CINCINNATI – FC Cincinnati and Vancouver Whitecaps FC finished 2-2 Wednesday night in front of 21,078 fans at TQL Stadium. The Orange and Blue tied for the fourth straight game and are unbeaten in their last six.
FCC move to 7-7-6 (27 points). The Whitecaps are now 7-9-4 (25 points).
FC Cincinnati struck first in the 3rd minute with Álvaro Barreal’s third goal of the season. After receiving a pass from Brenner approaching the top of the box, the Argentine took a touch and then weaved past a defender challenging the approach to fire from his favorite left foot into the back of the net.
Barreal’s goal was the fifth-fastest goal in club history, the first ever for FCC to come in the third minute of play in an MLS contest.
The Whitecaps equalized in the 5th minute to mark the second game in FCC club history with two goals in the opening five minutes (July 3, 2021 at Houston Dynamo FC).
The Orange and Blue went back on top in the 23rd minute with the 10th goal of the season from Brandon Vazquez.
With Brenner carrying the ball through defenders in traffic, he found a streaking Vazquez who moved in-between the Vancouver backline to receive the pass alone at the top of the box. He took a touch and fired a right-footed shot past Vancouver’s diving Cody Cropper for the go-ahead goal.
Vazquez, the first player in FCC’s MLS history to reach 10 goals in a season, is two goals behind NYCFC’s Taty Castellanos for most in the league this season.
The Whitecaps equalized on an 82nd minute goal from Cristian Dajome.
The Orange and Blue return to action Sunday, July 17 for the Hell is Real Derby at the Columbus Crew. Kickoff from Lower.com Field is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be nationally televised on FS1 and FOX Deportes, and listened to on the radio on ESPN 1530.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Date: July 13, 2022
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium
Attendance: 21,078
Kickoff: 8:08 p.m. ET
Weather: 85 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY
CIN: 2-0-2
VAN: 1-1-2
CIN - Álvaro Barreal (Brenner) 3’, Brandon Vazquez (Brenner) 23’
VAN - Ryan Gauld (Cristian Dajome, Ryan Raposo) 5’, Cristian Dajome (Tosaint Ricketts, Ryan Gauld) 82’
GAME NOTES
· FC Cincinnati’s six-game unbeaten run is the longest in club history … the fourth straight draw is the second time in the team’s history that has occurred (July 31 – August 18: vs. DC, at RBNY, vs. ORL, vs MTL).
· Álvaro Barreal’s third minute goal was the fifth-fastest in club history, also the first goal in club history to come in the third minute (1' (0:26) - Edgar Castillo - 7/9/21 vs CLB; 1' (0:28) - Allan Cruz - 9/14/19 at MTL; 1' (0:45) - Allan Cruz - 7/13/19 at CHI; 2' - Calvin Harris - 5/4/22 vs TOR).
· Barreal’s goal was his sixth career MLS goal for FC Cincinnati, tied with Emmanuel Ledesma for fifth-most in club history.
· Brandon Vazquez is the first player in club history to reach 10 goals in one season … his team record for career goals extends to 16 for the club … his 10 goals this season is two goals behind the league lead (12 – Castellanos, NYC)
· Brenner recorded two assists in a game for the first time in his MLS career … his performance was the seventh multi-assist game in club history, the fourth this season (Ronald Matarrita – 3/19/22 vs MIA; Luciano Acosta – 5/21/22 vs NE; Luciano Acosta – 6/29/22 vs NYC).
· Wednesday marked FCC's second MLS game (7/3/21 at HOU) in club history with two goals in the opening five minutes (HOU - Pasher, 3rd min. goal; CIN - Barreal, 5th min. goal).
· FC Cincinnati have scored six goals in the opening 15 minutes this season, tied for third-most with NYCFC in MLS this season (7 – Austin FC and Philadelphia Union).
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, John Nelson, Nick Hagglund, Geoff Cameron (C) (Ian Murphy 86’), Tyler Blackett, Ray Gaddis, Obinna Nwobodo, Yuya Kubo (Haris Medunjanin 80’), Álvaro Barreal, Brenner, Brandon Vazquez (Sergio Santos 74’, Arquimides Ordonez 90+2’)
Substitutes not used: Kenneth Vermeer, Isaac Atanga, Zico Bailey, Nick Markanich, Harrison Robledo
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
VAN: Cody Cropper (Isaac Boehmer 46’), Tristan Blackmon, Erik Godoy (Michael Baldisimo 64’), Javain Brown (Jake Nerwinski 36’), Florian Jungwirth, Ryan Gould, Ryan Raposo, Russell Teibert (C) (Tosaint Ricketts 81’), Pedro Vite (Brian White 59’), Lucas Cavallini (Caio Alexandre 81’), Cristian Dajome
Substitutes not used: Chris Lee, Matteo Campagna
Head Coach: Vanni Sartini
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/VAN
Shots: 15 / 11
Shots on Goal: 7 / 4
Corner Kicks: 7 / 4
Fouls: 11 / 6
Offside: 1 / 2
Possession: 61.5 / 38.5
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
VAN – Russell Teibert (Yellow Card) 38’
CIN – Obinna Nwobodo (Yellow Card) 52’
CIN – Tyler Blackett (Yellow Card) 58’
VAN – Ryan Gauld (Yellow Card) 90+3’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere
Ast. Referees: Lyes Arfa, Kali Smith
Fourth Official: Ramy Touchan
VAR: Jair Marrufo
AVAR: Fabio Tovar
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan
On the draw
“That's about as frustrating as a result we've had just as far as how the game played out, playing with the lead in the second half and having numerous chances to get the third goal and put the game out of reach. At that stage, we missed too many transition moments to secure three points, and then a game-changing moment where we have a good look and miss out on an opportunity and then concede right after, but the way in which we conceded at the end was inexcusable. There was effort issues on that play, and that hasn't been an issue with this team. So, we'll address that.”
On the six-game unbeaten streak and four straight draws
“We've taken a step back, in terms of results over the past four games, because we should have had more points. Putting the opponents aside, regardless of who we're playing, when you're in control of certain games, in three of those four being at home, those should be wins. If we want to have meaningful games to play at the end of the year, we can't lose out on points because of moments like that.
“It's a concern because they add up, and you can only miss out on so many along the way where you just don't have time to recover from it. We're still in a good position, but we should be in a better position than we are.”
On Álvaro Barreal
“It's an unnatural position for him, so we ask a lot of guys at certain points with injuries. He did a good job of finding a goal. That's certainly important. But I think just as far as how you're finding forward passes, how you receive the balls and moving forward and connecting with the strikers. It's just different. You can see in some moments where that becomes challenging for him, and I think that's to be expected. But I think his effort has been good, and he's finding ways to contribute when we're asking a lot of him and just playing in positions that he's not accustomed to playing. I think his mentality has been great and he’s still finding ways to contribute.”
FC Cincinnati Álvaro Barreal
On the result (Translated from Spanish)
“Very frustrating. This is a game where we were the better team so again we could have gotten three points, we just couldn't get the win.”
FC Cincinnati's 2022 schedule can be viewed, HERE. Fans can build their custom Pick 3 package today. They can pick three games that best fit their schedule, while saving on the price of a single game ticket. Fans can pick the same seats for three games or select different options around TQL Stadium. 2023 Season Ticket Deposits are on sale, HERE. Secure your spot for the 2023 season today.
Single match tickets to any of FC Cincinnati’s remaining home games are also available now, head to fccincinnati.com/tickets or call 513-977-KICK, that’s 513-977-5425, 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.
