It effectively served as FC Cincinnati’s “Welcome to the USL” moment.
After opening the club’s inaugural season with two road contests, Nippert Stadium was packed by more than 20,000 fans for the club’s home opener against the Charlotte Independence. Five minutes in, Sean Okoli brought all of them to their feet.
The goal – which arrived at No. 4 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 the next morning – served as the introduction for the club in both the USL, and on a national level, as the expansion club quickly turned heads for its performance both on and off the field.
Leading the way throughout was Okoli, whose final goal of the club’s first regular season on Saturday gave him the 2016 USL Golden Boot with 16 tallies this year. A former MLS player with Seattle Sounders FC and the New England Revolution, Okoli joined up with the club in late February at IMG Academy in Florida, and quickly became the focal point of the club’s impressive attack.
With the 2016 USL Cup Playoffs on the horizon, Okoli will have the chance to become the second player in USL history to claim both the Golden Boot and the USL Championship, as he looks to emulate current MLS standout, Dom Dwyer.