Having recently completed a 16-day stretch on the road in both Florida and California, FC Cincinnati will finally have a chance to play in front of home supporters in the Queen City this Saturday.
The club’s fifth preseason match of 2017 also marks our return to the University of Cincinnati – though it’s not exactly a return to the team’s normal digs on campus. So it’s extra important to get all the correct details ahead of Saturday’s fixture to ensure you show up at the right place.
Luckily, you can find all those important details below in our full match preview.
WHEN
Saturday, March 11th, at 7:00pm EDT.
GET TICKETS HERE
OPPOSITION
Though our team calls the University of Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium home, there is another men’s soccer team on campus too: the UC Bearcats men’s soccer team. And with Nippert Stadium still wrapping up offseason renovations, that means we’ll be playing as the away side on campus for the first time.
VENUE
Gettler Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
DIRECTIONS
FORM
FCC: Over two weeks away from home, over 5000 miles of travel in the books, and four preseason matches already played, the Orange & Blue are undoubtedly happy to be back home in Cincinnati. Plenty was learned during the team’s time away, as Coach Koch experimented with numerous formations, player combinations and strategies to get a feel of the squad at his disposal. The final of our four preseason matches on the trip came last Saturday evening, where we earned a dramatic 2-2 draw away at last season’s USL Western Conference champion, Sacramento Republic.
UC: The first college side FCC have faced in 2017, the Bearcats Men’s Soccer Team should provide a solid test right in our own backyard. But pinning down the form of a college side during their limited spring season is even harder than pinning down a professional team’s during their own preseason. In addition to losing seniors from the regular season in the fall, the Bearcats have also only played once this spring. That proved to be a 1-0 win last Sunday against fellow NCAA Division I side DePaul. As for last season, UC finished a respectable 9-7-1 and finished 5th in the nine-team American Athletic Conference.
COACH
“It is going to be exciting to play at home here in Cincinnati and in front of some of our fans. We have covered a lot of ground on the road in our pre-season preparations and are looking forward to another good challenge against UC. The team are focused on maximizing every opportunity to move forward during this preparation phase.”
- Head Coach Alan Koch
PLAYERS
FCC: Two FCC players were on the scoresheet for first time this year against Sacramento. Midfielder Aodhan Quinn officially opened up his FCC account when he converted a first half penalty earned by Australian centerback Harrison Delbridge. Speaking of Delbridge, he also found the back of the net against his former team, supplying a towering header to equalize in second half injury time.
UC: Long time UC head coach Hylton Dayes – entering his 27th season in 2017 – fielded an extremely young side in 2016, with 11 true freshmen plus four sophomores. Worth watching from that group is Loveland native Ryan Melink (#24), who led all returners with five goals and three assists registered back in the fall. The redshirt freshman was named to the AAC All-Rookie Team in 2016.
HISTORY
Despite calling the same university’s campus home, this is the first-ever meeting between FCC and UC. A Clifton Derby, anyone?
WEATHER
Leaving the warmth of Florida and California, FCC will be greeted with predictable spring weather in Ohio this Saturday. While snow showers were a possibility, it does look as if the forecast is improving – if only slightly. As of the time of publication, things are expected to stay dry, but temperatures will still be a frosty mid-30’s at kickoff.
WATCH
As this is preseason, none of our matches prior to the start of the regular season campaign will be on television. And unfortunately, there won’t be any streams to watch either.
So your only way to follow the action is to either join us at Gettler on Saturday night or follow the FCC social media channels below.
LISTEN
None of FC Cincinnati's 2017 preseason matches will be available over the radio or via streaming radio.
SOCIAL
Just as was the case in 2016, you can follow along with the action during all of our 2017 matches live on our Twitter feed at @fccincinnati. Halftime and full time updates will also be available on Facebook. To get live looks from the match, follow us on Instagram and Snapchat at 'fccincinnati', too.
