FC Cincinnati host the Philadelphia Union for the second of four consecutive matches at TQL Stadium Saturday at 8 p.m. FC Cincinnati will celebrate Pride at Saturday’s match, presented by P&G.
PRIDE
October is National Coming Out month and to celebrate a special Pride scarf will be offered for sale at the TQL Stadium Team store and forcincyforclub.com. During the match, TQL Stadium’s exterior fins will light in rainbow colors and rainbow-colored smoke will be lit in The Bailey.
At Washington Park, from 4 to 8 p.m., fans can grab limited free P&G Pride t-shirts, engage with drag queens, sample P&G products, enjoy food trucks, drink specials and more.
Before the game, at the Carl and Martha Linder Plaza from 6 to 7:45 p.m., fans can enjoy a Health Carousel Party on the Plaza featuring an Urban Blooms Living Wall for selfies. Samples from Power Up and Heineken, soccer bingo, Army activation and beer specials will available. Also from 6-7:45 p.m., on the Mercy Health plaza, fans can participate in a striker challenge, a coloring page station and 1v1 games with Omar Cummings!
For more information, visit fccincinnati.com/pride.
HOW TO WATCH:
Local TV: Star64
Local Stream: fccincinnati.com
Out of Market: ESPN+
Radio: The Project – 100.7/106.3 FM
Talent: Tom Gelehrter (play-by-play), Kevin McCloskey (analyst), Alex Stec (sideline)
Be sure to follow @FCCincinnati on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for live updates from the match.
SCOUTING PHILADELPHIA UNION (11-7-9 – 42 points – 3rd, Eastern Conference)
Unbeaten in the team’s last four matches with a 3-0-1 record, Philadelphia enters Cincinnati coming off a 3-0 win over Columbus Crew, despite Kai Wagner’s red card in the 64th minute leaving ‘The Boys in Blue’ down a man the final 26 minutes.
Kacper Przybylko leads Philadelphia with nine goals and also is second on the team in assists with four.
He’s also played in all 27 games this year for the club. Meanwhile, also against Columbus, homegrown Quinn Sullivan became the youngest player in club history to record an assist at 17 years (190 days) old, also becoming the seventh homegrown to score a goal and add an assist in his Union career.
STORYLINES TO WATCH
INTERNATIONAL DUTY IMPACT – The Philadelphia Union will be missing six players due to international call-ups for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualification October window. Andre Blake and Alvas Powell (Jamaica), Jose Martinez (Venezuela), Olivier Mbaizo (Cameroon), Jamiro Monteiro (Cape Verde) and Daniel Gazdag (Hungary) will all be out. The previously mentioned Kai Wagner will also serve his suspension due to his red card last Sunday. For the Orange and Blue, Ronald Matarrita is with the Costa Rican National Team, where he started against Honduras in the scoreless draw in San Pedro Sula Thursday night.
PHILLY TIES –Haris Medunjanin faces off against the club where he began his MLS career. He spent three seasons in Philadelphia (2017-19), where he made 109 appearances, including 108 starts across all competitions. He scored six goals and contributed 19 assists. And while of course new FC Cincinnati General Manager Chris Albright will not be on the field Saturday night, Albright comes to Cincinnati after serving as the club’s Technical Director since 2014. The Philadelphia native also played for the Union in 2012 and 2013.
HAVE WE MET BEFORE? – For the first time in 2021, the Orange and Blue face off against the Union. FCC have seen every other Eastern Conference club at least once this season and since the last time the team’s squared off against each other, almost exactly a year ago, on Saturday, October 7, 2020. Álvaro Barreal and Zico Bailey each made their debuts with FC Cincinnati that night in Chester, Pennsylvania.
