Now the FC Cincinnati defender and Lakota West High School graduate looks forward to a chance to face the club he grew up following, right in his hometown. It’s an opportunity he never would have expected before FCC came onto the scene last year, and soon it could become a regular occasion.
FCC, one of 12 clubs vying for one of four MLS expansion bids, will put its major league aspirations in the spotlight Wednesday when it hosts Columbus Crew SC in a fourth-round U.S. Open Cup match at Nippert Stadium.
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“I’m sure FCC is looking at them and using them as an example of what they want to build here, and hopefully Cincinnati can continue to grow and be successful and one day be on their level,” Bahner said. “I think everyone would love if this rivalry was a regular deal, both teams, both organizations. I think it’s going to be a very healthy rivalry and hopefully it continues into the future. We really have no pressure going into the game, and we’re excited about it. It’s a game that you could look at as sparking things.”
The first “Ohio Derby” is a preview of what could lie ahead if Cincinnati gets invited into MLS. Two teams will be announced by the end of the year with expectations to begin play in 2020. If Cincinnati is one of those teams, it would join Columbus in the East Division.
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Columbus Crew SC, a founding member of MLS in 1996, does not currently have a true regional rivalry, as the tension between the Crew and the Chicago Fire seems to have faded over the years. Fans of both Columbus and Cincinnati already are fueled by the potential of a regular “Hell is Real” derby, as they are calling it on social media, T-shirts and scarves.
FC Cincinnati has opened up two seating sections for Crew fans, adjacent to the Bailey but on the east side of the stadium, and ticket sales had surpassed the 20,000 mark by Monday, despite the fact the midweek match was not included in season ticket packages.
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“I feel like people have been wanting this game to happen since last year,” FC Cincinnati midfielder Stevenson said. “We came up short the game before when we had a chance to move on and play the Crew, and there was a ton of buzz about it, so it’s been a year build up to this exact game.”
Crew owner Anthony Precourt will have a say in whether this match becomes a regular rivalry in the future, as he sits on the MLS expansion committee.
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It’s unclear whether Precourt is in favor of a team 100 miles away joining the league, as he has been quoted saying Cincinnati is a part of the Crew’s market but also saying the regional rivalry would be good for MLS.
FC Cincinnati coach Alan Koch said the MLS spotlight doesn’t add any extra pressure to his club, though. The Orange and Blue are embracing their role as the underdog and know MLS already has an eye on the club regardless of the outcome.
“Our fans and club have made a statement already,” Koch said. “We’ll have a big crowd tomorrow night, but we’ve had big crowds to a lot of our games. You don’t make statements in one-off games. You make statements over a bigger sample size, and I think since the club has grown, we’ve continued to make that statement.”
There’s no question FC Cincinnati is playing to win, though.
“We’ve enjoyed going as far as we have in Open Cup play,” Koch said. “It’s new territory for us. We’ve never been this far before, and we’re embracing it. We know we’re in the middle of a three-game stretch in eight days but we’re going to put a good group out there. We owe it to ourselves, to our fans and to our city to embrace this challenge and we’re definitely doing that.”
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