FC Cincinnati fell to visiting LAFC, 2-1, Saturday night at TQL Stadium.
The Orange and Blue (17-9-5, 56 points) suffered defeat for the first time in over a month. LAFC (15-8-7, 52 points) earned a win following their U.S. Open Cup triumph on Wednesday night.
The visitors took a 1-0 lead into halftime with David Martinez’s 34th minute goal marking the lone strike of the first half. But Luca Orellano equalized for the Orange and Blue in the 61st minute with his third goal in as many matches, assisted by Luciano Acosta on the captain’s club-record tying 31st goal contribution of the season.
LAFC would go ahead 12 minutes later as 2023 Golden Booth winner Denis Bouanga sent LAFC ahead in the 73rd minute. The goal would be the difference in the 2-1 road win for LAFC.
The Orange and Blue are on the road to take on New York City FC at Red Bull Arena on Wednesday, October 2. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and the match airs on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. The match will carry over the radio locally on iHeart Media Fox Sports 1360 in English and in Spanish on La Mega 101.5 FM.
FC Cincinnati return to TQL Stadium next Saturday, October 5 against Orlando City SC for Fan Appreciation. Limited tickets remain at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling (KICK).
AS IT HAPPENED
LAFC: David Martinez, GOAL – 34’ (1-0) – Lewis O’Brien controlled possession in a tight space for LAFC near midfield to begin the move that led to the opening goal. O’Brien exchanged a quick one-two with Kei Kamara before picking out David Martinez down the right side. Martinez made his way into the box, cutting in on his left foot and sending a deflected shot past Roman Celentano.
CIN: Luca Orellano, GOAL – 61’ (1-1) – Luciano Acosta restarted play from a short corner from Yuya Kubo, as the Argentine looked for options on a second pass. Acosta found Orellano with acres of space at the top right corner of the LAFC box. Orellano stepped into space and curled a shot in towards goal before it was played by Kamara in attempt to clear the danger. The attempted clearance, instead, put goalkeeper Hugo Lloris off balance with the ball finding the back of the net.
LAFC: Denis Bouanga, GOAL – 73’ (1-2) – Denis Bouanga took three points for the visitors midway through the second half following a long goal kick from Lloris. Second half substitute Olivier Giroud, with the slightest of touches, redirected the kick into the path of Bouanga with the forward driving into the box and finding a goal from a tight angle near the goal line.
GAME NOTES
- FC Cincinnati lost for the first time this season against a Western Conference opponent, finishing the regular season 5-0-1 against the West.
- Luca Orellano scored in his third-straight match for his longest goal streak of the season and the second-longest behind Luciano Acosta’s co-club record four-game streak from April 20 – May 11.
- With an assist, Luciano Acosta matched his club record of 31 goal contributions, equaling his total from last season. He is now three assists away from 100 career MLS assists and seven assists away from matching the MLS record of 26 assists in a single season.
- FC Cincinnati have three players who have reached double-digit goals in MLS play in 2024: Luciano Acosta (12), Yuya Kubo (10) and Luca Orellano (10). It is just the second time in the club's MLS history three players have reached 10+ goals (2022: Vazquez, 18; Brenner, 18; Acosta, 10).
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs LAFC
Date: September 28, 2024
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium
Attendance: 24,728
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. ET
Weather: 67 degrees, rain
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 0-1-1
LAFC: 1-1-2
CIN – Luca Orellano (Acosta) 61’
LAFC – David Martinez (O’Brien, Kamara) 34’, Denis Bouanga (Giroud, Lloris) 73’
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Luca Orellano, Ian Murphy, Miles Robinson, Chidozie Awaziem (Alvas Powell 34’), DeAndre Yedlin (Yamil Asad 74’), Pavel Bucha, Obinna Nwobodo (Gerardo Valenzuela 83’), Luciano Acosta (C), Yuya Kubo (Kevin Kelsy 74’), Niko Gioacchini (Sergio Santos 46’, Corey Baird 90’+6)
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Teenage Hadebe, Sergio Santos, Malik Pinto
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
LAFC: Hugo Lloris, Omar Campos, Eddie Segura, Sergi Palencia, Maxime Chanot (Marlon Santos 72’), Ilie Sanchez (C), Lewis O’Brien, Mateusz Bogusz (Timothy Tillman 65’), Cristian Olivera (Ryan Hollingshead 65’), Kei Kamara (Olivier Giroud 65’), David Martinez (Denis Bouanga 46’)
Substitutes not used: Thomas Hasal, Erik Duenas, Nathan Ordaz, Diego Rosales
Head Coach: Steve Cherundolo
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/LAFC
Shots: 22 / 17
Shots on Goal: 6 / 6
Saves: 4 / 5
Corner Kicks: 7 / 4
Fouls: 11 / 12
Offside: 2 / 0
Possession: 60 / 40
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
LAFC – Maxime Chanot (Yellow Card) 5’
LAFC – Sergi Palencia (Yellow Card) 29’
LAFC – Marlon Santos (Yellow Card) 87’
LAFC – Hugo Lloris (Yellow Card) 90’+9
OFFICIALS
Referee: Ismir Pekmic
Ast. Referees: Andrew Bigelow, Jeffrey Swartzel
Fourth Official: Mark Allatin
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.
AVAR: Craig Lowry
