It’s Sunday, September 24, 2023. FC Cincinnati 2 has just lost to Orlando City B 2-1 in Florida to end the regular season. The Orange and Blue had dropped the final five matches of the year to end its second season in MLS NEXT Pro, and while they had avoided finishing last, they were well off reaching their goal of the playoff line.
Meanwhile, just less than one week later, FC Cincinnati (the first team) jetted up to Toronto and secured the 2023 Supporters’ Shield. An organizational success and celebration. The second team tangentially played a role in that trophy win. But in terms of on the field success of their own, the second team left that Florida field wanting more, and heading into an offseason needing more.
Over the next five months, the FC Cincinnati front office brain trust (but particularly Director of Player Pathway Jeff Larentowicz) retooled the FCC 2 squad with new talent and fresh blood with the intention of building a team that could compete. And now they have not only clinched a playoff spot in the MLS NEXT Pro playoffs, but could clinch a regular season Eastern Conference title.
Between the MLS SuperDraft, signing free agents from around the league and college ranks FCC 2 brought in twelve new players (in addition to notable academy pieces) to the fold and put an emphasis on character, leadership and commitment to winning when doing so.
“I think the biggest difference is the players. For sure. But it's not about quality of player,” FC Cincinnati 2 Head Coach Tyrone Marshall told FCCincinnati.com in an exclusive interview after clinching the playoffs.
Marshall met with me in his office at Mercy Health Training Center in a new, expanded part of the building designed for the second team and academy, another example of the club's continued investment in its player development pipeline. Marshall’s office looks much like the other offices in MHTC – a white board with formations and notes about players, a corkboard with sticky notes and index cards, a desk with his personal effects. But stapled right within the coach's eye line above his computer is a picture with the MLS NEXT Pro Cup photoshopped into TQL Stadium. A reminder of the goal he and the team set out for at the start of the season.
But before those goals could be set. Goals that now seem (at the very least) within grasp, ground work was done. Foundation, built by Larentowicz, with a specific mindset focused towards putting FC Cincinnati 2 in the best position for sucsess that it can.
“We have some new, quality players in the squad,” Marshall continued. “But it’s more that we have players who are a bit more mature and really prioritized adding people who are leaders in their environment.”
Prior to 2024, FC Cincinnati 2 had very few players specifically signed as MLS NEXT Pro players. The majority of the playing squad was either first team players being assigned to them for matches or academy prospects being called up for the same reason. It made training sessions incredibly challenging as with so few players every week to work with, cohesion in the squad was non-existent.
Making it so when those players parachuted in to play for FCC 2 at NKU Soccer Stadium, they had not trained all week with the team and Marshall (along with his coaching staff) essentially had to wait each week on who he was going to deploy for a specific match.
That is, to Marshall’s own admission, the challenge of MLS NEXT Pro. Part of the gig, so to speak. So there isn’t any malice there.
In large part the 2023 season was a success for FC Cincinnati at the second team level because many first team players got valuable minutes and development time that ended up helping out the club in 2023 and now 2024. First teamers Gerardo ‘Dado’ Valenzuela, Isaiah Foster, Bret Halsey and Paul Walters all played over 1,000 minutes for FCC 2. Stiven Jimenez and Malik Pinto added over 500 minutes and even Ian Murphy – a starter in the Supporters’ Shield clinching match – saw match time as he continued to develop.
But after finishing 7-17-4 in 2023. A change of culture was needed. The belief is winning is an equally important part of player development, so losing week after week in the name of “development” is an attitude that just doesn’t jive.
That meant making changes to foster a winning environment was a point of focus headed into the winter between 2023 and 2024.
“Success is infectious, and we wanted to create a culture of winning. That starts with the first team…we follow the same principles and standards that (Pat Noonan) sets… but then we have to do our part,” Marshall continued from his desk. “We do it on a smaller budget and all that, but we do everything they do. The scheduling, the standards, the principles, the minor details are all the same.”
So when evaluating the moves that could be made, investing in the roster depth was a clear place change could be made.
“In the last two seasons, that was one of the biggest issues. We didn't have a set amount of guys, a core group of guys, in our team. Meaning that these guys are going to be here day in and day out. They're going to train. They're going to be working on things. These guys are going to be involved no matter what,” Marshall explained. “We didn’t have a group of leaders to set that culture the way you see Lucho (Acosta), Matt (Miazga), Obi (Nwobodo), and Nick (Hagglund) do.”
The addition of new players, specifically with leadership experience in addition to talent, has helped reshape the team. Nico Benalcazar, for example, is an experienced, slightly more mature player who still needs development time. He’s been a pro for three seasons with NYCFC prior to moving to Cincy and as a captain now with FCC 2, he has helped set the tone for the squad and emerged as a potential first team player with his performance. Even getting a short term loan to the first team as proof of his potential.
Brian Schaefer and Kenji Mboma Dem, the clubs MLS SuperDraft selections, bring experience from their college days and have been key pieces of the squad’s winning formula. Peter Mangione, a graduate from Penn State, similarly has added stability and presence. Amir Dailey (Duke), Gaël Gibert (Clemson), Moises Tablante (Orlando City B) have all played major roles.
FC Cincinnati 2 also embraced a radical move, signing player-coach Alejandro Guido to a second team deal with the intention of bridging the gap between coaches and players. Guido, who played for San Diego Loyal in the USL Championship last year, brings a new perspective to both the coaches room and the locker room.
That group of players, now just eight deep of those listed, already creates more depth of second team players than anything the club had in previous years.
“Now we have a skeleton to build from,” Marshall explains. “These guys are going to be involved no matter what, they train all week together. So when you need to call up four or five guys from the academy, they’re surrounded by stability. You bring in a couple guys from the first team, they’re inserted into a lineup that can play together.
“That’s better for everyone.”
The culture in the group could not be any different now. The energy in the club and in the halls of Mercy Health Training Center is something everyone notices. Pat Noonan has commented on how much easier it is to come to the office with the second team is performing the way it has, and everyone is excited for what is to come. Players compete harder in training knowing success will come from it.
More and more frequently second team players are invited to first team training to help out with numbers and drills, giving those players opportunities to impress Pat Noonan while also bolstering their own stock. Noonan has highlighted often this season that having higher quality players available to step in for training directly impacts first team improvements.
“I think there’s always growing pains when getting something right,” FCC 2 forward Ben Stitz said of the team turnaround. “I think the biggest difference is just the amount of signed players we have. We have a core group of guys, 15, 16 guys we train with who are quality and raise the level in training. It pushes you and makes you better.”
Stitz is one of the few second team holdovers from the 2023 season to stick around and see the rewards of 2024. In 2023 Stitz led all second team players in goals scored with seven, and has replicated that level this season with seven goals and three assists. In part, the striker stayed with FCC because his talent stood out last season, but almost more importantly, Stitz fit the leadership vision the team was looking for in 2024.
“It's a project. I had a similar experience in college where my freshman season we were under a new coach, and we didn't have his full recruiting class. So it was a challenge to try to build back the program,” Stitz continued. “But by my final season, we had made the NCAA tournament. It was a transformation. It took time. But now (with FC Cincinnati 2) we have a good mix of guys now, guys who have a good head on their shoulders with experience, so you can see that similar transformation happen in real time with us.”
In some ways Ben Stitz is an excellent example of why MLS NEXT Pro is an important level in the player pipeline. An Ivy League graduate from Penn University, Stitz was taken in the second round of the 2023 MLS SuperDraft (31st overall) by D.C. United, but was not signed. After a short trial with FCC the club signed him, then as a midfielder, to an MLS NEXT Pro contract and then converted him to a forward soon after.
Stitz has since been added to the first team roster several times on short term loans, but has been a mainstay for FCC 2. Now 24 the striker still has room to grow and develop as a pro with a career ahead of him, but without the opportunity MLS NEXT Pro provides he may never have found that opportunity.
“Some guys who are drafted are not ready for the top level pro yet, and that could happen for many reasons, but they're not going to get the opportunity to play as much. Especially in the first year.” Marshall explained. “So, for example, you go into an experienced team, a team that has a real core, when you bring in these young players, you’re not going to throw them into the mix. You're going to groom them, help them develop. That takes time. You need them to play to make sure they continue to grow.
“That’s what we’re here for. We’re here to help facilitate the players, guide them in the best way possible. From the mental side, from the physical side, and then finally from the tactical side to make sure they’re ready.”
The job of the second team Head Coach is to prepare his players for the next step in their careers and help push them to the first team. Marshall has a clear eyed understanding of this. Some organizations could measure the level of success of a second team by that metric alone. But the envisioned goal of FCC 2 from the FC Cincinnati brain trust is more fully rounded and with a 15-7-4 thus far, that vision has been actualized.
“There’s a relationship there, we want to integrate perfectly between the first team and the academy,” Marshall says. “We have an excellent relationship, all we have to do is walk down the hall and say ‘Hey let's try this, or try that.’ ‘What do you think about this? Let’s make a plan for this player,’ and we are able to be perfectly on the same page in an instant. That’s not true for every organization…so we're really lucky we have this connectivity. That starts with Chris (Albright) and Pat (Noonan), then we do our part.”
The integration of the three levels is fundamental to the success of the organization. Director of Player Development Larry Sunderland, who is primarily charged with running the academy side of the club, has highlighted how key FCC 2 is to getting players prepared for the next step in their careers. So players like Stefan Chirila, for example, have somewhere to hone their craft before making the jump to a first team at the top of the table where playing time for an 18-year-old prospect may be scarce.
But having those academy players step into a team that is consistantly losing does not match the organizational expectations of FC Cincinnati. In Marshall and Sunderland's words, it isn't conducive to development. Winning begets winning. So learning to win and expecting to win starts at the lowest levels and FCC 2 is no exception. Now, those next top prospects have a winning environment to step into and continue their development.
The balance this season has come from that locker room leadership and the skeleton Marshall speaks to. Chirila, again for example, has come in and scored six goals as a teenager with FCC 2 but everytime he takes the field is supported by that spine of depth. The same goes for the five other academy products who have featured in multiple games this season. All the while then, many of those prospects then return to play with the academy teams, but bring back their pro experiences to build on.
“That’s the balance to the unique approach we have. We need to have players who our academy kids look to and understand what being a pro means, but we also need to empower them to make the next step,” Marshall continued. “Success is making sure that a player who comes from our academy is prepared as a pro so that if and when they make the jump to Coach Pat (Noonan)’s squad, they know exactly what the expectations are and enter the group seamlessly.”
Will Kuisel, an FCC academy prospect and regular call up to the second team, was named to the MLS NEXT All-Star game earlier this summer. After a 45 minute appearance, Kuisel (a self described wingback) shared with the gathered press that two players he looks up to are Luca Orellano and Amir Dailey. A first team player and a second team player. Kuisel, 17, has players at each level he can learn from and be influenced by regarding what it means to be a professional as he develops into a pro himself.
The challenge the organization faces is continuing to recruit to its philosophy year-over-year. There will be stability, sure, but part of success for both the first team and the second team is that over achieving means you have to start from scratch.
Winning draws a spotlight. Performance draws a spotlight. Dado Valenzuela in 2024 points to this in a small way. The young American attacking midfielder who was developed in the academy played 32 games for FCC 2 between 2022 and 2023. That exposure helped him to become the player he is today. He has played two matches for FCC 2 this season and in his second he scored a hat trick, then has not played for the team again.
In essence, he graduated. He is an important part of the first team now and that’s something to celebrate. But Marshall is now ‘missing’ a really good midfielder.
Ideally, that continues. Individuals continue to graduate, with the alternative being professional first team opportunities opening up elsewhere for those players to move to. There will be change, that is the only constant in life. The challenge then becomes how you move forward, and Ty Marshall believes the organization is clear on how to do that philosophically.
By filtering players by leadership and personality qualities, then picking the best players who fit after that threshold is met.
“We have a bunch of leaders… they see we're trying to make them better. They get it and we get it. From day one it's just about being honest. That's the best policy,” Marshall explained. “You find the guys who want to be in an environment like we have, and you don't bring guys in who don't want to be here. This is a unique environment, it’s not for everyone. Being so close to the first team and playing for the second team, but our guys understand. They’re mature players so we say, ‘It's not about us. It's about you. How can I get you to achieve your goal? What can I do for you to make you better?’”
“Generally, when you see somebody's trying to make you better or trying to elevate you, you're gonna respond. You're gonna go the extra mile, to go above and beyond.. I think that's what the group, the staff at FC Cincinnati from top to bottom, have done. Everything that we've done is to try to improve the group, trying to get them better, so then ultimately, they can prepare for the future…That is going to attract the kind of leaders we want in our team.”
FC Cincinnati 2 is not done for the season, there is still plenty of work to be done and the effort Ty Marshall and his staff have put into this season's success has reached an important milestone, but there are still goals to uphold. The Eastern Conference, Playoffs, the MLS NEXT Pro Cup, are all within reach of the group.
But the proof of concept is there. So even if FCC 2 does not meet it’s personal goals and complete one of the most staggering year over year turnarounds in the young league’s history, the organization as a whole will still have found success and taken the first step on the path forward.
