FC Cincinnati advanced to the Round of 32 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 1-0 win over USL Championship side Louisville City FC Wednesday night at TQL Stadium. Arquimides Ordoñez’s 85th minute goal was the difference, his first-career goal with the first team.
FCC will learn their next opponent in the competition in Thursday’s Round of 32 draw.
The Orange and Blue improved to 6-4-2 all-time against their former USL rivals Louisville City. All-time in U.S. Open Cup play, FCC are 3-0-0 against LouCity.
The game saw a rotated FC Cincinnati lineup, with Nick Hagglund being the only player among the Starting XI to have made more than three starts this season through nine regular season games. Isaiah Foster, Joey Akpunonu and 15-year-old Stiven Jimenez each made their first-team debuts with FC Cincinnati.
FCC saw the first big moment of the match, a chance for Ordoñez in the 7th minute who found himself past the LouCity defense after jumping on a Stiven Jimenez tackle-turned assist out of midfield. Ordoñez did well to dance around goalkeeper Kyle Morton but the netminder recovered to overt the danger.
LouCity’s Cameron Lancaster responded as the danger man for LouCity in the first half with the Englishman putting Cincinnati’s goal under pressure a number of times, including forcing a strong reaction-save from FCC goalkeeper Alec Kann in the 12th minute.
After a scoreless first half, FC Cincinnati utilized all of their allotted substitutions in the second half. Álvaro Barreal and Matt Miazga entered in the 61st minute, followed by Luciano Acosta and Junior Moreno in the 76th. Brandon Vazquez came on in the 83rd minute, with the contest’s decisive moment created by the instant-impact made by the substitutes.
In the 85th minute, Acosta began the scoring chance, slicing open the LouCity defense with a pass to Barreal operating down his preferred left side. Barreal sent a perfect pass across the face of goal and the game-winning goal-scorer Ordoñez was there to tap it home.
Goalkeeper Alec Kann was credited with five saves in the win. With the victory, FC Cincinnati improved to 10-4-2 all-time in the U.S. Open Cup.
FC Cincinnati face the New England Revolution on Saturday, April 29 at Gillette Stadium in a battle of the top-two clubs in the Eastern Conference. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV and over the radio locally on ESPN 1530.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs Louisville City FC
Date: April 26, 2023
Competition: Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Third Round
Venue: TQL Stadium
Kickoff: 7:03 p.m. ET
Weather: 63 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
CIN: 0-1-1
LOU: 0-0-0
CIN – Arquimides Ordoñez (Álvaro Barreal) 85’
LOU – None
GAME NOTES
• Dating back to USL Competition, FC Cincinnati improve to 6-4-2 all-time against Louisville City FC, including 3-0-0 in the U.S. Open Cup.
• FC Cincinnati improved to 10-4-2 all-time in the U.S. Open Cup … the club is 6-0 in openers in the competition.
• Arquimides Ordoñez scored his first goal for FC Cincinnati … the 19-year-old, who debuted with the club in 2021 after his signing to a Homegrown Contract, has scored eight career goals with FC Cincinnati 2.
• 15-year-old Stiven Jimenez, the youngest player in club history to sign for FC Cincinnati, made his professional debut with the first team, starting in midfield.
• Nick Hagglund made his fifth U.S. Open Cup appearance with FC Cincinnati. He is the only player to have appeared in every Open Cup match in the club's MLS history.
• Brandon Vazquez closes in on becoming the second player in club history to make 100 appearances … Wednesday marked his 97th with the Orange and Blue.
• Yuya Kubo made his first appearance with FC Cincinnati since March 11 against Seattle Sounders FC … Kubo entered as a sixth substitute for FCC after Louisville received an additional sub due to concussion protocols.
LINEUPS
CIN: Alec Kann (C), Isaiah Foster (Álvaro Barreal 61’), Ian Murphy, Joey Akpunonu, Nick Hagglund (Matt Miazga 61’), Alvas Powell, Malik Pinto (Yuya Kubo 90+2’), Stiven Jimenez (Junior Moreno 76’), Marco Angulo (Luciano Acosta 76’), Dominique Badji (Brandon Vazquez 83’), Arquimides Ordoñez
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
LOU: Kyle Morton, Osacar Jimenez (Tyler Gibson 82’), Wesley Charpie (Joshua Wynder 62’), Sean Totsch (C), Manny Perez (Amadou Dia 71’), Carlos Moguel, Elijah Wynder, Rasmus Thellufsen (Ray Serrano 71’), Enoch Mushagalusa, Cameron Lancaster (Wilson Harris 62’), Dylan Mares
Substitutes not used: Paolo DelPiccolo, Daniel Faundez
Head Coach: Danny Cruz
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/LOU
Shots: 7 / 15
Shots on Goal: 4 / 5
Saves: 5 / 2
Corner Kicks: 4 / 2
Fouls: 11 / 8
Offside: 7 / 1
Possession: 45.8 / 54.2
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Stiven Jimenez (Yellow Card) 40’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Calin Radosav
Ast. Referees: Mike Nickerson, Zachary McWhorter
Fourth Official: Luke Sobota
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan
On the result
“Credit to Louisville, they were difficult for our group, no question about it. [Louisville Head Coach] Danny [Cruz] and his guys did a good job. But overall, I think it was sloppy, you know, for what we expect out of a lot of [our] guys. But like I've said plenty of times before, the important part was that we advanced in the competition, they did a good job of winning the game in the 90 minutes. And certainly the guys that came on I thought did a good job.”
On Stiven Jimenez
“A 15-year-old started tonight, that's pretty cool. And you know, I think that's good minutes for him at this stage. That's a credit to his growth and his maturity for us, for me and for our staff to say we're confident putting them out there and still being able to go win a game. I thought there was some things that he did well and there was things that our entire midfield could have done better but I think his maturity level in the field, the way he sees and reads the game, aside from at times it could be fast, but he doesn't put himself in a lot of positions to have to chase because he's a smart player. I was pleased for him to get those minutes and you know for the rest of the guys that are getting their first professional minutes, that's always a positive and there'll be plenty to take from the game for them that we can you know help them grow.”
On the atmosphere at TQL Stadium and facing Louisville City
“Yeah, I said credit to [Louisville Head Coach] Danny [Cruz] and his group, they were heavily rotated. And I thought their guys did a really good job of making things difficult for us. It's always good to win the rivalry games, the games that have a little bit more meaning with certain players that have been a part of it with the fan base, with the clubs. That part's nice, you always want to win those games, regardless of how you win them.
