On Sunday evening FC Cincinnati 2 hosted Columbus Crew 2 at Scudamore Field at NKU Soccer Stadium. The Orange and Blue fell at home 1-0, snapping a three-game home win streak for FCC 2 against their in-state rivals.
The visitors came out on the front foot early in the first half, but it was the Orange and Blue who closed out the half the stronger side, despite being reduced to 10 men in the 37th minute. The match went into the break scoreless.
FC Cincinnati Academy goalkeeper Connor Dale earned his second consecutive start on Sunday and delivered a crucial penalty-kick denial to keep the match scoreless in the second half. After making five saves in his debut against New England Revolution 2, Dale made four saves against Crew 2.
However, Columbus would find the eventual winner in the match as Zach Zengue found the back of the net in the 74th minute.
Cincinnati will travel to face CT United FC on Thursday, June 18 at Reese Stadium at 7 p.m. ET in the second meeting this season between the two teams. The last time FC Cincinnati 2 played CT United, the Orange and Blue lost at home 3-1 in the season opener. The match will also stream live on OneFootball platforms and on MLSNEXTPro.com.
FC CINCINNATI 2 GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati 2 vs Columbus Crew 2
Date: June 14, 2026
Competition: MLS NEXT Pro Regular Season
Venue: Scudamore Field at NKU Soccer Stadium | Highland Heights, KY
Kickoff: 6:04 p.m. ET
Weather: 70 degrees, cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 0-0-0
CLB: 0-1-1
CIN – None
CLB– Zach Zengue (Gmamble) 74’
LINEUPS
CIN: Connor Dale, Charlie Holmes, Sami Lachekar, Félix Samson (Noah Gassan 73’), Andrei Chirila, Michael Sullivan (C), Camden Sphire (Cheikhou Niang 86’), Chance Malilo, Stefan Chirila, Ademar Chávez (Leo Orejarena 18’), Deiver Mosquera
Substitutes not used: Bryan Dowd, Mathias Vasquez, Nathan Gray, LJ Born, Dom Lester
Head Coach: Sammy Castellanos
CLB: Luke Pruter, Isaac Heffess (Oneal Taylor 72’), Quinton Elliot, Christopher Rogers, Johann Chirinos (Nico Rincon 72’), Tarun Karumanchi, Tristian Brown (Alex Gimple 72’), Kevin Gbamble (C), Brent Adu Gyamfi, Chase Adams, Zach Zengue
Substitutes not used: Moses Nyeman, Stanislav Lapkes, Gio De Libera, Immanuel Ewing, Zach Lloyd, Jackson Bonos
Head Coach: Federico Higuaín
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/CLB
Shots: 8/19
Shots on Goal: 2/5
Saves: 4/2
Corner Kicks: 6/3
Fouls: 17/16
Offside: 1/3
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN- Chance Malilo (Yellow Card) 23’
CIN- Chance Malilo (Yellow Card/Red Card) 37’
CLB- Chase Adams (Yellow Card) 52’
CIN- Camden Sphire (Yellow Card) 55’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Laura Rodriguez
Ast. Referees: Jackson Krauser, Achal Awasthi,
Fourth Official: Alex Adkins
