FC Cincinnati make their final trip to the Western Conference on Saturday night, visiting Houston, Texas and Shell Energy Stadium for a clash with the Houston Dynamo. With eyes on improving their road record this season, FCC will face a strong side that is dominant at home and in the hunt for the top spot in the table.
After a 3-3 draw in their last match, where FCC felt they had the performance to earn a victory at home, The Orange and Blue go into this match looking to build on that while improving their results.
“I felt we dropped points and did so many good things to create chances. The final decisions and instincts in finishing off plays was a little off,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said Thursday ahead of the match. “But defensively, conceding three goals at home and in a game where for stretches it felt like we were in good control, that's still the area that has to improve.”
The trip to Houston represents two types of games FCC has excelled in in seasons past. FC Cincinnati were the best team in the league at getting results on the road in 2025 and 2024, but have struggled to replicate that this season, winning just once in 2026. Pat Noonan-led sides have also been excellent at getting results in inter-conference matchups, going 19-5-7 since 2022. This season, they have similarly struggled, but in their five games (home and away) against Western Conference sides, FCC are 2-1-1.
Rather than Western Conference play being the challenge this year, it has more been going away to any opponent, as FCC have won just one game away from home all season. Noonan, though, feels the concerns are consistent at home and away and are equally a problem to solve moving forward.
“I don't have that feeling that something is significantly different. I think it's consistent with our home play, like you saw in the Seattle game or the Charlotte game. I think it's just the consistency of our play, and more specifically defensively, that's limited us from winning more games,” Noonan explained. “So, on the road, when we approach away games, it's not a huge shift in mentality and approach. We try to be consistent in how we want to play and how we want the game to look. We just haven't executed at a level that's positioned us to win more games. So, yeah, I wish I had a better feel or answer for it, but it's not something that's significantly different from our home performances. Some of those games we could have won. The majority of them we haven't. I think the difference is we've won more of those games that we haven't performed at our best at home.”
The trip to Houston kicks off a three-match road swing for The Orange and Blue, with CF Montréal and Atlanta United next before returning home to TQL Stadium to host the New England Revolution in their next home game.
FC Cincinnati at Houston Dynamo FC – Saturday, September 19, 2026 – 8:30 p.m. ET – Shell Energy Stadium
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History vs Houston
Saturday marks just the fourth-ever meeting between FC Cincinnati and Houston Dynamo FC, the first since the 2023 MLS season opener when the Orange and Blue defeated the Dynamo on a cold, Cincinnati February night, 2-1. On that night, future FCC players Teenage Hadebe and Corey Baird started for the Dynamo.
FC Cincinnati’s unbeaten 2-0-1 record against the Dynamo marks just one of two clubs which FCC have faced three-plus times in MLS and never lost (Portland Timbers, 3-0-0). Saturday is just the second meeting between the clubs to be played in Houston, with the lone previous meeting coming July 3, 2021 in a 1-1 draw. Both sides scored within the first five minutes of that match which was followed by 85 minutes of deadlock (Tyler Pasher 3’; Álvaro Barreal 5’).
FC CINCINNATI NOTES
(Courtesy of *FC Cincinnati Communications*)
Houston, we have a problem – Only nine players on FC Cincinnati’s active roster have appeared in MLS play against Houston Dynamo, and of those players, only Obinna Nwobodo has scored against them, when he did in the 2023 MLS season opener. The Dynamo are one of just three Western Conference opponents which Evander, the former Portland Timber, has never scored against (COL, SD).
Ground Control to Major Tom – Under Head Coach Pat Noonan, FC Cincinnati are 19-5-7 against Western Conference opponents in MLS play. Saturday is the sixth of six regular season matches in 2026 against the West, with FCC taking to Texas a 2-1-2 record this season.
Rocket Man – After missing last Saturday’s match against Charlotte due to yellow card accumulation, perennial MVP candidate Evander is once again available for selection. His 24 goal contributions rank second in MLS. Countryman and Dynamo striker Guilherme lines up opposite of Evander on Saturday. The Houston forward enters Matchday 27 alongside Evander in the top-seven in MLS in goal contributions.
One Small Step – FC Cincinnati announced Thursday the signing of FC Cincinnati Academy goalkeeper Connor Dale as a Homegrown Player. At 16, he became the second-youngest player, and 11th FC Cincinnati Academy player, to sign a first-team contract. Dale was a 2026 MLS NEXT All-Star and shined at the 2026 Generation adidas Cup and MLS NEXT Playoffs.
Scouting Houston Dynamo FC (13-8-4, 43 Points, 2nd in the Western Conference, L-W-D-D-L)
The Houston Dynamo sit near the top of the Western Conference entering this match and have been one of the breakout squads of 2026. With 13 wins and 43 points, the Dynamo are just three points out of the top spot in the conference and are squarely a contender to come out of the West to compete for an MLS Cup later this year.
Lately, the Dynamo haven't had the results they have been looking for, but overall the 2026 campaign has been strong for the side. Last time out, Houston lost 1-0 to rival San Jose Earthquakes in California, but now return to Shell Energy Stadium looking for a rebound. At home this season, the Dynamo are 8-2-2 and have not lost at home since early April.
Houston prides itself on being a product of its collective rather than the sum of its stars, but at the core of the Dynamo’s offensive strength this season has been Brazilian midfielder Guilherme, who leads the side with 13 goals and eight assists. After joining the side earlier this year, Guilherme earned a spot on the MLS All-Star team and has been a key piece of Houston's success all year, though in his last six games for Houston he has only added two goal contributions.
Like many other MLS sides right now, the Dynamo's squad is in flux as the transfer window sees players leave the club with immediate effect, while they wait for new arrivals to be cleared to play.
Houston recently transferred U22 American midfielder Jack McGlynn to Stoke City of the EFL Championship, but are awaiting the debut of South African international and World Cup player Lyle Foster, a striker on loan from Burnley FC. With those players unavailable, a few other core players will have to step up.
Polish DP midfielder Mateusz Bogusz is one key player for Houston, being second on the team in goal contributions but first in minutes played. Another is veteran and club leader Hector Herrera, back for his second stint with the club after joining in 2022 but leaving briefly in 2025.
With the new forward not yet arrived, American striker Duncan McGuire has been the go-to man up front. McGuire, 25, was traded from Orlando to Houston earlier this season and has made five starts now with his new club, including last weekend.
On the defensive side, English keeper Jonathan Bond has been Houston's man in net, starting all 25 games this season. Bond has earned 10 clean sheets this season and made 62 saves. Defenders Agustin Resch, 24, and Lucas Halter, 26, started on the back line for Houston in their last match.
The Dynamo are led by Head Coach Ben Olsen, who was appointed in 2022 and has since helped build the club into a consistent winner, going 64-43-53 and winning the 2023 US Open Cup with his side. Before his time in Houston, Olsen was the long-time manager of D.C. United, serving as Head Coach for 10 seasons after playing for the club from 1998 to 2009 – meaning he spent over two decades with the team in different roles.
“I think any team that he's coached knows how to adapt; to circumstances, to this league and the challenges that you face,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said of Olsen on Thursday. “Yes, I know Benny [Ben Olsen] and I rely on Benny often when we're not competing against each other for just his wisdom through certain stretches, because he's got great experience and knowledge of this league and the game, and he's a fighter, and that's how he played. I don't know his game from the beginning, but my experiences with the national team and when we were playing in the league, scrappy but intelligent, understands how to win and understands how to lead and motivate and is honest, humble. He's just a really good character, really good person. That's why I enjoy our conversations, his friendship. So, he's done a really good job because they've lost some key pieces in his time there and right now they're in second place in the West, and they're a strong team.”
Under Olsen, Houston has been flexible with its formation, but has most recently used a 5-3-2.
