What a Debut!

As one of the world’s most popular sports, soccer is played in almost every country and has taken America by storm in recent years. International teams have American fan bases, and Major League Soccer is continuing to grow as more American cities vie for expansion franchises. One of those cities happens to be Cincinnati as FC Cincinnati, the city’s United Soccer League team, has exceeded all expectations in its debut season.

When it came to the pitch, I don’t think anybody expected the team to play as well as they did. The team finished third in the USL Eastern Division standings with a record of 16-6-8 and secured a home playoff game against Charleston Battery. They had outstanding goalkeeping performances by Mitch Hildebrandt and were led in scoring by breakout star forward Sean Okoli who was also the 2016 USL Golden Boot award winner. Other players such as Jimmy McLaughlin and Cincinnati’s own Austin Berry also had good years that helped FC Cincinnati have such a stellar debut season.

The attendance has also been a big factor in establishing FC Cincinnati as a premier team in American soccer. The number of people that have gone to watch FC Cincinnati soccer games at Nippert Stadium has been impressive to say the least. Halfway through the regular season, the team broke the regular season record before setting set the new all-time regular season attendance record of 259,437 at season’s end. They team also set the new USL single game regular season attendance record when 24,376 people packed Nippert Stadium as FC Cincinnati ended their regular season home stand with a 1-0 victory over Orlando City B. They then broke that record by drawing 30,187 people for their home playoff game. The team averaged 17,296 fans per home game, and if the friendly match against Premier League squad Crystal Palace is taken into account, the total number of people that saw an FC Cincinnati match at Nippert Stadium was an astronomical 333,353.

Speaking of Crystal Palace, FC Cincinnati was the only USL team selected to play Crystal Palace during their three-match tour of America. The FC Cincinnati versus Crystal Palace match outdrew the other two matches Crystal Palace played on their tour against the Philadelphia Union and the Vancouver White Caps. The Union and the White Caps, both of which are MLS teams, drew 12,881 and 14,788 respectively while FCC Cincinnati more than doubled both of those numbers by drawing in 35,061 people.

With FC Cincinnati being a contender in their first year of USL play while also consistently drawing impressive crowds, it appears that MLS has taken notice. It has been reported that FC Cincinnati executives met with MLS officials during the MLS All-Star break, and MLS Commissioner Don Garber is set to visit the Queen City in November. These reports have fueled speculation that FC Cincinnati is being considered as a possible MLS expansion team. Getting noticed by MLS is always a good thing. Getting noticed by MLS during your debut year? Incredible!

In conclusion, it has been a whirlwind debut season for FC Cincinnati. They made the playoffs with a third place finish in the USL Eastern Division, set attendance records seemingly all season, played an international team in Crystal Palace, and is being noticed by MLS. I have been to numerous FC Cincinnati games this season and was in the bailey for their inaugural home opener. Every game I have been to has been a blast, and I am proud of what the team has been able to accomplish in its debut year. Hopefully they will have continued success for years to come, and hopefully it will be at the MLS level.