ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Despite the efforts of star players Djiby Fall and Mitch Hildebrandt, FC Cincinnati's 2017 season ended Saturday night in a 3-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
The ‘L' knocked FC Cincinnati out of contention for the United Soccer League Cup in the first round of playoffs.
"Obviously, we're disappointed," head coach Alan Koch said. "Anytime you lose in a cup game, it's not fun. You could see the players left everything they had out on the pitch tonight. Individual errors cost us a lot."
Rowdies wingback Marcel Schafer scored two goals in the first 30 minutes of the match, forcing the Orange and Blue to sprint in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to catch up.
Djiby Fall, Jimmy McLaughlin, Andrew Wiedeman and Jae Cole each took shots at the Rowdies' goal over the course of the game, but each shot flew high or wide.
In the 68th minute of play, Rowdies striker Georgi Hristov extended his team's lead to 3-0 with a shot that bounced off the crossbar and into FC Cincinnati's goal.
"We haven't spoken to the group yet," Koch said. "We're going to allow them to digest the frustration of losing the [USL Cup] game tonight and let them shower up and have some dinner and speak to them back at the hotel."
