FC Cincinnati tied with visiting Atlanta United FC, 1-1, Wednesday, July 21 in a night game at TQL Stadium in front of a crowd of 23,162.
After a scoreless first half, Luciano Acosta’s team-leading fourth goal of the season gave FC Cincinnati the lead in the 61st minute. His right-footed curling shot came after a perfectly weighted pass from Brenner to take the 1-0 lead.
Atlanta United FC equalized in the 70th minute, and the result would hold for a 1-1 draw.
FCC goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer had a season high eight saves.
FC Cincinnati traveled back to the Music City to take on Nashville SC on Saturday, July 24 at Nissan Stadium, site of the club’s season opening 2-2 draw in April, but fell to Nashville 3:0.
The Orange and Blue fell to 3-7-4 (13 points) for the season. Nashville improves to 6-1-8 and with the win moved into second place in the Eastern Conference with 26 points. Nashville is the first club in MLS to earn six wins at home this season.
C.J. Sapong scored a brace for the hosts, striking first in the 13th minute. Randall Leal’s 35th minute goal gave Nashville a 2-0 halftime lead before Sapong’s 57th minute goal gave the contest its final scoreline.
FC Cincinnati was shutout for the first time since a 2-0 home loss to Colorado Rapids on June 19. The goalless defeat snapped a six-match streak in which FCC had scored at least one goal, the second longest run in club history.
Arquimides Ordonez made his senior debut with the club as a substitute in the 74th minute, becoming the first homegrown player in club history to appear in a match.
FC Cincinnati returns to action at home next Saturday, July 31 against D.C. United at TQL Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
The photos below of the Atlanta United match on July 21 are by Loveland Magazine photographer, Alex Eicher.
In other FC Cincinnati news:
U.S. SOCCER SELECTS CINCINNATI AS HOST FOR USA-MEXICO NOVEMBER WORLD CUP QUALIFIER
For the U.S. Men’s National Team’s fourth home match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign, U.S. Soccer has selected Cincinnati as the host of USA-Mexico.
On November 12, TQL Stadium will be the site for the first qualifier in Cincinnati. The match will be broadcast live on the ESPN and Univision family of networks, with kickoff time to be determined.
“When you talk about great rivalries in our sport, USA-Mexico is one of the best,” U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Gregg Berhalter said. “We are fortunate to have so many great venue options in this country, and for this match Cincinnati ticks all the boxes.”
“This is a special game that requires a special atmosphere, and we know it’s one that Cincinnati will provide.”
“This match is the culmination of years of planning and hard work,” said Jeff Berding, FC Cincinnati President. “We had a vision to build a stadium that was not only home to FC Cincinnati matches, but also a premier destination for world-class events. This is one of the biggest matches in North America, and we are proud to play host to all of the fans that will be in attendance.”
Due to the anticipated high demand, U.S. Soccer will once again be utilizing a weighted random draw for tickets. Information on the ticket allocation process is available here.
AGAINST MEXICO
The most anticipated game in the region every four years, this is the sixth-consecutive time the state of Ohio has hosted the USA-Mexico qualifier. These meetings have produced some of the most significant moments in U.S. Soccer history in a rivalry that dates back to 1934.
While Mexico had historically dominated the series, competition between the teams has grown into a proper rivalry since 2000 during which time the U.S. has held the edge, amassing a record of 15-9-6 against its neighbors to the south. The most important meeting in the modern era came at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan in the Round of 16.
The epic encounters continued last month when the USMNT was crowned champion of the inaugural Concacaf Nations League after twice coming from behind to defeat Mexico 3-2 in a match that required 30 minutes of overtime to determine a winner.
Since 2000, the series is an even 4-4-2 in World Cup Qualifying contests.
ONLY TWO IN NOVEMBER
The match against Mexico will be the first of two matches during the November, with the USMNT traveling to Jamaica for the second match on Nov. 16 against the Reggae Boyz.
November is the only month during the entire World Cup Qualifying campaign where the USMNT will only play two games instead of three. In September and October of this year, and then January, and March of 2022, the USMNT contend with a ‘triple date’ during which the U.S. will play three matches in seven days.
Under the new qualifying format, a total of eight teams – increased from six in previous cycles -will compete in the Final Round, with the top three teams advancing to Qatar ’22. The fourth-place team will participate in an Intercontinental playoff for the last spot.
The 10 matches in the Final Round had typically been played during the course of 18 months. Due to schedule changes related to the global pandemic and the new format, each team will play14 matched in seven-month period.
