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Late Lucho Acosta goal gives FC Cincinnati its 12th win | Replay

Pat Brennan, Cincinnati Enquirer
·5 min read

Just when it seemed like a certainty that the busy run of 10 matches in 35 days had finally taken its toll on FC Cincinnati’s 2023 season, Luciano Acosta arrived late on against Chicago Fire FC.

What seemed destined to finish in a scoreless draw on a night with few flashes of stellar play by either team, FC Cincinnati’s Acosta controlled a ball played in over the top by Santiago Arias and beat his defender one-versus-one to get a shot off.

Chicago Fire midfielder Federico Navarro (31) fouls FC Cincinnati midfielder Luciano Acosta (10) while he handles the ball in the first half of the MLS match at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, June 3, 2023.
Chicago Fire midfielder Federico Navarro (31) fouls FC Cincinnati midfielder Luciano Acosta (10) while he handles the ball in the first half of the MLS match at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, June 3, 2023.

The attempt slid underneath former FCC goalkeeper Spencer Richey and dribbled over the line for 1-0. It was Acosta’s seventh goal of 2023 and it proved decisive as FC Cincinnati held out for the 1-0 victory Saturday against the Fire at TQL Stadium.

“A really gutsy performance. A different type of game than we've seen just in terms of how much we had the ball, where we had the ball and the numbers that we're looking at right now," FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said. "The first 45 (minutes), there wasn't enough ball rotation to find different ways to get in the box to create our chances. But in the second half, there were a couple of slight adjustments in terms of how we wanted to position ourselves to be able to better threaten their backline and make them think about different things to allow Quimi (Ordonez) in striker position and our wingbacks to get in the box.

"You felt like it was going to come down to one moment for either team, and we found it in a pretty impressive way with Santi's (Santiago Arias) delivery to Lucho ( Acosta), and an excellent touch and finish. It was a gutsy performance, and it's nice to see our guys come out on top.”

The victory upped FC Cincinnati’s MLS-best record to 12-1-3 and 39 points in the standings. Cincinnati also stretched its undefeated run at TQL Stadium in 2023 to 9-0-0 in MLS play.

FCC’s starting lineup featured 19-year-old Arquimides Ordonez, Yuya Kubo in the role of the playmaking midfielder, Marco Angulo at a defensive midfield position and Alvas Powell at center back. Acosta also occupied a striker position – something he’d done once previously this season.

It was a lineup similar to what FCC deployed in mid-May against New York Red Bulls in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, if only for the breadth of the lineup changes game-over-game. Unlike against the Red Bulls where Cincinnati labored in the attack, the team on Saturday produced the majority share of possession against Chicago.

Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan brought his heavy-hitters on for the final 30 minutes, adding Brandon Vazquez, Dominique Badji and Junior Moreno to the fray but their addition to the match left little time to make an impact.

Arias, who entered the match in the 70th minute, played the long ball for Acosta to latch on to.

Next up for FC Cincinnati is Tuesday's Open Cup quarterfinal match at TQL Stadium. There, a win against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC could see FCC reach the semifinal round of the competition for the second time in club history.

Cincinnati returns to league play next Saturday at Vancouver Whitecaps.

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The breakthrough (83')

Luciano Acosta to the rescue. His seventh goal of the season dribbles under Spencer Richey, the former FCC goalkeeper and Fire FC captain, to put Cincinnati in the driver's seat.

Reinforcements arrive (61')

FC Cincinnati introduced Dominique Badji, Brandon Vazquez and Junior Moreno. Chicago countered by bring Xherdan Shaqiri, Kei Kamara, and Maren Haile-Selassie in. The should set things up nicely for the final 30 minutes.

An uneventful first half

Even with three key changes to the starting lineup, and Luciano Acosta moved to a striker position, FC Cincinnati controlled the match but lacked that final bit of quality. Sixty percent of the possession, five corner kicks, and eight shots couldn't produce an opening goal for FCC. Chicago had three corners and no shots, so Cincinnati's not giving up much to the visitors but it doesn't have much of its own to speak of either.

Seeking 9-0-0 at home (1')

We're underway at TQL Stadium at 7:39 p.m. on a cool evening after a storm passed over the area around 6 p.m.

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A familiar face

Spencer Richey, an FC Cincinnati goalkeeper whose tenure spanned three years and the club's jump to Major League Soccer from the lower divisions, starts and captains Chicago Fire FC in the game. Richey had 29 career MLS appearances for Cincinnati. In 2018 (USL), he was 11-1-2 with a .650 save percentage and a 1.29 goals against average with four shutouts for FCC.

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May 31, 2023; New York, New York, USA; New York City FC defender Braian Cufre (3) controls the ball against FC Cincinnati defender Yerson Mosquera (15) and goalkeeper Roman Celentano (18) during the first half at Yankee Stadium.
May 31, 2023; New York, New York, USA; New York City FC defender Braian Cufre (3) controls the ball against FC Cincinnati defender Yerson Mosquera (15) and goalkeeper Roman Celentano (18) during the first half at Yankee Stadium.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati beats Chicago Fire for 12th MLS win | Replay