One of the most noteworthy non-MLS stories in American professional soccer this young season has been the United Soccer League debut of FC Cincinnati.

FC Cincinnati plays its home games in UC's Nippert Stadium and is owned by a group headed by Carl Lindner III, whose family used a majority stake in the Reds. Its general manager is Jeff Berding, a former Bengals executive and Cincinnati city councilman. Its coach is John Harkes.

Former Crew president and GM Mark McCullers was...

One of the most noteworthy non-MLS stories in American professional soccer this young season has been the United Soccer League debut of FC Cincinnati.

FC Cincinnati plays its home games in UC's Nippert Stadium and is owned by a group headed by Carl Lindner III, whose family used a majority stake in the Reds. Its general manager is Jeff Berding, a former Bengals executive and Cincinnati city councilman. Its coach is John Harkes.

Former Crew president and GM Mark McCullers was brought in to help negotiate a stadium lease and get things up and running and continues to serve a s a consultant to the team.

That's a good facility and a good pedigree for a team in the third tier of U.S. pro soccer. It has also been a recipe for head-turning performance at the box office.

FC Cincinnati drew 14,658 fans for its opener and followed it up with a USL-record 20,497 for its second home game.

It has not gone unnoticed. MLS commissioner Don Garber included Cincinnati at the end of a short list of potential expansion cities during a meeting with Associated Press Sports Editors last week, though he said he told Lindner during a recent phone call that Cincy might have to wait a while for an expansion bid.

Sacramento and St. Louis are the favorites for the next round of expansion, Garber said, and he went on to mention Detroit, San Diego, San Antonio, Austin and Cincinnati, pointing out that "two good weekends" doesn't equal a sustainable fan base.

Cincinnati (1-1-2) next plays on Saturday against the Wilmington Hammerheads in Nippert Stadium.

Speaking of the Hammerheads, Crew draft pick Kyle Parker signed with Wilmington after he was released from the Crew's training camp in February.

Parker, a forward from UNC-Charlotte, has appeared in four of five games for Wilmington (2-2-2). The second-round pick (No. 31 overall) has one shot on goal in 86 minutes.

The Crew no longer retains the rights to Parker or midfielder Vince Cicciarelli, who has three goals in five games for USL Saint Louis FC, because both were cut relatively early from camp.

Cicciarelli has appeared in five of six games for St. Louis and has played 90 minutes once. He scored two goals in 29 minutes against Orange County FC on April 2.

"As your team gets better, it becomes harder and harder for draft picks to help your team," Crew SC coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter said. "We just don't have the luxury (of keeping them on the roster) right now.

"But at some point, you have to trust your ability to assess players and determine if they're going to make an impact long term. Vince is a good example. He is 25 years old and is probably going to score goals in the USL. But we had to make the assessment. At the next level, we thought he would struggle to score goals."

The Crew does retain the rights to two other draft picks, including midfielder Chase Minter (No. 21 overall in January) and forward Robert Kristo (a third-rounder in 2015).

Minter stuck with the Crew through the entirety of training camp and signed with Sacramento before the start of the season. He was an unused sub in the Republic's opener, played 103 minutes over the next two games and did not dress for the past two.

The Crew took a flyer on Kristo, who declared his intentions to play in Italy after playing his final season at St. Louis University. He signed with Spezia Calcio of Serie B and has since been loaned twice, most recently to Tuttocuocio, a club playing in the third-tier Lega Pro (Italy's lowest level of pro soccer).

The Crew retains the MLS rights to Kristo through Dec. 2016 and to Minter through Dec. 2017.

Berhalter said he had been in touch with Kristo's agent earlier this month.

"You never know," Berhalter said.

Closer to home, Crew loanees Marshall Hollingsworth and Ben Swanson and former first-round pick Sergio Campbell have played varying parts for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, the Crew's USL affiliate.

Hollingsworth, a second-round pick in January, has made the biggest impact. He has one assist in three starts for Pittsburgh (0-2-1), playing on the wing and as a central attacking mid/forward.

Campbell, waived by the Crew at the end of last season, has started two of three games as a center back. The Jamaican did not play at Toronto because of immigration issues.

Swanson, a Grove City homegrown, has made one appearance for Pittsburgh. He subbed on as a left back in the 42nd minute of a 2-2 tie at TFC 2 on April 17.

Pittsburgh next plays on Wednesday at Louisville.

--Shawn Mitchell

smitchell@dispatch.com

@smitchcd