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USL FC Cincinnati

Game Preview: FC Cincinnati at Louisville City FC

September 6, 2018 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
FC Cincinnati News Release


USL Regular Season | Match #28

FC Cincinnati at Louisville City FC

Saturday, September 8, 2018 | 7:30 p.m.

Louisville Slugger Field | Louisville, Ky.

TV: WSTR 64 | Stream: ESPN+

Talent: Tom Gelehrter (play-by-play), Kevin McCloskey (analyst)

Team Records

FC Cincinnati: 18-3-6, 60 pts. | First in USL East

Louisville City FC: 13-5-8, 47 pts. | Second in USL East

FC CINCINNATI TO CONCLUDE SEASON SERIES WITH LOUISVILLE CITY FC

The Orange and Blue will square off with Louisville City FC for the third and final time of the 2018 USL regular season on Sept. 8.

Louisville City remains the only Eastern Conference team against which FCC has not picked up points this season

Saturday's match will see the USL's top goalscorer, Cameron Lancaster (18), square off with the USL's leader in assists, Emmanuel Ledesma (11)

Cincinnati (55) and Louisville (52) both rank in the top three in the USL's Eastern Conference - top five overall - in goals scored this season

FCC SEEKS TO EXTEND CLUB-RECORD FIVE-GAME WINNING STREAK

FC Cincinnati claimed its fifth consecutive USL win - the longest winning streak in club history - when the Orange and Blue defeated Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, 2-1, on Sept. 1

FCC previously won four consecutive games, two of which were U.S. Open Cup contests, in May 2017

During the current streak, FCC has outscored its opposition 13-3 and has posted two clean sheets

FC CINCINNATI ON LONGEST UNBEATEN RUN IN CLUB HISTORY

FCC enters Saturday's match riding a 16-game unbeaten run during which time FCC is 12-0-4 in USL play ... this is the longest undefeated run in club history

FC Cincinnati recently completed its third-consecutive unbeaten month, having posted an unbeaten record in June (4-0-2), July (3-0-1), and August (4-0-1) ... overall, FCC has tallied seven unbeaten months in club history

During the run, FCC is 8-0-2 at home and 4-0-2 on the road

The club's previous longest undefeated run was 11 games in the first half of the 2016 season (7-0-4)

KONATE, LAHOUD CALLED IN FOR INTERNATIONAL DUTY

Defender Pa Konate and midfielder Michael Lahoud have been called in to their respective national teams for upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers

Lahoud and Sierra Leone will face Ethiopia on Sunday, Sept. 9, at Hawassa International Stadium in Awassa, Ethiopia

Lahoud has four caps for Sierra Leone, which is competing in Group F of Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying with Ghana, Kenya and Ethiopia ... Sierra Leone comes into the Sept. 9 match day with a 1-0-0 record in group play

Konate, who has previously represented his native Sweden at the senior international level, is using his one-time FIFA nationality switch to play for his ancestral Guinea, where his father was born

Guinea will host the Central African Republic on Sept. 9 in Conakry ... Guinea is in Group H of qualifying and has a 1-0-0 record in group play, which also includes Central African Republic, Ivory Coast and Rwanda

DAMET, STERN RECEIVE CONTRACT EXTENSIONS

FCC assistant coach Yoann Damet and goalkeepers coach Jack Stern signed contract extensions through the 2020 MLS season on Sept. 5.

Damet is currently in his second season in Cincinnati after joining Koch's staff ahead of the 2017 campaign

Prior to arriving in the Queen City, Damet spent three years with the Montreal Impact as its U-18 head coach after working with the club's U-12, U-16 and U-18 squads in various coaching roles ... in addition, Damet was tasked with creating the Pre-Academy programs from U-8 through U-12 age groups as the Impact's Pre-Academy coordinator

Stern is currently in his first season in Cincinnati, joining Koch's staff in December 2017 as the club's goalkeepers coach after four seasons with the Montreal Impact

Stern started in Montreal as the Head of Academy Goalkeeping and in three seasons and helped produce the Impact's MLS and USL goalkeepers, as well as members of the Canada National Team at both the senior and youth levels ... in his final season in Montreal in 2017, Stern was elevated to the club's Head of Goalkeeping and served as the first team's goalkeepers coach

FC CINCINNATI SUPPORTING CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

This September, FC Cincinnati is working with several local non-profit organizations to bring greater visibility to their respective efforts in the childhood cancer field

At each of the team's three home games in September, FCC will host different organizations as the club's Community Outreach Partner, which is presented by Home City Ice

The Orange and Blue will host Cancer Free Kids for the match against Toronto FC II on Sept. 16 ... Cancer Free Kids seeks to eradicate cancer as a life-threatening disease in children by funding promising research that might otherwise go un- or under-funded

Cincinnati will also host The Cure Starts Now for FCC's match against Indy Eleven on Sept. 29 ... The Cure Starts Now focused on research to find a cure for DIPG, a rare form of pediatric brain cancer

FCC welcomed the Dragonfly Foundation for the club's match against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Sept. 1 ... The Dragonfly Foundation helps pediatric cancer families and patients find strength, courage and joy throughout treatment and recovery in the form of support and comfort services

In addition to the club's community partners, goalkeeper Evan Newton, FCC and Cincy Shirts have collaborated on a fundraising effort for Cincinnati Children's Hospital ... specially designed t-shirts - featuring Newton's silhouette a making heart-shaped hands symbol while diving for a save - are available for purchase through Cincy Shirts ... all profits from the sale of the special-edition shirts will be donated to Cincinnati Children's Hospital

PREVIEW QUOTES

FC Cincinnati Head Coach Alan Koch

On if he cares about the rivalry with Louisville City FC...

"I care about rivalries, of course. I think it's a beautiful part of our sport - just having regional rivalries and derbies are a huge part of things - but at the end of the day, it's just another three points. I think the second us as players and coaches get caught up in things like that and start thinking of it more than a three-point game, I think we start to lose our focus. We played Pittsburgh. It was a three-point game. We won that game and we have the same expectations of ourselves this Saturday against Louisville."

On if he's going to miss coaching against former Louisville City FC head coach James O'Connor...

"I have a lot of respect for James, obviously. We've had some battles. We've won some of those battles; they've won some of those battles. But, I won't get to miss him, because I'll see him again next year."

On if the team will adjust its training to replicate the dimensions of Louisville Slugger Field ...

"We normally do ... we always adjust the training environment based on the dimensions of the field that we're going to go play on. Obviously, we're fully aware of what the surface and what the facility is like in Louisville."

On if the team is focused on finishing at the top of not just the Eastern Conference, but the entire USL...

"We just want to win everything. That's our goal. That's our mandate. It's what everyone in our club strives to do every day. Obviously, you cannot focus beyond your next challenge. But, we'll try to fight for everything we can. The league has a Western Conference and Eastern Conference, we want to finish at the top of the [East]. If we can finish with the most point in the league, that's certainly a goal, too, at the same time."

FC Cincinnati Midfielder Kenney Walker

On Louisville City FC...

"It's another 1 vs. 2 again, back-to-back weekends. But, I think it's a little more than that, especially with [the opponent] being Louisville. Keeping that mental sharpness, I think, trying to finish out and being first overall throughout the league is our goal. So, if it gets to playoff time, then we have homefield all the way through to the finals. That's what we're shooting for now, but at the same time, every weekend is just three points at a time."

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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