CINCINNATI – FC Cincinnati defeated Orlando City SC, 1-0, Friday night in front of 24,263 fans, the largest crowd of the season at TQL Stadium.
With the win, FC Cincinnati improve to 7-7-2 (23 points). Orlando City drop to 7-6-4 (25 points). FCC completed a season sweep over the Lions for the first time in club history.
The lone goal of the night came from FCC striker Brenner, who scored his first goal of the season in the 65th minute.
The buildup to the goal began with substitute Luciano Acosta’s shot which was deflected off the post past a diving attempt from Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. The ball bounced back to Acosta, who sent a pass across to Brenner for a tap-in finish.
Brenner scored his ninth career goal with FC Cincinnati. Acosta’s assist was his seventh of the year, tied for third-most across MLS this season. He extended his club career record in assists to 17, more than double any other player in the franchise’s MLS history.
Roman Celentano earned his third clean sheet in net for the Orange and Blue. He recorded two saves in the win.
FC Cincinnati outshot Orlando City 14-7, including 9-2 in shots on target.
The Orange and Blue stay at home to host defending MLS Cup Champions New York City FC. Kickoff on Wednesday, June 29 from TQL Stadium 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 vs. Orlando City SC
Date: June 24, 2022
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium
Attendance: 24,263
Kickoff: 7:38 p.m. ET
Weather: 87 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
CIN: 0-1-1
ORL: 0-0-0
CIN - Brenner (Luciano Acosta) 65'
ORL - None
GAME NOTES
• FC Cincinnati earned a win on a Friday for the first time in club history (entered 0-2-2).
• All-time FC Cincinnati improve to 2-3-2 against Orlando City SC, having swept the season series after earning a 2-1 win in Florida back on March 12.
• FC Cincinnati earned its 22nd clean sheet in club history … the win was the sixth 1-0 victory for the Orange and Blue all-time.
• Brenner scored his first goal since October 27, 2021 against Nashville SC, from the penalty spot. It was his first strike from open play since September 18, 2021 against NYCFC.
• Nick Hagglund recorded two shots on target, his most in an FC Cincinnati uniform, fourth all-time (last: June 13, 2018 vs. DC w/TOR).
• Luciano Acosta, despite coming on as a second half substitute, matched a career-high in shots (5) for the fifth time in his career (last: October 6, 2019 vs. CIN w/DC) and shots on target (3) for the sixth time in his career (last: October 23, 2021 at MIA).
• The scoreless first half was the first half of soccer for FC Cincinnati without a goal for either side since the first half at Minnesota United FC (May 7).
• FC Cincinnati set a club record for wins in a season (7).
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, John Nelson (Luciano Acosta 56’), Tyler Blackett, Geoff Cameron, Nick Hagglund, Ray Gaddis, Obinna Nwobodo, Haris Medunjanin (C) (Allan Cruz 67’), Álvaro Barreal (Ian Murphy 86’), Brenner (Yuya Kubo 87’), Brandon Vazquez (Nick Markanich 87’)
Substitutes not used: Kenneth Vermeer, Zico Bailey, Isaac Atanga, Harrison Robledo
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
ORL: Pedro Gallese, Ruan, Thomas Williams (Antonio Carlos 46’), Rodrigo Schlegel, Kyle Smith, Cesar Araujo, Junior Urso (C) (Tesho Akindele 70’), Andres Perea, Jake Mulraney (Benji Michel 46’), Ercan Kara (Alexandre Pato 63’), Facundo Torres
Substitutes not used: Adam Grinwis, Sebastian Mendez, Alex Freeman, Joey DeZart
Head Coach: Óscar Pareja
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/ORL
Shots: 14 / 7
Shots on Goal: 9 / 2
Saves: 2 / 8
Corner Kicks: 3 / 3
Fouls: 14 / 10
Offside: 0 / 3
Possession: 45.9 / 54.1
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
ORL - Kyle Smith (Yellow Card) 72'
CIN - Brenner (Yellow Card) 80'
OFFICIALS
Referee: Guido Gonzalez Jr.
Ast. Referees: Adam Garner, Lyes Arfa
Fourth Official: Armando Villareal
VAR: Daniel Radford
AVAR: Mike Kampmeinert
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan
On the win
“Fantastic performance from our group. I think defensively, that's as good and as disciplined as we've been front-to-back this year. I thought we limited a really good team with the ball from creating chances over the course of the 90 minutes and at halftime, we said one goal was probably going to win this game. So, very pleased in how we went about securing victory, and it was good to see Brenner get his goal there to help us get the three points. Very pleased with the group today.”
On Luciano Acosta
“Not as setback as maybe I thought. He was pissed he wasn't on that field to start the game – I'll say that. And he was working hard from the time missed to be on the field. That was my decision. But he wanted to be out there from the opening whistle, and I was very pleased with his mentality and how he came in and helped us win the game. He's passionate. He wants to be out there to compete and help his team win the game. Despite being frustrated in my decision, he came out and performed and helped us find the goal.”
On the goal and creativity
“You can see the creativity when Lucho is on the field, the passes he's able to see, the movement of Brenner and Brandon (Vazquez) and Álvaro (Barreal) when he was on the left side. They have a good connection in the ability to plan in tight spaces, to be creative in how they can face goal. I thought Lucho was very hungry in going to goal, which I was really pleased with because after the initial shots, to follow the rebound with the speed that he got to that ball, to be able to find Brenner was somebody that was hungry to help us score a goal.”
On the club record seventh win
“I think it's just another step, another milestone you could say in ways we're finding some success. We beat a very good team today, and I think it was important to win at home. We've talked about this far too often. We need to reward these fans. We had a great crowd tonight, and it was nice to send them home happy.”
On the prospect of coming away with zero points
“I thought defensively, they were tough to break down, and the good moments and the good looks we did have, he (Orlando City Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese) came up big for them. He made some good saves, so you have to credit his performance in us not being able to find a goal earlier, but I was pleased with the mentality and the patience despite not being great with the ball in the first half, to come out and to continue to try to push in different ways. We still were missing some important passes that I think would have broken some pressure to allow us to really attack with numbers, but you got to find a way to win games 1-0, and we did that tonight.”
FC Cincinnati's 2022 schedule can be viewed, HERE. Fans can build their custom Pick 3 package today. They can pick three games that best fit their schedule, while saving on the price of a single game ticket. 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.
