USL Focus: FC Cincinnati's title-clinching win sets league record

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Sep 27, 2018

In its swan song in the USL, FC Cincinnati will go out as regular-season champion, clinching its first trophy in the club's three-year history -- and a league record for wins (22) and points (72) -- with a 4-1 win at the Richmond Kickers.

Emmanuel Ledesma scored twice in the first half -- including an Olimpico -- to help FCC (22-3-6) to a 3-1 lead at the half, and it then waited out a 70-minute lightning delay before play resumed.

The win extended FC Cincinnati's winning streak to nine games -- tying a USL record for one season -- and its undefeated streak to 20 games. It has a nine-point lead on Orange County SC, the Western Conference leader, which has only two games left to play.

“I think it just makes our final season in the USL absolutely historic," head coach Alan Koch said of the streaks. "Our club doesn’t have a long history. I think the Richmond fans were actually reminding us during the game tonight. They were passing comments about how we don’t have much history. For a club that’s so new and has only been in the USL for three years, for us to finish our final year in the USL and win the regular-season championship is nothing short of remarkable"

Sept. 26 in Richmond, Va.
Richmond 1 FC Cincinnati 4. Goals: Cordoves (Luiz Fernando) 32; Albadawi 16, Ledesma 40, Ledesma (Albadawi) 44, Welshman 63.
Richmond -- Barnes, Eaton, Lee, Shanosky, Russell, Umar, Osei-Wusu (Owusu Sekyere 53), Gonzalez (Boehme 73), Imura (Gentile 59), Luiz Fernando, Cordoves.
FC Cincinnati -- Newton, Hoyte, Barrett, Lasso, Smith, Walker, Alashe, Ledesma (McLaughlin 75), Albadawi, Bone (Konate 90+2), Welshman (Konig 86).
Att.: 1,519.