Arias stars in FC Cincinnati win over Nashville SC

FC Cincinnati won an eventful Saturday evening game over Nashville SC, 3-1. The game started an hour late due to weather, highly anticipated striker Aaron Boupendza scored a debut goal in the dying moments, and Nashville (yet again) had two players sent off. As a packed TQL Stadium watched the dramatic matchup between the Eastern Conference No. 1, Cincinnati, and No. 3, Nashville, the home side fell in a first-half deficit before clawing back to lead 2-1 with a goal from Santiago Arias.

Arias, FCC’s 31-year-old right wingback from Colombia, was involved in the game in every way imaginable: he flew up and down the right flank, drew fouls and was involved in the plays leading up to Nashville’s red cards, and scored the go-ahead game winner in the 74th minute.

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Arias received a roar of cheers as he was subbed off after 81 minutes, and rightfully so.

Scoring the game winner

Seventy four minutes into the dramatic and tense 1-1 game, Arias received a ball on the right corner of the 18-yard box, played Luciano Acosta towards the center, and continued his run on the back of Nashville’s left back towards goal. A beautifully timed and weighted pass from Acosta hit the feet of Arias, who’s leading first touch led him directly into scoring position. Arias’ right-footed poke around the keeper rocked the back of the net in front of The Bailey as Cincinnati went up 2-1, a lead FCC would not squander.

The go-ahead was Arias’ second goal in Major League Soccer.

“It was a good moment on the ball, I made a run, and you know the qualities that Lucho (Acosta) has, so I continued my run and he was able to find me, so I just put it away,” Arias said.

FC Cincinnati’s hybrid three/five back system allows for its wingbacks, most often Arias and Alvaro Barreal, to heavily contribute to the offense on the outskirts of the pitch. The system provides numbers on both sides of the ball, a unique attribute to the system.

“We’ve talked a lot about how we can get our wingbacks into the box in certain ways,” head coach Pat Noonan said of Arias, “look at ways to run in the box, look at ways to run in behind the opposition to goal. The timing, the weight of the pass, his first touch, then the quality of the finish, that’s why we want him there.”

The timing of the run was heavily complimented by Noonan, who called Arias’ goal fantastic.

The emotional sparkplug

After getting an early yellow card 26 minutes into the game, Arias was metaphorically skating on thin ice when it came to tackles, chatter, and anything that might entice the referee to reach for a second card.

That did not stop Arias from getting stuck in tackles and chatting with the opposing players.

“This was a very hard game, a very tough game, and in my experience, I know how to manage that,” Arias said. “As the game wears on … a bit of fatigue sets in but it’s about managing that situation.”

Nashville has now played back-to-back games where two of its players received red cards, accumulating to five red cards the last four games. Cincinnati has received two in the last five and countless yellows, all but guaranteeing that every game will be physical, chirpy, and dramatic. Arias was at the heart of all of it.

Moments where Arias is in the face of a player on the ground, or moments where Arias gets hit hard in the box on an eventual no-call made him an emotional catalyst for the team and for the TQL Stadium crowd. The energy exerting from Arias’ every movement was radiated along the crowd, especially as he drew Nashville’s Fafa Picault into a retaliation foul that got him sent off (Nashville’s second red card).

Arias was eventually subbed off with the caution of avoiding the risk of a double yellow, Noonan said after the game.

An all-around performance

Both the offense and defense from Arias contributed to what was one of his best games in an FC Cincinnati shirt. Arias consistently found himself combining with teammates up the right in the offensive half, and just as consistently found himself tracking back into the defensive third for coverage, tackles, and interceptions.

“It’s what the moment of that game called for,” Arias said of his defensive presence Saturday, “we had the ball and we were sort of controlling … At the end of the day, it’s the team that’s calmer that’s going to win those moments.”

The game was Arias’ 18th appearance of the season, ninth start. There’s been a steady and continual improvement in his performances, according to Noonan, who still saw some positional details that could have been better.

Regardless, Arias proved to be an obvious threat on the offensive side of the ball Saturday and continues the upwards trajectory of form. Arias’ game winner keeps FC Cincinnati eight points ahead of second-place New England Revolution, 13 points above now-fourth placed Nashville.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Arias stars in FC Cincinnati win over Nashville SC