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As FCC opens Cup play Wednesday against NPSL team Detroit City FC, coach Alan Koch said he will approach the tournament in the same aggressive manner he did last year, while also being smart about his lineup choices. The sold-out second-round game will be played at 7:30 p.m. at the University of Cincinnati’s Gettler Stadium and it will be streamed live online at www.ussoccer.com.
“We’re playing to win, that’s for sure, but we will have to rotate just because we have three games in a short amount of time,” Koch said. “We did it two weeks ago (in league play), and we’ll do the same thing tomorrow.”
Koch hasn’t changed his lineups as often as he did last year when he was trying to find the best combinations from a roster he mostly inherited. This past offseason, he had a chance to build the group he wanted, keeping just nine players from 2017, including two that have since departed and three that he brought in midseason last year.
With his starters performing well enough to get FCC into its current first-place standing in the Eastern Conference, he hasn’t seen reason to make too many changes except for a few minor adjustments or when injuries arise or players need a rest.
When Koch does need to make a change, he has plenty of options, and that remains the case this week as he juggles in a midweek game. He likely will use a mix of his starters and bench players, like last year.
“The beauty of this group is the guys who we’ve given opportunities so far this season have taken them, so a couple guys tomorrow will get a chance that maybe haven’t had those chances so far and we expect them to do the same thing,” Koch said.
Koch credited last year’s run for allowing him to build such a strong roster this season. He went out and got several top North American Soccer League players, as well as some strong international and USL players.
“If we look back and we reflect very accurately on last season, that Open Cup run is really what’s made us who we are today,” he said. “It’s how we had the ability to recruit some of the players we recruited. They saw what the club did. They saw how the fans and the city really got behind the team. It’s why the club really has elevated its status in American soccer. We’re obviously very proud of what we did last year. But, that was last year. This is a whole new season. We’re just excited to go play the game.”
The newcomers are anxious to experience what the seven returners on the team got to be a part of last year.
“Where I was last year — and I think I speak for a lot of other players in this league and across the nation and fans even — everyone saw FC Cincinnati’s success and saw what they did,” said center back Forrest Lasso, who previously played for the Charleston Battery. “I think anybody that’s a soccer player definitely wants to be a part of it.
“Having the opportunity now to be a part of it is pretty special, but we’ve just got to take it one game at a time because if you win you advance and if you lose you’re out. We want to stay in this thing as long as we can.”
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