Saturday, Mar 4, 2023

FC Cincinnati and Orlando City SC played to a scoreless draw Saturday night at Exploria Stadium.

With the result, the Orange and Blue remain undefeated and move to 1-0-1 (4 points). Orlando holds an identical record two matches into the season.

FC Cincinnati outshot their opponents, 11-7, and held a 4-1 lead in shots on target. The Orange and Blue’s closest chance came in the 51st minute, a shot by Brandon Vazquez which nailed the crossbar from the inside of the box.

The contest finished 0-0 and is the 11th scoreless draw in FC Cincinnati’s MLS history.

FC Cincinnati return home next Saturday, March 11 to host reigning Concacaf Champions League winners Seattle Sounders FC for the first time. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET from TQL Stadium and can be streamed for free on Apple TV and listened to over the radio locally on ESPN 1530. Tickets are available now at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets.

FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati at Orlando City SC
Date: March 4, 2023
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: Exploria Stadium
Attendance: 18,062
Kickoff: 7:39 p.m. ET
Weather: 78 degrees, clear

SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
ORL: 0-0-0
CIN: 0-0-0

ORL – None

CIN – None

GAME NOTES

• FC Cincinnati played to the 11th scoreless draw in club history … it was the first time since April 16, 2022 at Atlanta United FC, which was last season’s lone scoreless draw for FCC.
• The Orange and Blue all-time against Orlando City SC are 2-3-3 … Saturday was the first tie between the two sides in Central Florida.
• FC Cincinnati shutout an opponent on the road for the first time since May 7, 2022 at Minnesota United FC.
• Roman Celentano recorded his sixth career clean sheet with FC Cincinnati.
• Saturday marked the 50th time in club history that FCC and their opponent went to halftime tied … the Orange and Blue are 8-6-9 all-time in road matches that are level at the break.
• Per StatsPerform, FC Cincinnati attempted 576 passes, the club’s most in a game since the start of the 2022 season.
• Yuya Kubo surpassed 5,000 career MLS minutes played with FC Cincinnati … he became the third player in club history to surpass that milestone (Nick Hagglund, Luciano Acosta).
• Nick Hagglund made his 96th appearance for FC Cincinnati across all competitions, approaching becoming the first player in club history to reach the century mark.
• Marco Angulo debuted with FC Cincinnati as a second half stoppage time substitute.
• Pat Noonan made two changes to the starting lineup from the season-opener against Houston Dynamo FC: Brenner started up top in place of Sergio Santos, Ray Gaddis started at right wing back in place of Santiago Arias.

LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Álvaro Barreal, Nick Hagglund, Matt Miazga, Yerson Mosquera, Ray Gaddis (Alvas Powell 69’), Junior Moreno (Yuya Kubo 69’), Obinna Nwobodo, Luciano Acosta (C) (Marco Angulo 90+2’), Brenner (Sergio Santos 69’), Brandon Vazquez (Dominique Badji 86’)

Substitutes not used: Alec Kann, Arquimides Ordoñez, Malik Pinto, Ian Murphy

Head Coach: Pat Noonan

ORL: Pedro Gallese, Rodrigo Schlegel (Robin Jansson 46’), Kyle Smith, Michael Halliday (Luca Petrasso 72’), Abdi Salim, Mauricio Pereyra (C) (Cesar Araujo 46’), Wilder Cartagena, Dagur Thorhallsson, Ercan Kara (Iván Angulo 65’), Facundo Torres (Martin Ojeda 60’), Gaston Gonzalez

Substitutes not used: Mason Stajduhar, Rafael Santos, Felipe Martins, Duncan McGuire

Head Coach: Óscar Pareja

STATS SUMMARY: ORL/CIN
Shots: 7 / 11
Shots on Goal: 1 / 4
Saves: 4 / 1
Corner Kicks: 4 / 1
Fouls: 13 / 15
Offside: 3 / 2
Possession: 43.4 / 56.6

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
ORL – Wilder Cartagena (Yellow Card) 28’
CIN – Sergio Santos (Yellow Card) 90+1’

OFFICIALS 
Referee: Ismail Elfath
Ast. Referees: Cory Richardson, Walt Heatherly
Fourth Official: Elvis Osmanovic
VAR: Sorin Stoica
Ast. VAR: TJ Zablocki

POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan
On the result
“Really, really pleased with our group’s performance tonight. We know Orlando’s a tough team. I know they had to rotate some bodies, but you know, they still have some good players that were on the field tonight. And I thought our improvement with the ball was significant and it allowed us to move the ball for long stretches to be able to find different ways of trying to go to goal. And I thought defensively, [we] didn’t concede a whole lot. Our group did a really good job of limiting the moments of isolation where they have a lot of creativity in and around goal, and our set piece defending improved. So a lot of good improvements from our guys so I was really pleased with that.”

On Orlando’s defense and FCC’s chance creation
“For as good as they were defensively, I was still pleased with some of our looks. You know, you look in the first two minutes of the game with Brenner’s look, great movement from him to get him in-behind and a good recognition from Lucho. So that was a really good chance early on. And then in the second half, Lucho’s chance, excellent ball over distance from Yerson I believe and he’s in on goal. That’s a pretty good look. And then you know, Brandon’s off the crossbar. So despite playing against a team that defends well, we had some really good looks with guys that I think are accustomed to finishing those.”

On if tonight was one his team’s better defensive performances
“I think that’s fair to say. Again, Orlando is a team that can, with many different options, create great chances. And I thought we limited their ability to get in the box and get free service. So that’s probably one of our better all-around defensive performances, you know, dating back to probably the last time we played Orlando at home, which I thought was a really good defensive showing from our group. So that’s a good sign in how we defended on the road tonight.”

Visit HERE for FC Cincinnati’s 2023 home platform match schedule. The full 2023 regular season schedule can be viewed HERE. All matches will air live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. The unprecedented subscription service featuring every MLS regular season, playoff and Leagues Cup match is available now.

All tickets, including Single Match Tickets, Full Season Tickets and Half Season “Orange” and “Blue” Ticket packages, can be purchased at fccincinnati.com/tickets or by calling (513) 977-5425 (KICK). For more information about Group Tickets and Premium hospitality options including suites and all-inclusive experiences, call (513) 763-1025.

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.

COURTESY FC CINCINNATI COMMUNICATIONS