FC Cincinnati defeated Cavalier FC, 2-0, Thursday night in the first leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup Round One matchup with the Jamaican side. The match was Cincinnati’s first-ever appearance in the Champions Cup.
Sergio Santos scored his first career Champions Cup goal with the final action of the first half to give the Orange and Blue a 1-0 lead going into the break. Malik Pinto doubled Cincinnati’s lead late in the second half with his first goal for the Orange and Blue.
Cincinnati will host Cavalier in the second leg of Round One play at TQL Stadium on Wednesday, February 28 at 7 p.m. ET.
AS IT HAPPENED
CIN: Sergio Santos, GOAL – 45’+5 (0-1) – Bret Halsey resumes play with a throw-in to Obinna Nwobodo, who returns to Halsey. Halsey drives into the box and gets off short cross which Santos meets and skillfully redirects into the back of the net.
CIN: Malik Pinto, GOAL – 87’ (0-2) – Arquimides Ordoñez receives a pass just inside the Cavalier penalty area. Ordoñez moves away from goal, looking for an angle to release a shot but elects to play Pinto with a backheel pass, and Pinto places a powerful curler past the keeper.
FC Cincinnati begin the 2024 MLS Regular Season and their defense of the Supporters’ Shield on Sunday, February 25 at TQL Stadium against Toronto FC. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. and the match will stream, for free with no subscription required, on Apple TV. Fans can also listen to the match on Fox Sports 1360 in Cincinnati and iHeart.
Tickets for the home opener and the home leg of the Champions Cup Round One matchup are still available at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling (513) 977-5425 (KICK).
GAME NOTES
• Sergio Santos scored his first goal for FC Cincinnati since April 22 of last season vs Portland Timbers.
• Santos’ goal matched the latest first-half goal in club history at 45’+5 (Yerson Mosquera, 45’+5: April 1, 2023 vs MIA).
• Malik Pinto scored his first goal for the club, becoming the 41st different goal scorer in FC Cincinnati’s history … Alongside Arquimides Ordoñez, who provided the assist, the two are the only two players to have scored for the club in non-MLS regular season play only (Ordoñez: April 26, 2023 vs LOU, USOC).
• Four players made their club debut for FC Cincinnati: Corey Baird, Pavel Bucha and Miles Robinson in the Starting XI; Kipp Keller as a substitute.
• Bret Halsey, registering his second-career assist, made his third-career start for FC Cincinnati.
• Thursday marked the 99th career appearance captaining FC Cincinnati for Luciano Acosta, across all competitions.
• Roman Celentano earned his 21st career clean sheet.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati at Cavalier FC
Date: February 22, 2024
Competition: Concacaf Champions Cup Round One
Venue: National Stadium
Attendance: 650
Kickoff: 9:06 p.m. ET
Weather: 65 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
CAV: 0-0-0
CIN: 1-1-2
CAV – None
CIN – Sergio Santos (Halsey) 45’+5, Malik Pinto (Ordoñez) 87’
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Bret Halsey (Alvas Powell 60’), Ian Murphy, Matt Miazga (Kipp Keller 84’), Miles Robinson, Yuya Kubo, Pavel Bucha (Malik Pinto 84’), Obinna Nwobodo, Luciano Acosta (C), Corey Baird (Arquimides Ordoñez 77’), Sergio Santos (Gerardo Valenzuela 60’)
Substitutes not used: Alec Kann, Paul Walters, Evan Louro, Marco Angulo, Isaiah Foster, London Aghedo, Stiven Jimenez
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
CAV: Jeadine White, Makenson Cadet (Jerome McLeary 85’), Richard King, Jeovanni Laing, Jalmaro Calvin, Dwayne Atkinson, Dwayne Allen, Kyle Ming, Orlando Russell (Shamar Watson 46’), Shaniel Thomas, Gadail Irving (C)
Substitutes not used: Vino Barclett, Alexavier Gooden, Keyanni Jackson, Jaheem Frazer, Wayne Gordon, Ronaldo Robinson, Matthew Ellis
Head Coach: Rudolph Speid
STATS SUMMARY: CAV/CIN
Shots: 6 / 28
Shots on Goal: 1 / 7
Saves: 4 / 2
Corner Kicks: 2 / 12
Fouls: 9 / 6
Offside: 2 / 1
Possession: 24.8 / 75.2
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CAV – Richard King (Yellow Card) 90’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Cesar Ramos
Ast. Referees: Alberto Morin, Marco Bisguerra
Fourth Official: Fernando Guerrero
VAR: Erick Miranda
AVAR: Oscar Mejia
