Chirila goal leads FC Cincinnati 2 past Crew 2 for fourth-straight win

COLUMBUS – FC Cincinnati 2 earned three points Sunday afternoon against Columbus Crew 2 at Lower.com Field, marking the team’s first win against their in-state rival. The Orange and Blue (5-3-1, 16 points) have put together four-consecutive MLS NEXT Pro wins while Crew 2 (3-3-2, 12 points) suffer defeat for the first time since April 21.

Stefan Chirila found the back of the net for the second-straight week, beating Crew 2 goalkeeper Stanislav Lapkes from close range in the 13th minute to give the Orange and Blue an early 1-0 lead. The play was started with an interception from Amir Daley on the press, and the ball found Ben Stitz who played Chirila in and notched his team-leading fourth assist of the year.

Nick Hagglund made his first career appearance for FC Cincinnati 2, playing 62 minutes in the win and helping lead the Orange and Blue to their first shutout of the season. FCC 2 held Crew 2 to eight shots and just one shot on target which Evan Louro, making his second appearance of the season, was able to save.

The two sides will meet again on July 21 at Historic Crew Stadium before closing out the season series at Scudamore Field at NKU Soccer Stadium on September 15.

“I thought the boys performed fantastic under adversity,” said FCC 2 Head Coach Tyrone Marshall. “I know Columbus is one of those teams, they're going to possess the ball just because of the style of play. And because of all the different moving parts, if you're not geared and ready to defend for 90 minutes, it could be a long day. And as you can see, today, the boys were up for the task.

“I love the spirit of the group, you know, way to be resilient. [To win] 1-0 in a hostile place like this and getting our first win here against them, it just speaks volumes for what we're doing. You know, last night, the first team wins, I spoke to the guys about the rivalry and wanting to continue that winning streak that we had, and then coming in and getting the result. Fantastic for the boys, well done."

The Orange and Blue will face New York Red Bulls II next Sunday, April 19, in their next MLS NEXT Pro regular season match at MSU Soccer Park in Montclair, N.J. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. ET and will be streamed live on MLSNEXTPro.com.

AS IT HAPPENED
CIN: Stefan Chirila, GOAL – 13’ (0-1) – Amir Daley applied pressure to a Crew 2 side looking to play out of the back. A well-timed slide tackle won possession for the Orange and Blue before Daley found Stitz in space near the top of the Columbus box. Stitz quickly played Stefan Chirila in behind the defense in tight space, and the U17 FC Cincinnati Academy product kept his composure to beat a charging Stanislav Lapkes.

FC CINCINNATI 2 GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati 2 at Columbus Crew 2
Date: May 12, 2024
Competition: MLS NEXT Pro
Venue: Lower.com Field
Kickoff: 3:03 p.m. ET
Weather: 69 degrees, clear

SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
CLB: 0-0-0
CIN: 1-0-1

CLB – None

CIN – Stefan Chirila (Stitz) 13’

LINEUPS
CLB: Stanislav Lapkes, Chris Rogers, Diego Almeida, Christopher Pearson, Tristan Brown (Terron Williams 81’), Giorgio De Libera (C) (Nicolas Rincon 84’), Taha Habroune (Adrián González 61’), Owen Presthus, Cole Mrowka, Gibran Rayo (Jayden Da 84’), Brent Adu-Gyamfi (Chase Adams 71’)

Substitutes not used: Cole Johnson, Jacob Greene, Ty Nero, Mohamed Saad

Head Coach: Kelvin Jones

CIN: Evan Louro, Isaiah Foster (Moises Tablante 62’), Brian Schaefer, Nick Hagglund (Gaël Gibert 62’), London Aghedo, Amir Daley, Nico Benalcazar (C), Stiven Jimenez, Peter Mangione, Stefan Chirila (Alejandro Guido 89’), Ben Stitz (Jesus Castellano 62’)

Substitutes not used: Hunter Morse, Juan Machado, Illia Tyrkus, Nick Samways, Connor Stout

Head Coach: Tyrone Marshall

STATS SUMMARY: CLB/CIN
Shots: 8 / 16
Shots on Goal: 1 / 6
Saves: 5 / 1
Corner Kicks: 4 / 3
Fouls: 13 / 8
Offside: 2 / 2

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
None

OFFICIALS 
Referee: Joshua Encarnacion
Ast. Referees: Stephen Milhoan, Jackson Krauser
Fourth Official: Matthew Fotia