FC Cincinnati 2 hosted New York Red Bulls II on July 5, in their second meeting of the season at Scudamore Field at NKU Soccer Stadium. FCC 2 dropped their first match against RBNYII but began this month with a victory.
In the first half, FCC 2 generated good chances from inside the box but were failing to finish off plays, leading to them getting blanked in the first half. The same could be said about RBNY II, however, they were able to scrape across two goals early on that put FCC 2 in an uncomfortable position.
In the 37th minute, RBNYII’s captain Nate Worth was awarded a free kick just outside the box—a chance to extend the early lead to an almost insurmountable 3-0. FCC 2 goalkeeper Fabian Mrozek made the save, one of many in the half, giving FCC 2 something to work with heading into halftime.
“Just had to get a little aggressive at halftime and come together as a group. A little bit more fight, a little bit more attitude, a little bit more grit, and call guys out individually,” said FCC 2 Head Coach Sami Castellanos about the mentality heading into the second half down 2-0. “It’s always a learning experience for those guys, because it doesn't get any easier at these levels, it gets harder and harder and harder… When you go down, you can't give up. You have to keep putting it together.”
Coming out of halftime, Castellanos had his guys ready to make a comeback. Just four minutes into the second half, Stefan Chirila netted a goal off a penalty kick to cut the lead to 2-1, giving FCC 2 a moment of realization that this game wasn’t far out of reach.
For Chirila, not only is he the team's leading goal scorer, but he serves as the anchor for a young squad that has been consistently interchanging lineups.
“We’ve had to rely on him. I think he's the top goal scorer for the team right now, but we've had to rely on him to be that extra little boost of energy, that extra little boost of quality, and I give it to him,” said Castellanos about Chirila’s leadership this season.
Later in the match, RBYNYII made a critical mistake passing the ball back to the goalie, who slipped and let the ball roll right into the net for the match-tying goal.
The match would head to penalties, where FCC 2 would pull out the two-point draw largely thanks to Fabian Mrozek’s two shootout saves in his first match since May 23.
“I'm just happy that the guys’ amount of resilience turned into the second point that we got. Us being down to nothing, getting the tie—great, but then they pushed through and actually got the win in the shootout,” said Castellanos.
Mrozek, a Polish goalkeeper, joined FC Cincinnati on March 5, after being acquired on loan from Liverpool FC U21. A first team keeper, Mrozek often plays matches with FC Cincinnati 2 for development opportunity and game minutes.
The 22-year-old has made seven starts at goalkeeper since joining The Orange and Blue and has left a mark on Castellanos and his staff through his short stint with the club thus far.
“Yeah, it's his level of composure. He brings such calmness to the game, and it's like a calm confidence,” said Castellanos about Mrozek. “He made some big saves in the penalty shootout… Those things count. They kind of build up to a big moment, those little things like that.”
In the 84th minute, with the match tied 2-2, defender Landon Born checked in for his MLS NEXT Pro debut. Born’s first minutes extended the tally to 11 academy debuts on the season, which ties the mark for the most academy debuts since FCC 2’s inaugural season.
For Born, checking in for the first time is a career milestone like no other, but with the match knotted at two a piece, Castellanos was putting trust in Born to immediately leave an impact and turn the tide for The Orange and Blue.
“It was just that moment for him, and the opportunity came, and he was just cool, calm, and collected,” Castellanos said about Born’s debut. “He's just a kid that's like, ‘Let's go and play. I'm ready to fight, I'm ready to go for the club.’ I just love having those local types of players push through in the academy to show that there's some good work happening here, and we just want to continue that.”
With the two-point draw, FCC 2 has won back-to-back matches and has gained five points in the standings. Heading into this week, Castellanos was very forward with his guys and made sure they were ready to prove that they could be competitive with any club.
“I think staying on the pulse of the team and just hitting it even harder now, because they showed that they can keep up with a team that's in the top of the table,” said Castellanos about his squad’s performance. “That means something that's not just by luck. They put themselves there, they committed themselves to the process right now and the only way that we're going to get professionals that can walk out of TQL Stadium is we have to challenge them every day. They have to be ready for that moment, so that's just what we're going to do.”
FCC 2 hosts Orlando City B this Sunday, July 12 at 6 p.m., with a great opportunity to extend their winning streak to a season-best three games.
