FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – FC Cincinnati and the New England Revolution each took a point from Sunday night’s 2-2 draw at Gillette Stadium.
The Orange and Blue move to 7-7-4 for the season, setting a new club record for points in a season at 25. The Revs remain unbeaten in now 10 straight games (6-5-7, 25 points).
FC Cincinnati trailed twice but pulled the contest even both times. New England struck first in the 30th minute on a goal from Dylan Borrero.
FC Cincinnati equalized for the first time in the 41st minute. Luciano Acosta served in a corner kick intended for Brandon Vazquez at the near post. The pass deflected off New England defender Henry Kessler into the back of the net for an own goal.
The own goal was the third this season to benefit the Orange and Blue, which is the most own goals FC Cincinnati have received in a season all-time.
Gustavo Bou sent the Revs ahead in the 55th minute, but FCC drew level once again.
Forward Brenner equalized in the 73rd minute to score in his third consecutive game, becoming the third player in club history to do so (Vazquez – October 2021; Acosta – April/May 2022). He also is the first player in club history to score five goals in a three-game span.
The play began with Allan Cruz forcing a turnover in New England’s defensive third and playing the ball to Acosta. The captain did what he does more than any other player in the league and assisted an open Brenner in the box who buried his left-footed shot into the back of the net.
Acosta extended his MLS-lead in assists to 10 this season. For Cruz, it was his first assist since July 6, 2019 vs. Houston.
Roman Celentano made five saves in net for FC Cincinnati.
The Orange and Blue return home to TQL Stadium on Saturday, July 9 to take on the New York Red Bulls. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and the game can be watched on Star64, streamed in-market at fccincinnati.com, out of market on ESPN+ and listened to on the radio on ESPN 1530. Tickets are available at fccincinnati.com/tickets.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati at New England Revolution
Date: July 3, 2022
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: Gillette Stadium
Attendance: 20,193
Kickoff: 7:38 p.m. ET
Weather: 77 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
NE: 1-1-2
CIN: 1-1-2
NE - Dylan Borrero (Lletget) 30’, Gustavo Bou (Boateng, Jones) 55’
CIN - Henry Kessler – Own Goal 41’, Brenner (Acosta, Cruz) 73’
GAME NOTES
• Brenner, coming off his MLS Player of the Week award, scored his fifth goal of the season … His 13 career goals for the Orange and Blue are matched with Luciano Acosta for second-most in club history (Brandon Vazquez – 14).
• Luciano Acosta is the first player in the league to reach 10 assists this season … only 13 players had double-digit assists in MLS in 2021, including Acosta who reached his 10th on Decision Day against Atlanta United FC.
• The own goal received for FC Cincinnati was the third this season (4/2 vs MTL, Johnston 20’; 5/14 at CHI, Czichos 33’) … it was the seventh own goal to benefit the Orange and Blue in the club’s MLS history.
• FC Cincinnati have scored in 11 straight MLS games, which continues the longest streak in club history.
• Ray Gaddis made his 20th career appearance against the New England Revolution, his most against any MLS side.
• Allan Cruz earned his 49th start for FC Cincinnati in MLS competition, his first since the season opener at Austin FC (Feb. 26) … Yuya Kubo also returned to the starting lineup, his first since April 24 vs. LAFC.
• Luciano Acosta and Brandon Vazquez each approach milestones … the next appearance Acosta makes will be his 50th with FCC, while Vazquez’s next appearance will be the 100th of his MLS career.
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, John Nelson (Álvaro Barreal 55’), Ian Murphy (Tyler Blackett 87’), Geoff Cameron, Nick Hagglund, Alvas Powell (Ray Gaddis 55’), Allan Cruz, Yuya Kubo (Haris Medunjanin 72’), Luciano Acosta (C), Brenner, Brandon Vazquez (Nick Markanich 87’)
Substitutes not used: Kenneth Vermeer, Isaac Atanga, Zico Bailey, Harrison Robledo
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
NE: Djordje Petrović, DeJuan Jones, Andrew Farrell, Henry Kessler (Jon Bell 46’), Brandon Bye, Wilfrid Kaptoum, Maciel (Jozy Altidore 78’), Dylan Borrero (Emmanuel Boateng 46’), Carles Gil (C), Sebastian Lletget (Damian Rivera 69’), Gustavo Bou
Substitutes not used: Earl Edwards Jr., A.J. DeLaGarza, Omar Gonzalez, Ryan Spaulding, Arnór Traustason
Head Coach: Bruce Arena
STATS SUMMARY: NE/CIN
Shots: 17 / 12
Shots on Goal: 7 / 3
Saves: 3 / 5
Corner Kicks: 3 / 4
Fouls: 7 / 13
Offside: 5 / 0
Possession: 55.2 / 44.8
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
NE – Gustavo Bou (Yellow Card) 38’
CIN – Alvas Powell (Yellow Card) 44’
CIN – Luciano Acosta (Yellow Card) 76’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Jon Freemon
Ast. Referees: Kyle Atkins, Ryan Graves
Fourth Official: Lukasz Szpala
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero
Ast. VAR: Fabio Tovar
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan
On the result
"A hard fought point. It wasn't pretty all the time, but I was pleased with the fight of the group, going down twice and working our way back into it against a good team with some real quality going to goal. It's a stretch of four games now, against four of the top teams in the conference, where we found ways to get results. So I'm very pleased with that. The guys put a lot into it, you can see the character of the group and just the end of the game there— guys cramping, guys giving everything to defend the box to make sure we walk off the field the point, so I'm really happy with the group, and just the mental toughness of seeing out that game.”
On the rotation tonight, with five changes to the XI
“I'll use one of Jim [Curtin]'s lines, where, statistically you don't typically see teams getting results when you're making more than I think it was four changes in the game. So, it's true. We knew going into it that it was it was going to be tough with that many changes and rotations. But we felt that the group that we put out, there was a group that was going to get us a result. And I think all the guys that that started the game provided good minutes. It wasn't perfect early on, I think we struggled with the overloads in the wider areas that that they had, and tried to find ways of getting out Allan [Cruz] and Yuya [Kubo] a little bit wider, you know, and letting Geoff [Cameron] be the one to release centrally, if there was a number that floated inside or [Gustavo] Bou coming off the backline. And I thought they did a better job of that as the as the half of the game progressed. And we just need to be better with the ball. The careless turnovers add up to how long you have to defend. And so when we got that a little bit cleaner, in the last 15 minutes of the half, I thought we created some really good chances, some really good combinations from our front three to get looks at goal. But overall, I thought the contributions from all of our players were good. And it's it shows the depth that we have of the group and the trust we have in guys to step in and perform for us.”
FC Cincinnati's 2022 schedule can be viewed, HERE. Fans can build their custom 3 Match Flex Plan today. Pick any three matches and save on single match ticket pricing with no fees at checkout. Fans can pick the same seats for three games or select different options around TQL Stadium.
Single match tickets to any of FC Cincinnati’s remaining home games are also available now, head to fccincinnati.com/tickets or call 513-977-KICK, that’s 513-977-5425, to learn more.
FC Cincinnati are playing their fourth season of MLS competition in 2022, and their second playing at TQL Stadium. For up-to-the-minute information about FC Cincinnati, visit the team’s official website at fccincinnati.com, or follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FCCincinnati. Additionally, fans are encouraged to download the team’s official mobile app on the Apple App Store or Google Play for instant access to mobile tickets, team content and match notifications.
