What were you doing at 17 years old? Well, Andrei Chirila was busy having one of the more impactful weeks in FC Cincinnati's history of teenage players. Between a 45-minute appearance on Wednesday and a 90-minute performance Saturday, the young defender and FC Cincinnati Academy graduate made his name known.
With a goal and a clean sheet last week, Andrei Chirila became the youngest FC Cincinnati player in club history to score in an MLS match. He also led the backline in the middle, putting on an impressive passing display and helping earn the first FCC clean sheet since opening day.
Chirila, who started the season with FC Cincinnati 2 and eventually earned a Homegrown Player contract through his play, has been a rising star for FC Cincinnati. The left-footed defender has now made three MLS appearances and five total for FCC.
“I try my best not to think about that,” Chirila said after the 2-0 win over Red Bulls. “‘Oh, I'm 17 years old,’ I just see myself as one of the other players. I feel like I'm a part of the team and I'm really grateful to be able to help out the team get the three points. So I try to do my best to not think about my age. I just go out there and perform.”
What stood out first and foremost from Chirila, particularly in the 90-minute appearance against Red Bull, was his passing range and poise. He pinged seven successful long passes on Saturday night, completed 87.5 percent of his total passes and committed zero fouls in the process. The comfort on the ball he displayed impressed for a player far beyond his years and helped change the game for FCC.
That part of his game is, in a way, his calling card as a young player. But what stood out to his head coach was how he handled the other parts of his game and stepped up in areas less prominent in his skill set.
“For me, it's how the game speeds up. Now you're having to defend more. Now you have to make decisions in the box. What's the game look like now for a player? That part, I think, was growth tonight from what we've seen,” Head Coach Pat Noonan said of Chirila. “(Tonight) he looked the part.”
Noonan also highlighted how Chirila had not exactly been top of the depth chart prior to this match, but was ready and hungry for the opportunity when it arrived. With injuries calling into question the availability of other players, particularly defenders,, six players were out injured in the last FCC match, and Chirila stepped up to prove himself a serviceable pro.
“Obviously, with all the injuries right now, it's a little tough,” Chirila acknowledged. “But we all told each other all we can do is just go out there, do our best, play together, fight together, and get the three points; and that's exactly what we did.”
Denkey sets records
Kévin Denkey had a memorable week, earning a brace against both New York sides and helping FC Cincinnati secure an important week of results with a win and a draw.
In that week, in which he logged four goals in 169 minutes played, Denkey also tied the club's MLS record for game-winning goals, scoring his 11th in MLS action.
Denkey also became just the fourth player in club history to score multiple goals in consecutive games, and set the mark for most goals scored by a player through 40 MLS games with the club, with his 21st goal in league action – doing so in just 38 games.
“This is a good rhythm, but I will not say I'm starting to find a rhythm, because constancy is the most important in play to help the team,” Denkey said after training this week of the form he’s been in of late. “We know we are a big team and we know how it works to be a big team – there is a lot of pressure. But it's good to (score) and (win) and to start feeling it. We started really, really bad, and we are good, so we stay humble. We know how sport it is, nobody will give you anything easily. You need to deserve it every time.”
A debut for Lajhar
With the injury bug in full effect last Saturday, the opportunity for another young FC Cincinnati player emerged. Ayoub Lajhar, 21, made his MLS debut against Red Bull New York, coming on as a sub in the 79th minute and helping to secure the clean sheet. The defender, who wears number 55 as a tribute to being selected 55th overall in the MLS SuperDraft last December, signed a Short Term Agreement ahead of the match to be called up from FC Cincinnati 2 to the first team.
“I feel great putting my head down and working hard. Obviously the team's been struggling with injuries, so when I saw my short term, I knew I had a job to do,” Lajhar said after the match. “Whether it was just to be on the bench and support the team…but obviously, I'm very grateful for the staff and for the club and for giving me the opportunity and putting faith and trust in me to give me my debut.”
Lajhar made his first team debut earlier this season in a 9-0 rout of O&M FC in the Concacaf Champions Cup. In that match, the Libyan-American defender earned two assists after coming on in the 69th minute.
This MLS debut, which marked another step in a journey he set out on many years ago, was a new milestone for the UConn alumni as he proved he could compete at this level.
“Get out there and perform,” Lajhar said of the instructions the coaching staff gave him prior to entering the match. “(They) just told me to get there and perform and work hard and do my job. That's what I do. I grind. I bust my butt off, game in and game out, minute in, minute out. If you need a player to grind out the last minutes of the game, if you need a player who's able to run for however long, that's me, and that's one that's what I did.”
Lajhar has been a key contributor to FCC 2 this season in MLS NEXT Pro, leading the team in assists while starting all four matches he’s appeared in. Prior to joining the second team at the start of 2026, though, Lajhar trained with the first team for the entire preseason in Clearwater, Florida. In that time, he was getting himself familiar with the team and its expectations, while also proving himself to Pat Noonan and his staff, as well as his new teammates.
“During preseason, you get to know the guys. They put so much trust and faith in me and confidence in me,” Lajhar said of his teammates. “I've learned a lot through our preseason from them. It makes me feel more comfortable and more confident in the field."
