News

FCC Re-sign Stevenson, Add Dacres and Koch

By Bryan Weigel

Posted on December 15, 2016

FC Cincinnati announced several moves on Wednesday and Thursday to add to their 2017 staff and player roster. Former Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 Head Coach Alan Koch joined John Harkes’ staff on Wednesday coming off two seasons in British Colombia. Following the Wednesday announcement, it was announced on Thursday that midfielder Eric Stevenson has re-signed with FC Cincinnati. Also signing with the club is former LouCity standout Kadeem Dacres.

Alan Koch will join the Orange & Blue following two successful years leading VWFC2 in the USL. VWFC2 was in contention until very late in the 2016 season for the very tight Western Conference championship, but finished in 6th. Koch was most known for his development of youth players including Canadian Youth Player of the Year Alphonso Davies.

Alan Koch

Koch will join the Cincinnati staff as the Director of Scouting and Analytics and will also serve as an assistant coach. As the Director of Scouting and Analytics, Koch will work to create the new FCC academy and development system. This is an integral part of Cincinnati’s bid to become an MLS franchise as FCC will need local players to develop and improve the club.

A native of South Africa, Koch played on the South African Olympic team along with South African first division with Reservoir Hills United. He also played with Preussen Krefeld in the German fourth division and Limerick FC in the Irish first division.

Kadeem Dacres

Kadeem Dacres joins FC Cincinnati after two seasons with Louisville City FC. While in Loisburg, Dacres appeared 49 times with 9 goals. In 2016 Dacres finished with 2 goals and 2 assists in 25 regular season matches. He is a burner that when put in the last 20 or 30 minutes of a game, will cause tired defenders to crack. He could also provide depth or different looks vs. opponents. Opponents will also have to game plan for his speed.

I am a huge fan of this signing. Not only will he fill a current need of a pacey winger, Dacres could provide a distraction for LCFC and their fans. FC Cincinnati has made more waves than our southern rival and signing one of their players is a shot across their bow.

It will be interesting to see where he plays considering Wiedeman has been the starter on the right wing. Dacres could find himself in a similar position to last year where he found himself stuck behind a quality starter. He did however battle for playing time including starting in LCFC’s playoff matches scoring 1 goal and assisting on another. Overall, I am very excited to see Kadeem.

Eric Stevenson – credit: Alex Vehr

In what may turn out to be one of the most important signings, FCC brought back the playoff game star, Eric Stevenson. I was really worried that he may not return to Cincinnati this season in favor of several MLS teams. Stevenson was tied for 4th on the team with four goals and notched an additional three assists. The midfielder played in 29 matches and making 15 starts after returning from injury.

It is my hope that Stevenson will return even stronger for the 2017 season. If he continues to improve on the same pace that he ended the season, he could absolutely be an All-league contributor. Plus we will hopefully get to see another wonder-strike from him in 2017.