It is unfortunately inescapable that in sports, seasons are as much defined by moments as they are by collections of them. The strong play of a 10 month run, or the glorious highs of a postseason victory can be redefined by a bad night at the wrong time and color the memory of a year with it.
So, on a night that started with so much promise, energy, excitement and buzz, FC Cincinnati ended its 2025 MLS season with a whimper rather than a bang. In some ways defining the season as a whole in a short stretch of one late November night.
Is that fair? Probably not, but it may be true. And on this Sunday night, it felt real.
With a sold-out crowd drenched in their blue attire on hand as they looked to help wash away Inter Miami CF and the pink jerseys they brought with them, the outcome on the field resembled more of a weak trickle rather than an ocean wave. Inter Miami navigated the seas just fine and dominated the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the tune of a 4-0 victory at TQL Stadium.
After what started as a fairly back and forth affair, it was Lionel Messi who opened the scoring in the 19 minute with a firm header on the front step of the goal to give Miami a lead they would never look back from.
That lead would stay the same through the first half, and it would last through the first little while of the second half. But in the 57 minute Miami would earn a second, then a third five minutes later, and a fourth 12 minutes after that. In the span of about 18 minutes FC Cincinnati’s season went from on the brink, to over.
FCC continued to fight with every deficit, to their credit, but those efforts were fruitless and mostly unimpactful as when the final whistle went it was still 4-0 and FC Cincinnati exited the field for the last time in 2025 looking more shellshocked than anything.
“A tough night,” Pat Noonan said to open his final postmatch press conference of 2025. “I know this is a tough night, to end this way with the way we were defeated, but credit to Miami. They were better tonight, and it's a tough way to end it. Thank you to the players and the staff–everybody that puts in so much time and effort to make this an enjoyable experience, despite the highs and lows that go along with it. So, these are the last moments that you have typically with a group when the season is over. I enjoyed this experience with this group, and I know it's a tough way to end it, but there's a lot of good– a lot of good players, a lot of good people, a lot of good staff members and so that part's tough. And again, we all want to do better, to play better, and to enjoy another exciting game where we continue to play, but that wasn't the case tonight. So, to the fans, we're sorry for how it ended.”
The best way you’d be able to describe this match to someone who wasn’t able to watch it would be like that of a classic horror flick, or maybe a nightmare is a better framework. But the feeling is all the same. A last minute let down is one feeling (a sharp break) but this night was more of a slow slip into the muck. A helpless fall into the dark
The bright eyed protagonist that you’ve come to cheer for uncharacteristically succumbs to the movie's villainy. But in this case, you don’t wake up or pop out the Blu-Ray. The game just ends.
“I don't think that performance represented who we were as a team over the course of the season, but unfortunately, it's a one off game, and we weren't the better team tonight. I think it's definitely frustrating. It's disappointing, but mostly because I feel like we let the fans down. We let Miami come in here and win this game when I think it was ours,” FC Cincinnati defender Miles Robinson said postgame. “But fact is, we weren't good enough, and it's definitely sad. I think the group feels like we let the city down.”
That feeling only provided an extra shadow over the game as the 4-0 scoreline further defined the reality of the night. The end of the 2025 season. The result that knocked out this team served as just further accoutrement to disappointment, and potentially changed the way this team, this 2025 group, is remembered.
"We had a good season. But to end up like this is painful. It's painful because at the end we did all of these things so that we would continue on, to continue to win, and all of this to stop now is not good,” forward Kévin Denkey added. “We need to learn, to try to learn and be better the next time.”
The feeling may fade with time, but for now, the second place season with cathartic wins and emotional journeys, will be marked by an asterisk that says this team was eliminated in dominant fashion.
And while there was still a degree of disbelief mixed in with the disappointment on the faces of those FC Cincinnati players who spoke postgame, that feeling only further entrenched the regret they felt in the aftermath of losing.
“I can’t tell you now what the problem is, or what the problem was, but it wasn't enough to win. It wasn't enough,” Denkey added. “I am sad because I wanted to win…we need to digest it tonight, and we will see what we will digest. But it will be hard to digest. It's hard.”
“Honestly, I don't know,” Nick Hagglund said postgame. “They were better tonight than us. I think it's just, thinking about all the hard work that we've put in this year. You come to this moment this is what you want to achieve, and you come up short, and I think there's disappointment. But also, you know, you're looking into the crowd, all the people that have supported you all year, and you're incredibly thankful for the opportunity to play for FC Cincinnati and have this incredible fan base and be a part of this club.”
The scoreline, in fairness, may not be reflective of anything other than the situation FCC had to face on the field. While it was a 4-0 game, when FCC went down 2-0 they shifted out defenders for attackers in an effort to chase the game. That gamble never paid out, but it’s a gamble you HAVE to make in a game like this. Down in an elimination game you have to go for goal, but the inherent risk of the ball going the other way is unavoidable. Some nights you score and flip the momentum, on this night you don't, so the season ends with a gaudy scoreline.
That is, to a large degree, a rationalization for comfort that does nothing for anyone. There was no one postgame who was really interested in mitigating anything that happened on the field, but given how it could color the future it should be mentioned. Especially considering the wrap up of emotions that were felt postgame.
Pat Noonan opted to keep the message shared in the locker room postgame private, but the themes of the resonate feelings rang through pretty clear.
Regret was one. Shame another. Regret in not living up to their potential and “wasting” a group that they felt was special. Shame in how it all fell apart and letting the fans and themselves down. It became clear, if it wasn’t before, that this group felt very close and knowing this is likely the last time they played together as a group clearly weighed on them.
“It's always like this. This is the last time this locker room is going to be together. Everyone together, so, obviously, really appreciative of the locker room and vibes and everything that the guys have put in this year. It was a fun group to be a part of,” Nick Hagglund said. “Ultimately, the group will be different come next year. At the end of the year, you want to win, I think you want to win a trophy. You want to put something to say that this is what this group did..it's unfortunate that it didn't happen this way.”
Who knows what comes next. There are plenty of questions that The Orange and Blue, its players, coaches, technical staff, decision makers and club officials, have to answer or sort out heading into 2026. There are players with expiring contracts after this season, and there are a few more with loans that need to be sorted out. All told, a large portion of the roster could or will look different in 2026. Who knows what else comes with that or what else waits around the corner, but the feeling of change was apparent, and while change is inevitable, it’s not easy.
There are plenty of tough pills to swallow coming out of Sunday’s match, and not much recourse for any of them until the team reunites in January. In the coming days or weeks roster decisions will need to be announced, and some clarity may come even if said clarity brings no solace.
But the Sun rose on Monday morning, and a new day came. Eventually that will happen enough until all of a sudden it is February and FC Cincinnati are back at TQL Stadium for kickoff of the 2026 season.
Until then,
