It’s a road stand for FC Cincinnati as they travel next to The Windy City after a trip to D.C., so, The Orange and Blue have made the trip to Illinois to take on Chicago Fire FC at historic Soldier Field.
Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. ET, and fans can watch the game on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and listen locally in English on ESPN 1530 and 101.5 FM La Mega in Spanish. Let’s look at some important figures that may factor into the first road match of the MLS season, all presented by CTI.
35.9
American Defender Miles Robinson turned on the jets and showed how effective he can be last week, being named to the Team of the Matchday bench for his performance. In that performance, Robinson made a run in the 73rd minute to thwart a Christian Benteke breakaway. The sprint he made back to block the shot and kick the ball out for a corner was tracked by the MLS Match Analysis Hub at 35.9 kilometers per hour (or 22.9 miles per hour).
The sprint was the third fastest registered in MLS this season and the fastest by any FC Cincinnati player this season. For context, with school zone speeds labeled at 20 miles per hour in the Cincinnati area, Robinson, with this sprint, could have been clocked for speeding in a school zone in order to make the stop late.
3
Gerardo “Dado” Valenzuela’s game-winning goal against D.C. United last week helped earn him his first ever MLS Team of the Matchday honor, and he was named one of three Young Players of the Matchday for his effort. The goal, which was his fourth for FC Cincinnati across all competitions in his young career, stands as the most ever by an FC Cincinnati Academy graduate.
9,824
Nick Hagglund, who has been noted for his quality since returning to action from an injury, is rapidly approaching becoming the second player in club history to reach 10,000 minutes in MLS play exclusively, with 9,824 minutes played after his stand-out performance in D.C.
With just 176 minutes to play to reach that threshold, Hagglund could join Luciano Acosta as the only player in club history to meet that milestone sometime in the next two games. Hagglund surpassed the "all-competitions" 10,000-minute mark already last season, logging 10,799 minutes total in his six seasons with the club.
If Hagglund plays 1,312 more minutes this season, across all competitions, Hagglund would surpass Acosta for most minutes played in club history at 12,382.
8/8
Lukas Engel and Roman Celentano are the only two FC Cincinnati players to start each of the club's eight league matches this season, starting and leading the team in minutes as we approach the quarter mark of the 2025 regular season. Celentano has played all 720 minutes and has kept a clean sheet in four games while making 24 saves. Engel leads all outfield players with 665 minutes and is tied for 5th on the team with seven key passes as a wingback and occasional CB.
33
FC Cincinnati have conceded the fifth-fewest shots on target of teams in the Eastern Conference this season. Unfortunately, 22 of those 33 have come when playing away from home in 2025. So, while FCC is coming off back-to-back clean sheet efforts, keeping Roman Celentano busy on the road has been a throughline of the early part of the year.
By comparison, though, the FCC offense ranks 6th in MLS and 2nd in the Eastern Conference for shots on target when playing on the road with 21, trailing only the Chicago Fire with 28. With this game played in Chicago, though, that stat wouldn’t be relevant, and instead, the Fire’s 13 shots on target at home – tied for 24th in MLS this season – would be more applicable.
