RECAP | CF Monterrey 2, FC Cincinnati 1

FC Cincinnati fell to CF Monterrey 2-1 in a second leg battle Thursday night at Estadio BBVA in the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16. On aggregate, Monterrey earned a 3-1 win to advance to the Champions Cup Quarterfinals.

Trailing 1-0 on aggregate entering the second leg, the Orange and Blue conceded first late in the first half after a back-and-forth opening 45 minutes. Two minutes into the second half, 2023 MLS Most Valuable Player Luciano ‘Lucho’ Acosta scored his first goal of 2024 – the 40th of his FC Cincinnati career – to bring things level on the night and give FCC a one-goal deficit on aggregate. 

Rayados forward and former FCC man Brandon Vazquez scored the contest’s next goal in the 68th minute to seal the result and send Monterrey into the Champions Cup Quarterfinals against Inter Miami CF. 

AS IT HAPPENED
MTY: Luis Romo, GOAL – 41’ (1-0; 2-0 on aggregate) – Monterrey found open space near the top right side of the Cincinnati 18-yard box. After a quick exchange of passes, Maximiliano Meza looked to place a shot at the far post, but Luis Romo took possession with his back to goal, redirecting Meza’s initial attempt in with a skillful flick.

CIN: Luciano Acosta, GOAL – 47’ (1-1; 2-1 on aggregate) – Cincinnati wasted no time coming out of halftime and captain Luciano Acosta brought things level in the 47th. A brilliant solo effort from Acosta led to the goal, as the reigning MLS Most Valuable Player beat one defender, driving into the box and dancing through three collapsing Monterrey defenders near the top of the box. Acosta finished the move with a well-placed shot past Esteban Andrada.

MTY: Brandon Vazquez, GOAL – 68’ (2-1; 3-1 on aggregate) – Vazquez doubled Rayados lead in the second half and pushed the aggregate score to 3-1. A long ball out of the Monterrey half found Maximiliano Meza through on goal after clearing the Cincinnati back line and a quick pass across the face of goal found Vazquez wide open at the back post for an easy tap in.

The Orange and Blue return to Major League Soccer competition Sunday, March 17 at the New England Revolution. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ET and the match will stream, for free with no subscription required, on Apple TV. The match will be carried on the radio locally by Fox Sports 1360 and iHeart.

GAME NOTES
- FC Cincinnati are 3-2-2 across all competitions, with seven of eight matches complete in the opening 25 days of the season.
- Luciano Acosta’s goal – his first of the season – was his 40th career goal for the Orange and Blue across all competitions … He only trails Brandon Vazquez (43) for the most all time. 
- Thursday marked FC Cincinnati’s 29th all-time match, across all competitions, against a non-U.S. based club … FC Cincinnati are 14-10-5 in those matches.
- Only two players who played for FC Cincinnati had appeared in a match at Estadio BBVA prior to Thursday night’s match (Miles Robinson with Atlanta United; Luciano Acosta with Atlas FC).

FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati at CF Monterrey
Date: March 14, 2024
Competition: Concacaf Champions Cup – Round of 16, Second Leg
Venue: Estadio BBVA
Attendance: 45,221
Kickoff: 10:15 p.m. ET
Weather: 81 degrees, cloudy

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

MTY – Luis Romo (Meza) 41’, Brandon Vazquez (Meza) 68’

CIN – Luciano Acosta (Yedlin) 47’

LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Luca Orellano (Malik Pinto 79’), Ian Murphy (Kipp Keller 79’), Matt Miazga, Miles Robinson, DeAndre Yedlin (Alvas Powell 85’), Pavel Bucha, Yuya Kubo, Luciano Acosta (C), Corey Baird (Sergio Santos 66’), Aaron Boupendza (Gerardo Valenzuela 85’)

Substitutes not used: Alec Kann, Evan Louro, Arquimides Ordoñez, Nick Hagglund, Bret Halsey, Isaiah Foster, London Aghedo, Stiven Jimenez

Head Coach: Pat Noonan

MTY: Esteban Andrada, Stefan Medina, Victor Guzman (Edson Gutierrez 82’), Hector Moreno (C), Gerardo Arteaga, Jorge Rodriguez, Luis Romo, Jesus Gallardo (Jordi Cortizo 79’), Sergio Canales, Maximiliano Meza (Jesus Corona 83’), Brandon Vazquez (German Berterame 83’)

Substitutes not used: Luis Cardenas, Cesar Ramos, Sebastian Vegas, Omar Govea, Jaziel Martinez, Erick Aguirre, Alfonso Gonzalez

Head Coach: Fernando Ortiz

STATS SUMMARY: MTY/CIN
Shots: 15 / 9
Shots on Goal: 4 / 4
Saves: 3 / 2
Corner Kicks: 12 / 3
Fouls: 5 / 13
Offside: 0 / 0
Possession: 54 / 45

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Ian Murphy (Yellow Card) 43’
MTY – Gerardo Arteaga (Yellow Card) 84’
CIN – Malik Pinto (Yellow Card) 88’
CIN – Gerardo Valenzuela (Yellow Card) 90’+2

OFFICIALS 
Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderon
Ast. Referees: Juan Carlos Mora, William Arrieta
Fourth Official: Keylor Herrera
VAR: Daneon Parchment
AVAR: Tristley Bassue