2018 USL Regular Season champion FC Cincinnati will begin its quest to add the USL Cup to its trophy cabinet on Saturday afternoon when the top seed in the Eastern Conference hosts No. 8-seed Nashville SC at Nippert Stadium at 4 p.m. ET. FCC is looking for its first postseason victory in club history after being eliminated in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in each of the past two seasons. Cincinnati will also try to avoid the jinx that saw predecessors including Seattle Sounders FC, Orlando City SC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and the Portland Timbers felled in their quest for the postseason championship in their final seasons before joining Major League Soccer.

Defending USL Cup champion Louisville City FC sits at the opposite end of its River Cities Cup rival in the Eastern bracket as the No. 2 seed and will take on No. 7-seed Indy Eleven on Saturday night at Slugger Field looking to become the first team to win the championship in back-to-back seasons. Saturday night will also see No. 3-seed Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC host its first postseason contest at Highmark Stadium when No. 6-seed and Pennsylvania rival Bethlehem Steel FC visits, while 2012 USL Cup champion and No. 4-seed the Charleston Battery will host 2016 USL Cup champion and No. 5-seed the New York Red Bulls II at MUSC Health Stadium in a rematch from the same stage last season that saw the Red Bulls II claim a 4-0 victory.