FC Cincinnati defeated the New York Red Bulls, 1-0, Saturday night at TQL Stadium in the 2025 MLS Regular Season opener. Kévin Denkey’s 70th minute goal in his MLS debut was the difference in the clean sheet win for the Orange and Blue.
Cincinnati (1-0-0, 3 points) defeated the Red Bulls (0-1-0, 0 points) for the first time in regular season play at home. The Orange and Blue are now undefeated in three-straight MLS openers (2-0-1), winning on Matchday 1 for the first time since 2023 against Houston Dynamo FC (2-1).
FC Cincinnati improved to 2-0-0 this season after Wednesday’s 4-1 win at Honduran side FC Motagua in the Concacaf Champions Cup Round One first leg. The Orange and Blue take the aggregate advantage into this Wednesday’s second leg at TQL Stadium (6:30 p.m. ET | FCCincinnati.com/Tickets).
Following the two wins this week, FC Cincinnati are 17-5-6 in 28 matches under Head Coach Pat Noonan when playing a game on two-days rest, across all competitions.
AS IT HAPPENED
CIN: Kévin Denkey, GOAL – 70’ (1-0) – DeAndre Yedlin placed a long-arcing pass six yards into the 18-yard box which guided Kévin Denkey past the New York defense. Denkey allowed the ball to bounce once before heading the ball over the encroaching Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel into the back of the net.
GAME NOTES
- Kévin Denkey became the sixth player in club history to score in their MLS debut (Boupendza, Brenner, Acosta, Locadia, Bertone).
- Roman Celentano recorded his 25th career MLS Regular Season clean sheet, his 32nd across all competitions.
- Saturday was the fifth time in club history, excluding the first game in club history, four FC Cincinnati players made their MLS Regular Season debut in a single Starting XI (Denkey, Engel, Evander, Flores).
- DeAndre Yedlin recorded his first assist since May 4, 2024 at Orlando City. Like Saturday night, that assist was the game-winning assist also in a 1-0 win.
- The kickoff temperature of 30 Degrees Fahrenheit marked the coldest home match kickoff in FC Cincinnati’s MLS history.
- Stefan Chirila became the sixth FC Cincinnati Academy player to make an MLS debut for the club.
- FC Cincinnati improve to 17-5-6 under Head Coach Pat Noonan when playing a match on two-days rest.
- Saturday was the 19th all-time meeting between FC Cincinnati and the New York Red Bulls, Cincinnati’s most-faced opponent in club history.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs New York Red Bulls
Date: February 22, 2025
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium
Attendance: 22,747
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. ET
Weather: 30 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 0-1-1
RBNY: 0-0-0
CIN – Kévin Denkey (Yedlin) 70’
RBNY – None
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Lukas Engel, Teenage Hadebe, Miles Robinson (C), Gilberto Flores (Alvas Powell 85’), DeAndre Yedlin, Pavel Bucha (Stefan Chirila 90’+5), Obinna Nwobodo, Yuya Kubo (Corey Baird 72’), Evander (Tah Brian Anunga 72’), Kévin Denkey
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Bret Halsey, Noah Adnan, Stiven Jimenez
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
RBNY: Carlos Coronel, Omar Valencia, Alexander Hack (Julian Hall 79’), Sean Nealis, Noah Eile, Emil Forsberg (C), Peter Stroud (Felipe Carballo 79’), Daniel Edelman (Wikelman Carmona 84’), Cameron Harper, Lewis Morgan, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting
Substitutes not used: AJ Marcucci, Dylan Nealis, Dennis Gjengaar, Tim Parker, Mohammed Sofo, Raheem Edwards
Head Coach: Sandro Swartz
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/RBNY
Shots: 13 / 15
Shots on Goal: 2 / 3
Saves: 3 / 1
Corner Kicks: 4 / 2
Fouls: 10 / 5
Offside: 5 / 2
Possession: 49.3 / 50.7
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
RBNY – Alexander Hack (Yellow Card) 59’
CIN – Obinna Nwobodo (Yellow Card) 64’
CIN – Corey Baird (Yellow Card) 88’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Lukasz Szpala
Ast. Referees: Logan Brown, Jason White
Fourth Official: Natalie Simon
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic
AVAR: Joshua Patlak
