Cincinnati Kings
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Cincinnati Kings were a professional American
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2005, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the
American Soccer Pyramid The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are not linked by the system of prom ...
, in the Great Lakes Division of the Central Conference. The Cincinnati Kings indoor team was founded in 2008. The club was formed to provide year-round professional soccer in Cincinnati. The team played its home games at the Town and Country Sports Complex in nearby Wilder, Kentucky, where they played starting in 2007. The team's colors were red and black.


History


USL Second Division

The Cincinnati Kings first entered the USL Second Division in 2005, under the leadership of Yacoub Abdallahi, an entrepreneur from
Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
in Africa who graduated from
Northern Kentucky University Northern Kentucky University is a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It is primarily an undergraduate institution with over 14,000 students; over 12,000 are undergraduate students and nearly 2,000 are graduate students. Northern K ...
, and player-manager Jon Pickup, a former English U-16 international, who played professionally in England with
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...
, Blackburn Rovers and Chester City. From their home at
Corcoran Field Corcoran Field is a 1,600-seat soccer stadium located on the campus of Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is part of the Xavier University Soccer Complex. It is home to the Xavier University men's and women's soccer teams, who compete in th ...
on the campus of Xavier University, the Kings made an immediate splash in the league, remaining unbeaten in their first five games, and enjoying a comprehensive 5–0 win over Northern Virginia Royals in just their second ever competitive match. However, Cincinnati's mid-season form stuttered slightly; the Kings lost four in a row, conceding a late goal against Long Island Rough Riders, and giving Wilmington Hammerheads and own-goal winner in the first game of June. Even their first foray into the US Open Cup was a disappointing one, as they shockingly lost 4–2 in the first round to
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
-based USASA amateur side
Reggae Boyz The Jamaica national football team, nicknamed the "Reggae Boyz", represents Jamaica in international football. The team's first match was against Haiti in 1925. The squad is under the supervising body of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), ...
. This, really, remained the story for much of the rest of the season. Xavier University was not the fortress they needed it to be, and despite an away win over Charlotte Eagles in early July, and a 4–1 thrashing of Northern Virginia Royals on the last day of the season, the Kings finished their first year in 5th place behind regular season champions Western Mass Pioneers. George Kithas was the top scorer with 5 goals; Jack Cummings and Tiest Sondaal were the top assist providers with three each. 2006 was a slight improvement for the Kings. Despite losing their opening two fixtures, the Kings nevertheless became a tough team to beat, and enjoyed improved home form throughout the season. The Kings' main problem was a lack of consistency, and their inability to build any kind of unbeaten momentum – their strongest run of form coming towards the end of July when they rattled off four wins in a row, including two 4-goal hauls against Long Island Rough Riders. Most of the rest of the time, however, win followed loss followed win followed loss, and all the while the Kings lost ground on the teams ahead of them. For the second consecutive year the Kings' US Open Cup run was a short one, going out at the first hurdle with a 2–1 loss to
PDL PDL is an initialism for: Politics *Democratic Liberal Party (Romania), Democratic Liberal Party (''Partidul Democrat Liberal''), a former political party in Romania *Labour Democratic Party (''Partito Democratico del Lavoro''), a former politi ...
side Michigan Bucks. However, despite losing their final two regular season games of the year to Pittsburgh Riverhounds and Western Mass Pioneers, their results were enough to leave them in fourth place in the table, and in the playoffs. They were drawn against
Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...
in the semi final; Richmond took the first leg at home in Virginia 2–1, and despite a home crowd of 1,465, and despite outshooting the Kickers, the Kings simply couldn't find the net in the second leg, and Richmond went through to the final 2–1 on aggregate. Jeff Hughes and John Krause were Cincinnati's top scorers, with 4 goals each, Nowaf Jaman contributed 4 assists, and head coach Pickup was named USL2 Manager of the Year. 2007, however, was tough all round for the Ohioans. The year started positively with a move away from University accommodation to the Town and Country Sports Club, just across the border in Wilder, Kentucky, which owner Yacoub purchased as the Kings' permanent home for $11.3 million. On the field, however, the Kings' fortunes were much less favorable. The Kings only managed two wins – 1–0 over Crystal Palace Baltimore and 4–0 over New Hampshire Phantoms – in their first ten games, and by the end of June were already struggling to remain in contention for the playoffs. For the third year in a row the Kings' US Open Cup run lasted just one game, as they lost to a USASA side for the second time – this time a 1–0 defeat to National Premier Soccer League team
Milwaukee Bavarians Bavarian United SC is an American soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Bavarian Majors of the Bavarian Soccer Club compete in the United Premier Soccer League. The team plays its home games in the athletic stadium at the Heart ...
– and this seemed to signal Cincinnati's doom for the rest of the season. The Kings just managed to win just two more regular season games – 1–0 over
Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...
in July and 3–1 over New Hampshire Phantoms on the last day of the season – eventually finishing a distant 8th in the table. Chad Eckerlin and Byron Neal did score 13 goals between them, but on the whole it was a hugely disappointing season for the Kings. Prior to the beginning of the 2008 season, it was announced that the Kings would be taking voluntary relegation, and would henceforth be competing in the USL Premier Development League.


USL Premier Development League

The Kings' first season in the PDL did not go entirely to plan, despite winning their opening game 1–0 over the
Indiana Invaders The Indiana Invaders was an American soccer team based in South Bend, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1998, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes Divisi ...
. The Kings lost five of their next six games, dropping 3–0 to Ohio rivals Cleveland Internationals, and only just scraping past
West Virginia Chaos West Virginia United (formerly West Virginia Chaos and West Virginia Alliance FC) is an American soccer team based in Charleston, West Virginia. Founded in 2003, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. Hi ...
2–1 off a late, late winner from Braden Bishop. Things didn't get much better during the middle of the season; Cleveland compounded their state superiority with a thumping 5–1 win at the end of July, and although the Kings managed to hold perennial powerhouses Chicago Fire Premier to a goalless draw, and pick up another win over West Virginia, things were generally fairly grim. The Kings were out of the playoff race by mid-August, and dropped three of their last five games, including a 0–4 loss to Toronto Lynx on the final day of the season. Thy eventually finished fourth in their division, almost 30 points behind league-leaders Michigan Bucks; Branden Stelmak was the top scorer, the 5 goals on the season. 2009 was not much better for the Kings. In their second season in the amateur ranks they managed just four wins in a difficult season – a 2–0 win over the
Indiana Invaders The Indiana Invaders was an American soccer team based in South Bend, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1998, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes Divisi ...
in May, a pair of 3–1 wins over
Fort Wayne Fever Fort Wayne Fever was an American soccer team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. Founded in 2003, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after which the f ...
in June, and a 3–2 win over Toronto Lynx in July in which substitute
Judson McKinney Judson McKinney (born August 4, 1988) is an American soccer player. High school McKinney was a 4-year Varsity Letter winner during his high school years at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy. In 2004, he helped his team to win the state champions ...
scored a last minute winner. The rest of the year was a disappointment, especially on the defensive end; they conceded three goals on five separate occasions, including four of their first five games of the season. Their worst defeat of the season was the 5–1 thrashing they suffered at the hands of Chicago Fire Premier in July. The Kings finished the season in 8th place in the Great Lakes division, decisively out of the playoffs; Judson McKinney was the team's top scorer, with four goals, while Aaron Miller and Jonathan Sutton contributed two assists each.


Players


Final roster

''As of June 7, 2011.''


Notable former players

''This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the Premier Development League, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.'' *
Trey Alexander Robert "Trey" Alexander (born April 3, 1983 in Meridian, Mississippi) is an American soccer player, currently without a club. Career College and Amateur Alexander grew up in Meridian, Mississippi and began his college career at Meridian Commun ...
* Derek Smith *
Ivan Becerra Jorge Ivan Becerra (born May 22, 1984) is a Mexican former professional soccer player. Early life and education Becerra was born May 22, 1984, in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. He and his family would move to the United States before Becerra's 6th ...
*
Moussa Dagnogo Moussa Dagnogo (born 30 January 1982) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. He formerly worked as head coach of Carmel United Soccer Club. He is currently coaching premier and elite players at Jacksonville FC Playi ...
* François Dubourdeau *
Kwame Sarkodie Kwame Sarkodie (born April 27, 1985) is an American former professional soccer player. Career College and amateur Born in Dayton, Ohio, Sarkodie played college soccer at the University of Cincinnati. While at college Sarkodie also played in th ...
* Jeff Hughes * Jordan James * John Krause *
John McGinlay John McGinlay (born 8 April 1964) is a Scottish football manager, former professional footballer and scout who is the club ambassador of Bolton Wanderers. As a player, he was a striker over a 26-year career that saw him notably play in the Pr ...
* Michael McGinlay * Nathan Micklos *
Charley Pettys Charles Danforth Pettys (born April 25, 1990) is an American-born, Filipino professional footballer who plays as a defender for Global F.C. He has also been a member of the Philippines national football team. Early life and education Born on ...
*
Florent Raimy Florent Raimy (born 7 February 1986) is a French/Beninese former international professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Following a back injury, he decided to retire from football to start a career in financial services. In 2021, he ...


Year-by-year


Head coaches

* Jon Pickup (2005–2007) * Roby Stahl (2008–present)


Stadia

*
Corcoran Field Corcoran Field is a 1,600-seat soccer stadium located on the campus of Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is part of the Xavier University Soccer Complex. It is home to the Xavier University men's and women's soccer teams, who compete in th ...
; Cincinnati, Ohio (2005–2006) *
Town and Country Sports Complex A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...
; Wilder, Kentucky (2007–present)


Average attendance

Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at https://web.archive.org/web/20100105175057/http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html * 2005: 1,301 * 2006: 1,153 * 2007: ''not yet available'' * 2008: 1,249 * 2009: 917 (9th in PDL) * 2010: 684 * 2011: * 2012: 188


Supporters

In 2006 the Cincinnati Kings supporters founded a group dubbed 'The Pride', inspired by the lion in the club's crest. The dedicated group cheers on the Kings at every game with banners, flags, drums and chants. The Pride's crest has the message ''Juncta Juvant'', which was inspired by the city of Cincinnati flag, which also has the message which means "Strength in Unity". The Pride can be found online a


References


External links


Official SiteTown and Country Sports Complex
{{Ohio Sports USL League Two teams K Soccer clubs in Ohio Association football clubs established in 2005 USL Second Division teams 2005 establishments in Ohio Soccer clubs in Kentucky Campbell County, Kentucky