After a glorious night in Honduras Wednesday, where FC Cincinnati won their opening match of the Concacaf Champions Cup 4-1 over FC Motagua, The Orange and Blue will turn around quickly again to open MLS regular season play in the season and home opener at TQL Stadium on Saturday night.
Waiting for them is the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Champion New York Red Bulls, who, despite making it to the MLS Cup Finals, did not qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup and thus come into the season opener fresh for their first competitive match of the season.
"I feel good. I think we're all excited to be back in Cincy, ready to start the regular season," FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said Friday from Mercy Health Training Center. "It was a long month… I'm pleased with how the guys performed and the result (in Concacaf Champions Cup). I think it went a long way for our group despite only being one game and one win. So hopefully we can build off of that momentum, and hopefully guys have recovered in a pretty good way, because it was a long day yesterday. So we're ready to get going, and we know it'll be a difficult start against the Red Bulls."
FC Cincinnati traveled back to the Queen City Thursday after the match in Honduras, meaning the first training session back in Cincinnati ahead of the opener was Friday afternoon. Despite the quick turnaround, though, Noonan believes that the energy at the start of a season is a helpful motivator for getting through any kind of fatigue.
"It feels like it's been too long," Pat Noonan said in anticipation of returning to TQL Stadium Saturday night. "That was a long month (in preseason). So this is the re-entry process, we're all trying to figure out how to get back into our normal routines, be back with our families, and, you know, be our own beds. All that was kind of weird last night. But it being in front of our fans, hopefully (the fans) got a glimpse of this 2025 team the other night, and I'd like to think that would bring some excitement, but we're excited to be in front of them and hopefully put together a strong performance."
"I would like to think that the excitement and adrenaline of our home opener in front of our home fans will kind of eliminate any heavy legs," Noonan continued. "So the guys are excited. We'll continue to assess over the next, you know, couple of hours, really, because we're pretty close. But I think the recovery has been pretty good across the board. There were no setbacks. So we have a strong group to select from."
FC Cincinnati kick-off their 10th anniversary season in 2025 and look to add to their trophy case to celebrate the year.
FC CINCINNATI vs. New York Red Bulls – Saturday, February 22, 2023 – 7:30 p.m. ET – TQL Stadium
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Against the Red Bulls
Including the 2017 U.S. Open Cup Semifinals when the FC Cincinnati were a USL side, Saturday marks the 19th all-time meeting between Cincinnati and New York, more than any other opponent in FCC club history (2nd: New York City FC – 17).
With a 0-4-1 record against the Red Bulls in MLS Regular Season matches in Cincinnati, New York are one of two Eastern Conference clubs that Cincy have never beaten at home in an MLS play (New England Revolution, 0-4-1). Of course, FCC did defeat the Red Bulls in the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Game 1 at TQL Stadium, 3-0.
Weather Advisory
With below freezing temperatures possible for Saturday’s match, FC Cincinnati want to remind you that bringing blankets to TQL Stadium is permitted! Bags containing blankets must adhere to the traditional bag policy.
FC CINCINNATI NOTES
Opening the season – After a dominant 4-1 win in Honduras on Wednesday against FC Motagua in the Concacaf Champions Cup, FC Cincinnati kick off the 2025 MLS Regular Season with the earliest MLS kickoff in club history on Saturday against the New York Red Bulls. Saturday marks the second MLS opener in club history against the Red Bulls (March 1, 2020 at Red Bull Arena).
In the club’s prior six seasons on MLS Opening Day, FC Cincinnati are 1-3-2, with the lone win coming in 2023 in a 2-1 home win over Houston Dynamo FC.
Debut goal scorers – FC Cincinnati’s prized offseason acquisitions in Kévin Denkey and Evander wasted no time scoring for their new club, with each tallying goals Wednesday at Motagua. They are the sixth and seventh players in the club’s MLS era (since 2019) to score in their debut for FC Cincinnati (Aaron Boupendza, Brenner, Luciano Acosta, Jürgen Locadia, Leonardo Bertone).
The match marked the second time in club history two players scored their first goal for FCC in the same match (Brenner & Luciano Acosta - 4/17/21 at Nashville SC).
No time to rest – Following Wednesday’s midweek Champions Cup fixture, on Saturday the Orange and Blue will take the field on two-days rest. And should FCC advance to face Tigres in the Round of 16, more short-rest matches are on the horizon.
Under Head Coach Pat Noonan, the Orange and Blue have been strong when playing despite short rest. Since 2022, FC Cincinnati are 16-5-6 in 27 matches playing a game just three days following another, across all competitions. Two of those five losses (6/24/23 at DC; 6/22/24 vs NE) came on Saturdays following midweek match days when FCC had a Wednesday game but their opponent did not.
Weather watch – With the early-season February weather, Saturday’s match could feature the coldest home kickoff in club history. Currently the coldest home match in club history (MLS era) was last season’s Champions Cup match vs Jamaica’s Cavalier FC on February 28, tracked at 34°F at kickoff.
Light up Cincy – Downtown Cincinnati landmarks will join FC Cincinnati to celebrate opening day as we light up the city. Buildings and businesses throughout the Queen City will display Orange and Blue lights on Friday and Saturday leading up the match.
SCOUTING NEW YORK RED BULLS (2024 MLS Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Champions)
The New York Red Bulls were the Cinderella of the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs. In an unlikely run to the final, NYRB advanced through Columbus Crew, NYCFC and Orlando City before coming up just short against LA Galaxy. The story was even more dramatic as the Red Bulls' trip to the Cup was backed up by a season where they had the fewest points (47) of any team ever to make the MLS Cup Finals.
In his first season as Head Coach, Sandro Schwartz managed his side to that Cup final. Schwartz came in at the beginning of the 2024 season after several years as a manager in Europe, particularly in his native Germany, but also had a brief stint in Russia as manager for Dynamo Moscow.
The big addition for the Red Bulls this offseason came in the form of German-born Cameroon national team member Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. The new Designated Player attacker comes to New York after four years at Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and two years at Paris Saint-Germain before that. Ranked by MLSSoccer.Com as one of the ten biggest transfers for MLS this offseason, Choupo-Moting will look to combine with 2024's marquee DP signing Swedish international Emil Forsberg to help push the Red Bulls back to the top.
The particular "Red Bull" style that the club has become known for encourages a lot of pressure when out of possession and forces teams into mistakes. With that style, the Red Bulls, even when not at their best, have had a dominant defense. Brothers Dylan and Sean Nelis are expected to feature heavily in the back line, with Marcelo Morales and newcomer Alexander Hack to join them.
Carlos Coronel is expected to continue his long reign as goalkeeper for the Red Bulls. The Paraguay national team keeper enters his fifth season between the pipes and his sixth in MLS.
