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FC Cincinnati falls in Leagues Cup PK shootout to Nashville SC | Replay

pat brennan, cincinnati enquirer
·6 min read

There was a finality and permanence about FC Cincinnati's elimination from Leagues Cup that the club was unaccustomed to.

After playing to a 1-1 draw through 90 minutes, Nashville SC advanced from Friday's Leagues Cup Round of 32 match at TQL Stadium by defeating FC Cincinnati in a penalty-kick shootout before an announced crowd of 19,911.

Nashville goalkeeper Elliott Panicco was substituted into the match in the closing seconds to replace starter Joe Willis. The move by Nashville head coach Gary Smith proved wise in the shootout as Panicco saved a spot-kick by FCC center back Matt Miazga, the only Cincinnati player who failed to convert.

Nashville converted all five of its kicks. Dax McCarty punched home the winning shot in the fifth round of the shootout.

The elimination for FC Cincinnati put a cap on what had previously seemed to be endless ambition to fill its trophy cabinet in 2023. On Friday morning, every possible trophy and honor an American soccer team could possibly earn was still available to the club.

Nashville − a club of measurable ambition in its own right − had taken one of FC Cincinnati's possible glories off the table entirely before the day was out.

Three major trophies remain in FC Cincinnati's collectives sights but Leagues Cup became the first to disappear from the horizon.

"It's a different feeling," FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said afterward. Forward and rising USMNT star Brandon Vazquez agreed, calling the club's Friday elimination frustrating.

FC Cincinnati will look to the final 11 matches of the Major League Soccer regular season where it is leading the race for the Supporters Shield, the highly-incentivized prize awarded to the league's best regular-season club.

Cincinnati will soon turn back to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, too. A the high-profile semifinal clash with Lionel Messi's Inter Miami CF looms on Aug. 23.

FCC also has the MLS Cup playoffs to look forward to eventually. For now, it will watch the final rounds of Leagues Cup from home.

"I know we have the team to win everything and like I said, if we played better tonight I think we could have beaten any team we faced the rest of the tournament," Vazquez said. "I think this gives us a wake-up call and we have to put our full attention to Open Cup and winning the Supporters Shield now."

With the victory, Nashville advanced to host Club America, the storied Mexican club, on Tuesday at GEODIS Park (8 p.m.).  Ticket information will be shared within the next day, Nashville officials announced after Friday's match.

For FC Cincinnati, its next competitive action will be Aug. 20 against Columbus Crew at Lower.com Field.

"Hopefully we can find a way, like we have in the past, to use this experience to better prepare us down the road because you see what it looks like now with a win-or-go-home scenario," Noonan said. "The loss and exiting the tournament, you know, that part stings a little bit but we'll shift our focus now on the return of league play on (Aug.) 20."

How the match played out: Nashville 'didn't come to play'

The shootout was preceded by an eventful second half and a listless first half prior to that. Anibal Godoy’s tap-in opener finally cracked the match open in the 64th minute. The goal followed a first half of few meaningful chances between the two sides.

FC Cincinnati's attack shifted into gear after Godoy's score.

After 83 minutes of unsuccessfully probing a stiff Nashville defense, Vazquez was hauled down in the penalty area. Referee Nima Saghafi awarded a penalty kick, and Vazquez stepped up to convert it.

FCC captain Luciano Acosta deferred to Vazquez on the spot-kick in the 84th minute due to leg cramps, and Vazquez converted the chance to knot the contest late.

Cincinnati failed to get a foothold offensively for long stretches prior to Godoy's goal, though. Acosta said Nashville "didn't come to play" − a swipe in soccer circles that is usually interpreted to suggest a cynical in-game strategy.

"They defended the whole 90 minutes," Acosta said. "We tried attacks but a lot of our opportunities came from set pieces. When they got their goal, we tried some more and tied it up but they defended well. Frustrated."

FC Cincinnati finished the game with more than 66% of the possession and 13 shots, but just four on-target shots.

Cincinnati finished the tournament having scored seven times, and with a 1-0-2 record. Officially, Leagues Cup matches that go to penalty-shootouts are recorded as draws, so Cincinnati's record across all competitions at TQL Stadium is without a defeat (15-0-3).

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Penalty-kick shootout results

(results by round, Cincinnati shooting first)

  • First round: Luciano Acosta scores; Hany Mukhtar scores. Tied at 1-1.

  • Second round: Brandon Vazquez scores; Fafa Picault scores. Tied at 2-2.

  • Third round: Matt Miazga's shot is saved by Elliott Panicco; Anibal Godoy scores. Nashville leads, 3-2.

  • Fourth round: Yuya Kubo scores; Walker Zimmerman scores. Nashville leads, 4-3.

  • Fifth round: Alvaro Barreal scores; Dax McCarty scores. Nashville advances to the Round of 16 (5-4 win in PK shootout).

Full time: To penalty kicks

FC Cincinnati goes to a penalty-kick shootout to settle a competitive match for the third time in 2023. They've advanced from both of the previous shootouts. Tonight, they'll attempt to do it again after Nashville switched goalkeepers late, bringing on Elliott Panicco in favor of starter Joe Willis.

An equalizer for FCC (85')

Cometh the need for an equalizer, cometh someone who plays for FC Cincinnati. This time, it was Brandon Vazquez coming to the rescue late.

Nashville goes in front (64')

Anibal Godoy opened the scoring with a tap-in off a Hany Mukhtar corner kick that FC Cincinnati couldn't deal with.

Scoreless at the break

There was no breakthrough to be had, although Nashville SC had some fine chances by the end of the first half. FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Alec Kann has two saves. That's been the highlight so far.

A somewhat slow start for both sides (20')

One shot apiece so far, and neither team put their shot on-target. Cincinnati's had more of the ball and two corner kicks while Nashville's had more set-piece deliveries inside their attacking third of the field overall. All told, we are scoreless and it doesn't feel like there's a looming threat of a goal.

Match underway (1')

Off and running at TQL Stadium at 8:09 p.m. Referee Nima Saghafi is presiding over the contest.

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FC Cincinnati forward Aaron Boupendza (9) rises for a header in the first half of a Leagues Cup match, Thursday, July 27, 2023, at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati.
FC Cincinnati forward Aaron Boupendza (9) rises for a header in the first half of a Leagues Cup match, Thursday, July 27, 2023, at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati falls in Leagues Cup shootout to Nashville SC | Replay