FC Cincinnati 2 and New York City FC II played to a 1-1 draw Sunday night at Scudamore Field. The Orange and Blue take a point from the match after falling to NYCFC II, 4-3, in the shootout. Cincinnati (10-4-2, 32 points) remain second in the Eastern Conference following the result while New York (6-3-4, 24 points) sit eighth.
New York City FC II scored the only goal of the opening half as forward Taylor Calheira found the back of the net in the 30th minute. Calheira has now scored in four straight matches for NYCFC II, a run that has seen Calheira score six goals in total.
FC Cincinnati 2 equalized in the 59th minute as Guilherme Santos scored for the second time this season. Santos has scored in two of his last three matches and became the ninth different FCC 2 player to score multiple goals on the year. Amir Daley assisted on the goal, his fifth of the season, and moves into a tie with Ben Stitz for a team lead in the category.
FC Cincinnati 2 were reduced to 10-men in the 87th minute as London Aghedo was shown his second yellow card of the match. The Orange and Blue were able to see out the final three minutes plus added time to force the match to a shootout, just the second instance this season.
In the shootout FC Cincinnati 2 and New York City FC II scored their first three penalties. Evan Louro, making his third appearance for FCC 2 this season, saved New York’s fourth, but William Meyer made two saves on Cincinnati’s last two takers.
AS IT HAPPENED
NYC: Taylor Calheira, GOAL – 30’ (0-1) – Steven Bednarsky won possession back for New York City FC II as the Orange and Blue looked to break out from their own half. Defender Samuel Owusu would eventually come into possession and pick out Taylor Calheira near the top of the Cincinnati box. A deft touch and turn beat the Cincinnati defense and Calheira finished with a quick shot inside the box to find the back of the net.
CIN: Guilherme Santos, GOAL – 59’ (1-1) – The Orange and Blue put a quick series of passes together to unlock New York’s defense, beginning with Guilherme Santos who received a pass centrally at the top of the NYCFC II box. Santos played out to Amir Daley who occupied the right side of the box. Daley returned a hard pass in, and Santos controlled well before curling one past William Meyer.
FC Cincinnati 2 travel north of the border next Sunday, July 14, to take on Toronto FC II at York Lions Stadium at 3 p.m. ET. The match will broadcast live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
FC CINCINNATI 2 GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati 2 vs New York City FC II
Date: July 7, 2024
Competition: MLS NEXT Pro
Venue: Scudamore Field at NKU Soccer Stadium
Kickoff: 7:04 p.m. ET
Weather: 86 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
CIN: 0-1-1
NYC: 1-0-1
CIN – Guilherme Santos (Daley) 59’
NYC – Taylor Calheira (Owusu) 30’
LINEUPS
CIN: Evan Louro, London Aghedo, Brian Schaefer, Gaël Gibert, Isaiah Foster (Moises Tablante 46’), Stiven Jimenez (Yair Ramos 46’), Nico Benalcazar, Amir Daley, Peter Mangione (Stefan Chirila 60’), Kenji Mboma Dem (Jesus Castellano 77’), Guilherme Santos
Substitutes not used: Hunter Morse, Alejandro Guido, Juan Machado, Ben Stitz, Yeiner Valoyes
Head Coach: Tyrone Marshall
NYC: William Meyer, Christopher Tiao, Matthew Leong, Samuel Owusu, Steven Bednarsky (Nicholas Kapanadze 90’+5), Piero Elias, Jake Rozhansky, Jonathan Jimenez (Julien Lacher 75’), Máximo Carrizo, Ronald Arevalo (Camil Azzam Ruiz 90’+5), Taylor Calheira
Substitutes not used: Kofi Hope-Gund, Alex Hauschild, Klevis Haxhari
Head Coach: Matt Pilkington
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/NYC
Shots: 14 / 14
Shots on Goal: 8 / 7
Saves: 6 / 7
Corner Kicks: 11 / 10
Fouls: 15 / 13
Offside: 2 / 0
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
NYC – Piero Elias (Yellow card) 20’
CIN – Stiven Jimenez (Yellow card) 34’
CIN – Brian Schaefer (Yellow card) 50’
NYC – Christopher Tiao (Yellow card) 71’
CIN – London Aghedo (Yellow card) 83’
CIN – London Aghedo (Red card) 87’
OFFICIALS 
Referee: Alyssa Nichols
Ast. Referees: Eric Burton, Audra Fullen
Fourth Official: Noah Matos
