FC Cincinnati return to action after a three week break to take on Philadelphia Union. Kickoff from Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania is set for Saturday, June 18 at 7:30 p.m.
Head Coach Pat Noonan will lead the Orange and Blue for the first time against his former club, where he had served as an assistant coach since 2018. Saturday will also feature the return of three former Union players to face Philadelphia, including for the first time Ray Gaddis, the Union’s all-time leader in appearances.
FC CINCINNATI AT PHILADELPHIA UNION – SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 2022 – 7:30 p.m. ET – SUBARU PARK
HOW TO WATCH
LOCAL TV: Star64
LOCAL STREAM: fccincinnati.com
OUT OF MARKET STREAM: ESPN+
Radio: ESPN 1530
TALENT: Tom Gelehrter (play-by-play), Kevin McCloskey (analyst), Alex Stec (sideline)
Be sure to follow @FCCincinnati on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for live updates from the game.
HEAD TO FCC3, PRESENTED BY MEDPACE, AND THE TQL WATCH PARTY AT TQL STADIUM
Head to TQL Stadium for FCC3, presented by Medpace. Fans can still register to participate in the 3-mile walk/run which will benefit the FC Cincinnati Foundation and Flying Pig Marathon charities. The race begins at 6 p.m.
Then stick around for the free family-friendly TQL Watch Party to cheer on the Orange and Blue from TQL Stadium. Fans can still attend the TQL Watch Party regardless of participating in FCC3 by grabbing free tickets for the event.
Not in the area? Fans can also catch the action at one of 14 official Pub Partners located across the region, presented by Coors Light.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Philadelphia Union lead the all-time series over FC Cincinnati, 5-0-1 (3-0-0 at home).
SCOUTING PHILADELPHIA UNION (6-1-7, 25 PTS., 2ND EASTERN CONFERENCE)
Jim Curtin’s side is strong once again in 2022 with just one loss through 14 games, the fewest in MLS. The Union are currently in position to finish top-3 in the Eastern Conference for the fourth consecutive season.
For the fourth straight season, the Union traded away or passed on all their selections in January’s MLS SuperDraft. Instead, the club continues to focus on their renowned academy. Homegrown players Paxten Aaronson, Quinn Sullivan, Jack McGlynn and Brandan Craig were all named to the 20-man United States roster for the 2022 Concacaf Championship, which will serve as qualification for the FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Notable offseason acquisitions for the Union included acquiring young DP from Inter Miami CF Julián Carranza as well as their marquee offseason signing, Danish Superliga Golden Boot winner Mikael Uhre.
Consistency has been the key for Philadelphia this season. Nine players have started in at least 12 of the 14 games for the Union. That includes goalkeeper Andre Blake, center back Jakob Glesnes and left back Kai Wagner who have not missed a minute of action this year. Glesnes’ center back pairing Jack Elliot has missed only nine minutes of the 1,260 played by Philly this year in MLS play.
The Union bring into Saturday a 12-game unbeaten run at home in regular season competition dating back to last September. Philadelphia have conceded the least amount of goals in the league, just 10 goals in 14 contests. They hold a 0.71 goals-against-average and have trailed going into halftime only once this season.
STORYLINES OF THE GAME
DEEP CONNECTIONS AMONG FCC’S STAFF… – Head Coach Pat Noonan will face off against Philadelphia Union for the first time since being named the Orange and Blue’s leader on December 14, 2021. Noonan served as an assistant coach alongside Jim Curtin for the past four seasons, appointed in January 2018.
Noonan was named FCC’s Head Coach by General Manager Chris Albright, the former Union Technical Director. Since his retirement from playing after the 2013 season, the Union won the Supporters’ Shield (2020), earned five playoff appearances, and finished runners up in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup three times.
… AND AMONG FCC’S PLAYERS – Three FC Cincinnati players spent time with the Union previously in their careers. No one on either side taking the field Saturday night has made more appearances with the Union than Ray Gaddis, who logged over 19,000 minutes in 221 appearances with Philadelphia. He is the Union’s all-time leader in appearances and starts, over 30 more than any other player.
Haris Medunjanin spent three seasons in Philly (2017-19), where he made 109 appearances including 108 starts across all competitions. He scored six goals and contributed 19 assists. He also has scored the only FCC goal in the all-time series with his 82nd minute goal at TQL Stadium last season on October 9.
FCC defender Alvas Powell spent the 2021 season with the Union, where he made five regular season appearances and started in the Union’s first two MLS Cup Playoff games, playing 229 minutes over the two contests.
ACTIVE ASSISTERS – Five players in MLS currently have an active streak of providing assists in two straight games. Two of those five are FCC’s Luciano Acosta and John Nelson. Nelson, who provided one goal contribution in his first 36 career MLS appearances, has an assist in back-to-back games while Acosta has contributed to a goal in seven-straight matches which continues the longest such streak in club history.
ÁLVARO ON A ROLL – Álvaro Barreal brings into Saturday the first goal streak of his career, having scored in the past two games on May 21 against the New England Revolution and May 28 at CF Montréal. Should he score Saturday, he will become the second player in club history to score in three straight MLS games (Brandon Vazquez – October 20-27, 2021 – vs. CHI, at MIA, vs. NSH).
Barreal’s goal last time out in Montréal was the 100th regular season goal in FCC’s MLS history.
SINCE THE OPENER – Since FCC’s season-opening loss at Austin FC, the Orange and Blue hold a positive overall goal differential (21 GF, 20 GA: +1), including +1 in road games (10 GF, 9 GA).
