SEATTLE – FC Cincinnati split points with Seattle Sounders FC at Lumen Field Tuesday night with a 1-1 draw. The result sees the Orange and Blue set the league’s longest unbeaten run this season at 11 consecutive games without a loss.
With two games remaining, FC Cincinnati head into the weekend slate with an 11-8-13 record (46 points) and finish the night in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Seattle moves to 12-16-4 (40 points) in the Western Conference
Brenner opened the scoring in the 24th minute with his sixth strike over the past three games. Luciano Acosta created the chance, pushing a long pass through the midfield towards Brenner, who was holding an onside position 10 yards into the Seattle half.
Abdoulaye Cissoko looked as if he would intercept the pass with a sliding challenge but the defender could not control possession and the ball took an FCC bounce and into the path of Brenner. Brenner found himself in acres of space behind the Seattle backline and positioned himself well to curl a fairly straightforward shot past Stefan Frei.
With his goal, the Brazilian forward started the sixth goal streak of three-plus games in FC Cincinnati’s MLS history. He has accounted for half of those, his previous two instances also coming earlier this season (June 24 – July 3; July 30 – August 13).
Freddy Montero leveled things for Seattle in the 58th minute, his third league goal this season. Kelyn Rowe laced a perfect pass into Montero who collected at the top of the FCC penalty area. A quick touch put Montero into a tight space between Álvaro Barreal and Matt Miazga, where he fired his chance from outside the box and beat Roman Celentano at the top corner of the near post.
The Orange and Blue went up a man in the 69th minute after Seattle’s Kelyn Rowe was issued a red card for fouling Sergio Santos as the last line of defense just outside the penalty area. FCC were unable to convert the ensuing free kick nor take advantage of the man advantage, as the contest ended 1-1.
FC Cincinnati return to TQL Stadium for the final regular season game of the year on Saturday, Oct. 1 to host Chicago Fire FC. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game can be watched on Star64, streamed in-market at fccincinnati.com, out of market on ESPN+ and listened to on the radio on ESPN 1530.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati at Seattle Sounders FC
Date: September 27, 2022
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: Lumen Field
Attendance: 31,291
Kickoff: 10:08 p.m. ET/7:08 p.m. PT
Weather: 71 degrees, cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
SEA: 0-1-1
CIN: 1-0-1
SEA - Fredy Montero (Kelyn Rowe) 58’
CIN - Brenner (unassisted) 24’
GAME NOTES
• FC Cincinnati extend the club’s unbeaten run to 11 games, the longest streak in MLS this season.
• The Orange and Blue have scored in all 11 games of the current run … by scoring in the final two games of the season, FCC would match the longest scoring run in club history set earlier this season from April 24 – July 13 at 13 games.
• FC Cincinnati earned a result in the Pacific Time Zone for the first time in club history (0-3-1) … Tuesday was the second all-time meeting between FCC and Seattle, the first since FC Cincinnati’s inaugural MLS game (March 2, 2019).
• Brenner has accounted for three of the six goal streaks of three-plus games in FCC’s MLS history, both of his previous two came this season (June 24 – July 3 vs ORL, vs NYC, at NE; July 30 – August 13 at MIA, vs PHI, vs ATL).
• Seattle’s red card shown to Kelyn Rowe in the 69th minute was the fourth this season shown to an FCC opponent (3/5 vs DC, Nyeman 80’; 5/4 vs TOR, Priso 6’; 9/7 at NYC, Martins 76’) and the 14th in club history … four opponent red cards matches last season for the most in club history.
• All-time on the road on artificial turf, FC Cincinnati are 1-6-4 and 0-1-3 this season in MLS play.
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Álvaro Barreal (John Nelson 90+2’), Matt Miazga, Geoff Cameron, Nick Hagglund, Alvas Powell (Ray Gaddis 83’), Obinna Nwobodo, Junior Moreno (Yuya Kubo 67’), Luciano Acosta (C), Brenner (Sergio Santos 67’), Brandon Vazquez (Dominique Badji 84’)
Substitutes not used: Alec Kann, Zico Bailey, Calvin Harris, Ian Murphy
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
SEA: Stefan Frei (C), Jackson Ragen, Yeimar, Abdoulaye Cissoko (Cristian Roldan 55’), Albert Rusnak, Kelyn Rowe, Ethan Dobbelaere, Danny Leyva (Leo Chu 55’), Josh Atencio (Jimmy Medranda 75’), Fredy Montero, Will Bruin (Dylan Teves 84’)
Substitutes not used: Stefan Cleveland, Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez
Head Coach: Brian Schmetzer
STATS SUMMARY: SEA/CIN
Shots: 9 / 11
Shots on Goal: 4 / 2
Saves: 1 / 3
Corner Kicks: 4 / 2
Fouls: 12 / 19
Offside: 2 / 1
Possession: 52.9 / 47.1
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA – Jackson Ragen (Yellow Card, Foul) 53’
CIN – Obinna Nwobodo (Yellow Card, Foul) 69’
SEA – Kelyn Rowe (Red Card, Professional Foul Last Man) 69’
CIN – Luciano Acosta (Yellow Card, Persistent Infringement) 72’
SEA – Will Bruin (Yellow Card, Foul) 83’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Rubiel Vazquez
Ast. Referees: Mike Rottersman, Jeremy Hanson
Fourth Official: Alex Chilowicz
VAR: Malik Badawi
Ast. VAR: Nick Uranga
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan
On the result
“Not our best performance but I still think the point is important. Game was just to back in too much back and forth with our decision making on the ball, it was hard to find a rhythm because of just careless turnovers or lacking patience in how we move the ball and how we played forward. Having said that, we still had a man advantage for a period of time where we had some good opportunities to finish the game off and just couldn't find the quality in front of goal, the decisiveness, the final pass or touch. We'll look to analyze some of the things that we can do better and get our mindset right for a quick turnaround to face Chicago.”
On the point
"But I think it's still important that we got the point on a night where it was ... I am more I think disappointed in the group in just our own performance and a lot of that being with a ball, certainly. Which, you know, allowed the game to get just too open and then not allow us to be connected on either side of the ball in a more consistent way. It's a point. And it's still an important point. The positive for me is that the group is expecting to win every game. That's a good mentality. And when we don't, we're not pleased. So hopefully, we can turn that frustration in this performance into a better one on the weekend against Chicago."
On the quick turnaround to Chicago
“We're approaching the Chicago game to win and it's still better than walking away with no points. A point now creates just a little bit more separation with the teams that are behind us in the standings. So that's still a positive and focus now and the next couple days is recovery, and being ready to step on the field to win a game that likely puts us in the playoffs.”
On the final home game against Chicago
“I'm confident the guys will respond. They understand the opportunity in front of them. I think we all do. I think that's why you're going to see a big crowd with a fan base that is going to be there to support their team. So I'm looking forward to Saturday. I know these guys will be, and hopefully it's a better performance where we walk off the field with three points and we can all enjoy a special moment together.”
2023 Season Tickets are on sale now at fccincinnati.com/tickets. Fans looking for more information can contact a dedicated FC Cincinnati representative at (513) 977-5435 or e-mail tickets@fccincinnati.com.
Single match tickets to FC Cincinnati’s final home game on October 1 against Chicago Fire FC are available, head to fccincinnati.com/tickets or call 513-977-KICK, to learn more.
FC Cincinnati are playing their fourth season of MLS competition in 2022, and their second playing at TQL Stadium. For up-to-the-minute information about FC Cincinnati, visit the team’s official website at fccincinnati.com, or follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FCCincinnati. Additionally, fans are encouraged to download the team’s official mobile app on the Apple App Store or Google Play for instant access to mobile tickets, team content and match notifications.
