What we learned from FC Cincinnati's Supporters Shield-clinching victory
TORONTO – Luciano Acosta was raised shoulder-high by his teammates. Down by Acosta’s feet, which were hanging in midair, Aaron Boupendza propped a large wireless speaker blaring loud music on his shoulder.
The FC Cincinnati players around them cheered and danced. Champagne corks popped. Cans of Rhinegeist beer that made the trip were cracked but only partially consumed. Much of the alcohol in the visitors’ locker room at BMO Field would end up dripping from the ceiling tiles and soaked up by the carpet flooring.
More: FC Cincinnati beats Toronto FC to clinch 2023 Supporters Shield
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Major League Soccer veteran Ray Gaddis instructed an FC Cincinnati rookie on the proper form for spraying champagne – “you gotta use your thumb,” Gaddis told a green midfielder who’d never lifted an MLS prize before.
Each player donned a pair of customized Oakley-brand goggles for protection from the spray of liquor. The protective eyewear was orange-colored, with FCC logos and individual player numbers in the MLS kit font printed on the headbands.
The scene was a modern, champagne-soaked locker room celebration like you see on TV in other cities. Except this one was for Cincinnati. And for the first time, it was FC Cincinnati – once a hot property as an expansion franchise but later a three-time last-place finisher – celebrating the first championship in the club’s MLS history.
Saturday’s 3-2 win against Toronto FC at BMO Field secured FC Cincinnati’s place in MLS lore as the club clinched the Supporters Shield, which is awarded annually to the club with the best regular-season record based on the league’s point system.
The win pushed FC Cincinnati to a 19-4-8 record and 65 points in the standings. With three matches still to be played, that was enough for Cincinnati to cement a first-place finish in the league-wide standings.
FC Cincinnati first assumed the top spot in the MLS standings in May. Ultimately, it never looked back in what will go down as one of the most dominant seasons in league history. And the club's not done yet. Preparations for the playoffs are already underway.
Here's more on what those preparations might look like with three regular-season games to go, plus an appreciation of FC Cincinnati's big attacking players stepping up, and a peek behind the curtain of the post-match locker room celebration:
A fitting night for Acosta, "Boup" and Vazquez
There was a distinct sense of satisfaction around the Shield-clinching goal. The play in question was keyed by Acosta, who unlocked Toronto’s defense with an incisive run from near the midfield line. At just the right moment, Acosta dished to Boupendza, who lashed home a goal for 3-2 in the 71st minute.
Any goal by any player would have sufficed with everything at stake at that moment – 20-plus minutes left in a prime opportunity to clinch the club’s first major trophy against a last-place opponent. But there was something extra special about Acosta and Boupendza teaming up to score.
Of course, Acosta had to be involved. This storybook isn't complete with a mention of him in the climactic moment. The presumed favorite for the 2023 Landon Donovan Most Valuable Player Award had been at the heart of so much over the last two seasons, and especially lately as he inked a long-term contract extension with the club. The assist was Acosta's13th of 2023. He has 28 goal contributions this season.
And then Boupendza finished the play, giving him five goals in just eight league appearances for FC Cincinnati since joining the club in July. That's a heck of a return on a player that's very new to MLS. Boupendza was acquired to help expedite Cincinnati's push for titles and his score delivered their first-ever trophy, making good on the win-now move to acquire him.
And let’s not forget the first two FC Cincinnati goals of the night. They were pumped in by Brandon Vazquez, who has 33 scores for FCC over the last two seasons. Vazquez languished on the bench for most of the 2020 and 2021 last-place finishes. His explosion (and soon, his likely departure for Europe) have been vital to the club’s rise.
It wasn’t long ago that serious questions were asked outside the club about whether or not Acosta, Boupendza and Vazquez could play together. A lack of explosive attacking play gave rise to premature concerns. Consider those concerns a thing of the past.
On a night when FC Cincinnati’s three biggest scorers needed to stand up and be counted, they each did.
Did FC Cincinnati just raise the Supporters Shield's profile?
Trophies and accomplishments are only as valuable as the winner’s desire to achieve them, and not every club prioritizes the Supporters Shield. FC Cincinnati did, and both the club and the concept of the trophy benefitted from that.
The locker room scenes of FC Cincinnati celebrating in Toronto were borderline viral material, as were the scenes at Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport, where supporters cheered the return of the club’s private flight around 1:30 a.m. TV cameras showed up to capture the scenes, as did Enquirer photographer-extraordinaire Kareem Elgazzar.
Pundits and observers of the league noticed all of this via “X,” formerly known as Twitter. They seemed tickled by Cincinnati’s embrace of the Supporters Shield, and perhaps that zest for the prize could increase its standing in MLS circles.
Being the best regular-season team isn’t what drives passions in North American sports. The National Hockey League is the only other major professional sport on the continent that presents a trophy to its best regular-season club and players don’t want to touch the thing for fear of a jinx.
It’s largely postseason success that fuels fans and defines legacies, and that’s probably also true in MLS.
But as a sport, soccer is different. In many soccer-loving parts of the world, the point is to win the regular season. That makes you the champion, period. And if you want the thrill of playoff-style elimination tournaments, you get that in the various cup competitions staged in many countries (such as the U.S. Open Cup).
MLS celebrates its regular-season and postseason champions. The Supporters Shield isn’t on par with the MLS Cup, which is the ultimate prize served up to the league’s postseason champ, but it’s a big one. It’s considered a major honor. FC Cincinnati had the chance to win four trophies when the season started. Most players and fans would have ranked it No. 2 on the list of things they coveted.
Next year when FC Cincinnati adds a fifth competition in the CONCACAF Champions League, some might still rank the Shield as the No. 2 most-desired trophy, with only MLS Cup above it.
Even if FC Cincinnati were to flop in the postseason, it can credibly hold the Supporters Shield and say “2023 was a success.”
Observations from the winning locker room
The post-match visitors’ locker room at BMO Field was the kind of scene every FC Cincinnati fan, staffer, ticket representative, and associate deserved to be a part of. Only a select few had the privilege to be inside and know the feelings of shoes sticking to the floor because of the dried beer and champagne.
Here’s what it was like:
Players stormed in from the playing field to find a table in the middle of the room, and coolers at the foot of the table. The coolers were filled with cans of beer, and mostly Cincinnati-crafted brew. The popular cans were Rhinegeist (Cincy Light, Truthand Juicy Truth). There were also some other varieties including Heineken. The table featured assorted bottles of champagne along with Grey Goose vodka and Jack Daniels whiskey.
The players also rushed into the locker room to find their goggles. On the field, they’d been given T-shirts to commemorate their Shield victory.
Initially, there was some waiting around as players trickled in. It seemed like the early-arrivers were hesitant to start the party without an official green light, but eventually the corks started popping. They were off and running.
The coaching staff and other staffers mostly sat back and observed. Manager Pat Noonan was doused several times. He was also hoisted up by several players. In a show of great professionalism, Noonan would later step away from the celebration and give a full post-match news conference. It went for about 12 minutes and he was thoughtful in his responses even though he certainly would have preferred to be in the next room where the big party was still kicking off.
Team President Jeff Berding wisely switched out of a sport coat in favor of a moisture-repellent FCC jacket for the locker room celebration. He had Carl Lindner III on a call and held up his iPhone for players to greet the club's principal owner.
General Manager Chris Albright went around the room to greet players and others individually. You got a hug if you weren’t completely soaked in alcohol. Those were heartfelt embraces, and there were a lot of “thank you’s” going back and forth between Albright and the individuals.
Eventually, team administrator Satoshi Tatsumi informed the entire room they had limited time to shower and clean up or they’d miss the window for their private flight home. Some suggested they stay in Toronto for the night to continue partying. Alvas Powell shouted the loudest for that outcome before flipping his vote in favor of a hasty exit to get to the plane. Nick Hagglund, who was one of the most joyful individuals in the post-match celebration, reminded his teammates that next weekend’s match was in Miami. If they wanted to celebrate, they could potentially do it there. The players eventually ripped protective tarps down from the lockers that were used to cover their personal items and clothes, and made their way to the buses that would take them to the airport.
FC Cincinnati cleaned up well from the celebration. The were clumps of grass and mud on the locker room floor but that was from the game itself. Every bottle and beer can found its way to a trash receptacle. The floor was damp. A couple ceiling tiles consistently took direct hits from the champagne spray, but FCC was respectful of Toronto FC’s property. Two TFC staffers seemed impressed and relieved by the state of the room when they entered after Cincinnati pulled away.
Don't be surprised to see FC Cincinnati downshift now
The Supporters Shield sometimes isn't decided until the final day of the regular season and it's a sign of FC Cincinnati's dominance in 2023 that they clinched it with three matches to spare. But that also creates an interesting challenge for the team, which hosts its regular-season finale against Atlanta United at TQL Stadium Oct. 21.
FC Cincinnati can still break the MLS single-season points record. If it wins out over its final three games, the club will surpass the 2021 New England Revolution (73 points) by a single point. FCC still has that carrot to chase and they will chase it, but you should also expect to see the club downshift in some areas as it preps for the postseason.
"We can get the points record regardless of who's on the field," Noonan said on Saturday. "And now it's about managing these games in a way where, yeah, we have a quick turnaround going into the (Wednesday) Red Bull game. So, it's not necessary to risk players if the recovery isn't there. But we're going to put out a strong team and look to maintain fitness for players because you don't want guys − we're not just going to do wholesale changes, and have guys that are off for weeks leading into the playoffs. This next game will probably be the one that we look at just with, really, the next two, how we balance out the rotations to make sure we're fresh and not pushing guys in an unnecessary way.
"Because it's about keeping guys healthy. But we'll still look to go out and win a game on Wednesday."
FC Cincinnati hosts New York Red Bulls on Wednesday at TQL Stadium prior to an away match at Inter Miami CF on Saturday. The "Decision Day" regular-season finale follows two weeks after the Miami match.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What we learned from FC Cincinnati's Supporters Shield-clincher
