FC Cincinnati's Pat Noonan says don't overlook Orlando City SC. Here's why
By the time FC Cincinnati hoisted the Supporters' Shield trophy in September, the rest of Major League Soccer's challengers for the prize were out of sight. But Orlando City SC was the last credible contender still chasing FCC when the race ended, and they ended up finishing close behind Cincinnati in the final standings.
Orlando finished 2023 the No. 2 side in the league-wide standings, just six points back of the Shield winners. Orlando was also one of just two teams to beat FCC at TQL Stadium last season, and the only club in the Eastern Conference to go undefeated against the Orange and Blue.
Orlando didn't come out of nowhere to achieve the one-two finish with FC Cincinnati atop the league. The club qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs four straight seasons starting in 2020. By any objective measure, Orlando has been one of the east's heavy hitters and most consistent teams in recent years.
It remains to be seen if this year's Orlando team is made up of the same ingredients.
The club's 2-4-3 record suggests it might not be. FC Cincinnati will find out for itself when the teams convene Saturday at Inter & Co. Stadium (7:30 p.m.) for their 10th-ever meeting. The game should serve as some measure of a litmus test to determine Orlando's viability as a contender as it hosts a streaking FCC side that's inching toward another Shield race despite facing some significant challenges of its own.
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Pat Noonan, FCC's head coach, isn't writing Orlando off yet.
"It's a very good team, one that you look past the record," Noonan said during a Thursday news conference. "If you just watch the games and how they play, very good with the ball. A lot of players that are comfortable under pressure, different ways to kind of break teams down with their build structure with how they rotate players within the run of play to advance the ball.
"And then when they attack the goal, I think they attack the goal with numbers in good dangerous positions. You get (Duncan) McGuire up top. (He's a) willing runner, very effective running behind and getting on the end of crosses. With (Facundo)Torres, with (Iván) Angulo one-versus-one attacking wingers . . . I just think they're really well rounded.”
McGuire, 23, is Orlando's leading scorer with four goals. He was set for a move abroad this winter until the move fell through publicly and dramatically due to clerical errors in processing the transaction.
Angulo has a goal and two assists on the season.
A challenge at the striker position for FC Cincinnati
All the talk lately around FC Cincinnati has centered around its forward players. The conversation was promising and discouraging in equal doses as the club formally introduced 19-year-old Venezuelan phenom, Kevin Kelsy, but did so against the backdrop of another off-field injury for Aaron Boupendza.
Parallel to those developments, FC Cincinnati and its fans were relishing in a recent burst of solid form and goal-scoring. FCC earned back-to-back 2-1 wins against Atlanta United and Colorado Rapids on April 20 and April 27th, respectively.
A team whose goal-scorer was criticized was suddenly finding the offense it needed, and players like Corey Baird ended scoring droughts by netting their goals. Taken together, the two wins made FC Cincinnati look like the 2023 version of itself. The challenge this weekend will be to continue that form.
With Boupendza slated to miss six to eight weeks, Kelsy could start to enter the picture for Cincinnati against Orlando. He was on the dais at the Mercy Health Training Center for a Thursday interview session, his first with domestic media members since the completion of the deal that will see him play out 2024 with FC Cincinnati, and possibly beyond if the club opts to purchase his contract from Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine.
Noonan indicated Kelsy wouldn't be rushed into on-field action in order to replace Boupendza, who recently had played sparingly. Noonan added that the early impressions of Kelsy have been promising ahead of the Orlando match.
"He's looked, in some ways, really impactful, and in some ways you see a new face, a new player that's trying to get acclimated to his new environment," Noonan said. "He is a very serious kid, I think, for his age. The level of professionalism is pretty impressive. He's in the gym early. He's doing work after training and I don't think that's to impress. I think it's who he is − an ambitious kid that wants to get better and wants to have a positive initial impact with our group. We have been very pleased with what we've seen early on.
"We won't force the issue, but I do think based on what we've seen early on, that there's a good possibility that he's going to have an opportunity this weekend to be a part of the group. We'll get through the next couple days, but I do think with what he provides, in that position, that there's instant value and an asset that we could utilize. Again, we'll see how we get through the next couple days, but based on what I've seen and how he came in, if we think he can help us, he's going to help us.”
Noonan also has a decision to make in the goalkeeping department. FCC earned its wins against Atlanta and Colorado with veteran Alec Kann in net. Roman Celentano missed a month of action following an ankle injury sustained in March, and while he's the long-term starter for FCC, Kann is the hot hand at the moment.
The game
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. | Inter & Co. Stadium; Orlando
Broadcast: Apple TV (this game free); ESPN 1530 (radio)
All-time series: Orlando City leads the all-time series with FC Cincinnati with four wins, two losses, and three draws (Orlando leads 4-2-3).
Cincinnati.com prediction: FC Cincinnati 1, Orlando City 1.
FC Cincinnati
Record (MLS): 5-2-3, 18 points; second place in Eastern Conference
Goals for: 12 (Tied for No. 6 in east)
Goals against: Nine (Tied for No. 1 in east)
Head coach: Pat Noonan, third season as head coach.
Projected starting XI: Roman Celentano, goalkeeper; Luca Orellano, left wing back; Ian Murphy, center back; Matt Miazga, center back; Miles Robinson, center back; DeAndre Yedlin, right wing back; Obinna Nwobodo, midfielder; Pavel Bucha, midfielder; Luciano Acosta, midfielder; Corey Baird, forward; Yuya Kubo, forward.
Orlando City SC
Record: 2-4-3, nine points; 13th place in MLS Eastern Conference
Goals for: 11 (Tied for No. 9 in the east)
Goals against: 17 (Tied for No. 12 in the east)
Coach: Óscar Pareja − fifth season at Orlando City SC
Projected starting XI: Pedro Gallese, goalkeeper; Rafael Santos, left back; Robin Jansson, center back; David Brekalo, center back; Dagur Dan Þórhallsson, right back; César Araújo, midfielder; Wilder Cartagena, midfielder; Iván Angulo, midfielder/winger; Martín Ojeda, midfielder; Facundo Torres, midfielder/winger; Duncan McGuire, forward.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati's Pat Noonan says don't overlook Orlando City SC
