FC Cincinnati became the first team to advance to the semifinals of the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup following Tuesday night’s 3-1 quarterfinal victory over Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in front of the Orange and Blue faithful at TQL Stadium.
With the win, Cincinnati advance to the Open Cup Semifinals for the first time since 2017. FC Cincinnati will face the winner of Wednesday’s quarterfinal fixture between Birmingham Legion FC and Inter Miami CF on August 23. A draw on Thursday (1 p.m. ET | CBS Sports Golazo Network) will determine the location of the semifinals and the hosting priority for the U.S. Open Cup Final (Sept. 27) among the final four remaining teams.
Cincinnati improved to 15-1-4 across all competitions this season. All-time against the Riverhounds, dating back to the club’s USL era, the Orange and Blue are 7-0-4 against Pittsburgh.
Brandon Vazquez opened the scoring in the 56th minute to give the Orange and Blue a 1-0 lead with his second goal of this year’s U.S. Open Cup. Luciano Acosta split the Riverhounds defense with a perfect ball through to Dominique Badji, who gracefully turned to direct to Vazquez who continued an attacking run at the back post. Vazquez confidently slipped his attempt past Jahmali Waite.
Vazquez scored Cincinnati’s opener for the second time in this year’s Open Cup competition (May 10 vs NYCFC). Both goals were scored in the 56th minute.
Álvaro Barreal brought TQL Stadium to life in the 71st minute with a wonder strike to double FC Cincinnati’s lead. Acosta delivered a corner towards the top of the box and Barreal met the ball with a full volley into the top left corner of the net.
The goal was Barreal’s fourth all-time in the Open Cup, as the Argentine midfielder now leads FC Cincinnati in goal contributions all-time in the competition (four goals, two assists).
Santiago Arias padded Cincinnati’s lead in the third minute of second half stoppage time with his first-career goal for the Orange and Blue. Barreal added an assist in the match as he picked out Arias from the corner kick in the box who headed home the club’s third goal.
Pittsburgh’s Tola Showunmi netted a late consolation goal one minute later to give the match its final scoreline, 3-1.
FC Cincinnati finish an eight-match stretch over 25 days on Saturday, June 10 to face Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Kickoff is set for 10:30 p.m. from BC Place, and the match will stream exclusively on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app and fans can also listen to the match locally on ESPN 1530.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Date: June 6, 2023
Competition: 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals
Venue: TQL Stadium
Kickoff: 7:03 p.m. ET
Weather: 81 degrees, cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
CIN: 0-3-3
PIT: 0-1-1
CIN – Brandon Vazquez (Dominique Badji, Luciano Acosta) 56’, Álvaro Barreal (Luciano Acosta) 71’, Santiago Arias (Álvaro Barreal) 90+3’
PIT – Tola Showunmi 90+4’
GAME NOTES
• FC Cincinnati have never lost to Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, holding a 7-0-4 record dating back to the club’s USL era against Pittsburgh, including 4-0-2 in the Queen City.
• FC Cincinnati improve to 12-4-3 all-time in the U.S. Open Cup, including 3-0-0 against Pittsburgh.
• Head Coach Pat Noonan improved to 30-12-17 across all competitions with FC Cincinnati.
• Álvaro Barreal (4 G, 2 A) stands alone as FC Cincinnati's leader in goal contributions in the U.S. Open Cup, all-time … His four goals match Djiby Fall (4 G, 0 A) for the most goals in the competition.
• Brandon Vazquez’s two goals in the U.S. Open Cup this season have both come in the 56th minute (May 10 vs New York City FC).
• Santiago Arias scored his first goal with FC Cincinnati, his first goal since December 3, 2021 for La Liga side Granada CF against Deportivo Alavés.
• Under Pat Noonan, FC Cincinnati are 7-0-2 when playing a game on two days rest.
LINEUPS
CIN: Alec Kann, Ray Gaddis (Álvaro Barreal 60’), Ian Murphy, Matt Miazga (Alvas Powell 80’), Nick Hagglund (Yerson Mosquera 46’), Santiago Arias, Junior Moreno, Luciano Acosta (C) (Arquimides Ordoñez 75’), Obinna Nwobodo, Dominique Badji (Yuya Kubo 59’), Brandon Vazquez
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Marco Angulo
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
PIT: Jahmali Waite, Nathan Dossantos, Luke Biasi (Tony Lopez 65’), Arturo Ordóñez, Joe Farrell, DZ Harmon (Tola Showunmi 79’), Junior Etou, Dani Rovria (Illal Osumanu 65’), Danny Griffin, Robbie Mertz (C) (Kenardo Forbes 46’), Albert Dikwa (Marc Ybarra 14’)
Substitutes not used: Trevor Zwetsloot, Jonathan Gomes
Head Coach: Bob Lilley
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/PIT
Shots: 13 / 5
Shots on Goal: 6 / 1
Saves: 0 / 3
Corner Kicks: 6 / 2
Fouls: 14 / 11
Offside: 2 / 1
Possession: 60.8 / 39.2
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Obinna Nwobodo (Yellow Card) 11’
PIT – Luke Biasi (Yellow Card) 23’
CIN – Ian Murphy (Yellow Card) 29’
CIN – Dominique Badji (Yellow Card) 35’
CIN – Luciano Acosta (Yellow Card) 74’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Elvis Osmanovic
Ast. Referees: Matthew Rodman, Mike Nickerson
Fourth Official: Eric Tattersall
