C Cincinnati (15-5-3, 48 points) fell to Charlotte FC (10-8-5, 35 points) at home Saturday evening, 3-1. The loss marked Cincinnati’s first defeat since June 22.
CLTFC’s Iuri Tavares opened the scoring in the 20th minute and two minutes later, Liel Abada doubled Charlotte’s lead. Luciano ‘Lucho’ Acosta pulled done back for the Orange and Blue in first-half stoppage time, but Kerwin Vargas distanced Charlotte from Cincinnati in the end with a 66th minute goal.
The Orange and Blue nearly equalized prior to Charlotte’s third goal, as Acosta had a penalty kick saved in the 48th minute and Luca Orellano had a goal negated minutes later after VAR determined Yamil Asad was offside in the buildup.
CLT: Iuri Tavares, GOAL – 20’ (0-1) – Liel Abada threatened the Cincinnati box down the right wing, and an overlapping run from Kerwin Vargas pulled the defense away from Ashley Westwood who received a pass from Abada and floated one in towards Iuri Tavares at the back post. Tavares rose to head home the visitors first of the match.
CLT: Liel Abada, GOAL – 22’ (0-2) – A turnover from a throw in by the Orange and Blue allowed Charlotte to double their lead just two minutes later. Drandt Bronico forced Cincinnati out of possession and Westwood quickly gained control, sliding a pass into Abada who snapped a shot in from inside the box.
CIN: Luciano Acosta, GOAL – 45’+1 (1-2) – As seven minutes of first half stoppage time was shown, Cincinnati set for an attack in the Charlotte half. Yamil Asad drove in towards the penalty area from the left wing, occupying the attention of three Charlotte defenders before playing Luciano Acosta in behind, and the captain finished with a brilliant curling effort from a tight angle to level things going into the break.
CLT: Kerwin Vargas, GOAL – 66’ (1-3) – Westwood bent a corner kick from the nearside into the middle of a crowed goal box. Vargas jumped over Asad to head the ball into the back of right side of the net.
FC Cincinnati wrap up a three-match homestand at TQL Stadium on Wednesday, July 17 against Chicago Fire FC. Tickets are still available at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling (513) 977-5425 (KICK).
GAME NOTES
- Saturday marked the ninth sellout of TQL Stadium this season, FC Cincinnati’s 35th of the fourth-year home of the Orange and Blue.
- Yuya Kubo made his 140th appearance for FC Cincinnati, making him the club’s all-time leader in games played for the club.
- Luciano Acosta’s goal was his 11th of the season…he is now tied for seventh in the MLS in goals scored.
- Yamil Asad’s assist on Acosta’s goal was his fifth of the season…he now has assists in three-straight matches.
- Cincinnati’s 21 shots are tied for second-most of the MLS regular season when they also had 21 shots on May 29 and June 22.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs Charlotte FC
Date: July 13, 2024
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium
Attendance: 25,513 (sellout)
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. ET
Weather: 88 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 1-0-1
CLT: 2-1-3
CIN – Luciano Acosta (Yamil Asad) 45’+1
CLT – Iuri Tavares (Liel Abada) 20’, Liel Abada (Ashley Westwood) 22’, Kerwin Vargas (Westwood) 66’
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Alvas Powell (Gerardo Valenzuela 45’), Miles Robinson, Yamil Asad (Bret Halsey 73’), Ian Murphy, DeAndre Yedlin, Yuya Kubo (Kipp Keller 78’), Luciano Acosta, Pavel Bucha, Luca Orellano (Corey Baird 87’), Kevin Kelsy (Sergio Santos 45’)
Substitutes not used: Alec Kann, Aaron Boupendza, Isaiah Foster, London Aghedo
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
CLT: Kristijan Kahlina, Nathan Byrne, Jere Uronen, Adilson Malanda, Ashley Westwood, Brandt Bronico, Djibril Diani (Ben Bender 60’), Andrew Privett, Liel Abada (Nick Scardina 90’+2), Kerwin Vargas (Tyger Smalls 81’), Iuri Tavares (Brecht Dejaegere 60’)
Substitutes not used: Bill Tuiloma, João Pedro, David Bingham, Nikola Petkovic, Jaylin Lindsey
Head Coach: Dean Smith
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/CLT
Shots: 21 / 14
Shots on Goal: 7 / 7
Saves: 4 / 6
Corner Kicks: 5 / 2
Fouls: 9 / 11
Offside: 3 / 3
Possession: 78.6 / 21.4
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CLT – Djibril Diani (Yellow Card) 3’
CLT – Ashley Westwood Diani (Yellow Card) 45’+3
CLT – Adilson Malanda (Yellow Card) 47’
CLT – Nathan Byrne (Yellow Card) 54’
CIN – Miles Robinson (Yellow Card) 59’
CIN – Miles Robinson (Red Card) 72’
CIN – Luciano Acosta (Yellow Card) 87’
CLT – Tyger Smalls (Yellow Card) 90’+8
OFFICIALS 
Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.
Ast. Referees: Nick Uranga, Brian Dunn
Fourth Official: Thomas Snyder
VAR: Younes Marrakchi
AVAR: Joshua Patlak
