2018 FC Cincinnati season

FC Cincinnati
2018 season
General manager	Jeff Berding
Head coach	Alan Koch
Stadium	Nippert Stadium
USL	1st (Eastern Conference)
USL Playoffs	Conference Semifinals
U.S. Open Cup	4th round
Top goalscorer	Emmanuel Ledesma (16)
Highest home attendance	31,478; (September 29 vs. Indy)
Lowest home attendance	22,532; (May 5 vs. Atlanta 2)
Average home league attendance	25,717
	← 2017 2019 →

The 2018 FC Cincinnati season was the club's third season of existence, and their third in the United Soccer League (USL). It was FC Cincinnati's second season as a second-tier team in the U.S. soccer pyramid, as the United States Soccer Federation provisionally promoted the USL from Division III to Division II for the 2017 season. FC Cincinnati played in the Eastern Conference of the USL.

This was the final season of the club's USL incarnation. On May 29, 2018, Major League Soccer awarded the FCC ownership group an expansion franchise, which began play in MLS under the FC Cincinnati name in 2019.^[1]

On September 26, 2018, the club clinched their first USL Regular Season Championship with a 4–1 victory over the Richmond Kickers.^[2]

Club

Coaching staff

Position	Staff
Head coach	Alan Koch
Assistant coach	Yoann Damet
Goalkeeper coach	Jack Stern
Technical director	Luke Sassano
Athletic Trainer	Aaron Powell
Strength & Conditioning	Austin Berry
UC Health	Dr. Angelo Colosimo Dr. Brian Grawe

Roster

On October 25, 2017, general manager Jeff Berding held a press conference to make the first announcements about the 2018 roster. The return of nine players from 2017 was confirmed at this press conference: Matt Bahner, Kenney Walker, Danni König, Corben Bone, Jimmy McLaughlin, Garrett Halfhill, Justin Hoyte, Sem de Wit, and Josu. Six additional players from the 2017 roster—Austin Berry, Mitch Hildebrandt, Djiby Fall, Harrison Delbridge, Andrew Wiedeman, and Paul Nicholson—were mentioned as still under consideration for 2018, pending contract discussions and future announcements. Berding also confirmed they would not renew contracts or exercise options for any other former players.^[3] In the following weeks, Djiby Fall implied he would not be returning via Twitter,^[4] and Paul Nicholson announced his retirement from professional soccer.^[5]

The club began announcing new signings in November 2017. The team signed Israeli defender Dekel Keinan on November 10,^[6] as well as Canadian forward Daniel Haber on November 15.^[7]

On April 16, 2018, the club announced they had mutually agreed to part ways with defender Josu.^[8]

On April 17, 2018, the club announced they had reach an agreement for the free release of defender Garrett Halfhill. Halfhill subsequently join the New York Cosmos B of the NPSL.^[9]

On July 9, 2018, the club announced the free transfer of forward Daniel Haber to Ottawa Fury FC.

On July 30, 2018, forward Fanendo Adi was acquired from the Portland Timbers as the first MLS designated player for FC Cincinnati.^[10] The club also announced the acquisition of midfielder Fatai Alashe from the San Jose Earthquakes.^[11]

On August 1, 2018, the club announced the acquisition of defender Pa Konate from Serie A S.P.A.L.^[12]

Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth.

No.	Position	Player	Nation
1	GK	Evan Newton	United States
2	DF	Matt Bahner	United States
3	DF	Forrest Lasso	United States
4	MF	Tyler Gibson	United States
5	MF	Nazmi Albadawi	United States
6	MF	Kenney Walker	United States
7	FW	Russell Cicerone	United States
9	FW	Fanendo Adi	Nigeria
10	FW	Emery Welshman	Guyana
11	FW	Danni König	Denmark
12	DF	Pa Konate (on loan from SPAL)	Sweden
13	MF	Michael Lahoud	Sierra Leone
16	MF	Richie Ryan	Ireland
17	GK	Mark Village	Canada
18	GK	Spencer Richey (on loan from Vancouver Whitecaps FC)	United States
19	MF	Corben Bone	United States
20	MF	Jimmy McLaughlin	United States
21	DF	Dekel Keinan	Israel
23	DF	Blake Smith	United States
24	FW	Tomi Ameobi	England
27	MF	Fatai Alashe (on loan from San Jose Earthquakes)	United States
29	DF	Paddy Barrett	Ireland
32	DF	Justin Hoyte	Trinidad and Tobago
45	MF	Emmanuel Ledesma	Argentina
51	DF	Sem de Wit	Netherlands

Competitions

Win Draw Loss

USL

Results Table

Matchday	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34
Stadium	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	H	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A
Result	W	W	L	D	D	W	W	W	L	W	L	W	W	D	W	D	W	D	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	D	D

Source: MLS
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

|text_H=Home|text_A=Away

March 17, 2018 1	Charleston Battery	0–1	FC Cincinnati	Charleston, South Carolina
7:00 EDT	Guerra 51' van Schiak 80' Griffith 90+2'	CIN Report CHS Report	Smith 18' Laing 63' Lasso 85' König 90+2' Ryan 90+7'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Elvis Osmanovic

March 31, 2018 2	Indy Eleven	0–1	FC Cincinnati	Indianapolis, Indiana
7:00 EDT	Ferreira 41' McInerney 45+4'	CIN Report IND Report	Welshman 26' Keinan 54' Lasso 74'	Stadium: Lucas Oil Stadium Attendance: 17,535 Referee: Malik Badawi

April 7, 2018 3	FC Cincinnati	0–1	Louisville City FC	Cincinnati, Ohio
7:00PM ET	Ledesma 35' Keinan 61' Laing 76'	CIN Report LOU Report Box Score	Lancaster 13' 47' Ilić 90+4'	Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 25,667 (USL record for home opener) Referee: Joseph Dickerson

April 15, 2018 4	Bethlehem Steel FC	1–1	FC Cincinnati	Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
3:00 EDT	Burke 15' 83' Chiluya 66'	BTH Report	Albadawi 72'	Stadium: Goodman Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Amber O'Connor Assistant referees: Gjovalin Bori Assistant referees: Ben Pilgrim Fourth official: Michael Guzzetta

April 21, 2018 5	FC Cincinnati	2–2	Pittsburgh Riverhounds	Cincinnati, Ohio
7:00 EDT	König 59' Ledesma 68' Walker 78' Keinan 88' Laing 90+2'	CIN Report PIT Report Box Score	Dover 6' 36' Vancaeyezeele 73'	Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 24,505 Referee: Greg Dopka

April 28, 2018 6	Ottawa Fury FC	0–3	FC Cincinnati	Ottawa, Ontario
2:00 EDT	Reid 63'	CIN Report OTT Report Box Score	Lasso 50' Smith 57' Walker 68' Bone 69' Ledesma 56' 77'	Stadium: TD Place Stadium Attendance: 2,785

May 2, 2018 7	Indy Eleven	2–3	FC Cincinnati	Indianapolis, Indiana
7:00 EDT	Jack McInerney 24' Ayoze 30' (pen.) 88'	CIN report IND report Box score	Kenney Walker 7' (pen.) 75' Jimmy McLaughlin 41' Corben Bone 54' Forrest Lasso 60' Emery Welshman 72'	Stadium: Lucas Oil Stadium Attendance: 8,079 Referee: Marco de Oliveira Assistant referees: Joe Zawistowski Assistant referees: Kevin Fikar Fourth official: Michael Nickerson

May 5, 2018 8	FC Cincinnati	4–2	Atlanta United 2	Cincinnati, Ohio
7:00 EDT	König 26' Ledesma 28' 48' Keinan 30' Bone 39'	CIN Report ATL Report Box Score	Gallagher 31' Kissiedou 37' 41' Carleton 87'	Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 22,532 Referee: Guido Gonzalez Jr.

May 12, 2018 9	Charlotte Independence	4–1	FC Cincinnati	Matthews, North Carolina
7:30 EDT	Cato 38' Ekra 45+2' Voser 57' Martínez 68' Zayed 87'	CIN Report CLT Report Box Score	Ledesma 45+1' König 51' Ryan 71' Lasso 75' Keinan 85'	Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews Attendance: 2,314 Referee: Kevin Broadley

May 19, 2018 10	FC Cincinnati	4–1	North Carolina FC	Cincinnati, Ohio
7:30 EDT	Smith 29' Albadawi 11', 45' Ledesma 62' (pen.) König 69' 75'	CIN Report NCFC Report	Bekker 65' Lomis 86'	Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 22,884 Referee: Victor Rivas

May 26, 2018 11	FC Cincinnati	0–2	Louisville City FC	Cincinnati, Ohio
7:30 EDT	Barrett 28' Ryan 33' Keinan 81'	CIN Report LOU Report	Lancaster 15' Craig 55' Davis IV 73' Williams 85'	Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 26,495

June 2, 2018 12	New York Red Bulls II	1–2	FC Cincinnati	Harrison, New Jersey
1:00 EDT	Moreno 7' Stauffer 69'	CIN Report NYRB Report Box Score	Welshman 52' Barrett 61' Ledsema 65' Ryan 71' König 77'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 613 Referee: Ismir Pekmic

June 9, 2018 13	North Carolina FC	0–2	FC Cincinnati	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 EDT		CIN Report NCFC Report	Ledesma 36' König 37' 52' Hoyte 72' McLaughlin 87'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 4,039 Referee: Mark Allatin

June 13, 2018 14	FC Cincinnati	2–2	Bethlehem Steel FC	Cincinnati, Ohio
7:30 EDT	Albadawi 66' Cicerone 68'	CIN Report BTH Report	Jones 29' Mbaizo 52' Herbers 69' 86'	Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 22,407 Referee: Marcos de Oliveira Assistant referees: Cory Richardson Assistant referees: Benjamin Hall-Volpenhein Fourth official: Jason Ulrich

June 16, 2018 15	FC Cincinnati	4–0	Richmond Kickers	Cincinnati, Ohio
7:30 EDT	Ledesma 8', 67' Albadawi 36' König 60' Welshman 82' Keinan 90+1'	CIN Report RIC Report	Cordovés 33' Williams 90'	Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 28,026 Referee: Elvis Osmanovic Assistant referees: Jeffrey Swartzel Assistant referees: Adrienne McDonald Fourth official: Luke Sobota

June 27, 2018 16	Toronto FC II	3–3	FC Cincinnati	Toronto, Ontario
7:00 EDT	Akinola 28' Bjornethun 45' Boskovic 70' Hamilton 75' Campbell 88'	CIN Report TOR Report	Albadawi 8' Welshman 38' Ledesma 40'	Stadium: Lamport Stadium Attendance: 288 Referee: Fabrizio Stasolla

June 30, 2018 17	FC Cincinnati	2–0	Ottawa Fury FC	Cincinnati, Ohio
7:30 EDT	König 16' Smith 86' Albadawi 90+2'	CIN Report OTT Report Box score	Oliveira 71'	Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 27,107 Referee: Daniel Gutierrez

July 7, 2018 18	Nashville SC	0–0	FC Cincinnati	Nashville, Tennessee
8:30 EDT	Moloto 15'	CIN Report NSH Report	Keinan 17'	Stadium: Nissan Stadium Attendance: 18,228 Referee: Lorant Varga

July 14, 2018 19	FC Cincinnati	2–0	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Cincinnati, Ohio
7:30 EDT	Ledesma 54', 63' König 84'	CIN Report TBR Report	Flemmings 23'	Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 25,416 Referee: Malik Badawi

July 18, 2018 20	FC Cincinnati	2–0	Charlotte Independence	Cincinnati, Ohio
7:30 EDT	Keinan 7' Lasso 20' Ledesma 67' Welshman 87'	CIN Report CLT Report	Duckett 28' Zayed 65' Voser 87'	Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 25,251 Referee: Jon Freemon

July 21, 2018 21	FC Cincinnati	2–1	New York Red Bulls II	Cincinnati, Ohio
7:30 EDT	Lasso 17' Barrett 22', 35' Smith 60'	CIN Report NYRB Report	Tinari 14' König 25' (o.g.) Barlow 53' Stauffer 80'	Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 23,602 Referee: Michael Radchuk

August 4, 2018 22	FC Cincinnati	1–1	Nashville SC	Cincinnati, Ohio
7:30 EDT	König 1', 71' Lasso 30' Walker 60'	CIN Report NSH Report	Hume 85' Mensah 90+1' Davis 90+3'	Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 27,426 Referee: Ismir Pekmic

August 12, 2018 23	FC Cincinnati	1–0	Penn FC	Cincinnati, Ohio
6:00 EDT	Ledesma 80'	CIN Report PENN Report	Baffoe 43' Tribbett 79' Mkosana 83'	Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 24,249 Referee: Mark Allatin

August 18, 2018 24	FC Cincinnati	3–0	Charleston Battery	Cincinnati, Ohio
7:30 EDT	Ledesma 13', 21' Bone 45+1' Barrett 53' Thomas 90+5' (o.g.)	CIN Report	Anunga 30' Svantesson 87'	Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 27,142 Referee: Rosendo Mendoza Assistant referees: Benjamin Hall-Volpenhein Assistant referees: James Duling Fourth official: Luke Sobota

August 22, 2018 25	Atlanta United 2	1–5	FC Cincinnati	Lawrenceville, Georgia
7:00 EDT	Bello 16' Nicklaw 65' Gallagher 90+1'	CIN Report ATL Report	Bone 18' Albadawi 25', 55' Konate 36' Alashe 45+1', 53' Welshman 87'	Stadium: Coolray Field Attendance: 1,638 Referee: JJ Bilinsk

August 25, 2018 26	Tampa Bay Rowdies	1–2	FC Cincinnati	St. Petersburg, Florida
7:30 EDT	Taku 1' Cole 15' Poku 43', 75' Portillos 68' Oduro 80' Diakité 82' 85'	Report	Ledesma 2' (pen.), 86' (pen.) Smith 50' 62' Barrett 88' Newton 90+2'	Stadium: Al Lang Stadium Attendance: 5,963 Referee: Kevin Broadley

September 1, 2018 27	FC Cincinnati	2–1	Pittsburgh Riverhounds	Cincinnati, Ohio
7:30 EDT	Lasso 38' Keinan 80' Adi 88', 88'	USL Report CIN Report	Parkes 57'	Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 25,735 Referee: Joseph Dickerson

September 11, 2018 28	Louisville City FC	0–1	FC Cincinnati	Louisville, Kentucky
7:00 EDT	DelPiccolo 90+3'	USL Report CIN Report	Bone 23' Richey 90+2'	Stadium: Louisville Slugger Field Attendance: 10,009 Referee: Joshua Brooks

September 16, 2018 29	FC Cincinnati	4–3	Toronto FC II	Cincinnati, Ohio
4:30 EDT	Lasso 31' Adi 45+2' Bone 78', 88'	Report CIN Report	Endoh 24', 45+4', 73' Johnson 29' Hundal 63'	Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 27,275 Referee: Lorant Varga

September 22, 2018 30	Penn FC	1–2	FC Cincinnati	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
7:00 EDT	Calvano 7' Paulo 33' Osae 45+1'	CIN Report PENN Report	König 7' Ledesma 32', 68' Bone 84'	Stadium: FNB Field Attendance: 3,117 Referee: Thomas Snyder

September 26, 2018 31	Richmond Kickers	1–4	FC Cincinnati	Richmond, Virginia
7:00 EDT	Eaton 14' Cordovés 32' Luiz Fernando 50' Sekyere 72' Shanosky 85'	CIN Report RIC Report Report	Albadawi 16' Ledesma 40', 44', 45+3' Alashe 45+5' Welshman 63'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 1,519 Referee: Nickrod Fateh

September 29, 2018 32	FC Cincinnati	3–0	Indy Eleven	Cincinnati, Ohio
7:30 EDT	König 31', 65' Adi 34' Mitchell 74' (og)	CIN Report IND Report Report	Matern 31'	Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 31,478 (USL record) Referee: Timothy Ford

October 6, 2018 33	Pittsburgh Riverhounds	0–0	FC Cincinnati	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
7:00 EDT		CIN Report PIT Report Report	Lasso 35'	Stadium: Highmark Stadium Attendance: 3,205 Referee: Eric Tattersall

October 13, 2018 34	Nashville SC	3–3	FC Cincinnati	Nashville, Tennessee
8:30 EDT	Hume 5' LaGrassa 40' Allen 80' Akinyode 90'	CIN Report	Albadawi 39', 63' Bone 52', 81'	Stadium: First Tennessee Park Attendance: 9,083 Referee: Marcos DeOliveira

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	FC Cincinnati (X)	34	23	8	3	72	34	+38	77	Conference Playoffs
2	Louisville City FC (C)	34	19	9	6	71	38	+33	66
3	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC	34	15	14	5	47	26	+21	59
4	Charleston Battery	34	14	14	6	47	34	+13	56
5	New York Red Bulls II	34	13	13	8	71	59	+12	52

Source: 2018 USL standings
Rules for classification: 1) total wins; 2) total goal differential; 3) total goals scored; 4) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 5) disciplinary points; 6) coin toss or drawing of lots
(C) Champions; (X) Regular Season League Champion

References

^ "Cincinnati awarded MLS expansion club, will start play in 2019". MLSSoccer.com.
^ "USL REGULAR-SEASON CHAMPIONS". FCCincinnati.com. Retrieved October 11, 2018.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Kimura, Fumi (October 25, 2017). "Nine Return for 2018". FC Cincinnati. Archived from the original on October 26, 2017. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
^ Fall, Djiby [@baye_djiby] (October 31, 2017). "Thank Mr carld Jeff. Alan and all the staff my teammates people in the administration and the fantastic fans wish the klub all the best 🙏🙏🙏" (Tweet). Retrieved November 7, 2017 – via Twitter.
^ Kimura, Fumi (November 6, 2017). "Paul Nicholson Announces Retirement". FC Cincinnati. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
^ Kimura, Fumi (November 10, 2017). "FCC Inks Maccabi Haifa Captain Dekel Keinan". FC Cincinnati. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
^ Kimura, Fumi (November 15, 2017). "FCC Signs Forward Daniel Haber". FC Cincinnati. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
^ Kimura, Fumi. "FCC JOSU AGREE TO PART WAYS". FCCincinnati.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
^ Switzer, D.J. "FC CINCINNATI RELEASE HALFHILL, JOINS NEW YORK COSMOS". FCCincinnati.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
^ "FCC ANNOUNCES ADI AS FIRST MLS DESIGNATED PLAYER". FCCincinnati.com. Retrieved August 14, 2018.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "FC CINCINNATI ADDS FATAI ALASHE FROM SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES". FCCincinnati.com. Archived from the original on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
^ "FC CINCINNATI TAKES PA KONATE ON LOAN FROM SERIE A'S S.P.A.L". FCCincinnati.com. Archived from the original on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.

[1] "Cincinnati awarded MLS expansion club, will start play in 2019". MLSSoccer.com.

[2] "USL REGULAR-SEASON CHAMPIONS". FCCincinnati.com. Retrieved October 11, 2018.^{[permanent dead link]}

[2018-initial-roster-3] Kimura, Fumi (October 25, 2017). "Nine Return for 2018". FC Cincinnati. Archived from the original on October 26, 2017. Retrieved October 25, 2017.

[4] Fall, Djiby [@baye_djiby] (October 31, 2017). "Thank Mr carld Jeff. Alan and all the staff my teammates people in the administration and the fantastic fans wish the klub all the best 🙏🙏🙏" (Tweet). Retrieved November 7, 2017 – via Twitter.

[5] Kimura, Fumi (November 6, 2017). "Paul Nicholson Announces Retirement". FC Cincinnati. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.

[6] Kimura, Fumi (November 10, 2017). "FCC Inks Maccabi Haifa Captain Dekel Keinan". FC Cincinnati. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.

[7] Kimura, Fumi (November 15, 2017). "FCC Signs Forward Daniel Haber". FC Cincinnati. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.

[8] Kimura, Fumi. "FCC JOSU AGREE TO PART WAYS". FCCincinnati.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018.

[9] Switzer, D.J. "FC CINCINNATI RELEASE HALFHILL, JOINS NEW YORK COSMOS". FCCincinnati.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018.

[10] "FCC ANNOUNCES ADI AS FIRST MLS DESIGNATED PLAYER". FCCincinnati.com. Retrieved August 14, 2018.^{[permanent dead link]}

[11] "FC CINCINNATI ADDS FATAI ALASHE FROM SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES". FCCincinnati.com. Archived from the original on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.

[12] "FC CINCINNATI TAKES PA KONATE ON LOAN FROM SERIE A'S S.P.A.L". FCCincinnati.com. Archived from the original on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.

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v t e 2018 USL season
Playoffs Transfers
East	Atlanta United 2 Bethlehem Steel Charleston Battery Charlotte Independence FC Cincinnati Indy Eleven Louisville City Nashville SC New York Red Bulls II North Carolina FC Ottawa Fury Penn FC Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Richmond Kickers Tampa Bay Rowdies Toronto FC II
West	Colorado Springs Switchbacks Fresno FC LA Galaxy II Las Vegas Lights OKC Energy Orange County SC Phoenix Rising Portland Timbers 2 Real Monarchs SLC Reno 1868 FC RGVFC Toros Sacramento Republic Saint Louis FC San Antonio FC Seattle Sounders 2 Swope Park Rangers Tulsa Roughnecks

v t e FC Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Club	MLS players 2018 MLS Expansion Draft Seasons
Stadiums	Nippert Stadium (2016–2020) TQL Stadium (2021–present)
Affiliated clubs	FC Cincinnati 2 (MLS Next Pro)
Rivalries	Hell Is Real Derby Columbus Crew River Cities Cup Louisville City FC
Key personnel	Owners Carl Lindner III Meg Whitman Scott Farmer CEO Carl Lindner III Jeff Berding General manager Chris Albright Head coach Pat Noonan
Seasons	USL 2016 2017 2018 MLS 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024