Kyle Smith (soccer, born 1992)

Kyle Smith
Smith with Louisville City in 2017
Personal information
Full name Kyle Joseph Smith[1]
Date of birth (1992-01-09) January 9, 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Orlando City
Number 24
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2013 Transylvania Pioneers 76 (47)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Cincinnati Dutch Lions 27 (12)
2016–2018 Louisville City 85 (8)
2019– Orlando City 150 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 19, 2024

Kyle Joseph Smith (born January 9, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club Orlando City.

Early life

Personal

Smith was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and attended high school at La Salle.[3] Kyle played varsity soccer at La Salle for four years and was named to the Greater Catholic League South All League Second Team in 2008 and First Team in 2009.[4] In 2009, he was named Greater Catholic League South soccer player of the year.[5]

College and youth

Smith played four years of college soccer at Transylvania University between 2010 and 2013, scoring a total of 47 goals during his four years.[3] As a Junior he set a Transylvania single season record with for both goals and points with 18 and 40 respectively.[6] As a Senior Smith scored 18 goals with 8 assists[7] earning Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Offensive MVP during his final seasons.[3] He left Transylvania as the team's all-time leading in goals, assists, and points.[8]

After graduation Smith played two seasons with Premier Development League expansion side Cincinnati Dutch Lions in both 2014 and 2015.[9] In 2015 he was second in the PDL with eleven goals scored over 14 matches.[10] He left the Dutch Lions as their all-time leader in goals, assists, and points with twelve, eight and thirty-two respectively, as well having set their season records in those categories in 2015.[11]

Club career

Louisville City

2016 season

After a successful trial Smith signed his first professional contract with United Soccer League side Louisville City on March 14[12] and he made his professional debut on March 26 against Charlotte.[13] He went on to appear in 26 of Louisville's 30 league matches with one goal that he scored on May 6 against Charleston.[14] He also appeared in one of Louisville's two U.S. Open Cup matches as well as all three of Louisville's USL Cup Playoff matches. Although he didn't score in regulation time during any of the USL Cup matches, he converted the first shot of the penalty shoot-out in the Eastern Conference final against New York Red Bulls II. A match that Louisville would go on to lose.[15] During the season he was named USL mid-season Rookie of the Year.[16]

2017 season

Smith remained with Louisville and made his season debut March 25 against Saint Louis FC.[17] He appeared in 27 of Louisville's 32 league matches. Missing three matches while suspended for violent conduct[18] and scoring four goals. He also appeared in one of Louisville's two US Open Cup matches as all four of Louisville's USL Cup Playoff matches. Although he didn't score in regulation time during any of the USL Cup matches, he converted the first shot of the penalty shoot-out in the Eastern Conference final against New York Red Bulls II.[19] Smith and Louisville won the USL Cup Final against Swope Park Rangers, with Smith being named Midseason USL Defender of the Year.[20][21]

2018 season

Smith had his contract renewed with Louisville[22] and he made his season debut on March 17 against USL expansion side Nashville SC.[23] He went on to appear in all but one of Louisville's 34 league matches and had more minutes played than any other Louisville player.[24] He scored his first goal of the season on April 14 against Richmond[25] and he went on to score three goals in USL competition. He also appeared in all five of Louisville's U.S. Open Cup matches scoring one goal as Louisville reached the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time in its history.[26] This included a 3–2 victory over the New England Revolution of MLS; Louisville's first victory over an MLS side.[27] He also appeared in all four of Louisville's USL Cup playoff matches going goalless. Smith and Louisville went on to win the USL Cup Final for the second consecutive season. This time against Phoenix.[28]

Orlando City

On December 19, 2018, Kyle moved to MLS side Orlando City, reuniting him with head coach James O'Connor who had left Louisville earlier in the year.[29] On March 29, 2021, Smith signed a new two-year deal with Orlando City, keeping him with the club through the end of the 2022 with an option for 2023.[30] On December 5, 2022, Orlando City announced that they had re-signed Smith to a one-year deal for the 2023 season with an option for 2024.[31]

Personal life

Smith graduated from Transylvania University with a degree in accounting and worked as an accountant for the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine after graduation and before signing his first professional soccer contract. He is currently studying for the CPA exam and plans to be an accountant after retiring from soccer.[21]

Club statistics

As of November 1, 2024[32]
Club Season League National cup Continental Playoffs Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Louisville City 2016 USL Championship 25 1 1 0 — 3 0 — 29 1
2017 27 4 1 0 — 4 0 — 32 4
2018 33 3 5 1 — 4 0 — 42 4
Total 85 8 7 1 — 11 0 — 103 9
Orlando City 2019 Major League Soccer 23 0 1 0 — — — 24 0
2020 16 0 — — 2 0 4[a] 0 22 0
2021 27 1 — — — 1[b] 0 28 1
2022 29 2 6 0 — — — 35 2
2023 25 1 0 0 1[c] 0 3 0 3[b] 0 32 1
2024 29 0 — 4[c] 1 2 0 2[d] 0 37 1
Total 150 4 7 0 5 1 7 0 10 0 179 5
Career total 234 12 14 1 5 1 17 0 10 0 281 14
  1. ^ Appearances in MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage
  2. ^ a b Appearances in Leagues Cup
  3. ^ a b Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions Cup
  4. ^ Two appearances in Leagues Cup

Honors

Louisville City FC

Orlando City

References

  1. ^ "2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup – Club roster: Orlando City SC (USA)" (PDF). CONCACAF. January 30, 2024. p. 19. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  2. ^ "Kyle Smith". Orlando City SC. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Lerner, Danielle (July 21, 2016). "LouCity's Smith in middle of FC Cincy rivalry". www.courier-journal.com. Louisville, KY: Courier Journal. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  4. ^ "Soccer - All Stars 2008". gcls.gclsports.com. Greater Catholic League. 2008. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  5. ^ "Soccer - All Stars 2009". gcls.gclsports.com. Greater Catholic League. 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  6. ^ "Single-Season History". www.transysports.com. Lexington, KY: Transylvania University. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  7. ^ "Kyle Smith #21 F Transylvania". www.transysports.com. Lexington, KY: Transylvania University. 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  8. ^ "Career History". www.transysports.com. Lexington, KY: Transylvania University. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  9. ^ Shisler, Matthew (May 11, 2015). "CDLFC Returns Three Core Veterans". cdlfc.com. Cincinnati, OH: CDLFC. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  10. ^ "PDL Top 10 Midfielder Prospects". uslpdl.com. USL PDL. 2015. Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  11. ^ "Archive". cdlfc.com. Cincinnati, OH: CDLFC. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  12. ^ Lintner, Jonathan (March 14, 2016). "LouCity signs Transy graduate, other trialists". www.courier-journal.com. Louisville, KY: Louisville Courier Journal. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  13. ^ Kiser, Bill (March 27, 2016). "Charlotte Independence starts USL season with a close loss". www.charlotteobserver.com. Charlotte, NC: Charlotte Observer. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  14. ^ "Smith Earns Accolade After 1st Goal". www.oursportscentral.com/. Louisville, KY: Our Sports Central. May 31, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  15. ^ "LouCity Falls to New York in Playoff Penalty Shootout". www.louisvillecityfc.com. Harrison, NJ: LCFC. October 16, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  16. ^ "2016 USL Midseason Awards: Rookie of the Year". www.uslsoccer.com. USL. July 7, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  17. ^ Karell, Daniel (March 25, 2017). "Sharing the Spoils: Louisville City FC ties Saint Louis in home opener". www.courier-journal.com. Louisville, KY: Louisville Courier Journal. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  18. ^ "USL Discipline Report – Week 22". www.uslsoccer.com. Tampa, FL: USL. August 23, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  19. ^ Lerner, Danielle (November 4, 2017). "Louisville City FC beats New York in penalties to advance to USL Cup championship". www.courier-journal.com. Louisville, KY: Louisville Courier Journal. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  20. ^ a b Murray, Nicholas (November 14, 2017). "Louisville's Late Winner Claims USL Cup Victory". www.uslsoccer.com. USL. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  21. ^ a b Karell, Daniel (July 20, 2017). "LouCity's Kyle Smith more than just a soccer player". Louisville Courier Journal. Louisville, KY. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  22. ^ "Louisville City FC Announces Roster Changes". www.louisvillecityfc.com. Louisville, KY: Louisville City FC. November 17, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  23. ^ Bacharach, Erik (March 17, 2018). "Nashville SC opens inaugural USL season with loss at Louisville City FC". tennessean.com. Louisville, KY: Tennessean. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  24. ^ "2018 Player Stats". www.louisvillecityfc.com. Louisville, KY: LCFC. 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  25. ^ "LouCity Plays comeback Kids in Win Over Richmond Kickers". www.louisvillecityfc.com. Louisville, KY: LCFC. April 14, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  26. ^ Lerner, Danielle (July 18, 2018). "Louisville City FC knocked out of Open Cup with loss to Chicago Fire". www.courier-journal.com. Bridgeview, IL: The Courier Journal. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  27. ^ "RECAP: Revs eliminated from U.S. Open Cup with 3-2 loss to Louisville City FC". www.revolutionsoccer.net. Louisville, KY: New England Revolution. June 5, 2018. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  28. ^ a b Arlia, John (November 8, 2018). "Spencer's Strike Leads Louisville to Second Straight USL Cup". www.uslsoccer.com. Louisville, KY: USL. Archived from the original on November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  29. ^ "Orlando City SC Signs 2018 USL Champions Greg Ranjitsingh and Kyle Smith | Orlando City Soccer Club". Orlandocitysc.com. December 19, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  30. ^ "Orlando City SC Defender Kyle Smith Inked to New Deal". Orlando City SC. March 29, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  31. ^ "Orlando City sign defender Kyle Smith to new contract". mlssoccer.com. December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  32. ^ "Kyle Smith soccerway profile". Soccerway. Retrieved August 13, 2020.