HARRISON, NJ -- A week ago, or perhaps just a little less than that, FC Cincinnati was on the disappointing end of a late goal scored to sour a potential 1-0 victory over Orlando City SC at TQL Stadium. On this night however, FC Cincinnati held steadfast through whatever their New Jersey based opponent could throw at them and secured their 11th road victory, 62nd point, and confirmed their home field advantage in the MLS Cup Playoffs opening round with a 1-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls.
One goal was all they needed as the club secured the clean sheet, giving Evan Louro his first career clean sheet in MLS and securing his third victory in the four games he’s played thus far.
The one goal was supplied by Kévin Denkey. The Togolese striker who had to depart for International Duty almost immediately after the final whistle earned his 15th finish of the MLS season, creating a sequence of true brilliance where he was able to pull down a pass and beat the defender with a quick touch at the center circle of the field. He raced forward on goal, and with only the keeper to beat uncorked a howitzer of a shot that left a trail of smoke behind it as it pinged through the nylon netting behind the Red Bulls keeper.
That was the only goal the offense provided, and while it struggled at times with the patented Red Bulls press and making the right on the ball decisions, the defense, the biggest point of emphasis to come out of last week’s draw, took a step forward and earned the victory.
“Certainly a lot of improvement on the defensive side of the ball. I thought for the most part, guys did a really good job of making improvements on some of the things that weren't strong enough last weekend,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said, opening his press conference. “Certainly an important win at a crucial time.”
Clean sheets are a stat that is awarded to the keeper, but it’s really an entire team accomplishment. The defense was, in Noonan’s own words, “not good enough” last week. But after a week of focusing in on some problems, the Head Coach felt like progress was made in that area. Which is important in Saturday night’s context (as evident by the victory) but also in the larger view of the season as FC Cincinnati gear up for the playoffs. Progress being made means wins now, and hopefully indicates success in the future.
In part of that defense, Louro earned his clean sheet fair and square. While not new to the “clean sheet” as a stat -- the one-time USL Championship Golden Glove winner earned a then record setting 14 of them for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2021 – it was his first in MLS action. To add even more sentiment to the occasion, he earned it in his home state with many family members in attendance at Sports Illustrated Stadium there to cheer him on.
The former New York Red Bull academy graduate and first team keeper mostly dismissed the sentimentality of the moment in his postgame press conference, but what he didn’t dismiss was the effort his teammates gave to help secure the victory. The extra effort was, what he felt, the difference in the game in the end.
“The guys just put their body on the line,” Louro said. “Alvas is running doggies on the sideline. Miles is putting his face in there, Teenage is doing bicycle kicks and stuff like that, which is cool. Just guys being selfless and putting the team before themselves it was great to see.”
Louro did not, and would not, explain what “doggies” meant after the interview. But insisted that was the characterization that made the most sense to him.
“I didn’t know this, but I am so grateful to be able to contribute, to play a part,” Teenage Hadebe said tonight after being informed Louro had earned his first MLS clean sheet. “I’m happy because Evan deserves it. He is a special friend.”
“We came together tonight and we need to continue to do that to have that special something,” Hadebe opined, more generally on the match this time. “We still have a chance to win a trophy and we can, but we need to do it together. I think we did that tonight.”
For as effective as the defense was, even without modifiers or further considerations, there were plenty of things that you could have excused as unlucky go against The Orange and Blue’s way that they adapted and overcame.
Pat Noonan and FC Cincinnati were forced to overcome two injury substitutions in the span of four minutes and quickly adapt with a lineup you might describe as “unexpected” given where the game was going.
In the 80th minute Ender Echenique (who had turned in a solid performance to that point) went down after swinging for and missing a popped-up ball and lost his balance. While late in the game as it was, Noonan said they didn’t expect to make that change but needed to given the situation. So, Luca Orellano got called into action.
Orellano, along with Nick Hagglund, started this match as reserves. Noonan described that decision as “tactical” rather than performance based and ultimately needed both. The problem was that Orellano, after making a straight line sprint to the ball in the corner, came up lame and immediately motioned to the bench for a sub. So the injury replacement now needed a replacement himself…just three minutes later.
Noonan would go to Brian Anunga as the replacement and bring on Hagglund for Evander to add another stabilizing defensive presence. Kei Kamara would then come on and add to the defensive element from the forward spot.
In all, with a lineup and gameplan now totally defined by a few injuries, FCC didn’t blink, and the substitutes held their ground to secure the victory.
“The starting group had a lot to do with how we thought the game would look. And that was the selections of Teenage and Alvas. Nick's given us a lot of good minutes and very easily could have been in there from the start so that was less about, I would say, performances and more just about the situation. So those guys stepped up in a good way,” Noonan explained. End of the game…it was getting guys that could, I think, were better suited for some of the direct play that we kept finding ourselves in in those moments, because I just don't think the comfort level was there to play. The guys did a good job."
The shadow cast over the match on Saturday night though was that while FC Cincinnati was beating New York 1-0, about 90 miles South from there the Philadelphia Union were also beating a New York club (NYCFC) 1-0. The Union needed only three points from their final two matches to secure the 2025 Supporters’ Shield, and a draw or loss would have kept FCC with a chance heading into Decision Day, but a win would secure the trophy for them. So, while FCC won and applied some pressure, with the game in Harrison, New Jersey going into extra time, the game in Chester, Pennsylvania went final, awarding the Philadelphia Union the Supporters’ Shield for the second time in club history.
“We were always going to be in a difficult spot to win that trophy based on some of the setbacks we had prior, but I'm pleased with us handling the challenge that was in front of us, and not worrying about other circumstances,” Noonan said Saturday night after learning of the result in Philadelphia. “So we did it in a professional way, and we're trying to finish the season with the highest possible seed. That's hopefully the number two spot, that's the goal, and see out the regular season with a good home performance and a win that hopefully keeps us in that second seat, because that certainly gives us some home games, and we need to take advantage of that. So I'm happy with the result.”
FC Cincinnati’s victory, while not relevant to the Shield anymore, was certainly not for nothing. As previously mentioned, FCC narrowed down their playoff seeding and can finish no lower than third in the Eastern Conference; they also control their own destiny as to finishing second in the conference with a win on Decision Day. They secured their spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup for 2026, doing so for the third year in a row, and continued to show improvement.
They will now have a week “off” again as the international window opens and the seven FC Cincinnati players who were called to their national sides depart to join their countrymen. That week gives FCC time to continue to tinker and improve their play at the training pitch, but the absence of the seven players makes it interesting to see how they approach that period. Those absences were felt dramatically and immediately postgame Saturday whereas instead of collectively returning to Cincinnati those seven raced out of the stadium to catch flights to their respective camps, leaving a noticeable hole in the population of the locker room after the match. An eerily quiet, almost empty vibe as those returning to Cincy packed their things and headed to the team bus.
But that is outside of their control, and after that week comes the final game of the 2025 regular season, at home against CF Montréal. The final stretch is now here, and FC Cincinnati have one last chance before the playoffs begin to sort themselves out.
