ORLANDO – FC Cincinnati’s Luciano ‘Lucho’ Acosta’s goal 17 seconds in – the fastest goal in club history – proved enough as FC Cincinnati defeated Orlando City SC, 1-0, Saturday night at INTER&Co Stadium in Central Florida.
Cincinnati improved to 6-2-3 (21 points) to maintain second place in the Eastern Conference. Orlando dropped to 2-5-3 (9 points). The win marked the third-straight victory for the Orange and Blue and Roman Celentano and the Cincinnati defense picked up the side’s fourth league clean sheet of the season.
Lucho Acosta’s 1st minute goal, scored 17 seconds into the contest, was the fourth goal all-time for the Orange and Blue in the opening minute of the match. The goal was Acosta’s 45th for the Orange and Blue after the Argentine became the club’s all-time leading scorer last week against Colorado Rapids.
Orlando City were reduced to 10 men in the 23rd minute after Rodrigo Schlegel fouled Yuya Kubo near the top of the 18-yard box as the forward galloped toward goal after getting in behind the defense, denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity. FC Cincinnati would play up a man until substitute Bret Halsey was shown a second yellow card and was sent off in the 78th minute, reducing both teams to 10.
Acosta’s goal would prove enough for Cincinnati to defeat Orlando for the first time since June 2022, also a 1-0 win then for FCC at TQL Stadium.
AS IT HAPPENED
CIN: Luciano Acosta, GOAL – 1’ (0-1) – Acosta wasted no time in giving the Orange and Blue a very early first-half lead. DeAndre Yedlin played a long ball out of Cincinnati’s defensive third, and Acosta controlled with precision. Acosta proceeded to dance past a number of Orlando defenders before finding the back of the net.
The Orange and Blue will face the Columbus Crew next Saturday, May 11 in the Hell is Real Derby at Lower.com Field in Columbus. Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m. and the match will air nationally on Fox Sports 1, for free MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, and fans can also listen to the match on ESPN 1530 in Cincinnati and iHeart. Fans are encouraged to head to the Official Watch Party, presented by Heineken, at The Pitch Cincy (1430 Central Parkway, Cincinnati).
FC Cincinnati return home to TQL Stadium on Wednesday, May 15 against Atlanta United FC. Tickets are available at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling (513) 977-5425 (KICK).
GAME NOTES
- FC Cincinnati’s win over Orlando City SC was the club’s first since June 24, 2022 … Entering Saturday, the Orange and Blue had beaten every Eastern Conference opponent at least once since the beginning of 2023 except for Orlando (0-1-1 last season against OSC).
- FCC improve to 3-4-3 all-time against Orlando, including 2-2-1 in Orlando.
- Recorded at 17 seconds, Luciano Acosta’s first minute goal was the fastest scored goal in FC Cincinnati history.
- Acosta’s goal broke the previous record held by Edgar Castillo at 26 seconds (vs Columbus Crew, 7/9/21) … The goal also ranks as the ninth fastest goal scored in MLS history.
- In total, FC Cincinnati have scored four 1st minute goals in club history (0:17 - Luciano Acosta - 5/4/24 at ORL; 0:26 - Edgar Castillo - 7/9/21 vs CLB; 0:28 - Allan Cruz - 9/14/19 at MTL; 0:45 - Allan Cruz - 7/13/19 at CHI).
-Roman Celentano returned from injury that sidelined the Orange and Blue’s first choice keeper for four matches … Celentano made two saves and earned his fourth clean sheet of the season in his first action back.
- Celentano’s four clean sheets rank first in MLS, despite his four missed games.
- With a red card issued to each side, Saturday marked the eighth game with multiple red cards issued in FC Cincinnati history, the second with a red card shown to each club (9/16/23 at PHI).
- Kevin Kelsy, acquired on loan on Tuesday from Shakhtar Donetsk, made his FC Cincinnati debut Saturday.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati at Orlando City SC
Date: May 4, 2024
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: INTER&Co Stadium
Attendance: 21,218
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. ET
Weather: 79 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
ORL: 0-0-0
CIN: 1-0-1
ORL – None
CIN – Luciano Acosta (Yedlin) 1’
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Luca Orellano (Yamil Asad 87’), Ian Murphy, Matt Miazga, Miles Robinson, DeAndre Yedlin (Bret Halsey 55’), Pavel Bucha, Obinna Nwobodo, Luciano Acosta (C) (Gerardo Valenzuela 62’), Yuya Kubo (Alvas Powell 80’), Corey Baird (Kevin Kelsy 62’)
Substitutes not used: Alec Kann, Nick Hagglund, Kipp Keller, Malik Pinto
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
ORL: Pedro Gallese, Rafael Santos (Nicolás Lodeiro 52’), Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Dagur Thórhallsson (Michael Halliday 45’+4), Wilder Cartagena, César Araújo, Iván Angulo, Facundo Torres (C) (Luis Muriel 70’), Martín Ojeda (David Brekalo 28’), Duncan McGuire
Substitutes not used: Mason Stajduhar, Felipe Martins, Jeorgio Kocevski, Jack Lynn, Kyle Smith
Head Coach: Óscar Pareja
STATS SUMMARY: ORL/CIN
Shots: 9 / 6
Shots on Goal: 3 / 3
Saves: 2 / 2
Corner Kicks: 5 / 3
Fouls: 13 / 20
Offside: 2 / 1
Possession: 45.3 / 54.7
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
ORL – Rodrigo Schlegel (Red Card) 23’
ORL – César Araújo (Yellow Card) 30’
CIN – Bret Halsey (Yellow Card) 56’
ORL – Wilder Cartagena (Yellow Card) 62’
ORL – Robin Jansson (Yellow Card 65’)
CIN – Ian Murphy (Yellow Card) 66’
CIN – Bret Halsey (Second Yellow, Red Card) 78’
CIN – Gerardo Valenzuela (Yellow Card) 90’
ORL – Michael Halliday (Yellow Card) 90’+1
OFFICIALS
Referee: Ismail Elfath
Ast. Referees: Corey Parker, Kyle Atkins
Fourth Official: Alyssa Nichols
VAR: Younes Marrakchi
AVAR: Fabio Tovar
