CINCINNATI – A Columbus Crew equalizer deep into second half stoppage time forced FC Cincinnati to settle for a 2-2 draw Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd of 25,037 at TQL Stadium.
With the draw, FC Cincinnati move to 8-8-11 (35 points) and end the night in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings with seven MLS games to go. The Crew move to 8-6-12 (36 points) in seventh place.
After nearing a breakthrough all half, FCC’s leading goal scorer Brandon Vazquez put the Orange and Blue ahead in the 36th minute. The buildup began with Luciano Acosta at the midfield line splitting the Columbus defense and finding Vazquez running on. Vazquez took one touch and fired a left footed shot past the Crew’s goalkeeper Eloy Room.
Vazquez scored his 16th goal of the season, his first career finish against the Crew. Acosta’s assist was his 15th of the year, extending his MLS-lead in the category.
Derrick Etienne Jr. equalized for Columbus in the 74th minute after scoring on a header on a cross from Cucho.
Matt Miazga sent the Orange and Blue ahead just three minutes later. With the ball pinballing in the box, the ball kicked out to the center back who took a touch at the top of the box and fired his shot on goal. The blast deflected once more and found its way in the back of the net for a 2-1 FCC lead in the 77th minute.
Miazga became the first primary defender to score in consecutive games in FCC’s MLS history.
The result would not hold, as Steven Moreira’s equalizer for Columbus six minutes into second half stoppage time leveled the score and gave the contest its final scoreline, 2-2.
The Orange and Blue stay at home to host Charlotte FC for the first time in club history next Saturday, September 3. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at TQL Stadium, and the game can be watched on Star64, streamed in-market at fccincinnati.com, out of market on ESPN+ and listened to on the radio on ESPN 1530.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs. Columbus Crew
Date: August 27, 2022
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium
Attendance: 25,037 (sellout)
Kickoff: 7:38 p.m. ET
Weather: 82 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
CIN: 1-1-2
CLB: 0-2-2
CIN - Brandon Vazquez (Luciano Acosta) 36’, Matt Miazga 77’
CLB - Derrick Etienne Jr. (Cucho) 74’, Steven Moreira 90+6’
GAME NOTES
• Saturday marked the 10th all-time meeting in MLS between FC Cincinnati and the Columbus Crew … it marks the second club FCC have faced 10 times since entering the league in 2019 (Atlanta United FC).
• Brandon Vazquez’s goal came on his third shot of the game, which was his 68th of the season to set a single-season club record for shots (Brenner, 67 – 2021).
• Vazquez scored against the Crew for the first time in his career, the 16th different MLS club he has scored against.
• Luciano Acosta’s 15th assist of the season extends his league-lead in the statistic, two more than any other player (Carles Gil – New England Revolution, 13).
• Roman Celentano made his 20th appearance of the season in net, which are the most starts and appearances by a goalkeeper in a single season in the club’s MLS history (19, Spencer Richey (2019) and Kenneth Vermeer (2021)).
• Matt Miazga became the first primary defender in club history to score in consecutive games … his goal marked the 11th goal streak in club history.
• Yuya Kubo has started in all eight Hell is Real derbies since joining FC Cincinnati prior to the 2020 season.
• Álvaro Barreal led all players on the field with three tackles despite seeing just 71 minutes of game action.
• Of FC Cincinnati’s 27 MLS games this season, 21have either ended in a tie or have been decided by one goal, the second most in the category in the league this season (San Jose Earthquakes, 22).
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Álvaro Barreal (John Nelson 71’), Matt Miazga, Geoff Cameron, Nick Hagglund, Alvas Powell, Junior Moreno, Yuya Kubo (Allan Cruz 71’), Luciano Acosta (C) (Ray Gaddis 87’), Brenner (Dominique Badji 82’), Brandon Vazquez (Sergio Santos 82’)
Substitutes not used: Alec Kann, Zico Bailey, Calvin Harris, Ian Murphy
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
CLB: Eloy Room, Jonathan Mensah (C), Milos Degenek, Will Sands (Mohamed Farsi 87’), Steven Moreira, Darlington Nagbe, Lucas Zelarayán, Aidan Morris (Erik Hurtado 87’), Cucho, Luis Díaz (Yaw Yeboah 79’), Kevin Molino (Derrick Etienne Jr. 62’)
Substitutes not used: Evan Bush, Josh Williams, Marlon Hairston, Jalil Anibaba, James Igbekeme
Head Coach: Caleb Porter
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/CLB
Shots: 15 / 11
Shots on Goal: 7 / 3
Saves: 1 / 4
Corner Kicks: 2 / 3
Fouls: 16 / 10
Offside: 1 / 1
Possession: 34.6 / 65.4
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Junior Moreno (Yellow Card) 43’
CLB – Milos Degenek (Yellow Card) 47’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Kevin Stott
Ast. Referees: Kathryn Nesbitt, Chris Elliot
Fourth Official: Silviu Petrescu
VAR: Geoff Gamble
AVAR: Eric Weisbrod
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan
On the sellout crowd
“First off, thank you to the fans. They were incredible tonight, man that atmosphere was special. And I really wish we could have given them a proper send off. It felt like it was there for us but it wasn't meant to be. I'm also very proud of our group with the players, the effort they put in. I wish they could be rewarded with three points tonight. This is this is a tough one.”
On the current team mentality
"We're still in the mix. It's two points where we really lost, that allow other teams to potentially jump us or you are still chasing it a little bit, but we're going to go after it. We're not going to change. You know, the mentality. I think you saw a hungry team tonight that wants to be a playoff team. But closing games out is the difference right now. So, we still have enough games to find ourselves in the playoffs and so it's in our hands."
On how the team will respond next week
"Take that same energy, the same belief we had before the game that we were going to step on the field and win and carry that into the next game and use it as motivation. It can go one of two ways but we can't feel sorry for ourselves. There is still a lot to play for and we need to turn it around quickly so that we have a strong performance and a better result next week.”
Fans can place deposits now for 2023 Season Tickets, and current season ticket holders can renew for 2023 now. Anyone with interest in 2023 Season Tickets can place their deposit HERE, or by calling 513-977-KICK, that’s 513-977-5425.
FC Cincinnati's 2022 schedule can be viewed, HERE. Fans can build their custom 3 Match Flex Plan today. Pick any three matches and save on single match ticket pricing with no fees at checkout. Fans can pick the same seats for three games or select different options around TQL Stadium.
Single match tickets to any of FC Cincinnati’s remaining home games are also available now, head to fccincinnati.com/tickets or call 513-977-KICK, to learn more.
FC Cincinnati are playing their fourth season of MLS competition in 2022, and their second playing at TQL Stadium. For up-to-the-minute information about FC Cincinnati, visit the team’s official website at fccincinnati.com, or follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FCCincinnati. Additionally, fans are encouraged to download the team’s official mobile app on the Apple App Store or Google Play for instant access to mobile tickets, team content and match notifications.
