CINCINNATI – FC Cincinnati conceded late to the New England Revolution to suffer a 3-2 loss Saturday night at TQL Stadium. The loss snapped a four-game MLS win streak for FCC.
The Orange and Blue fall to 6-6-1 (19 points). New England with the win improve to 4-5-3 (15 points).
The Revs struck first in the 17th minute on a goal from Sebastian Lletget, but the Orange and Blue equalized just nine minutes later on a goal from Brandon Vazquez in the 26th minute.
Luciano Acosta maintained possession in the box occupying multiple defenders when he laid off a pass to John Nelson. FCC’s left back hit a one-time cross across goal to a leaping Vazquez, whose header could not be kept out of the net.
Vazquez’s goal extended his team-high in goals to seven, and his career club record in goals to 13.
Adam Buksa put the visitors ahead before halftime in the 43rd minute, his sixth straight game with a goal across all competitions.
FC Cincinnati equalized again in the 58th minute, the first MLS goal of the season scored by Álvaro Barreal.
Once again the buildup started with FC Cincinnati’s captain Luciano Acosta, who distributed a pass down the right sideline to Dominique Badji. Badji fired a cross across the box to a wide open Barreal, who set up a one-time finish with his preferred left foot to level the score.
Barreal scored for the first time in MLS action since July 3, 2021 at Houston Dynamo FC. His goal was the fourth total goal he has scored this season across all competitions, with three coming in U.S. Open Cup play including at New England on May 11.
FCC conceded in the 89th minute on a goal from New England’s Thomas McNamara to give the visitors all three points from the contest.
The Orange and Blue head north of the border again for a rematch with CF Montréal next Saturday, May 28. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET 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 vs. New England Revolution
Date: May 21, 2022
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium
Attendance: 22,844
Kickoff: 7:28 p.m. ET
Weather: 67 degrees, cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
CIN: 1-1-2
NE: 2-1-3
CIN - Brandon Vazquez (John Nelson, Luciano Acosta) 26’, Álvaro Barreal (Dominique Badji, Luciano Acosta) 58’
NE - Sebastian Lletget (Brandon Bye) 17’, Adam Buksa (Brandon Bye, Carles Gil) 43’, Thomas McNamara (Brandon Bye) 89’
GAME NOTES
• Brandon Vazquez scored for the 13th time for FC Cincinnati, the most goals in club history.
• Vazquez has scored four headed goals this season, tied for the most in MLS this season (Adam Buksa, New England).
• Álvaro Barreal’s goal was his fourth career MLS strike with FC Cincinnati, his first at TQL Stadium since the first FCC goal in club history at the stadium (May 16, 2021 vs. MIA).
• Luciano Acosta wore the captain’s armband for the 41st time in his FCC career, which matches Kendall Waston for the most times in the club’s MLS history.
• Acosta’s two assists were his 14th and 15th in an FCC uniform, extending his club record.
• John Nelson’s assist was his second career goal contribution (9/19/20 with DAL at SKC).
• Yuya Kubo made his first appearance since April 24 vs. LAFC and Ray Gaddis made his first appearance since April 16 at Atlanta United FC.
• Due to severe weather, the game was delayed 1 hour and 20 minutes prior to starting.
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, John Nelson, Ian Murphy, Nick Hagglund, Alvas Powell (Ray Gaddis 61’), Junior Moreno, Obinna Nwobodo, Álvaro Barreal, Luciano Acosta (C), Dominique Badji (Yuya Kubo 75’), Brandon Vazquez (Arquimidies Ordonez 84’)
Substitutes not used: Kenneth Vermeer, Tyler Blackett, Geoff Cameron, Nick Markanich, Haris Medunjanin, Harrison Robledo
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
NE: Matt Turner, Andrew Farrell, Omar Gonzalez (Jonathan Bell 83’), Brandon Bye, DeJuan Jones, Wilfrid Kaptoum (Lucas Maciel 64’), Carles Gil (C), Sebastian Lletget (Gustavo Bou 46’), Thomas McNamara, Damian Rivera (Dylan Borrero 65’), Adam Buksa (Emmanuel Boateng 80’)
Substitutes not used: Djordje Petrovic, Justin Rennicks, A.J. DeLaGarza, Ryan Spaulding
Head Coach: Bruce Arena
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/NE
Shots: 10 / 10
Shots on Goal: 2 / 4
Saves: 1 / 0
Corner Kicks: 6 / 4
Fouls: 9 / 7
Offside: 1 / 0
Possession: 52.8 / 47.2
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
NE - Damian Rivera (Yellow Card) 5'
CIN - Obinna Nwobodo (Yellow Card) 23'
NE - Emmanuel Boateng (Yellow Card) 90+3'
OFFICIALS
Referee: Silviu Petrescu
Ast. Referees: Jose Da Silva, Brian Dunn
Fourth Official: Elvis Osmanovic
VAR: Armando Villarreal
AVAR: Mike Kampmeinert
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan
On the loss
“This is a game where we shouldn't be walking off the field without at least a point. This one's on us for not executing some of the things we discussed prior to the game. Just defending the box a couple moments where we didn’t do that well enough and conceded twice in the first half. It took us too long to get into the game with our defensive pressure and shape. But I like the way we responded to get the goal to even it up. But to end the half the way we did and concede is something that we have to figure out how to manage better and then the same at the end of the game. I think in the second half, we did a lot of good things to get the game back level. And if we're a little bit more composed and patient with our decisions on the ball, I think we can create some more chances. But I think we just get too impatient at times with our decisions on the ball and cause ourselves way too much running – inexcusable, unnecessary running because of some of the decisions and how we move the ball and how we move forward as a group to be able to be more effective, creating chances and be more effective and how we can be more on the front foot on a consistent basis.”
On losing at home
“I don't like it. We don't like it. The fans don't like it. We have to be more consistent in how we play at home with more confidence, with more consistency and in how we are playing on the front foot and attacking our opponents. I think too many times we give too much time and space away. And then all of a sudden, that carries over into a stretch of defending deeper than we'd like to. We have to be more aggressive at home and we have to be more aggressive on both sides of the ball home so that we can create more chances to score more goals and concede less chances and figure out a way to start sending these fans home happy.”
On the consistent lineup
“There are certain things that this group is doing well, but there are certain things that the guys on the field over the past couple games can still do better. Even though the results leading up to tonight were positive, there were still things that we talked about that need to improve with decision-making or spacing and how we can better execute certain things. We'll look at this game and see what we think our best group will be going into Montreal.”
On the late goal conceded
“We have the pieces. We just didn’t do our job in the last 15 minutes. We had some guys that were cramping. Obviously, it was humid out there. But we're still of the mind-set that whoever steps on the field, he's going to help us get a result. That didn't happen tonight. We'll look to continue to find ways to utilize the players that are available and ways to help us win games.”
Brandon Vazquez
On the team’s mentality
“We always want to win every single game. We took a loss today but we are going to turn around and work harder than ever.”
On losing at the end
“They had good position at the end. They got a ball at the top our box and got a good shot to goal. It is heartbreaking, reminds me of the kind of games that happened last year. It is not what you want. I thought the team put up a good fight and I am proud of the team.”
FC Cincinnati's 2022 schedule can be viewed, HERE. Fans can build their custom 3 Match Flex Plan today. Pick any three matches and save on single match ticket pricing with no fees at checkout. Fans can pick the same seats for three games or select different options around TQL Stadium.
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.
