FC Cincinnati defeated Minnesota United FC, 2-1, at Allianz Field Wednesday night in a midweek interconference showdown. The Orange and Blue (17-8-4, 55 points) earned their 10th road win of the year as Minnesota moved to 11-12-6 (39 points).
Yuya Kubo, who became the first player in club history to reach 150 appearances for FC Cincinnati, scored his 10th goal of the season in the 34th minute of play to break the scoreless deadlock. Chidozie Awaziem played the final ball in, earning his second assist of the year in league play.
The Orange and Blue doubled their lead through Luca Orellano’s eighth goal of the season as the call for first-half stoppage time came from the fourth official. Kubo picked up an assist to secure a multi-goal contribution game.
Minnesota were able to pull one back in the 54th minute on a Kelvin Yeboah penalty following an Orellano foul in the box, but the Orange and Blue were able to see the match out.
With the win, FC Cincinnati became the eighth club in MLS history – and the fourth in the post-shootout era – to win 10 road matches in a single season.
AS IT HAPPENED
CIN: Yuya Kubo, GOAL – 34’ (0-1) – As Cincinnati looked to build in possession, Chidozie Awaziem split the Minnesota defense with a long ball in towards Yuya Kubo from around midfield. The perfectly weighted pass allowed Kubo to take a quick first touch before chipping over Dayne St. Clair, who came out to challenge Kubo, from inside the box.
CIN: Luca Orellano, GOAL – 45’+1 (0-2) – Luca Orellano doubled the lead in the opening seconds of first half stoppage time. Another long ball in towards Kubo, this time played from Ian Murphy from distance, was perfectly controlled by the midfielder with a delicate touch off the back of his boot into the path of Orellano, making a run up in support. Orellano’s first touch beat the Minnesota defense and his next was a shot with the outside of the boot that clipped the post before ending in the back of the net.
MIN: Kelvin Yeboah, PENALTY – 54’ (1-2) – Kelvin Yeboah converted on a penalty kick 10 minutes into the start of the second half following a foul committed by Luca Orellano inside the Cincinnati area.
FC Cincinnati are back on the road Saturday, Sept. 21 at Nashville SC. The match airs on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. The match will air over the radio locally on iHeart Media ESPN 1530 in English and in Spanish on La Mega 97.7 FM.
The Orange and Blue return to TQL Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 28 against LAFC for Noche Latina. Limited tickets remain at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling (KICK).
GAME NOTES
- FC Cincinnati became the eighth club in MLS history – and the fourth in the post-shootout era – to win 10 road matches in a single season.
- FC Cincinnati are 12-3-4 against the Western Conference in MLS play under Head Coach Pat Noonan, and 5-0-0 this season. FCC are the first Eastern Conference club since 2022 (when interconference matchups were limited to 6-8 per season) to win five matches against the Western Conference.
- FC Cincinnati are 14-4-5 under Noonan in matches on a Wednesday.
- Yuya Kubo made his 150th appearance for FC Cincinnati, becoming the first player in club history to reach the milestone.
- Kubo recorded his first MLS match of one goal and one assist, his second in a Cincinnati uniform (9/21/22 vs Chivas, Leagues Cup Showcase).
- Ian Murphy made his 100th appearance for FC Cincinnati Wednesday night, becoming the seventh player to reach the century mark since 2019 (Kubo, Acosta, Hagglund, Vazquez, Barreal, Powell).
- Luciano Acosta surpassed 10,000 career MLS Regular Season minutes for FC Cincinnati, becoming the first player in club history to reach that milestone. Nick Hagglund and Yuya Kubo are the only two other players to have surpassed 8,000 career minutes for the club.
- Kubo’s goal was the 250th MLS Regular Season goal in club history and Orellano’s goal was the 300th goal across all competitions since 2019.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati at Minnesota United FC
Date: September 18, 2024
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: Allianz Field
Attendance: 19,649
Kickoff: 8:40 p.m. ET/7:40 p.m. CT
Weather: 78 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
MIN: 0-1-1
CIN: 2-0-2
MIN – Kelvin Yeboah (PK) 54’
CIN – Yuya Kubo (Awaziem) 34’, Luca Orellano (Kubo, Murphy) 45’+1
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Luca Orellano (Alvas Powell 85’), Ian Murphy, Miles Robinson, Chidozie Awaziem, DeAndre Yedlin (Yamil Asad 68’), Pavel Bucha, Obinna Nwobodo, Luciano Acosta (C) (Gerardo Valenzuela 90’+4), Yuya Kubo (Corey Baird 85’), Kevin Kelsy (Sergio Santos 68’)
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Teenage Hadebe, Kipp Keller, Malik Pinto
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
MIN: Dayne St. Clair, Miguel Tapias (Teemu Pukki 85’), Michael Boxall (C), Jefferson Diaz, Carlos Harvey (Wil Trapp 46’), Joseph Rosales, Robin Lod (Franco Fragapane 81’), Joaquin Pereyra (Tanitoluwa Oluwaseyi 46’), Hassani Dotson, Kelvin Yeboah, Bongokuhle Hlongwane (Jeong Sang-Bin 46’)
Substitutes not used: Alec Smir, Devin Padelford, Anthony Markanic, Samuel Shashoua
Head Coach: Eric Ramsay
STATS SUMMARY: MIN/CIN
Shots: 14 / 11
Shots on Goal: 5 / 5
Saves: 3 / 4
Corner Kicks: 7 / 5
Fouls: 11 / 14
Offside: 3 / 1
Possession: 47.1 / 52.9
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
MIN – Joaquin Pereyra (Yellow Card) 15’
CIN – DeAndre Yedlin (Yellow Card) 16’
CIN – Ian Murphy (Yellow Card) 68’
CIN – Pavel Bucha (Yellow Card) 73’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Drew Fischer
Ast. Referees: Brooke Mayo, Kathryn Nesbitt
Fourth Official: Tori Penso
VAR: David Barrie
AVAR: Jozef Batko
