2016 can’t be over soon enough. First we lose in the conference finals again, then we lose our leading goalscorer, and then our best creative playmaker. Our dynamic winger leaves, and ends up in freakin’ Cincinnati. Now, one of the two truly steady hands at the wheel of the good ship Louisville City, Amanda Duffy, will be leaving the club for a role at the National Women’s Soccer League in Chicago, effective Friday.

We’re obviously very happy for Amanda and what this means for her career. She certainly deserves the job, and we have no doubt she’ll be successful. Congratulations to her!

This sucks for Louisville City, though, and is just the latest in a string of bad news departures from Team Purple since the 2016 season ended. Players will be replaced, of course, and James O’Connor certainly didn’t become a bad coach or identifier and evaluator of talent. I’m sure we’ll be getting some exciting player news soon.

But this news is concerning from a “business of the club” standpoint. Amanda was a tireless worker, and did a great job building relationships in Louisville while running a tight ship on limited resources on Sixth Street. Finding someone to jump in and hit the ground running in her absence is going to be a Yao Ming (very tall) task. Clutch those pearls, City fans.