FC Cincinnati Looks to Capitalize on Historic Season
Photo from fccincinnati.com
FC Cincinnati has had an incredible season, finding themselves as the Supporters Shield winners, and having many players at the top of their positions in the MLS. FC Cincinnati is set to square off against Philadelphia Union on November 25th in the Eastern Conference semifinals, a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals. The Union won that game in what had been Cincy’s best season as a professional team up to that point.
Photo from Cincinnati Business Courier
FC Cincinnati entered the MLS in 2019, where they spent their first three seasons as Wooden Spoon losers. The Wooden Spoon is the name given to the worst team in all Major League Soccer, whereas the Supporters Shield is given to the league’s best team.
Just when Cincy fans had started to give up on this team, they hired Chris Albright to be the team’s General Manager, and Pat Noonan as the team’s Head Coach. In the duo’s first season, during the 2022 campaign, they led the team to a fifth-place finish in the Eastern Conference, and a trip to the East Conference Semifinals.
Which brings us to 2023. The team had many star players, such as Brandon Vazquez, Lucho Acosta, and Brenner. This trio had the fans excited for a winning season, and it showed. Brenner ended up being bought out by Udinese, a professional Italian soccer club. Nottingham, an English club made multiple attempts to buyout Vazquez, but were unsuccessful.
Without Brenner the club turned to its other stars to step up. Acosta finished the year with 17 goals, 14 assists, and is the frontrunner to win the MLS MVP. Vazquez finished with eight goals, with Alvaro Barreal putting up five more throughout the regular season.
This trio led an exciting campaign, as they look to finish the season with the MLS Cup in their possession. However, none of this would have been possible without the contributions from the defense.
MLS defender of the year Matt Miazga stepped up throughout the course of the season to provide this team with some energy through his defense. Goaltender Roman Celentano helped his squad as well, saving 87 goals, and allowing only 35.
Photo from mlssoccer.com
This squad has been exciting to watch throughout the entire 2023 regular season. Acosta won goal of the year for his incredible goal against Charlotte FC on September 23rd, and Celentano added an award of his own, for his save of the year against the Columbus Crew on May 20th.
The awards keep racking up for this team, and they will likely add another in a few weeks, when the Landon Donovan MVP award is announced.
FC Cincinnati has had a very successful season and looks to keep it rolling in the MLS Cup Playoffs, as they aim to bring Cincinnati its first championship since 1990, when the Reds won the World Series.