FC Cincinnati defeated New England Revolution, 1-0, Saturday night at TQL Stadium.
The Orange and Blue (4-2-1, 13 points) defeated the Revs (1-4-1, 4 points) for the first time in Cincinnati. With the victory, FCC have now defeated every Eastern Conference club at least once at home.
Substitute Sergio Santos scored the night’s lone goal, a 65th minute winner assisted by Pavel Bucha. Santos secured his first goal since August 31, 2024 against CF Montréal.
AS IT HAPPENED
CIN: Sergio Santos, GOAL – 65’ (1-0) – Cincinnati controlled play in the New England box, with Kévin Denkey laying off a pass for Corey Baird who fired a low curling shot, requiring a save from Aljaz Ivacic. The deflected save went to a wide Pavel Bucha who calmly placed a ball across the box to Sergio Santos to finish home the night’s lone goal.
GAME NOTES
- FC Cincinnati have now defeated all 14 MLS Eastern Conference clubs at least once in Cincinnati. The Orange and Blue are 2-1-3 in seven regular season games against New England under Head Coach Pat Noonan.
- FC Cincinnati held New England scoreless for the first time since the first all-time meeting between the clubs (March 24, 2019 – 2-0 FC Cincinnati win).
- FC Cincinnati recorded a season-high 21 shots, the most in a match since September 28, 2024 vs LAFC (22).
- Sergio Santos netted his first game-winning goal since May 25, 2024 at Toronto FC.
- Santos’ game-winning goal was the first regular season game-winning goal from an FC Cincinnati substitute since June 15, 2024 at San Jose Earthquakes (Yuya Kubo).
- FC Cincinnati earned 250 all-time MLS points Saturday night with the win.
- FC Cincinnati are 31-8 in MLS matches decided by one goal since the start of the 2023 season. No other club has as many as 20 one-goal wins in the same time frame.
- All four MLS matches in Cincinnati this season have been scoreless at halftime. FC Cincinnati have scored 46 second-half goals over the past two seasons.
- Roman Celentano recorded his 27th career MLS clean sheet.
The Orange and Blue return to action next Saturday, April 12 at D.C. United. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. from Audi Field and the match airs on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Fans can listen to the match locally on iHeart Media ESPN 1530 in English and in Spanish on La Mega 101.5 FM.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs New England Revolution
Date: April 5, 2025
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 22,912
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. ET
Weather: 56 degrees, rain
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 0-1-1
NE: 0-0-0
CIN – Sergio Santos (Bucha) 65’
NE – None
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Brad Smith (Sergio Santos 58’, Stefan Chirila 84’), Lukas Engel (Gerardo Valenzuela 85’), Nick Hagglund, Gilberto Flores, DeAndre Yedlin (C), Tah Brian Anunga, Pavel Bucha, Luca Orellano, Corey Baird (Alvas Powell 78’), Kévin Denkey
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Stiven Jimenez, Matt Miazga
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
NE: Aljaz Ivacic, Peyton Miller, Mamadou Fofana, Brayan Ceballos, Ilay Feingold, Alhassan Yusuf, Matt Polster, Ignatius Ganago, Carles Gil (C), Luca Langoni (Luis Diaz Espinoza 73’), Maxi Urruti (Jackson Yueill 56’)
Substitutes not used: Alex Bono, Tanner Beason, Keegan Hughes, Will Sands, Brandon Bye, Noel Buck, Jack Panayotou
Head Coach: Caleb Porter
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/NE
Shots: 21 / 15
Shots on Goal: 6 / 3
Saves: 3 / 5
Corner Kicks: 7 / 10
Fouls: 8 / 11
Offside: 1 / 1
Possession: 54 / 46
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Kévin Denkey (Yellow Card) 14’
CIN – Luca Orellano (Yellow Card) 39’
NE – Matt Polster (Yellow Card) 52’
NE – Peyton Miller (Yellow Card) 83’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere
Ast. Referees: Lyes Arfa, Diego Blas
Fourth Official: Marcos DeOliveira
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic
AVAR: Tom Supple
