This year’s Louisville City team is one of those “whole is more than the sum of its parts” squads. Brian Ownby gets a lot of attention for his work this season, and rightly so, but no one on the roster is really in the conversation for league MVP.

Of LouCity’s 28 goals this season, no one player has scored more than five. I give lots of guys credit for what they do in individual games in the STATCAP, but one guy seemingly gets perpetually overlooked. Maybe he likes it that way.

I was a little surprised when James O’Connor named Paolo DelPiccolo his team captain for this season. Not that Paolo wasn’t worthy of the armband, I just wasn’t expecting it. However, he’s proven himself a leader on the field, as well as the kind of guy who will go to bat for his teammates.

Then, there are the numbers:

• More passes than any other player on the team, with 812.
• Third on the team in minutes played, and that includes his suspension from the St. Louis match away.
• He’s played the full 90 in every match he’s been in.
• He’s tied for the team lead in assists with four.
• He’s tied for third on the team in chances created with 19.
• He has the second-most tackles and interceptions on the team.
• Leads the team in tackles.
• Second only to Brian Ownby in duels and duels won – with 38 fewer attempts.
• Leads the team in aerials and is second in aerial duels won.

Part of this, of course, is a function of his job as a central defensive midfielder. However, DelPiccolo has managed to blend defensive tenacity with some pretty crafty offensive flair to make him a truly complete midfielder in the USL. Paolo’s name almost never comes up in the “who’s the best LouCity player?” conversation, and it should.