Monday, May 9, 2022
FC Cincinnati midfielder Luciano Acosta, goalkeeper Roman Celentano, and Head Coach Pat Noonan have all been named to the MLS Team of the Week for Week 10. The trio was a vital part of the Orange and Blue’s 2-0 win against Toronto FC and Saturday’s 1-0 win at Minnesota United FC.
Acosta becomes the first player in club history to earn a spot on the league’s weekly Team of the Week Starting XI in consecutive weeks, after the Argentine earned a spot for Week 9. Acosta scored for the third game running on Wednesday against Toronto from the penalty spot, his fourth goal of the season. Acosta’s superb play three days later included an assist on the stoppage time game-winner from Brandon Vazquez, guiding FCC to the club’s third win in eight days.
Acosta was credited with six key passes on Saturday, to extend his MLS-league in chances created to 42, nine more than New England’s Carles Gil’s 33. The weekly honor is FCC’s captain’s seventh since joining FC Cincinnati last season.
Celentano earned his second Team of the Week honor, his first in the Starting XI, after posting two clean sheets in goal for the Orange and Blue. Against Toronto, FC Cincinnati’s No. 2 overall selection in January’s MLS SuperDraft became the youngest goalkeeper in club history to record a shutout (21 years, 232 days), surpassing Spencer Richey’s mark (26 yrs., 291 days) in the first MLS shutout in club history on March 17, 2019 vs. Portland Timbers.
Celentano made 11 combined saves against Toronto and Minnesota, including a crucial save six minutes into second half stoppage time to preserve the 1-0 win at MNUFC. Celentano currently has a shutout streak of 205 minutes, the sixth-longest in club history, and a goals-against-average of 0.75.
Noonan earned his second MLS Coach of the Week honor, his first coming in Week 3 when he earned his first career win. Noonan has guided FC Cincinnati to the club’s first three-game win streak since joining MLS, doing so in an eight-day stretch which included two road games. He has led the club to three road wins so far in 2022, which matches a club record for most in one season (2019, 2021).
Noonan’s recognition is the sixth time an FC Cincinnati coach has been honored since 2019.
With three honors this week, FC Cincinnati have earned 10 spots on the league’s weekly Team of the Week this season.
Team
– Brandon Vazquez (3, 4)
– Ronald Matarrita (4-Bench)
– Alec Kann (7-Bench)
– Roman Celentano (8-Bench, 10)
– Luciano Acosta (9, 10)
Coach
– Pat Noonan (3, 10)
The full team for Week 10 is listed below.
2022 MLS TEAM OF THE WEEK presented by Audi (Week 10)
F: Paul Arriola (DAL), Ronaldo Cisneros (ATL), Joaquin Torres (MTL)
M: Daniel Gazdag (PHI), Mark Delgado (LA), Luciano Acosta (CIN), Taxi Fountas (DC)
D: Dave Romney (NSH), Aaron Long (RBNY), Nathan (SJ)
GK: Roman Celentano (CIN)
Coach: Pat Noonan (CIN)
Bench: JT Marcinkowski (SJ), Brendan Hines-Ike (DC), Derrick Etienne Jr. (CLB), Dax McCarty (NSH), Santiago Moreno (POR), Tosaint Ricketts (VAN), Andre Shinyashiki (CLT)
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.
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