FC Cincinnati turn around quickly after a disappointing Wednesday night loss at TQL Stadium and travel west to San Diego, California, for a matchup with a new foe in a new city. San Diego FC host The Orange and Blue for the first time in their young club’s history, marking the occasion at SnapDragon Stadium on Saturday night as both clubs look to jump-start their 2026 seasons after slow starts.
MLS’s youngest club, San Diego FC, and FC Cincinnati enter this matchup with identical 4-5-4 records in league action but are coming off very different results. The Orange and Blue will be looking for a response and a rebound after blowing a lead twice to Inter Miami CF, while SDFC are looking to keep its confidence going after a 5-0 victory over Austin FC.
“They're a strong team, and they've been a strong team all the way to last year… so I think last night's a good indication of who they really are,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said of their next opponent. “They do a really good job of changing speeds when they break pressure. I think they can move teams left and right, you know, north and south in a very effective way, where, when they break pressure, they can play immediately behind with good actions, good movement. Sometimes it's connecting two three passes, but those two three passes are at speed and they're going to goal. So a very strong team.”
The Orange and Blue find themselves in a challenging moment, not only coming off a loss, but needing to turn it around and travel for a tough road match on the West Coast the next day. With very little time to digest and review Wednesday's performance, FC Cincinnati will need to be ready to perform at a higher level to turn the tide.
“What I said to the guys is, right now, the really good and really bad are both presenting themselves too often in our play,” Noonan said Thursday before the team traveled to Southern California. “You go through these moments, teams do, where there were struggles with results…we went on this long stretch where we weren't losing games. It wasn't perfect, but we were getting better results, and they win convincingly last night, and we lose in the fashion that we do, so a high for them and a low for us.
“Now we go to their place, and they certainly have more momentum than we do at the moment, and we don't have a second to feel sorry for ourselves for what we didn't get right last night. It's addressed and we turn around. We've done this before. Turn it around and be motivated to improve, simple as that, because it'll be another hard game.”
FC Cincinnati’s trip to San Diego this weekend marks the second trip to the Western Conference this season after a visit to Minnesota earlier this year. It also marks the penultimate match of the first half of the MLS season. After this match, FC Cincinnati will return home to take on Orlando City SC next Saturday before pausing, along with the rest of MLS, for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. FCC will return to action in July to restart and complete the regular season.
FC Cincinnati at San Diego FC – Saturday, May 16, 2026 – 9:30 p.m. ET – Snapdragon Stadium
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History vs San Diego FC
FC Cincinnati take on San Diego FC for the first time, making the trip to the newest MLS club and visiting the Western Conference for the second time this season. San Diego FC joined MLS ahead of the 2025 season and stormed onto the scene with a 19-9-6 record, finishing top of the Western Conference.
FC CINCINNATI NOTES
(Courtesy of *FC Cincinnati Communications*)
Gary’s Go West – Under Head Coach Pat Noonan, FC Cincinnati are 17-5-5 against Western Conference opponents in MLS play. Until a 1-0 loss at Minnesota United FC earlier this season on Matchday 2, FC Cincinnati had won six-straight road matches against Western Conference opponents, which stands as the
longest interconference road win streak in MLS’ post-shootout era.
Cincinnati have won three straight matches in the Pacific Timezone (2024 at San Jose Earthquakes; 2025 at Portland Timbers, at LA Galaxy.)
Chart Climbers – FC Cincinnati Designated Players Evander and Kévin Denkey
have scored 11 of the last 12 goals for the club, with Evander scoring six and Denkey accounting for five. In total, they have combined for 13 goals over the past six games for FC Cincinnati. Less than halfway through their second seasons for the club, Denkey (30 goals) and Evander (29 goals) both rank top-five in FC Cincinnati’s all-time history.
Maiden Voyage – Saturday marks the first-ever meeting between FC Cincinnati and San Diego FC as the Orange and Blue make the cross-country trip to Snapdragon Stadium to meet the 2025 MLS expansion club. Following Saturday’s road tilt, FC Cincinnati will have played at least one road match at 28 of the 29 opposing MLS clubs, with the lone exception being Sporting Kansas City.
Scouting San Diego FC (4-5-4, 16 Points, T9 in Western Conference, W-D-D-L-L)
San Diego enter this match-up at home in the middle of a three-game homestand to end the first half of the MLS season, and while their record hasn’t been up to the levels the newest MLS club set for themselves in their inaugural season, they are coming in on a high.
On Wednesday night, San Diego thrashed Austin FC 5-0, with four goal scorers and limiting their opponents to just 4 shots all night. Leading scorers Anders Dryer and Marcus Ingvartsen both scored, and 20-year-old midfielder David Vazquez earned a brace for his first goals of the MLS season.
Managed by Head Coach Mikey Varas, San Diego FC got off to a strong start in their inaugural season by finishing top of the Western Conference and fifth in the league table. This season has been a challenge for them as they look to replicate that success, but they enter this match undefeated in their last three. Varas, who was an Interim Head Coach with the US Men’s National Team prior to taking over San Diego, has deployed his side most often in a 4-3-3 formation.
The defense for SDFC starts in net, where Duran Ferree, 19, starts for the California club. He has made 11 starts this season and appeared in 12 matches as the young keeper plays in his first MLS season. Ferree is a San Diego native who joined the club at its inception and has represented the United States at the U17 and U20 levels.
On the defensive back line is a collection of international talent. Manu Duah of Ghana started their last match against Austin. He was joined by Swedish defensive stalwart Christopher McVey, who is more of an MLS veteran. Prior to joining San Diego in 2025, McVey made 77 MLS appearances across three seasons with Inter Miami CF and D.C. United.
They are joined on the backline by another young American fullback in Luca Bombino, who has made 36 appearances for SDFC since joining the club last season.
On the attack, San Diego has shined. The aforementioned Anders Dryer was an MLS All-Star, Best XI selection and finalist for MLS MVP in 2025 and has continued his torrid pace in 2026. Dryer and FC Cincinnati midfielder Evander have a connection and shared history beyond their status as MLS MVP Finalists last season – they played together at FC Midtjylland before coming to MLS. The duo played 81 games together in Denmark, combining for three goals.
“The best players are consistent in their play, and game to game you know what you're getting from him,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said of Dryer. “He is very good at moving with the play, finding space to impact the game, decision making of playing in behind, playing the next pass to benefit his teammates. Then, when he gets close to goal, a very creative player. Good deception, good vision, the passing, the shooting, all of it. He's got just a wide range of attacking qualities that you know are tough to match up against. So a very, very strong player.”
Another player to watch for in this match is Finnish midfielder Onni Valakari, who is the only player to start every MLS match for San Diego this season. Valakari has six goal contributions, third-most on the team, and has been one of the more reliable contributors, no matter the circumstances. He typically plays on the right side of the midfield three and interplays with Dryer in the forward line.
