Bahner, now retired and 35 years old, was a defender on two of FC Cincinnati’s first three United Soccer League rosters in 2017 and 2018, helping the team jump off the map during a magical U.S. Open Cup semifinal run his first season and a USL regular-season title the following year. Now as the club plays its 10th season, FCC is in position to qualify for a fourth straight Major League Soccer postseason with a shot at a second Supporters’ Shield, the regular-season title.
FCC officially turned 10 on Tuesday, a decade after its launch announcement.
“It’s pretty crazy the fact we even have a soccer team here, never expected that growing up,” Bahner said. “And the fact we were able to create something so special in the city and make a mark on the city like this and the league, from any league, just the success the club has had, it’s pretty incredible. Very fortunate to be a part of, something I will always cherish.”
The club played its first season in the lower-tier USL in 2016, earned an MLS expansion bid by May 2018 and joined U.S. Soccer’s top division in 2019, but struggled with three last-place finishes before current general manager Chris Albright and coach Pat Noonan turned things around.
Bahner moved on before that first MLS season for Cincinnati, staying in the USL with Saint Louis FC before finishing his playing career with the El Paso (Texas) Locomotive from 2020 through 2022.
Now, he’s an engineering project manager with Home Chef in Chicago, “back in the normal life,” as he described it. He enjoyed a chance to lace up the boots again, put on FCC’s blue “Legacy Kit” with his old No. 2 on the back and play with some of his old teammates.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“It was incredible,” Bahner said. “It feels like it’s been a long time but then you kind of get everyone back together and all the memories start flooding back. I think the fact the club put this together, getting all the players from when it started to most recently, I think it’s incredible so really thankful to be a part of it, really thankful they did it. It all speaks for itself how well this has turned out, so I am glad to be a part of it.”
Bahner is one of three Lakota West products to play for FCC, just missing a chance to cross paths with Nick Hagglund, whom the Orange and Blue acquired from Toronto FC ahead of the 2019 season. Hagglund, 32, remains with the team and just recently made his 150th appearance.
Homegrown goalkeeper Paul Walters is the other Firebird, also currently on the roster but injured.
No player in FCC history has been in the Orange and Blue as long as Hagglund, and although he wasn’t a part of the club’s beginnings, he followed from afar as Cincinnati grabbed attention with its massive crowds, despite a lower-division status. That’s what ultimately earned Cincinnati an MLS franchise, and Hagglund has been a foundational piece to the team ever since that transition.
“It honestly doesn’t feel like 10 years,” Hagglund said. “… I feel like we’ve seen a lot of growth, and I feel like that says a lot about the club. And, you know, nothing’s ever going to go perfect, but the willingness to continue to push the envelope, I think is an incredible statement of the club. ... And so, the 10th anniversary is a milestone to look back at all the history that has happened. With the USL, great moments there, winning a Shield there (in 2018), and going up against some MLS powerhouses (in Open Cup), and then being able on this side of MLS struggle, win a Shield. I think there’s a lot of good memories in what’s happened, and I think the best is yet to come.”
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