CINCINNATI – FC Cincinnati head coach Alan Koch was voted the United Soccer League’s Coach of the Year for the 2018 season, the league announced this morning.
Koch received 43 percent of the vote to receive the award, with Orange County SC’s Braeden Cloutier finishing second on 21 percent and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC’s Bob Lilley finishing third on 13 percent. Ten coaches in total received votes for the award. The 2018 USL Awards were voted on by team management and a league-wide media panel that included representation from every USL market. Voting was conducted following the conclusion of the 2018 USL regular season.
In his second year at FC Cincinnati’s helm, Koch guided a roster that integrated 21 new players during the season. Despite the large number of new players, FC Cincinnati finished the 2018 season with a 23-3-8 overall record and set USL single-season records for points (77) and wins.
“It’s an individual award, but to receive a Coach of the Year Award you don’t really do it by yourself,” Koch said. “It’s impossible to win it by yourself as a coach. Your players obviously go and perform and get results, but you need a staff around you to achieve your collective goals.”
FC Cincinnati established a pair of new USL regular-season marks. The Orange and Blue set a new USL regular-season undefeated streak record (23 games), when the club went 17-0-6 from June 2 through Oct. 13. In addition, FCC won a USL-record 10 consecutive matches from Aug. 12 through Sept. 29.
Koch was also the league’s fan-voted Midseason Coach of the Year, and claimed the USL Coach of the Month in September after leading the squad to a perfect 6-0-0 month and the league’s regular-season championship with three games to play.
“The Coach of the Year honor is well-deserved for Alan after a record-setting season that will be hard to replicate,” FC Cincinnati President Jeff Berding said. “We could not have picked a better person to lead our club on the field. Alan has been a winner and a fantastic partner as we’ve built our club. He has a unique understanding that we are all in this together, pulling in the same direction to create the most success. His clear vision and goals – and the execution of these plans – have been a pleasure for our entire community to follow. We are so fortunate that we have Alan as our head coach, and we’re very excited to see him lead the team as we move up to MLS next season.”
Koch was one of FC Cincinnati’s three USL award finalists. Forrest Lasso was announced as USL Defender of the Year on Monday, while Emmanuel Ledesma is one of four finalists for USL Most Valuable Player, which will be announced Wednesday.
The next time Cincinnati takes the field, it will be as MLS’ 24th team in 2019 when the club debuts in the top professional league in the U.S. and Canada. Season tickets for the 2019 season are now on sale at fccincinnati.com/tickets.
For up-to-the-minute information about FC Cincinnati, visit the team’s official website at fccincinnati.com, or follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FCCincinnati. For more information about FC Cincinnati tickets - including 2019 season tickets - call 513-977-KICK (5425) or visit fccincinnati.com/tickets.
