FC Cincinnati vs. Charleston Battery, USL playoffs, 10/2

Charlie Hatch | chatch@enquirer.com

The Enquirer/Kareem Elgazzar

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Futbol Club Cincinnati will have a much different roster when the team returns to Florida in February for its preseason.

While head coach Alan Koch and Jeff Berding, the club's president and general manager, haven't publicly voiced that, their previous roster management proves it.

FC Cincinnati added eight players in the 2017 preseason, then added eight more during the regular season. Some additions have already left. Others will see their loans terminated and they'll be sent back to their parent clubs.

Earlier this month, Koch told the Enquirer that players were playing for their jobs. After Saturday night's 3-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the first round of the United Soccer League Playoffs, he said some players will never play for Cincinnati again.

"Yeah, it's safe to say yes," the coach said about players making their last appearance in the loss. "There's no way we can keep everybody in our group. We need to get better."

Players certainly know that, too.

Defenders such as Pat McMahon and Paul Nicholson played influential roles last season, but have hardly made appearances since.

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Meanwhile, other players have regularly featured in lineups or on the bench but haven't performed enough to keep their role come 2018. The club hasn't made any announcement regarding roster moves.

"It's safe to say, in any group and in any sport, different players respond in different ways," Koch said. "And we're very, very happy with how some players responded and others haven't stepped up. And that's not talking about tonight. That's reflecting on the entire season."

Cincinnati's first-round exit obviously affected everyone in different ways, too. Some players headed straight for the dugout and the locker room. Others walked off with teammates and applauded visiting supporters who made the trip. Others had personal reflections.

Andrew Wiedeman was the last player to leave the field, clearly collecting his thoughts. A dynamic player in 2016, the right winger struggled in 2017, finishing with two goals and three assists from 30 USL appearances. Last season he had seven goals and four assists from as many games.

He was substituted in the 57th minute for Kadeem Dacres. Playing for Louisville City FC in 2016, he had three goals and three assists in 28 games. For Cincinnati, Dacres had no goals or assists in 22 matches.

Koch mentioned previously that he's analyzed individuals since he became the head coach the night before preseason training. Brought to FC Cincinnati as a talent scout and eventual academy director, the first-year coach has likely had personnel alterations in the works for some time.