FC Cincinnati 2 and New England Revolution II battled to a scoreless draw Wednesday afternoon at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The Orange and Blue (13-5-3, 43 points) ousted Revs II in the shootout, 6-5, earning their first shootout win of the season. Cincinnati remain top of the Eastern Conference table while Revs II (4-13-3, 17 points) take a point for the first time since June 14.
The two sides battled through a scoreless first half which saw Cincinnati’s Kenji Mboma Dem hit the crossbar in the eighth minute of play. Mboma Dem finished the half with four attempts on goal, leading all players. New England’s Joshua Bolma struck the outside of the post in the 26th minute for Revs II’s best chance of the first 45.
The stalemate continued through the second half with Hunter Morse and the Cincinnati defense stifling New England’s attack. Morse played a key role in preserving the shutout which now marks three consecutive matches that the Orange and Blue, and Morse, have not conceded a goal.
The Orange and Blue prevailed in the shootout to pick up an extra point from spot kicks. Cincinnati and New England converted on their first five attempts before Morse made a save against New England’s Luka Borovic in the sixth round. Yeiner Valoyes converted on Cincinnati’s final attempt to earn two points.
“I think Hunter has turned the corner this year,” said Head Coach Tyrone Marshall. “He’s had the opportunity to see the game from the sideline over the last year and now he has a chance to be in goal this year, he’s doing well. He’s calm, he’s making the right decisions and making some great saves. We are extremely confident when we have Morse in goal, and it takes some of that pressure off of our defenders.”
FC Cincinnati 2 return home on Friday, August 16, to take on Carolina Core FC at 6 p.m. ET at Scudamore Field at NKU Soccer Stadium. Tickets can be claimed with a SeatGeek account through the FC Cincinnati App. Instructions on how to claim tickets on the app can be found here.
FC CINCINNATI 2 GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati 2 at New England Revolution II
Date: August 7, 2024
Competition: MLS NEXT Pro
Venue: Gillette Stadium
Kickoff: 11:04 a.m. ET
Weather: 63 degrees, cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
NE: 0-0-0
CIN: 0-0-0
NE – None
CIN – None
SHOOTOUT SUMMARY
NE: Marcos Dias – MAKE
CIN: Kenji Mboma Dem – MAKE
NE: Patrick Leal – MAKE
CIN: Nico Benalcazar – MAKE
NE: Gevork Diarbian – MAKE
CIN: Stefan Chirila – MAKE
NE: Eric Klein – MAKE
CIN: Yair Ramos – MAKE
NE: Joshua Bolma – MAKE
CIN: Moises Tablante – MAKE
NE: Luka Borovic – SAVE
CIN: Yeiner Valoyes – MAKE
LINEUPS
NE: Maxwell Weinstein, Moshtaba Al-Hasnawi (Hesron Barry 70’), Tiago, Giovanni Calderón (C) (Luka Borovic 17’), Colby Quinones, Patrick Leal, Eric Klein, Marcos Dias, Joshua Bolma, Liam Butts (Javaun Mussenden 70’), Alex Monis (Gevork Diarbian 70’)
Substitutes not used: Robert Nichols III, Brandonn Bueno, Andrej Bjelajac, Sage Kinner, Owen Beninga
Head Coach: Richie Williams
CIN: Hunter Morse, Juan Machado, Brian Schaefer, Nico Benalcazar (C), Moises Tablante, Yair Ramos, Peter Mangione (Justin Hylton 90’+3), Jesus Castellano, Kenji Mboma Dem, Ben Stitz (Yeiner Valoyes 77’), Stefan Chirila
Substitutes not used: Luke Broz, Will Kuisel, Lincoln Matuskiewicz, Nicholas Samways, Connor Stout
Head Coach: Tyrone Marshall
STATS SUMMARY: NE/CIN
Shots: 16 / 17
Shots on Goal: 2 / 2
Saves: 2 / 2
Corner Kicks: 5 / 9
Fouls: 17 / 17
Offside: 2 / 0
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
NE – Giovanni Calderon (Yellow Card) 5’
NE – Joshua Bolma (Yellow Card) 26’
CIN – Yair Ramos (Yellow Card) 33’
NE – Lulka Borovic (Yellow Card) 80’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Matt Thompson
Ast. Referees: Andrew Charron, Jennifer Dumaine
Fourth Official: Stearne Briem
