CINCINNATI -- When midfielder Corben Bone stood among a group of the first 11 players to sign with FC Cincinnati during a press conference in December 2015, he was filled with nervous excitement.
He, nor anyone else, knew exactly what to expect.
Almost three years later, FC Cincinnati is finishing off its final United Soccer League season before moving up as Major League Soccer's 24th team in 2019, and Bone said it's a fitting end for a club that has taken off from the beginning.
The Orange and Blue (23-3-7) will leave USL with all the major attendance records, the longest win streak in league history, most points and wins and at least tied for longest unbeaten streak. They can take sole possession of that last one Saturday in the regular-season finale at Nashville SC.
"I'm honored and I know our team is honored to leave such a mark," Bone said. "With the way the team has gone so far, it's very fitting. With the way this club has grown so fast, in the third year for us to achieve all we have this year, I think it's a testament to how hard we've worked and it's paid off."
FC Cincinnati clinched the USL regular-season title Sept. 26 at Richmond and is 13 points ahead of Louisville City FC in the Eastern Conference. The club's 76 points is 10 more than the Western Conference-leading Orange County SC.
No other team in USL history has ever won more than 21 games, and the Orange and Blue haven't lost since May 26, a stretch of 22 matches. FCC's record win streak ended at 10 with a scoreless draw at third-place Pittsburgh last weekend, but the club continues to carry confidence into the regular-season finale with hopes of keeping momentum going into the playoffs.
"I don't think a lot of guys knew (about the unbeaten streak) until the city and the fans started talking about it and we started getting asked questions about it," third-year FCC midfielder Kenney Walker said. "We were like, 'Oh yeah, the last time we lost was what, Louisville or at Charlotte?' I think we still have that bitter taste of losing to Louisville -- I know we went to their place with calling it in the middle, but even from that game (May 26) we have a bitter taste from how badly they played us off the field. Guys don't forget that and we carry that into every game we play. I think that's part of why we've done so well, because we play like we don't want to experience that again."
Bone said the increased quality of the league this season has made it tough to look back and reflect because there is always another challenge on the horizon.
FC Cincinnati has done a good job of staying even-keeled through an incredible season, including going 1-0-1 with two clean sheets since clinching.
"This schedule and the way it's built, you are kind of on to the next one, and thankfully we have won a ton and that's put us in a great position, but as soon as you win one game, you worry about the next one," Bone said. "We've done a good job of that this season, and that's a reason we've done so well this season because we are always focusing in on the next challenge."
The next challenge is the playoffs -- after Nashville, which sits in a tight competition for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. FCC is guaranteed home-field advantage throughout but has yet to win a postseason game in its two previous tries.
The first year was a home loss to Charleston and last year the club lost at Tampa Bay in the first round.
"You always want to dream big, and once you achieve those dreams you realized you should have dreamed bigger," Bone said. "We wanted to have a great regular season and we did that. We wanted to make the playoffs and we did that, and now we have to go finish the job and go win the USL Championship. That's always been our goal from Day 1, and we've achieved it incrementally, you never want to look too far ahead, but now that we're here and we have the last game against Nashville, which will be a good test for us before the playoffs start, and once it starts, the show begins. We have to really focus and put everything into the USL Championship because the fans definitely deserve it. I think it will just be another lasting legacy we can complete here."
Walker said playoff success is the last missing piece to an otherwise memorable three years for FC Cincinnati in the USL.
"I feel like if we don't win the whole thing it would be kind of bittersweet to have the season we have, and then go in and get knocked out in the playoffs, but at the same time that's soccer and that's American sports," Walker said. "You see it happen all over sports in the U.S. It would be rough to go out in the playoffs early or even not to make it to the final and not win the Cup, but we're fighting every day in practice. It's not like we're satisfied. We are still hungry to do better."
Regardless of what happens in the postseason, FCC has left quite a mark in the league history books. It's going to take a special team to match what the Orange and Blue have done on and off the pitch.
Cincinnati holds the single-game attendance record at 31,478 fans and single-season record at 437,197 fans and has dominated with a deep roster that features several potential MLS players for next year.
RELATED: FC Cincinnati breaks another USL attendance record
"It's possible to match, but at the same time the talent is getting spread across the league and there are going to be better teams and stuff like that," Walker said. "This season has been special, but before with Orlando, before they became an MLS team they had a pretty crazy record unbeaten streak. It just depends on who builds the team and what the team is striving for. It could be Nashville next year preparing for MLS and they have a ridiculous season or it could be a MLS "2" team that is building to develop players to get to the first level. I think it will be tough, but I don't think anyone had it in sights to break records like we have. It just happens. It will be interesting to see what happens and what kind of teams the future brings."
FC Cincinnati coach Alan Koch isn't quite ready to fully reflect on the season but he probably couldn't have scripted a better transition into MLS.
"What I feel about all the different things we've done this year and last year, when we're able to reflect at the end of the year, is a sense of pride," Koch said. "A sense of pride for what we've all built together, and that's everything this club has done, on the pitch and off the pitch with the fanbase, everything. There's a sense of pride that we've really grown something special."
