The matchup

Futbol Club Cincinnati (21-3-6, 69 pts., first place in USL Eastern Conference) vs. Richmond Kickers (6-20-4, 22 pts., 15th place in Eastern Conference, eliminated from playoff contention).

Kickoff: Wednesday, 7 p.m., City Stadium, Richmond, Virginia.

Watch: CW Cincinnati (TV), ESPN3 (stream).

Setting the scene

If you were reluctant to count FC Cincinnati clinching first place in theUSL's Eastern Conference on Saturday as a championship (and the team certainly did), then you'll probably appreciate that Cincinnati can win the USL regular season championship and its first major trophy with a victory Wednesday against the Richmond Kickers.

With three matches to play and all its business wrapped up in the East, FC Cincinnati is now in the position to claim the regular-season title and the silver shield that comes with it.

A win would be FC Cincinnati's ninth in a row. That would match the league's all-time record, but it's an accomplishment likely to get lost in the shuffle and celebrations that would kick off after winning the regular season – an accomplishment FC Cincinnati's European contingent of players place heavy emphasis on.

Even head coach Alan Koch has stressed the significance of emerging from the regular season grind with a trophy to show for it.

"In this sport, you play in a league all season long and you don't focus on the playoffs because the playoffs happen at the end of the season," Koch said after Saturday's 2-1 win against Penn FC. "You focus on trying to finish as high in your league table as you possibly can and our goal was to finish at the top of the conference and to win the regular season in our conference. We did that tonight.

FC Cincinnati's been aiming for this trophy all season long, and now they are upon it. Fans will look for them to close the deal immediately. Whether or not they will is to be determined.

Of Richmond Kickers

Richmond had a tough year on the field and a curious one off it.

On the field, the club's earned just 10 results – six wins and four draws – this season.

Off the field, Richmond announced it would drop down from the newly-branded USL Championship second division to USL League One, the third division of American soccer.

It was a curious announcement that the club would drop down a league considering Richmond's relatively long history in the American game and its status as one of the strong independent lower-league clubs.

Similarly underwhelming are Richmond's results of late, along with the fact it's been eliminated from playoff contention.

The club's lost five of six matches going into its tilt with FC Cincinnati with the lone result being a 1-1 draw with Indy XI weeks ago.

Of course, Koch has long-maintained the top-to-bottom competitiveness of USL, along with its parity.

Koch said he's expecting to see more of that Wednesday at City Stadium.

"It’s going to be a huge challenge. Playing Richmond or playing anybody in this league is a huge challenge, and particularly playing them away," Koch said in a team news release. "They’ll come and feel us, there’s no pressure on them whatsoever. They’re going to go out and showcase themselves, but at the same time, we’re going to do the exact same thing. We tell the guys, ‘It’s okay to go out and make mistakes. It’s part of the game, it’s part of the business. Focus on this game and this game only and do whatever we can to get ourselves another three points.' "

Of FC Cincinnati

Once again, the most recent updates on FC Cincinnati are a retelling of the highly-publicized accomplishments of late: Nineteen matches unbeaten, eight-match winning streak, pacing the USL by nine points.

The one-match-at-a-time mentality appears to be prevailing, though. Following Saturday's Eastern Conference-clinching win, midfielder Corben Bone said in a team news release the club has moved on.

“It was great to win at Penn and get that achievement, but that’s in the past now and we have another bigger one coming up," Bone said. "You refocus and this game means just as much and more, so it’s easy for us to kind of focus in and go after that goal as well.”

As Koch noted, there's no pressure on Richmond on Wednesday night. The Kickers can throw caution to the wind and play FC Cincinnati however they want.

At the same time, Richmond players will be playing for next season's contract, and to impress the team across the field from them.

FC Cincinnati should probably expect some reckless abandon, but not an all-out blitz from the Kickers.

“Any team away from home is tough, it’s always a tough environment to play," Bone said. "Having such a great environment at home, when you go away from home, you really have to focus on just getting three points and the performance of the team. Any away game is tough, but I think we’ve done it before and we can do it again. Hopefully, we can put in a good performance and get three points in Richmond."

When the clubs last met

The last meeting between these clubs was FC Cincinnati's most convincing in the all-time series, a 4-0 triumph at Nippert Stadium June 16.

More:FC Cincinnati dismantles Richmond Kickers, 4-0

Cincinnati has never lost to Richmond and holds a 2-0-3 all-time mark against the Kickers. FC Cincinnati has drawn twice in its two previous trips to Richmond.

Projected starting XI: 4-2-3-1

Goalkeeper: Spencer Richey.

Defenders: Matt Bahner, Paddy Barrett, Forrest Lasso, Blake Smith.

Midfielders: Michael Lahoud, Kenney Walker, Jimmy McLaughlin, Emmanuel Ledesma, Corben Bone.

Forward: Emery Welshman.

Prediction: FC Cincinnati wins, 2-0.