Offensive Contributions Are an Expectation for Corey Baird, Not a Reward

February 8, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – FC Cincinnati News Release

The objective of an offensive player is to score goals. The measurements around that are unique, but the goal remains all the same: put the ball across the line.

Part of team soccer is understanding that only one, two, or as many as three players can be credited for a goal contribution. With 11 players on the field, someone is being left out, mathematically speaking. Some versions of successful team soccer have a group of 11 creating and/or executing a cohesive plan to score.

But at the end of that, someone has to play a pass or take a shot that ultimately puts the ball in the back of the net. Corey Baird, one of FC Cincinnati’s newest offensive weapons, is coming off a year where he did just that. A lot.

After bouncing around from three clubs in three years, 2023 was a breakout year for the 28-year-old forward, who signed a two-year deal with FC Cincinnati with an option for a third year this offseason. In a team-high 47 appearances for the Houston Dynamo last season, the California native netted a career-high 14 goals and eight assists across all competitions, helping lead the Dynamo to a U.S. Open Cup trophy and a spot in the Western Conference Finals.

Now Baird, entering his eighth MLS campaign, is looking to bring that scoring touch to FC Cincinnati and expects himself to add to the scoring arsenal that is already loaded with talent.

“I want to be part of those final actions, that’s getting the goals and assists,” Baird said after the club’s 2-0 preseason friendly victory over the New England Revolution last week. “I think, as a forward, those key moments are what makes a good forward. So, you can do a lot of good stuff on the field, but if you’re not impacting the score line, for me, that’s something I’m always working towards.”

Last season was a return to form of sorts for the Stanford alumnus. After opening his career tab as a homegrown for Real Salt Lake in 2018 with an eight-goal, six-assist performance and winning the MLS Rookie of the Year award, his direct scoring output plateaued. As a hot commodity, he was traded to LAFC in 2021 and then moved shortly thereafter to Houston Dynamo FC.

The change in scenery, positional changes, role changes, teammate turnover and general displacement left him struggling to tally up points in the same way as his freshman campaign.

But that changed in 2023; Baird’s utilization was optimized, and he finally found himself finishing goal-scoring…