FC Cincinnati advanced to the Leagues Cup Round of 16 following a shootout victory over Santos Laguna at TQL Stadium on Friday night. After the match finished 1-1 in regulation, the Orange and Blue prevailed 6-5 in the ensuing shootout to eliminate Santos in the Round of 32 fixture.
In the Round of 16, FC Cincinnati will host Philadelphia Union on Tuesday, August 13 at TQL Stadium at 7:30 p.m. ET. Tickets are on sale now for FCC Season Ticket Members and for members of the Orange and Blue Reserve. Tickets go on sale to the public beginning at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, August 10. For more information, visit FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or call (KICK).
The visitors struck first with a 5th minute goal, the earliest conceded goal by FC Cincinnati this season. But Luca Orellano equalized for FC Cincinnati just six minutes later on a suburb left footed strike to level the score. From there, the Orange and Blue controlled the match but could not find a breakthrough in regulation, including a first-half opportunity from the spot by Yuya Kubo which was saved by goalkeeper Carlos Acevedo.
After 90 minutes, the match went directly to a shootout. After 11 consecutive converted shootout attempts, FC Cincinnati secured the victory when Aldo López missed his attempt high to send the Orange and Blue on to the Round of 16.
AS IT HAPENED
SAN: Anthony Lozano, GOAL – 5’ (0-1) – Anthony Lozano scored Santos Laguna’s first goal of the competition in the fifth minute following a mishit pass out of the Cincinnati defense. Lozano pounced on the loose ball and slipped his shot under Roman Celentano.
CIN: Luca Orellano, GOAL – 11’ (1-1) – Luca Orellano brought the match level six minutes later with a brilliant left footed curler from outside the box. Orellano moved through the Santos Laguna defensive third unchallenged before meeting Franco Fagúndez and attempting to play a quick pass to Yuya Kubo. Orellano’s attempted pass deflected off the inside of Fagúndez’s leg with Orellano retaining possession and firing off his perfect attempt.
SHOOTOUT SUMMARY (KICK TAKEN)
CIN: Luciano Acosta (1) – Scored
Kevin Kelsy (3) – Scored
Luca Orellano (5) – Scored
Corey Baird (7) – Scored
Pavel Bucha (9) – Scored
Sergio Santos (11) – Scored
SAN: Fran Villalba (2) – Scored
Bruno Amione (4) – Scored
Santiago Núñez (6) – Scored
Santiago Naveda (8) – Scored
José Macías (10) – Missed
Aldo López (12) – Missed
GAME NOTES
- FC Cincinnati are on to the Leagues Cup Round of 16 for the first time. The Orange and Blue hold home-field advantage through at least the Leagues Cup Quarterfinals.
- FC Cincinnati improve to 4-3 in penalty kick shootouts since the start of 2019, and goalkeeper Roman Celentano is 2-0 in his FC Cincinnati career in shootouts.
- Orange and Blue shootout takers went perfect in their shootout attempts for the third time in club history (5/23 at RBNY, USOC; 7/23 vs SKC, LC).
- FC Cincinnati are 7-4-5 in 16 win-or-go home matches since 2019.
- FC Cincinnati conceded at home in the opening 10 minutes for the first time since last season’s Leagues Cup against Sporting Kansas City.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs Santos Laguna
Date: August 9, 2024
Competition: Leagues Cup – Round of 32
Venue: TQL Stadium
Attendance: 18,014
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. ET
Weather: 79 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F (SO)
CIN: 1-0-1 (6)
SAN: 1-0-1 (5)
CIN – Luca Orellano 11’
SAN – Anthony Lozano 5’
SHOOTOUT
CIN: Acosta (G), Kelsy (G), Orellano (G), Baird (G), Bucha (G), Santos (G)
SAN: Villalba (G), Amione (G), Núñez (G), Naveda (G), Macías (G), López (M)
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Yamil Asad (Sergio Santos 65’), Ian Murphy, Chidozie Awaziem, Miles Robinson, DeAndre Yedlin (C) (Corey Baird 87’), Pavel Bucha, Obinna Nwobodo, Gerardo Valenzuela (Luciano Acosta 58’), Luca Orellano, Yuya Kubo (Kevin Kelsy 87’)
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Paul Walters, Alvas Powell, Kipp Keller, Bret Halsey, Malik Pinto, London Aghedo, Stiven Jimenez
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
SAN: Carlos Acevedo (C), Bruno Amione, Ánderson Santamaría (Ismael Govea 68’), Santiago Núñez, Diego Medina, Santiago Naveda, Salvador Mariscal, Ramiro Sordo (Fran Villalba 89’), Franco Fagúndez (José Macías 73’), Jordán Carrillo (Aldo López 73’), Anthony Lozano (Emmanuel Echeverría 88’)
Substitutes not used: David Sánchez, Santiago Muñoz, Hector Holguin Perez, Vladimir Loroña, Luis Gutiérrez, Tahiel Jiménez, Jonathan Pérez
Head Coach: Ignacio Ambríz
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/SAN
Shots: 20 / 9
Shots on Goal: 7 / 2
Saves: 1 / 6
Corner Kicks: 8 / 1
Fouls: 18 / 13
Offside: 3 / 1
Possession: 57.6 / 42.4
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SAN – Santiago Núñez (Yellow Card) 22’
SAN – Ánderson Santamaría (Yellow Card) 34’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Victor Caceres
Ast. Referees: Leonardo Castillo, Henri Pupiro
Fourth Official: Lizzet García
VAR: Diana Stephanía Pérez Borja
