Cincinnati’s 2-1 victory over Atlanta on Saturday night—a cool, team effort with excellent individual performances—ended the team’s losing run at two games and guaranteed that, for the first time in more than two seasons as head coach Pat Noonan’s team, the Orange and Blue would not lose a third straight game. In front of 42,600 fans, FCC earned a well-earned come-from-behind victory over a resurgent East playoff team, following a lackluster showing last weekend in Montreal and being outmatched in a rivalry game against the New York Red Bulls.
Noonan made a change to his starting lineup, starting free agency striker Corey Baird (who scored zero goals in 2024) in place of Aaron Boupendza, who had not scored in his previous eight games (six starts). Ian Murphy replaced Nick Hagglund, the starting center back, just before halftime due to an injury.
With a lightning-fast shot in the 59th minute, Atlanta player Thiago Almada broke the deadline, but three minutes later, he inadvertently set off the counterattack that tied the score. Lucho Acosta was astute to the plan and intercepted Almada’s badly executed short corner effort. Following a quick break, Acosta skillfully managed the situation and supplied Luca Orellano at the ideal moment, enabling the 24-year-old to slide past Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan for his first goal with the team. This season, the left wingback has already scored goals for the Orange and Blue six times.
Orellano, who had hit the crossbar in the 29th minute, has persevered despite moments of erratic play as he gets used to life in Major League Soccer (MLS). Prior to joining FCC this winter, he played in the first divisions in Brazil and Argentina. The result could give him more confidence as he tackles the difficult challenge of taking Alvaro Barreal’s place as the best left wingback in the MLS for the remainder of 2022 and 2023.
After setting up Orellano’s goal two minutes earlier, Acosta gave FC Cincinnati a decisive lead. Acosta was the recipient of a gorgeous pitch wedge pass from right wingback DeAndre Yedlin, who may have been influenced by Masters champion Scottie Scheffler. With an easy victory over Guzan, Acosta scored his third goal of the year and his 43rd goal overall with the team, tying Brandon Vazquez for the most in FCC history.
In Baird’s case, the finest play of the day was the one he decided not to make. He could have tried to head Yedlin’s ball, but he was smart enough to allow Acosta a clean path of vision to receive Yedlin’s pass by pretending to make a headed touch—at least that’s how it appeared, so we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. In addition, Baird struck the post in the 55th minute and buzzed the goal mouth in the ninth, so even if the new addition is still without a goal, Saturday’s performance was noticeably improved.
Former Atlanta players Miles Robinson, at center defense, and Alec Kann, in goal, were also important to FC Cincinnati’s triumph. Kann, who played for the Five Stripes mostly as a backup from 2017 to 2021, showed gallantry when he came off his line to end a one-on-one opportunity in the 40th minute. Robinson nailed the follow-up shot after he spilled the shot near an Atlanta teammate. However, Robinson—who spent seven seasons in Atlanta before joining the Orange and Blue this winter—was able to block it, taking a serious hit for his efforts and momentarily exiting the game. On Acosta’s goal, Robinson was also given credit for an assist—a hockey assist, actually.
Happily, FC Cincinnati’s planned game on Saturday was the final one they will play on artificial turf until 2024. Despite the fact that the team has won ten straight games on artificial grass, the field is renowned for being harsher on players’ bodies.
Noonan made a change to his starting lineup, starting free agency striker Corey Baird (who scored zero goals in 2024) in place of Aaron Boupendza, who had not scored in his previous eight games (six starts). Ian Murphy replaced Nick Hagglund, the starting center back, just before halftime due to an injury.
With a lightning-fast shot in the 59th minute, Atlanta player Thiago Almada broke the deadline, but three minutes later, he inadvertently set off the counterattack that tied the score. Lucho Acosta was astute to the plan and intercepted Almada’s badly executed short corner effort. Following a quick break, Acosta skillfully managed the situation and supplied Luca Orellano at the ideal moment, enabling the 24-year-old to slide past Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan for his first goal with the team. This season, the left wingback has already scored goals for the Orange and Blue six times.
Orellano, who had hit the crossbar in the 29th minute, has persevered despite moments of erratic play as he gets used to life in Major League Soccer (MLS). Prior to joining FCC this winter, he played in the first divisions in Brazil and Argentina. The result could give him more confidence as he tackles the difficult challenge of taking Alvaro Barreal’s place as the best left wingback in the MLS for the remainder of 2022 and 2023.
After setting up Orellano’s goal two minutes earlier, Acosta gave FC Cincinnati a decisive lead. Acosta was the recipient of a gorgeous pitch wedge pass from right wingback DeAndre Yedlin, who may have been influenced by Masters champion Scottie Scheffler. With an easy victory over Guzan, Acosta scored his third goal of the year and his 43rd goal overall with the team, tying Brandon Vazquez for the most in FCC history.
In Baird’s case, the finest play of the day was the one he decided not to make. He could have tried to head Yedlin’s ball, but he was smart enough to allow Acosta a clean path of vision to receive Yedlin’s pass by pretending to make a headed touch—at least that’s how it appeared, so we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. In addition, Baird struck the post in the 55th minute and buzzed the goal mouth in the ninth, so even if the new addition is still without a goal, Saturday’s performance was noticeably improved.
Former Atlanta players Miles Robinson, at center defense, and Alec Kann, in goal, were also important to FC Cincinnati’s triumph. Kann, who played for the Five Stripes mostly as a backup from 2017 to 2021, showed gallantry when he came off his line to end a one-on-one opportunity in the 40th minute. Robinson nailed the follow-up shot after he spilled the shot near an Atlanta teammate. However, Robinson—who spent seven seasons in Atlanta before joining the Orange and Blue this winter—was able to block it, taking a serious hit for his efforts and momentarily exiting the game. On Acosta’s goal, Robinson was also given credit for an assist—a hockey assist, actually.
Happily, FC Cincinnati’s planned game on Saturday was the final one they will play on artificial turf until 2024. Despite the fact that the team has won ten straight games on artificial grass, the field is renowned for being harsher on players’ bodies.
After the weekend league schedule, FCC (15 points) is sitting alone in third place, three points behind Inter Miami, who leads the East. The following game is a home game on Saturday against Colorado, who is on the rise and now sits third in the West (15 points) after being last in the West in 2023 (27 points from 34 games).
