor for

Orlando City SC Orlando City Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Orlando, Florida. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Owned by Zygi, Leonard, and Mark Wilf, it is the sister club of ...

. He made his managerial debut on July 7 against

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...

and amassed a 4–2–1 record before being replaced by

John Hackworth John Hackworth (born February 5, 1970, in Dunedin, Florida) is an American soccer coach who is currently the Technical Director for St. Louis City SC of Major League Soccer. Player Hackworth graduated from Dunedin High School in his Florida h ...

. His last match as manager was on August 10 against

New York Red Bulls II New York Red Bulls II is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Montclair, New Jersey. They are the reserve team of the New York Red Bulls and play in MLS Next Pro, the third tier in the American soccer pyramid. Hi ...

after which he returned to his player duties. Spencer was named director of Louisville City's Boys Academy in December 2020.

FC Tulsa

In January 2024, Spencer followed long-time Louisville Academy director Mario Sanchez to FC Tulsa of the

, where Spencer will work on the professional team's staff under Sanchez. In November 2024, it was announced that Mario Sanchez would operate exclusively as Tulsa's technical director and Spencer would be promoted to head coach.

Honors

Club

(2):

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Individual

*USL Cup Final MVP:

References

External links

* *
Luke Spencer
at Louisville City FC
Luke Spencer
at Xavier Athletics {{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Luke 1990 births Living people American men's soccer players Xavier Musketeers men's soccer players Cincinnati Kings players FC Cincinnati players Louisville City FC players New England Revolution draft picks Men's association football forwards Soccer players from Cincinnati USL League Two players USL Championship players USL Championship coaches Xavier Musketeers men's soccer coaches Louisville City FC coaches FC Tulsa coaches 21st-century American sportsmen