Following a thrilling 3-3 draw with Inter Miami CF, FC Cincinnati’s run in the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup came to an end in Wednesday’s semifinal following a 5-4 penalty kick shootout defeat to Miami.
The Orange and Blue will shift focus to Major League Soccer competition, which resumes at home Saturday against New York City FC. FC Cincinnati lead the Supporters’ Shield standings with 51 points, seven points ahead of St. Louis CITY SC.
Luciano Acosta opened the scoring for FC Cincinnati in the 18th minute for his 14th goal in 31 matches this season. Aaron Boupendza challenged Sergii Kryvtsov in the air as the Miami defender looked to clear an awkward situation with a headed effort, and the failed clearance was picked up by Acosta who quickly snapped a shot off the near post and past Drake Callender.
The strike was Acosta’s first-ever goal for the Orange and Blue in U.S. Open Cup competition.
Brandon Vazquez doubled Cincinnati’s lead in the 53rd minute in a moment of transition, breaking out from the Orange and Blue’s defensive third. Santiago Arias assisted on the goal, breaking down the right wing and electing to play Vazquez in at the top of the box as Vazquez trailed the run of play. Vazquez collected and struck well, finding the back of the net at the far post.
Vazquez scored his 12th goal in all competitions for FCC this season.
Miami came back to tie up the match with a pair of goals scored by Leonardo Campana assisted by Lionel Messi in the 68th minute and seven minutes into second-half stoppage time.
The visitors scored quick into extra time, with Josef Martínez scoring the go-ahead goal in the 93rd minute. Cincinnati then came from behind, with Yuya Kubo netting the latest goal in club history in the 114th minute.
After Bret Halsey sent a cross into the box, a failed clearance found the feet of Kubo just inside the box, who took a pair of touches before firing a right-footed shot past the diving Drake Callender who got a touch on the ball but was unable to save the attempt.
In the penalty kick shootout, Miami won 5-4 to advance to the U.S. Open Cup Final.
FC Cincinnati stay at home to host New York City FC on Saturday, August 26 at TQL Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the match will stream exclusively on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Fans can also listen to the match locally on Fox Sports 1360.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs Inter Miami CF
Date: August 23, 2023
Competition: Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Semifinals
Venue: TQL Stadium
Attendance: 25,513 (sellout)
Kickoff: 7:05 p.m. ET
Weather: 90 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-ET-F (PK)
CIN: 1-1-1-3 (4)
MIA: 0-2-1-3 (5)
CIN – Luciano Acosta (Boupendza) 18’, Brandon Vazquez (Arias) 53’, Yuya Kubo 114’
MIA – Leonardo Campana (Messi) 68’, Leonardo Campana (Messi) 90+7’, Josef Martínez (Cremaschi) 93’
PENALTY SHOOTOUT SUMMARY (KICK TAKEN)
CIN: Yuya Kubo (1) – Good
Santiago Arias (3) – Good
Sergio Santos (5) – Good
Matt Miazga (7) – Good
Nick Hagglund (9) – Saved
MIA: Lionel Messi (2) – Good
Facundo Farias (4) – Good
David Ruiz (6) – Good
Josef Martínez (8) – Good
Benjamin Cremaschi (10) – Good
GAME NOTES
• Wednesday marked the 11th sellout of TQL Stadium this season.
• FC Cincinnati fall to 2-3 since joining MLS in penalty kick shootouts, including 2-2 this season.
• The Orange and Blue are 12-4-4 all-time in the U.S. Open Cup including the club’s USL era.
• Under Pat Noonan, FCC are 8-1-3 when playing a game just three days following another … the club will play another game on limited rest Saturday.
• Despite ranking as FC Cincinnati's all-time leader in MLS goals (29), Wednesday marked Luciano Acosta's first U.S. Open Cup goal with FC Cincinnati … the goal was his second-ever in in Open Cup competition (June 20, 2018 with D.C. United vs Orlando City SC).
• Brandon Vazquez’s goal was his sixth in his past four games … he has scored 12 goals across all competitions this season.
• Vazquez is the only FC Cincinnati player to have played in all eight fixtures between Cincinnati and Inter Miami … he has scored six goals in those games.
LINEUPS
CIN: Alec Kann, Álvaro Barreal (Bret Halsey 106’), Ian Murphy (Alvas Powell 88’), Matt Miazga, Nick Hagglund, Santiago Arias, Obinna Nwobodo, Junior Moreno (Marco Angulo 89’), Luciano Acosta (C) (Ray Gaddis 89’), Aaron Boupendza (Yuya Kubo 78’), Brandon Vazquez (Sergio Santos 78’)
Substitutes not used: Roman Celentano, Arquimides Ordoñez
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
MIA: Drake Callender, DeAndre Yedlin (Facundo Farias 58’), Sergio Busquets, Tomás Avilés (Noah Allen 78’), Jean Mota (David Ruiz 58’), Diego Gómez (Josef Martínez 78’), Leonardo Campana (Benjamin Cremaschi 91’), Lionel Messi (C), Jordi Alba, Sergii Kryvtsov, Kamal Miller (Robert Taylor 58’)
Substitutes not used: CJ Dos Santos
Head Coach: Tata Martino
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/MIA
Shots: 22 / 11
Shots on Goal: 9 / 6
Saves: 3 / 6
Corner Kicks: 6 / 2
Fouls: 22 / 18
Offside: 2 / 0
Possession: 41.9 / 58.1
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
MIA – Jordi Alba (Yellow Card) 24’
CIN – Obinna Nwobodo (Yellow Card) 31’
MIA – Jean Mota (Yellow Card) 41’
MIA – Tomás Avilés (Yellow Card) 70’
MIA – Sergii Kryvtsov (Yellow Card) 80’
CIN – Luciano Acosta (Yellow Card) 85’
CIN – Álvaro Barreal (Yellow Card) 90’
CIN – Alvas Powell (Yellow Card) 111’
CIN – Santiago Arias (Yellow Card) 117’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Joseph Dickerson
Ast. Referees: Luis Uranga, Andrew Bigelow
Fourth Official: Eric Tattersall
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.
AVAR: Thomas Supple
