# 2017 FC Cincinnati season

The 2017 FC Cincinnati season was the club's second season of existence, and their second in the United Soccer League (USL). It was FC Cincinnati's first 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 plays in the Eastern Division of USL.
The season is best remembered for FC Cincinnati's championship run in the U.S. Open Cup. They won matches against five teams, including Columbus Crew and Chicago Fire of MLS (the highest division of U.S. soccer), to advance to the semifinals, a feat not achieved by a lower-division team since 2009. Their run was also noted for setting many attendance records; their matches against the New York Red Bulls and Chicago Fire were respectively the 2nd and 3rd highest-attended U.S. Open Cup matches ever, beaten only by the 2011 Final. Their match against Chicago Fire aired on ESPN, marking the first time a match from the Round of 16 received a national television broadcast.

## Club
### Coaching staff

| Position | Staff |
| Head coach | Alan Koch |
| Assistant coach | Yoann Damet |
| Goalkeeper coach | David Schureck |
| Scout/Youth Coordinator | |
| Athletic Trainer | Aaron Powell |
| Strength & Conditioning | Ben Yauss |
| UC Health | Dr. Angelo Colosimo Dr. Brian Grawe |
The club announced on October 21, 2016 that assistant coach Ryan Martin would not be returning for the 2017 season. On December 14, 2016, the club announced that Alan Koch, former head coach of the Whitecaps FC 2, would be taking Martin's place as an assistant coach, in addition to acting as the director of scouting and analytics. On February 17, 2017, the club announced that head coach John Harkes was relieved of his coaching duties and replaced with Alan Koch. On March 28, 2017, Yoann Damet was added to the staff as assistant coach.

### Roster

As of December 15, 2016, FC Cincinnati has confirmed the return of seventeen players from the 2016 roster, as well as the signing of one new player. Fifteen of these players were announced on November 14, and goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt was announced three days later. On December 15, the return of Eric Stevenson and the new signing of Kadeem Dacres were announced. The club held a public tryout with over eighty participants on December 18, 2016. On January 6, 2017, the club announced the signings of Andy Craven, Marco Dominguez, and Aaron Walker (who was selected from the public tryout). On February 6, 2017, the club announced they acquired striker, Victor Mansaray, on loan from Seattle Sounders FC. On March 29, 2017, the club signed Justin Hoyte, a former defender for Premier League club Arsenal. On May 10, 2017, the club traded forward Andy Craven to the OKC Energy FC for forward Danni König. On May 15, 2017, the club announced the signing of defender Josu.
Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth.
| No. | Position | Player | Nation |
| 1 | GK | Mitch Hildebrandt | United States |
| 2 | DF | Matt Bahner | United States |
| 3 | DF | Tyler Polak | United States |
| 4 | DF | Harrison Delbridge | Australia |
| 5 | MF | Aodhan Quinn | United States |
| 6 | MF | Kenney Walker | United States |
| 7 | FW | Kadeem Dacres | United States |
| 8 | MF | Paul Nicholson | England |
| 9 | FW | Djiby Fall | Senegal |
| 11 | FW | Danni König | Denmark |
| 12 | MF | Aaron Walker | United States |
| 15 | DF | Pat McMahon | United States |
| 16 | FW | Kyle Greig (on loan from Vancouver Whitecaps FC) | United States |
| 19 | MF | Corben Bone | United States |
| 20 | MF | Jimmy McLaughlin | United States |
| 21 | MF | Marco Dominguez | Canada |
| 22 | DF | Austin Berry | United States |
| 23 | FW | Andrew Wiedeman | United States |
| 26 | DF | Garrett Halfhill | United States |
| 27 | GK | Dan Williams | United States |
| 30 | GK | Dallas Jaye | Guam |
| 32 | DF | Justin Hoyte | Trinidad and Tobago |
| 51 | DF | Sem de Wit | Netherlands |
| 70 | FW | Kevin Schindler | Germany |
| 74 | DF | Mélé Temguia | Germany |
| 99 | DF | Josu | Spain |

## 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 |
| Stadium | A | A | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | A | A |
| Result | L | W | L | W | D | D | L | D | L | W | W | L | D | D | W | D | L | W | W | W | L | D | L | L | W | D | D | W | D | W | L | W |

#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Louisville City FC (C) | 32 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 58 | 31 | +27 | 62 | Conference Playoffs |
| 2 | Charleston Battery | 32 | 15 | 9 | 8 | 53 | 33 | +20 | 54 | Conference Playoffs |
| 3 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 32 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 50 | 35 | +15 | 53 | Conference Playoffs |
| 4 | Rochester Rhinos | 32 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 36 | 28 | +8 | 53 | Conference Playoffs |
| 5 | Charlotte Independence | 32 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 52 | 40 | +12 | 48 | Conference Playoffs |
| 6 | FC Cincinnati | 32 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 46 | 48 | −2 | 46 | Conference Playoffs |
| 7 | New York Red Bulls II | 32 | 13 | 5 | 14 | 57 | 60 | −3 | 44 | Conference Playoffs |
| 8 | Bethlehem Steel FC | 32 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 46 | 45 | +1 | 44 | Conference Playoffs |
| 9 | Orlando City B | 32 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 37 | 36 | +1 | 42 | |
| 10 | Ottawa Fury | 32 | 8 | 14 | 10 | 42 | 41 | +1 | 38 | |
| 11 | Harrisburg City Islanders | 32 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 28 | 47 | −19 | 37 | |
| 12 | Saint Louis FC | 32 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 35 | 48 | −13 | 36 | |
| 13 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 32 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 33 | 42 | −9 | 36 | |
| 14 | Richmond Kickers | 32 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 36 | −12 | 32 | |
| 15 | Toronto FC II | 32 | 6 | 7 | 19 | 27 | 54 | −27 | 25 | |

## Statistics
### Appearances

| No. | Pos. | Name | USL | USL Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup | Total |
| 1 | GK | Mitch Hildebrandt | 20 | - | 3 | 23 |
| 2 | DF | Matt Bahner | 19 | - | 3 | 22 |
| 3 | DF | Tyler Polak | 16 | - | 2 | 18 |
| 4 | DF | Harrison Delbridge | 18 | - | 4 | 22 |
| 5 | MF | Aodhan Quinn | 14 | - | 3 | 17 |
| 6 | MF | Kenney Walker | 17 | - | 2 | 19 |
| 7 | FW | Kadeem Dacres | 16 | - | 3 | 19 |
| 8 | MF | Paul Nicholson | 9 | - | 2 | 11 |
| 9 | FW | Baye Djiby Fall | 15 | - | 3 | 18 |
| 10 | MF | Eric Stevenson | 1 | - | 3 | 4 |
| 11 | MF | Danni König | 13 | - | 3 | 16 |
| 13 | FW | Cristian Martínez | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| 14 | MF | Omar Cummings | 3 | - | - | 3 |
| 15 | DF | Pat McMahon | 2 | - | 1 | 3 |
| 16 | MF | Daryl Fordyce | 9 | - | - | 9 |
| 16 | FW | Kyle Greig | 7 | - | - | 7 |
| 19 | DF | Corben Bone | 18 | - | 3 | 21 |
| 20 | MF | Jimmy McLaughlin | 20 | - | 3 | 23 |
| 21 | MF | Marco Dominguez | 3 | - | 3 | 6 |
| 22 | DF | Austin Berry | 19 | - | 3 | 22 |
| 23 | FW | Andrew Wiedeman | 20 | - | 4 | 24 |
| 24 | DF | Derek Luke | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| 26 | DF | Garrett Halfhill | 2 | - | 1 | 3 |
| 30 | GK | Dallas Jaye | 1 | - | 1 | 2 |
| 32 | DF | Justin Hoyte | 11 | - | 3 | 14 |
| 70 | DF | Mélé Temguia | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| 74 | FW | Kevin Schindler | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| 80 | FW | Victor Mansaray | 10 | - | 1 | 11 |
| 99 | FW | Andy Craven | 3 | - | - | 3 |
| 99 | DF | Josu | 7 | - | 1 | 8 |
* Updated to matches played on August 1, 2017.

### Goals

| No. | Pos. | Name | USL | USL Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup | Total |
| 4 | DF | Harrison Delbridge | 2 | - | - | 2 |
| 5 | MF | Aodhan Quinn | 2 | - | - | 2 |
| 9 | FW | Baye Djiby Fall | 11 | - | 4 | 15 |
| 11 | MF | Danni König | 8 | - | - | 8 |
| 16 | FW | Kyle Greig | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| 19 | DF | Corben Bone | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | MF | Jimmy McLaughlin | 3 | - | - | 3 |
| 22 | DF | Austin Berry | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| 23 | FW | Andrew Wiedeman | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| 32 | DF | Justin Hoyte | 1 | - | - | 1 |
* Updated to matches played on August 17, 2017.