Once the match started, memories flooded back to Forrest Lasso.
Saturday night, the center back started and played 74 minutes for FC Cincinnati in a 2-1 win against the Charleston Battery in the 2019 Carolina Challenge Cup at MUSC Health Stadium. For Lasso, the game was his fifth-consecutive appearance for Cincinnati this preseason.
But it was more than that.
Lasso spent three years playing for the Battery. They offered him his first professional contract and helped developed him into the defender he is now: A force in FCC’s backline and the 2018 USL Defender of the Year.
“This place is special to me,” Lasso said. “They gave me chances and they supported me all three years. I’d like to think I built a lot of relationships (here) that will last a lifetime.”
In the buildup to the CCC, the Battery advertised Lasso as FC Cincinnati’s player to watch. Before flying to South Carolina, he said he wanted to see old friends and family if possible. While this was a preseason trip for FCC to improve, it also meant a chance to go back to his “second home.” He said his family, friends and old roommates went to the match.
“It was awesome, “Lasso said. “It was pretty special seeing some old faces and the fans and the community. This place is a second home for me, so as soon as we stepped out there, it really hit home.”
As for the match itself, the center back had a positive performance. With FCC playing a back three, Lasso started alongside Mathieu Deplagne and Nick Hagglund. The group conceded a goal in the 54th minute when Hagglund conceded a penalty for a handball while he slid to block a shot. They didn’t allow a goal from open play, however.
“I liked it a lot,” Lasso said of the back three, which FCC have deployed in the last four preseason games. “We have to be confident. The team relies on us to be good on the ball and move and facilitate. Defensively, it starts up top and offensively it starts in the back. I think the three of us meshed pretty well communicating. A lot to work on, but it’s one day at a time.”
Lasso said there were things the defense needed to work on. Occasionally, FC Cincinnati gifted opportunities to Charleston that were wasted. But the backline looked stronger and sharper Saturday night than against Indy Eleven last Tuesday in the 3-2 loss.
Following the win, Cincinnati leads the Carolina Challenge Cup standings and plays the Chicago Fire on Wednesday night. A match against Columbus Crew SC closes the competition on Saturday.
There’s still time for FCC to grow and develop. There were encouraging signs from the win against Charleston. There were also moments to be sentimental too, Lasso said.
“I was a kid watching these guys on TV and admiring these guys when I first started playing,” he said. “It was always a dream of mine to play professionally, so now that I’m in that position, it’s not something I take for granted and I have to remind myself each day I started at the bottom just like any other guy.”
