Caleb Stanko stepped into a natural – but difficult – situation on Saturday night.
Stanko is a center midfielder, and for the first time this season, he played his preferred role. He substituted Victor Ulloa in the 71stminute.
As for the situation, though, FC Cincinnati trailed 2-0 to the Philadelphia Union in a driving rain storm.
“Coming into the game at 2-0 was hard, but I just tried to make the best of it and help out the guys as much as possible,” Stanko said.
In a forgetful game, the midfielder provided his most meaningful minutes to date.
Through Cincinnati’s first five MLS matches, Stanko has three appearances totaling 32 minutes.
His 19 against the Union weren’t an abundance, but they provided enough time for the 25-year-old to show his capabilities. From 12 touches, he made nine passes with an 88.9% accuracy. He also recorded a tackle.
“I tried to play forward as much as possible and help out the guys but it was a tough situation,” he said. “We were already down 2-0 but the guys fought a hard game.”
By replacing Ulloa, Stanko was the first sub to alter the Ulloa-Leo Bertone partnership that’s gone unchanged though the first five matches of the season.
That partnership could remain next Sunday against Sporting Kansas City at Nippert Stadium, but the substitution shows there’s an opportunity for Stanko and the other center mids to contribute with MLS minutes in upcoming games.
Signed in the offseason from SC Freiburg in Germany, Stanko arrived with his most-recent matches played in the German fourth tier.
With three other offers – two in Europe and one in MLS – Stanko opted for Cincinnati, a new team looking to build a foundation, he told MLSsoccer.com.
Now with the Orange and Blue, he’s shown the ability to play as a center back (during preseason), right back (at Seattle Sounders FC) and attacking mid (against New England Revolution). His versatility makes him an attractive option off the bench. But there’s a chance it could mean a first MLS start soon.
Against the Union, Head Coach Alan Koch said his midfielders sagged defensively, creating a small layer between them and the backline. That was a characteristic seen in the first matches of the season.
That shouldn’t be the norm.
The reason for it against Philadelphia stemmed from a saturated midfield that pressed Cincinnati. FCC’s midfielders were simply outnumbered.
“I thought because they played with four in the middle, the diamond, it was hard for our two center mids because they were just overloading the middle,” Stanko said of Philadelphia. “I thought we did better in the second half with that but Philly did a good job.”
The hope is that the overloading is an outlier. If not, though, it could mean more bodies needed in the midfield. Stanko has shown he’s ready for the opportunity.
