Queen City SC

A team with a short history, but still have accomplished a lot. The AO group in Cincinnati got together to build the foundation of a USL side. They had very little fan support initially, but made the smart deal to harbor Columbus Crew players, seasoning them until they were ready for MLS. The team played their first season on the campus of Cincinnati at the Ben and Dee Gettler Stadium soccer field. After year one, they knew that this wasn’t going to work for the future. It was just too small, and kinda hard to get to. They couldn’t play in the Bengals stadium because it was too big. They began talking to city council about a small soccer specific stadium. After they initially were turned down, they got backing from local companies, and wanted to pay for it privately. They found a spot along the Ohio River near the rest of the pro stadiums in the city and began building. On the field, the team was about half Crew players, and half young players picked up from college teams. QCSC worked out a deal with local soccer clubs to breed talent for the future. They went out and signed a player from Edmonton who had been cut by the Drillers to put in attack. They also signed a player from El Salvador who was a free agent for their defense. They were showing signs of life, and the influx of talent from Columbus helped out. Their first over .500 season was in 2024, which could be built upon. For the new stadium opening in 2025, the team went out and signed some players. A goalkeeper from Uruguay, a Canadian midfielder, and a player bought from Nashville helped the team out in depth. The players from Columbus they were getting were better and better. Matched with the new support at the new 13,000 seat stadium, the team went on an unbelievable run. They went 14 games without a loss. Eventually, Connecticut cut them down on the road, but the team captivated the city and drew well against the Reds. The team went into the playoffs 2nd, but would host the championship and win for their first trophy in team history. The team has been dismantled by higher up clubs, but the deal with Columbus should help them out and possibly promoted so more talent can come to Cincinnati. The shape and color was something I had in mind from the beginning. The waves and leaf crown are from the city flag. It’s pretty basic, but I felt like it was strong enough the way I had it. The jerseys are pretty simple too.