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Visit to Penn FC ‘Special’ for FCC’s McLaughlin

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 09/21/18, 10:29AM EDT

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Cincinnati midfielder enjoyed time spent in Harrisburg early in career


FC Cincinnati midfielder Jimmy McLaughlin returns to Harrisburg this Saturday, where he had success on loan from the Philadelphia Union early in his career. | Photo courtesy Brett Hansbauer / FC Cincinnati

CINCINNATI – Even though he’s established himself with FC Cincinnati over the past three seasons, there’s still a soft spot in Jimmy McLaughlin’s heart for the time he spent in Harrisburg as a young player on loan from the Philadelphia Union.

FCC heads back to Pennsylvania’s capital this Saturday to face Penn FC (7 p.m. ET | Match Center | ESPN+), and while the name of the club has changed since he suited up for it, there remains something enjoyable about returning to a place that saw the 25-year-old thrive previously.

“It’s always good, it’s always special for me,” said McLaughlin. “My family lives about an hour and a half away from there, so I get to see a big group of family and I got a lot of friends, so it’s always a special occasion for me. I obviously played on loan at the club for a good bit— even though they kind of rebranded and everything—I had a really good time there and a really good experience. So yeah, it’s a special place for me to go back to play and an opportunity that I always enjoy.”

McLaughlin was a member of the last Penn FC side to reach the USL Cup Playoffs back in 2014 when the side made a memorable run to the USL Cup before falling against Sacramento Republic FC. Back then, there were the superstitions of lucky red socks that carried the side on a second-half run during the regular season that put it into the No. 8 seed in the postseason, whereupon the team defeated presumptive USL Cup favorite and regular-season champion Orlando City SC in the opening round on the way to the final before the Lions joined Major League Soccer the following spring.

Now Cincinnati is looking at a similar situation to that which Orlando was four years ago, on the verge of breaking multiple modern-era USL records and potentially claiming this year’s USL Regular Season Championship ahead of the postseason and the offseason transition to MLS. 


Jimmy McLaughlin featured for the Harrisburg City Islanders, the former name of Penn FC, as the side reached the 2014 USL Cup. | Photo courtesy Harrisburg City Islanders

FCC could write its name into the USL record book in multiple areas over the course of its two-game road trip in the coming week that also sees the side visit the Richmond Kickers next Wednesday in the USL Game of the Week on ESPN3. McLaughlin said while the side knows how close it is, its goal is to stay in the present as it comes down the final stretch.

“I think we’d be lying if we said we didn’t know what’s at stake, and how close we are to achieving one of our goals,” said McLaughlin. “With that being said, we try to take it one game at a time the best we can. We’re focusing on [Penn FC] right now and if we get the result there, it gets us one step closer to our ultimate goal.”

Penn’s defeat on Wednesday night to Louisville City FC made the prospect of this side breaking the club’s postseason drought more remote as it slid to 13th place in the Eastern Conference. The veteran-filled team’s visit to Nippert Stadium last month is still at the back of FCC Head Coach Alan Koch’s mind, though, when Cincinnati needed a late goal by Emmanuel Ledesma to claim a 1-0 victory.

“When they came here, I don’t think they showcased themselves as what they’re capable of doing,” said Koch. “I think at home, they’ve shown some very, very good moments so far this season. I think their challenge has been consistency. We want to go there and impose ourselves on them and try to control as much as the game as we can, because if you allow a team like them to grow in confidence, anything can happen in a game. We want to go there and try to control the game and then just ride the wave as the game goes along.”

With the club’s seven-game winning streak and 18-game undefeated streak to maintain, finding a way to produce another positive road performance would make for another happy return to the Keystone state for McLaughlin.

“It’s always difficult to go on the road,” said McLaughlin. “It comes with a bunch of issues that you don’t foresee and little things that maybe you’re not as used to or as comfortable [with] when you are at home, so it’s definitely easier to stay here at home. But, to win the league and be the best team, you’ve got to go on the road and you’ve got to get wins. We’ve been doing it all year and we’ve got a good system going on and a good mentality in the group and we always find a way to get it done.”

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